Wednesday 6 May 2015

Cucumber & Chilli Pepper tango

I was recently commissioned to draw a cucumber dancing with a chilli pepper. Helpfully I have drawn dancing vegetables before! The client requested various details and features that referenced the people these characters represent. Hopefully they will appreciate the sentiment though it is hard for me to know as I am not part of the private joke going on here! 
Here is the final result:


Some early sketches of various poses:


Here is an older drawing I did on a similar theme. 
The Dance of the Condiments:


Tuesday 5 May 2015

Inorikaze - Prayer Wind

My talented friend Nobuko Miyazaki is a New York based flautist, shinobue (Japanese bamboo flute) player and composer. Her latest project is an album of her own compositions recorded with a variety of professional musicians and collaborators, including the Manhattan Symphonie Orchestra, entitled - Inorikaze - Prayer Wind.

You can hear a sample of her music and find out the stories behind each composition on her website here: http://www.nobuflute.com/ 

Nobuko asked me to design a CD cover for this album. She wanted an image of a young girl playing a flute. The girl represents herself and was inspired by a photo she took of a girl she came across in Japan whilst doing voluntary aid work there following the earthquake in 2013.


The music is represented by ribbons of colour, swirling into the sky:


An early title design with brushwork type:

The final artwork:


To buy the album click here:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/inorikaze-prayer-wind-ep/id961365698
http://cdbaby.com/cd/nobukomiyazaki2

A portion of sales go to children's charities.

Nobuko worked tirelessly to put this album together and I am very proud to be a small part of her continuing success.