I had a fun filled weekend visiting two exciting illustration / comic events, cultured kind of guy that I am.
Friday evening found me hitting the library, which was not as studious as it sounds. The inside of the British Library was almost unrecognisable as for one night only it was transferred into Illuminate! A celebration of Illustration. With music provided by Mr. Scruff, there was excellent and eclectic company as work of Quentin Blake hung next to the drawings of Jamie Hewlett and a host of other amazing artists.
It was good to see many of my buds from the London comic scene rubbing shoulders, including the very talented Karen Rubins who I’m currently working on a short but exciting comic project with. It was great to see her work displayed in such a fantastic venue.
Ink drawing from Tales by Ghost Light by Karen Rubins
My photo doesn’t do her line work justice so best to check out Karen’s online portfolio here!
Death Do Us Part: Comic Sculpture by Karrie Fransman
Likewise, the picture above taken on my iPhone fails to capture how cool Karrie Fransman’s work is. As well as displaying her comic art, Karrie ran one of the many workshops that was taking place on the night. In her case this was a popular 3D Narrative Life Drawing workshop which included Karrie dressing up as a horse for the benefit of the surrounding artists who all grabbed the chance to draw live Medieval characters. Here’s my own efforts…
3D Narrative Life Drawing Sketches
On Sunday I headed to a rare event that appealed to my 4 year old son as much as me. Illustrators Sarah McIntyre and Ed Vere not only gave readings of their fantastic children’s books Morris the Mankiest Monster and Bedtime for Monsters, but had a nail-biting monster drawing showdown too! You can see more on the event on Sarah’s own blog here.
Ed Vere and Sarah McIntyre drawing in books at Monsterville
Sarah McIntyre and fan with "Vern & Lettuce" and Ed Vere's "The Getaway"
It was brilliant for me and my son to meet and chat with these illustration greats! It’s only a shame that the event was marking the final weekend of Monsterville after 6 months at the Children’s Story Centre in Stratford. The planned Comics / Superheroes event there looks like it should be good too though!
