Billie Jean - contemporary illustrator

(My effort in the style of Billie Jean)

"Billie Jean is a he and not a she. He lives and works in Leytonstone in east London - the birth place of Alfred Hitchcock and David Beckham. He enjoys climbing trees, idling the hours away in second-hand bookshops, drinking 'Blue Vanilla' flavoured Slush Puppies, making chocolate rice crispy cup cakes, knitting tea cosies and oh yes, drawing with great skill. "
There seems to be very little written that I can find out about Billie Jean, but his artwork is everywhere. Trainers, books, music cds, and fashion are just some of the markets his work is used to promote. I really like the handdrawn effect to his work, although some of it is obviously coloured or retouched on screen. Bold colours, hand-drawn fonts, collage and an intelligent use of words. With links to street and graffiti art his work seems to be very current.

The difference in style between Edward Bawden and Billie Jean is evident, with Bawdens work using traditional print-making lino cuts and still-life subject matter, whereas Billie Jeans work is more 'street-wise' and contemporary, however, when you bear in mind that Bawdens work at the time of production was cutting-edge and used to promote some of the biggest names of the era, then maybe there are more similarities than at first appear.