Jennet Device

I recently watched a documentary called The Pendle Witch Child about A 9 year old girl who testified against her whole family in a witchcraft trial in 1612.
Read her story here

I was so inspired by this story and the fact this young child condemned and most probably watched her own mother and family members hang.
Jennet eventually ended up on trial for witchcraft herself years later.
Here is my interpretation of her.

Etsy and Vintage Halloween

I have recently developed an addiction to Etsy, I've been buying some interesting new additions to my collection and generally browsing for hours.

during one late night Etsy binge I stumbled into the world of vintage Halloween items, and I just love them! I have been drooling over vintage boxed costumes from Collegeville and Ben Cooper.
I bought this lovely 1950s Devil costume, it has abit of a Casper the Friendly Ghost style to it.

It's inspired me to start drawing again, I have an idea for a series of images that i'll produce as small prints based on this vintage Halloween vibe I'm loving at the moment.
Today I found an old piece of backing card from a picture frame and I loved the old. browned paper, so I did a quick sketch on this.

Disfigured

I was sorting my old bureau out and I found an unfinished piece of work from years ago, I must have not liked it at the time and shoved it in the bureau, but on seeing it again I loved it and really wanted to finish it.

This was what I had to start me off, I got my super fine liners out again and got to work on it.
I'm really happy with the results, seeing as I haven't done any drawing in way too long

I will be back!

I feel I've been neglecting this blog lately, I've recently started a new job and my modelling is going from strength to strength, but I have plenty of things to post here over the next few months.

I love these collage images by French Poet and Screenwriter Jacques Prevert, I love them, especially the first one.

                                                                           La Lune

Babies Skulls

Last week I got my fine liners out again, for the first time in a long while, I was inspired by an amazing shop I found in Hay on Wye full of natural history themed antiques, ephemera and artwork.

I decided to try some skull drawings, looking at antique anatomical drawings as inspiration.

I think I will get some little prints of these done.

 

Departed Father (spirit photograph)

I've always been fascinated by Victorian Spirit Photographs, a type of Victorian trick photography where a deceased family member is superimposed as a 'spirit' into a family photograph. It really reflects the Victorian Mourning culture and their way of dealing with the high mortality rate at the time.
I think its rather beautiful to make an image to reinforce the belief that a dead loved one is still with you.
I made my own take on a spirit photograph using bits from my collection, depicting a family with their deceased father\husband

The face I used for the Father is a photograph of my Great Grandfather.

Childrens Stories Illustrated

Over the past few weeks i've been working on a series of illustrations based on some of my favourite traditional childrens stories.

Little Red Riding Hood
"Oh Grandma, what big Teeth you have"



The Three little Pigs
"The Wolf blew the house down and ate the first little pig"



Goldilocks and the three Bears
"I know who's been sleeping in my bed" Said little bear, "and she's still here"



Hansel and Gretel
"Gretel pushed her in and ran away, the godless witch was burned to death"



Little Red Shoes
"The executioner struck off her feet with the little red shoes, but the shoes danced away with the little feet across the feilds"



Gerda and the Reindeer
"Gerda ran over to the Reindeer, threw her arms around its neck, and laying her cheek against its soft muzzle, said 'please help me to find my friend'

Abit of my own stuff

I've just realised its been a long time since I posted my own artwork on here, and in the last couple of months I have done a few pieces that i am really happy with, so I thought i'd share them

my painting of lady deadlocks last moments, from Bleak House, the most wonderful story, i did this as a present for a friend, its done in ink and gouach


The woman in Black appears in the moorland graveyard, a spur of the moment peice, done with ink and collage