Rat Pasty

New commercial work: Wall art for Hale

// February 9th, 2010 // No Comments » // Graphics // Graphics

So it’s been a while but I have been super busy working on the new venue for Empty Shop, the arts organisation that I run; I have however, found time to put up a post of some recent commercial work for Hale, a contemporary hair and beauty salon in Durham. I did this job before Christmas but added the finishing touches with the stenciled logos a few weeks back.

The client wanted a wall design to fill the space as it was looking bare and clinical. She wanted the design to be something that was current, would appeal to her target audience and still maintain a certain aesthetic that suited the business.

I had a great amount of freedom with this project, the client liked graff art and illustration and had some loose ideas with suggestions of floral swirls and oriental imagery. It was really fun fusing some traditional looking mural stuff with some bold pen work and having an overall hand drawn feel to it.

The job also spanned into marketing materials, a basic web presence and there is some really interesting print work on the way too.

The guys at Hale are swell and are more than happy for people to pop in to check out the work.

Take a look at their website too where you can see some of the flyers I created - click here

Upcycling? I’ve been doin it all along!

// January 8th, 2010 // 4 Comments » // Random // Random

I came across a blog post about upcycling the other day - basically  turning old, unwanted or waste products into new things that people actually want, you know,  like donner kebabs but morally correct. I’d never heard of the phrase but it turns out I have been ‘upcycling’ for some time now, for example last week I converted a pair of washed out paint splashed tracky-b’s (yak) into these wonderful running shorts!

What’s more the leftovers made not one, but TWO stylish yet practical running hats that even the most discerning of runners will appreciate…

Adam Buxton: The Queen’s Speech

// December 28th, 2009 // No Comments » // Random // Random

If you don’t listen to Adam & Joe’s Radio show then you should at the very least listen to their podcast.

If you don’t listen to the show or the podcast then you should watch this video (in the right hand bar) and then go away and instantly rectify the fact that you don’t listen to the show or the podcast.

You have been told.

Link to site

Link to podcast

Spot The Difference

// December 22nd, 2009 // No Comments » // Random // Random

Hey look, it’s Alex Zane! …everyone’s favourite example of everything that’s wrong with society, but can you spot the differences between the two pictures?

BING! A new piece of work…

// December 19th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Art // Art

I’ve been a bit slack on the old blog posts of late, but I have been super super busy so it is with good reason; Empty Shop stuff has been snowballing with the progression of our new premises (coming very soon so keep your eyes peeled) and lots of behind the scenes development. 2010 should be a very exciting year for us if all goes according to plan - lots of projects and collaborations as well as loads of art!

Anyway, I have found a spare ten minutes so thought I would post up a piece of work I did this week. The painting is something I picked up from a charity shop a few years back and I have been wanting to do something with it for ages. Whilst curating a one day pop-up-shop in Middlesbrough the other day I came up with this and someone instantly thought it was Santa - maybe on a subconscious level it is a cynical comment on the materialistic marketing driven shambles that is modern day ‘Christmas’ …or maybe not!

Steve McDonald’s amazing face…

// November 26th, 2009 // No Comments » // Random // Random

Nothing to do with my work, but this was just too good I had to post it. We came across a section on a Coronation Street blog called ‘Steve McDonald gurn of the week’.

Well the title says it all really!

You can see the full list over at Coronation Street Updates - click here

And for all you art fans, here is a painting of Steve McDonald by Wassa B from an Empty Shop exhibition last April…

You can see the full set of celebrity paintings from that exhibition here

What do you want for breakfast? …Justice!

// November 20th, 2009 // No Comments » // Random // Random

A mint video that chum and internet maestro Jake just made me aware of.

click here

Doodles Revisited No.1

// November 7th, 2009 // 5 Comments » // Art, Cartoons // Art, Cartoons

So the other day I came across a box of old doodles, cartoons, random drawings and sketches - basically a combination of old sketch pads and scraps of scribbled on paper. I figured it was kind of sad that they were just stuffed in a box only to be remembered every few years, so now thanks to the awesomeness of blogs I can begin the mammoth task of compiling them all online giving them a new audience and a new home.

Essentially it’s a gradual compilation of random thoughts and pieces of work, most that never amounted to anything other than amusing me for 5 minutes …I guess if nothing else it will interesting trip down memory lane.

Clown: Jan/Feb 2004

This was from a sketch pad I used when travelling in Australia - Thinking about it I’ve been working with the idea of clowns since 2002!

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Cartoon: Early 2007

Part of the prize for winning Young Cartoonist of the Year in 2006 was providing a commissioned piece for an Insurance company who sponsored the competition. This was an initial idea which wasn’t used as it turned out it needed to be much more specific. I still like this, I don’t often sit down and try to think of things, I like to put pen to paper and see what happens but this one was thought up to a brief and I was quite chuffed with myself (although I am a sucker for a good pun!)

Click to see my winning entry for Young Cartoonist of the Year

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Random Drawing:2003

Just a random sketch. Most of the stuff in these little sketch books were done on train journeys or when I was bored. This is an example of the putting pen to paper and see what happens as mentioned above. No idea why I drew this but I really like the aesthetic - and drawing in Biro is always good.

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Harry Potter: 2003

I have loads of pieces like this - ideas that came to mind and were scribbled down. A lot of this stuff was used for a mini comic series I started back then called ‘Doodle-O-Rama’. I think I planned to use this one in No.4 which never got made, I also toyed with the Idea of a ‘Doodle-0-Rama Compedium’ a few years later but never got round to it… maybe I should finally do it?

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Dead Clown: 2002

Clowns again! I used to work in a restaurant and at the end of the night I’d get bored and doodle in note pads. ‘Dead Clown’ became a thing I kept going back to, there are quite a lot of these, and quite a lot of ways to kill a clown (not that I endorse clown murder).

I’ll put another one from this series next time.

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What do you want for breakfast? …Justice!

// November 4th, 2009 // No Comments » // Random // Random

A mint video that chum and internet maestro Jake just made me aware of. Check it out in the sidebar people…

Hale - New commercial work

// October 30th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Graphics // Graphics

I recently picked up some work fro Hale Hair & Beauty in Durham. I was commissioned to create a wall mural (pics coming soon) and off the back of that created some marketing materials to tie everything together.

The client give me a lot of freedom so I thought it would be nice to give it a loose hand drawn feel to match the wall mural whilst incorporating imagery of flowers and swirls which is something she wanted.

The end result is something minimal and pretty on one side (from a marketing point of view) and the offer on the other side. This way it has two levels of appeal depending on where you are and how you are targeting people.

The business card/ appointment card follows the same idea of ‘pretty and practical’ and has the matching design elements that run throughout.