Part 2 : Secret Squirrels.

Having set upon what I hoped would be a strong concept for the cover, I now needed to work up a very rough illustration so that the band could understand where I wanted to take the image. So I spent the next few days pulling together reference material.  I always find it helpful to spend time doing this properly.  It's important to have everything you need so that once you begin sketching out, you have everything you need close at hand.  

I have built up quite a little library of reference books in my studio.  The best place to find them is charity shops and second hand book shops. So I pulled together those which I thought would be useful.

The next thing I needed to do was address the fact that there was to be a figurative element to the image : David had asked for a young girl and boy to be featured, cast in the roles of Adam and Eve.  My little library would not help me here and so I needed to source a reference "from life".  So I called upon my good friends Sam and Bev and cryptically asked if I could possibly "borrow" their children for an afternoon!  

Alistair and Bea-Bea were my wonderful models for Little Adam and Little Eve.  They were very excited to hear that they might appear on the cover of a CD!  What with that and the strategic use of 2 bags of sweets, we had a very fun afternoon, dressing them up in Winter woolies, cutting apples in half to reveal the "5 pointed star" and generally posing around whilst I took lots and lots and lots of photos.

As I left and handed over the bags of sweets, I made Alistair and Bea-Bea promise, promise, promise to be Secret Squirrels. They must not say a word to anyone about the record cover, who it was for or why we had just spent the whole afternoon playing with half an apple.  And to their absolute credit, they were little gems and kept their word for what would end up being 5 months.

Back in the studio, I began sketching out a very rough design.  I didn't want to spend long on it: the purpose was to give Greg and David a good enough sense of where the piece was heading and also to enable them to specify likes/dislikes and suggest other elements to include.  

David had mentioned somehow including an Adder, which has a strong pagan association but, in this instance, could also represent the Eden snake.  So I wound him through the wreath, in and out of the apple blossoms and Wassail cup.  Over-looking the entire scene is the Green Man - strong and powerful, the King of the Woodland/Tree Gods.  I gave him a beard made of leaves, to allude to the ideas we sometimes have of how God is depicted.  So there are a few elements of the painting which have a dual role : they represent both traditional, pagan symbols but also those from the story of the Original Sin.

The following piece was laid down very quickly, with bold washes of ink.  There was no desire on my part to give an accurate rendition, just to give a flavour.

I emailed the initial image off to David and Greg, kept my fingers very tightly crossed that they were able to share my vision and see where I wanted to take the painting - and then waited...

So here we are again.  I have lost count of how many times I have tried to relaunch this blog.  But this time I promise I will try to be more disciplined and post regular stories, wips and photos from the studio.  However, it is the perfect time to try to get back in the saddle, as I have a wonderful adventure to recount.  I am going to split the story into several sections.  But here is the first.  Got your mug of tea?  Okay, here we go...

Part One : An Unexpected Christmas Gift

In late December of last year, I was contacted by Gregory Spawton, founding member and bass player for the rock band Big Big Train.  Who are they?  Well I am sure many of you will be very familiar with their wonderful sound.  But for those who are not, if your speakers are turned up, then you are listening to them right now (as they are the feature music on my Wikiplayer).

Greg asked me if I would be interested in the idea of producing a painting for the band, for an upcoming EP release. I have been a fan of BBT for quite a while now.  I just love their soaring sound and the strong narrative which runs through every song. They were once described as the "musical equivalent of the Olympics opening ceremony" - and I still can't think of a better way to sum them up.  So Greg's request felt like the biggest and best Christmas present ever.  Trying my very best to sound as breezy and nonchalant as possible, I said "Yeah, sure. No probs" ..... and then ran around my front room, jumping for joy.

Greg and David Longdon (lead vocals) sent me a very rough, stripped down cut of the song in question, along with all the lyrics.  David explained the story behind the track and a little of the lyrical subtext.  So whilst every other artist was putting their paint brushes down for the holidays, I was hard at work coming up with some concepts for the cover.

The song is entitled "Wassail" and takes inspiration from the age-old tradition of the apple wassail.  One of the fabulous aspects of this project has been the opportunity to do some research into a folkloric tradition - a subject which I can happily disappear into for hours!.

The Wassail ceremony (thought by some to date back to at least the 1500's) takes place at the start of each year. A little cider from last year's harvest is kept to one side.  On the night of the Wassail (usually on Twelfth Night), the cider is warmed and placed in a special cup (or wassail bowl).  Whilst in the orchard, the cup is passed from person to person, each taking a swig and toasting the tree spirits.  The last of the cider is poured on the roots of the apple trees, along with slices of bread or toast - offerings to the Gods of the orchard.  Often a Wassail Queen is chosen and she is crowned with a wreath made of  ivy, yew, fir and other winter evergreens.  

The Green Man is honoured and celebrated. This was thought to bring health and abundance to the orchard, so that come the Autumn a bumper harvest was to be had.  

The lyrics were interwoven with a very clever nod to the biblical story of Adam and Eve and the garden of Eden.  As we all know, there can be no more significant fruit than the apple!

So with all this wonderful material to work with and a guiding hand from  David, I set to work trying to find a way to represent all of the above.  

First off, I made a list of what I wanted the image to say/represent and what feeling I wanted it to project:
- a sense of abundance and plenty
- fertility and the hope of a good harvest
- The Green Man - the "king" of all tree Gods
- A feeling of tradition/folklore/paganism
- A strong link to nature - and the sense that we are all part of one big cycle of life, death and rebirth

David also requested some features :
- A winter scene, representing the traditional Wassailing period of the calendar
- A young girl and boy : her to be tempting him with an apple (the Adam and Eve story)

After some initial sketching and mucking about with ideas, I settled upon the image of a wreath made up of apples and apple blossom.  It represented everything I wanted to say and could also double as the Wassail Queen's crown.  It also left me a space in the centre in which to represent David's narrative. 

And so, as the New Year chimed in, I set to work on a preliminary work-up for the lads to review...