Work In Progress BISMARCK

I dont share my wips often in public - which is something I would like to do more of. Here is one started today - and due end of tomorrow. Its an LP cover for the Lost Valentinos. The brief was basically to come up with an image that indicated a battleship, and somehow encorporated their logo. Here is what I came up with so far today. Tomorrow is all colour shifting, rendering, and finishing off the design.

My mate Mitch Beige Brown will be handling the design.



Campaign Pitch - Bluetongue Beer

* I HAD TO REMOVE THE IMAGE FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS, THEN IT WILL BE BACK UP*

Some friends of mine who run a web design studio here in Sydney asked me to help them knock up some artwork for a pitch to Bluetongue Beer - a local premium, niche beverage.

It normally frustrates me to work for those types of brands - but in this case I couldn’t resist indulging in the concept. My brief was essentially to create a giant fantasy brewery interior environment, colourful, playful, and magical. I mean how can you resist?

I had just downloaded some new brushes and found the painting a lot of fun and I actually learned a shitload on it too. I had one day in-house in their studio to do it - inside their working hours, which was another great experience having such a limited time in the studio and outside my normal working time. The concept took about 2-3 hours to nail through thumbnails and revision, then about 5 hours to paint it up.

Here’s what came out: I hope they go with the pitch as i would love to finish the painting and continue concepting for it…


Lightness of Being


I am finally gaining confidence with my character work. I did this one for an online Card Game, and played it safe with the posing etc to make sure I stayed within my comfort zone since it was work, but I think Im really getting somewhere with correcting my long time fear of figure work.

11.11 Encourage...

If anyone is reading this, I would like to give you a word of encouragement:

YES, there are people like you, who think the way you do, who want to see the same changes in the world as you do.

YES, there are people who can still hold a conversation outside facebook

YES, you CAN do what you love, and what you are good at, and still make a difference. Treasure your talent.

May you all 'find' your 'purpose'... and have a great day!

9. New Thumbnailing Method

Here I have copied my two posts from Gorilla Artfare that speak about a new method of pre-vis I have been using.


I was messing around in photoshop today, trying to combine tools I don't normally use to get interesting effects - and I came up with a new method for thumbnailing that I'm finding really enjoyable! I don't know how readable these are to others, but as far as generating ideas for my own end they are working perfectly - just depends whether they need to be shown to the client i guess!

Id say i could get through a sheet of maybe 30-40 of these in an hour, although i was going a bit slower today because I was experimenting. Not a bad way to knock over the initial stage of a job - and a big improvement in my own job workflow.

Please click for the bigger version, as these probably wont read very well with aliasing!



Post #2 : So, more of the same method this morning - slowly refining it... heres a small tute for those who asked how im making them!

First, I quickly grab a bunch of photos from my ref folder. Almost anything will do, i just try to avoid big familiar shapes like faces or cars. I drag them all in and resize em in one document to thumbnail size, merge, and desaturate the lot.


Then, starting anywhere i feel like, I grab the PATCH tool and make a ragged, random selection over one of the photos, and drag it to another:

The result is a nice mixture of the two, as you see in the two cases:

After this, the process is just repeated, working with all of the photos at the same time, finding interesting shapes to drag around. I timed again, and each thumbnail takes about 2 minutes - so between 20-40 in an hour (because sometimes you will hit a comp you reall like and you want to spend time noodling it out or developing it).

Here are this morning's products: The ones with the pine trees I did first, the second set I did specifically for a contract I'm on at the moment. I found that when i had a preconvieved requirement (in this case, Cargo Bay), the thumbnails took a bit longer (3-5 mins ea) because i had to reign in some of the ideas that lost their relevance to the topic.

Cargo Bay:

So what I know about the method thus far:

Pros:

* The patch tool has a unique way of blending, and its faults turn into happy accidents for us painterly bastards. When two values are too polarised, the tool will try to blend them with a soft edge. This creates lots of nice edge variation for us, suggesting light sources and plane changes.

* Unlike a method of just layering photos and hoping for something to pop out, this process becomes creative as soon as you make the first patch. Because it previews the patch destination as you move it around, you can line up areas of value, shapes, lines etc and actually construct your image with intent. The initial patch generally gives you an idea or shape to develop, and after that it is the perfect blend of randomity and intention.

* Achieves a high level of IMPLIED detail very quickly. Very loose, and at any time if you need to strengthen an idea you can just paint directly onto the thumbnail (for instance, in the first set of finals, the barn-like shape top right was all painted).

Cons:

* Because of the photographic elements, there are a number of perspective errors that need to be cleaned up when you up-res

* Generally will have to scrap a thumbnail or two before sending to clients, as the repeated elements can sometimes be obvious

* Makes it very easy to see a cool new idea not related to the job, and get a bit sidetracked ;)

I know its a very simple technique, but I hope it gives some ideas for anyone who hasn't used the patch tool in this way before!!

:)A

8. Impermanence

When we talk about impermanence, fear is a common reaction - we jump to visions of death and disability, loss and tragedy.

But impermanence has no innate negative connotations - it is more like a principal of physics or engineering. Impermanence is what allows the world to function. Most of our global society is based on a fear - a fear of the world we live in brought about by its inherant perfections. So much of our social heirarchy is based on trying to bring permanence to a reality that is impermanent by nature. Consider the investment in banking and personal security for instance - so much effort, driven by fear, to attempt to create a feeling of unshakable certainty.

If only we could accept impermanence (truly), we would understand that it is the mechanic behind everything that is beautiful. Consider the simple act of applying moisturiser to your skin. The fact that we are impermanent is WHY we are able to perform these small and beautiful acts. If we were permanent, unchanging beings, why would we bother applying the cream in the first place? Without impermanence, how can we go from one state to another - happy to sad, and back again?

Impermanence is not to be loathed or feared, but to be understood fully, as a part of the beautiful imperfection of everything.

As Leonard Cohen sings: "Theres a crack, in everything. That's how, the light, gets in."

7. Some artmaking

It has been another big few months for me (I derive a lot of pleasure from living life at a dangerous pace). I have ploughed through a few different jobs, fallen deeply in love and deeply out of it, met many new people, shared laughs, swapped cultural memes and in general have been having a blast.

Artistically, I have found new purchase in several techniques and I feel more energised than ever. I think a big part of it has been finding a vital balance between traditional and digital work - enough traditional to keep me sane and inspired, and enough digital to assure myself that I can produce with speed and efficiency.

Below are a few digital speed paintings, all half an hour each, with simple topics as idea-starters.











Here's to inspiration and love - those things which remove us from the spiral and remind us of the truth, if only temporal, of our existance ;)

6. Wabi-sabi

Wabi-sabi (in Kanji: 侘寂) represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience. The phrase comes from the two words wabi and sabi. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" (according to Leonard Koren in his book Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers). It is a concept derived from the Buddhist assertion of the Three marks of existence — Anicca, or in Japanese, 三法印 (sanbōin)), Impermanence. Note also that the Japanese word for rust, 錆 is also pronounced sabi (the borrowed Chinese character is different, but the word itself is of assumed common etymology), and there is an obvious semantic connection between these concepts. Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, asperity, simplicity, modesty, intimacy, and suggest a natural process.

5. KVB, Ingrid Morley, Archibald Prize, Environmentoring, PUPPIES.

Although I don't have any art to share for the moment, there were a few updates I wanted to share

1. KvB

I have just started teaching a new class at KVB College in North Sydney. The current class revolves around gaming and designing for games, but I am planning to present several proposals for digital painting and concept art courses. To get the class to run I need to show that there is an interest in Sydney for digital painting. If you are a Sydney based digital painter who thinks a university course would be a good thing, please let me know!

2. Ingrid Morley

Ingrid is a fantastic sculptor based here in Sydney who I have known for a few years, and she gave a public presentation last night of her latest travelling body of work. Her practise conveys a strong energy and she is absolutely dedicated to her craft. She runs several classes in Naremburn and regularly exhibits, also being included several times in 'Sculpture by the Sea' overlooking Bondi. She recently returned from a residency in Beijing which also included travelling to Tibet and the Gobi Desert. Thanks for your fantastic presentation of your inspiring journey Ingrid - shows the power that travel can have for your art practise.

3. Archibald prize

I have made a commitment to submit to the Archibald Portrait Painting prize (Australia's biggest) in 2009. It requires the portrait to be of a notable member of the Australian community or a prominent artist/art figure (and cannot be a self portrait). I approached my intended subject and have secured her to sit for me later in 2008! She is a fantastic character and I can't wait to spend a whole 6 months working on this painting. I'm definitely in the deep end on this one!

4. Environmentoring

My first online class has wrapped up this week and the students have produced some great work, which I will ask for their permission to post here. The class taught me a lot about teaching, especially how to handle it in an online environment. I wanted to post a link to the 2nd class which I am currently accepting applications for. If you know any artists looking to improve their environment painting skills, please direct them here.

5. Puppy

I saved a puppy today who had been hit by a car. I live on a 5-way intersection with multiple lanes of traffic. The puppy had been hit by a passing car which did severe damage to one eye and 3 of its legs. Please, if you ever hit an animal on the road, STOP and help it. The poor dog was left alone on the road for the 2-3 minutes it took me to get some clothes on and get out to help it. In that time it easily could have been wiped out by another car. An accident is unavoidable, but once you choose to ignore it and drive on, that accident becomes a choice. Big ups to the puppy who, once she had been rugged up, was pretty easy going considering. You rock, Milou!

Thanks for listening to my ramble :) Hopefully I can do some scanning and photographing soon!
Until next time, hope you find inspiration in an unlikely place.
A

4.5 Quick colour study

This was a 25 minute colour study I did to test out some theory that James posted over at GurneyJourney. Such an obvious element of light, but I completely missed it up until now. Had a good epiphany moment...

Rule: In the shadows, during daylight, up-facing planes catch blue light, but down facing planes catch radiosity from lit ground. Simple huh?


4. Norman Lindsay's House, Slump, and The Minister

The past week or so I have been in a bit of a slump with my art. I'm not sure what it is - at first I thought maybe it was my roommate (and fellow artist) heading off to New Zealand and being alone in the studio. I thought maybe the lately rainy weather had killed off the nice summer we were closing off on. I also spoke to a few other artists in different countries and they too, incidentally, were feeling the same way. I couldn't finger the precise reason.

Its an interesting phenomenon, the art slump, and I think eventually you start to develop a sort of fondness for them (perhaps more so in hindsight, however). I generally find myself in a slump every 6 or so weeks, and its just a few days of being unable to paint well, or feeling general dissatisfaction with what I produce. But I have begun to notice that the end of a slump generally heralds a new breakthrough or evolution in my work. I forget who said it or where I heard it, but there was a great quote to the effect of 'cherish the moments of great difficulty in your life, for they are often the herald of the greatest inspiration, as the fire heralds the rebirth of the phoenix'. Something like that. I think once you get used to 'the slump', you can learn how to live with the dissatisfied feeling, instead of pushing it away or trying to ignore it. Instead you embrace it, you listen to it like your stomach grumbles when you are hungry. You take time off and let your art wax and wane like the moon, and when it comes back it is full of renewed vigor and strength. I would be really interested to hear from you guys - what sort of slumps you get, how you feel about them, how you overcome them and so on.

Today I visited the Norman Lindsay estate in the Blue Mountains, a half hour drive outside Sydney. The mountains are a stunning natural landscape, very inspiring and full of the power of life defying the negativity that preoccupies 'modern' life. The grounds were stunning and recalled the halcyon days of Australian artists in the height of bohemia. There was a massive circular swimming pool carved into a cliff face, surrounded by statues, now overgrown with grass, that evoked memories like a cheesy flashback sequence in a film.





The studios were left as they were when Norman died, and it was great to vicariously connect to someone of such a similar personality to my own; Often when his wife would hold big jazz parties with the creme of society in the 'main house' on the hill, Norman would spend an hour or so mingling and 'picking his victims'. These would be artists, poets, or people whom he thought could hold a good conversation - and whom he would then retire with back to his private studio a hundred or so metres away. Outside of the noise and the drinking and the debauchery, he would sit by the fireplace or at a canvas and discuss painting or literature or philosophy. I definately have a streak of the hermetic in me, and I sometimes feel the same way living in the city - that I am most inspired when I take from it in bite size pieces and then retire to contemplate or to create alone or with close friends.

Then there was this painting which I just finished now. It was only about seven minutes worth of painting, but it came about through a somewhat personal conversation with a close friend and artist. Our discussion left a very strong impression on me and I felt like I needed to somehow translate that impression to canvas as quickly as i could in the fleeting moment, to make my thoughts concrete, to bring the archetype out and visualise it and paint purely the feeling or the intention and not worry about aesthetic. Sometimes artists can get a bit jaded with their own work, feeling that it lacks personality or a message, or that it is conceptually uninteresting. I think moments captured like this, without conscious cognitive reasoning, can be the most powerful reminders of how art can help us all work with the powers of our mind, and the collective human narrative.

It's called 'The Minister'




Enough from me - sorry (to you and to myself) that I couldn't post more personal paintings this time, as I have been chocker-block with work work. I found 3 door panels discarded on the road recently, which i sanded, stained and partly primed, which im looking forward to doing a triptych in oils on. Hope you are all inspired and sustained. All the best. A

3. Sun Day

I sat at Kawa in Surry Hills for 4 hours this morning, and reconnected with an exterior world I have been passing by this week, lost in my work. It was good to engage again and I enjoyed the company of a few people who were looking over my shoulder as I sketched. I hope that sometime, somewhere, somebody sees me sketching and is inspired to exhale a breath of their own creativity.

I've been backed up with work for Epiphany, but got a chance to finish off this character for a challenge run by my friend Alex Drummond at CA. The topic was 'Leaf Goddess of the Light'. This is the first character I have painted (and actually finished) in maybe 6 months! The competition is just warming up and looks like a fun preoccupation to keep me on my toes with character work (thanks Alti).


And finally, the new Gorilla Artfare HQ is up and running and the family there is already posting some beautiful work. Go check it out. And by the by, I'm currently their volunteer copywriter and editor, so enny spelinng mestaks are my folt! Sorey!

2. Brainstorm Day

Today was a busy one, ongoing brainstorming and preparatory explorations for a series of concepts for Epiphany. I decided to unplug from the computer and work analogue so I used my drawing table. I took a shot of how it typically looks during a brainstorming session. I like to spread my visual explorations out so I can see them all at once, as well as all my lists and written ideas. It helps me cross reference my ideas quickly and easily...



Also uploading an oil I did recently - my first multi-session painting as I come to grips with the new medium. Also the first time I have painted a long pose in any medium. I was fairly happy with what I achieved considering I had never worked beyond a loose sketch in oils, but I am photographing on a small camera with flash so it was hard to get it anywhere near how it looks under a natural light.

Canvas toned with Raw Umber/Ivory Black mixt. Painting done with:
[Yellow Ochre] [Ivory Black] [Titanium White] [Light Red]



Our teacher was very much a salon inspired classical realist and, using a limited 4-colour pallette, most of my time was spent trying to achieve subtle temperature shifts throughout the skintones which dont pick up in the photo. The face, legs and arms were barely worked on in fact - most of the work went into the torso. Didnt even get time to go to shadows (which were just left as the raw umber wash, except for areas like the hair and platform). Subtlety was definately the biggest lesson here and the progression from my initial, very high contrast lay-in to the final, more subtle finish was really great to be guided through. Im looking forward to the next one!

Also watched Paprika today, and would highly recommend it for those who dig animated stuff! Visually stunning and great weighted animation.

Kicking things off


Gday! I'm back after a blogging hibernation, and both my roommate and I have decided to split up our collaborative blog and run our own individually. I'm hoping to post daily with artwork, unless I get a stint of NDA work that I can't show. But I will also most likely fill in the gaps with philosophical banter and oddities, so if that's your thing, go on and subscribe. Ill try to make my post titles as elucidating as possible for your feeds ;)

Anyhow I was supposed to get to writing this an hour ago, inspired by the work James Gurney does over at his own blog; Gurney Journey. But I got wrapped up in the ever entertaining controversies of PDA and Tom Cruise, Scientologist! and must admit to them as tonight's primary source of inspiration (sorry James).

To start off the blog with some art, here is my entry for Last Man Standing 3, administered under the uncompromising and all encompassing care of Cody 'The Suggestive Guy' Tilson and run on Conceptart.Org (if you havnt seen it, check it out now!)

'Underneath It All'



I began with another painting that eventually lost its way and I felt didn't have a lot going for it.
Due to a topic extension I decided to reconcile my ideas and tackle a new, simpler and more direct painting. Thematically, I wanted to veer toward optimism instead of pessimism, as is often the case for work I dont plan well. Doing the new painting in 2 days (due to the deadline) was refreshing and rewarding and stopped me from getting bogged down in overcomplication.

I found that I still resorted to my usual crutches - a static shot angle, lack of human figures, and indiscriminate rendering - all things that I am working to improve. I also had to make a difficult choice of how much contrast to put in the background, and ended up sticking with my initial intention which was to capture something of the atmospheric, indistinct landscapes of

Millet:


And Innes:


Here is the initial painting, which i dropped:


On the submitted painting, I had a lot of fun and found a happy and flexible medium between rendering and composing, and I am slowly improving my ability to keep decisions open until the end of the painting instead of my usual routine of committing to major decisions past the thumbnail point. I also referenced Whit Brachna's 'Alps' painting for inspiration on how to approach the rocks without a texture overlay. Needless to say his virtuosity in that regard far outweighs my own!

I also enjoyed the initial painting (with the helmeted figure), however the parts I liked most, notably the character and the roof, ended up being stagnated and stripped of their freshness by time and over-rendering. Nevertheless I look at it as 'two learning experiences for the price of one'.