Gather round for I have a tale to tell. I was on holiday when I thought I’d go for an afternoon stroll into the hills behind where I was staying. As I was wandering along the path I knocked a stone which started a small rockslide that seemed to terminate with a deep groan. Having watched too much Murder She Wrote I decided to put on my Jessica Fletcher hat and began an investigation.
After clambering down the small incline I was surprised to find a large head peeking out of the ground and grumbling to itself. To my shock he started shouting at me about being careful about where I was going and to watch my step in a deeply toned accent that I just couldn’t place. I apologised profusely and said I would be more careful in the future and he grumbled something unintelligible and seemingly went back to sleep. Now, what the moral is I’m not entirely sure but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
We were commissioned to produce a 1m x 1m canvas for a very discerning and influential couple for their new house (seriously, they’re the power couple behind one of the UK’s biggest soaps). The canvas was to be based on the song ‘Strawberry Letter 23’ by Shuggie Otis. It’s a great song and you really should give it a listen. With such fine pedigree to work with we knocked out some designs lickety-split and that was when it all really began…
This large commission now has the dubious distinction of being the picture that has taken the longest time from conception to completion than anything else we’ve ever produced. We’re talking well over a year. When it was finally deemed complete my relief was palpable.
She’s on a 1m x 1m canvas and has been painted using all the paint we could find seemingly. She’s now safely ensconced in her new home in sunny Manchester. Let’s all wish her luck…
Have you ever looked in the mirror and been scared stiff with what is staring back at you? Marjorie has and she’s still reeling from it.
She thought she had the look of a powerful business woman from the 80’s, instead she looks like the reanimated corpse of a long dead Margaret Thatcher – whom I suppose was a woman of power in the 80’s – but it was disconcerting all the same.
The weird thing was after stepping away from the mirror Marjore could still feel the ex-Prime Minister’s presence and the feeling never left. Majorie has learnt to embrace the situation and now has a private investigations firm called ‘Paranormal PM PI’. She hasn’t had many jobs yet but she’s sure Maggie’s malign presence will surely come in handy soon. It’s early doors for these two. Watch this space…
It is A5 in size and made using pencil, fine line pen and triblend markers
With BP and the other big petroleum conglomerates saying that we’ve reached peak oil consumption, that would seem like a good thing for all. For years petroleum oil has been known as black gold due the price it gets if you can just get it out of the ground. But as we now all know the use of petroleum in everything from plastic to petrol has been choking the planet for years.
Now with green energy coming to the forefront it seems to be the death knell for the industry and that can only be a good thing. Hopefully we as a population will lean in to renewable energy, along with changing our attitudes to things like fast fashion, cycling and eating less meat. We can only hope…
It is A5 in size and made using triblend markers, fine line pen and paint pen
There I was having a few drinks late on Friday when inspiration struck. In front of me were a few empty beer cans, a pencil case and a few other bits and bobs needed to make quick work of the empty bit of paper.
Using the shadows from the beer cans I’ve created this minimalist piece which is a step away from what we normally do. Invariably we would stick some text or maybe a face across the middle of it and call it finished. This time though a modicum of restraint was used and I stopped before I could carry on. Everyday is a school day…
Apparently, in the Book of Revelations, seven trumpets are sounded to herald a prophesied apocalyptic event. Upon the sound of the first trumpet, hail and fire mingled with blood is thrown to Earth, burning up a third of the trees on the planet, and all green grass. Thankfully this is not that trumpet. This trumpet contains a genie that looks very much like trumpet virtuoso Clifford Brown. When you hit the right sequence of notes the genie will appear and grant you one jazz based wish. The trumpet’s current whereabouts are unknown although it’s strongly suspected to be owned by Judi Sheppard Missett who just happens to be the founder of Jazzercise. Work it out for yourself…
As I’m currently moving house I don’t have my usual tools of the trade with me. What I did manage to grab whilst packing was my unopened Scrawlrbox that I had got through Upfest. Scrawlrbox is a subscription service that sends you a box every month with some art supplies in so you can have a play around with some new techniques and ideas. The box I went for included some tri-blend markers (essentially fancy felt tips) and some other bits to get me going. And this is what you end up with.
Roll up, roll up! It’s been a quiet couple of months and we need some new spraypaint so it’s sale time here at id-iom. We’ve got 25% off if you spend over £60 on our big cartel page. Now you can’t really say fairer than that. So, if you’ve ever needed an id-iom piece to adorn your walls then now’s the time…
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