Tuesday, 11 December 2018

Merry Christmas 2018 : The Last Nativity

The Last Nativity - "Starboy" (HB pencil on 110mm x 90mm paper)
This "starboy" character depicts a child in a nativity play costume. He's a secondary character in the accompanying story that I used as a Christmas card. That's not surprising, as I usually draw the picture first before I write the story, as I have done with previous Christmas cards. It's a simple image, but it does pretty much sum up the story that I wrote for it. So, sit back and enjoy a night at the St. Mary's Primary School nativity play....
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
To read through them, simply click on one and you should be able to scroll through them all.﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿

Friday, 30 November 2018


(B grade pencil on 125mm x 75mm notecard)
With this dreamscape image, there was more fewer parts of it. The random nature of it is still there. I still have no idea what the content of these images will be when I start but, as you can see, only a small part of it has been highlighted, with the rest shaded into the background.
They were curious choices to make, considering all the other shaded forms, but that simple central object of the floating piece of paper does seem to balance the kneeling figure on the right, and does add to it. Nothing else was really required.

Tuesday, 9 October 2018


I don't usually favour sketchbooks, mainly because a single A4 sketchbook can last me a long time. I can easily get 3 or 4 works from one single page of it, but I didn't want to waste the few unused sketchbooks that I do have. So, I decided the crop them into smaller sketchbooks of A5, A6 and A7, each having 8 or 10 pages and stapled with a black card cover. They're crudely made, with uneven pages, but they'll do fine. Plus, I'm more likely to use them in these limited formats. The first one being the following:
Lulani Greenstar - A6 art booklet (10 pages)
I didn't intend to fill the entire booklet with just one character, but after I drew the first one, I found that more was to come from it. So much so that it ended up being a day in the life of this character. The drawings are of various sizes, and quality, below its A6 format, but they work well. So enjoy meeting the sexy, sultry, elven witch known as Lulani Greenstar. She's been, sort of, expecting you....
Lulani Greenstar
Lulani Greenstar, the sexy, sultry, elven witch, warmly greets us...
"Oh, how wonderful for everyone else but me! Completely unannounced and unexpected guests, arriving at an inconvenient time - Do come in!"
The Unfamiliar Familiar
Ah! Now here we see the fabled "Witch's Familiar." What strange and exotic name does Lulani give this little helper?
"Well, I don't know who it belongs to, but I call it "Little Bastard" because it's always tearing up my herb garden - Cats are edible, aren't they?"
The Witch's Brew
Where would any witch be without her cauldron? We can but wonder at what magical potions Lulani is concocting.
"It's called a stew. I do get hungry, you know. Would you like some?"
What happened to the cat?
"The what?..."
The Flight of a Witch
Like all good witches, Lulani knows how to fly, but shouldn't she be using a broomstick?
"Piss off! I'm not doing any housework whilst I'm flying. Where's the fun in that?"
The Love Potion
As a working witch, Lulani does all she can to help people with their problems...
"I'm sure you'd like this love potion, but let's be honest here, you're an ugly little fucker, aren't you? It'd just be a waste. I mean, I'm good, but I'm not THAT bloody good!"
"Burn the Witch!"
Lulani pays a visit to her good friend, and fellow witch, Karlotta Krane, who looks to be in a spot of bother...
"It seems that half the villagers were cursed with a plague of boils and she got the blame for it. Can't imagine who else could have done it. But don't worry, I'll save her, as soon as she reaches the point where she soils herself. I'm sorry, but she really needs to be taught a lesson. After all, she's blonde, beautiful, and much more popular than I am. In other words - WHAT A TOTAL BITCH!"
Raising the Dead
Using her powerful magic, Lulani has the ability to raise the dead! What diabolical plans does she have for this horrific creature?
"Nothing much. He was the shoemaker from the village and he owed me money. I just want him to pay me back. Death is no excuse when you're in debt to a witch."
The Rabbit Lulani
Another of Lulani's tricks is her ability to transform herself into a rabbit! But you can still tell that it's her.
"Really? How?"
It's your bright eyes, burning like fire.
"Why thank you!....wait, what?"
The Working Witch
There's always something that even a witch like Lulani needs to learn about magic. That's why we see her studying here.
"Bollocks! I don't need to learn anything. I'm doing that magic charm for fame, fortune and love that you wanted. That is why you're here, isn't it?"
Well....yes, I suppose so. It's not for me, you understand. Oh no, no, no! It's for a "friend"....Yes, that's right....a "friend"
"Yeah, yeah."
The Cock and Balls Magic Charm
"You know nothing of witchcraft! It's clearly the "Phallus Rampant" an ancient symbol of fertility and good fortune. Besides, even if it was just a cock and balls, I'm a witch and I drew it, so that makes it a "magic" cock and balls."
You really are a mental-case, aren't you? And if you think I'm paying you for that, you've got another thing coming!
"The shoemaker once thought as you do."

Wednesday, 27 June 2018

Dreamscape: HELLO & GOODBYE

(HB pencil on a 139mm x 89mm postcard)
These dreamscape pieces do tend to become very chaotic in nature. I have no control over that as I build up the shading and the imagery is revealed. The title was obviously taken from the words and symbols which I added randomly at the end. Before that, I was thinking of a title based around the head in the bottom right hand corner which looks as if it's being inflated (or deflated), causing this mass of object memories to be sucked out of it. "The Final Download" being one which I was considering. But I liked "Hello & Goodbye" more.

Thursday, 26 April 2018

Dreamscape : FAP 4 MCAW

(Black biro on a 139mm x 89mm postcard)
I was going to call this piece "bloodlines" due to the darker area within it, but as I shaded and over-shaded it, using the same techniques as in previous works, I found that the lettering in the bottom left began to take shape. It meant that it could have no other title, so I highlighted those words. But those bloodline areas themselves do help to break up the chaotic nature of it and give it more shape.

Saturday, 31 March 2018

Guardian Spirit - XYA

(Blue Biro on 125mm x 75mm notecard)
With this third Guardian Spirit work, I decided to add a touch of Dreamscaping to the shading. It doesn't look too bad. There are a few things which are off about the whole piece, but that never bothers me.
Who wouldn't want a pistol-packing angel like that at their shoulder?﻿

Monday, 22 January 2018

MORPHINIA - Mistress Of Dreams

(2B pencil on a 139mm x 89mm postcard)
I used the same techniques of shading and overshading, as I did in the last dreamscape work that I did. The shapes that stood out early on were that of the woman under the blanket. She's clearly out of proportion, and I did nothing to correct that, opting to simply let the image take its own form. The same goes for all the other shapes within the piece. It's normal for faces to appear in such work, as we're naturally conditioned to recognise them and therefore tend to see them more in patterns.