I often find that the research I do for client work ends up finding its way into my personal work. Earlier in the year I had done a lot of research into esoterica and symbolism and I had collected a lot of interesting imagery. Additionally I have a folder of favourite artworks that I sometimes draw upon for inspiration, one of them being Nicholas Roerich's iconic Mother of the World painting. I was drawn to the quiet but powerful nature of the artwork. A robed woman sits alone on an island, in a meditative state surrounded by a glowing light.
Read MoreI wanted to make a linoprint that was inspired by Roman/Greek Mythology. I had done a little research into mythical tales and was fascinated by Diana the Huntress, also known as Artemis. Diana was regarded as a goddess of the hunt, animals and fertility. I think I was drawn to her because I used to archery when I was a kid, but I also think people doing archery on horseback looks pretty cool.
Read MoreI started this project during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, and finished it just as things were starting to get back to normal here in Australia. At the start of the pandemic, I felt a sense of listlessness and an inability to be productive. It took a couple of weeks to process what was happening to the world but I eventually felt the desire to make something personal. I decided to take my time with it, considering I had a lot of it, and consider every line and curve. I initially had no ideas on what the subject matter could be, and just began researching. Libraries were closed so I looked through the books I had, and dug through a lot of online library archives.
Read MoreSeventeenth and eighteenth century memento mori woodcuts are some of my most favourite things to look at. They look fairly primitive yet they have a ton of character and I've been looking forward to making my own version ever since I first saw them. Memento mori is a Latin phrase which means 'remember that you must die' and was a philosophy to remind people that our time on earth is limited and to not take it for granted. The heyday for memento mori artefacts lasted from around the seventeenth century to the nineteenth century.
Read MoreSometimes when I'm looking for new ideas for an illustration, I ask a friend to throw me a subject as a starting point. One idea that was given to me was the subject of masks, which seemed interesting and was something I hadn't explored before. I then went to the library and looked at a whole lot of books on masks. Mexican, Japanese and African masks appealed to me the most for inspiration. Around the same time, I'd been hearing a lot about the lizard brain and the concept kind of crept into my process and the mask idea evolved into a lizard brain idea.
Read MoreWho doesn't love playing cards? I've seen so many awesome playing card designs lately, I thought I'd do a couple of my own as miniature prints. First, a little history. It is thought that playing cards first originated in China as early as the 9th century. By the 14th century they found their way into Europe. The suit system of hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds that we're familiar with today evolved over time. Starting with systems created by countries from the East, the French simplified the design, which has since become adopted around the world.
Read MoreI decided to make a linoprint of a pocket watch for a person I know who has a slight obsession for watches and he talks about them a lot. As a result, I've learnt more about watches than I ever thought possible. I'm an enthusiast for traditional craftsmanship, so it didn't take long to come to appreciate the history and the craft that goes into making mechanical watches. I especially have a fondness for vintage pocket watches that have fancy engravings. I've seen some of these incredible ornamental pocket watches at the Patek Philippe Museum and the IWC Museum during my travels to Europe and I wanted to create a pocket watch similar to the ones I had seen in person.
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