BENEDICT MAYER ILLUSTRATION

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories

2012-01-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

The Bloody Chamber - "I caught sight of myself in the mirror...I saw how much that cruel necklace became me."

Puss-in-Boots - "I could wish, though, they'd dance a little faster;"

The Company Of Wolves - "Lift up the latch and walk in, my darling."

Cover

So, it would seem it's been a while since I last posted. However, finally I can show you what I have been working on!

For the last couple of months I have been working on the House of Illustration's competition in association with the Folio Society, to design 3 illustrations and a cover for Angela Carter's 'The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories'. Having first read this in my second year at university I was really happy this was the book chosen to illustrate as I was already familiar with the subject. Naturally, it's never as simple as it first seems, and with the added obstacles of a full time job, settling into my new house and sorting out the studio, and the inevitable trip down to the Isle of Wight for Christmas, it's been a bit of a push to get it done in time! However, I have, and I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the results, especially as the actual linocuts were completed from start to finish in this last week. Of course, working repeatedly until 3am and then having to get up for work at 7am tends to put a little bit of a strain on the body. Nonetheless, I'm rather pleased with the final images. Let me know what you think!

Fingers crossed!

k'astajisaj / tzpa ri tikitajik

2011-10-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

______________________________

k'astajisaj/ tzpa ri tikitajik

to bring to life / since the beginning

k'astajisaj/ tzpa ri tikitajik is a response to the K'iche' Mayan mythdetailing the creation of man in the Mayan bible, the Popol Vuh. In it the twogods of the Maya, Tepeu and Gucumatz, first attempted to create man from mudbut these men were weak and had no strength so the gods destroyed them. Theirnext attempt used wood as the medium but while these men could walk and talkthey had no souls. Finally, as dawn was approaching, they succeeded by mixingmaize and water, the foodstuffs of the Maya.

In my interpretation I place myself, the artist, inthe position of the various creations. Each piece of the triptych of linocutsrepresents one of the stages in the creation of man and mirrors the continuousand universal destruction and renewal of our selves as individual beingsthroughout life.

käch'xoq'ol

mud

tz'oloj

wood

q'orre ixim

maize
______________________________

Yes. I know. I've kept you waiting quite a while for these! However, in my defence, I have been working quite a lot, and I am right in the middle of moving into my own place, so it's been quite hectic. On the plus side, I'm going to have a nice big home studio all set up, so once I'm all moved in I'll upload some tasty photos for your perusal!

I'm also currently working on a new project, more of which later.

Thanks for your patience, hopefully it won't be so long 'til my next post!

Much love

Ready and Waiting...

2011-08-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

My framed pieces of work ready to be sent to the MYTH Exhibition.

No peeking allowed!

Myth

2011-08-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

Hello there!

I realise it's been quite...a...while...since I last posted, and I realise I still need to upload that new work I was teasing you with ages ago, but in the meantime I thought I'd let you know about an exhibition that I and a load of other, really rather talented, people are putting on in September. It's all happening at Surface Gallery in Nottingham, and if you get a chance you should definitely pop in and have a looksie. I'll be sitting in on the last Saturday, the 17th so if you come then, introduce yourself!

In other news, I am currently researching etching lino, planning a fair few linocuts, and looking to update and redesign my website.

There just isn't enough hours in the day...

Until next time,

Peace x

Solo Exhibition News

2011-07-04T05:43:00.000-07:00

Just over 3 weeks ago I was asked if I would like a solo exhibition in my home town (admittedly it's not London, but what the hell) and I, perhaps slightly foolishly, said yes! Since then I have been manically sending out invites, getting work framed and all manner of other things sorted, all around the confines of a full time job (it's actually made me want to be unemployed again just so I don't have rush so much!). Now it's just 5 days a away and I still need to get some final work framed, prices sorted and even more little niggling things. Hopefully it'll all be alright on the night!

Above is the invite for it, if anyone is in the area at some point and fancies a little look, feel free to pop in!

Right, back to work...

Sneak Peek

2011-06-30T05:45:00.000-07:00

New work shall be up soon!

In the mean time, here's a (crappy) teaser photo of some prints with one colour down. Also, below you can see another (crappy) photo of my brand new 300mm durathene roller. Worth every penny!

Isn't she beautiful? I'm thinking of calling her dur-Athena. Geddit?!?

Why?

Because I'm cool like that.

More WIP

2011-05-30T11:36:00.000-07:00

Lil' practice sketches, overlaid on the ol' lightbox.

Martin Messent - Try To Begin

2011-05-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting to show you this!

Towards the end of last year I was approached by the very talented singer/songwriter Martin Messent to produce the album artwork for his latest album, 'Try To Begin'. Today I received in the post my very own copy of the album which is now finally on sale. Above are the results of a very amiable collaboration, and I think it's come out pretty darn well!

This was my first commission proper, and hopefully the start of many more! Be sure to check out Martin's music, and buy the album if it appeals - anyone into their folk or americana will find a great deal to enjoy!

Until next time.

Work in progress...

2011-05-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

Layered pages on my lightbox came out blue on the camera for some reason. I quite like it.

Another Month, Another Life Drawing Sesh

2011-05-08T08:43:00.000-07:00

And the winner is...

2011-04-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Dale Wylie, who was fortunate to be the 9th comment when it came to random number generation. I apologise to everyone else, but who knows, there might be another chance soon! And Dale, hope you enjoy your original print of As A Child!

(Sorry for plastering this picture rather big, I wanted to see what it looks like at this scale. Fortunately there's only a limited amount of mug on show)

Speak soon!

Eh?!?

2011-03-29T05:45:00.000-07:00

No new work, I'm afraid. There is some ongoing, but that has been slightly disrupted by a burst radiator pipe causing 3 rooms, including mine, to have the carpets pulled up. Just a little annoying!

Anyway, the reason I'm posting is just as a final reminder that you can still enter my giveaway! Only 2 days left though so get your entries in quick!

Speak soon.

Lovely Post

2011-03-19T09:29:00.000-07:00

The other day I was delighted to receive a package in the post. The wonderful Emma Carlisle recently conducted her own giveaway and I was fortunate to be one of the lucky winners. Hence this gorgeous little screen print arriving through the letterbox!

You can find her blog with much more of her lovely work here.

____________________________________

In the same vein, just to remind you all to enter my very own giveaway, running until the 1st of April.
Thank you to all the people who have already entered!

Update + GIVEAWAY!

2011-03-15T05:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, it really has been a while since I last updated this. I can only apologise and promise to do better in the future. Like I always seem to do! In my defence, I have been working for the last month or so in a job that has entailed working rather unsocial hours. However, I start a new, 9-5 job next week so hopefully this will allow me more time to focus on creativity. I have also completed work on a very enjoyable commission, so in time I will update you with that.

Anyway, apology over. Onto the giveaway!

A couple of days ago I reached 100 followers! (It's now 101, so I'm actually a little late with this)
To celebrate and to say thank you for your patience, I thought I'd organise a little competition/giveaway.
I'll be giving away one (or more) of these original, limited edition linocut prints shown below.
All you have to do to enter is be a follower of this blog and leave a comment stating which print you would like to win, before the 1st of April. I will then draw the winner(s) at random after that date.

Simples!

x

As A Child

Camel

'Ere, Trandlers, Quit Yer Crowbaggin'

Never Rode My Bike Down To The Sea

I Might Be A Part Of This Ripple On Water

You Were So Smart Then

Life Drawing

2011-02-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

I went to a life drawing session last night. I haven't been for about 9 months so I was a little out of practice! It did feel good to get back into it, and these are a couple of pieces that I'm actually quite pleased with.

Random Doodles From My Sketchbook

2011-01-28T14:11:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year 2011!

2010-12-31T10:21:00.000-08:00

I would cover some of the highlights of my 2010, but even though it has been an excellent year, I can't think of specifics right now, so I'm going to go straight ahead and list some of my New Years Resolutions.

In no particular order and off the top of my head...

Draw more. Maybe every day. Probably not.
Draw more from life.
Develop more of my own individual style.
PRINT MORE. I must not let myself drag projects on before I get to the printing stage.
DO MORE.
Quit smoking. I'm not setting a deadline for this. I may succeed, I may not. It's just something I've been thinking about recently.
Save more money.
Complete a TEFL qualification.
Go back to Africa. OK, this may not be completely feasible, but if I can at least save enough money in the coming year to go the next year then I shall consider it a success.
Enter more competitions and get more commissions.
Get a job that pays extremely well and leaves me plenty of time to focus on illustration. This may be a slight fantasy...
Drink less / have more nights out that I can remember. This may be as difficult as quitting smoking...
HAVE FUN
BE PRODUCTIVE

Phew. That's quite a list. I guess it's more like goals and things I want to accomplish in 2011 than actual resolutions, but there you go. Maybe by putting it on here I'll be less able to avoid it. It looks quite exhaustive, but it's probably not. The last two points are the main things.

Here's wishing you all a very Happy New Years!

x

Water Is Life

2010-12-31T09:54:00.000-08:00

For the Water Is Life International Poster Competition. Fingers crossed for something!

Studio Love

2010-12-24T10:28:00.000-08:00

- noun
A special kind of love, usually reserved for inanimate objects / spaces.

.

Oh yes, and a very Merry Christmas, to each and every one of you.

x

Update

2010-12-22T07:32:00.000-08:00

Things are gearing up nicely. Above you can see my (ahem) studio, all ready and waiting to be used. It's not fully ideal, but I'm pretty damn pleased with it! I have 4 linocuts with the first layers cut and I am preparing to start printing the first layer of one soon (any minute now, as a matter of fact). I am definitely looking forward to this...I think it has actually been almost 7 months since I last printed anything of importance! Fingers crossed it all goes to plan.

On a different note, and just to help get everyone in the festive mood, just how beautiful does the garden look in the snow???

Killing Time

2010-12-15T15:32:00.001-08:00

I am currently waiting on a delivery of lino. I have new paper, roller, inks and palette knife waiting impatiently alongside my press for me to be able to start cutting and printing my current project. The deadline is the end of this month so I can guarantee you will see results soon! In the meantime, I remembered that I had ordered some scraperboard and cutters, partly because I felt it could be a useful way of producing draft images pre-printing, but more out of curiosity than anything else. And whilst waiting I have been playing around with this medium a little. It's quite strange as the actual cutting technique is rather different from that of lino and I've been having difficulty replicating some of the marks I could easily whip out on lino. However, while some of these experiments have not been fully successful, I have produced a portrait of my brother which I am quite pleased with (see above). The actual result is a far cry from lino-cutting, but there's room in my life for more than just one medium/technique I guess!

Crumpled Paper

2010-11-22T13:54:00.000-08:00

More intriguing light/dark contrasts.

In Reference To...

2010-11-21T16:54:00.000-08:00

These are some photos I've taken (in my bedroom, by the way; no professional studio for me!) and have been playing around with to use as reference for a current project. I am especially interested in the stark shadows that can be created. I'm not going to mention the ideas behind the many concepts flowing round my head, only a couple of which are explored here, but I would love to hear which stand-alone image you think is strongest.

Peace.
x

Clearly, I was lying...

2010-10-25T10:41:00.000-07:00

I seemed to have reneged somewhat on my promise to keep this blog updated. It's now been a month since my last post! Unfortunately, I don't have any new work to present. Fear not, though, as progress is still continuing. My press is now screwed onto a counter-top, I have purchased a lovely big bit of glass to sit on the chest of drawers for me to roll up ink on, and I am currently going through a whole pile of sample papers in order to decide my preferences when it comes to a large order. At the moment I am working in a new job five days a week, but work is also progressing. I'm currently working on three separate projects: a commission that I'm rather excited about, but cannot say any more than that; a poster competition; and a number of ideas for a collaborative zine with the rather talented Ben Rothery and Matthew Gee. Hopefully soon I'll have money to afford inks and papers and I'll be able to show some new work but, for now, I just figured I'd prove I'm not, like, dead.

Progress in the Studio

2010-09-22T08:23:00.000-07:00

Of course, when I say studio I really mean my parents garage until I have enough money to move out...

I picked up my press on Monday, and doesn't it look lovely? If you fancy getting yourself one then visit Magenta Sky. They're handmade by a very friendly couple in Cambridgeshire and are very affordable.

I've also bought some plywood for some press bed plates (see bottom right corner of above photo). These still need the edges sanding down but apart from that, the printmaking studio of my dreams is coming on. There's a lovely chest of drawers which I plan on screwing the press down onto so I can keep it more stable, and 2 large drawers which i plan on using for inks and papers. All it needs is a handle replacing, one of the drawer runners fixed and a rather large case of woodworm to sort out. Still, it's something to do.
Speaking of inks and papers, these are some more things that I still need to buy before i start producing more work (I have black and a couple of colours in water-based inks but from experience the ones I own aren't great). I have just received the 2010 catalogue from Lawrence so I shall be perusing and purchasing when money allows.

On a different topic, a selection of gorgeous goodies from the wonderful Emma Cowley arrived in the post a couple of days ago, which put a smile on my face.

As a final note, I cannot stop listening to Basia Bulat at the moment so thought I'd share her with you all through this link here.

My, hasn't it been a while...

2010-09-13T10:14:00.001-07:00

It has indeed, and for that may I offer my sincerest apologies. It's been a bit of a strange time, finishing university, moving back home, coming to terms with the fact that I'm not starting back again this month and that I am, in fact, in the real world now.

I am sad to say that I have not been doing much drawing or illustration at all since finishing; motivation has been at an all time low. However, i am just starting to draw up a BIG new project for myself to focus on, details of which I shall release later, and I am hoping that this will help my creativity return. I have also ordered a printing press (my very own!) and hopefully this will help as well as, while I do have a rather large stock of untouched lino, after 2 years of using the excellent printmaking workshop at uni I cannot really bring myself to start hand-rubbing prints again.

In the meantime, I would like to bring a couple of links to your attention:
The first is my website. It's nothing special, but my knowledge of the software limits me from attempting to make anything too complicated so I settled for this.
The second is my RedBubble profile. Here you can buy digital prints, greetings cards, t-shirt and more of my work, and being the pauper that I am I need all the money I can get, so go crazy!

Well, that is my life (reasonably) updated. I hope to keep in contact a bit more regularly from now on, though it may just be sketchbook pages until I get round to some more linocutting, but I hope you will be patient with me.

So until tomorrow (probably not)

Au Revoir

x

Degree Show 2010

2010-06-23T10:05:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of photographs of my final degree show at Norwich University College of the Arts. It's been very stressful (and expensive) getting it all set up, but I think it's worth it.

The Private View was last night and very hectic, but I did speak to some lovely people and got a few compliments on my work, which I'm very pleased about. The show is on until the 29th of June, so if you live near Norwich you should definitely check it out, especially the Illustration area which, in my humble (and completely unbiased) opinion, is the standout exhibition in the show.

I Might Be A Part Of This Ripple On Water

2010-06-11T18:04:00.000-07:00

This is the final poster of the set of three, and the one that I am happiest with. For my degree show I am displaying an original print without the black layer, but I feel that it needs the black once the text is put on.

You Were So Smart Then

2010-06-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

Second of three posters.

Never Road My Bike Down To The Sea

2010-06-09T17:41:00.000-07:00

This is the first of three tour posters I produced as a quick final project for myself before assessment. They are all for Laura Marling, whose latest album 'I Speak Because I Can' had been on repeat on my iTunes. It really is an excellent album; if anyone hasn't heard it yet, definitely check it out.

As A Child

2010-06-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

This was an illustration based on a poem by Kristine Ong Muslim, featured in Issue 03 of The Lineup: Poems on Crime. If you've never read any crime poetry (and if not, you really should!), I would highly recommend that you start with one of these brilliant collections. You can visit their blog here.

String Theory

2010-06-07T15:23:00.001-07:00

This is the first of a few new pieces of work. I'm planning on putting up a new piece of work each day this week, so watch this spot!

Thumbnails

2010-06-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

I'm currently trying to put together a website, and so I thought I'd share a collection of the thumbnails I am using as links. You might even play a game guessing which ones relate to which work! Some, though, still haven't been uploaded, but I promise to remedy this soon!

Enjoy!

Assessment Hand-In

2010-05-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

Me with my final display for assessment. New work up soon!

A(stress)ment

2010-05-23T16:38:00.000-07:00

I'm currently preparing for my FINAL EVER ASSESSMENT at university. As you can imagine, this is really quite stressful, and so I haven't had time to scan in and upload any recent work.

Instead, I thought I'd put up a rather lovely photo of just some of my plannage and tick lists that have taken control of my wall.

Fear not though, new work should be up in a week or so!

Perfume

2010-05-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

This was my entry to the Penguin Design Awards, to design the jacket for Patrick Suskind's 'Perfume: The Story of a Murderer'.

The image came from the idea of Grenouille's strangling hands forming a heart shape, representing the love that his victims instill in others, as he crushes the life force out of them.

Unfortunately, I wasn't one of the shortlisted entries, but nonetheless, I'm still happy with it. I guess that's what counts. Maybe.

'Ere, trandlers, quit yer crowbaggin...'

2010-04-15T16:31:00.000-07:00

Camel

2010-03-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

An old nickname for a Fenman, derived from the custom of stalking across the Fens on stilts.

One Serving Of Bad Luck

2010-03-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

Another book cover from 'Killer Year', this time for 'One Serving of Bad Luck' by Sean Chercover.

And Another One

2010-03-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

Some Prints

2010-03-12T11:01:00.000-08:00

Gravity And Need

2010-02-18T15:37:00.000-08:00

Potential book jacket for a short story, 'Gravity and Need' by Marcus Sakey, taken from a collection of short stories from up-and-coming crime authors - 'Killer Year'.

This is my first attempt at a reduction linocut and I am pretty pleased with the result, especially as the first colour was cut before I decided it would be a reduction.
However, I am really not sure about the type, which has been applied digitally. I don't want to spend too long thinking about it though, so I am moving on to another image.
I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this though!

Late Valentines

2010-02-15T15:25:00.001-08:00

Believe it or not, this is the most relevant image I have...

Orpheus & Eurydice

2010-01-17T05:02:00.000-08:00

So, since my last post I have been frantically cutting out lino, printing it and placing it in the spreads for my book in time for my assessment tomorrow. It's been quite frustrating cutting two blocks for every illustration to allow colour, but it has given me more freedom than using a reduction method. Plus it means I still have all the original plates to print from in the future.
As promised, here are a few of my final prints for the book. I'm pretty happy with how they've come out, although my only real reservation would be the darkness of the blue. I quite like the gloomy feeling it gives, but if I have time in the future I think I'll have a go using a crimson red or something similar. Overall, though, I am happy with the outcome.

Wish me luck for assessment!

Preliminaries...

2009-12-17T17:55:00.001-08:00

It's not looking like it's going to be a very relaxing Christmas!

I've got a ton of uni work to do ready for our assessment next term, and my main project is a 32 page book that I'm illustrating and producing, based on the Greek Myth of Orpheus & Eurydice. Since over the holiday break I'm going to be linocutting all my illustrations, and therefore won't have anything printed to put on here until well into January, I thought I'd put up a few of my preliminary pen and ink sketches that I'm using as a jumping off point for my linocuts.

So here they are!

Hope everyone has a very merry Christmas, and a stonking New Year!

Christmas Art Show 2009

2009-11-30T16:47:00.000-08:00

After saying every year that I would submit to our uni Christmas art show and never actually getting round to it, I finally decided this was the year, and so entered 3 separate submissions to sell.

These Christmas cards I made as packs of 4 individually linocut cards. Here are the individual card designs and them on display in the show.

I also framed a couple of linoprints. The first one is a test print for a current project, named 'Death of Eurydice', while the second one some of you may remember from my Communication project posted a while ago.

Now I'm just on tenterhooks waiting to see if any of them sell! I could do with the spare change...

CLEFT

2009-11-30T16:43:00.000-08:00

A quick poster I did for a fundraiser for our university magazine 'Storehouse' fundraiser, Cleft.

A Word to the Wise

2009-10-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

"The living are just the dead on holiday."

"It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret."

"Don't look where you fall, but where you slipped."

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant."

Musicality

2009-09-17T15:52:00.000-07:00

Selection Box

2009-09-17T10:17:00.000-07:00

Cabaret Showcase

2009-09-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

Motif

2009-09-12T12:50:00.000-07:00

In Performance

2009-09-12T12:43:00.000-07:00

Monsters

2009-06-16T13:14:00.001-07:00

Set of three linocut portraits of serial killers with selected quotes. Serial killers respectively: Kenneth Allen McDuff; John Martin Scripps; Harvey Louis Carignan.

Communication Linocuts

2009-06-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

Invisible Library

2009-06-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

This is the cover and two illustrated pages from the book "Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Sex but Have Been Forced to Find Out" from the Invisible Library. The Invisible Library is a collection of fictional books that have been mentioned in real books. This one is from "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" by Douglas Adams. These are all linocuts.
Invisible Library: http://www.geocities.com/jameshay.geo/InvisibleLibrary.html

Granta

2009-06-16T12:09:00.001-07:00

This was from a project to illustrate the cover of Granta magazine. I did three and then couldn't decide which one I liked better so here's all three.

Ragnarok Woodcut

2009-06-16T12:05:00.001-07:00

This is a woodcut I made for a personal project to create a set of stamps based on the Norse Ragnarok. I eventually made this into four inter-connecting stamps but because that was done on InDesign I can't work out how to upload it.

The Fairy Tale After Angela Carter

2009-03-10T09:41:00.001-07:00

This is a poster for the conference at the UEA. I'm not sure if this is the final yet but I thought I may as well upload it now as I haven't added anything for a while. It will be printed at A2 size. A3 linocut with supplementary copy added digitally.

Narrative Illustration: Dracula

2009-01-23T08:48:00.000-08:00

Conversation Piece

2009-01-08T16:17:00.000-08:00

Editorial Project - Computer Forensics

2008-11-30T16:10:00.000-08:00

100 Heads Project

2008-11-30T09:08:00.000-08:00

Dogs

2008-11-29T14:19:00.001-08:00

Prometheus on the rock

2008-11-29T13:31:00.000-08:00

Archetypes Project

2008-11-29T11:08:00.000-08:00

Band Names Project - Beautiful Garbage

2008-11-29T10:33:00.000-08:00