Snap Shot of the Drawing Board

Here's what my drawing board looks like today.  One side chaos with ink tests. And the other side is my latest character sketch for my latest little project during the Brighton Festival.  I'm creating eleven new characters sketches and displaying them in Super + Super's window over the course of the month. A new character being introduced every other day.

This is Bartholemew.  He will be joining Angelique at Super + Super on Monday.

Check out my latest news section on my website for more info about my events at Super + Super here

FREE PORTFOLIO REVIEW AT PICK ME UP 2012

Would you like to present your work to a panel of industry professionals? 


The Enquiry Desk will be at Somerset House in London next month, along with a host of leading creative professionals offering emerging talent the chance to present their portfolios for advice and constructive feedback.  There may even be some offers of collaboration or commissions!


The reviews will take place in the heart of Pick Me Up and you will be expected to ‘pitch’ your work to the panel who will then offer their feedback. Your chosen portfolio will be projected on to a screen so this is also a chance to show off your talent and get noticed by art collectors and agents visiting the fair. 


Gain confidence and experience from publicly presenting your work.  Plus free entry to Pick Me Up will also be given to all selected presenters.


Submissions for the chance to be one of the selected presenters are now open!


Places are limited and the deadline for submissions is Thursday 16th February 2012.
For more info and to submit an entry click here

London. Yesterday

After some meetings in London yesterday, I went to check out the lovely new stationery room at Liberty.  Followed by a rather beautiful tartlet and pot of tea at the cafe there.  

Then it was off to Pick Me Up at Somerset House again...  

 Pick Me Up is on until 27th March...

Pick Me Up - Somerset House - 17th - 27th March

I've been very lucky enough to be choosen for this year's Pick Me Up Graphics Fair at Somerset House which opens to the public this Thursday.  It's only on for 10 days, so be sure to put it in the diary.

Here's a bit more info...

The acclaimed graphics fair Pick Me Up returns to Somerset House this week.  With Anthony Burrill setting up studio, independent publishers Nobrow, along with a host of other UK collectives & 24 international graphic artists including Woody have been selected to show at this year’s fair.

Limited edition hand-pulled silk screen prints by Woody will be on show at the Fair as well as some Woody products on sale at the Pick Me Up Pop Up Shop.

Woody has also designed a special poster exclusive for Pick Me UP –  which will be available for purchase at Somerset House for the bargain price of £20! Best to get in there quick  - there’s only 50 in the edition!

For more info + to book please follow this link

Putting Up. Taking Down.

As Mirror Mime at YSP comes to an end, we've been thinking about all the organisation and hard work it takes to put on an exhibition and all those people who are involved.  The above photo shows the Story of the Aurora installation being installed along the 20 metre concourse windows at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. 

Thanks to the amazing team at New Vision for helping to create the Story of Aurora. And a big thank to all the team at YSP for their support.

The studio is super busy at the moment with lots of new projects.  But I will be putting up more photos of the Mirror Mime exhibition - see some here

More info events happening in March like the Affordable Art Fair and Pick Me Up in London on the website here

Sailing through a Winter Wonderland...

Images of The Story of Aurora - my installation at Yorkshire Sculpture Park which is part of my Mirror Mime exhibition on until 27th February.  Images courtesy of YSP - thanks for sending them over - loving the snowy backdrop...

The Story of Aurora - Yorkshire Sculpture Park Installation

The Bretton Estate, home to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park since 1977, was designed over 200 years ago as a private pleasure ground. One of its 18th Century owners, Sir Thomas Wentworth, created lakes with small islands to house exotic animal menageries & commissioned a ship called the Aurora.

Inspired by these historical events, I created an imagined narrative where the Aurora returns to the pleasure ground, carrying characters from distant lands. It was important for me to draw from the history of the site in order to create a artwork that was relevant to it's surroundings.

The architecture of the visitor centre with its clever use of glass blurs the boundaries between being inside and outside – inviting visitors outside and bringing in the park. The windows become the perfect inbetween space, where we can play with another duality, the real & the imagined.

Freeing the drawn line from the page, my illustrations are translated on into vinyl & run along the twenty metre concourse windows at Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

At 3pm each day, I've been told that the Aurora casts a perfect shadow on the wall opposite.  At the moment the drawings have the backdrop of fallen snow.

The installation is part of my exhibition Mirror Mime, which showcases over 20 new works including originals & screen prints.

Mirror Mime is now on show at Yorkshire Sculpture Park until 27th Feb 2011.

Press

My Mirror Mime exhibition & products are featured in December's ELLE, Elle Decoration & Concept for Living magazines.

Creating Characters Workshops at YSP 27 November 2010 and 29 January 2011

Alongside my Mirror Mime exhibition, I will be hosting two ‘Creating Characters’ workshops with textile designer Amy Phipps at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. With a Christmas theme on 27th November and Valentine inspiration on 29th January.

Spend the morning with me creating your own character, and learn about the processes I work through inorder to achieve my imaginary world of characters. In the afternoon, work with Amy to translate your character through hand embroidery onto fabric, personalising with specially chosen fabric or thread, and take home a sketchbook full of ideas and an embroidery hoop ready to hang on the wall framing your own creation.

Day Workshop with Lunch: £50  £45 Concessions
For more information or to book a workshop please email: info@ysp.co.uk or call 01924 830 579  

For more information on the getting to & from Yorkshire Sculpture Park, which is only 2 hours away from London Kings Cross and under 15mins away from Leeds via train, please follow this link to the YSP site.

Image: Embroidery by the lovely Miss Phipps based on on drawing by Woody.  

New Exhibition at YSP 11th Nov – 27th Feb

After many months of planning from the teams atYSP & Woody HQ, I'm very excited about my new solo exhibition Mirror Mime that opens from 11th November 2010 to 27th February 2011.  Check out my website for more info - here's a link.

For more information on the getting to & from Yorkshire Sculpture Park, which is only 2 hours away from London Kings Cross and under 15mins away from Leeds via train, please follow this link to the YSP site.

Open Houses in Brighton this Weekend!!!

Pop down to the sea and see some great Open Houses this weekend in Brighton. You can find Woody artwork: Boxbird Gallery (see below for Keep On Going Print) and Woody t-shirts and other products from Unlimited Studios.

Also check out the gorgeous shop Last where amongst many treasures you'll find the beautiful embroided collars of Amy Phipps.

A to B Exhibition - Opens Next Week

Next week Boxbird Gallery's A to B exhibition opens as part of this year's Brighton's Festival.  It will include a limited edition screen print by Woody.

Here's some close ups from the actual screen prints - I love this way of printing!

Go get some graphic in your life

London went all graphic last week with an amazing exhibition Life in 2050 and the graphic fair Pick Me Up.


Founder of Tranmission, Stuart Tolley, wearing a Woody tee at the studio's launch of Life in 2050 and a little further on down the Strand is Pick Me Up, with the talented Peep Show and lovely Rob Ryan - both on for another week.

Life in 2050 soon approaching...

Graphic design studio Transmission have set the dial 40 years from now and commissioned 22 leading and emerging contemporary artists from around the world to create an original piece of work depicting their vision of what life will be like in 2050. The eclectic mix of contributors include Universal Everything, Alex Trochut, Mario Hugo, Dan McPharlin and Tom Gallant. For a full list of artists please visit the website: www.life-in-2050.com

LIFE IN 2050
Thursday 23rd April - 4th May 2010

Proud Central Gallery
32 John Adam Street, London, WC2A 6BP
Nearest Tube: Charing Cross
www.life-in-2050.com

Imagined Lives

I really love the idea of coming up with imagined characters and lives - hey, guess that's why I illustrate.  Just read about this fantastic idea from the National Portrait Gallery, where they have invited writers to imagine stories based on the little-known portraits in their collection.  The exhibtion Imagined Lives runs from now until next March at  Montacute House.  There's also an accompanying book of the stories.

If I lived in California...

...I'd go and see the Luc Tuymans' exhibition

Zoo Art Fair

hello hello. sorry been too busy to keep up blogging - shocking, i know - sorry.

So what have I been doing?

Well in between making more Little Treasures (that go on sale from early Nov) I went up to the big smoke on Monday to see Zoo Art Fair.

On the whole, I wasn't bowled over by the Stand Presentations. However a couple of the Solo Works really stood out as really lovely and just right: Juan Fontanive at Riflemaker (london) made beautiful kinetic drawings and film inspired objects; while Anna Turner showing at the Collective Gallery's stand painted lovely little yet confident paintings.

The Editions Exhibitors were always going to be impressive, what with the likes of White Cube Gallery and the Serpentine Gallery amongst them. I fell in love with a Peter Blake piece - a portrait of Andy Warhol - on Paul Stolper's stand (i think) and there was a couple of pieces by the beautifully clever Dan Hays on the Multiple Store stand.

I loved the Zoo Art Fair posters and there signage this year too.

Cabinet of Curiosities at Charleston House extended...

...until this Sunday 11th October. Here's a few sneaky peeks if you haven't/can't make it over to Charleston House.

Brighton Art Fair 1st - 4th Oct

Yeah!! I just managed to get one of the Brighton Art Fair free bags. I went to have a quick look around the fair and see my friends at the Boxbird Gallery stand - they are selling some Boxbird-exclusive Woody screen prints on cardboard and original drawings. The fair is on now until 4th October.

Portuguese Ladies boxed up and ready to go

Here's Portuguese Lady One all boxed up and ready to go to Charleston House as part of my Cabinet of Curiosities.