Arts Iconic launch

Tonight we are holding a launch party (that's yours truly along with friends and colleagues Nick Newman and Elanor Parker) for our new live arts and theatre company - Arts Iconic. We're busy preparing for the evening right now, so I thought I'd post a couple of images... The design process board for our logo design, and a quick peek at one of the little design models for an upcoming project that will be on display at the launch event tonight.

To find out more, you can visit the company's website here:
www.artsiconic.co.uk

Sleuth by Anthony Shaffer

Quirksome Theatre will shortly be putting on a production of Anthony Shaffer's hilarious two-hander Sleuth at the Hopkinson Vintage Gallery on Station St in Nottingham.

Below is the poster I have designed for the marketing of the show. I got a bit carried away again but it was fun. Further info can be found in the magnifying glass - do come! Tickets can be purchased online HERE.

God of Carnage

Yasmina Reza's sharply-observed comedy of modern manners - God of Carnage - begins at the Lace Market Theatre in Nottingham tonight and runs all through this week with shows beginning at 7:30pm. It closes on Saturday 19th October (Two shows on the Saturday, beginning at 2:30pm and 7:30pm). Click here for more information and to book tickets.

Below is a little peak at my final set design in model form:

Women of Troy interview

This was 3 or 4 months ago now, but better late than never eh! Here is an interview with director Cynthia Marsh at the Lace Market Theatre in Nottingham about the recent staging of Women of Troy by Euripides. In the background you can see Carole Philip's set which transformed the Lace Market stage into a striking temple, and you can also glimpse the large mycenian mask painted on the back wall of the stage by yours truly ;-)
 

Wyrd Sisters interview

I've just located the video interview with director Andrew Nash, filmed on the Lace Market stage during the set build for Wyrd Sisters. I remember this being filmed but hadn't yet discovered it on youtube until tonight. Behind Andrew, you can see one of the cogs I painted on the back wall, along with some of my illustrative Discworld graphics that appeared in the video art shown when Granny Weatherwax did her big spell to move Lancre 15 years into the future, at the end of Act I - ooh, exciting that some of my humble brushwork and illustration efforts are on youtube!

It brings back fond memories of the show too, check it out below!

Thanks To His Sister

Earlier this week I had fun creating a poster for Quirksome Theatre's upcoming production of Thanks To His Sister by Robin Acland. The shows will be on in Spring and you can read more details, including a plot synopsis, here. I was able to catch their last production - Joe Orton's The Erpingham Camp - which was a fantastically funny dark comedy, so I'm looking forward to seeing this one!

I had the idea for the poster (directly below) before I produced the thumbnail version to be used as a holding image (below, bottom) and wanted to base it around a theme of paper and daffodils because the play's central character, Brian, is a student struggling with his final dissertation on the poet William Wordsworth.

As his deadline nears, he becomes stressed and obsessed and begins experiencing visions of the historical figures who roam the pages of his thesis. I thought I would illustrate this scatterbrained student on the verge of a breakdown by having the paper stacks which adorn his room (or floor-based filing system, with which I personally am sadly more than familiar) morph themselves into daffodils which start to grow and creep up out of his tatty jumper and threaten to take over.

Good plan?
I thought so, then realised I'd never done any origami before and a daffodil is not exactly the easiest thing to start with. So I went straight to trusty old youtube and found a brilliant tutorial. After a couple of attempts and deciding to combine photography and illustration, I think I got away with it!

Wyrd Sisters

Recently I did a little illustrative project in the shape of a flyer for the upcoming production of Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters at the Lace Market Theatre in Nottingham directed by Andrew Nash. I'm also getting the paintbrushes out to do some set painting which is great!

The production's design, by Mark James, is in a Steampunk style which is very exciting and it will definitely be a fun family show for the run up to Christmas! Show dates are on the flyer image below, and you can book tickets here.

A Christmas Carol

To add to my artwork in the previous post, I thought I'd post a picture of the production to show the artwork as it was incorporated on the set. I also had fun with a little bit of painting and prop-making in the shape of those burgundy lampshades. New Perspective's production of A Christmas Carol continues to tour through December, see here for the full tour schedule, and definitely go along if you like the look of it!

Credit to Pamela Raith Photography for the wonderful production shots below:

Watch the trailer for the show here!

And now for something Victorian...

It's been a shocking amount of time since my last post, due to being a little busier of late (hurrah!) so I'm posting something a little different this time.

After going to sit in on rehearsals for New Perspective Theatre Company's one-man production of A Christmas Carol a few weeks back, I ended up producing some Victorian magician/entertainer -style poster art for the set and foyers during the tour which you can see below. The artwork also appears in the play's programme in which I was very excited to see I was credited as Scenic Artist!

Working on this was a great experience and I also got to help out a bit with preparing the set and went along for the first day of the tour. It is a fantastic production, really getting you into the spirit of Christmas as the nights draw in and there's a chill in the air. So if you're anywhere near the East Midlands before mid-December, do catch it if you can!