mark smith illustration

SILA 50

2012-01-18T18:34:00.000Z

So, about a year or so after setting up my new google email account, I'm still regretting my mistake of not linking it to this blogger account. So fed up with having to sign out, then back in again to access this blog! I'll grow a brain soon and find out how to shift everything over to my google account, until then this is my excuse for being so quiet on the blog front.

Also, the two images above have just been selected for the LA Society's Illustration West 50 comp, well pleased!

Penguin Modern Classics

2011-12-20T16:33:00.001Z

Just enough time to squeeze in one last blog post before Christmas, and what better job to write about than a job from Penguin. I love illustrating for book covers but getting one from Penguin was extra special. Raffaella sent through a blank cover with copy and a reference photo of Leo McKern (Rumpole) that I could choose to copy from, or not, whatever I felt most comfortable with. I chose not to use the photo they sent, Leo McKern's face is so characterful it was a dream to draw so I wanted to start from scratch. Those baggy cheeks and half moon specs gave me all sorts of opportunities with the pose whilst ensuring the image remained recognisably Rumpole. Although Horace Rumpole couldn't ever be anyone other than Leo McKern it was an honour and a pleasure to be able to put my (albeit very small) imprint on this character. Thanks Raffaella!

The book is published in July and is available here - http://www.penguinclassics.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141198828,00.html

Society of Illustrators 54th Annual

2011-11-23T11:50:00.001Z

Last night I found out that my image of Herbert Warren Wind has made it into the New York Society of Illustrators 54th award annual. It's a huge honour for me to be included in the annual, and the first time I've been selected in the editorial category which makes the accolade all the more sweet to receive. Many thanks to the judges and everyone else involved in the annual.

Guardian Weekend

2011-11-12T12:17:00.001Z

Ever felt like things just aren't going your way? And you've done nothing to deserve your bad luck? Well it turns out life isn't as fair as we'd like to think it is. This is for Oliver Burkemans column in the Guardian Weekend mag today 'Do we really get what we deserve?'. It seems like Oliver is also a fan of 'Western' films, his sign off for this article is a quote from one of my favourite characters in this genre (in recent times at least), "Deserve's got nothing to do with it", courtesy of William Munny in Unforgiven. If Clint says it is so, then I'm happy to believe him.

Hachette

2011-11-07T15:53:00.000Z

This one isn't published until Jan 2012 but the image is all over Amazon etc now so I guess it's ok to post about. Pretty quick turnaround on this one (for a book cover) but some great art direction from Ciara Doorley made this completely pain free. She gave me a rough explanation of what she was looking for but she left plenty of room for my own input, which (as any illustrator would say) is what this job is all about. The cover image and title took no longer than a week, revisions included (there weren't many thanks to Ciara's art direction). I'm really looking forward to seeing it on the shelves in January.

Real Deals

2011-11-07T15:35:00.000Z

The concept for this cover was given to me by the art director so no big brainstorming session for this one. As much as I like to illustrate my own ideas it is fun now and again to work out someone else's, and it gives me more time to enjoy the drawing stage. The cover story was about a particular type of customer moving back into the buyers markets, and how to deal with them from a city traders point of view.

The Guardian

2011-11-07T15:25:00.000Z

Where Oliver Burkeman gets his ideas for his Guardian columns I'll never know but they're always great to illustrate. This was about 'cognitive contaminants'. The majority of people will refuse to drink recycled wastewater no matter how clean it now is. How often do you get the chance to draw a man who looks like he's got a tap for a penis? Not often.

Public Finance

2011-11-07T15:17:00.000Z

This was for my regular spot in Public Finance magazine, the article was about managing people who are failing under pressure. I always look forward to these commissions, maybe drawing pictures for management topics suits me somehow. Management itself certainly didn't though, I was rubbish when I was a record shop manager, it turns out that not everybody likes obscure US punk bands, shame.

Corporate Knights

2011-11-07T14:26:00.000Z

Getting way behind with my blog posts so I'm gonna rattle through a few recent jobs to catch up a bit. This one was for Corporate Knights magazine in Canada, a magazine for 'clean capitalism', seems like an alien concept at the moment given the state that western economies are in but from what I've read it seems like a really great magazine. The article explains how environmentalists are getting a lot of stick at the moment and finding themselves hopelessly outgunned. Supremely art directed by Pete Ryan, who is a fantastic illustrator himself, pleasure working for you Pete!

Illustrators Unlimited

2011-09-16T13:54:00.000+01:00

I'm really pleased to announce that some of my illustrations are being featured in the upcoming Gestalten publication Illustrators Unlimited. The release date is late September in the UK and early to mid October in the rest of the world. Many thanks to Henni and the team at Gestalten for their faith in my work, the books they publish are really special and I feel honoured to be included!

Print Week

2011-09-16T13:50:00.000+01:00

Wow, time is flying by, it's been ages since my last post! This one is for Print Week, it's the cover art for their supplement and is published today. The cover story was about the competition between digital billboard advertising and vehicle wraps, the wraps are winning hands down.

Public Finance

2011-08-18T17:22:00.000+01:00

I must, I must, I must improve my.....frequency of blog posts. Anyway, in the meantime here's another image for Public Finance, it was a deceptively tricky one to get right but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. The article was about the hazards of changing career, it always felt like this for me, only I used to end up face down in the water most of the time.

Times Educational Supplement

2011-07-14T22:18:00.000+01:00

Here's a punctual post for all of my teacher friends, this one goes into the Times Educational Supplement tomorrow so be sure to pick up a copy (if you're not on strike again). I haven't worked for TES for a little while now so it was nice to hear from Dan again, the main gist of the article was that English education performs relatively poorly when compared to international standards. The article also outlines what our politicians have planned to improve this, ironically seeming to serve only as a further example of the initial point (only my opinion, but informed by the text). I supposes them is only Englanders aefter all so what does e ecspect!

Public Finance Magazine

2011-07-07T19:15:00.000+01:00

This was for the last issue of Public Finance. The story was about 'Change Managers', a job I never even realised existed until I read the article, although I'm probably just showing my ignorance there. Anyway, I was given the idea of using a conductor in some kind of scenario so I just added some caterpillars and butterfly's and, Bob's your uncle, job done.

Creative Quarterly 24

2011-06-23T20:43:00.000+01:00

It's a bit more horn blowing I'm afraid but I just found out that this image I did for Golf World got a runners up spot in Creative Quarterly 24. There were two versions of this image, one with clubs, one without (the version without got published) but I can never decide which one I prefer. Anyway, thanks to the judges who voted for my work, much appreciated!

3X3 ProShow 8

2011-06-17T13:50:00.000+01:00

This image has just been awarded a merit in the 3X3 ProShow! I don't know what it is but there's something extremely cool about 3X3 and I'm really pleased to be included in the annual alongside artists that I have so much respect for. Thanks to the judges who voted for my work. http://www.3x3mag.com/

Bankers

2011-06-14T20:49:00.000+01:00

Two posts in one day is some outrageous trumpet-blowing for me but I'm pretty pleased with the way this one came out. It's for the FT's Business Management supplement and goes in tomorrow. The article is about bankers performance and associated (or not) pay rates. I've been looking for something new within my work recently and, although it might not be immediately obvious, this image feels like it's opened a few doors in my head. Maybe over the coming months it'll start to surface in a more recognisable way, I had fun with this one either way.

The Guardian

2011-06-14T14:55:00.000+01:00

This one ran in the Guardians magazine this weekend for Oliver Burkeman's regular column, it was titled 'Skin: The Final Frontier?'. It's always great to work with Bruno at the Guardian and Oliver's writing is an equal pleasure to illustrate, how he comes up with these wonderfully odd things to write about week after week is beyond me. At least I get a story to spark some kind of inspiration for a picture, his page starts out much more blank than mine.

Full story can be read here http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/11/border-bias-oliver-burkeman-this-column-save-your-life?INTCMP=SRCH

The Periodic Table

2011-05-31T21:09:00.001+01:00

This was a really nice commission that I received from the Folio Society in the early part of last year. After sending some samples out to Sheri at Folio I was contacted to work on an initial test image for the book The Periodic Table by Primo Levi. I met with the designer for a short briefing, had a quick nose around the Folio building and library (so many amazing books and illustrations), then got started on the illustration.

For anyone not familiar with the book it's something of an autobiography with each chapter relating chemical elements to periods in Levi's life. For the test image I worked on the Cerium chapter which documents his experience as a prisoner of war in Auschwitz. I think Gavin, the designer, wanted to see how I'd tackle this subject matter before I got the go-ahead for the rest of the book. To cut a long story short(er) it went well and I was asked to produce seven more images plus the binder.

Sheri requested that I include some kind of reference to chemical symbols in each illustration but while I was doing some research I stumbled across a review noting that the book calls attention to the "inter-connectivity of life" which I thought would be great to also reflect in the images (somehow). It seemed to make sense to have the images relate to each other in some way so I decided to link certain compositional elements or details so that when the images are viewed side by side the connections become more apparent.

It was interesting creating the images within this parameter, one image would feed the next whilst also being informed by the previous so it was a bit of a juggling act at times but hopefully it goes some way towards mirroring the intentions behind the text. The fact that the visual connections will never be obvious to the reader also seemed to add a poetic nature to the concept, but it might also be possible that I just like making life hard for myself. One other reference that might not be immediately obvious is in the binder image. The olive coloured dots represent the chapters that Levi chose to write about, each chapter given the title of a chemical element, the dots are where they would appear on the periodic table itself.

I had originally intended to take a lot of photo's of the process but I think I got carried away and forgot about it, apart from the one below. There was a lot of work yet to be done from this point but this was the kind of thing I was doing, working on all of the pages together as if it was one big picture, then pulling out individual pages to work up the details.

The images can be seen larger on my website and the book can be bought from the Folio Society here

ESPN

2011-05-10T18:37:00.000+01:00

This is one I did a couple of months ago for ESPN magazine. The story was about spring training and how some (relatively unknown) players can show flair at this time of year, get into the team, and then spend the rest of the season on the bench. The image was originally going to be smaller than this but the AD gave me a bit of extra space to play with which opened the image up nicely. In the sketch stage the player was also right handed but it seemed to read better this way around so I made him a lefty.

Eureka Too

2011-04-28T18:25:00.000+01:00

This was another one for Fraser at The Times (see post below). This time it's pharmaceutical sewage that isn't being regulated as closely as it should be. The government cuts in the UK have got rid of some of the key proponents of these regulations which leaves us open to receiving a different kind of fish on our plates. In the USA, 80% of male smallmouth bass in the Potomac River were found to be growing eggs! Another study found seven different types of prescription drugs in fish caught downstream from wastepipes. Next time you get a headache just head straight to the freezer section.

Times Eureka Magazine

2011-04-28T17:41:00.000+01:00

This is a month or two old now, I've got some catching up to do with my blog posts! It was for Fraser Lyness at The Times' Eureka Magazine. I've been doing regular spots for them and this one went with a story about laws regarding the provenance of timber in the UK. Apparently it's ineffectual and wood labelled as 'sustainably sourced' isn't always true to it's tag. You can bet it's not Everyman that benefits from these lax laws, and they wonder why voters are so apathetic in this country!

Public Finance Magazine

2011-04-11T12:33:00.000+01:00

This is my latest image for Mark Parry at Public Finance. One of the good things about doing this regular spot for them is finding new ways to bridge the gutter (it falls about a third of the way across the image from the right side). This idea made it fairly easy (literally bridging the gutter) but I've been having a lot of fun in general with composition lately.

The story was about managing time and workload priorities, something everyone is familiar with but I've long forgotten what it's like to only work from nine to five! I wouldn't swap my current situation for that though, the 40 hour 'employed' week always felt like a prison sentence to me, the same old same old, day after day after day.............

Golf World

2011-04-09T14:55:00.000+01:00

This was my first job for Golf World and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's for a feature on Herbert Warren Wind and the AD Tim Carr asked for a portrait of him at Augusta National, and to definitely use a conceptual approach. I know a bit about golf from my days as a golf greenkeeper but I wasn't overly familiar with Mr Wind, a bit of research revealed that he coined the term 'Amen Corner' to describe the holes at the end of the front nine at Augusta. He was best known for his writing but was also a very good golfer himself.

I was really pleased that Tim chose this rough, it was my favourite of the lot but I was concerned that he might think the face was too small within the image and having it upside down certainly isn't the typical portrait style. Wind died in 2005 and I wanted some kind of suggestion of this in the image, just showing the reflection of him at Amen Corner seemed like a good way to go and luckily Tim thought so too. The final image will be printed without him carrying the golf clubs as the article concentrates on his writing and not his golf talent, but as a stand-alone image I thought the clubs pull the image together a bit more.

Financial Times

2011-04-04T15:42:00.000+01:00

Apparently the money markets are the place to 'bee' right now (please excuse the pun, I really couldn't resist that one). This is my latest image for the Financial Times and goes with an article that explains why the money markets are looking so attractive at the moment. It was pretty much by accident that I stumbled across using the Yen, Euro and Dollar signs to spell out 'yes', and for a second it crossed my mind to put a French Franc sign in front of them (F... Yes!) but I thought that might not go down too well. It's always a treat to work with Chris Krage at the FT, he makes this job even more enjoyable than it already is! Thanks Chris.

100 Days for the Guardian

2011-03-28T13:45:00.000+01:00

This one went in the Guardian supplement this weekend, I didn't know what the publication date was for this one so it was nice to stumble across it as I was reading the mag. It was for Oliver Burkemans column and the story was about the head of a huge accountancy firm who was given 100 days to live after being diagnosed with a tumor. His first reaction was to make a list of all the things he wanted to do in his last days. List-making was so ingrained in him from his career it seemed the best way to deal with this horrific news.

Goodnight Tweetheart

2011-03-18T00:34:00.000Z

This is a book cover I did for Simon & Schuster at the beginning of last year, seems like so long ago now. It's a bit different from the topics that I usually cover but it was great fun to do and it's not often that I get the chance to do any lettering. Michael Nagin art directed and was a real treat to work for. The book was written by Teresa Medeiros who is a New York Times best selling author, a website dedicated to the book can be found here and includes a nice little animated intro that uses the cover art.

2011-03-15T20:22:00.001Z

Runners World

This image is out now in the April edition of Runners World (it comes with a free energy drink too which might help you through those all night sessions in the studio). The story was about a woman who decided to give up competitive running for various reasons. If I remember right there were lots of things that annoyed her about running in competitions - the early starts, the cost, having to witness other peoples ridiculous warm-up routines etc. The Lycra shorts would be enough to put me off, nobody should have to witness that sight on a Sunday morning.

2011-03-10T01:32:00.000Z

This was done a little while ago for Public Finance magazine. The story was about how to deal with staff when there isn't enough money for financial incentives. The idea was probably inspired by the temperatures around here at the time I made this, I even had to wear a scarf while I was working in the studio! (must fix holes in roof) Roll on Summer, I much prefer moaning about the heat.

2011-02-20T22:34:00.000Z

Just a quick post before I go home to bed! This one is going in the Financial Times tomorrow morning. It's a front of section piece about investors returning to more volatile markets as the 'safer' markets are showing poor returns at the moment. For anyone who doesn't already know, the FT use pink newsprint so all of the white areas in the image will actually be pink(ish). Big thanks to Chris and John at the FT, great fun working for you.

2011-02-09T19:10:00.000Z

I've done a few covers for Peter at Night & Day but I think this was the most fun yet. This time the magazine was featuring the sports bars around San Diego and because it was Superbowl weekend Peter wanted me to give the image a football theme. I was thinking along the lines of a quarterback serving up plays for the team so it seemed to make sense to combine this with a waiter serving up cocktails. Peter also had the idea of turning the ampersand in the title into a pretzel which I thought was a nice touch. I also thought he did a fantastic job with the copy on the cover, really pleased with the way this looks. Thanks Peter!

2011-02-05T15:15:00.000Z

The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy, had to spend all night in the studio more than once to meet the deadlines but that means I get to do my favourite thing the day after, fall asleep in front of the TV in the afternoon (guilt free), I love doing that! Anyway this one was for Mark Parry at Redactive, it was published in Public Finance magazine recently. The story was about making sure your education stays ahead of a rapidly changing environment, I managed to shoe-horn log rollers into one of the roughs but this one was chosen in the end. It's possibly the first time I've used that background colour but I think it came out ok, I'll be looking to use that again somewhere.

2011-01-18T19:11:00.000Z

This was from a while back now, for Origination News. The article was about the variety of education that's available for mortgage lenders and if I remember right this was the art directors idea so I can't take any credit for that (although I will do gladly!). I'd worked for Galina before on one of her other publications so it was really nice to get the call to do this one, she's got a real passion for illustration and is a pleasure to work with.

2011-01-14T23:06:00.000Z

After a couple of calls (that I couldn't meet for one reason or another) from Tippi Thole at the Washington Post I finally got to work with her! This was for the Family Almanac column and was about a particularly bad mother who let her kid run riot, much to the annoyance of the rest of her family. At first I had the kid coloured in green but it turns out the red and green theme had (understandably) been over-used at Christmas so this was changed to the purple, which also matched the banner on the page. Great to work with Tippi, check out her substantial skills here

2011-01-03T13:15:00.001Z

This was for Peter Nguyen at the San Diego Union Tribune's Night & Day magazine, it's the cover art for their holiday edition. The weather in San Diego at Christmas is a bit different to where I'm from so I had to be careful with the imagery I chose but Peter was really open to ideas and just asked for something to represent all of the holiday activities in San Diego. It being a big surf community I thought the iconic Ford Woody served my purposes well for this one. Below is one of the rejected roughs that I also quite liked. Thanks Peter!

2010-12-16T15:23:00.000Z

I've been falling behind with my posts on here lately so this is a catch-up post. It was done a little while ago for You Magazine. The story was about employers attitudes to staff who are suffering from serious illnesses and debated whether it's best to inform your employer about them or not. Some of the examples given described some terrible responses on the part of the employer! The idea is pretty straightforward, I just used the revolving door to represent the decision that had to be made (should I stay or should I go now?) This ran full page with copy in the bottom right corner. Thanks Paul, always a pleasure working with you.

2010-11-29T15:09:00.000Z

I did this one a little while ago now for People Management magazine, Robin Farley was my contact there and he managed to persuade the powers that be to let me get on with the ideas process with minimal constraint. He asked for something simple and conceptual regarding the brief of 'doing more with less'. I split the idea process into two parts for this one, I started without reading the article at all and just sketched out some ideas that related to the headline, then I read the article a few times and worked up the ideas that seemed to work best. I sometimes get bogged down with the specifics of a story too early but this way of working avoids that problem. Thanks Robin, great working with you.

2010-11-24T18:22:00.000Z

Sorry to be posting this old chestnut yet again but I've just found out that it's been accepted into the Society of Illustrators 53rd award annual in the advertising category! My chest is absolutely bursting with pride (maybe not the best personal quality 'pride' but I'm so pleased with this I think I'll indulge myself before I slouch back into the illustrators default position of 'self-doubt'). Chuffed.

Thanks so much to the judges who voted this image into the annual.

2010-11-23T15:02:00.001Z

This is one of eight illustrations I did for Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine recently. Great to work with Cynthia again, she always gives me a starting point to work from and then leaves me to develop an image from there. I like working this way, it relieves some of the doubt that can creep in regarding the direction that I'm taking with the roughs. The starting point I was given this time was to use footprints to illustrate how to spot the next bear market. My thinking was that bear markets would once have been bull markets, hence the pensive looking matador studying the paw prints in the sand. I put a few roses in there because these seemed to double up nicely as a hint towards some kind of investment. Thanks again Cynthia.

2010-11-19T17:55:00.001Z

Here's a pic of the Economist poster I illustrated on the wall of one of London's tube stations. The photo is courtesy of Caspar Schlickum, I found it on his blog here http://schlicks.com/
Thanks Caspar!

2010-11-15T17:10:00.000Z

This is a recent image I did for the San Diego Tribune magazine 'Night & Day'. I was given the brief to draw a portrait of either John Legend or Jewel who were both scheduled to play at Petco Park, roughs were submitted for both and Jewel won out in the end. I don't get the chance to draw many portraits so I was really glad to get this one and it was great working with Peter Nguyen at the Tribune. The stripes are meant to resemble the way the grass is cut in a ballpark. I've never actually been to a baseball game but on Peter's recommendation I intend to put this right in the near future! Thanks Peter.

2010-11-10T19:12:00.003Z

I managed to get my new website up and running today, it's taken me ages getting around to it but now it's done. I'm sure it'll see a few minor adjustments in the near future but I'm hoping it's presentable enough as is. Same address as before www.marksmithillustration.com so if you fancy doing my google ranking a favour, pop along and take a look. Thanks!

2010-11-08T15:12:00.004Z

Over the weekend I was really pleased to hear that I've had a few images selected for inclusion in the Association of Illustrators 'Images 35' annual! Two of them are shown above and the third is currently being used as the banner for this page (although this is going to change soon). Budget restrictions will determine exactly how many I choose to have published but I feel honored to have my work included in a juried annual with the strapline 'The Best of British Illustration'. Thanks so much to the judges who voted for my work.

2010-11-01T16:21:00.001Z

I did this one a little while ago for National Mortgage News, the story was about making your home as appealing as possible to potential buyers. The idea was the clients so I can't take any credit for that, I pretty much just joined the dots. It takes some of the pressure off of the conceptualizing when the client supplies a strong idea with a brief, I submitted my own roughs as well but they didn't make it this time. Thanks Monica, always a pleasure to work for you.

2010-10-25T13:31:00.000+01:00

I illustrated these for AMV's 'where do you stand' campaign for The Economist. Antony Nelson art directed quite brilliantly, he was focused on what he was looking for but also left me plenty of room to move and let the artwork develop without overburdening it. Some details were lost along the way and others added/refined; a claw on the dove which was mirrored by a wheel on the plane was one that we both liked but this possibly detracted from the pattern of the olive leaves/bombs so it was lost in a later edit. It's running on web, print and 48 sheet billboards around London's tube stations so as soon as I track it down I'll post some pics. Thanks Ant, great working with you!

2010-10-19T12:37:00.000+01:00

This was for a pretty harrowing story about a mans inability to talk about his feelings. It was regarding the loss of several babies that he and his wife endured due to miscarriage and ectopic pregnancies. The story ended happily however after they gave birth to a healthy baby girl, at which point he couldn't hold his emotions in check any longer and broke down. It ran in the Mail on Sunday's You Magazine this weekend. It's always a pleasure working for Paul Browning (designer) and Linda Boyle (AD), the stories they send me usually require a delicate approach but I think this must rate as the most sensitive one to date. Having the opportunity to conceptualise stories like this is what makes You Magazine so great to work for.

2010-10-06T15:52:00.000+01:00

It's always exciting to be working for a new client and even more so when the job is in a country that I haven't worked in before. I suppose as an editorial illustrator these magazines are like mini galleries (or large galleries if you consider the circulations of these mag's) so it's great to be showing my work for the first time in Canada. This was for Profit Magazine and is one of four images they commissioned from me. It's for an article about seven habits of the most successful sales managers and was AD'd by the truly amazing Marc Sullivan. Many years ago, in an attempt to hold down a 'normal' job, I worked as a golf greenkeeper and came across managers and businessmen of all kinds on the golf course. Seven positions of a perfect golf swing seemed to fit the bill for this brief and it was also nice to put some old experiences to good use! Thanks Marc, really great working with you.

2010-09-26T19:16:00.000+01:00

This was for Employee Benefit News and should be out around now I think. The story outlines the good and bad sides of annuities, the sellers and the government like them but employers aren't so sure. Robin Henriquez AD'd this one, a pleasure working with Robin, he's open to ideas that stem from all sorts of strange places, really liberating. I thought even he might not go for the devilish reflection that's pissing into the fountain/wishing well on this one but I submitted the idea and he gave it the thumbs up. Thanks Robin I really enjoyed it, the fact that I get paid as well is just a double bonus.

2010-09-21T15:06:00.000+01:00

Another image for ISO & Agent, this one was the clients idea and it's basically about simplifying complex information for traders. I did play around with using a bowler hat in the place of the colander, as the simplification was coming from 'above' I thought this might make sense by juxtaposing the bowler against the traders apron but the colander was preferred in the end. It's probably a simpler read this way and was fun to do all the same. Thanks again Galina.

2010-09-17T13:51:00.000+01:00

This is the cover art for the ISO & Agent job I did recently (ignore the date on the cover, this is just dummy text that I put there to show it in context). The cover story was about the unfair distribution of profit between ISO's and agents and if I remember right I think Galina's initial art direction was "please go conceptual" (perfect!) There were a few compositional tweaks needed after this stage but all to the benefit of the final art. Really great art director, really enjoyable job. Thanks Galina!

2010-09-12T23:11:00.000+01:00

This is one of a few images I did for the Sept/Oct issue of ISO & Agent and it was art directed by the lovely Galina Rybatsky. Galina was covering a holiday on another job I was doing and ended up commissioning me for her own mag which was nice. This image is about security measures for payment cards. America, although one of the larger nations, is falling behind when it comes to security on this topic, the smaller nations mentioned in the article are much tougher. The little guy in the image was going to be Canadian (their security is particularly good) but the editor preferred to make it a bit more general. I'll post the others soon, I'm off home to catch up on the worst(best) soap ever.

2010-09-06T14:57:00.000+01:00

I think this one goes into National Mortgage News today, it's about different ways of reviving an ailing portfolio. It was my interpretation of the clients idea but after submitting a couple of roughs the art desk preferred my idea but the editor preferred their own. Needless to say the editor won out in the end but this was fine by me, I quite liked their idea anyway. Although I would probably have included some sort of reference to a portfolio if it was up to me. Great to work with Monica and Galina on this one. x

2010-08-30T20:06:00.000+01:00

Just a quick update but here's an image I did for You Magazine while I was away on holiday, I took some bits and bobs with me just in case anything came in. The article states that between 1 and 5 children in 100 suffer from school phobia (I wish I had that excuse when I was at school!) Anyway lots more to post soon, thanks for looking.

2010-08-20T13:29:00.001+01:00

It's been far too long since my last post so without any further procrastination here's one I did recently for Shots Magazine. I worked with Sarah Watson on this one, a complete star and a real pleasure to work for. The article describes the booming creative industry in Florida and its diverse cultural influences which I thought was a perfect excuse to draw some flamingos! One of my favourite bits about this job is that you never know what's coming next regarding subject matter, just fill up on inspiration, apply a brief and see what comes out. I think I'd struggle to be creative without it! Lots more to post soon.

2010-06-30T15:00:00.000+01:00

This was a recent image I did for You Magazine about a young girl who was bullied by her female friends and ostracized from her group. The layout looked really nice and the image was intended to run across the gutter but unfortunately at the last minute there were some political issues with the copy and the story didn't run. I was looking forward to seeing this one in print too, oh well, can't win them all. It was a pleasure to work with Paul Browning again and of course big thanks to the AD, Linda Boyle.

2010-06-24T01:41:00.000+01:00

I'm extremely pleased to announce that this image is one of the winners in the Creative Quarterly 20 competition! It's a real honour for me to have my work published in this magazine alongside names that I respect so much. I love all things 3X3 related so please excuse my exuberance with this one but as you can probably already tell, I'm pretty chuffed. Huge thanks to the judges and everyone involved at CQ and 3X3 for creating such great magazines. x

2010-06-23T14:33:00.000+01:00

Employee Benefit News got in touch with me a little while ago regarding a story titled 'Will It Ever End?' The sub-title was - 'One COBRA extension after another leaves benefit professionals wondering whether, and when, they'll see a sunset on the subsidy.' COBRA is a healthcare plan/subsidy that is continually being tinkered with and extended, placing employers in a position where they can be penalised for non-conformity.

Now I'm all for workers rights (having been one all of my life) but there seems to be more and more people that exploit loopholes in these subsidies, the kind of people that will sue at the drop of a hat, and this can ruin a small business. (This has nothing to do with the article, this is just me having a rant now) We don't have this subsidy in England but there are lots of similar rules and regulations that employers (large and small) are told to abide by. I'm always harping on about my wife's business (punk rock venue owner! V cool) and she comes up against this stuff all the time, it makes her job almost impossible and to the detriment of the city's cultural landscape too. I miss the days before all of this red tape, before the 'no win, no fee' lawyers adverts, when a kid could get a bloody nose in a mosh pit without blaming the owners or had the mental freedom to collect quite nasty injuries at a skatepark without wondering how much cash they can get out of it.

I had the pleasure of meeting the great Pete Ryan over a few beers at the weekend and, although hazily, I do remember a nostalgic rant about skateboarding. Particularly about something I saw Natas Kaupus do at Bedminster skatepark in Bristol. The following picture is me at Bedminster in what must have been the early 90's (that board isn't retro, it was cutting edge at the time) There are 3 fairly shallow, linked bowls in the background and this is me hopping out of the first one. Oh I thought I was the bees knees at the time, until Natas ollied from the first to the third (indicated by the white arrow). This was supposed to be impossible but the guy was a skateboarding god and he was open to giving anything a go. I still try to emulate this kind of mental attitude today when I'm answering briefs for clients, keep an open mind, look at all of the possibilities and lose all of that internal red tape. Turns out skateboarding wasn't a complete waste of time after all!

2010-06-09T14:05:00.000+01:00

Morningstar Advisor image number 3 in my somewhat cynical attempt to gain maximum 'airtime' by spreading one job over numerous posts! This one was about the recent upgrades that have been made to the Markowitz portfolio optimization framework in order for it to withstand extreme dips in the market. I used to love making Airfix models as a kid (which is probably where this idea came from) but I was always really disappointed with how inactive they were once they'd been made. I remember throwing them like paper aeroplanes because I really wanted to see them fly! Obviously they didn't so I just ended up with loads of half broken models hanging from my ceiling.

2010-06-04T19:18:00.000+01:00

This is another image from the Morningstar job, it was about two high-yield fund managers that opted out of the race (they were working at the biggest and best(?) company in the world) to go and do their own thing at a smaller place. Drawing this made me want to go out and buy a racing greyhound, I don't think I'd fit in too well at the track with my artists smock though, I'd have to trade it in for a dodgy sheepskin coat and I'm really not sure that I'm ready for that.

2010-06-01T19:06:00.000+01:00

This is one of several illustrations for Morningstar Advisor. They really value illustration and it was great to work with Teofila and the rest of the team there, great feedback and art direction. I like illustrating financial topics partly because some of the ideas behind investment strategies and the like would need a doctorate to understand. Making my own sense out of these is loads of fun. I was actually starting to feel a bit stupid until I watched Michael Moore interview some experts for his latest film and they didn't seem to understand either! This is both a relief (for my intellect) and a worry (for my wallet).

2010-05-27T13:50:00.000+01:00

This was one of a few images I did for Kiplinger's magazine recently, it was for an article about high yield bonds. The orange colour was determined by the colour of the banner used in this section of the magazine. It's not a colour I would normally have chosen but I think I quite like it. Thanks again to Beth and Cynthia at Kiplingers.

2010-05-20T21:57:00.001+01:00

This was for a story about bedroom entrepreneurs for American Way. Apparently more and more people are fighting the economic downturn by running successful businesses from their homes with the aid of their trusty computers. Not dissimilar to an illustrators life then really. It's funny to think that I could spend all day every day in my pyjamas and slippers if I wanted to! Just like grandpa from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but then even he got up in the end. Thanks to Sam at American Way for sending this one my way, always a pleasure to work for him.

2010-05-11T15:55:00.000+01:00

I got a call from Beth Rosenfeld at Kiplinger recently to illustrate an article titled 'What's left of financial reform?' The initial request was for me to use a blueprint of the NYSE building in the idea but after thumbnailing out a few alternative ideas I also came up with this option. I was happy to hear that this was their favourite and they asked me to take it to final art. I've not used images of statue's before and it was tough to get them looking like they were made of stone but I think the textures that I use helped and the pillars etc also go some way to backing up this point (I hope!). Beth's art memo really helped me out with this one, just enough information to come up with a solution and not so much as to be restricting. Nik Mahon from Southampton Solent University has written a great article about this kind of thing titled 'The value of ambiguity as a tool for stimulating creativity' although unfortunately I cant find a link to it online any more, it was for Networks Magazine if anyone fancies trawling through their online edition to find it.

There were a few more images included in this commission, I'll post them over the next few days. The following image is the rough of the blueprint idea that didn't make it this time (I've posted this before but here it is again in it's right place). Thanks Beth.

2010-04-27T23:34:00.001+01:00

I've done a few images for Linda at You Magazine recently, this is my latest one. It's published on Sunday so without giving too much of the story away it's basically about hardworking wives and the article contains some pretty interesting statistics to say the least! I had to work around bits of type that overlap the image in places and it spans the gutter so that was also a consideration. After trying a few different ways of realising the idea, some using perspective, this option seemed to work best. I'm looking forward to seeing it in print on Sunday.

2010-04-26T16:28:00.000+01:00

Roughs, roughs and more roughs. I seem to be posting more roughs than finals at the moment! I've got several images that are being published early next month so it'll be nice to put some final art up here. Anyway this image is from a job that I'm working on at the moment, it was for the cover but I think the rough they actually chose is better. Looking forward to seeing it printed, the magazine uses a minimal amount of type on the cover and it's really sensitive towards the illustration, can't ask for more than that!

2010-04-20T03:13:00.001+01:00

This is an extra rough from a recent job for American Way, the in-flight magazine for American Airlines. The story gets published in a couple of weeks so I'll post the artwork from the chosen rough then.

2010-04-16T14:07:00.000+01:00

A couple more unused roughs from a recent commission for Kiplinger. The top one was in response to a request from them to use a blueprint in the idea but they ended up going with my alternative option instead which was nice. The bottom one was all me! Published in a few weeks so I'll stick the finals up then.

2010-04-15T20:58:00.000+01:00

Been mad busy lately with lots of all night sessions and some really long hours in the studio. The intensity has backed off just a bit over the last couple of days which has given me a chance to recharge a bit and catch up on a few neglected things like this blog and my wife! Anyway this is one of a couple of images that I did for You Magazine in the last month, lots more to post soon. x

2010-04-02T00:26:00.001+01:00

I feel like I owe a debt to Linda Boyle at You Magazine, she sent me my very first illustration commission (which got the ball rolling for me) and the second one she sent me bagged me an international award. She's definitely some kind of lucky charm for me and I'm always pleased to hear from her. This is a discarded rough from a job I'm doing for her at the moment, the rough that was chosen was also my favourite so I'm glad to be taking that one to final. The last images I did for her get published this weekend so I'll post them soon. Thanks Linda.

2010-03-29T14:39:00.001+01:00

John Poile at Director Magazine sent me this article, it's in this months issue. When he commissions he always sends through the layouts for me to work with which is nice because I can drop the roughs into it and get an immediate idea of how it will look on the page. It also gives me a nice clean image of the work in context to post on my website! Thanks John, hope to work for you again soon.

2010-03-26T21:32:00.002Z

This was another one for Dan Sinclair at the TES Magazine, it was about a hard to handle parent at a teachers/parents evening. I like hearing from Dan - great articles, great layouts and short deadlines, always fun to do. Published in this weeks TES.

2010-03-22T12:17:00.001Z

These are my latest images for the Times Educational Supplement. 2 different art directors, one for the magazine and one for the main paper, both commissioned on the same day with overnight turnarounds. Hectic but fun! They're in this weeks issue.

2010-03-17T02:10:00.000Z

This is an outstanding website for anyone interested in the cover artwork of comics, books and magazines. http://www.coverbrowser.com/

2010-03-09T12:40:00.001Z

Another unused rough, and it's a bit more lighthearted than what I'd usually come up with but I think there's something in it that I quite like. It was for John Poile at Director Magazine. The layouts in the mag always look really great so it's a pleasure to work for John and I always look forward to seeing the final result in print. The rough he chose for this job was actually my favourite too which is nice, it's for the April edition.

2010-03-03T03:27:00.001Z

These are a couple of unused roughs from a recent You Magazine commission. I always enjoy working for Linda, she sends me the juicy 'dark' topics! I did one for her a while ago for a story about domestic abuse and won an award for it. I've now got a trophy on my desk with VIOLENT MARRIAGE written right across the top of it, makes it look like I won the trophy for being a terrible husband!
This story is published in a few weeks so I'll post the finals then.

2010-02-28T21:39:00.000Z

Maggie Murphy at the Guardian Weekend Magazine commissioned this. It was to go with Oliver Burkeman's column about hip and trendy types living in posh designer pads but looking absolutely miserable. Great fun to work on, the blog that Oliver refers to is called unhappy hipsters and is definitely worth checking out. Thanks Maggie.

2010-02-26T16:52:00.001Z

This is what I came up with for the Times Educational Supplement. I don't think it was much more than 24 hours from receiving the initial phone call to sending off the final art. Needless to say I was knackered, but really chuffed to have my work in the TES. It's in this weeks issue, out today.

2010-02-22T01:08:00.001Z

This was a discarded rough I did for a book cover recently (I've taken out a few details so as not to give away what the book is) but I quite liked this version so I'm posting it here. I might develop it to suit something else one day.

2010-02-16T22:13:00.002Z

I'm very proud to say that Eye Candy now represent me in England. I joined them this week and my work can now be seen on their site at www.eyecandy.co.uk

My American agent is unchanged and any commissions from the USA will still be dealt with by the excellent Richard Salzman at www.salzint.com

2010-02-11T22:02:00.000Z

I got a couple of extremely welcome phone calls this week, one from the Times Educational Supplement and one from the Guardian. As newspapers go they don't come any better than these and I'm really excited about seeing my work in them. Will post the pics as soon as I am able to.

2010-01-21T21:55:00.000Z

Here's my latest number for Waitrose Food Illustrated. It's for the February issue (out this week I believe) and is to go with an article about the current crisis in the Australian wine industry. I was dead pleased with this solution, simple and to the point, just the way I like 'em! Worked with James Wood on this one and I really hope I get to work with him again, he's nothing short of excellent. Thanks James.

2010-01-20T16:46:00.000Z

Here's an old image that I just stumbled across, it was for UP Press's 2nd annual Short Fiction book which came out a couple of years ago. The book features up and coming writers from around the world and uses loads of illustration, which is always a good thing as far as I'm concerned. I forgot I had this image, quite nice to see it again.

2010-01-20T13:03:00.000Z

Got this in the post this morning. 3X3 is a beautifully designed magazine and their awards annual is no different so I was really chuffed to see my work in here. Another reminder of why this is the best job in the world, and I've done a few jobs in my time too!

2010-01-14T23:56:00.000Z

Charlene Chua featured my work on her amazing illustration blog today, Illustrophile. It's a great site and definitely worth checking out for all things illustration related. Find it at http://www.illustrophile.com

Also keep your eyes peeled for an interview with Charlene which I'll post in the next few weeks on the Nonslick blog.

xx

2010-01-05T15:39:00.001Z

I am now writing for Pete Ryan's outstanding illustration blog 'Nonslick'. It contains interviews with loads of illustrators, art directors and magazines, old and new, famous and soon to be famous. First up from me will be interviews with Zara Picken, Bill Bragg and Le Gun magazine. I'll post these over the coming weeks but keep your eyes peeled for the inside info on more great illustrators and the like at www.nonslick.blogspot.com

Thanks Pete.

2009-12-29T17:43:00.000Z

I'm moving my studio at the end of this week so the pictures below are almost already out of date! I'm renting a much bigger room in an old building above my wife's club in town, much more room to make a mess in. There's also a fully kitted out print studio 2 minutes walk away and the best all day breakfast in town right beneath me. I'll post some pics next week sometime after I've settled in.

2009-12-20T13:13:00.000Z

I've been busy lately with a few longer term projects so I haven't been able to post much. Got some new stuff that I can put up in the new year but in the meantime here's some pic's from around my very scruffy studio.

Music corner, currently playing The Blood Brothers.

Extra scruffy corner, currently in need of tidying.

Mac corner, currently grieving for a recently deceased imac. To be replaced in the new year.

The printing suite, currently in fine form.

Procrastination device, currently neglected but still looking fine.

The TERROR! Currently chewing his way through another armchair.

Merry Christmas. x

2009-12-16T03:00:00.000Z

2009-12-04T14:36:00.003Z

Picked this up at a local thrift shop the other day, it's chock full of great illustrations from the likes of Saul Steinberg, Ronald Searle and loads of others plus some lovely illustrated adverts from the 40's. Other contributors to the magazine also include Nancy Mitford and Aleister Crowley. Walter Trier was responsible for the cover art for the first 147 issues and he always included a man, a woman and a small terrier in different situations. (What a great idea!) Apparently Trier's dog was run over by a tram and killed and after this he included him in the cover art for all of the issues of this magazine that he worked on.

The magazine was eventually bought out by Men Only, how things have changed!

2009-11-23T12:39:00.001Z

I've been kept busy lately with a great commission from the Folio Society so haven't had much time to post anything. It a poor excuse Pete but it's the best I can do ;) Anyway in an attempt to rectify this here's a small spot I did for Management Today recently. It was about taking care when choosing a business partner, simple solution, great fun to work on. Thanks to Denise Kelly at MT.

2009-10-26T17:19:00.001Z

Here's one of the spot illustrations I did for Insight Magazine. It was commissioned by Sequel Studio who produce this mag for Milliman and was art directed by Craig Bailey who was absolutely brilliant. It's to go with a small section about the huge amounts of money that people spend on halloween each year.

Lots more stuff to post soon.

2009-10-19T00:16:00.001+01:00

I haven't posted anything for a while because I've been busy with a few jobs and never got round to it. Anyway here's one I did for Director Magazine that was art directed by John Poile. It was about how senior bankers were afraid to point out glaring errors by the banks and are now being blamed for the financial meltdown. This was a really enjoyable job to work on and the layout that John sent me looked great, can't wait to see it in the magazine.

2009-09-30T18:57:00.001+01:00

Just found out that I've won a silver award from the Creativity 39 Annual! Really chuffed with that. It was the following image that made it in there, it was commissioned and art directed by Linda Boyle at You Magazine, thanks Linda.

2009-09-21T19:09:00.001+01:00

This was something I came up with while working on an idea that was completely different to anything that this might mean. I've called it 'Selective Memory' for want of a better title. The mirrors are supposed to represent looking into the past which I thought also suited the use of the old scooter quite nicely. I try and scatter my thoughts all over the place when I'm answering a brief (which is why this has nothing to do with the original brief!) and every now and again come up with something that's worth taking to final art just for the sake of it.

2009-09-10T02:16:00.002+01:00

Just finished an interview for Pete Ryan's Nonslick blog, if you fancy taking a look pop along to http://nonslick.blogspot.com/2009/09/mark-smith.html

2009-09-06T19:40:00.001+01:00

This is an incredible site for anyone who likes vintage posters, I could spend hours on here. http://www.chisholm-poster.com/

2009-09-04T16:01:00.002+01:00

This is a picture of my wife's punk rock venue. My internet connection is down at the moment so this is serving as my office, free coffee all day!

2009-09-04T15:42:00.002+01:00

This job was sent through to me by Nick Paul at Archant Dialogue. Its for Whiskeria magazine and is to go with an article about a bottled beer that is matured in whisky casks! The colours are a bit brighter than I'd naturally pick but the Editor asked for bright colours so I went with this. It was really good one to work on, I might use more of this brightness in future, I think I like it!

2009-08-19T15:07:00.002+01:00

Waitrose Food Illustrated commissioned this, it was one of those jobs that went really smoothly. Slightly less linework than I usually use but I was really happy with the result. The story was about how us English types don't like asking for doggy bags at restaurants. It's going in the September issue for all the posh food shoppers out there. Thanks to Daniel Biasatti for sending this one my way.

2009-08-19T14:52:00.002+01:00

This was a quick turnaround for Inside Housing magazine, overnight deadline and a late change of title for the article eventually ended up with this image. Thanks to Carolyn Pennells (the AD) who was a huge help with this one. I don't often use words in my illustrations but in this case I think it works quite well.