It has taken a while to post this, but this was my contribution to the 'Icons' Custom Toy Show that took place in Leeds in October 2011.
It was an awesome show, and I have to say a massive thanks to Barry from the Hang Gang, who did an amazing job of organizing the show, and to Anthony from Full Circle Gallery, who was an excellent host!
If you like this custom, head over to the Hang Gang Website, where it is for sale.

It's been a long time since I last posted in this blog, but I have been super busy working on various commissions and an exhibition which I will post in the coming weeks. For now, here's my latest commission, entitled 'Psychopomp'.

This piece was based on Anubis, one of the Ancient Egyptian gods of the dead, and the god credited with teaching the art of embalming to the Ancient Egyptians. Egyptian mythology from this time describes death as a lengthy and elaborate process whereby the soul ultimately leaves the body and enters the afterlife, and the Egyptians sought to aid this process with equally elaborate spells, amulets and the singular process of embalming the body.
While most historians today regard the Egyptians as a race obsessed and terrified by the concept of death, I am personally not so quick to disregard these traditions as primitive superstition and 'magical thinking'...

Hope everyone liked my new custom PAW!, here's a couple of close-up shots to show the detail...

This custom was commissioned by NicoCato from the KidRobot discussion boards. It is a very special piece for me because this year I have been having a lot of problems with my health, and working on it has really helped me on the road to recovery. It is also my first piece as a full-time artist.

Check out Nico's incredible collection here.

I have always thought that woven rugs like these bear a peculiar similarity to 8 and 16-bit video game graphics, but none I have seen have come as close as these amazing Afghan War Rugs. Some may think it a sinister comparison, but these rugs remind me of a rug I had as a child, with streets, roads and car parks set out for my Matchbox Cars.

I have become very interested in making work that is placed flat on the floor, or drawn or painted directly onto the floor. It conveys the sense that you could just 'jump in' and transport yourself to another world. Perhaps that is why I find these rugs slightly sinister, as that 'other world' reveals itself to be a very dangerous reality. But I suppose children, and particularly young boys, love their toys and games to have a sense of danger!

For much more, visit Rug Review and WarRugs.com.

Belgrave Bay, St. Peter Port Guernsey.
High tide: 14/7/11 5:38 A.M.

"Over the years an accumulation of taboo utterances and actions concerning the sea, and those who use it as a means to their livelihood, has come into being. A Guernsey fisherman will say, "Je m'en vais au baté" (I am going in my boat), rather than "Je m'en vais au paissaön" (I am going fishing). the fish might hear him if he said he was going fishing and he would get no catch."

"[The fairies] could journey through the air at will, but they usually travelled across the sea in boats. These boats had the peculiarity of becoming smaller and smaller as they approached land. When the fairy navigators finally breached them they were no bigger than a pebble. Sometimes they were seen to be the bones of some small animal."

- 'Folklore of Guernsey' by Marie De Garis.

Old Sea Scout HQ, Cambridge Park, St. Peter Port, Guernsey.

Forgot to post this!
Went out in the very first round, and received only one vote, but here he is.

...maybe he is a little old and out of shape to fight.

This weekend the RWC crew were invited to paint a 100 foot wall at the Guernsey Festival of the Performing Arts, and we invited some of our friends from Jersey to help out.

I collaborated with Strictly Biz (RWC), who painted some super-crisp ooze designs intertwined with some of my letters and skulls. It turned out great and I'm looking forward to working with him again.

Watch this space for photographs of the whole wall, featuring Sao, Evil Spoon and Scyte (Jersey), alongside Rost, Ster and Cose (RWC).

Sam 'Strictly Business' Falla earned his name from his heads-down attitude to skating, and his highly detailed, meticulously crafted drawings show a similar dedication. Check out some of his drawings on the RWC website here.

When myself, ROST and Kitten Soft set up the CentreFold Gallery in 2008, we were surprised and delighted to see the place become a hub for like-minded local artists. Although CentreFold Gallery is now sadly closed, it helped to create some lasting relationships with other artists and creatives. Sam was a student at this time, but stood out from the crowd simply due to his enthusiasm and immediate grasp of style.

Me and ROST saw Sam come a long way in a very short space of time, and this is probably due to his consistent rate of production. Sam is one of those people who you need to keep an eye on, as every drawing gets better, and you can be sure he will be knocking them out at a healthy rate!