AOTM - January 2008: Alex Green

http://www.alexgreen-illustration.co.uk/

First off: Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a good one. I'm finally starting to get some blog motivation back...

I thought it was about time that I kicked off 2008 with a AOTM. I discovered this guy while flicking through a copy of Building magazine at work. I was (unsuprisingly) drawn to his loose yet bold and confident pencil sketching style, as well as some nifty mixed media work. It's certainly gotten me thinking that a) I really need to start producing some new work again and b) Maybe I need to try experimenting more with some traditional styles in order to stop my digital work growing stale. Food for thought at any rate...

I hope you enjoy the site.

AOTM - December 2007: David Mack

www.davidmack.net

Being home over the festive period, I've been re-united with my humble, yet prized collection of comics and graphic novels. I was flicking through some of my Daredevil back issues when I found the run written and illustrated by mixed media artist, David Mack.

I really love this story run. The story along with the composition, layers and details of Mack's illustrations are amazing, and every time I flick through them I always find something new that catches my eye.

AOTM - November 2007: David Downton

www.daviddownton.com

Travelling to work every day, I pass many posters on the underground (as you can imagine) advertising various things, most of which get largely ignored (by me at least). There is one that catches my eye everyday, however. It's a poster for the V&A exhibition The Golden Age Of Couture: Paris and London 1947-1957, and it features a painting from Mr. David Downton. I can't actually recall now where I first came across Downton's work, but I know that I loved it from the off! He is very different to other AOTM's that I have posted in the past, mainly because he works exclusively (as far as I'm aware) in traditional media. He has a fantastic ability to capture likeness, but at the same time remaining loose, and textural. His work is mainly known in the fashion industry, but a fair chunk of his work is also seen in other publications, magazines and newspapers. Keep an eye out for it, I bet you've seen a lot more than you realise...

AOTM - October 2007: Kate Miller

http://www.kate-miller.com/

You know how it is. Every now and then, you'll be working on an image (or some such other piece creative-creativeness) and, even though you're excited, motivated and really want produce something great, whenever you try and get in touch with her, all you recieve from the creative muse is an 'Out Of Office' reply. It's frustrating. The ideas are there, and in your head they look wonderful, but you just can't quite get them nailed down. I was in such a situation this week. I'm always genuinely excited when I'm asked to produce DVD covers for Hipfans releases, but the current one just seemed to be a non-starter. I have no idea why, but it was.

So, in order to kickstart things, I decided that it was time to trawl the web in search of the missing inspiration. And who was the first name my brain plucked out of it's archive of illustrators that I love? None other than the fantastic Kate Miller. It was perfect. Kate's colourful and organic work has just the sort of feel I was after, and her unique grasp of composition helped me to steer my way through the mental blockade. I only hope that I can one day have a similar loose but confident flare to my drawing style. It's not easy.

Take a look at her site, and enjoy!

AOTM - September 2007: Will Barras

http://www.willbarras.com/

I'm a bit late again, but here's Septembers AOTM. This guy has been waiting in the wings for months, so it's about time I gave him the credit he deserves. I've been a fan of Barras' work since I found a 'Discover Young Hackney' poster, and a brochure (see above) at The Castle. The beautiful, sketchy cover caught my eye straight away, so I picked up a copy to take away for closer inspection. It has been sat on my desk at work ever since, and is well thumbed. I've spent ages studying his very loose, flowing pencil lines, and mix of media to create really captivating! The brochure features a huge selection of his images, as well as a photo of him in the back showing his work to a group of young Hackney residents (which I assume he has just discovered... Taking his own advice, I like that). Anyway, if you like what you see, have a look at his site, and you'll see just how diverse and experimental he is. I look forward to seeing more of his work in the future.

AOTM - August 2007: Alex Williamson

http://www.alexwilliamson.co.uk/

I don't know if, a few months back, anyone else found themselves stood on tube platforms around London, staring at the 'lastminute.com' posters and wondering who did them? I know I did, and whilst researching last months AOTM, I found the answer. They are by non other than Alex Williamson, another screen-printy-type-person who has caught my eye (I'm sure anyone reading this blog regularly will be noticing a trend in my tastes...).

It turns out that I've come across Williamson's work many times before but never been able to put a name to it. I can do now though, something which I'm very happy about.

AOTM - July 2007: James Carey

http://www.theaoi.com/artist/jamescarey/index.html

Sorry it's a bit late this month!...

Anyway, I was having trouble deciding on who to feature as this months AOTM, until I was wandering around WH Smiths on Oxford Street on Saturday. I was surveying the magazines as I often do, when the beautifully illustrated, lastest issue of 'Golf Punk' caught my eye. I regonised the style instantly as being that of Mr. James Carey. I first came across Carey's work while searching for inspiration on the Debutart website (and there certainly was inspiration a plenty on there!). In much the same way as Laura Quick (June's AOTM) JC's work helped to shape my with the mix of pencil/pen drawings and digital additions. He has a really great, detailed yet minimal style of drawing which is really interesting - Check him out...

AOTM - June 2007: Laura Quick

www.lauraquick.co.uk

This months AOTM is another messy, organic (although, more traditional) collage artist by the name of Laura Quick. I was first drawn to her work from her regular appearances in the Guardian Weekend magazine. I find her use of collage elements, and quick, sketchy drawings work together really well to produce great little spot images. She's certainly been a major influence in shaping my work of late.

Enjoy!

AOTM - May 2007: Tim Marrs

www.timmarrs.co.uk

For the first entry in my (hopefully) regular 'Artist of the Month' series, I have decided to start with the man who has provided no end of inspiration in the shaping of my illustration work since leaving university: Tim Marrs. I don't really know what I can say about him, or his artwork which cannot be said clearer, or more concisely than by the images themselves. I have spent a long while studying and disecting his creations, and find the layers upon layers of images, textures and text within his Photoshop/traditional hybrid images fascinating. I love to attempt to figure out how his pieces have been produced, and I was quietly proud when, after reading an interview with him in Digital Creative magazine, that my detective work was, by and large, on the money!

He is currently represented by the Central Illustration Agency, and his work seems to be in high demand (which just proves that there are AD's out there with good taste!). He recently landed a large commission from Nike to produce a illustrations for the new look 'Brand Jordan' - two of my idols meeting can only be a good thing.