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This is a reboot of an illustration recently done for D magazine about the effects of back pain. Occasionally I feel the need to rework images, usually for no other reason than to explore other approaches. In this case the original is not too different but I was drawn to realise it in monochrome rather than the full colour treatment the client requested.



From my earliest days as an illustrator and working with Rotring pens I was always attracted to tone being rendered through points. I like the inherent contradiction of softness being created through something so hard. This enlargement (click image above to view) is a good representation of an area I would like to explore further.

Experience Life called me recently and asked if I could illustrate a feature on blood flow and exercise, a full page image and some spots. Something descriptive was asked for rather than anything too conceptual.

Above are the initial pencil sketches and the finished artwork - essentially an exercising figure with swirls of movement around them suggesting the flow of blood emanating from the core. Although the pencil sketch was approved I only had the vaguest idea in mind about how the tones and colours would would work.



With some illustrations you know instinctively, or can see in your mind, how the finished artwork should look, so the job is essentially one of replicating that image on the page. In other instances though it becomes a question of 'finding' the image, trying different approaches, colours and tones, until the image starts to gel. That was the case here, the only thing I knew for sure was that the colours would be green/blue as the figure was running outside. Also I needed a look that would work across the spot images too so that they would all read as a set.

I was recently asked by Nick at D magazine to produce some illustrations for their annual Medical Directory. The main story centred around women's heart health and the importance of getting checked for any possible anomalies.

The brief seemed to call for more of a representational image rather than a conceptual one, so as stress tests and monitoring usually involve being connected up to cables that felt like the right way to go. The pencil sketch, above, was approved and from there is was really just a question of deciding on colours and level of detail.

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The Wall Street Journal got in touch requesting a cover for their Health Care Report. An image was wanted relating to the theme of patients taking more control over decisions relating to their healthcare. The phrase 'being in the drivers seat' seemed to sum up the situation. Connecting the driving wheel with the stethoscope resolved the concept.



Just before press a newer story took precedence so the cover never actually materialized. Above is the layout plus the first couple of ideas. The bottom two are the first development sketches before going to artwork.

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This illustration is a spot for Scientific American Mind and is about why people cherish family heirlooms and celebrity memorabilia. Objects which are in some way thought to actually contain a piece of the person they relate to. It is a phenomenon that scientists call magical contagion.  New research suggests this effect helps fulfill our need for social connection. In other words, we expect these hand-me-downs to keep us company.