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Audiobooks Back I've illustrated a lot of covers specifically for audio books. This is just a few of them, mostly for Isis Publishing.

Biographies Back

Health, Wellness & Pharmaceutical Work I've worked with clients in the worlds of health and wellness for more than 20 years, and love a scientific and medical challenge. For legal and contractual reasons this page shows only a * tiny percentage * of my pharmaceutical work to date, so if you want to see more, get in touch.

Before writing me an email, you might find what you’re looking for here. Here are the things I currently get asked the most - feel free to email if you still have a burning question! Can you sign this book for me? Of course. Order a copy to be sent to me (or send me the one you have) and let me have an address to send it back to. Email to ask! Can I buy a print of…? Yes indeed. If it’s not already in the shop, email me about making one for you. Internships & Assistants I’ve greatly enjoyed and benefitted from the help of assistants since the early 2000s. This is Graham , on the left, who was with us for the longest, and still helps out now - including with this website! Sometimes we have periods without one (‘we’ is myself and partner Leigh), sometimes we have more than one - three part-timers was our record - and I have an accounts lady too who works one day a week. We’re not currently looking for an intern or assistant, but this doesn’t mean we won’t be at some point in the future. Will you do my tattoo/wedding invite/portrait of…? I’ve done a gazillion personal projects and there’ll be a gazillion more. But I do have to have 'Mole's Hierarchy of Needs' met: ​ - do I like the project opportunity? - do I have the time? - OK I might have the time - but do I have the motivation? (honestly?) - will the project reward me either in terms of personal satisfaction, payment or knowing I’ve helped a chum? - if they can’t pay, can this person do something for me in return, maybe? - will it make a total stranger really really happy? - are they asking me to draw a beloved animal? That’s a stone cold nope. - are they asking for something that’s well within my wheelhouse? - or maybe this might be a chance to do something a bit challenging in the safety of an ‘off-client’ situation. If I can, and I want to, and I like the project, I will - so do email! Portfolio Advice & Consulting I’ve spent a lot of time over the years helping other people with their work in both workshop and formal educational settings. I love doing talks and seminars when I can, and individual folio sessions by Zoom can be arranged. Help with college/university/school projects Always happy to help. - If you write to me about your work, myself (or my partner) will be happy to give you some folio feedback , - I'll always gladly answer questionnaires and do interviews , too. But the timing of this will be determined by workload i.e.: we know your project is urgent, but to quote a friend of ours, "your failure to plan is not my emergency!" - so don't send it last minute! And DO send us the finished project - you'd be amazed how many people don't bother to do this, and it's a professional and well-mannered way to acknowledge our input. Do you have a Skillshare or any online tutorials? From a very young age I was heavily involved in education and lettering workshops while juggling an illustration career. I’m currently focussing on developing the direction of my own work for the next 20 years, so I don’t have much mental space to offer ‘how-tos’. I do, however, record a lot of process videos and time-lapses which you can see on my Motion page, and my recent Adobe Live series may be of interest! Do you do colouring books? We did ours in 2003! And I’ve never had the urge to make one since - as much as I adore working in black ink, I love colour, and I like making the whole illustration, not just the outlines. As far as we know we were the first people to create a modern illustration colouring-in book, albeit a slightly subversive one that was also a puzzle book. It was provided with a set of crayons, and more than a touch of darkness. It wasn’t cute, but it was full of murky humour. I still have a copy or two, and I’m going to blog it one of these days. I’ve got no desire to do another one (plenty of people are really good at them - I love Millie Marotta 's colouring books) but I have been asked four times by publishers now! I don’t see any awards or gongs on your website, why’s that? * Small Blog Alert.* I do have some, but they’re not on the site as I honestly don’t think they’re that important, or would influence whether a client thinks I’m suitable for a job. Despite many fun hours being a competition judge, I made the decision to stop entering them a few years ago, having realised that I’d started to question the motives behind both running and entering them. Some people love entering competitions, but I’ve narrowed it down to one illustration competition I’m happy to enter now, which is the V&A Illustration Awards , run by one the UK’s oldest institutions, and my policy is only to enter something when I feel would sit well in the setting of the organisation, and alongside company that that competition attracts. The process of surveying a year's work and identifying something to fit the brief is a useful and contemplative exercise, whether I win anything or not! I wrote a full article about this here ​

Back Take Me With You Andrea Gibson Over 80 tiny little illustrations (well, some filled an A3 sheet!) for my friend and colleague Andrea Gibson , poet and author. "Andrea Gibson explores themes of love, gender, politics, sexuality, family, and forgiveness with stunning imagery and a fierce willingness to delve into the exploration of what it means to heal and to be different in this strange age. Take Me With You, illustrated throughout with evocative line drawings by Sarah J. Coleman, is small enough to fit in your bag, with messages that are big enough to wake even the sleepiest heart. Divided into three sections (Love, The World, and On Becoming) of one liners, couplets, greatest hits phrases, and longer form poems, it has something for everyone, and will be placed in stockings, lockers, and the hands of anyone who could use its wisdom." Client: Penguin Randomhouse, USA Buy a copy here (US) and here (UK)

Special Projects Outside of commissioned and commercial work I do lots of other projects. These are often created and executed with my partner Leigh, and are usually things we want to try out, do for the sake of doing, or experiment with. They’re neither designed to make money (though they sometimes do), nor to satisfy any brief but our own. They’re also, sometimes, collaborative, and are almost always for the entertainment and engagement of other people. Tinselsnakes Postal/global, 2010 Yet to complete. The Witches London, Manchester, Hinckley 2008- 2010 Yet to complete. Altar Ego Radio Global, 2014-15 Yet to complete.

Writing Words were nearly my career. I chose art, but I ensured language was woven through whatever I did, from an early job making props at the Royal Shakespeare Company to blogging, copywriting, contributing articles and reading manuscripts. blog.inkymole.com The OG. I’ve kept a traditional blog since 2008, where I write about illustration work, jobs, process, musings and conundrums. Free to read and always has been. I’m a writer on Medium too , where alongside selected blogs I put articles of more general interest and usefulness to the wider creative community. ​ inkymole.medium.com Life, being a human; personal experience and thoughts. Read for free, or sign up to get the full stack of written goodies delivered unto thine inbox: a work in progress. inkymole.substack.com Got a writing or publishing enquiry? Chat to my literary agent Megan Carroll, at Watson Little: mc@watsonlittle.com

The Inkvent Project A collaboration with Diamine Inks The first ever Inkvent Calendar was created in 2019 together with Diamine Inks, my long-term clients and collaborators. It contained a brand new, specially-made ink for every day of December, and had never been done before. It sold out in weeks. To celebrate the existence of my dream advent calendar that year, I created a piece of work every day throughout December, using that day's ink colour. You can see them all on my Inkstag ram and TikTok . My rules were: - One take only - no practising or repeating - Only use the ink provided - No digital faffing ! ​ The originals were all sold the following January with proceeds going to The Trussell Trust , and prints available. In 2021, the Inkvent Calendar was produced again with 25 brand new, unique ink colours - and again in 2022. It's now an annual feature in the global ink lovers calendar, and I'm overjoyed to be at the centre of the action with my ink-wizard colleagues at Diamine! Inkvent 2024 Inkvent 2023 Inkvent 2022 Inkvent 2021 Inkvent 2019 COMING SEPTEMBER 2024 Buy Inkvent Art Watch Inkvent art being created Buy Inkvent Calendar s Buy Inkvent Inks Donate Why do daily artworks? The Inkvent Project provides an opportunity to play with ink within a handful of parameters, but with zero attachment to the outcome. I'm doing more than trying out the ink - I'm flying by the seat of my pants, freestyling, making decisions as I go along. I'm also testing my skills on camera - can I make something legible and aesthetically pleasing with that camera on me, knowing I have to post it whether it works or not? Additionally, I'm allowing myself the freedom to respond to the day's news or events, vibe or mood - so very little if anything is planned ahead.

Logos I love creating logos and identities for big and small clients alike; it's a different kind of challenge. Here's a selection.

Radio & Broadcast Work I love radio as a medium both to listen to and be part of. With a background in the burgeoning pirate radio scene of the 90s and 00s, DJing, co-ordinating guest artists, recording interviews and of course the creative stuff, I’ve retained a life-long love of the unpredictable journey that is radio, tuning into stations around the world. I remain involved in radio wherever possible, contributing articles and doing interviews as a guest. BBC Radio I’ve been a frequent and enthusiastic contributor to BBC Radio Leicester, providing interviews and mini-guest slots on topical, creatively-themed subjects. You can listen to all my shows at mixcloud.com/inkymole Altar Ego Radio Over four bank holiday sessions, Altar Ego broadcast both on FM and online for 4 continuous days, playing the gamut of musical genres with a dizzying 24-hour schedule of back-to-back guest DJS. A massive technical and creative group effort, it wasn’t without its challenges and adventures! This is what we did. Pirate Radio Me, my partner, a school chum and a small team of enthusiastic and dedicated music lovers ran a tiny but far-reaching FM pirate radio station from assorted tower blocks and flats for many years; an unexpected boot camp for myriad practical, organisational, creative and people skills. We were interviewed about our experience with pirate radio, for the story of pirate radio on the Bureau of Lost Culture by Stephen Coates , with Jonathan More of Coldcut.

Back The Family Project Jean-Paul Flintoff & Harriet Green "Every family has a story to tell. Wouldn't it be great to record them before they're lost to history? The authors are journalists who have spent years drawing the best out of their interviewees. In this book, they prompt you to do the same with your nearest and dearest." A creative handbook for anyone who wants to discover their family story - but doesn't know where to start. Illustrated throughout with felt-tip and ink pen action - I just went loose with this one, as the actors gave me free reign to interpret in whatever way the (very funny) book inspired me to! Client: faber & faber / Guardian Books Buy a copy here