For any of you lovely people who are lucky enough to reside in the Bristol end of this world, then you can do a lot worse than to pick up a copy of our local whats on guide, The Venue. It's the bumper two week issue, which means you can look at my illustration that is adorning the front cover for a full 14 days! A very merry Christmas to one and all, and see you in 2011.
A few weeks back the lovely folks over the pond at the independent radio station, WFMU, asked me if I would design a T-shirt for there upcoming fundraiser. Above is what I came up with and is now available here when you pledge an amount for the fundraiser. It would be well worth doing as it seems they will be sending the station manager floating above the New Jersey skyline on a lawn chair attached to helium balloons! If you aren't in the New York or Hudson River area (like me!) you can pick up an ear full of great music online here.
A stocking filler. A gift for a loved one. A gift for yourself. These two new festive inspired designs have just arrived over in my shop, so pick one (or two) up in time for Christmas. And just like a dog, they are not just for Christmas, but can be enjoyed throughout the year!
It appears that Christmas is just around the corner, which must surely mean trying to come up with an original and fresh idea to put on a card. Here is what fell out of my brain and onto said card!
Tenderfoot is up and running! After all the hard work by the lovely ladies Lori and Helen, our little pocket of Bristol finely has a shop we can all be proud of. The sign also finally got finished on Friday, the day before the grand opening! After a terrible day on Thursday where my printer wouldn't print, the paint wouldn't paint and the ladder wouldn't reach, I finally resorted to my old friend, the jigsaw and plywood. I think in the end it created a much stronger sign, and hopefully one that does this emporium of goodies proud.
What you see before you is Number 100, Wick Road, Brislington, Bristol, and is just around the corner from my house. It is in the stages of having a loving restoration by my good friend Lori and her business partner Helen, and will soon be newly christened Tenderfoot. It will be the cultural hotspot of our little corner of Bristol with past highlights being a bakery that doesn't actually bake its own bread and a veg shop that mainly sold crisps and sweets! On sale will be gifts and crafts and plenty of interesting workshops. Take a look at the blog to see what they have been up to, or come to the grand opening on November 13th and show your support for this wonderful venture. Oh, and I will be painting the signs on Monday!
Tomorrow sees Mexico celebrating 'Dia de los Muertos,' or The Day of the Dead, so here is a little slice of Mexico inspired luchador wrestling madness. Newly laser-cut plywood, four fresh layers of rich colour and a topping of varnish all wrapped up in its own box. There are 23 of these limited edition dead wrestlers, so pick one up here while they are still hot!
As it is the weekend where all things get a little bit creepy and spooky, I thought it only right and proper to post a little sneaky peek of this handsome chap. He will be appearing in my shop on Monday (if I finish varnishing the pesky blighters)! A treat me thinks.
This is the first in a series of new screen prints I am doing based around the circus. Expect to see a horse with a monkey on its back and possibly acrobats in the near future! To purchase this print, you can pop into my shop without getting off your seat here.
This lovely little woodland critter, who goes by the name of Bellamy, is a vision of mine, brought to life by the skillful hands of my other half, Teresa Murfin. Now looking for a new home just before the weather gets too chilly, he has just been reduced to £18 and can be snapped up from Teresa's shop here, along with other delectable goodies, or from my shop, here. Also comes with a mini screen print.... what a bargain!
Just finished another bunch of Lovebirds. Hand raised from chicks and now ready to fly off into the big wide world (and your homes), they are now available to buy from my shop, here.
It has been hanging on the wall in my studio, looking over my desk for quiet a few months, so I thought I would give it its first public outing. This little chap was painted for an exhibition I had in London last year, but was the inspiration behind my Super Bingo print. Similar to that print with its number token, his little numbers have been cut out from vintage magazines and maps to create the score card. Six!
Back by popular demand is this little nugget of a screen print. It still weighs in at 19x19cms, still on lovely Somerset paper, still an edition of 24, and still five colours. If you like these new colours, then why not pick one up here for a song!
Today at Snap we welcome the arrival in all his colourful splendor of the fabulous Jonny Hannah. The gallery has been packed full of his endlessly inspiring prints, goodies and oddities. There is a private view tonight (9th Sept, 6-9pm) so if you happen to find yourself at a loose end in our wonderful Bristol you won't go too far wrong by popping your head through our small but perfectly formed doorway.
Also, as part of the gallery rehang, I got around to framing my Circus print I did for Boxbird in Hove. I am flattered to be the featured artist at Boxbird and was asked a few deep and thought provoking questions, so if you would like to read some of my wise words and musings, head over here. The frame by the way is a 50p car boot find, which I think suits the print perfectly!
All of the mini prints that were produced for Snap have now been popped onto the online shop, so there is simply no excuse for you not to own one! To have a fire-breathing dragon in your home today for the low, low price of £25 why not click here and make your wishes come true.
Another wedding, another wedding car! For the wonderful Eivind (Norway) and the beautiful Katherina (Germany) comes this trans-europe rally car featuring both colours of their native flags. May they travel far together.
Finally, after a long time trying to build up a shop worthy amount of items, I have knuckled down and put all of them in an online shop that's raring to go! You can have a look at all the goodies here or click on the link to your right. Happy shopping!
Just finished creating these three little nautical based match box prints. They are all four colour hand screen prints on Fabriano paper in editions of 39. They will all be appearing in my new online shop that is scheduled to hopefully be up and running in the next few days, so keep your eyes peeled for these and all my other bits and bobs!
Back by popular demand! Since doing the postcard to advertise our gallery over here at Snap, a few people dropped some hints that it may make a nice print. I agreed with them, so here it is! 
Spent a few relaxing days away last week, but it is always nice to come back and have ideas already on the table and ready to print. This first new offering came about from always looking at my small but perfect formed collection of vintage Bingo cards. A piece of nicely aged vintage paper has been used for the card itself and then a two colour print over the top onto a textured Arboreta paper. The icing on the Bingo cake comes from a vintage Lotto token. House!
Ooooh, aaaah, wow wee! Fireworks! This is my mini print that I am just about to go downstairs and screen print for this years Snap mini print exhibition. Should be a damn fine selection of top illustrators, artists and print makers all squeezed onto 21 of your square centimeters. Find out more here, or if you are free from 6pm on the 8th July come along for a damn good time.
A few weekends ago I undertook my first workshop teaching kids how to make some toys. It was for the lovely people over at Prema, and was entitled 'Rockets and Rayguns'. In the build up to the workshop, it dawned on me that I had never actually made a rocket or a ray gun, so with a bit more laser cutting and screen printing I came up with these little men in their flying machines.
They stand 14 inches tall and come in fully fueled at £125. Which is a damn site cheaper than what NASA will quote you!
Just finished putting the last coat of varnish on the spanking new sign for Snap. Spent a weekend hand painting this little beauty, so hopefully it will have the desired effect of catching peoples eyes from far away and pulling them in the direction of the shop.
I really enjoyed doing this project and I am looking forward to seeing it weather and take on some character as we grow old together! There are even some raised little elements on the sign which I think is the cherry on the cake.