Unmöglich?!

The German edition of 'Sixty Impossible things before lunch' is out this week, published by Verlag Antje Kunstmann, and simply called 'Unmöglich?!' or 'Impossible?!'. As well as having a slightly different cover to the original, it has some new illustrations, as several of my 'Impossible things' didn't translate into German! Hence 'Flying pigs' became 'Flying words', and 'How long is a piece of string?' is now 'How long is a long cable?'. My flying pig is no longer flying but jumping over his own shadow, and I have also added an illustration of a jelly being nailed to a wall, something that I'm sure is impossible in any language!

L is for learning

Here is my piece for B&A's latest publication 'The ABCs of Contemporary Creatives', a whimsical yet insightful book aimed  at creative professionals and general fans of art and design. The book was written by Tim Nolan of BBH and Jen Lu of Droga 5, designed by Shotopop and illustrated by B&A artists. It was launched in New York last month. You can see the entire book at Issuu.

Drawing in the Sea launch party!

Last week I was in Milan for the 'Grande festa del mare', an exhibition, launch and party for my new book 'Drawing in the sea'. It was a great night, organised by Corraini and held at 121 bookshop. Visitors could get involved by adding their own drawings to huge posters of pages blown up from the book, there was food, drink, a great band and a discount on all books for one night only! Here are some photographs of the event.

Floral Fringe fair

This coming weekend I am once again taking part in the Floral fringe fair, a 'quirky, foodie, arty, plant-aholics wildlife event with a vintage twist!' There will be over 100 stalls and I will be selling my books, cards, prints, stationery, tote bags and more. The event will be held at Knepp Castle, a large country estate in West Sussex just south of Horsham. The fair is open Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd June from 10.30am until 5.00pm. For more information visit the floral fringe Facebook page. Hope to see you there!

Drawing in the Sea

My new book for Edizioni Corraini, 'Drawing in the Sea', is out this week, and will be launched at the International book fair in Turin. ‘Drawing in the Sea’ takes us on an entertaining journey to the depths of the ocean, it’s part activity and part quirky facts about all things sea-related – from sea creatures to tides, shells, boats, tattooed sailors and so on… As usual it is my own quirky take on the subject, allowing the reader to see the sea as never before. Here, the constellations are made of starfish, huge blue whales live alongside miscroscopic plankton and pigs can breathe underwater! The book is available from Corraini and will be coming to my online shop soon.

Eleanor & Park

I was pleased to hear that a book I did the cover for, 'Eleanor and Park' by Rainbow Rowell recently made it on to the New York Times bestseller list! It's still selling well and is currently at number 12 on the Young Adult list. I've now got my copy and looking forward to giving it a read, it's had some great reviews! 

The Art of Science

Julia Rothman's new book 'The Where, the Why, and the How' is a science book like no other. It features artwork by 75 artists who have illustrated their answers to some of life's big questions: 'What existed before the big bang?', 'Where did life come from?', and 'Why do we age?' Each image is presented alongside an essay written by a scientist who explains the answers. My question was 'How do migrating birds and animals find their way back home?' Alex Gershenson explains that they do so in variety of ways - from using the stars for navigation, using the earth's magnetic fields, or in the case of sea turtles, by following almost indistinguishable traces of soil. The book is out now and is launched a week today in New York. 

Travel books

I've now come to the end of my summer books series for NPR, which has been very enjoyable. Here is one of the latest images - to accompany a selection of travel books. One of these books is about a woman who goes on an 1100 mile solo trek!

Olympic books!

An Olympic themed image for NPR's summer books page.

More images for NPR

Here are some more images from my series for NPR's summer books page, featuring books in various situations and guises. Themes include Sci-fi, romance, innovation and 'hidden gems.'

The Best Piece of Advice Ever

Last week I went to the launch of an amazing new book 'The Best Piece of Advice Ever'. The book is a collaboration between Creative Social and Bernstein & Andriulli, and features advice given to top creative people in the industry, brought to life by many brilliant illustrators: Brian Grimwood, Sarah Coleman, Andrew Rae, and Olaf Hajek to name a few. It was an inspiring night, with talks given by many of the socials, and a panel discussion chaired by Louisa St Pierre. 

My quote was 'Trust your instincts', advice given to Mariota Essery of TBWA Chiat by Neil Dawson, ECD of DDB London. I struggled with this for a while and eventually came up with the idea to base it around instinctive animal behaviour - birds flying South for the winter and bears going into hibernation. The book is available from Bernstein & Andriulli.

NPR summer books

For the last couple of weeks I've been working on a series of illustrations for NPR's (National Public Radio)'s summer books page, which I'm really enjoying. There are several more to come but here are a few of my recent images. Subjects include Crime fiction, Critic's picks, teen reads and the more general theme of 'Cool reads for hot summer days'. Not getting many of those at the moment mind you! You can see some of the images in context here.

American Illustration

I've had two pieces selected for this year's American Illustration Annual, both from 'Sixty Impossible things before lunch'. The book will be launched tonight, with a party in New York at the Angel Orensanz foundation. Sorry not to be there!