Soap and Flannel

p124
Photographic material.
'The series of images produced within ‘Soap and Flannel’ have a long history within my overall work. The Radio Times magazine has commissioned work from some of the most high regarded illustrators of the twentieth century, artists such as Edward Ardizzone, Paul Nash, Val Biro, David Gentleman, Heath Robinson, Ronald Searle, Quentin Blake and Gerald Scarfe. I first worked for the Radio Times in 1978 on small monochromatic pieces for the radio listings. These were usually commissioned for classical plays such as Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. In the late 1990s I was commissioned to create a test illustration for the page in the Radio Times dedicated to the soap operas. This illustration was deemed a success, and I was commissioned to create a further fifty throughout the following year. These were humorous pieces, which took a tongue in cheek look at the developing story lines. Following a popularity survey carried out during the redesign of the magazine, I was offered a further years commission. I decided to alter the way that I created the images, changing from photomontage executed by hand, to the use of a computer and camera. The transition was a success and the series continued. In 2002 my illustration for ‘Soap and Flannel’ was included in the ‘Images’ exhibition and book. This is a competition held for contemporary illustrators, judged by peer illustrators and others involved in the industry such as creative directors, art directors and editors. This series continued until 2003 resulting in over two hundred and fifty inside illustrations and one piece of cover art.