Illustration

Creative works

Some samples of our creative work

When not working Alison loves meeting people, travelling (mostly in India), Asian fusion and bhangra music, Bollywood movies, drawing and painting, has renovated three old, semi-derelict houses and reads voraciously, mostly current affairs, political and crime fiction, travel and history – but even the labels on tins if desperate!!

Art Nouveau

A hairdresser in Norwich, who shared Alison’s passion, asked for some paintings for the walls of her new salon.

Moghul miniatures

The incredible fine detail of Moghul Miniatures is fascinating. These are illustrations “borrowing” from that tradition for a story I wrote for my friend’s little daughter. Though admittedly each one was not done with a fine, single-hair brush nor did each take six months to complete as they would traditionally be!

It’s a version of the Ramayana told by a tree squirrel. You see these little creatures everywhere in India. My cousin told me they’re pests if they get into a house because, like rats and mice, they eat anything.

But nobody hurts them – because it’s said that the three stripes you see on the back of a tree squirrel are the marks of Rama’s fingers, as a blessing and thank you to the little creatures for helping the soldiers of the monkey king Hanuman to build a bridge from the Indian Mainland to Sri Lanka, where Rama’s wife, Sita, was being held captive by the multi-headed Lankan demon king Ravana.

Travel

“I always take a sketch book when I travel – there are things you see from trains or in a car when there’s no time to take a photo (or at other times you’d be mobbed if you tried!) but the images stick in your head and sketching them helps avoid sleepless nights. Plus you’re more involved in the scene with a sketch than with a photo.” (Alison Withers)

Here are few with stories behind them:

I’d been sitting sketching in the main square of a village in Gujarat, called Mammat Pura, as this old gent made his way slowly to the barber’s shop (in the background) for his morning shave.

Next day, when I went back, another old chap came and stood about six inches in front of me, perfectly still. I don’t speak Gujarati but someone in the watching crowd (whatever you’re doing in India people gather to watch!) managed to explain he wanted to be sketched.

He stood like this, perfectly rigid and unblinking for the half hour it took.Then he inspected the drawing, muttered something incomprehensible and vanished. My “translator” in the crowd said he’d asked why it wasn’t in colour.

I guess he wanted to get one up on his rival from the day before!!

Cooking a banquet for 60 people – Indian-style! In the courtyard of the Parsi dharamsala in BZ Marg, Delhi, over little hobs powered by bottled gas – on the ground.
It wouldn’t impress UK Health and Safety inspectors!

Watching them assemble a complicated meal kept me occupied for most of a day!

and sometimes they turn into paintings.

Boss From Hell

This book was edited and illustrated by multimedia reputations for rms recruitment, London, for an event to celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary and raise money for cancer research.