Traditional vs Digital 2.0!

I have Been working on a project for a while now. You know those ideas which almost exist better brewin' in the mind than in real life? I had one of these moments right here, but a few wonderful outcomes came about because of this as follows. I'll more explain more about this little project over the next few posts. 

I used a lovely ink drawing following two-point perspective to entail this sci-fi illustration cityscape. I created the textures using ink washes and drops of some good H2O to separate the shades of  Indian inks. I used Indian ink, purchased from Whsmith, because I had noticed what interesting effects the black ink creates from the use of chromatography.

I collected the artwork together in photoshop to create the layers and the added textures. I also created smaller city details and used a Gaussian blur to create a sense of depth from within the imagery.

This project was apart of a 3-D render game I had attempted to construct. I used this image as a background the the interactive buildings and robots alike, but as I said more to come!

Jack

'I', is for Intern

Just recently applied for a couple for internships in the lovely creative city of Bristol. Though many graphic industries were unsure whether to trust a creative stranger such as myself, I wish to have the best of luck in attending a graphic design internship or creative industry work experience alike over the next two - three years. I haven't had much time today to attend ye ole blogger. But nonetheless! will I have many photographs and paintings alike, but for now I apologize.


I have also attended the pop up shop at college green today, ill upload so images soon, but for now I can assure today and the previous days of my pop-up shop attendance have been ever so fulfilling. Talking with the public about some work of typography among other creative installments. 

A previous post for more pop-up shop information

http://chewingcans.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/pop-up-shop-at-college-green-bristol.html

A couple of artists I talked to, great people.

Kat

http://catherinesmiles.com/Works - Lovely bitta' type

Shaun

http://www.shauncbadham.co.uk/ - Great installments

Nikki

http://nikkistone.co.uk/ - both of the above

from

Jack

God save the Queen - Sex Pistols Graphic

God save the Queen

During the Silver Jubilee week in 1977, The Sex Pistols released this track in response to the Jubilee. The track was instantly rejected by the BBC, as many of the lyrics insulted the Monarchy. Because 'God save the Queen' was proven to be illegal, it soon became the no.1 hit.

The lead singer Johnny Rotten illustrated soon after that the song wasn't written to insult the monarchy, but to in fact raise awareness of the inequalities placed onto the working-class man/woman.

I used selected Lucida Sans font and aligned the text accordingly to achieve a clean cut typography proposal.

God Save the Queen - Sex Pistols Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtUH2YSFlVU

Jack

Brush stroke(s)

A strange oil painting of a woman.

A strange oil painting of a woman.

Thick heavy brushstrokes and thick semi acrylic paints to merge and dry at different rates and release different mixes. The oil remained wet for two and a half days, the white acrylic dried in an hour. The next day, I re-worked the page and found it interesting. These layers of many effects of white acrylic sheets, cemented between a sandwich filling of thick oil paint. A lack of refinement to advocate a change in emotion, to provide this intense sense of meaning. But what does is it mean. How do we feel.

 The off centered eyes push a gaze onto the left side of the page, possibly suggesting disinterest, but why. Whether is me design, Illustration or paint-works, this continual interest in why something is of how it is baffles the viewer. A psychological test, whether people feel the same concerning a specific image, usually a clean ones. The gritty image often presents multiple perceptions from a population of people. 

Undefined paint work feels emotional. Clean-cut works feel mechanical.

Jack

Playing with 3-D render software

 How er... photo-realistic. Okay, maybe not photo-realistic but such a great experiment to play with lighting effects and textures to simulate real life light.

It was nice to design something from a real life representation. Influencing that feel of interest and physical investment in organizing the design in my mind. How and what would go where. The use of 3-D render does have it pro's and con's. As it is very difficult to not create similar graphics of the PS2 console, however, once highly experienced in the use of three-dimensional render programs it becomes quick to produce powerful photo realistic effects.

Jack

Pop-up Shop at College Green Bristol

I Helped to design a flyer for a pop up shop in Bristol, advertising the upcoming 'raw Materials' exhibition of Four American artists at Bristol Museums art gallery.

Really enjoyed producing this clean-cut design, just being able to appropriately organize the page of information into prioritized content. It was also nice to produce design work for a official organization met to a client brief. 

It was an easy flow into an individual path of ideas, within the constraints of the brief itself, as well as the consistent house theme used by the museum. I will be helping out organizing the pop up shop today, and the couple of days following up to the 30th of June, so if you pop by, keep an eye out for me aha.

Really great exhibition coming up soon the Museum, works of Bruce Nauman, Jenny Holzer, Ed Ruscha and Lawrence Weiner, a collection of Four American artists works. The collection entails the pioneering works of the new art approaches in 1960, and its mixture of conceptual wonders, pattern and most of all Typography.

Follow the facebook event below to find out more.

http://www.facebook.com/events/464630226896615/

Jack

Ink + textures + photoshop =

Just a little comic I was playing with for a couple of days, concerning yo-yo boy and his day to day life.

Ink and photoshop as described!

What does yo-yo boy say today?

"hmm" he says, aha 

I first composed the line work and grids using a fountain pen free hand, and used photoshop to fill the gaps here and there and apply textures when necessary.

Just love experimenting with all of these colours and powerful explosive textures, smoke and photographs of wall paper textures.

It holds this feel of Traditional vs Digital art techniques. The traditional input provides this added influence of feel and depth. The image is rustic and worked into, pushed by the hands of the artist. The digital is a sly clean cut involvement in generating an appealing image to the masses. A ideology of alternative and synthetic ideas compressed into a mass, dense ball of texture and clarity. Sly inter-laced movements of digital texture weaving itself into an image.

I am pretty happy of this result, though it is very complicated and detailed image, the comic is interesting to gaze within, looking at the small details and textures which are used to compose the overall story. 

Jack

Food Illustration

Just a little small food illustration proposal for my Art exam at AS. Makes me hungry for some of that good ole' fruit juice!

Had some great fun combining the traditional techniques with Photoshop. Endless possibilities to manipulate, change and alter composition, had such a great time experimenting with these techniques! brilliance.

Thought I would add an unusual teapot spraying the 'Fruit Juice' over the glass. As if in itself the liquid had a life of it's own. 

I looked at a inspiring Food Illustrator David Meldrum and his works of everything he had ate in an entire year. The link below follows through these works of Meldrum and his wonderful longitudinal artwork and Illustration exhibition.

David Meldrum - Food Illustrator

http://thefoodillustrator.com/

Highly recommend watching the video!

Jack

Stage Construction - We will Rock you!

 Hey look, its me, what was I doing last year? I do not know. Lets find out.


I took part in a stage management team fro a local school play 'We will rock you', to spark the up coming we will rock you theater production at the Bristol Hippodrome. Just a couple of stage sets i was working on throughout the six weeks to produce such a great show. I think the production even made it into a local newspaper, who knew! such a great laugh with the people there, some great practical experience.

 


working under a school budget was probably one of the hardest creative conundrums to collide with. The price of a pot of white emulsion at £10, to only cover a few boards. we were practically milking the money as much as possible, to maintain what quality was available. Unfortunately many schools today have become shy from the creative industry, and this whole traditional education scheme they have tried to influence onto schooling had sometimes taken a turn for the worst. 


The school production had actually been a creative and media based center. However, it was only a couple of years of a creative budget, and within only two years it transformed into a mathematics and engineering school. Sad times. Especially for those creative students who assigned their school membership for those reasons, for it only to be later transformed.

Jack

Forever Fabricated

Forever Fabricated.

Change is only pronounced through movement and the contrast of movements in daily life. Without change and movement, time will appear an illusion. unable to socially construct the presence of time in daily lives. Change and time may be fabricated we do not know, but it's the movement of our lives which allows time to reveal itself. A constant paradigm throughout our lives of times' winged chariot. 

Jack

Mr Gas and the irritating Inkworks

As explained earlier in some of my other posts,

 just to push the confidence into ink work to really test the water of drawing talents. Without a eraser or other removal device, the hand is free to follow its own course, and creative construction lines which only appear apparent in the mind to guide the brush, pen, whatever.

I prefer the ink drawing to the left, great influence of character and pattern in the background. I wish to start experimenting with different ink equipment and waxes to help waterproof areas. Similar to wax and paint art that we all did as a kid haha; ill have to put some up. The character on the right i am less pleased with, but it was certainly fun building a character on paper over the mind. 

Not only does the ink allow your hands to flow, it enforces the construction of shapes of a character with no idea whether it will turn out okay. Many times it may lead to disaster, but it is up to a bit of creative initiative, and sometimes a change of an idea to make it work.

I love this idea of the mask, or this case the gas-mask. Places more attention to the eyes, and how they truly stare into the readers mind. The use of the gas-mask also re-creates this synthetic look to the appearance of the person. The viewer almost doubts that the figure is a person at all.

Whether the gas-mask is necessary or why is he using it? Questions like these appeal to my work to ask the reason why. Or for viewers to try and ask me why. It's all a bit confusing, but the longer this construction of why and how in the mind, often the longer that the piece of artwork continues not physically to observe, but in their thoughts to reminisce over for days on end.

A similar post of mine which may maintain it's image from your memory -

'Timeless 2.0'

http://chewingcans.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/timeless-20.html

Similar to many artworks of Damien Hirst, I know I have linked videos to him before, but even now his work still maintains a place in my mind.

Damien Hirst

http://www.damienhirst.com/

Jack

Yama - Religious mythology - God of the dead

Hello scary Hinduism/Buddhist mythological creature, how are you today?


It's excellent to bring up some of my new art work, it just felt like a time warp posting some of my oldies. 


Anyway, this is a oil painting on canvas, illustrating a rather religious and mythological painting of Yama, god of the dead present in Hinduism and buhhdist mythology.


 I was interesting in this topic of mythology because I could research into previous artworks and representations of Yama, as his/her ever changing form.


I also chose this subject to entail this sense of deaths presence in life, and how life is ever so fragile. I place the painting in a very obvious place with access to all who come into the room. It provides me with this reminder that I should appreciate life for how it is.


 Focus

I use contrasting, bright colours to almost represent this ironic aspect the painting. After discussing with friends many suggested to emphasize dark colours to reflect this 'death associated being', though I believe it shouldn't be percieved in monochrome at all.


I'll add a link to direct you to a couple of previous ancient Yama paintings to grasp and idea.


The painting itself almost serves not only a visually interesting image, but a social function, as meditating onto this image in daily life allows me to associate to the religious intentions. Recently I finished a book which compliments these ideas of death, and the fragile lives we play. It is written by Buddhist teacher Sogyal Rinpoche, and is called 'The Tibetan book of living & dying'. Excellent read.


I wouldn't say I am a religious person, but one who interests in multiple ideas and the research of them. Though I retain what I do believe, I wish to look at multiple concepts of reality to understand. To understand the depth of life. 


After watching a documentary on artist Damien Hirst, I believe that many of these death related topics may relate to his work. It's only recently until I have been fascinated with his bizarre take to contemporary art, highly recommend his documentary to watch as linked below.

Yama artwork

http://www.exoticindiaart.com/wrathful.htm

Damian Hirst Artist - not for the faint hearted aha

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/damien-hirst/4od

Jack

Slow shutter speed photography - 35mm film

Abstract Photography

Hey look! some people walking around in the Center of town, slow shutter adjusted one minute... ahh okay there we go. Click.

I Practiced with a Film camera early this year, and so pleased that I did! Such excellent effects on photographs, and of course the technical touches to the photography knowledge bank.

I like this element of white space present in at the lightest parts of the scene. How, small minor details of the crevasses of the floor reveal direct leading lines towards the movement of people. A modern bridge way, creating strong vertical lines in the background. Defining existence of space beyond the mist of the white light.

I used a F55 Nikon camera for this photograph. The camera is not too bad itself, has a limited zoom and focus like many first cameras and is part electronic. It uses a digital light meter to interpret levels of light to indicate the appropriate setup requirements. I prefer this, as after using a friends film camera, it appears that many old cameras existing in car boots and charity shops alike have poor efficiency in indicating the amount of light entering the camera, revealing a mass clip of under-exposed images. However, Film cameras are fun, especially the older Nikon's and Canon's. 

Film in general is a great photographic experience. 

Does anyone have any threads or links to a pinhole camera image? looking to give it a try. 

Thanks,

Jack

Album Artwork - The Magic of Psychedelia

After that initiation of photoshop skills after playing with numerous freeware GIMP programs alike, I helped a local band in the center of Bristol with some CD productions. I enjoyed this diverse client brief to indulge with colour, materials and type to reflect my individual create interpretations of 'Ogives'.

I will put the link to their site below, such a brilliant two - piece band. I recommend a listen for those art creatives out there, It's nice to hear something alternative to the repetitive prose of pop star icons on the radio. radio. radio.  

This image below illustrates the back cover, the majority of textures used from traditional photographed productions using inks and thick layers of silver spray paint.

The image has been edited to conceal some of my information - aha

 
 
 


All together I produced 50 CD's including disc designs from the influence of the music of 'Ogives'. After discussing with the client what his music meant to him, It was interesting to hear his ideas and concepts concerning his music. The client explained how the Ogive is a concept for the balances of life, as the Ogive is the pattern of dark and light ice bands formed in glaciers when glaciers experience topographical change. The Ogive was used as a symbol for the band to represent a code written by physics and dramatic climates in nature, as a yin/yang life representative. 


I adopted this concept of contrasts of life in my work, as my style flows naturally into these pockets of colour contrasts, it was nice to observe how a finish looks with an exaggeration of these.


The CD project was a great experience for me as a Art student, I love it, just to see people and artists 'doing their own thing', it is magnificent. Though such graphic Design productions are often consituated around a clients briefing, for the graphic artist to utilize the brief into his/her own working is amazing.

Ogives

http://ogives.bandcamp.com/

Jack

Paint Sculpting - Experimental colour contrasts

A close friend of mine in heavy acrylic sculpted paint. That feel of the Portraits' eyes against yours, 

almost looking into another person on paper. It's amazing how these features of the eyes hold such differentiation between emotion and viewer perceptions.

For many years called this technique the use of a 'palette knife' aha, when in fact it is the use of the 'painting knife', which I had used to create these colourful effects, such a schoolboy error. As the palette knife is used to mix and collect paint on the location of the palette and none other. It's a easy mistake what can I say.

The painting is of a close friend of mine who used to go to my art class this year. I like the exaggerated firework effects in the background, influencing these leading line towards the focal eyes, peering into the reader. I completed this painting early this year aha, little disfigured I must admit. But nonetheless I enjoyed using the - painting knife - and to create a similar look alike of my friend. 

I feel that the true interest of this painting is how this painting may mean differently to many people who see this piece, as its personal to my own ideas. I am familiar with who the person in the paining in the real world, it is only my expression which sculpted the mountain of acrylic shape which may hold an alternative expressionist interest for the majority. 

Almost a secret that know body knows about, something concealed in your memory which others cannot place themselves within. I feel that many Artists such as Gillian Wearing try to appeal to these hidden secrets to influence a social bond with her works and the audience.

Gillian Wearing in her short film trailer 'Self made',

Wearing utilizes the hidden and dark side of the family, told by the participants as they talk to Gillian. I feel this concept would like to reflect in my work, how almost my own impressions mean differently to those who view this piece. Gillian uses the same device for the majority to relate to Taboos and untold events which are proposed using film and other creative medias.

- Self Made -

http://selfmade.org.uk/videos/

Jack

Violator comic - Ink (does) work

Inkworks ii - Violator

Something I picked underneath the mountain of sketches and transcriptions of comics, people, architecture alike. I love looking through those piles of history, a slow and steady creative progression, a graph of transformation, a diary of steady creative changes and experiments. Brilliance.

The plot of the comics of 'Violator' quoted from a online reference are frequently centered around 'Violator just wants to keep living the nasty life of a demon, but everyone wants to kill him. Even his siblings'. But for many reasons this illustration is something more than that. It was one of the first pieces that I had actually endured using a fountain pen, with this crude but playful comic book cover to reference from.

The use of ink provided this 'enlightenment' stage of my working, no longer was the constant refinement of construction lines necessary but just the imagination to construct my lines instead. This illustration gave me the confidence to feel like a true comic artist, i knew it doubt I wasn't, and with the heap of GCSE's, time became ever so limited to work on the numerous of projects I had set out to complete aha.

There was an excellent Graffiti convention in Bristol a couple of weeks ago called 'Upfest', it aimed to raise some money for a NACOA charity. It's nice seeing how the freedom to observe graffiti artworks, and such a great relationship with the art community and charity organizations.

The use of graffiti art, can be used to illustrate an 'official picture', of the thoughts and ideas between the subject classes and political government. 

Concrete walls covered in 'F*ck Money', and similar - catch phrases - almost a reflection of the current economic recession. The 'inside thoughts' of the people inhabiting the cities, watching over and contemplating how these 'catch phrases' appeal to them in there waking lives. Just observing the illegal artworks in community, you can feel how the world thinks, how perceptions are reflected by the masses.

Upfest Graffiti Gallery. Great footage on youtube also!

http://www.upfest.co.uk/gallery

Photographer and Artist Gillian Wearing, and how she reflects these 'personal catchphrases'.

http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/exhibitions/gillian-wearing

Jack

P.s Tell gillian

Comic Experiments - Inkworks

 A product of watching endless anime, old Cartoon Network shows and Marvel remakes in the cinema.

A few ink drawings using a fountain pen and brush created to reflect a couple of comic styles. I really enjoyed all of those dry brush mark strokes using ink, generating shadow and applying it with ink to allow that  beautiful monochrome flow of corrosive metal feel across the page.

I really enjoyed some of the recent DC comics being re-published in small book shops and magazine suppliers, seeing the styles of the comics develop and comparing them to how illustrative and details the comic artworks now. I can't quite recall the exact comic, but it was quite comical seeing everyone in 1960-70 clothing, Wearing unusual shoes, as a future expectation that fashion would remain the same aha, it's almost a societal documentation in itself. 

There is a strong connection with my love of ink, the concept of this instant drying limitation almost works to a creative advantage. The ink may dry quickly, and the sharp hand movements to try and control the ink, almost act in a creative action. A similar action to how I could perceive graffiti artists acting under pressure from community surveillance. I love it.

Just being able to show confidence without the use of construction lines to render the human anatomy. A 'pat on the back', after all of that thinking and imagining of what to do first to avoid the evil palm of ink smudging, and the catastrophic 'palm print' . 

Similar to my previous ink works and discussion of comic work, I can predict this is of course a sample of my teenage expressionism aha.

If your a few of those graffiti artists out there, you may have heard the print maker, graffiti artist/graphic designer Shepard Fairey and his 'Obey' works.

If you haven't or your not a graffiti artist, I highly recommend following the link below. Has some brilliant block print - a like styles, stencils and some iconic works reflecting  war propaganda. Brilliance!

Shepard Fairey 

http://www.obeygiant.com/archives

Previous comic Post

http://chewingcans.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/mister-mecha.html

Jack

self + colour =

In 2011 I did a couple of rather colorful and fauvist styled self portraits of the self using acrylic on a canvas board.
I completed the two paintings over the course of two days, and separated the time spend on each to one day for one painting.


I used a mirror as my reference, and used colour to emphasize my perceptions of how I see the self in my eyes. Emotions can run in different lights throughout the day, it was interesting to see how my emotion could be expressed in different ways. Almost a documentation of self observation over the duration of the two days, I use unnatural colours to reflect emotive expression in the face.


It's interesting seeing the comparison of both paintings, as perhaps our skills and techniques may be influenced by our current emotions, perceptions and ideas can change on a regular daily basis.


Again, i like to use this lovely contrast of the warm and cold of colours similar to artist David Hockney (link provided).


The painting above reflects a more disturbed image of the self, looking back to this I feel almost elements of sadness and the stillness of everyday life. The use of an orange background really revolutionized the painting, placing priority the the emotional intents of the self.


The portrait below also reflects a element of sadness, but also hope. The use of the warm cheek bones on the cold shadows truly brings this concept to life. The aspect of the eyes gazing into the reader also acts a catalyst for change.


I really Cant't wait to bring up some of my recent paintings aha, I like these because of their personal references to me, but The face shapes are ever so distorted. I also like how the background reflects the colour palette on the painting (right).


Might just be the nice weather Bristol has been having, but it's just One of those 'Junior Senior' days if you know what I mean?

Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPlQpGeTbIE

Jack

Ps, I really love this colourful and psychedelic artist David Hockney, Key inspiration to the uses of colour and expression, hope you enjoy as much as I did.

http://www.hockneypictures.com/home.php

Thanks

Mecha in the garage

A phase of science-fiction and DC comic style took my Creative flow by storm early last year. The influence of the Marvel comics being transformed into film in the cinema, has truly awakened the inner comic book guy of us all.


I will upload some more of these over the following few days, here I use acrylic and a black ballpoint pen to construct a metallic Mecha in all it's shape and form, being worked on at the garage.

It was interesting utilizing contrasting colours of this burgundy and the deep blue robot suit, to bring a clean-cut differentiation between metal parts and pieces. I prefer to use these colour contrasts throughout my artwork, to generate a firm division. Sometimes I regret using the band of dark glass green at the top because it takes away a lot of the attention of the illustration but hey, something to improve for new work to come.

It appears that many creative folk and students like myself have had become involved with a 'comic stage' of life, almost a initiation of art experimentation to seek an 'individual style'. It makes me smile thinking back, though I did pick up many creative ideas and experience; the comic stage only brought a sense of limitation to my ability. I would have watched anime and marvel comic movies endlessly for inspiration, where really I should be looking at the world to influence my ideas whether it is for a comic illustration production or otherwise.

some more relevant music to theme the page again 

Kraftwerk - Techno pop (Late 70's) This Blog going retro...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4yb9T2uCeI&feature=BFa&list=AL94UKMTqg-9CsoDy9fYvwKwZfWPGzIA6s

Its only recently until i have started to listen to this Techno pop music, from listening to the DnB, Dubstep, Industrial, Hard-style etc music today, It's nice to hear a flow of original synth music for a change. 

Something original.

Jack

Timeless 2.0

Timeless ii. Understanding time.

Lost in the abyss of this world, with only the foreign device at my side...

During my studies I became involved with a genre of reads centered around psychology, language and sociology. Not only had it influenced a change in the perceptions in every day life, but the expression of my personal work  changed entirely. 

Book: 'Stuff Of Thought' - Language as a window into human nature by psychologist Steven Pinker became a great influence on my individual social changes. Steven Pinker describes how the social construct of language, provides a paradigm to almost be trapped within in daily life. How, time is illustrated only through observational changes and movements. A Stopwatch, for example is a device created by man to record movement by second, though the concept of time may only exist within our own thoughts. 

Steven pinker describes how it is this Time Paradigm, which leads us to believe that we can travel back in time. However, In reality the past and the future may only exist as memories.

My work on timeless 2.0/ii was a piece derived from these social constructs and paradigms in society. The viewer plays as the 'Time traveler' in one's mind, a dream. In a land of confusion limited by language and imagination. 

The drawing was painted and drawn in black ink when I was sixteen years of age. Excuse the poor hand anatomy, it makes me smile everyday when I see it on my wall.

The Independent's book review on 'Stuff of thought' - Steven Pinker

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-stuff-of-thought-by-steven-pinker-395972.html 

Genesis - Land of confusion

(Video not for the faint hearted either aha)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU9lv_WqK6k

Jack