Alex Crump - Illustrator
I’ve been absolutely delighted to have received 3 different awards. Two for book illustration from ‘Global Media'(Lux Life Magazine) and ‘Prestige Awards’ and one for Illustration and storytelling combined (again from’Global Media'(Lux Life Magazine)).
Many heartfelt thanks to all my wonderful clients who have helped me gain this recognition. There’s some great projects coming up in the next few weeks and some exciting news about an ‘old friend’ soon…
This has been an idea in the back of my mind for a long time, so I’ve used the news about Swindon’s intended bid to become a ‘City of Culture’ as an excuse to finally bring it to realisation.
I’ve been fortunate to work for and with different creative organisations in the Swindon area and the desire is certainly there to encourage the right conditions to allow creativity to flourish. Hopefully even the fact that it’s being considered can cast a spotlight on what is already thriving in the town and places of heritage, like Lydiard.
I know I’m not the first (or certainly the last) to wax lyrical about this special place and I’ve always thought it would make a great setting for ‘Wind in the Willows’ with the beautiful house (Toad Hall), a lake for ‘Ratty’, a charming underground ice house (for ‘Mole’ to move in to) and the ‘Wild Woods’ for ‘Badger’ and the ‘Stoats’ – bigger with black on their tail + the ‘Weasels’.
I’ve entered a couple of images to the @picturehooks ‘Help, I’m Stuck!’ competition. The brief was to create two illustrations in a swipe through format, encouraging storytelling, showing character, and expressing feelings. I’ve been focusing on communicating the characters’ experience through their facial expressions and physicality.
The images are from a story that I’ve been working on for a while, with a new author. Hopefully the finished book”The Angry Cucumber” will see the light of day in the next few months (there’s a second story in the pipeline too). I started this project in watercolour and ink and have used the ‘Procreate’ app to develop things further. There’s some really funny events in the story, and the main character has been great fun to work on (he’s such a rotter!)
I had the news last week that my proposed designs for Portsmouths ‘Pride of Portsmouth’ trail had been turned down, before I’d definitely be feeling quite low about this but I’ve been trying to see such an occurrence in a different light (rejection is part and parcel of the job). One of my designs was based on Charles Dickens’ work, in the process it was really inspiring to revisit some of his wonderful stories and the amazing characters he created. I chose an image from ‘Great Expectations’ as the main illustration. The moment Pip meets Abel Magwitch, a terrifying incident for Pip but something that has such a profound and far reaching effect on his entire life (no spoilers here – you’ll have to read it yourself, Marcia Williams abridged versions are a great recap). In thanks to Dickens’ inspiration one of the things that I’m embracing this year is the idea of ‘Great Rejections’ (based on the @goodshipillustration #100rejections). Finding inspiration, enjoying the process and producing work I can be proud of is what really drives me (I need to make sure I remember this!)
It seemed appropriate top share this with the weather as it is today. I’ve been working on this project (with the author David Atkins) since the warmer days of Autumn. It’s been interesting to look back at some of the initial ideas and designs for the story. For this project I’ve worked really closely with the client and we have had several ‘Zoom meetings’ where I’ve been able to screen share to make some real time edits and alterations. Communication with clients is a key part of what I do and in all projects there are regular meet-ups (virtual or ‘real’) to share and celebrate the progress of the project to bounce ideas off of each other. The increased availability of video conferencing has been really useful when working with clients – I’ve been able to work on projects based in the USA, India, Dubai, Ormskirk and mainland Europe to mention just a few!
Inspired by my work with the Swindon Culture Collective’s “Winterfest” I put in some designs for different sculpture trails. This one based in Epping, I was taken with the myth of the ‘Dandy Highwayman’ – embodied by the tales surrounding Dick Turpin (who reportedly had his hideout in the forest). The ‘Robin Hood’ style narrative and the daring escapades make this a very exciting and engaging character (despite there only being the tiniest grain of truth in them!) I created patterns inspired by artwork from Turpin’s era (the 1700’s) as well as a nod to the song ‘Stand and Deliver’ by Adam and the Ants with the patterns on the legs of the design (click on the design for a link to the song). Alas! The design won’t be adorning the trail but instead inspired me to create the ‘Dandy-lion Highwayman above!
I started this image in the Swindon Paintfest – during a live painting session in the Wyvern theatre. Living in the Swindon area for nearly 20 years now, it’s been interesting to see the locality change and develop. The impetus for this was to try to encapsulate a little of Swindon’s history in a fun and engaging way. Being a sucker for a good story and reading up on a bit of local history, my ‘Homage to Swindon’ came about
So, what’s it all about?! Billie (The pig) comes from the theory that the name ‘Swindon’ comes from ‘Swine – Dun’ (“Pig on the Hill” if you like) the tiny little town that Swindon was for centuries. Billie is dressed in a blue and white striped gown (based on the proposed flag of Swindon) with an orange cape – Swindon council’s colour. Behind Billie is the Wyvern – a great mythical creature that represents the ancient kingdom of Wessex that encompassed the area that Swindon sits in (also the name of the theatre in the town). To Billie’s right is the Robin, nickname of the football and the speedway team (amongst others). Underneath the Robin is a white horse of the hillside – Wiltshire and the surrounding areas has several of these. Coming through the canal tunnel is Isambard (Isambarge?!) Kingdon Brunel, the famous engineer who brought the railway to Swindon in the 19th century and changed the area (and in my opinion, the world!). Riding on the Great Western Railway train (thanks to Isambard) is the Great Bustard – the bird that sits on top of the country badge of Wiltshire.
I’ve already identified a few things I’ve missed – Daniel Gooch, Brunel and “THE Sandwich”! – that’s a story for another day, a ‘Wildcat’ (Ice Hokey)… let me know what else I could add!
New year always brings a lot of new ideas and thoughts, ambitions etc. I think the thing I’ve always found (being freelance) is how to keep my work visible in a very competitive market (where to post, how frequently etc.) I’ve noticed AI generated artwork having quite an impact on things, I’ve always been worried about posting too much but I suppose the worst that will happen will be that some people may decide to ‘unfollow’ so I’ve decided to hope to post everywhere more often, maybe even a few time a week on my website – there’s no rules, we’re all making things up as we go along!
On the subject of AI, I can only say that whilst it’s a convenient tool for some in different circumstances I worry that reliance on the technology will take away the capacity for individual critical thought and erosion of imagination. To quote one of my heroes – Robin Williams “You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it,” and my ‘madness’ is something I rely on – so AI isn’t for me, I shan’t be using it in my work.
Having a bit of fun, beginning to create an image based on the style of the Bayeux Tapestry (I was alerted to a project around this and got inspired). I saw a documentary recently about the tapestry which explored the history behind it and showed artists attempting to recreate the exact colours of the threads when it was newly created as they have faded over time, I’ve used the iPad ‘Procreate’ program to try to match some of the colours.
I remember visiting Normandy as a child and seeing the tapestry up close, such an amazing piece of work, the story behind it absolutely fascinating.