about me
A bit of information about me and what I do.
pencils, mawashi-geris and stellar evolution
I am a Leicestershire-based freelance artist and illustrator. My style is detailed but also varied, encompassing brightly-coloured cartoon turtles through to firey dragons and then on to characterful pet portraits.
My first big commercial commission was for the renowned medical journal The Lancet; I provided the cover artwork for their end-of-year special issue celebrating the bicentennial of Charles Darwin's birth, as well as over a dozen black & white illustrations and a family tree. Since the issue's publication in late 2008 I have pursued a freelance career in illustration, leaving my full-time job in IT in March 2010 to concentrate on this fully.
In broad terms, I suppose you could say that my life has been influenced the most by three things; pencils, mawashi-geris and stellar evolution. The pencils are pretty self-explanatory, but in addition to my creative side I've also "dabbled" in the sciences. I'm fascinated by space and the stars (one of the reasons I'm so enamoured with science-fiction) and for several years I followed an academic path that led to me studying Astrophysics at Cambridge. Stellar evolution was one of my best subjects and one of the most interesting. Whilst at university I joined their Karate club, which is where the mawashi-geris came in (it's a roundhouse kick, if you're wondering) and was also where I met my future wife. After completing my degree I found myself, like most graduates, needing a job and I sort of fell into a career in IT. But I soon realised that something was missing and it was then that my life-long dream of being a "real" artist re-emerged.
When it comes to my art, I mostly work using pencils and my beloved Wacom Cintiq graphics tablet coupled with Adobe Photoshop CS3. My unusual background gives me an analytical, logical side in addition to my artistic streak, which means that I have a great attention for detail and I always strive for perfection in my work. I'm constantly pushing myself to improve and explore new ideas.
Examples of my work can be found in the Portfolio. If you'd like to get in touch with me to discuss commissioning some work, please feel free to send me an email as I would be very happy to discuss your requirements. I hope that you enjoy browsing this site and looking through my portfolio.
