2011-12-25T08:54:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas?

This illustration is for a story about the dark side of Christmas. Santa, Robin, Rudolph and an Elf discover a factory that uses slave elves or "Slelves", to make cheap presents in an aim to flood the market, trying to put Santa Clause out of business.

It's a thinly veiled parable about the commercialisation of holidays, exploitation of children and cheap labour in order to gratify our need to spend, spend, spend.

Naturally when I finish the book I would want it to sell, sell, sell... Does that make me a hypocrite? Answers on a Christmas post card please...

Santa climbing a factory chimney. Ho, ho, ho!

Virgin Post!

2011-12-23T03:11:00.000-08:00

One month before my 33rd birthday. Just over a month to go until the release of "Moon Dreams" so I have decided to start blogging! It feels like I'm a few years behind the curve, but the way I choose to look at it is that I'm making a VERY fashionably late entrance into the blogosphere.

I have to get my head around Twitter too, and Facebook! All this makes me sound like a complete luddite, when in actual fact I'm a total technophile. Most of my work is done on the computer. 90% of the illustration work is digital. 100% of writing is tapped out on the keyboard. I just had to sign a few Christmas cards and at one point really missed the 'undo' button!

Some would say that this is a sad state of affairs. That technology is somehow ruining us. Making us forget the rudimentary aspects of good writing. It is true in part. I dislike 'txt speak' for example. But who am I to stand in the way of progress?

Advancements in technology are there to save time and energy. The computer does a better job than pen and paper. It facilitates communication and the spread of ideas, which can only be a good thing. Where time and energy are saved on completing a myriad of mundane tasks, the surplus energy and time gained can be used for timeless pursuits, where the input of that energy is rewarded... like art for instance... even if it's computer art.

Just a little illustration of the "dubious" progress of technology.

A Great Blog

Virgin Post!