‘No Assembly Required’ by Adrienne Geoghegan & Una Gildea

A great evening was had by all who attended the launch at the Culture Box of  No Assembly Required, a show of new collage works by my Illustrators Ireland pals, Adrienne Geoghegan and Una Gildea. 
You can see some of Mario's photos of the private view here.
It's well worth a look if you are in Dublin's Temple Bar in the next few weeks.

"Horses and Tortoises, Stories from Africa"

I was very honoured to be asked by Katy FitzPatrick of the Hugh Lane Gallery, to launch "Horses and Tortoises, Stories from Africa".
Here is a picture of me with a very talented bunch of authors (including my old friend Siobhan Parkinson on the far left) illustrators and organisers at the launch in the Sean Scully room of the gallery.

"Horses and Tortoises, Stories from Africa" is a collection of 10 short stories for children, written and illustrated by women from the African Women’s Network, with assistance from writer Siobhan Parkinson and artist Felicity Clear. The project is part of the Hugh Lane Gallery’s community programme, and the purpose of the book is to provide a resource through which Irish children can learn about traditional African culture. It will be sent to every primary school in the country, as well as to libraries, but won’t be on general sale – unless a publisher takes it up. Enquiries to Katy Fitzpatrick, education curator, tel: 01-2225553.

Flay, first Servant of Groan. The Gormenghast Trilogy

This blog has been a great help to me in taking a look back over the period that I have been working as an illustrator.
I did this piece as a calling card for art directors when I had just left college, 'round about 1985 I'd say.
At the time I had just read the Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake, and I was fascinated by his truly fantastic vision of a an ancient castle kingdom inhabited by a collection of unforgettable characters.


Flay, the old family protector, creeps around the corridors and passageways of Gormenghast keeping watch over the more sinister elements that might threaten the status quo. His presence is betrayed by the loud clicking of his knees.
When I did this picture all those years ago, Flay would have seemed ridiculous and purely comical to me.
I have become more sympathetic to him in recent years.
I particularly think of poor old Flay when, each morning, I descend the stairs to the kitchen with a loud clicking from each knee.
Flay's solution was to wrap strips of material around his knees to silence the sound.
I think a bit more cycling might help in my case.