B and B blog
How to know when the job is done March 30, 2020 12:00
One of the most difficult parts of being an artist/illustrator is to know when to stop. When is your job finished, when can you sit back and be satisfied that you have done enough. My answer to this is you don't, I always think I can do a bit more here and a bit more there. I treat my work as a story, there's a beginning, middle and end and that's when I must say goodbye.
I recently started sketching an new illustration, I have an urge to introduce more people into my work that look human and not animalistic. The pencil work was done (all my artwork is handrawn first) and then I went on to using fine tipped black pens. While doing the fineline pen work i did a small film of the process which I shared on social media.
Adding colour
When this was finished the artwork was scanned to Photoshop where I started to work on building up the color. This work is not finished yet but am enjoying adding the colour to this one but am stuck on the many coloured jewels on the girls dress!
What makes art good?
We had the honour recently of being asked for the second year running to judge the Mothers' Day portrait competition for the Mercury Mall in Romford. Many schools got involved and there were hundreds of entries. There were different age group categories.We had a ball spending half a day going through all the fabulous artworks. The winners and close runners came to a prize winners ceremony at the Mercury Mall, and all the childrens' work was also displayed in their art gallery.
Three head bird wallpaper March 12, 2019 12:00
This wallpaper has been an ongoing project for a few years. I took an image of a sparrow and wanted it to look wooden, like an ancient tree. There were a lot of attempts to make it look right and I ended up discarding it for ages, something wasn't right about it. Recently I was going through my archive and came across this image again. I had a fresh mind and a clearer idea where I wanted it to go and it finally paid off...
Ice cream you scream wallpaper February 26, 2019 12:00
This is my favorite of the new wallpapers. I was so pleased that I could draw a rabbit that looks like a rabbit! Everything about it gives me joy as it all seems to marry so well. Mad, fun, bright and surreal.
Boom wallpaper February 19, 2019 12:00
Sometimes I put aside a chunk of time to do some sketching of any old thing that I fancy. Some of this work ends up in the bin and some of it sits on my computer under new ideas for months, even years, until I am ready to look at it again. I may not like a sketch but something about it makes me keep it. Some of my best work has come out of a drawing that I have done and forgotten, and then I revisit and realise its potential. This is when I produce my best work I feel.
Lola Crest Bedroom update January 1, 2019 12:00
We love this beautiful bedroom update using Lola Crest wallpaper. It's such a great feeling when someone takes the time to send in pictures of the finished room where they have used your wallpaper. The Lola Crest wallpaper was used by a long term customer Charlotte, who became a friend. We call her our number one fan because she has loved and supported our brand for many years, from when we started in fashion until today doing interiors .
This design means a lot to Charlotte and her husband, as she purchased a top from us with the Lola Crest on it and met her husband wearing it. They now have this wallpaper in their first home bought together.
Rainbow Christmas dreams of 6ix9ine December 11, 2018 12:00
Have a colourful rainbow of a Christmas!
Feeling the love for the art around Old Street May 6, 2015 12:00
Pick Me Up exhibition Somerset House 23 April - 4 May 2015 April 29, 2015 12:00
We popped over to Pick Me Up graphic arts festival to see what all the fuss was about and liked what we saw. All sorts of art on sale with prices from £2 to £500, well worth a visit.
Out and about in Shoreditch January 28, 2015 12:00
Running some errands and we couldn't help stopping to take pics of a few of these graffiti pieces in Shoreditch, East London. From old school tagging to new school street art, the area has the lot if you just look around you.
Let's face it January 14, 2015 12:00
I have wanted to take a picture of this derelict pub in Finsbury Park for years now, it has stood there all alone for up to 10 years. I, don't remember when I first noticed the graff faces painted all over the front but it is a good few years. I don't know who painted them but I always find them fascinating and wonder what is the story behind them.
I sometimes think the faces are of the crowds that used to come to the gigs open mouthed and in the moment, or are they the people of Finsbury Park all colours and nationalities, or are they all facing left for a reason maybe waiting for something to happen in that direction or pointing that way and it is code for something.
I found out that it was originally a pub called Sir George Robey and then changed hands a few times before it became a a venue called Club Dog in the 1980s for lots of up and coming artists like Blur, The Pogues and T'Pau and Bad Manners. In the 1990s it was taken over and then called the Powerhaus.
Now it is waiting to be pulled down and made into flats (what a surprise).
