The Ugly Giant

Daisy

Beanstalk Model

This is what I've 'bean' working on. Although I haven't had approval for the roughs yet, I thought I'd get some of the main 'props' done. I have just cut the model out from its background using Photoshop. I will await the go ahead from the Editor before I create the watercolour matte. Believe it or not the actual model is 2 1/2 foot tall. It is based on an armature made of garden wire and covered in papier mache. This was originally already a beanstalk I made for an illustration over 5 years ago. But then I stripped and cut it down to make a tree for the dog illustration below.

I stripped the bark off and reconnected all the bits of wire framework and built the whole thing up in green plasticine. It was like creating Celtic knotwork which is more like maths to me than art. Having said that, at times I quite enjoyed creating the sculptural form.

Jack And The Beanstalk Rough Roughs

Here are a couple of roughs from my current brief. The size and shape of the images have made it interesting trying to get scale and perspective to look right. In the images with the giant coming down the beanstalk, version 1 is closest to the brief, but they wanted 'mum' and the 'hen' to be shown looking on anxiously. I created a version 2 because I thought the main action was at the botom of the stalk! I didn't go overboard in terms of quality of the sketchwork but I did try to give a reasonably accurate idea of how I intend to compose the images. I am going to create the main characters in clay and render the backgrounds in watercolour.

Aesop's Fables

Hi there, i'm working on a series of acrylic paintings of the Aesop's Fables. Here are a couple that are not so well known: The Bull and the Gnat and The Dove and the Ant. I really like the size difference between the two animals in each story. The ant is a bit tricky to see as the photo is a little too dark - he's there in the water - don't worry there's a happy ending, the dove saves him!