Pen Ink Paper

On the weekend I went to Inkers & Thinkers, a comic symposium and workshop. On Saturday, Australian comic artist Pat Grant led a workshop with a live demonstration of his process. During his workshop he spoke about the qualities of different papers, brushes and inks, encouraging us all to experiment with our tools. I often focus on experimenting with styles but I never really realised how much the right tools make a difference. So I went out and bought some different papers, inks and brushes and gave it a go. 

Mother Duck

Every year I love watching the little ducklings appear in the field near our house. It's cool seeing them all grow up and watching the amazing parenting skills that go with raising a heap of curious ducklings. So this mothers day I wanted to pay tribute to all those ducks but especially to my Mother Duck.  

Daydreaming at your Job

One past-time I've learned to embrace and even practice over the years is daydreaming. The art of daydreaming to me is one of the most important ways of generating new ideas and stories. People will probably tell you that daydreaming is just escapism and I guess to a certain degree it is, but for me it's like a key that unlocks my imagination.

Funnily enough, daydreaming seems to work best for me when I'm at my part time job working as a labourer, putting up shelters over playgrounds. There's something about the repetitive nature of the job that seems to free up space in my head for daydreaming (I experienced the same thing when I was a dishwasher and a gardener). It seems that if I do something enough times my brain seems to be able to do it without me even thinking about it, kind of like being on autopilot (there's probably a scientific name for it). It's in this moment when my creativity is at its peak, it's when I daydream the most and when I come up with a lot of my ideas.

These ideas eventually form into illustrations, comics, stories and just about anything you can think of. So the next time someone tells you “you've got your head in the clouds”, take it as a compliment. Just remember to come back down to earth every now and then to put your ideas to good use.    

Nepal Earthquake Relief

Nepal feels like a second home to me! At the end of last year my wife Lucy and I travelled there and attempted the Everest Basecamp trek. We had to be evacuated by helicopter after Lucy fell incredibly ill with HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Edema), the hours spent on that mountain watching Lucy suffer were the worst I've experienced in my life! I can't even begin to understand how the people in Nepal must feel after Saturdays 7.8 magnitude earthquake which has currently taken the lives of over 4000 people and left countless others without food, shelter and water. 

When I heard the news my heart sunk. I can't just stand by and watch, which is why I'm selling 4 original ink sketches from my travel journal I kept in Nepal and donating 100% of the money to World Vision's Earthquake Appeal which is currently providing food, water, shelter and medical equipment to the victims of the earthquake. Each sketch is $30. If that doesn't suit your budget or you want to do more you can make contributions directly to any of these trusted charities listed on the abc.net.au/appeals site. THANKS!     

KATHMANDU HOUSE $30

SOLD

KATHMANDU HOUSE 2 $30

 SOLD

FIRST SIGHTING $30

 SOLD

PORTERS LIFE $30

SOLD

Future Flight

I was at the library last week and found a book on old propaganda posters. I loved the strong and simplistic nature of them and the portrait they painted of their ideas. I wanted to create a similar kind of feel with this illustration but with less force and a warmer feeling. It gave me a chance to play around with a different style and use some brushes which taught me a few things.

Easter

If you were ever a curious kid like me you may have wondered where exactly the easter bunny got all those eggs from? I still don't know the answer, but it brings back memmories of the true story of Easter my dad told me as a kid. Using an Easter egg as an example, he said that "the tomb where they lay Jesus' body after he was crucified is just like this egg" he then let me break the egg open and finished with a simple conclusion "empty". I realise now that the genius nature of this story was using the symbol that diverts attention away from Jesus to illustrate the story of Jesus. Plus, I also got to eat the egg..hehehe.

Trademark the Pencil

Trademark the Pencil is finally here! It's been one of my life dreams to create a minicomic and it's come true today with this release. I've crammed 7 stories into 12 pages and printed, cut and stapled every issue together. I've printed a limit of 80 copies of Trademark the Pencil and that's all there will ever be. Each comic is hand numbered inside (eg. 1 of 80) so you know what you're getting is hand made. You can buy copy of Trademark the Pencil from my online shop for $4 + $1 for postage or pick up a copy from the Piccadilly Kitchen who will be stocking them from Friday the 10th of April until sold out. It's also worth mentioning that $2 from each comic sold goes to Our Home Community (a home for orphans in South India). Thanks for your support!

 

Piccadilly Bazaar

I went to the Piccadilly Kitchen on Saturday where they were holding their quarterly Bazaar. I had my sketchbook and some free time, so I decided to capture some of the market vibe. There was a big, folk jam session happening right next to me which helped the groove of my pen and kept my creativity flowing.  

(The Strumming Cowboy)

(The Bearded Food Merchant)

(Folk Jam Band)

(The Cactus Lady)

(Plant Scientist)

Sneak Peek!

Well, I have been talking about it for a while now but here is the first sneak peak at my minicomic comig out next month, It is titled Trademark The Pencil and this cover for the first (maybe only) issue and is inspired by my love of patent drawings. Stay tuned for the release coming out real soon!

Katniss

I started doing archery a few weeks ago and went to a club to get some pointers. During the induction the instructor laughed as he explained the increased interest in archery since the release of Hunger Games and it's bow and arrow wielding star, Katniss Everdeen. I felt pretty old at that moment realizing that I came because I thought Robin Hood was cool...so I illustrated Katniss to remind me of that day.
 

Sound Check

I took my sketchbook with me to a Fringe music show called Vane of Barbs and had a few moments to draw the drum kit during soundcheck. I've always had a fascination with drum kits, all the slight adjustments and fine tuning that can be done on each stand and drum make up some real interesting shapes that are really fun to draw. Got a few strange looks from audience members who must have thought I was reviewing the show, hehehe, I guess I was in my own way.

Jazz Cat

The past few months I've been creating some minicomics in secret and tested a lot of new techniques and refined some old ones. It's been a really cool experience making pages that don't really have to make any sense and creating bucket-loads of characters that don't have to be constantly refined or ever introduced in a second issue. For this comic I wanted to see if I could create some interesting perspectives in each cell and capture some of this cool cats cheeky nature.

Biker 30

My brother recently turned 30, so to celebrate I created an illustration for him that would capture his love for motorbikes and skeletons, while also incorporating the number 30 somehow. The above illustration is the result. Rather than my usual half digital process of colouring, I created the picture all by hand and transferred it to a piece of wood and put a simple frame around it which was the icing on this birthday cake.  

CFS Breakfast

I recently illustrated a poster for The Piccadilly Kitchen to advertise a fundraiser for the CFS (Country Fire Service). A group of cafes around the Adelaide hills hosted free breakfasts for all CFS volunteers in recognition of the days they spent fighting the fires that swept through last month. Thanks to all members of the CFS for all your hard work.

Robotsus

I'm planning on releasing a mini-comic within the next few months and this bird loving robot named Robotsus is one of the many characters that make a star appearance in the comic. He spends most his life sitting on the park bench observing the world around him...and by world I mean birds.

Nepal Sketchbook

Hello and Happy 2015 to everyone following my illustration adventures. I finished 2014 with the adventure of a lifetime, trekking in Nepal with my wife as part of 2 Reason Trek. While I was there I kept a sketchbook of all the interesting things I saw... and there were a lot! I relied on my camera to catch all the memories I missed in my sketchbook and in doing so realized how much life I could catch in a scribble, the kind of life that doesn't seem to translate in a photograph. I hope you enjoy!  

Himalayas!

Sorry blog for not posting this past month. My head has been in the Himalayas as I prepare for the Everest Basecamp trek! After heaps of preparation I'm off tomorrow with my wife. If you want to travel with us (metaphorically) then follow this link...2 Reason Trek. See you in a month!

Catz

Sometimes I create an illustration that develops a backstory in my head as I draw...this is one of those illustrations. The backstory usually begins and ends in my head but this time I wrote it down and I'm slowly putting it together which means it may end up as a comic. So for now I'll claim this as a teaser for whats to come...maybe?

The Infinite Word

The more time I spend in the Bible the more I realise I will never fully understand it! Every word is intricately connected to another and each carries specific meaning and translation in it's own context. I could devote a lifetime to deciphering a single biblical principle and still learn something new on my dying bed. It is this infinite nature that gives me perspective on how small I am.

Early

It seems that every year Christmas advertising is getting earlier and earlier. If I was to put up my tree when Christmas ads started appearing, I think my tree would be dead by the time it got to Christmas, it may have even completely decomposed. That's not to stop me counting down the days early though!