Friday Playlist

Thought I'd share a few songs that are helping me draw right now, don't think it's actually possible for me to make art without music :)

Anxiety

I don't even feel like I can explain this image with any form of words, it's just perfect. And encapsulates the feeling of anxiety so well. This is an image by Beethy Photography who is primarily a Cosplay photographer, but felt the need to express his feelings through the creative process. Here is a quote from his online journal on the piece 'anxiety'

         "At any random point in the day I can get these attacks. During these attacks I'm overwhelmed with the feeling of imminent death. No rational thinking can erase the thought or feeling. Imagine having a gun held to your head. And you know it's going to go off. You just don't know when. That's what happens when I experience an attack."

He mentions with the piece he found Eric Johansson's TED talk on composition very useful when crafting this image. To create something that doesn't exist. Erik talks about 3 simple rules to achieve a realistic result:

1. Photos combines should have the same perspective

2. Photos combined should have the same type of light 

3. Making the image seamless, so it's impossible to distinguish where the different images begin and end.

Links:

Beethy's Photography

Beethy on Facebook

Erik Johansson's TED Talk

Erik Johansson's Photography

Screen Print Virgin

So something I've never got along well with is screen-print, so in the theme of becoming a better artist I decided to give some a try. So first of all I looked at pieces of my existing work and sought out digitallt to get an idea which ones would make the best screen prints. Then it will be on to producing some originals based on the style of the best outcomes! 

I find the best ones we're the ones that has the most dark colours to begin with as a lot is lost when you increase contrast and levels in Photoshop as the delicacy of the drawing is what I often liked best about it in the first place. My favorite one was the third one down, I like the grungy feel to it and actually prefer it to the original.


Z x

Ethics in art

This is something I've had to consider over the past few weeks, as I've been working on projects surrounding delicate issues. As an artist, ethics need to be considered as insensitivity can easily cause offence. Or maybe thats the intent, and I'm all for stepping on peoples toes a little, but I'm sure we can agree people can go a little too far. Aslong as the work is thought provoking opposed to hurtful, I'm all for it. Bullying just gets everybody nowhere fast. And a closed mind shouldn't be opened with a sledgehammer..

I've been illustrating around the subjects of Parkinson's disease and the Ebola outbreak, so looking at those affected, the individuals with the disease themselves and those surrounding them, ranging from their loved ones, to healthcare staff and then stretching to the media. Just to educate myself and see which angle I would like to pursue the projects from.

With a healthcare background it felt pretty natural to look at how it would feel to care for people with these illnesses. When taking ethics in consideration I didn't want to pretend I knew what it felt like to have Ebola or Parkinson's disease. I was too worried about coming across as presumptuous, naive or insulting to those who are genuinely going through it. And even reading other peoples experiences, taking those and making them my own just didn't feel right. So I decided to take these projects on as an observer, empathising with the individual and trying to understand, because in reality I will never truly know how they feel, nobody ever can.

'Artists are conditioned by their context'

     -The Philosophy Book

It Only Takes a Girl

I'm just going to leave this here..

Click here to donate 

John L. Walters: Editor of Eye Magazine

Today I had the privilege of attending a lecture given by a man with a passion for magazine making, persevering the physical form in an ever technologically advancing world. John L. Walters is the editor of the world renowned Eye Magazine, a graphic design journal comprising of stunning and remarkable images accompanied by thought provoking words.  

He spoke to us in detail about Issue 87: Food special, which first springs haute cuisine and high end food blogs to mind, but it's a lot better than that. This issue covers topics from the stamped logos on heroin 'baggies' referencing pop culture and escapism to Spanish meat packaging featuring cartoon animals meeting their demise with a butchers knife. This issue is a lot more food for thought than the latest food trend taking over your Instagram feed.

As I'm a student, meeting people who are already successful in the industry in an insightful and invaluable experience for me. To learn about the process of how a magazine is made was an absolute pleasure to hear direct from a successful editor himself. He tells us about his appreciation for having a physical magazine in your hand, to which he does not compromise on the quality, keeping the paper thick and ink vivid, it allows for the artwork to be presented how it was intended and in context. With which I wholeheartedly agree it should be, and is very refreshing to hear as an illustrator. As personally I feel images on screens can become somewhat of a commodity, we spend so much time transfixed on our phones and laptops it's hard for something to stick out and resonate with us.

I managed to get the chance to pick his brain a little and find a little more about what he looks for in his contributors, I was happy to hear that he accepts work from anyone with talent, you don't need to be famous or credited to get in Eye Magazine, you just have to have to be good. 

When looking for content he has an eye for the unusual an interesting, seeking out contributors who have a deep pool of knowledge and are passionate about their subject. I think this makes the magazine more personal, it isn't about elitism or celebrity, it's about people who share a common interest, whether they are creators or avid observers.  So if you want your curiosity quenched and your knowledge expanded I would definitely recommend Eye Magazine

   Useful Links:

Eye Magazine

Have a flick through Issue 87

A great book on visual culture (if you're a newbie!)

Nix the Phoenix

It's good to look back on your work to see if there's anything missing and I found my relationship with colour is use them all or none at all. This is one of said pieces I did for a short story I wrote, there really aren't many of them! 

So new goal: work more with colour.

My Phoenix is red
He sleeps in my bed
No one can see him
He's all in my head