Draw Draw Draw
Thanks to the lovely Helen at Draw Draw Draw for mentioning me and featuring my work.
Check out her site it’s bursting with inspirational material concerning all aspects of drawing.
Funnily she even tweeted about my birds !
Toy Story 3
Tuesday evening I went to see the new Toy Story 3 film by Pixar. I had already seen
the two previous films so the characters and general feel of the films were already known to me.
One thing I like about Disney, is that they know how to tell a good story
and they’ve also had a little experience when it comes to knowing how to entertain !.
This third movie is a bit of a rollercoaster ride through a series of emotions,
surprise, suspense, enjoyment, even some awkwardness when it comes to
getting a tad tearful behind my 3-D specs, Ok come on people I defy anyone
to go and see his film and not get emotionally entangled,
because that’s the other thing that Disney does well, (and we all remember bambi!).
Bottom four images with thanks to heyuguys.co.uk
There was also a great short at the beginning of the film called “Night and Day” with work
by Lou Romano another great artist / illustrator. He’s had involvements with Up, WALL-E,
Ratatouille, Cars, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc to name but a few.
Check out his blog and some of his work below.
PAD, Purveyors of Gorgeous Paraphernalia.
One of the first places to purchase some Fishink Notebooks was PAD.
Situated at 105 Manchester Road, Chorlton, Manchester (Opposite Unicorn),
it’s a lovely mix of home accessories, garden gadgets, jewellery, lighting, cards, art and much more.
The two owners that run the place are Darren and David and they’re great smiley guys
always ready to help or advise. I asked Darren a few quick questions about the shop and it’s background.
Where did the name come from?
Well it’s Pad as in ‘home’, I wanted to start somewhere that was gifty with a home-ware slant.
The whole idea developed after we did some smalltime house developments in the area,
I was renovating the interiors of the properties and suddenly realised that I had an interest and
a keen eye for home accessories and the idea grew from there.
How long has PAD been around ?..
About four years now, we started with ideas in 2006 and we lived in Chorlton, liked the area
and thought it would be just the right place for our new venture.
What makes PAD different ?…
We’re mostly homeware based but with some jewellery and cards so it’s an unusual mix, I like to try
and source products that are fresh to the area and keep the stock changing
so that there’s always something new for people to find in the shop.
What would you say is your best seller just now ?…
Funnily enough it’s cake stands, old and new styles, they’re selling, well literally like hot cakes lol
Perhaps it’s connected to the present trend of having cup cakes for weddings, gatherings or
just to do some home baking. There’s also a little cake shop around the corner that might
encourage that market too (see here.)
So much to choose from, hey you can also pick up a wee Banksy !
I even managed to spot a few familiar notebooks as I looked around.
Thanks again guys for your support and putting up with my questions ha ha,
and if you Fishinkblog readers are in the area do pop in and say hi and that you saw this here.
Fishink Notebooks
I’ve been busy lately, contacting potential shops and customers
who have expressed an interest in my range of products.
Here’s some belly-banded F I S H I N K Notebooks,
I’ve prepaired for a Chorlton based shop I’ll blog about soon.
I like the way they look, lets hope the customers like them too.
You can buy these online here.
Meanwhile back to the wild garden at the back of my work that I mentioned previously,
and the wild flowers are really getting the hang of this growing idea. Colours everywhere.
Lost and Found, Oliver Jeffers and Studio AKA
Oliver Jeffers is an illustrator who works so creatively, he manages to weave a tale into the child
(or adult’s) mind, whilst playing with the readers emotional and logical modes of thought.
With a visual style that makes grown men swoon…
believe me I’ve seen them getting more excited than their kids in bookshops ! lol
I think he achieves the perfect balance between storyteller and a stimulator of the imagination.
I love the way that his characters in the acclaimed book ‘Lost and Found’,
came to life in the short film of the same name.
Top CGI Design agency Studio AKA, based in London, did an amazing job of creating the world
where Olivers’ characters inhabit.
There is a documentary that accompanies the dvd, which shows the lengths the company has gone
to make ‘ Lost and Found ‘ into the award winning animation that it is.
Check out their site and see some of my favourite clips for clients such as Lloyds,
Natwest, Orange, Guinness, Virgin etc.
This is my own version of Lost and Found that I created a few years prior to seeing O J’s version.
If anyone from Studio AKA or elsewhere would like to animate my characters, then I’m available.
All Fishink images are copyrighted.
There’s a real feeling of satisfaction when artists who you admire come together.
It’s a peacefulness that you can only feel by association to their work and knowing
why they have chosen that route or artistic direction. Such was the inner satisfaction when I discovered
Angie Lewin is also a huge fan of the work of Eric Ravilious (possibly my all time favourite artist.)
I love the way she includes his Alphabet Mug and his 1953 QE2 Coronation Mug in her beautiful work.
and in the same way, talented artist Elaine Pamphilon has also discovered Eric’s work and Orla Kiely too!
I’ll certainly be blogging more about Mr Ravilious in the future… watch this space !
Bird House to Tree House
Continuing on the theme of houses, here’s just a quick idea for a Bird House.
and a weird dream of mine turned into a possible print for a tree house !
Why Can’t all tree houses be this amazing ? Sigh…. More here.
Our House, in the middle of our street !
Here’s a few house all over designs that didn’t quite make it into the Multi Range of cards.
Any Favourites ?
‘Translocation’ by photographer George Logan
George Logan was born near Glasgow, it is perhaps this affinity with the Scottish highlands
that prompted George to include them in his latest photographic book ‘Translocations’.
It features wild animals, photographed on location in South Africa over 10 separate visits
that have become morphed into new environments a little closer to home, i.e. Scotland.
Beautifully photographed, each image is crystal clear and makes the viewer, look again
at the animal within the frame, like perhaps it is the viewer who doesn’t belong,
or who has seen something quite rare and unique, once taken out of its natural habitat.
After doing personal and commercial work for over 20 years and gaining immense
UK and International acclaim, Logan has produced a book of this present personal work
called simply Translocation, find out more here.
Logan is involved with another campaign for the Born Free Foundation using his incredible images
they hope to highlight the plight of thousands of endangered animals forced out of their homes
by human activities such as deforestation, war, climate-change and unrestrained agriculture.
The photographs featured on billboards and bus stops earlier this year.
All images by George Logan.
Top Trump, I-spy a Ladybird !
Being a kid in the 60’s and 70’s was all about amassing things. There seemed to be an unwritten law
that you weren’t cool unless you were involved in some form of collecting, bargaining or swopping.
I remember the early days being I-spy or Ladybird books,
or were you a Secret Seven or Famous Five kinda child ?
I collected postage stamps, football and motor racing cards, in fact sticker books with anything on them,
as long as it had a piece of that hard flat , pretty tasteless, pink rectangle of gum in the packet.
Pin Badges, sew on badges, even 25 metre silver medal swimming badges,
which we’d ask our mums to sew onto our caps, hats, tank tops etc.
Top Trumps, Toy cars, Board games (bored games ?) etc
Before the dawn of computers and laptops, PSP’s, i-pads and pods we entertained ourselves
or heavens forbid, our friends with some social interaction called ‘playing out’.
What did you collect ?
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