Caleb Parkin was Bristol City’s poet for 2020-22 and wrote a book of poetry called All The Cancelled Parties, published by Bristol Ideas. He commissioned me to create an illustration using images from the collection. I chose one poem in particular, about dogs at pride marches called The Things They Get Away With In Public, featuring a chihuahua dressed up like a leather daddy. The chihuahua is sad because the parties are cancelled. I carved the dog out of lino and printed it, then painted over with oils to get the leather shine. I added images cut from 1960s and 70s issues of Playboy (representing the parties) and created felt tip glitter balloons from tracing paper. I’m very proud of it.
You can order a print of this image, featuring the poem that inspired it, here