The Lewis Chessmen are among the best known objects in Edinburgh's National Museum of Scotland. Originally made in the 12th Century, this Viking hoard of ninety-three carved ivory chess pieces were found some 700 years later in a sand-dune on the island of Lewis in 1831. The Museum commissioned Adam Stower to create designs based on these famous Chessmen, for a range of products including mugs, tea towels, bags and stationery. Adam Stower is represented by Arena
Frances Castle's beautiful cover illustration and title lettering for C.J. Flood's debut novel, Infinite Sky, is published by Simon & Schuster in February. This is a coming-of-age story about the summer that changed one girl's life as she falls in love for the very first time.
Infinite Sky is a beautifully designed hardback book, with a linen effect finish, decorated endpapers, a map and the swallow and dragonfly motifs dotted throughout the book. It's great to see the attention to detail, you'd really want it on your book shelf. Frances Castle is represented by Arena
We've long admired Levi Pinfold's illustrations, so we're delighted to welcome him on board the good ship, Arena.
Some of you may be familiar with Levi's first picture book, The Django (Templar), based on the story of legendary jazz musician Django Reinhardt which was shortlisted for the English Best Children's Illustrated Book Award in 2011. Levi was voted Best Emerging Illustrator in the Early Years Awards in 2010 and he also won the Booktrust Best New Illustrators Award in 2011.
Since graduating in 2006 he has become well known for his detailed paintings and charming storytelling style. Levi's second book, Black Dog, was published to critical acclaim in 2011 and he's working on a new picture book with Templar at the moment.
Andrew Davidson was asked by design company Turner Duckworth to help illustrate their 2012 Christmas card. A beautiful and clever design, the card folds out to unite the two bridges where their offices are based in London and San Francisco – From Tower Bridge to the Golden Gate Bridge. Andrew Davidson is represented by the Artworks
Over the last year Debbie Powell has been working on a fantastic project in collaboration with Japanese Railways. Here is the gorgeous illustration which has been turned into a 3d and animated version – check out the cute animated version here: https://jrtk.jrtk.jp/xmas/index.html
Daniela was asked to create this beautiful cover and inside illustrations as part of this ‘Special Illustrated Collectors’ edition of Stylist. It was great that Daniela was selected as the cover artist of an issue celebrating illustration. Daniela Terrazzini is represented by the Artworks
Cathrine Finnema was commissioned for Unilever to create a type based illustration for Persil's "Dirt is Good" campaign. Cathrine's upbeat style works perfectly on a poster encouraging mothers to let their children go outdoors to play and get dirty. Cathrine is represented by Eastwing
Arn0 has been working with Epoch Design on a series of images for Dove. The pinups he's created will be used on Dove's packaging for it's 2012/13 range. Arno is represented by Debut Art
Actor James Franco commissioned Jeff Wack to paint this beautiful mural of Nemesis and the Erinyes for a wall in his home. Jeff Wack is represented by Debut Art
Great Ormond Street Hospital held an event back in October of "information, inspiration and celebration around the theme of 'Bringing Research to Life'" . And Gail Armstrong was chosen by agency Radley Yeldar to participate in illustrating one of 26 large flash cards representing an A-Z of different research stories. Gail's card was for the letter C: Cystic Fybrosis, she says "I wanted it to be a fun image, so kept everything bright and cheerful and took inspiration from Lichtenstein for the type. The event was a huge success and the client very enthusiastic in their praise of the agency and artists." Gail's image successfully illustrates the ten pin bowling simulation when a patient blows into a machine, certainly creating the play factor with hospital treatment!
GOSH say of the commission:
“Radley Yeldar have been a dream company to work with. The brief we gave them was no easy task: to bring to life a portfolio of medical research stretching back through several decades of Great Ormond Street Hospital’s history, in a way that was visually arresting but didn’t scream “science”. We really threw the book at them, but they grasped tricky concepts quickly and dealt with them sensitively, working closely with us at every stage of an intensely creative process.
The end product – an A to Z of some of our most impressive research achievements – delicately balanced strong and emotive narrative alongside genuinely arresting (and intriguing!) visual concepts. The life-sized flashcards they produced were the talk of our flagship Bringing Research to Life event. Each one delivered a simple but powerful story, with the full 26 working together beautifully to reinforce our core message: that research changes children’s lives. They’ve given us a whole new language with which to speak about the vital work we’re funding. We’re incredibly grateful for their support.”
