Gorilla Watch: Update #3 The Completion

Brilliant day today.

Having done 3 coats of matte varnish at intervals over the last week or so, I was finally able to collect the skis from being cast, and get them fixed onto Super G - Downhill Racer

Slightly un-dignified, pre ski-fit:

and then back on his feet, complete with skis...

The skis were cast in resin with aluminium powder added to give them their super-shiny metallic look.

What an amazing project to be a part of. It has been great fun, a steep learning curve and pretty stressful at times, but I'm really pleased with the outcome which is very very close to the original design. To re-cap my concept which I submitted in January this year:

"Super G is King of the mountains and big hills, a racing champion on the Alpine ski circuit. Off-season he gets his thrills where he can, and for whatever reason this summer he finds himself in Bristol. From the top: Blackboy Hill/Whiteladies Road/Park Street is an exhilerating walk in the park for this downhill supremo... WATCH HIM GO...!"

From the 4th of July this is one of around 60 gorilla sculptures which will be placed around Bristol for 10 weeks as part of the Zoo's 175 year anniversary celebrations and to raise awareness of their conservation projects. Super-G has been sponsored by Bristol City Council, specifically St Nick's Market, which is where he will be sited for the duration of the event.

For further information on Wow!Gorillas and to see some of the other Gorillas that have been produced have a look at the Wow! Gorillas facebook page... 

Huge thanks go to Alec Walker, and Lisa & Mark of Plenderleith Scantlebury (www.plenderleithscantlebury.com) for their advice & assistance in the making and casting of the skis. Also to Joe Allotey, the Maintenance Manager at Bristol Zoo for coming along to fit them for me.

Gorilla Watch: Update #2

The painting is finished now, I just have to do a few coats of varnish, and the small matter of fitting him with some skis...

here are some photos of the nearly finished Super G...

I had a really good day on friday and painted on all the logo/stitch details etc.

And now have applied a first undercoat of varnish, a spray coat of clear Plasti-kote to seal the paint before applying the final UV acrylic varnish. That's the plan anyway...

I'm pretty pleased with the way his face turned out - opted for a grey, old man alpine look, rather than the traditional gorilla black. Has to be said that his eyes have a certain concentrated stare.

though it has been said he looks like he's been out on the piste...    ha!

It's been a journey, been fun, but will be glad when he's finished. next week the skis...

Gorilla Watch: Update #1

Having been commissioned to do a Gorilla for the Wow!Gorillas project (see earlier post to find out what it's all about) I am really pleased to have now started painting it.

My Gorilla is called 'Super-G' - Downhill Racer. here are my designs, which i'm excited to now be implementing...

My first sighting of the gorillas at the communal painting space, all wrapped up...

My first task was to make some templates for the skis. I'm having some help with making these, they will be cast in resin, and given a metallic finish.

Then to sketch the design on the gorilla, which was trickier than i had imagined, transferring a 2d design to a 3d and very curvy shape.

<< And the first paint colour goes on.

<< First bit of blue

And this is as far as I've got. Am pleased with how it's looking, but going to need a second coat to make sure there's no white or pencil lines showing through.

Have decided to keep his face a bit paler than in the original design so it will feel a bit more alpine and snowy. this is just the first colour, obviously needs some building up..

...just a little bit scary without any eyes!

Will post up more pictures to chart progress as it happens.

Skull logo

This is a design i did recently for a new kids brand. Wasn't quite what the client was after, i still like it...

Oh GOSH Project - Catchin'Stars!

This is my submission for the Oh GOSH project and is titled Catchin' Stars.

The project  has been organised by Jason Smith (aka Armadilloboy) to raise money for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital through the creation of a colouring book and colouring-in posters.

The brief was to create an illustration involving humans and animals doing fun stuff together, but the image had to be drawn using shapes only. This image will be printed up as an A3 colouring poster and will be available to buy along with the colouring book and range of other posters created by a bunch of great established and up-coming illustrators.

Find out more here: www.ohgoshproject.com

WOW!Gorillas

I was very excited to hear last week that the design I had submitted to the Wow!Gorillas event had been commissioned.


For 10 weeks in the summer this year, around 50 life-size gorilla sculptures will inhabit the streets of Bristol, showcasing the wealth of artistic talent in the area, while highlighting the significant conservation threat facing wild gorillas and how the Bristol business community can make a difference. The event also coincides with the 175 year celebrations of Bristol Zoo.


The brief was simply to take a blank, white 5ft tall gorilla sculpture and produce a design of how you would decorate it.


My gorilla is "Super G - Downhill Racer"


Watch this space to see his progress, can't wait to start on the actual sculpture!

Zion

Zion Methodist church in Bedminster Down, Bristol closed down a couple of years ago, due to a dwindling congregation. The building is now being reclaimed as a public space - cafe, library, art-space and live music venue... in addition to housing the shop of new owner - Retro Collectables - to display a huge range of (as the name suggests ) Retro collectables.

I was asked to illustrate a banner for the new website, which is currently under construction. Above is what i came up with... I look forward to seeing the space open, and watching how it evolves, sounds like an exciting prospect!

Dinosaurus - Shadow Screen

This was my submission for an opportunity found via Central Station. The brief was from Paul Kerlaff: to create a black and white pattern which could be cut from sheet form to make one of their Shadow Screens.

I created my design with the specific purpose of a screen which could be used to define/conceal a child's playspace.

Alas, my submission was unsuccessful - with feedback that the design would perhaps be more suited to print than cut sheet form. lines too thin i guess...

oh well, was fun drawing the dinosaurs......

Landlord Expo

I created this street scene for Point Creative for use on some promotional materials/literature they are producing for the Landlords Expo 2011 - the South-west's largest exhibition aimed specifically at landlords.

The image was hand drawn, scanned and converted to vector artwork, then coloured in Illustrator.

Law & Company Website

I recently designed the new website for Law & Company Decorative Living - an inspirational, lifestyle boutique in the Cotswold town of Stow on the Wold.

For the new online boutique I developed an ornately hand-drawn style with gilt-edge framing details and decorative wallpaper to create a feel which is very in-keeping with the ultra-feminine emporium, and which works alongside the existing logo.

Have a look! ... www.lawandcompany.com

The website was developed by Laura James at Kinetic Pulse, and the project was managed by Alex Astell at Manage My Website