I am absolutely thrilled to be able to announce that I have been shortlisted for the 2019 Poster Prize for Illustration, run by the Association of Illustrators and the London Transport Museum.
This is the second time that I have been shortlisted for this award and I am chuffed to bits. The theme for this years competition is 'London Stories' and my entry is based on taking the bus from Elephant and Castle to Camberwell and the hundreds of personal stories that intertwine with this route. I take this route quite frequently when I'm in the capital and I'm always blown away by the sheer diversity and vibrancy of London. I love the way the character of the city changes the longer you stay on the bus and I really wanted my entry to reflect this.
The thing I love about busses, as opposed to other forms of public transport is that it is a much freer space. People talk, read, listen to music and even occasionally look each other in the eyes, unlike on the tube where it's eyes down and silence. Being a passenger on a bus is to be given a window into the lives of not only everyone on the bus, but also the people in the street outside. I always wonder what everyone is doing as we drive past. Just staring out the window on a London bus is just a really nice thing to do.
I'll be heading up to London on the 8th Feb to attend the awards evening. While I'll have every digit crossed that I'll come home with something, what I'll be looking forward to most will be doing a spot of schmoozing, catching up with old friends, meeting new ones and if there are canapés then seeing how many of them I can stuff into my mouth without looking like a complete berk.
