Kiss of the Henchspider

I've come to the conclusion that life is going to be stupidly busy for the foreseeable future so if I'm going to get any artwork done, I'm really going to have to push myself. My creative output has been ridiculously low over the last couple of years and I'm fed up with that.

So, whilst working on the current (very time-consuming and knotty) freelance project, I've managed to spit this etching out in what for me is double quick time.

The Henchspider is companion to the Harpy and works alongside my Requires Improvement print; they all go together really and are concerned with the same themes. The things that stop us doing what we should be doing. Those who are familiar with my work over a number of years will have spotted that the Datamonger is back... It's a bit like EastEnders when old characters return... Watch out to see who else pops up from the past.

And on we go

I made a start on my next Pirate Baby print the other weekend at the Red Hot Press Open Studios where I was demonstrating etching all day. This one is titled 'Requires Improvement (or petty bureaucracy and the things that stop us doing what we should be doing)'.

Looking back at the images I've made over the last few years, it struck me that most of the time, they contain solitary figures. That's fine - there's plenty of scope for narrative there - but I think I want to start introducing more characters into my images to explore the dymanics between them and how they interact with each other. There doesn't seem to be much interaction between the figures in 'Requires Improvement' but that is how it's meant to be. Lack of communication, lack of interest in what one is trying to say, futile hoop-jumping... That's what Pirate Baby is trying to convey here.