Sorting through my shelves of old work can turn up some surprises.
I did this piece as a sample just after I left art college in Brighton.
I think that this piece, in it's controlled use of colour, and in the watercolour/bodycolour technique prefigures the illustration style I would adopt ten years later when I illustrated
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.
I like the fact that the narrative is not too explicit.
The whole feel of the picture comes from the model's pose and the rendering of the cap and greatcoat. It reminds me how much I was looking at the work of
Norman Rockwell at that time.
The model was
Chris Riddell, a fellow student of mine at Brighton.
Chris was always an amazingly talented draughtsman, and he has had a very successful career as both a political cartoonist, and a creator of children's books.
