Merry Xmas!

Xmas card commission for Peter Christian men's wear company recently. Nice to end a fantastic year on a high note. Have a wonderful festive time and all the best for 2013!

Glenda's Rocket Gun

Collage for the latest theme of "Speed" at The Kollage Kit.

Sneak Preview

A sneak preview of our Christmas card this year - a collage originally made in two parts some time ago. Adapted for a commission I was doing for a card for someone else. Anyway they had two to choose from and went with the other "busier" collage , but I still like this one. Just waiting for it to be returned from the printers.

Stocking Fillers!

Just a reminder about my book and others at the wonderful Black Scat Books website.

It's Raining

Hats & Frogs and Datsun Cogs! Collage for the latest theme at The Kollage Kit.Thanks to Compound Eye and Hazel Jones at Flickr for the suggested puntastic titles!

Seven Years Bad Luck

Collage for the latest theme of "Superstition" at The Kollage Kit blog.==================================================================================="It is said that when you break a mirror, your cosmic penance is to endure seven years of bad luck, unless you can find a way to counteract the negative effects. Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to prevent all that karmically bad juju after you break a mirror, although you might have to get a little dirty or soggy. It's still preferable to spending the rest of your seven year sentence wondering why your car keys keep breaking off in the ignition or why you keep missing the bus. The origin of the "break a mirror, face seven years of bad luck" superstition can be traced back to the Romans, who were the first to create glass mirrors. Just because your culture invents something totally useful like a mirror doesn't mean you can't still have some irrational beliefs about its use. The Romans, along with the Greek, Chinese, African and Indian cultures, believed that a mirror had the power to confiscate part of the user's soul. If the user's reflected image became distorted in any way, this could mean a corruption of his or her soul."

Old Fashioned Comic Book Cover

A collage for the latest theme at The Kollage Kit called Old Fashioned. Background image from old reprints of British Comics by Dennis Gifford I have two copies of therefore grist to the collage mill.

I Don't Wish To Alarm You But....

Just got my copy of Roger Stevens excellent new CD that I did the cover art for - well, actually he just went through all my collages on Facebook and chose one that fitted the title track. You can find it at his Reverbnation site. Roger has recently discovered his folk roots and plays regularly at Hove Folk Club if ever you are down that way. For the origins of the Moths In The Lumber Room inspiration go HERE.

Birthday Party

A collage from the archive - a few years old. Not sure if I've featured this one here before? Just the right shape to look at through a letterbox and handy for the long space provided at FaceBook.

Money Comic

Collage for last weeks theme at The Kollage Kit.

Top Ark Adventures

I seem to have accumulated many versions of the Noah's Ark image in various guises - some way back in the 80's painted in watercolour and gouache and more recently collage versions with cars, buses and many other unlikely craft being substituted for the typical vehicle of choice. Maybe a book will emerge from it - who knows! Mary Greg has some nice toy arks with damaged animals in the Manchester Art Gallery archive that she donated to. I did a couple of ark collages inspired by the broken animals- some with bandaged heads and legs, splints and plasters etc. The Hospital Ark and the Route Master Ark are showing in the Mouseion exhibition in Leicester at the moment.

Best Of The Chishmush Catloggers

Now available in glorious glossy type covered 121 page paperback from Black Scat Books and Amazon. Originally sent out as A4 photocopied sheets folded into 16 pages in limited edition of 100 to friends and family at Yuletide during the 80's and 90's.

K.K. No. 1

Happy Birthday to us! The Kollage Kit collaborative collage blog I started after the demise of Scrapiteria is one year old this week! This week's theme chosen by Ron Bookless is Number One and to celebrate we are pulling out all the stops and pushing back all the goes! Let's hope for another wonderful creative year of collage!

Mouseion Exhibition

A quick plug for the Mouseion Exhibition that's up and running in University of Leicester at the moment until next March I think. Some photos of it's installation on Flickr HERE that the curator Alex Woodall took recently.

Republica De Coll

Collage for latest theme at The Kollage Kit = http://kollagekit.blogspot.com/

She's A Rainbow

She comes in collage everywhere; She cuts her hair She's like a rainbow Come in collage in the air Oh, everywhere She comes in collage

We All Live In Yellow Semolina!

That's what a friend's friend's little boy used to call that song which I always thought quite amusing and stuck in my head for some reason. This though is a Beatles song illustrated via the latest theme at The Kollage Kit. Those yellow subs are hard to find but I managed to cobble one together from an old science mag and some off cuts. It's kind of a Noah's Ark theme too which I have done quite a few of over the years. See Flickr for some of the rest.

Show & Tell Dream No. 9

Collage For latest theme at The Kollage Kit - http://kollagekit.blogspot.com/

Too Much Cheese

Collage For latest theme at The Kollage Kit - http://kollagekit.blogspot.com/ The airplane in dreams represents a trip to another level of knowledge. When you see in a dream that you are traveling by plane, this means that you are reaching a higher level of knowledge and comprehension. Via http://www.divinecaroline.com/22201/97775-meaning-airplane-dreams#ixzz25XNYZzWz

Book Cover

Collage for possible book cover for self published work online at Blurb, Magcloud or Lulu etc. Not really sure yet. Still mulling over the idea.

Room Of Curiosities

I am showing some collages at the Leicester College Of Museums (?) in September so this a response to that theme of collecting and Wunderkammer etc. More details nearer the date.

Agrizoophobia

For the latest theme of "Fears & Phobias" at The Kollage Kit blog. We never had a bear or lion in the car but in Australia last year we found a Huntsman spider in the flap above the windscreen! Uncle John and Auntie Audrey thought this was very funny as the Huntsman is one of the least scary and not poisonous - still we kept a safe distance so Uncle John could remove it and we could return to the car.

A.1. Scrap Metal

This collage (not Adobe Photoshop)from some years ago was made for Hazel's blog where she displays all her boot sale and market finds. Now featured in an excellent new book by Martin Dawber - "Modern Vintage Illustration". A good year for me as far as books go as my work was also featured in the book "Artists' Postcards" by Jeremy Cooper earlier in February. Also on line published works at Issu and Magcloud.

Rainbow

O Roger thou art special As glorious as a currant bun More brightly than the morning sun Twinkling in your poet's garb Hippopotamus of fun.

Party Tricks

Another Boomerang card from the late 80's or early 90's.

Exercises

One of the first Boomerang postcards I ever had made from the late 80's. Went on to have several others published that were given away in cinema foyers and student union bars etc. I got paid in cards - 500 altogether. So a lot of the earlier ones like this are all gone now. Collectors items!

Sir John Betjemen's Rocket

Sir John Betjemen's Rocket


How long it flew, how straight it flew,
It cleared the leafy gardens
And soaring disappeared from view
Beyond Windsor , Brent and Morden
A glorious , whizzing rocket now
That's on it's way to Slough

Screen Scream

Screen Scream

You scream , me scream
We all scream at the TV screen
60 channels and nothing there
It's enough to make you swear

The New Carpet

The New Carpet


I'll always remember the new carpet
Gaudy swirling patterns that baffled
The brain and eyes into submission
Bought with the football pools money
Twenty quid was a lot in those days
It was either that or a week at Butlins
I know what I'd rather have.

Owl Stretching Time

Owl Stretching Time

Its that time again.
When feathered friends are here.
The blackbird is yawning
The blue tit flutters near

Those ducks are feeling sleepy
That robin's eyes are red
He's been up all night
Hopping round the bed

These owls have it sorted
They sit upon the clocks
Ready to put on pyjamas
And pull up there wooly socks

It's owl stretching time
Their feathers go all slack
The clock is striking eleven
It's time to hit the sack

Maggie's Farm

Maggies Farm


I'm not going back to Maggie's farm no more
She kept leaving pig swill on top of the doors
Cows were rolling themselves off the barn
Chickens with machine guns caused a lot of alarm

The pigs were intent on causing a riot
Horses kept gambling way into the night
Drinking strong liquor and swearing profusely
The geese were all leery and thoroughly goosey



That farm is a nightmare of animal mayhem

Postage Increases

Postage Increases

Damn these postage increases
My letters now have to be ironed
To fit them through that slitty thing
They mess around with at the post office

Parcels are filled with helium
To make them eligible for a discount
Our sent by surface where they languish
On the quayside surrounded by natives