Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space

Some days, you can just feel like everything is too much, and yet also so very far away...

The Man Who Fell To Earth

Yesterday, Felix Baumgartner became the first skydiver to travel faster than the speed of sound when he jumped out of a balloon 128,100ft (24 miles; 39km) above New Mexico, also smashing the record for the highest ever freefall.

I was out last night, watching a gig by Emperor Yes in Camden, but I did watch the footage online when I got home, and a lot of it just showed a white blob in the middle of a blue screen. I guess it was impossible to get any close up footage of Felix's freefall, so I thought I would draw a picture of how I imagine he looked as he plummeted from space...

Bon Voyage Yuki!

My friend Yuki is going back to Japan tomorrow, which is a bit sad. We were on the same MA Illustration course at Camberwell College of Art in 2008-2009 and have remained friends ever since! It'll be strange that we can't just meet up for coffee anymore or speak on the phone. Still, at least it gives me an excuse to finally go and visit Japan sometime soon!

Among the many things that Yuki is interested in is space. And after she posted a photo with her head on a rocketship on the Facebook event for her leaving drinks, I had the idea to draw this picture for her leaving card...

In space no one can eat ice cream.

I've just completed my submission for the SPACE exhibition which will be happening as part of the Cardiff Design Festival 2011 in October. They are currently taking submissions for inclusion in the show (Deadline: Monday 1 August 2011) which will then be featured on their online showcase, with selected entries being printed and exhibited at the event in October.

My illustration is entitled "In space no one can eat ice cream" – a deviation from the tagline to the Ridley Scott film Alien – and highlights the impracticalities of attempting to eat an ice cream while wearing a space helmet. I've also included a number of references to various science fiction concepts from film and television...

Paul'll Fix It

For the past few years, my friend Tom has been asking me to draw a picture of him riding on a giant bee. As I usually enjoy ignoring him, I hadn't bothered ... until now!