Archive for August, 2009
To arrive where we started
We shall not cease from exploration
and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started…
and know the place for the first time.
~ T.S. Elliott
Well so much for posting on Sunday! Please forgive me, I was conspired against! And let me tell you the conspirators are formidable to say the least!!
OK, YES they are very short and YES they still have their baby teeth …
BUT they’re armed with a list of demands that would have any self-respecting despot taking notes… and worse still, they are ridiculously cute!
Needless to say, no blogging was possible. But I can today…
The interesting thing about post-rationalisation is that whilst you’re explaining your choices, any gaping holes in your illustration light up like neon. An ugly business! So this is where I decide that ‘Apron Strings’ might improve with a second look.
So off I go exploring again, retracing my footsteps.
Returning to the heat and constant dust of thirties Dust Bowl America. Indulging in eps of ‘Carnivale’ and one of my favourite Cohen Brothers films ’Brother Where Art Thou’. Just for the gritty atmosphere and the worn quality that pervades everything.
And then jumping to my Nanna’s heyday with all it’s homemaker spirit. Admiring all the cheery patterns and colour schemes found in vintage home linens. And thinking of aprons as an icon symbolising the warmth and nurturing of home itself.
What was it like to be a Mum back then?
What is the true purpose of the bond between mother and child? And how do I capture that? Could it be about a basic human need to explore…?
My littlest poppet is an explorer. She likes to know exactly where I am before she goes on another toddler expedition and makes many, many return journeys to check I’m still there. So I guess I am not only her guide, but her base camp. When base camp is secure and safe she can regroup and find enough courage to venture a little further.
Aaaaww! What an amazing role to play in a persons life! What a sweet discovery and one that maybe I wouldn’t have made unless, like my little girl, I’d gone back.
Right, can’t hang around here gabbing all day! I’ve got a camp fire to tend, tents to pitch, sleeping bags to make and adventure stories to tell…
… not to mention lots and lots more drawing!
Image credits: Plainsong by Robb North, Yellow, Orange Floral by Liquid Paper and White, Yellow Floral by Craftapalooza, Vintage Tablecloth by Leslie Keating and White Floral by Craftapalooza, and Me and Mum by Melinnis.
Please click on the image title for licence details.
3 comments August 31, 2009
Apron strings
I don’t believe it! It’s Friday already!!
Seems like it’s always down to the wire for me.
This illustration, like oh so many before it, will be on Illustration Friday for exactly …
‘UH OH! Did you blink?’ seconds.
Anyhoo, this one’s for the topic, CAUTION.
… Obviously not something displayed by me, ie someone way too tired to be attempting humour. Best I write a little more about it tomorrow.
Yep, tomorrow or maybe Sunday… yawn…
Nighty night.
11 comments August 28, 2009
A mad printing frenzy
Today every square inch of my creative space is covered in small B5 prints.
The Gocco course and my jitters are finished. A night to celebrate? Maybe…
I’d read that once you start printing you simply can’t stop.
And I’m here to tell you, IT’S ABSOLUTELY TRUE!
It starts out harmlessly enough; tentatively lining up the original, making the screen and swirling globs of ink all over every inch of the design. Yep, so far everything is going great. Then you push down and from the moment you lay your eyes on your first sparkling print… nothing will ever be the same.
Your eyes glaze over and your arms pump wildly as you are completely consumed in a printing frenzy. And nothing, and I mean nothing, within arms reach will be spared. I, myself, was printed on as I prepared to leave! Oh, I didn’t mind, the colours looked amaaazing!!
I thought I’d use a sketchy sketch of a dapper Italian man I’ve named Mr Rubinacci to try out the Gocco on. A good idea because it’s scratchy nature completely disguised any dropouts or blobbing in the printing. The overprinting was interesting too, it worked much better on some colours than others. That could be a problem for readability of type but an asset for overlaying pattern.
I think the best way to Gocco is to leave preconceived notions of the outcome behind. Just let go and play. The surprises are guaranteed and could turn out better than you ever imagined. Oh, I almost forgot, I’m planning to hand paint Mr Rubinacci’s bike and socks in a matching colour, he is a very stylish man after all.
Head over to Kirsty’s for loads more frenzied creative spaces.
17 comments August 20, 2009
Spring wish redux
So here is the illustration as it stands after my second third attack.
I’ve jucied up the contrast, highlighted the flower a little more and added some more detail between her arms after worrying that everyone would think she was actually standing waist-deep in snow rather than kneeling in it.
And Yay, we’re done, fingers crossed.
Hope you’re having a fabulously lazy weekend. Oooh, doesn’t that sound good!
11 comments August 15, 2009
Spring wish
So this is where I’m at on my pic for the Illustration Friday theme, IMPATIENCE.
But I’m not sure that I’m entirely happy with it. When I loaded it up, the wonders of technology seem to have lost me bucket loads of contrast, hmmm…
I really liked this theme because it immediately reminded me of how I feel in the middle of a sweltering Australian summer. Hot and fed up! And waiting impatiently for the change of season. I think it happens to everyone in the extreme seasons; it’s only the intensity that changes from a little wistful to flat-out climbing the walls. This image belongs to the former and not the dramatic (and possibly more apt) later.
Credit: This wonderful image by Zara was my reference for the figure (license details here). I kept quite true to it because for me it nails the emotion of wistfulness beautifully. Do check out Zara’s Flickr stream, she is one uber talented gal.
3 comments August 14, 2009
One wintery day
Oh, I wish it snowed here! Apart from the fact that it’s a great excuse for drinking hot chocolate and warming yourself in front of a log fire, it would make drawing snow drifts much easier. There’s nothing like drawing from life.
Mind you, it would be a bit chilly, and…
… I imagine numb fingers would give my line work an entirely different quality,
my pencil would fall out of my chattering teeth every time I tried to use an eraser
and I’d be forced to stop and regularly slap all four cheeks to avoid frostbite setting in or finding myself frozen to a park bench.
Hmm… forget life drawing! Drawing snow from eye-witness accounts, vague personal memories and arty reference shots is an inspired idea, leading to a highly creative result every time. Ahem, just like I always said!
You’ll find lots more warm and wooly creative spaces over at Kirsty’s.
(Credit: Second image from the top ‘Angels.. On the edge of the wood’ by Denis Collette. Click on the image for licence details.)
14 comments August 13, 2009
Tales of the sea
As promised a bit of a blurb about my last IF illustration (found in the previous post).
I chose the colour scheme and had the background painted long before I found
this stunning shot by Prescott Pym. It was exactly the gentle stillness of first light I was looking for.
I had pictured a soft, almost misty view where the sea blends away into the sky.
And this image was gorgeous confirmation I was on the right track.
I’ve always adored foreign folk tales; Japanese, Russian, Irish… No matter where they are from, they all seem to push my romantic buttons.
One of my favourite films is ‘The Secret of Roan Inish’ with it’s Selkie heart and achingly beautiful mood. That’s what I had in mind as I was scribbling away… But perhaps she was more a Vietnamese fisher woman, with long, long hair, woven into a beautiful throw net…
Oh, and that net; let me tell you, not easy!! So I went to my kid’s dress up box for advice. You know I never realised how versatile tulle could be; silly really, it is a fairy skirt after all and totally in keeping with the theme.
So that’s it, the post illustration, work in progress post or ‘PIWIPP’ if you like.
There are still some tweaks needed to make it more successful but I love the colour scheme and I love the idea that perhaps she is bewitched and changes shape each day in the quiet stillness of sunrise.
10 comments August 9, 2009
The net
I came up with this for Illustration Friday’s theme MODIFY.
Will write more about it tomorrow Sunday and show some work in progress bits and pieces. It’s way past my bedtime, so bonsoir … zzzzzz!
16 comments August 7, 2009
So inspiring ~ Fric De Mentol
So here I am, still exploring the world of Gocco printing. And amongst all my searching for fab Gocco artists to learn from, I’ve stumbled across another gem. Maybe I’ve hit a seam!
Ana of Fric De Mentol’s style is gorgeously quirky. In her images, line work, pattern and water colour all mingle to celebrate personality. She clearly loves to draw ‘real’ people, not glamour gals but regular joes, and dresses them up with delicate hand-colouring, sparkling embroidery and gorgeous patterns ‘til I’m sure they feel very glam indeed.
You’ll find more of her work in her well stocked Etsy shop and her very plump Flickr stream. Believe me, it’s a very nice way to pass the time!
3 comments August 5, 2009
