Wild Bore

I have just started working on a children's book with the speculative title "Wild Bore"

Monoprints

"The Palace of Dreams" (click here for close up)

I was experimenting with monoprints last night. I like the grain and the looseness of the line.

I worked into this one with white acrylic, ink and gouache.

a grumpy cat (possibly based on Dan's cat Blake...)

jar of brushes and ink

Portrait Commission - Pepsi

portrait commission - Cassia

Tiger spells

I'm working on a very detailed portrait commission at the moment, so while I wait for the paint to dry I've been drawing quick little sketches on postcards.

Making Space at Expresso Cafe, Norwich

Yesterday we set up our new exhibition at Expresso Cafe, and luckily for us everything went smoothly. Rob and Rosie from MakingSpace were wonderfully helpful in organising the whole thing and assisting everyone with hanging their work.

I made 5 pieces, a series of ink and gesso drawings on the life of Mata Hari.

(the last image in the series, pictured above, is also featured on Tate and Creative Review's Blast/Bless blog)

Mata Hari

I'm working on a set of 5 paintings relating to the life of Mata Hari - a Dutch exotic dancer who pretended to be a Java princess, and who was executed by a French firing squad as an alleged German spy during WWI.

The paintings are for an upcoming exhibition in Expresso Cafe, Norwich.

Monsieur Lapin

I've been drawing lots and lots of rabbits lately, playing with water-soluble graphite to create the soft texture of their fur. I am tempted to start making a children's book about them...

Lapins

I've been experimenting today, on postcard-sized watercolour paper.

Gil Scott-Heron

My brother Lewis got me into Gil Scott-Heron's music a few years back after playing me "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised".

Here's a wonderful Guardian article by Abdul Malik Al Nasir on how Gil changed his life.

Mustard Café, Norwich

If you get chance, I definitely recommend a visit to Mustard Café in Norwich - the staff are really welcoming, the food is all home-made and the coffee is amazing.

I stand shoulder to shoulder with all denouncers of meanness. I honour spirit and faith and uphold the glorious amateur

This is another drawing of Billy Childish (very similar to the one I sold in 2010) which will soon be coloured and put on display (and for sale) at Mustard Cafe in Norwich.

(A big thankyou to Rosie and Rob at MakingSpace for helping me to get my work out into this fine city!)

Unfold Poster 19: Tune-yards at Paradiso 6/6/11

This is why I was building cardboard mountains.

The animal featured in this poster is an endangered species called the Mountain Bongo which is native to Mount Kenya - there are less than 100 mountain bongos in Kenya living in the wild. More than 300 are living in American zoos, but the plan is for them to return to their natural habitat in Kenya eventually.


I really recommend you listen to the tUnE-yArDs - the new album W H O K I L L is available now, and they are playing at the Paradiso, Amsterdam, on 6th June.

Lightmeter Beetle

Dan and I have a steadily growing vintage camera collection, and today I've been using it as a starting point to create mysterious camera-beetle hybrids. This one is the result of a liason between a Leningrad lightmeter and a Lubitel.

Soon after drawing this, a real beetle appeared on my toe, and I made a film about his life which you can watch here: http://vimeo.com/24259311

Muammar Gaddafi

"Of all things I liked books best" - Nikola Tesla

(This was meant to be a picture of the young Picasso, but it doesn't really look like him.)

Hebe

A birthday card I made for Mum earlier this month, featuring our cat Hebe (and his new obsession: string)

He was a very good model and actually kept the pose for the whole time I drew him.

The other day I sat outside in the sun with the typewriter, away from all distractions, and made myself write the first draft of the first chapter of my comic book. I wrote it with the images in mind, rather than any dialogue, and when I re-read it, bits of it came across quite funny: (click to enlarge)

Emma Ridgway (c) Copyright 2010

Emma Ridgway (c) Copyright 2010