Blue Note

Private commission for a long time friend and life time Jazz fan. The picture depicts a scene in a recording studio in 1954. The tones used in this piece were to echo the colour and style of the early Blue Note jazz albums of the time. Pencil on paper 30cm x 40xm.

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AJR Aviation

I was commissioned to create a work for their offices to showcase and symbolise image and heritage behind their business, based in Covent Garden, London. 40cm x 150cm, acrylic on canvas.

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Vista Bar, Trafalgar Hotel, London WC1

This series of pen, brush and ink drawings of gentleman’s apparel, were also commissioned by Peckham Rye Tailors, after the well-received Family Portrait piece.

These works however, were for a joint venture between the tailors and the Vista Rooftop Bar at the Trafalgar Hotel in London’s Trafalgar Square. The cocktail menu is a collection of classic drinks with a British historical connection. The obvious parallels with the tailor’s rich past made it the perfect marriage. Drawing heavily from my qualifications and experience of the fashion world, the illustrations were all taken from photographs of many items in the Peckham Rye shop, Newburgh Street, London W1.

They are all ink and wash on watercolour paper.

Peckham Rye Tailors, Newburgh Street, London W1F

This ‘portrait’ piece was commissioned by the proprietor of Peckham Rye Tailors, Newburgh Street, London, W1. It was completed in March 2014. The gentleman in question is a fifth generation tailor tracing those origins as far back as the early 18th century. The family tree and the stories intertwined among its branches were many and varied – at times intriguing and at others thrilling! The finished work is set on the night of census taking (March 31, 1851), where the whole family is assembled at home, waiting to be counted. The painting includes many other elements, collaged, to fully tell the family history and mapping out their fascinating tale.

A piece such as this required a great deal of research, access to reference material and planning. Consultation is everything in a commission such as this.

Draughtsman Contract

Commissioned by a recently retired couple who specialised in period interior restoration and antiques, this pen and ink drawing is of their family home in Down Patrick, Northern Ireland. I have drawn and painted interesting and period buildings from family homes to restaurants (Maxwell’s groups of restaurants, London) and beyond, for many years. Although architectural in format, there is nevertheless an essence in the work which elevates them to be more than a straight forward plan elevation drawing. Provided with quality photographs of the exact chosen views of the building, these commissions can be in a variety of mediums and executed on paper, wood or canvas to an exact requirement and framed accordingly.

Kettner's Laurent-Perrier Champagne Bar & Restaurant, Soho, London W1D

Completed in March 2014, the mural in Kettner’s Champagne Bar & Restaurant was commissioned by the Gondola Group & Laurent-Perrier Champagne House.

Although Kettner’s dates back to the 19th century, the brief required the mural to have a distinctly 1920s/1930s feel. The ‘story’ was to have a scandalous undertone, sexual but with the main emphasis being on decadence and luxury befitting the space, the product and their respective histories. Sourcing illustrations as inspiration from Vogue magazines from the period, I chose to tell the tale of a society lady discovering her husband and his mistress in their family townhouse. A bottle of Laurent-Perrier sits recently poured and tantalisingly waiting to be enjoyed. The use of tompe-l’oeil in the piece aids the continuity between the 2 separate rooms by simulating the panelled features in one room, which is actually absent in the other. The mural was painted exclusively on site and in heavy body acrylic paint. The other pieces of artwork were commissioned for different events.