LATEST WORK

Professional & Personal Projects

SELECTED PROJECTS

A Collection of My Favourite Works, Past and Present

The Galaxy Garden

A curiosity for blending nature and sci-fi inspired the Galaxy Garden project.

With one foot firmly planted in the world of canvases and tubes of paint, and a small toe dipped in the intimidating ocean of 3D software, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to explore how close I could tie the two themes together.

Each image is produced using ZBrush to sculpt 3D assets, which are then imported and arranged in Adobe Photoshop for the final compositions.

BFI Film Classics - Bloomsbury Publishing

The BFI Film Classics series introduces, interprets and celebrates landmarks of world cinema. Each volume offers an argument for the film's 'classic' status, together with discussion of its production and reception history, its place within a genre or national cinema, an account of its technical and aesthetic importance, and in many cases, the author's personal response to the film.

Regardless of which title I have the privilege of working on, these projects will always be a standout for me. For the great collaboration, variation, and test of both my painterly and digital art skills.

A Wrinkle In Time - The Folio Society

Sometimes the universe hands you a dream job. For me, The Folio Society, known for its beautifully bound and illustrated books, was one such dream project that I was thrilled to be a part of.

They approached me having discovered my hand-painted artwork, and it was decided straight away to go with a hand-drawn feel for the illustrations in this publication.

A Wrinkle in Time offers potential for fantastic visuals throughout, and honestly, it was a task in itself to decide which scenes to pick! I made my selection, reminding myself that whatever I went with would have to embrace my hand-drawn style, and as such, I went for the boldest, almost motif style scenes to embrace large brush strokes and vivid colours.

Box - A Personal Project

Box is a personal picture book that I produced while studying at the University of Hertfordshire. Inspired by the relationship between childhood imagination and cardboard boxes!

The project consisted of large paintings that were shrunk down into colourful spreads. This was where I tried my best to cast away any self-doubt, trusted the process, and discovered my voice as a painter.

Editorial Illustration - Various Titles

Whether it’s a simple spot illustration, full spread vector image, or even a motion graphic - I can cover almost all topics and creative bases. I’ve produced regular visual content for both B2C and B2B titles, to name a few:

MCV / Develop
Tabletop Gaming
Music Week
Sound and Video Contractor
TWICE
System Contractor News
SmartBrief
TVB Europe
Toy News

And many more.

PAINTINGS & SKETCHBOOKS

Selected Digital and Traditional Work

Zines - Happiness in Little Things

Selected Exhibitions & Shows
With a little help from my friends

The Shooting Gallery 2023

Hitchin Art Fair 2017

Exhibit A 2016

Victoria Arts Fair 2016

Victoria Arts Fair 2015

JackmyDesign Exhibition 2014

JackmyDesign Exhibition 2013

The Creative Meat, Hitchin 2013

Candid Art Trust, Mixed Media Exhibition 2013

Sotheby’s Colonnade Gallery 2012

Picturing Time, Salon QP Saatchi Gallery 2012

New Designers Exhibition 2012

SHOP

Working digitally is great, but there's a special feeling I get when holding finished drawings in my hands. I like sharing that experience when I can.

A bit about printing...

I’ve tried giving my customers access to various size options via dropdown menus, lists of different paper stock to match budgets, drop-shipping to reduce postage costs...

I don’t know, but it’s not for me.

That’s not to say I won’t work with someone who has a special request in mind. But I like to be there to make sure the products meet my standards.

Artists should always nerd out with their printers over inks and paper options. I personally go to great lengths to choose the best match for my work. I like to sign and number my prints, and maybe throw a little doodle in the shipping tube with them if I have time!

My work is always printed on Studio Expression 300gsm cotton paper (or the closest thing if my printers can’t find any). It’s smooth enough to make the inks pop, thick enough to feel robust and archival in the hands, and matte enough so the image can be viewed in any light and from any angle.

Right now the shop is on a break until I drop another small run of prints. Add me on Instagram to keep updated on print runs and other releases.

ABOUT

Hi, I’m Sam. Freelance Illustrator, Fine Artist, and Graphic Designer.

As my job description suggests, I am a multi-disciplined artist with skills in digital and traditional mixed media. In short, I love working with anything that sparks creativity.

Professional Career

Working for over a decade as an in-house graphic designer for one of the UK's biggest publishers has granted me a cool, calm, and driven approach to almost any creative challenge that I encounter. Whether that be many short editorial deadlines, briefs with vast, far-out visual concepts, or even preparing to exhibit, document, or curate work in gallery spaces - I take it all on with an accommodating, can-do attitude.

I’m a firm believer that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to completing projects. Regardless of whether they’re personal or briefed, every client brings their own flavour to the table, and I like to pick from my bag of skills and toolsets to match their needs.

Personal Work

My personal work is a vessel to indulge my creative curiosities, often inspired by dreams, memories, or vague feelings of nostalgia.

I tend to create things as a means to satisfy my inner child. To find excitement and pride is often at the heart of everything I draw.

Staying connected with the kid-like creative side of myself means that I still hold the same visual fascinations and inspirations that I appreciated while growing up, only now, as a more developed individual/artist, I’m able to approach those same ideas with a better understanding and a broader skillset to explore them.

I’m a shy person so I tend to let my work speak for itself. That said, I wholeheartedly believe that art has the power to connect people in all kinds of weird and wonderful ways, so I really love opening up and chatting with people at shows to discover their personal takes and connections with my drawings.