Guardian Money -12 April 08

A piece I did for the front cover of the Money section in last Saturday's Guardian.
It's about Gazundering.
Gazunder, according to Wikipedia, has two meanings

• A chamber pot, so called because it "goes under" the bed;^[1]
• In real estate transactions, gazundering is the practice of lowering an offer at the last moment, a variation on gazumping.

My image was illustrating the latter.

I did it originally with the orange-red colouring, but then decided I'd prefer something more pared down and simple. The greys somehow remind me of the French painter Fernand Léger.

Ps, apparently they went with the Orange one! hehe

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Illustration Friday - "Save" No 2

Save Illustration Friday Night!

Time has been called on this great site.
A grievous loss

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Illustration Friday - "Save"

Lord Save Me
from talk of
second homes, country hideaways, pied-a-terres, kerb appeal, original features, inside-out, the wow factor, buyers' market, mortgage deposits, clean sleek lines, wet rooms, property portfolios, neutral palettes, city crash pads, &c., &c., &c.

Don't people make homes in houses any more? It seems not,
Recession!? Bring it on!
signed middle-class, middle-aged and bored!

London Illustrators' Gathering (LIG) -Tues 15 April 2008

Come one, come all!
Everyone welcome

London Illustrators' Gathering (LIG)
Tues 15th April 2008
The Crown Tavern
43 Clerkenwell Green
London EC1R 0EG
7,30 pm onwards

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Guardian Sport -10 April 08

A piece for today's Guardian Sports section, done late yesterday.

It was for an article severely criticising Minster for Sport, Tessa Jowell, and her total incompetence, like estimating the cost of the Olympic Velodrome at £72m, and then, five months later, giving a revised figure of £242m!!

Unfortunately, at the 11th hour (well 4 pm actually) I was informed that due to the last minute placement of advertising the image needed to shrink to a miniscule 5.4 cm by 6 cm down, meaning that all I could show of the original was the Sports Minister's face.

Here are both pieces, the long original and the final truncated form.

It's very hard to catch a likeness, particularly under pressure, but there's definitely something there of Ms Jowell I reckon.

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Morning Advertiser - BDMs

A piece out in today's Morning Advertiser, a trade mag for the pub industry.
This piece is for an article about Business Developemnt Managers or BDMs. The conclusion was that they could all benefit from a spell actually working in a pub, to fully appreciate the concerns and working conditions of the Publicans they're dealing with.

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April Fools' Day / Poisson d'Avril !

There are many theories as to the origin of this pranksters' feast, from a change in the date of new year to the Roman festival of Hilaria, but either way its origins ( and by extension, the need for mirth, merriment, humour, jokes and general puckitude) go way back.

In England we say April Fools' Day!
En France on dit Poisson d'Avril! (April Fish!)

Apparently the origin of the latter expression lies in the fact that fish start to spawn at this time of year, and so only a fool would angle now whilst the stocks are trying to replenish.

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