As a freelance graphic designer, I took up illustrating because I couldn't afford to hire an artist when needed. I've always tried to be flexible and interpret what a client requires, within my own abilities and limitations. Here is a selection of illustrations created over the years but in no particular date order, mainly for book publishers. There does seem to be rather a lot of maps …
I don’t paint or make prints very often these days, so this page is a bit bare at the moment. My good friend, printmaker Derek Chambers, has tested some of my handmade papers to print beautiful drypoint etchings and they have worked well so far, especially the Cotton, Plantain and New Zealand Flax.
Here is a selection of my hand-made papers and paper things, made from various plants growing in the garden and surrounding countryside, and also from flax rope, hemp, abaca, kozo and cotton. All the papers are sized internally except for the pure abaca and kozo, so they can take a certain amount of ink and paint.
I do like books – to hold, to thumb through, pick up and put down, to read at leisure, to play with.
Here are a few of the books I’ve made, including flick books to do with growth, form and natural law, which is of great interest to me, and playing with shapes, formations and typography.
