Leamington Spa Completed

Leamington Spa...Initial sketches

Leamington Spa...Initial sketches

Taking the waters from the regency era to Queen Victoria. New designs reference the tropical collections of the Jephson gardens, The three pioneering Doctors who promoted the health benefits of the spring water, victorian bathers and general regency posturing.

Orient Express- Venetian Carriage...Finally

A hasty exit to escape the horrifying carpets... can't blame them.

Zizzi Victoria - second leg of the journey

I think I should lose Bond from this one.

Zizzi Victoria - second leg of the journey...

Zizzi Victoria - second leg of the journey

Only the more successful images are being posted at the moment. Hopefully the rest will be up to scratch very shortly.

Thank You Traverse

Thank you to everyone at the renowned Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh where I have recently been interning and who very kindly let me get to grips with plotter printing and put up some of my drawings as vinyls in their Late and Lounge Cafe Bar - Viewable for a limited period only! I had a great time working there.

Venice - Simplon Orient Express

And let's shoe-horn in Victoria in her Saloon car - Who's aiming for historical accuracy here?

Paris - Simplon Motifs

...and more

and still more...

Zizzi Victoria - Orient Express cont...

I felt stoking fires and preparing and serving meals are a fairly integral part of both the original OE and present Zizzi operations so wanted to get in some imagery of that also. Romance and mystery are also pre-requisite aren't they?

Zizzi Victoria - Orient Express

Here are some first-round ideas for the vinyls destined for London Victoria restaurant - The idea discussed is that the images should allow views into the carriages to see the characters travelling aboard The Orient Express. As the train's hay-day was the early 20th century, I'm hoping that the illustrations can remain largely grey/black/white with colours reminiscient of tinted photographs.

The concept is really a gift with loads of potential. Each of the OE's Pullmans carriages are named ( Phoenix, Ione, Zena, Audrey, Minerva, Perseus, Lucille, Ibis, Cygnus and Vera) so these might apprear superimposed over the carriage scenes. Also the Art Nouveau and Art Deco interiors and their distintive marketry designs I hope will play a big part. Also pictured is Mata Hari, exotic dancer and WW1 double agent who purportedly travelled aboard. More to come!...

Zizzi Canterbury open

Fresh talent involvement and new premises opening announced today on Zizzi's website. Find details at: http://kitchen.zizzi.co.uk/2011/04/821/#more-821

To find my work in other premises please do check out the links below

http://zizzi.co.uk/restaurants/canterbury

http://zizzi.co.uk/restaurants/glasgow-west-end

http://zizzi.co.uk/restaurants/norwich

last one

And some more

Zizzi Canterbury - Final work (in progress and completed)

Took 2 and a half to 3 days. Emulsion and acrylic paints - extra details were added on request!

Canterbury Sketches

Further sketches for Canterbury but struggling to find suitable resolution. felt posting them to blog would be Cathartic!

Just can't seem to come up with

something as strong and pleasing as the Norwich designs. Will have to plough on, methinks .

Caterbury

When I attended Alasdair Gray's talk at the Aye Write festival in Glasgow I had the full intention of taking notes. I abandoned this idea in favour of just enjoying his company, which- despite the hundreds-strong audience - was very easy to do.

I did make one note, however, which was reads ' next time doing a Zizzi's think of Alasdair Gray' by which I meant ' do what you want' as Gray kept emphasising the people he most enjoyed working for were those who just allowed him to please himself.

I don't feel I've achieved that mentality yet as - I think like most other artists- I get pre-occupied by what I think people expect to see from me or in certain places. But in enjoying Gray's mural work and imitating a certain graphic/ rythmical line of his has helped me overcome a bit of a hump with this commission. The sketch is pictured but still needs revising

Cogan's Portrait zizzi canterbury - sketch and final work

Zizzi requested that their associated Illustrators produce an interpretation of the portrait of John Cogan - former owner of their historical Canterbury premises.

Though we were provided with a lot of information on the various hauntings on the site, I opted to focus on the Will included in the original posthumous portrait. Cogan was, apparently, quite generous - beqeathing his property to various ministers' poor widows and clothing to maidservents and girls working in the house.