Perversely, I've dropped the 51st Little Portrait set before I released the 50th, but I couldn't resist paying tribute to my (and everyone else's) favourite TV show of the year. Yes Widow’s Bay is amazing, yes Patricia is an icon for our age, and yes it blends genuine scares with on-point deadpan comedy (in a way I haven't seen since An American Werewolf In London). All that is true, but the main reason I adore this show is that I'm married to a horror-avoider and this is the first time in our 21 years together that we've been able to bond over something scary. That genuinely means so much to me and I'm gutted the first season is over - roll on the next.

Don't worry, the 50th Little Portrait set is coming soon and I guarantee it will be a massive letdown after this much build-up!

UPDATE

I’ve had a lovely response to the set on Instagram, including a nice comment from Tim Baltz AKA William The Clown Killer Ghost...



...and a Story mention from Richard Warren himself Hamish Linklater...

Last Thursday I was part of a group art show in Plymouth by Eek! Film Club, showcasing my Texas Chain Saw Massacre poster alongside other amazing artwork promoting their screenings across last year.  I couldn’t make it to the event, unfortunately, but it looked great and I hope all the artists sold some work.  A massive thank you to Kev Saunders of Stay Weird Surf for providing photos for me to use.

Artwork commissioned to promote this year’s Tyneside Cinema Halloween All-Nighter.  Each represents five themed films appearing on one of their screens on the night - “Monster Mash” (cult classic monster movies) on the left and “Good For Her” (horror with a female perspective or feminist angle) on the right.

It was truly an honour to be asked to do this commission - when I first moved to Newcastle at the turn of the millennium the Tyneside was a home away from home (away from home) for a little film student awakened to indie and arthouse cinema.  The Halloween All-Nighter has been a yearly event for a while now and I’ve long wanted to get involved.  And besides all that, who doesn’t enjoy drawing a load of vampires, zombies, werewolves and Goldie Hawns?

Prints and t-shirts of these designs are available for pre-order from their shop.

I read this morning that North East music scene mainstay NARC magazine is ceasing as a print publication as of the current September issue. NARC has a special place in my heart as one of the first publications to commission editorial illustration work from me. I had the pleasure of producing around a dozen or so spot/editorial illustrations for them in the late 2000s right at the beginning of my illustration career - some of which I've shared here - and it was always a massive thrill to walk into a music shop in Newcastle and see my work there in print. NARC is continuing on as a web-based presence, but the end of this era is noted with great sadness.

Anyway, it seemed a good opportunity to reshare some of this (admittedly dated in both quality and relevancy) work in celebration of NARC and that time of my life.

I did the poster on the left for the Eek! Film Club screening of the Texas Chain Saw Massacre on the 13th and 14th August next month at Bulletproof Tap Haus in Plymouth. The poster on the right is a more traditional alt film poster design for my own use.

Eek do posters for all their screenings and give little versions away free to punters - they are all amazing and I was chuffed to be involved.  TCM was a dream topic to get landed with, but a real challenge to work out what spin to put on it that doesn't tread on the toes of a thousand amazing posters that came before. I hope I did Tobe Hooper proud!