Notes from the sketch book

Well after an extended break Notes from the sketch book is back, in these notes I'll be looking at the new Alien movie by Fede Álvarez, Alien Romulus. I've always been a big fan of the Alien movies , I watched the first one (directed by Ridley Scott) when I was far too young and the sequel holds up as one of the best action movies ever made. The design of the xenomorph by H. R. Giger is a timeless, nightmarish vision that is at the heart of the movies. The writer of Alien, O’Bannon presented Scott with a copy...

Last Saturday, something incredible happened: I became a featured artist at Upfest Presents! While Bristol's buzzing street art scene has always inspired me, I never imagined I'd play a small part in celebrating it. So, when I got the email saying my work was chosen out of over 900 applicants, a wave of excitement (and maybe a touch of terror) washed over me. This year, the iconic Bristol street art festival has undergone a metamorphosis, emerging as Upfest Presents: a sprawling, 17-day celebration of creativity of a festival experience. Having never been to Upfest before, I wasn't sure what to...

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: an Echo of the past I am absolutely a sucker for primate related movies and media. Scrap that, Im fascinated by primates full stop. I'm lucky enough to live near and have visited several times, Monkey World. It's an amazing place that looks after chimpanzees and other primates that have been mistreated or rehomed. I've even made an unreleased art collection called Primate Planet where pop culture references are made into primate themed prints. American psycho monkey or primate Batman and Superman down the pub? Anyway that's for another time, perhaps. Whether it's...

It's been some time since I've scribbled in my sketchbook. April's arrival marks a quarter of the year gone by, prompting a moment to reflect on the studio's journey thus far. January began at a leisurely pace, following a bustling December filled with completed commissions. Midway through the month, I wrapped up a new pop art piece titled "Jumping on the Steamboat." Crafting works that blend painting with street art demands time and patience, unlike the swift turnaround of ink commissions. With other mediums, I find myself picking up and setting aside projects multiple times before completion. Indeed, the completion...

  I recently picked up a set of gelli plates and although I have dabbled a tiny bit in other printing methods such as linocut, I'm somewhat addicted to all things Gelli. Its quite infuriating to begin with as over the course of a weekend I was surrounded by a dark painted mess of failed prints. Eventually you get the hang of it, everything has to be just right. The right initial image, the right Gel surface, the right amount of acrylic paint, the right "push" pressure , the right length of time until a pull, so on and so...