For this piece on Sheffield I wanted to bring together a number of elements including: Sheffield’s industrial past, the hills and all the green spaces, elements of the regeneration within the city, parts from the different quarters, the stunning architecture, extensive art and many talented artists, musicians, actors and athletes. Where possible I like to get the different parts of my drawings to interact with one another. For example, in the bottom right hand corner you have the rock climber crossing the ‘final hurdle’ to get to the Henderson’s relish bottle. Further along, I have an abstract Jessica Ennis jumping over a Def Leppard guitar and a snooker play (in front of the crucible) interacting with the ‘Rain’ sculptures designed by Colin Rose. These in turn become part of a mural by Phlegm, which is related to space and stars and a creature peering up through his telescope. There are plenty more stories and characters hidden in the piece for the viewer to find and enjoy. The layout of the buildings is roughly set out according to a map view from the Southern side of the city. Please see the annotated version of the drawing that highlights many aspects of the drawing and details my research. sheffield-annotations-finished

Designed for the Manchester Creative Studio, a school pioneering the way for young people to enter the creative and digital industries. This piece weaves together the industrial heritage of Ancoats with the more recent transformations of the area. Former mills have been urgently renovated to fit in with the trendiest bars and cafes in Manchester. The landscape in this part of town seems to be constantly changing and this snapshot covers Little Italy and hidden within are little stories... the ice cream vendor who bought his first cart in 1906, the unwavering support of the local residents to ensure that the Ancoats Dispensary was saved from demolition, A tree representing the Mustard tree charity dedicated to helping the homeless and the marginalised and more.

The first drawing in this series:

Manchester Events

This artwork began by exploring venues, events and things to do in Manchester. It was created for ‘Go See This’, as a competition entry to be printed on flyers advertising the city’s offerings. It inspired me to discover the goings on of the city, beginning with very touristy attractions such as museums and the opera house, and eventually digging deeper. I wanted to finnd out what mattered to people in the city, what excited them and attracted their attention. Whilst many of the citizens of Manchester have chosen to move to the city, many more were born here and have grown up with it, and yet it’s a place which is always changing, relentless in it’s ability to reinvent itself.

Further Development:

Looking Through Binoculars

This piece was created for a friend. It explores two great, well- known cities in the USA, Vegas and New York, seen as if through the binoculars on top of the Empire State building. The intricate black and white illustrations are now a part of my much-loved artistic style, and have been transformed from this original piece
to create her New York and Vegas artworks. Touristy hotspots have been cleverly intertwined with more off-the-beaten-track elements, with odes to the architectural beauty of each city.