Symmetry

At this point I still wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do but some plans were developing. With this piece I wanted to take what i'd learned from my experimentations with my earlier print and develop them further. Also I wanted to experiment with using symmetry within my work.

As with before I started by making sketches unsure of what exactly i wanted to draw but as is often the case I ended up drawing characters. Although I have been looking a lot at 'The Yok' lately, and i think i can see some influences from within his work as well as maybe some influence from Adam Smith.

When I had finished with the drawing I then scanned it into to photoshop and mirrored the image. While I was there I threw some colour schemes at the image and ended up with something like this. although in the end I decided to take away the brown in the horns and left them white as i thought they looked more like branches than horns in the final image. 

 While working in photoshop I also experimented with adding different backgrounds. I really like the idea of this weird conjoined twin creature that I created imposed upon these different and impressive landscapes.


I was pleased with what I learnt while making this piece. Symmetry is something that I think works really well and is some that I would like to incorporate further within my work. Unfortunately I didn't really progress with my experimentation with the backgrounds although this is something I could think about within the future.

I LOVE BAJS..

This was my first print of the year. At this point in the year I was unsure what project I wanted to do over the year. So I did this piece as a way to experiment with a few ideas and get some work done while I was deciding how to progress.

I started by taking this sketch from my sketch book which I had intended to use for my side-project 'Bajs'. Me and a friend have started a little t-shirt company where we make and print our own t-shirts. 

The concept behind the piece was some kind of poster design. But as I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do for my project over the year, what I really wanted from this piece was to experiment with something that I hadn't tried before.

After tidying up and penning my image I scanned it in and using Illustrator I tried out different colour possibilities for the print. With this piece I wanted to try and create something that looked good while only using a few colours. As recently I have been thinking a lot about how artists, for example Drew Millward, who often when printing only uses a few different colours, but still achieves an impressive outcome. As well as this I also wanted to try using a block of colour as a background.

During the printing process I decided to change from the dark red to a lighter yellow as it made it much easier to registrate as it meant that I could print over the top of the background rather then laying it on later. I found that using less layers makes it much easier to reigistrate successfully therefore giving a nice clean image which of course looks good. I also thought that having a block of colour was really nice as it really made the rest of the image pop especially with a light colour for the background as well as giving a framing effect and creating a much more finished element within the piece. 

Windmill

Mr Frederick Charles Ottaway built this windmill around about 1917, at Wainui Beach, on the seaward side of the road and opposite the present Chalet Rendezvous. It was built of timber and flattened kerosene tins and stood for some time before being demolished after the death of the owner. It was used for grinding flour and cutting wood, and appeared on marine charts at the time as a navigational aid. Sails were fitted on to the blades when the machine was in use. Mr Ottoway can be seen at the lower right in the picture. The photo comes from Mrs H. V. Isles, Grey Street. - image and info found at http://photonews.org.nz

I wanted to find a Windmill from around this time period so I can get as close as I can to the type of windmill the animals might have built in animal farm. Also this one is handmade. 

In the end I drew a slightly different style of windmill more for aesthetic effect.

Connan Mockasin - Forever Dolphin Love

Connan Mockasin - Forever Dolphin Love (Erol Alkan's Extended Rework Version 2) from metaldance on Vimeo.

Saw this today. Not really my kind of music but I kinda like it, goes well with the video...

'Animal farm' - George Orwell

I read this book having previously read, and not enjoyed, another Orwell book '1984'.

Animal farm is novel exploring the idea of human nature and its similarities to the animal world. I believe the core message of the book is to say, that power can corrupt the most steadfast of man. That while original intentions may be for the best of all, that greed a power can change the way man thinks about himself, those around him, his peers and life in general.

In the book the animals agree on a core of rules that are in the best interest of all the animals on the farm. And how napoleon the leader of animal farm corrupted by greed and power adapted and changes the rules to suit his own needs and purposes. The animals tried so hard to take themselves apart from the humans and the societal mistakes made by their previous masters, humanity. But in the end the animals appointed leaders, the pigs, namely napoleon became just as bad if not worse than the human masters they rebelled against.

The book reminded me a lot of roman politics, which obviously lends itself to the idea of modern day politics. In that the animals were reigned over using lies and fear to govern and control them. I believe Orwell's book is as relevant to modern day society as it ever was and will remain to be relevant.

Animal Farm is set in an unspecified time period and is largely free from historical references that would allow the reader to date the action precisely. It is fair to assume, however, that Orwell means the fable to be contemporaneous with the object of its satire, the Russian Revolution (1917–1945).

Sweden

For New Years I flew to Sweden. As a surprise Christmas present.

I stayed with Claes at his parents house in Vallentuna, a suburb of Stockholm. I didn't have loads of money to spend so options were a little bit limited. Looked around the city and Vallentuna. Overall had a pretty chilled holiday.

It was interesting to be surrounded by Swedish speaking people so much but i managed to get by, my swinglish is getting better.

Brave New World

We had to read 'A Brave New World' -Aldous Huxley, for an illustration project. I thought it was a really good book.

The story is basically about a society in the future. where free will has essentially been taken away. babies are made in factories and everybody belongs to everybody else. - I'm not going to give away the story but its interesting.

I thought the book was an interesting look in to humanity and the way people think and behave, especially the way people can be influenced subconsciously to believe, learn or do all kinds of things.  considering it was written in 1931 I think its messages about society and the way it works, and the hierarchy within society.