Navan artist puts stamp on Royal Mail's Olympic collection

The work of a Navan artist has been included in the Royal Mail's latest collection of stamps issued ahead of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Stephen Ledwidge, a native of Athlumney, Navan, brought his distinctive style to the stamp collection depicting the discipline of boxing. He says that his work in illustrating sports magazines brought him to the attention of the Royal Mail designers who were working on the Olympic stamps. "I got a call from David Hillman, who was overseeing the project, looking for a submission on the new set of stamps," Stephen explained. "The sport I was asked to do was boxing, which was a nice one, as some of the sports can be very complex, while others a bit bland - it was one which offered good scope," he added. Through his work in magazines, as well as his website and his agent in England, he was spotted by the designers. He also has worked for the Runners' World magazine and a mountain biking publication. Stephen, who worked for five years in London, is now back in Dublin where he works in graphic design, and was particularly delighted to be chosen to design the boxing stamp, given Navan's connections with the late Darren Sutherland and his medal from the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. A son of Joe and Madeleine Ledwidge, he is a past pupil of of St Paul's National School and St Patrick's Classical School in Navan. He graduated from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin and has been listed in the prestigious Lurzer's 200 Best Illustrators Worldwide. Following qualification, Stephen worked as a graphic designer for almost three years. After a brief dabble in the world of comics, he moved to London to pursue illustration. He was based in London for five years, but returned to Ireland recently and is now working in Dublin. He has been a regular illustrator for articles in Reader's Digest, Harvard Business Review and National Geographic and has many corporate clients across North America and Europe. He was also one of 12 illustrators whose work was included in the 2009 AIB calendar for which he produced the September illustration. He is also a member of the Illustrators Guild of Ireland.