Source: @robdrummond

​Project: Language and Communication Training Resource for Manchester Secondary Pupil Referral Unit
Commissioner:  Dr Rob Drummond / Manchester Metropolitan University

I was approached by Rob Drummond, Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University, to  translate some of the real life interactions that had been recorded as part of a linguistic research project into comic strips, which would then act as the basis of training aids for pupil referral units in Manchester.  Pupil referral units are establishments maintained by local authorities to provide education for children who are excluded, sick, or otherwise unable to attend mainstream or special maintained schools. The purpose of the commission was to bring to life the situations that would often escalate into conflict between pupils, or staff and pupils, and then focus the training activity on how they could then be de-escalated.

Five different real life scenarios were chosen, and Rob was able to draft some scripts for me to illustrate.  The training resource concept was presented at the UK Language Variation and Change Conference and iMean last year, and the training pack was recently published by the Manchester Centre for Youth Studies to go to local pupil referral units. Below is Rob's cool graphic presentation explaining how the project was undertaken, and below that is one of the completed scenarios I illustrated.

Source: @robdrummond

Concept: Great Fire of London fire drawing (and others)
Commissioner: Walk the Plank (Manchester)
Event: Various, including The Great Fire of London Firework display, Hull Freedom Festival, Bournemouth by the Sea Festival

Last year during the height of the Junior Doctors contract dispute with NHS employers and Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, I was approached by Asantha Jayaweera (@AJtheSandman), a junior doctor to help bring a bit of humour to a serious stand-off between the government and the NHS. Given my connections with the Care Quality Commission, I wasn't able to draw any overtly political messages supporting the actions of the Junior Doctors and instead, Asantha and myself focused on two of the key moments in the dispute. Asantha posted these on various social media forums and we got quite a lot of hits and positive feedback. 

Project: HOAX App (NHS research survey)
Commissioner:  Ziggy's Wish
Website: www.hoaxorth.com

I was commissioned to create fifty illustrations for a research app funded by Arts Council North. The app has been developed as an engagement tool to conduct a mental health study on behalf of the Psychosis Research Unit, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust.  The app takes an innovative narrative driven approach to gathering the experiences of people who may suffer from mental illness and is part of a wider arts project encapsulating a muscial: HOAX My Lonely Heart  and a graphic novel: Psychosis Blues.  

​I was asked to be involved in this commission after Ravi Thornton, the driver behind the HOAX project, approached me and shared her experiences about her brother who endured mental illness during his life, and went on to discuss her vision for the project.  Having some insight and experience of mental health within my own family, I was glad to be able to contribute to this innovative project.

I would urge anyone in the North of England to go and see the musical and check out details of the tour in April and May 2017, and how to participate in the study at www.hoaxorth.com.  Attendees also get a free copy of the graphic novel which includes illustrators of the calibre of Bryan Talbot and Ryan Hughes.

Below are some of the illustrations I produced for the app. ​

This is a bit of a blast from my past when I went through a phase of creating photomotage illustrations. De Agostini have repackaged and started republishing 'Enhancing your MIND, BODY, SPIRIT' partworks.  The first four issues were launched last month in January along with a TV and social media campaign which is the traditional time of year when partwork publications are launched.  They try to hook you in over the counter through newsagents and supermarkets with a big publicity launch and hope that you will then subscribe to the rest of the series over the next 2-3 years to complete your collection.  As a business model, I guess it works.

I probably completed around thirty plus illustrations throughout the entire run of the partworks.  The great by-product of the commissions was that it forced me to learn how to use Adobe Photoshop proficiently! Although these days, Clip Studio Paint (formerly Manga Studio) is my main creative software of choice, I always bring the final illustration across into Photoshop for any finishing touches.

Here are a few of my favourite photomontage illustrations that I produced for the magazine series: