Behind the scenes art blog- drawing tips and techniques

This is a very exciting time for both myself and my author friend Sean Walter. We're launching Tales in Sombre Tones this month and kicking off the promotion with a fantastic touring show. Dates have been confirmed for the first leg which kicks off in the North East of England and sees Sean flying in to deliver his readings in person. From the former Methodist church that is Whitby's Brunswick Centre to contemporary gallery Vane in the heart of Newcastle, we are bringing not

Two lots of very exciting news here this week (in case you couldn't hear us yelling it from our rooftops). First up, we are proud to announce that the Tales in Sombre Tones book tour is now fully funded. Most of that came courtesy of Arts Council England who, after I filled in a terrifying number of paperwork, awarded us a grant covering most of what we needed for the tour. We had to show our commitment by raising some from other sources which is only fair so Sean and I decid

The latest illustration for Tales in Sombre Tones with author Sean Walter has an interesting origin story. I used to live in London and on the other side of my garden wall lay St Patrick's cemetery, the oldest working catholic cemetery in the city. I used to visit occasionally and each time, felt a distinct presence that would intensify the longer I stayed. The Borrower, charcoal pencil and carbon on watercolour paper. Graveyard guardians are well known in British folklore -

This year I am taking on the biggest single project I've ever done in the form of a fully illustrated horror anthology with author Sean Walter. Not content with producing a gorgeous story book, we are planning an epic tour involving animation, the original art of course, readings by Sean and interpretations of the work for the hard of hearing and those with visual impairments. We've enlisted the help of other creatives and experts to help us with the more technical aspects su

Or rather, in the case. Those of you familiar with the story of Stephen and his file will know that for the last couple of years I've been revealing his life story through various artefacts. One of the most recent was this rather splendid suitcase. Asylum patients would often take a suitcase containing their most valued possessions when admitted and as Stephen has a fascination with the things people leave lying around, this must have been irresistible. The question was, what

Of all my creations, the one I get asked about most often is Stephen. It all started with a song - the actual track by Alice Cooper is titled 'Steven' but I changed the spelling as otherwise there may have been a terrible temptation to address him as 'Steve' and I don't even want to think about what might happen then. The first impression I got of Stephen was of something squatting with his hand against a wall or a door, as if to keep something else out. I drew more hands and