Monday, February 25, 2013

In My Mind





'In My Mind' is a simple project which asked those around me to answer a simple question - 'What are you thinking right now, right this second'.

I deliberately wanted it to remain a spontaneous piece, and pretty much drew these just straight off (in graphite on paper), with a little tidying up as I went. The type is all hand-generated, straight off the cuff mainly because I don't own a printer at the moment, so tracing digital fonts wasn't possible. And I quite like that fact.

I was considering making them all different colours at one point, but changed my mind in favour of something more monolithic which I think enhances the differences in each one.

The full set of 14 can be seen on Behance, here although the project might well continue if anyone emails of Facebooks me anything too good not to draw, and I am considering printing some as a set of limited edition Ricographs.

Thanks to all who inputted!

Mail Me Art

I've received notice that the Royal Mail has delivered my Mail Me Art artwork - drawn on an empty envelope!

Here's how Mail Me Art describes the project:


"Mail Me Art is a fun little project that was created by Darren Di Lieto of The Little Chimp Society in late 2006. He was looking for a way to connect on a real world level with all of the brilliant and talented illustrators who had become part of his community and network. Mail Art was the perfect way to accomplish this task. The Mail Me Art project has held exhibitions up and down the UK, and was published as very nice book by HOW Books. It has also been featured or mentioned by Digital Arts, Computer Arts, Design Week and The Telegraph over the years. Mail Me Art is still going strong to this day and there seems to be no stopping it!"


My work is based on a chap I drew a couple of years ago for the Skinny Decaf Latte show I did in Sydney. It's entitled 'Just Like Mamma Used To Make'. 

It's drawn in 5B pencil and chalk, and fixed with some of Twinkle's hairspray (I'm sorry if the aroma is still chokingly thick Darren!) to stop it smudging in the way it did every time my left hand moved across the envelope.

The reaction at the post office was enough to make me see the point of this project - the ladies behind the counter were very flattering, although they had no idea I was the artist. 


I believe it'll appear in an exhibition in Great Windmill Street, London, and then a book by the same name as the project...






Friday, February 15, 2013

Where I Work


Since moving into my new space, I've had loads of people ask me 'whats it like'.

As you see, it's a mess - a really big mess most of the time, but sometimes a slightly tidier mess, as is the case in these pictures because I tidied up.

The space itself is 130 square feet (you do the maths if you don't know imperial measurements - it's about the size of a UK double bedroom) of emptiness within an creative hub in South London. It has (almost) white walls, and a concrete floor. It's cold, although there is a working heating system, microwave, kettle, and a cafe downstairs with pretty decent coffee. The building it's all housed in is like a dilapidated 1970s school. I love it.

As anyone who has worked along side me will tell you, I like lots of mess. I like to surround myself with an eclectic array of colourful noise to pepper my day with silliness. I tend never to throw things away, especially if someone has given it to me - it usually gets pinned up somewhere, ready to be included in my work in some capacity. Dina, yes I do still have your post-it note from 2006.

In the corner of the studio are seven very large boxes, full of more nick-nacks that have yet to be unpacked. They sit alongside 3 vending machines I might hang on the wall at some point, and a large vintage suitcase, full of my sons drawings.

Some call me a hoarder. I don't think I'm quite that bad yet though.

I collect pencils and have a strict rule about ones I can use. The ones I never touch are kept in the toaster. Anyone found fiddling with them is usually scorned.

My stunning 1950s desk pencil sharpener is lethal, sharpening my weapons like no modern sharpener can, although it does tend to eat my pencils somewhat quicker than a regular one.

I listen to the radio often, though also have a habit of watching films whilst I work, choosing rarely to use headphones as I find the wire restricts my movement between the desk and the light-box.

I like to stick my work up on the wall, and stand back to see where it's going wrong. Of course, with so much other crap up on the walls already, that is sometimes hard.

So, there. My space, where I work every day.






Thursday, February 14, 2013

Nice Lips

A hastily cobbled illustration for my wife on this here Valentines Day. It should avoid a massacre.

Drawn originally very crudely in my sketchbook some time ago, this version isn't much of an improvement in any way although, I like to think that it conveys a little piece of my raw heart.






Monday, February 11, 2013

Illustration Friday - Storm (In A Teacup)



Here's this weeks Illustration Friday - Storm (In A Teacup).


On Saturday morning, I made a pot of English Breakfast, and drank several cups with Mrs Harnwell Jones in our finest bone china random coloured teacups, complete with stunning hand painted flowers inside. It's by far, the best way to enjoy a cup of rosie.

A storm however, did not follow.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Facelift February - Be Seen!

Facelift, the platform hire company, has just released my poster for February which promotes the wearing of Hi-Vis gear on site. It's entitled Be Seen! My ongoing set of posters features a character to highlight the main message. This month, rather than face imminent death as he did last month, he glows in his bright vest, keeping him out of harms way.

The Health & Safety downloads page on Facelift's website can be found by clicking here.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Illustration Friday - Wheel

This weeks Illustration Friday is 'Wheel'.

Rather than selecting something vehicle based, I plumped for something somewhat more graphic - I've been doing rather a lot of literally stuff lately, and wanna rediscover my chart based work...

If only sleep was as blocked out as shown here - life with a toddler isn't quite so plain sailing between the hours of 1am and 6.30am. I like to oversimplify things though.