March 2011
1 post
Failaka - 20 years of Liberation
I’ve just found this footage, filmed for To Rest in Peace, (Fawaz Al-Matrouk) which captures the strangely beautiful silence of Failaka Island. It’s set against the song Salamun Salam, which won Best World Music Trackat the 2010 Hollywood Music in Media Awards. I did an overnighter there in February, during the 50/20 celebrations. 20 years after Kuwait’s liberation, war ruins...
September 2010
1 post
Save The Arts - Shrigley
An ex student sent me a petition to save the arts - well worth a look. Visit Save The Arts for more info. Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
August 2010
1 post
London to Kuwait
It’s been a while since I posted - after the Final Show at Camberwell it was a dash to the finish line with work and packing up to leave London after 8+ years for a job in Kuwait City. My illustration supplies won’t arrive for quite a few weeks, so a visit to the art shop is in order shortly. Meanwhile we’ve been out and about a little, and I spotted a lovely piece by US...
July 2010
3 posts
Private View
Here are a few scenes from the Camberwell MA private view on Tuesday evening - see more here at the flickr group pool. There are quite a few shots up there already…. See and download the full gallery on posterous Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
On a fiction bender
Having finished the studies it’s time to take up reading fiction again (!) and celebrate some success stories from SCBWI circles… OK so some of these are aimed at younger people! Still, I’m looking forward to hearing about Sarah McIntyre’s Fern and Lettuce, (Sept 10) and will get my hands on one of Layn Marlow’s books next week when we catch up. Everyone is buzzing...
2010 Camberwell MA Final Show dates
The Camberwell MA Visual Arts show is nearly here: Private view: 13 July, 6 – 9pm Show open: 14 – 17 July Weekdays 10am – 8pm Saturday 11am – 4pm Sunday Closed It’s at Peckham Road - Illustration is hanging in the old part of the school which retains a bit of Victorian charm. It’s easy to spot with good transport links - please see the MA Illustration blog for details. See and...
June 2010
1 post
Camberwell MA Illustration Degree Exhibition 2010
We’re getting preparations underway for the Camberwell MA Illustration Degree Exhibition next month and here are the dates, location, a list of exhibiting artists and info about Camberwell College, which is part of the University of the Arts London (UAL). I came to the MA programme with a strong interest in narrative illustration so my research project is centred on picture book...
May 2010
2 posts
Aine Cassidy - Illustrator and Pogonologist
An Interview with Aine Cassidy Your solo exhibition, BEARDfest: A Pogonological Celebration, opened last week at bookartbookshop, London N1. What drew you to explore and portray this - some might say eccentric - world of pogonology? It all started last year when I was doing my MA illustration at Camberwell College. Each student had to submit a piece of work for a small internal exhibition...
Artist's Studio - Becky Brown
You’re participating in the Dulwich Festival Artists’ Open House in London this weekend. How did you come to be involved? My Aunt is a textile artist and has been doing this for quite a few years, I exhibited with her at her house one year and when I got a flat of my own I thought well why not? It can be quite fun and it makes you do the spring cleaning. She is number 91 in the brochure and will...
April 2010
1 post
Boat Race 2010
Boat Race 2010 - Top & middleMarch afternoon practice session - bottom Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
March 2010
1 post
Original Alice - the 1903 Movie
Wow. Timely restoration by BFI who are showing the latest Alice at BFI Imax. Thanks Paul S. Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
February 2010
6 posts
Ca'puccino London
Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
Tate Modern - After Hours
The other night I walked into an empty Turbine Hall and had to fight the urge to run up into Miraslaw Balka’s installation, How It Is (pictured bottom right, elevated behind the staircase). It’s certainly different being in this great hulking building after hours. I’d arrived at the Tate for an evening class on paper engineering, centred around the current exhibition: Van...
Picture Books and Pre-Raphaelites
Illustrator Bruce Ingman and Children’s LaureateAnthony Browne were guest speakers at yesterday’s event for picture book reviewers’ organised by Nikki Gamble ofWrite Away and hosted by Walker Books. The day has been reviewed in depth by my friend Sarah McIntyre who drew me(!) while I talked about an aspect of the review process - a somewhat daunting task given the company I was...
Crazy Hair - Gaiman and McKean
Having just reviewed Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean’s most recent picture book, CRAZY HAIR, for Write Away, I though I’d show you a photo of one of my Year 7 students… actually, I kind of promised I would. He calls this his Hedgehog Hair, though some of the other kids suggested we call it Art Hair. Since obviously Art is their best lesson and all. (Ahem). Anyway, check out...
An Interview with Michael Foreman
I welcomed the opportunity to interview British illustrator Michael Foreman about his work which spans six decades and includes the new 50th Anniversary edition of his first picture book, The General. The story was a response to the times - the threat of nuclear war and related environmental concerns - topics close to Foreman’s heart. Illustration, Michael Morpurgo and the golden years of...
3 tags
Elevation
See and download the full gallery on posterous O lovely elevator - Saturday at Canary Wharf - more at flickr Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
January 2010
4 posts
Metaphorically Speaking
Delicious ideas from James Geary. Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
Herding into the Black Void
I’m hoping to get back to Miraslaw Balka’s Box of Darkness installation, How It Is in the Tate Modern when it’s not so busy. (see video) The experience of being blanketed in darkness as we were herded into the unknown was lost somewhat due to the light pollution from the many phones and cameras in action, despite ‘no photography’ signs. Not for me the overwhelming...
Snow covered Britain NASA image
Beautiful Britain at 11:15am today from NASA satellite Terra and transmitted to the receiving station at the University of Dundee. Photo: Thanks to NEODAAS/University of Dundee. Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
Pioneer - Illustration Friday 1/1/10
My first post for 2010 is my last Illustration Friday of 2009 and the theme is Pioneer. I need sleep - it’s 5am, cold and snowing a little - so these are just a few Pioneer houses from my sketchbook, made yesterday. Mixed media. Happy New Year everyone! Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
December 2009
10 posts
Making 3D Pavement Art
Julian Beever’s accessible 3D pavement art always get a favourable response in my classroom, so I look forward to showing my students this video of the making of The Crevasse by Edgar Mueller. While it removes some of the mystique surrounding this form of trompe l’oeil, time-capture vids like this are useful in subtly overcoming objections to sustained drawing - ‘instant’...
Tasty Infographics
Tasty posters abound on Eating The Road though my personal fave is this Cereal Chart. Fun. Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
Living in a Lego House
Best Lego House ever. There’s a few vids of this full-size house though sadly nothing I’ve seen [yet] which captures the essence of the interior - a shot looking back down the stairs as shown in the full BBC James May’s Toy Stories. Plastic post-modern architecture at its best. Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
Winter Sunset
It’s good to look up from the drawing board to see real life once in a while - just saw the loveliest winter sunset…. Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
Cool Yule Brighton
It’s not difficult to tell why Brighton is home to much of the UK’s creative talent… the old town centre is a sure fire antidote to the boredom of looking at the same ubiquitous chain stores and cafe’s that line so many UK city high streets. I took a few snaps before the light ran out - see photos on Flickr Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
Piano Stairs from The Fun Theory
Thinking ‘Big’. Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
Advertising Fail - Say NO to Canary Islands
No matter what where you fall on climate change issues, it’s an undeniable truth that polar bears are not surviving the loss of their sea ice habitat. A fact I’m reminded of each time I see this ill-conceived image - so far, one billboard plus these London Underground platform posters. To the creative/s who came up with this marketing campaign - great job. These are the best global...
Secret Garden Magazine Cover Shot
A shot inside the walled garden at Fulham Palace, (London SW6) has just been published on the cover of a glossy local lifestyle magazine. In the past I’ve been at work in daylight hours when it’s snowed, so photography hasn’t been a possibility. But this was a proper ‘snow day’ off work. In a lecture at Camberwell, illustrator Russell Cobb advised on being selective...
Private View at Artspace, Mayfair
Tonight I caught up with Joe Beale (centre) and Paul Giles who are exhibiting at Artspace, just along from the Apple store and Nero’s on Regent St., Oxford Circus. I snapped them with Elli Chortara in front of some of Paul’s work. Artspace has a bright, contemporary feel and it provided welcome respite from push commuters and Oxford Street’s busy late night shoppers, (I’ll...
Paper Cuts - Where Books Come to Life
Having tried a teeny bit of paper cutting, I’m in awe of this beautiful stop motion animation from Andersen M Studio for the NZ Book Council. My friend Sarah McIntyre posted this vid the other day, as tweeted by Neil Gaiman, so it’s already garnered a lot of comment about the place. The voice over is in the evocative spirit of Gee’s writing, and it made me think about my own...
November 2009
2 posts
Pixar and IMAX look great together
I haven’t seen A Christmas Carol yet, however I did see Pixar’s Up at the recently refurbished BFI IMAX. Visually intense, the story at the heart of the 3D illusion is of course where Pixar really delivers. There’s always a sense that it takes years, (which it does) to develop a movie like this, with nothing rushed or left to chance. I’m working my way through a book on...
Crit Session Survival
It’s been ages - in brief, I fritzed two laptops (unrelated issues which freakily coincided) during the same week my main research paper was due, making for a tricky start to the academic year in September. Our first group crit session of the new academic year was with the brilliant, straight-talking Anne Howeson, (RCA). Group tutorials are a definite strength of C’well’s MA...
September 2009
1 post
Polystyrene Beauty...
Boy Obsolete’s scribblings on styrofoam cups. Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
August 2009
3 posts
Oxford and Children's Stories
Oxford is a city rich in history, so it’s unsurprising to see something new with each visit. I was at Oxford University Press - OUP (pictured) for a Write Away Reviewers’ Event, (read author Anita Loughrey’s account here) after which we were treated to a guided tour - Oxford and Children’s Stories. The guide I was with normally takes kids around so our tour revolved...
Pimp a Cupcake
Pinkit is a group of 5 Chilean visual artists who have begun their ‘Pimp It’ revolution - pimp in the transitive verb sense - with a Cupcake - Pimp It!Gallery. As I’m working on some Hansel and Gretel colour experiments right now, pimping a cupcake seemed like a fun idea… and now it’s on Pinkit’s ‘Pimp It’ Wall. Visit Pinkit’s homepage and...
Sooty the Moth - EDM 235
EDM Challenge #235 is ‘Butterfly’, however I’ve drawn a black London Peppered Moth which fluttered inside the other day. Jetting around with this whopping set of wings (about 85mm/3.5”) takes work - it has a big body and rests often, so it wasn’t difficult to catch and return to the wild, or at least someone else’s curtains…. Very black, this moth has...
July 2009
3 posts
Interactive Views at Tate Modern
New online technology at the Tate - a nice interactive addition which includes close-ups of Richard Long’s work, artist statements, glimpses of people in the gallery, etc. Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
MA Summer Show Photos - Camberwell Coll. of Art.
The Camberwell College of Art MA Summer Shows (University of the Arts, London) went off really well last week, though it’s sad to see a lot of great people leaving fromIllustration and leaving a few of us part-timers kicking around the place! The work from Illustration was exciting, as as predicted, very diverse with editorial illos, children’s books, graphic novels, animation and...
Camberwell MA Illustration 2009 Show
I’ve got the best week coming up - the last week of school (day job) before we’re out for summer, but firstly, two-thirds of my Camberwell contemporaries (those on the full-time programme) will graduate. Check out the Grad Show details here, and see who’s exhibiting from MA Illustration. Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
June 2009
2 posts
Hansel and Gretel
This is a working colour illustration for ‘Hansel and Gretel’, based around this piece of text: ‘It was now three mornings since they had left their father’s house. They began to walk again, but they always got deeper into the forest, and if help did not come soon, they must die of hunger and weariness. When it was mid-day, they saw a beautiful snow-white bird sitting on...
Paint-a-Tower-Block
It’s been ages - work is full on (exams and marking) and so is the illustrating. My full-time and second yr part-time contemporaries at Camberwell are nearly at the finish line as the July grad show looms ahead. Meanwhile, I came across these fab photos of painted tower blocks, Russian style, here on Sturman’s blog. Worth a look for the McD sign alone. Anyway, some say these look...
May 2009
2 posts
Birdbrain
Daphne du Maurier and Hitchcock are brilliant, but this Barbie adds a whole other dimension, yes? Details at Amazon. (thx Mel) Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
H1Z1 Zombism Outbreak in London
H1Z1 outbreak - BBC News Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
April 2009
6 posts
every day matters #161
Here’s my response to EDM challenge #161 - ‘draw something that smells nice’. You can see more illo’s of the strawberry tart - before I got hungry - at flickr. Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
Little Tart
The Crystal Palace Children’s Book Festival went really well yesterday - the weather didn’t pack in as forecast, which made walking between events at the gallery, library and bookshop very pleasant. Today I’m in the studio - drawing, writing and catching up on some overdue scanning and organisation. Here’s my response to EDM challenge #161 -‘draw something that...
Random Word Illustration Challenge
Latest challenge from college - Write down an object on a bit of paper, fold and chuck into the centre of table, then each draw out random selection and create an illustration using all the words…. Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
Spring is... fleeting.
We got a fleeting glance at Spring the other day… ‘fleeting’ is the IF topic for this week. Please see my new Etsy store for giclee print availability. Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
Totoro is a Cream Puff
anna the red’s bento factory is one of my new favourite blogs after her Totoro Cream Puff recipe appeared in BoingBoing. Designer Bento boxes are accompanied by sketches, and you’ll find recipes for these great non-bento creations…. See and download the full gallery on posterous Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »
Exploring Spitalfields
I love the look and idea behind this store in Spitalfields, North East London - A. Gold - which sells English produce. It’s the kind of place you wish inhabited London’s more ubiquitous High Streets. Posted via email from Kim (in print) | Comment »