The Hand Drawn Creative Blog

Yer in the North now Lad

Well, we're officially on holiday this week, taking a break to visit old pals in Sheffield. The Hand Drawn Creative Etsy store is on vacation mode, but don't forget you can now also buy any of my prints from Brough & Ready's website too. Here's a taster of some new prints for sale there. See you next week...

Get ready (Size Matters)

Hey everyone. Just dropping in to announce an exciting new print venture between Hand Drawn Creative and Brough and Ready. Brough and Ready are a UK based team of experienced Illustrators, Designers and printers producing high quality cards and art prints aimed at the interiors market (you may know them from recent promotional campaigns through sites like ACHICA and FAB).

I approached Brough and Ready at the start of summer to discuss a possible collaboration, The guys at B&R were really interested – especially in my series of Stone Roses print ideas celebrating the legendary band's return to the stage this summer.

I've been working steadily all through July to get a bunch of great designs together, which I hope you'll really like. The main reason for teaming up with B&R is quality and size. Now you'll be able to order Hand Drawn Creative prints at large format sizes on gallery quality stock at prices I just couldn't match if I was working alone.

 

I guess You had to be there…

A lot going on this month, but hopefully these new print designs will be up for sale soon. My Wife and I travelled down to Dublin for the Phoenix Park show early this month and we were both profundly moved to see a band playing together that have been the soundtrack to our lives (and dare I say our childrens' lives). We both agreed, it was the best concert either of us had attended. So I've been beavering away at these commemorative poster designs (Mani & Reni will follow shortly). Each print will refer to one of the Stone Roses' landmark comeback gigs. If you were in attendance, what better way would there be to remember one of the best nights of your life? 

Couple of other Reprints

Thanks to Pinterest, I've been asked to reprint a few out of stock artprints, namely Sneakerfreak and Ulysses. So if you missed out the first time, or are looking for an original Father's Day gift, why not drop by the HDC Store.

And then there were Five

Just wrapping up the G-Force team portraits with Tiny here. Although it's not all over just yet. I'll be working on a Zoltar illustraion before completing a full Battle of the Planets team poster later in early spring.

Tiny & Keyop will be printed next week with any luck. I'll keep you posted.

New G FORCE prints are coming soon!

Been pretty busy, but I'm finally making some progress…

 

Off to the Shops?

I've been toying with the idea of a new online store for a long time now. My Etsy page has done me proud over the last couple of  years, but I've struggled with the lack of control I have over the page structure and overall design.

When appearing at London's Go Global Conference late last year, I was impressed by Mary Tan White's talk about her company moonfruit as an alternative to Etsy. As a result, I've spent the first week of this year designing my own fledgling online store The Hand Drawn Creative Shop (keep it simple). Now I have all my stock on offer in a clean, HDC branded environment (great!)

Vintage Automobiles Print

These illustrations have been on sale before in postcard format, but I've gathered them all here on this colourful little print to celebrate some of my favourite cars.

The Vintage Automobiles print makes a great gift for father or son and will look right at home in either the nursery or the study (My framed copy currently resides in my baby boy's nursery). Each of the cars featured the print are around the size of a Matchbox or Hot Wheels car.

Take a closer look at the Hand Drawn Creative Store

Brave Sir Robin

I've contributed this piece Brave Sir Robin to the travelling Elemental Birds exhibition, curated by my good friends Andy & Inga Hamilton (AKA MyTarPit & Rockpoolcandy)

 

Bearing in mind the brief's call for positivity, I drew upon my own recent life experiences (starting a new career as a freelance Illustrator in the depths of a recession). It can sometimes feel like it's "you against the world" – but when you manage to pull it off against overwhelming odds, there's no feeling quite like it. I've transferred this sense of "positive defiance" into my piece "Brave Sir Robin, which was inspired by actual events.

From my Garden studio, I often see a little robin in my garden who always holds his own & stands his ground
when larger birds (especially magpies) try to scare him off. I always think "good for you little guy." Stay strong - stand firm!

The Elemental Birds project is a very special experiment to see if artists, printmakers and craftspeople can physically embody feelings of peace, harmony and goodwill in their artwork and tangibly affect the environment in which it’s shown.

Currently in the USA, the exhibition will also be stopping by Lisburn as well as New Zealand and Japan.

PYRAMID ATLANTIC, Silver Spring, MD. USA. 26th September - 3rd October 2011
http://www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org/...

USA Show:- RICHARD F. BRUSH GALLERY, Canton, NY. USA 23rd October – 9th December 2011
http://www.stlawu.edu/gallery/

NI Show:-R-SPACE GALLERY, Lisburn, Northern Ireland. UK dates tbc 2012
http://linenroomslisburn.com/

NZ Show:- Warepuke Print Studio, Bay of Islands, North Island, NZ dates tbc. Xmas 2012/early 2013
http://www.nontoxic-printmaking.co.nz/...

Relocation Part 2

Hi again chaps. I've shifted things around, got a few pictures on the walls and got the trusty Mac up & running. All this, along with yesterday's delivery of a seriously cool Eames Loungechair & Ottoman means it's finally time to show you all the guts of the new & improved Hand Drawn Creative office!

A Nerve Centre. A crackling nucleus of creativity. Ladies & Gentlemen it gives me immense pleasure to present to you… the Home of Superlative Scribbles!

A quick reminder of the Office's unique exterior

The double doors open onto the R&R Corner / Guest Seating Area

The Music Corner

The Eames chair & ottoman is a gift from my wife and the office's crowning glory 

The House Industries Print takes pride of place on the rear wall

Moving round to the Cutting Desk & Print Packing Area 

The heart of Hand Drawn Creative – this is "where the magic happens"

Inspirational images & illustrations from my my favourite artists surround me