worksheets for 'Bathroom Lion' & the 15 artists in 15 minutes game!

Joining in with Cassia's game also picked up by Jon Davis. In 15 minutes name 15 artists that inspire you and you'll always stick with. In no particular order then:

1) Egon Schiele (you're right Cass!)
2) Eric Carle
3) Quentin Blake
4) Miroslav Sasek
5) Joan Miro
6) Heath Robinson (look forward to the exhibition!)
7) Alice & Martin Provensen
8) E.H. Shephard
9) Tom Oreb (animation designer in the 50's... Disney, UPA etc...etc...)
10) Lane Smith
11) John Tenniel
12) Ronald Searle
13) Saul Bass
14) William Heaton Cooper (english watercolourist)
15) Charlie Harper

That was fun! I could go on and on, and I'm sure I've missed some big favourites...

***************I forgot:

*Bill Watterson (how'd I forget HIM!!!)
*Mike Mignola
*Craig McCracken
*Genndy Tartakovsky
*John Kricfalusi

**************how did I still forget:
*Mary Blair (disney colour stylist and designer)
*Matisse (particularly his collages)
*Edward Gorey (he created such a twisted, unique world...funny ha ha and funny VERY peculiar)
*Ed Benedict (designer of many Hanna-Barbera classic characters inc. Yogi B. and the Flintstones)

They say some people get obsessional about lists... I just cannot let this one go (failed the 15 minute rule well and truly!)



And to finish the post off the author of "There's a lion in my bathroom" asked me for some themed activities for a book signing he's doing this weekend:

British bookshops and stationers in Seaford Saturday 2nd October from 10am-1pm, there will be colouring and activity sheets for children to do, plus balloons with each signed book.

So I tweaked some of the book illustrations to get colouring in pages and drawing activities. What's the most yucky food you can think of...?

Renault 4 'life drawing' sketches by way of Juno...

Odd one this post. I finally got to see the film Juno a few days ago, really enjoyed it, a fantastic script and performances. I was really taken by the production design, especially feel of the title sequence. It's nice to see that they carried through that loose naive sketch style through the film and into the promo materials and DVD / CD packaging, more often the case with an indie film than your standard hollywood fare don't you think...?

Although it doesn't tally with how I tend to go about my illustration I've always liked strong line based images, especially when balanced with bold flat graphics. Egon Schiele, Klee, Miro, Picasso... I think it was Paul Klee that talked about 'taking a line for a walk' when you sketch, and when I usually try and eliminate any 'excess lines' in my work I think it sometimes also loses a sprightliness. By way of nothing I was looking for something to warm up doodle and, for no real reason, I thought back to the quirky Renault 4 car my family drove when I was a kid. At the time you wanted to drive in the same cars everyone else did but, in retrospect, I really love the little things that made the Renault stand out from the crowd (a car outsider just like Juno in the film...? I shouldn't over analyse myself...). I remember the puzzling 'umbrella handle' gear stick that stuck out from the dashboard and the weird front bumper loops that I always thought were handles to pull the car by if it broke down! I'd usually construct my drawings with basic geometric volumes first in order to get all the relationships between elements fixed and then add line over the top but, in keeping with the Juno images bouncing around in my brain I just went at it, life drawing style, and to hell with the results. A lot of fun to loosen up and not over plan things.

colourful dozer

Here's my colour plan for the painting. I tried this planning ahead process on my last birthday painting commission and it really help me out with sequencing which colours to paint in which order. The disadvantage / advantage of course is that you have a constant reminder of what colour you are aiming for. Mixing that paint colour and making sure it dries how you intend is another matter! For now pixels are familiar territory and I'm happy with how thing are looking.

bulldozers and 3 legged dogs...

Unrelated outpourings from my drawing board. Here's a revised layout for the child's birthday painting I've been commissioned to paint. The parents opted for the bulldozer and asked for some tweaks here and there. Hopefully the little chap looks more like a caring tree planter, not a logger hell bent on deforesting! I'm thinking some nice texture and autumnal colours in all that dirt.


And why a 3 legged dog I hear you ask...? Olli's a work colleague's pooch (see my first ever blog post, boy has it been that long...) who sadly lost a leg earlier this year (well he didn't lose it, we know where it went but...you know...). Here's a quick doodle, he usually pops by my studio asking for a biscuit.

"There's a lion in my bathroom: nonsense poetry for children". The book is out now!

Well I've been away for a few days, but what a way to take the edge of coming back from your holidays, finding your own book waiting for you! I'm delighted with how things have come out in the finished book. The print quality is excellent on both the cover and the internal pages. I'd really love to be able to share some of the text with you but you'll just have to buy it I guess :) A percentage of all sales goes to a very good cause, Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, so you can have a laugh and also do some good at the same time. As far as I know as yet, your best ports of call if you're interested will be:

the publishers Rebel Books LLP site
http://rebelbookspublishing.co.uk/bookshop.aspx

of course, the mighty amazon (do leave a review if you like what you see...:)

I've no idea if they will have any copies instore... but waterstones have it online.

If you do decide to buy, my endless thanks and I really hope you enjoy the book. Please feel free to drop me a line (email via my website) and let me know what you thought. You can also reach the author Giles Paley Philips via his website.

Exciting times!