The Couple - Victorian sketches

I like the sheer stiffness and awkwardness of Victorian photos. It actually sums up the inhumanity that seemed to characterise that period. They're actually quite a contrast to the expressive, flowing Art Nouveau images, but I've enjoyed using them to make my Steampunk / robot / Art Nouveau pieces.

This is the preparatory sketch for my other Draw Me A Calendar submission, to go with the Nina Simone one I already shared. Down the bottom is the original photograph. Such a  happy couple.

©2015 James Mathurin

Assault on Alton Lane (Newtown, Sydney)

Here's the first of the pieces I've been working on while the ArtSHINE show was on. This is another one of those pieces where I've used a street art photo I took for my Tumblr, and used it as the background for the superhero image I did.

So, what we have here is a giant lizard creature trying to catch a speedster on Alton Street in Sydney's Newtown.

©2015 James Mathurin (newtown)

Fish monster confrontation on the streets of London!

Some day, I hope to see this headline for real. I can dream...

So, finished shading means it's time to plop these guys down in the real world, like I did here. 

Why is the fish creature wandering Brick Lane? Is he a threat, or simply lost? This is what our heroine must decide: To aid it, or battle it?

Oh, the suspense!

Anyway, this has mainly been a chance to experiment and try a few things, and I'm pleased with the end result. Hope you all will be too!

©2014 James Mathurin

Street Art Superheroes

So, here's the finished experiment:

I take a lot of photos of street art, so I thought I'd try to mix the two visual arts I tend to do stuff with.

Actually, that's about it. I'm quite happy with it, and I'll probably try a few more. Hope you like it.

©2013 James Mathurin

Check out my photographs on Tumblr!

I'm keen to keep this blog for my illustration work, but I have been looking for a place to share my photography, and Tumblr seems to be the place for it.

I also set one up for my photos of street art, from around the UK and Australia.

©2013 James Mathurin

Melbourne street art

Having been a bit ill lately, I haven't been able to produce some of the work I had been planning. It did occur to me that I had an opportunity to share some photographs I took of the amazing street art in Sydney.

©2010 James Mathurin

More art on display!

As promised, here are the photographs of me with the colour prints I have on display (and sale) in The Apostles (you can also see a copy of my Movember poster in the first one).

©2010 James Mathurin

Sketches from Sydney

So, I am back from Sydney, and back to doing some more regular updates for the blog. While I was there, it's not a big shock that I did some sketches and stuff as I went around, and I'll share a few of those as I get back into doing some new illustration work.

The first one I wanted to put up was a couple of sketches I did in Sydney's beautiful Chinese Garden. If you're in the city, this is a fantastic place to go, incredibly relaxing, and I loved the  way they make use of the incongruous urban surroundings to highlight the importance of Yin / Yang - style balance. The first is of the Moon Gate, and the second is of a lizard I spotted basking on a rock. I've also included my photographs of the two subjects, for context.

©2010 James Mathurin

London Zoo photography

Pretty much what it says on the tin. This was the only chance I got to use a proper dark room to develop some photos, and I'm quite happy with some of the results.

©2010 James Mathurin

Photo / Illustration project

A project that combined hand-drawn illustrations with photographs locations. It was a great excuse to visit Wing-Yip's chinese supermarket in Croydon.

©2010 James Mathurin