The Weather Outside is Weather.

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I noticed two things today. Firstly I haven’t posted anything in a few days and secondly it’s cold.

Yep, it feels like August only just finished and already it’s starting to get a bit nippy here in Surrey. So as homage to the Summertimes I’m gonna stick up a collection of summery paintings I did of British wildlife. Now off you go, finish up your strawberries and cream, fish out the gloves and enjoy the company of our four (and six) legged friends while we think about meadows and warm sun and stuff like that.

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Ah…

B x

A Doodle from my Noodle

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Here’s a quick sketch I did one night in a ball point pen. It’s based on the Norns of norse mythology (or similarly the moerae of Greek. I’m not really fussy!)

The 3 sisters who determine the fates of gods and men

I always enjoy a bit of a doodle in biro, mainly because I think throughout most of my school days the art department seemed insistant that you couldn’t draw in pens, IT MUST BE PENCIL.

Ha, let’s stick it to ’em in a ballpoint revolution!

Bx

Silly Stuff…

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Having just had my THIRD  phone interview with the (really very lovely) people at the Dorking Advertiser re the book signing last Saturday, I can safely say it’s becoming a mild annoyance having to answer the question “what was your inspiration for the story?” to people who haven’t read it. And that’s not to say that I think they SHOULD have had a read,  I respect that, as the journalists, they can asses how much or little they need to know before beginning an interview; it’s just that when I’m asked I have this horrible habbit of answering and that seems to confuse them a bit.

Like most of my work, Tick came from my  brain as a result of my surroundings at that time. So in all honesty the starting point for it was my position emotionally at time of writing/drawing. My menial job, working for a woman on the fast track for hell, had the power at times to quite literally break you and it was these down trodden days that sparked the initial plans for a robot with no purpose that grew into the short story.

Yeah, I suppose for a “kid’s book” it’s relatively heavy stuff, but then, I struggle defining Tick as easily as for little ones or big ones. The creation of it began purely as a cartharsis for me, and if other people find enjoyment in it (and if the success of the book signing was anything to go by, I think they do) then that is a massive massive bonus that brings me an unimaginable amount of joy.

Nevermind Dorking Ad, we got there in the end. I know it wasn’t the short and sweet “I like kids so I wrote them a story” that maybe you were hoping for, but I’m sure you’ll make it work.

Anyway, enough of Tick for now! There’s more work to be done. The next story is unterwegs (well…it exists in note, bullet point and scribble form only) and there’s commissions and summer projects to be done!

So naturally, I decided to spend a day drawing things that have nothing to do with anything and then fiddling with them for 10 minutes in photoshop.

I’ll  leave you to be the judge of if it was time well spent or not…

B x

Welcome to Cyberspace!

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Hello and welcome to my brand spankin’ new site. I’m Bex and this is me and my work in all our glory finally up and running on the magic of the interwebs.

For the purposes of introduction, I’m an illustrator and the aim of this explosion into cyperspace (and the 21st century…*ahem*) is to share with you lovely people the work I’ve been doing and will be doing as and when it pops into the chaotic emporium of junk that is my brain.

So, let’s recap where we are so far.

My time for the past few months has been tied up more or less with my most recent book, Tick. It’s a short story set in the kitchen of  a newly purchased 19th century townhouse where a mysterious steampunk robot is discovered. Although quite short, the story touches on ideas of purpose and self-worth as our little copper friend explores modern additions to the  kitchen top, becoming more and more aware of his redundancy in the modern world.

More importantly than that though, it’s about robots.

And because everybody loves robots, I recently brought the book to “the people” via the means of a book signing in Waterstones in Dorking (Surrey).

So as you can imagine, things have been pretty hectic getting posters and flyers made, printed and distributed in the surrounding areas.



They came out really nicely though thanks to the lovely Matthew Sugrim who had the task of advertising graphics thrown at him last minute!


The Book signing took place last Saturday (3rd Sep) and went brilliantly, selling 60 copies in just over 2 hours! I’m waiting on photos at the minute as to be honest I was so busy scribbling away I feel like I more or less missed the event!

Massive thanks goes out to everyone for their support, especially the kind souls at Waterstones who were not only friendly and inviting, but also kept me in good supply of tea.

The little graphic novel is still being sold in the Dorking Branch of Waterstones,and there are currently plans to extend further with more book signings and other fun stuff, so keep your eyes peeled and I’ll be keeping the world posted.

Peace

B x