I operate in a world of unadulterated chaos (I’m an artist after all) and naturally my brain had decided this cover was a week later than it was. It’s a full testament to the team at Redlion that they weren’t remotely phased by my imaginary deadline, and things progressed pretty fast from there. I mean, they had to.

Due to the shocking world events in the Middle East recently, it was an easy decision to dedicate this week’s cover to the universal theme of peace. So I set to work.

I poured through the vast archives of past anti-war artwork - from Picasso to Ai Weiwei and looked back at my own anti-war art. As a teenager growing up in Northern Ireland, my town was blown up by an IRA bomb. The town commissioned a few artists from my school to create vast murals that would cover up the rubble, and it was cathartic to say the least - as was creating this piece.

Tackling this work was much more emotionally taxing than I anticipated, dragging up memories of that troubled time under the threat of terrorism and relating that to what the innocent people of  Israel and Palestine are experiencing. I cannot imagine the terror and the piece brought me to uncharacteristic tears a few times.

I was going to create a scene with war imagery but decided that there was ample depiction of this in the media, so I went for a clear message of revival and resolution. The dove, an icon of peace, is shown draping a red shroud. This represents death but also the unfolding of the light of hope for the future in the shape of a white horse charged by an angelic warrior. The Warrior is based on Joan of Arc, the fearless 15th-century French heroine who led armies with unwavering faith and conviction. This work is symbolic of the powerful tide of peace that I hope will rise to settle the conflict and banish this violence into history.

I had a blast creating PAX IN TERRA (Peace on Earth) and want to thank the team for being so chill and professional throughout.