Josef Hoccom

Josef, The Creative Force!

2011-12-11T13:18:00.001Z

Well hello there old friend, long time not chat! I just thought I would blog as I haven't done so in absolute ages and I have a whole day off! woop! and nothing to do! bad times! I just cant believe how fast the time has gone this last couple of months and how much crazy stuff has happened, both art-wise and also life-wise. Where do i start? well I suppose i should start with the new direction my art seems to be taking at the moment, I think its quite interesting, what do you think? Please comment, I would love to hear some feedback!

After much deliberation, many litres of coffee, thousands of Skittles and exceedingly long tutorials, the way in which I have started to approach my work has evolved considerably. I've always struggled with finding my unique place within the art spectrum. I've always enjoyed doing everything: fashion, painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, textiles, performance, photography, print, video media, the list goes on and on. Ive been very lucky in the fact I have a "style" which seems to run through all my work, no matter what I throw myself at. Due to the set up of my current course I have really honed this "style" down to what really makes me happy and what I want to 'say' as a creative person, my artistic voice as it were. In sight of all this I have now been able to apply this to all my practises and I have a better understanding of what I want to achieve.

Stay with me, haha, I know what I'm babbling is a little 'dry', but hopefully it makes sense. I'm now going to put a few images in to make this post a little more interesting.

Recently, I have started to developing the drawings and painting to the next level, and developing a wider creative output, which hopefully, will allow all areas to influence each other. Its getting very exciting at the moment, everyday at Uni is always something new, and this I have found really rewarding. Having something always on the go allows the ideas to bounce around and i find it really refreshing. I have never experienced it before, and its really inspiring, maybe this is the professions for me after all!

I have recently been working 3D developing the nutty characters from my drawings, and bringing them into real life! a spooky idea, instead of having this very postmodernist idea by which I cant find any meaning within the world, I create my own world. In a sense I'm making my ideas a physical thing, so then do they become more substantial than just ideas, or are they still just symbols, by which we keep re-authoring and still have no meaning?! This endless cycle off sampling and not really engaging with anything keeps occurring, am still lost or have i found myself within the world?! confusion, but good confusion! :D

I have no idea how these characters or ideas are going to unfold, but a few ideas have been thrown into the mix which I can develop, and possibly make a more commercial (uhrg!) stance towards my work.

I have recently been offered a role as a creative director within a music video which is quite exciting. By having a musician involved it allows me to bring in another dimension to my work, sound, which is something I have not really looked at before. I have recently taken a keen interests within the whole 'pop culture' area, looking at music videos, fashion shoots, advertising, and how artists have become a sort of 'fashionable' gimmick. Notable people within the industry are the likes of Lady Gaga, Terry Richardson, David Lachapelle, Annie Leibovitz, Floria Sigismondi to name but a few. The whole idea of getting involved in projects (music, fashion shoots, adverts, shop window displays etc) and bringing your own 'style' to the table is perhaps something I could evolve within commercially. Collaboration is something which is something that has really interested me, and now having many strings to my bow, I can approach commissioning with more clarity and ease. But obviously this is all who you know, and networking is a key factor here. I think this video will definitely help in getting my name out there. I like the idea of being a creative force, maybe that could be my motto, I'm Josef, a creative force! =D

there have also been other discussions about creating consumable goods, as I have the imagery to develop within this area. T-shirts, clothing, badges, prints, bed covers and even mugs are all a possibility! I quite like the idea of developing within this area and developing more kitsch related memorabilia; I think it adds another dimension to my work, and re-authors my ideas, something I try to achieve in my work anyway. I also like the idea of the objects becoming "fashionable", it would be very ironic that my work, that tries to show the world up for what it is, actually become part of this whole madness!

I have also added a few photo shopped images to this post, whereby I have superimposed my sculptural characters on top. I know this isn't a very original idea (The Chapman Brothers for example), but again it reiterates this whole re-authoring concept. Just being creative and getting my ands on things is something I'm passionate about, and who knows, someone might like it and decided they want it! fingers crossed!

Right I'm going to leave it there as I think I have babbled enough, check out my Twitter and Facebook profiles for more creative stuff, and more up to date stuff! I will make a conscious effort to try and record my ideas on here in more detail as I think its really cathartic and helps me concentrate my ideas better. So yeah, goodbye for now, keep popping back! thanks for the support!

Twitter -> @josefhoccom
Facebook -> www.facebook.com/JosefHoccomArtist

2011-09-24T23:46:00.001+01:00

Well today has been a very fruitful day in the studio, I have finally started to amalgamate all my mythological orchestra figures together into one whole image. Its six A1 sheets so far, but i'm going to have to add another four I think to get all the relevant instruments in. I started with doing a little study sketch of the Minotaur Harpist (top left) earlier and it has just evolved and snowballed from there! I should of made the figures a lot smaller in heinsight, but I'm enjoying the challenges that this size drawing is throwing at me. At the moment, although you cant see them very well on the picture I have attached, there is about 15 different characters so far, I think I will add another five, else the task will just become to colossal and will take forever to accomplish. If anybody has any interesting: characters, legends, stories, myths, ideas that involve any 'humanoid' characters that would help me, as i'm starting to run a little dry on ideas, it would be much appreciated. I have looked at Indian, Egyptian and Greek mythology mainly for inspiration - any other religions or belief systems that will provide fruitful?

One thing I have started to sedulously started to look at within this drawing is anatomy. I have my trusty books on hand and I have tried very hard to figure out how these bodies slot together, both human, and animal/beast combined - which is a lot more difficult than I firstly imagined! I'm still struggling a bit, so I think I might need to take a few photos (any volunteers?) to really nail the whole layout of how the bodies react not only with each other, but also with the instruments themselves.

I hope to get a little bit more done tomorrow so some more pictures should be coming soon, watch this space!

The Drawing so far!

Faun and Mermaid Cellist and Violist

Minotaur Harpist

Anubis Double Bass

Fridays a good day for some good old fashioned hard work!

2011-09-23T20:04:00.001+01:00

Firstly, twas a lovely day today, I spent it with Miss Charlotte Pain, getting back into the swing of things, and we have got some interesting ideas between us that will surely make this year very interesting. I also thought I would blog the fruits of my labour from todays workshop. I decided not to do a large version of my mythological orchestra (as there is just not a lot of space right now in the studio!), but instead create a large charcoal drawing of one of my previous drawings. I was chatting to Mr Tim and he threw a really interesting idea into the mix relating to this drawing. I was ummm'ing and ahhh'ing about what setting to base these figures, and Tim said it reminded him of a couple at a restaurant, and the octopus was a waiter. So it was decide there an then that this was going to be the setting as it really marries well to the whole ambiance of the scene. I did struggle a little today as i'm still finding it difficult to sort out the anatomy of the figures, but Tezza was on hand to offer some really worthwhile advice. He said I should start to create these figures/busts/mannequins out of clay, and this would force me to think in a three-dimensinal way, which i could then utilise when it comes to create the feel of three-dimension within a two-dimensional image (tone, light/dark/colour space ect ect). I am quite looking forward to playing with clay again! Who knows this might be a new avenue I could take my work down? I could also start creating multiple clay figures, which I could then create scenes with, which seems very childlike I know, but fun, and potentially very inspirational never the less! Im really looking forward to getting some paint onto canvas again also as it has been just to long, months in fact. I have some wooden frames all ready made, just in need of a little canvas and a prime and then its all cannons a fire! Im gonna leave this blog there as I haven't much else to report on, I hope people like the drawing and ideas, would love comments as always! Check back soon!

Mythological Orchestra

2011-09-18T22:57:00.001+01:00

Hey folks, spent some time in the studio today drawing away and I have come up with this idea I'm really excited about. I was listening to some orchestral soundtrack music, and thought wouldn't it be really fun if the orchestra was made up of a 'menagerie' of beasts. So with a pencil in one hand, and casting my mind back to an idea I had yesterday that I tweeted - (Just had a nutty idea, must tweet it before i forget - An Octopus conducting an Orchestra!) - I started scribbling down a few ideas about who could be included in this fictitious orchestra! Here is a few ideas I had: Mermaid Violinists, Giant Ogre Percussionists, An Angel Choir, An Octopus Conductor (of course!), Faun Cellists, Medusa/Sprite/Fairy Flutists, The Indian god Ganesha as an Oboe player, and many others!! Anybody else have any interesting nutty ideas, would love to hear them! So I started to illustrate some of these ideas and here fruits of my labour:

These drawings are 'mock' up ideas. Looking back at them, I think I may change a few of the characters around to 'fit' with the right instrument, I think Ganesha will perhaps feel a little more happy playing a glockenspiel with those four arms!! haha!

I plan to do a slightly larger scaled piece, compared to my others, that will combine lots of different monsters playing lots of different things, but of course I will have to find a place for my trademark fish! I could perhaps create a sort of Frieze-like image or maybe a mural, who knows, maybe someone who reads this blog might have the right wall to paint it onto!? :)

I know that each 'figure' will have to be positioned according to there place within the orchestra. I did a little research into the layout of all the instruments and will have to arrange them according to this basic framework:

I'm really excited about this idea and hopefully I will get some nice big versions of these figures up in the college studio space to brighten up the walls a little! Watch this space!

San Fermin Festival - Running of the Bulls

2011-09-16T00:22:00.000+01:00

I was watching a program the other week about something or other, who cares lol, and there was this interesting section about the running of the bull in the San Fermin Festival. I was initial interested to see what it was, and then watched a video clip on line. I was really shocked at the sheer ludicrousness of the whole event. People were quite willing to risk life and limb running in front of a stampede of colossal beasts, it shocked me but also sent the cogs wiring in my mind. What if I used this as a scene within one of my drawings?! Then I thought about perhaps changing the animal, wouldn't it be just crazy if there were 6ft octopuses wriggling and writhing over each other "trampling" (if you can call it that!) everything in its path. Or maybe just have humans trampling humans, a snowballing, washing machine mass of arms, legs, heads, and the odd fish thrown in here and there?! who knows, I'm hoping the whole situation will make a really quirky image that perhaps will make people laugh! here's a little info about the event:

Running of the bulls:

The running of the bulls involves hundreds of people running in front of six bulls and another six steers down an 825-metre (0.51 mile) stretch of narrow streets of a section of the old town of Pamplona. The event begins at 8 a.m. when a first firecracker is lit to announce the release of the bulls from their corral. It is held between the 7th and the 14th. Runners gather earlier at the beginning of the itinerary to ask for the protection of the Saint by singing a chant three times before a small statue of San Fermin which has been placed in a raised niche in a wall. A second cracker signals that the last bull has left the corral. There are six fighting bulls accompanied by eight not fighting bulls (often white and brown coloured) that guide them to the "plaza" and followed by three more not fighting bulls, the "brush group". There are also some shepherds guiding the bulls, wearing green T-shirts and long poles. The run ends in the Pamplona's bullring taking a mean time of around 3 minutes where the bulls would be held until the afternoons bullfight when they would be killed. Once all of the bulls have entered the arena, a third rocket is released while a fourth firecracker indicates that the bulls are in their bullpens and the run has concluded. The event is dangerous. Since 1925, 15 people have been killed during the event –– most recently on 10 July 2009-- and every year between 200 and 300 people are injured during the run although most injuries are contusions due to falls and are not serious. There are several basic rules to respect if you want to run: - Don't try to touch the bulls. You take the risk of getting his attention over yourself. - If you fall down, don't try to raise. Protect your head and lie in fetal position until the group passes. - Notice that a bull runs faster than you and that a single bull is more dangerous than the group. -Take the bend of "Mercaderes" from the interior side, as the bulls often hit or even fall in the exterior side and can squash on the walls. -Don't carry photocameras or backpacks. After the end of the run young cows with wrapped horns are released in the bullring and toss the participants, to the amusement of the crowd

Nuttiness Prevails

2011-09-14T23:49:00.000+01:00

I thought I would blog some of my work, and prove that all my research does get put into practice! I have attached an A2 drawing I have working on in my studio. It emerged from combining all my previous drawings and characters I have created over the last year. I cherry-picked my favourite characters (not so random and spontaneous, but who cares!) and combined them to create new relationships and new contrasts. I ultimately see this as one part of a diptych. This drawing will develop into the left hand panel and will focus on 'servants' - cooks, jesters, philanthropists - taking there woes to the next panel which will homage to the Christian Last Supper story. It will be a Mythological Last Supper, a feast for the 'Gods' - Zeus, Anubis, Athena, Ganesha and many others will all be present (Help needed for some interesting "beings"!) - the idea will then reiterate this idea of how do we 'know' what is real, illusion, myth, in society nowadays, and as a result how can we deal with all this 'stuff'? Hopefully together the two panels will creating an orgy of colour, character and nuttiness and keep the view interested, thoughts welcome!! What or maybe who, would you like to see sat at the last supper?

Will load a better version of this drawing after I complete it a little more!

A few Inspirational Characters

2011-09-14T23:03:00.002+01:00

I just thought I would blog a few characters that I find very interesting and may find useful in future art works. If anybody has any interesting obscure beasts for me to research, leave me a comment! Thanks for looking:

Anubis - a jackal-headed god associated with mummification and the afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion. Anubis was associated with the mummification and protection of the dead for their journey into the afterlife. He was usually portrayed as a half human, half jackal, or in full jackal form wearing a ribbon and holding a flail in the crook of its arm. The jackal was strongly associated with cemeteries in ancient Egypt, since it was a scavenger which threatened to uncover human bodies and eat their flesh. The distinctive black color of Anubis "did not have to do with the jackal [per se] but with the color of rotting flesh and with the black soil of the Nile valley, symbolizing rebirth."

Anubis is depicted in funerary contexts where he is shown attending to the mummies of the deceased or sitting atop a tomb protecting it. In fact, during embalming, the "head embalmer" wore an Anubis costume. The critical weighing of the heart scene in the Book of the Dead also shows Anubis performing the measurement that determined the worthiness of the deceased to enter the realm of the dead (the underworld). New Kingdom tomb-seals also depict Anubis sitting atop the nine bows that symbolize his domination over the foes of Egypt

Ganesha - Although he is known by many other attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him particularly easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and more generally as Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles, patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom. He is honoured at the beginning of rituals and ceremonies and invoked as Patron of Letters during writing sessions

Bigfoot/Sasquatch - An ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid.

Yeti/Abominable Snowman - an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, India and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology. Stories of the Yeti first emerged as a facet of Western popular culture in the 19th century.

The scientific community generally regards the Yeti as a legend, given the lack of conclusive evidence, yet it remains one of the most famous creatures of cryptozoology. The Yeti may be considered a sort of parallel to the Bigfoot of North America.

Goblins - Legendary evil or mischievous illiterate creature, described as a grotesquely evil or evil-like phantom.

They are attributed with various abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases, goblins have been classified as constantly annoying little creatures somewhat related to gnomes. They are usually depicted as small, sometimes only a few inches tall, sometimes the size of a dwarf. They also often are said to possess various magical abilities.

How the Tiger Got His Stripes

2011-09-08T22:10:00.000+01:00

Walton Ford, Thanh Hoang, watercolour, Gouache, pencil, and ink on paper (153.7 x 303.5 cm) 1997

I was flitting through my Walton Ford: Pancha Tantra (2007, Tashen) book, and I was looking at the appendix section and found out a few interesting stories that had proved inspiration for Ford's work. The one that caught my attention the most was the story linking to the above piece of work, Thanh Hoang (1997). The story read as follows:

Long, long ago, the tiger was a very beautiful creature indeed, famous for his immaculate and sleek yellow coat and his matching amber-coloured eyes. Truly, the tiger was the most elegant creature in the whole forest.

But one day, such a tiger was observing a nearby field from a grove at the edge of a mountain. In the field a farmer was ploughing with his buffalo. the toiling beast had become so exhausted that his mouth was dripping froth and his tongue hung out as he panted for breath. Still the farmer spurred him on, beating him with a stick and shouting at him to make greater effort.

Seeing this mistreatment of a fellow animal, the tiger became furious. Cannily, he waited until the farmer had stopped for lunch and gone away to get refreshment. Then approaching the buffalo, the tiger scolded him for his stupid endurance. "You're far bigger and stronger than man," declared the tiger. "You have a huge body and two sharp horns to defend yourself with. Why then do you take such abuse? Why don't you stand up to this puny little fellow who takes such advantage of you?"

"Its quite true that the man is physically smaller than I am," replied the buffalo. "But he has a keen intelligence with which he can control all things in nature, even strong beasts like you and me."

Now the tiger had never heard of a weapon called keen intelligence, and he was extremely interested to know what it looked like. So he sat on a dike and waited for the farmer to return from his lunch.

"say there, you man," he cried when the farmer came back. "Your buffalo tells me you have a keen intelligence. Please let me see what it is. Where do you keep it?"

"I don't happen to have it with me," said the farmer "I usually keep it at home."

"do go home and get it," urged the tiger. "Fetch it here so I can see it!"

"I would do that," replied the farmer. "But I'm afraid that if I do, you will kill and eat my buffalo while I am gone. If you agree to let me bind you to that trunk of that tree over there, I'll go back home and get my intelligence and bring it back to show you; then I will unfasten you."

So the tiger being a credulous creature, permitted the man to fasten him securely to the tree with some wide strong ropes.

But once he had immobilised the animal, the farmer began to collect straw and twigs, instead of starting home. He piled the straw and twigs and set them afire, exclaiming "Here is my intelligence! Do you understand now?"

The poor tiger, straining with all it might and main, burst his bonds and fled away into the forest, but not before the part of his fur between the ropes had burned black. Ever since then he has worn black and yellow stripes and has had a pretty good idea of mans intelligence!

(A Vietnamese story about how the tiger got its stripes, published in The Asian Animal Zodiac, collected by Ruth Q. Sun, Tuttle, 1974)

I love this story and see many variations of it within my drawings. the obvious one is obviously illustrating the story as it reads, like how Walton Ford has done in his paining. However I quite like the idea of changing around the characters roles and perhaps having the buffalo as the tiger, the human as the ploughing beast and the tiger as the cunning human, or visa versa and so on. I can also see little situations like the Buffalo and the tiger being characters together in some other story, perhaps I could change the setting, changing it to a bank or a factory workroom, anything that will throw a whole new set of ideas into the smelting pot.

I really love the fact the story then becomes distorted, which usually happens with myth and legend. I'm just creating another version, how do I know in 50 or 100 years from now people will not believe my version? This has after all what has happened from the beginning of time until this present point - bible, myth, stories, all have been susceptible to a "Chinese-whisper" chain!

All these fractured viewpoints and ideas would help to create nutty and surreal pictures which suggest at many stories, hint at others, but never the less at the same time be utterly pointless - remind us of life as we know it? Aimlessly walking around wondering what happens next?

Right enough with the philosophy lets bring it back down to earth and ultimately my work practice! The idea that seems to becoming commonplace in my work is responding to prompts, whether that's through books, television, films, songs, twitter, Facebook, (the list goes on and on and on). I touched on this in my essay a few months ago, but didn't really have anything to 'respond' to in a sense, and as a result I felt this way of working didn't really seem relevant, or something I wanted to pursue. I then started to record the ideas i was having in real time in relation to real life and events. I have recently started recording things in a journals, drawing things, collecting info in blogger posts, tweeting interesting ideas, and it all now has formed a pool of inspirational influences. What happens this uni year is a mystery, but I hope is going to be twice as exhilarating as last year, watch this space its gonna be a bumpy ride!

Run Rabbit Run - Flanagan & Allen

2011-09-06T23:39:00.001+01:00

I don't what i was doing today but i suddenly remembered this song and thought i have to blog it! I dare people not to sing along! such a classic tune and i don't think there is a soul that does not know it! I love the cats in the youtube vid as well! Ps - check out my twitter as there are some pics of my new, tidied studio/loft space and some new drawings I have been working on @josefhoccom - I'm very excited as I now have a place to do things art'y! yay!

On the farm, every Friday

On the farm, it's rabbit pie day.

So, every Friday that ever comes along,

I get up early and sing this little song

Run rabbit - run rabbit - Run! Run! Run!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Goes the farmer's gun.

Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run.

Run rabbit - run rabbit - Run! Run! Run!

Don't give the farmer his fun! Fun! Fun!

He'll get by

Without his rabbit pie

So run rabbit - run rabbit - Run! Run! Run!

Illustrations de Monstrorum Historia (1642)

2011-09-05T22:22:00.002+01:00

Just found and interesting book of beasties called Illustrations de Monstrorum Historia (1642). Click the underlined red title to see the full catalogue from this bizarre illustrated guide of strange imaginary animals and people, Its absolutely nuts! I've attached a few of my favourite creatures, which seem to have a fishy theme strangely enough!

Maikubi - A Japanese Myth

2011-08-31T22:26:00.003+01:00

I was going through my note book today - yes i admit it, they are useful at times for recording ideas and jogging the memory, and I bow my head in shame for all the times I took the mick out of Kate Parsons when she whipped her little book out :) - and I remembered watching Spirited Away (Miyazaki, 2001) a few months ago. Within the film, one thing stuck out the most. I remember being mesmerised by the three green "head creatures", which I now know are called Maikubi. I was also captivated by many of the other characters and spirits, and I will do further research into them all at a later date - if you have not seen the film, its very good, check it out!. I just thought they were really interesting, both from an aesthetic point of view, but also the story behind how these creatures have become the way they are is also very inspiring. looking further into there mythology they now appeal to me even more. I can really see myself incorporating them into my drawings and paintings, and I can see myself having fun creating ludicrous and nutty facial expressions. Heres a story I found explaining what/who they are:

"One day when a festival called the Manazuru festival in Izu was held there were some samurai named Kosanta, Matashige, and Akugoro. They were always doing bad things and they were all rivals. They all drank a lot of sake and started to argue. Finally they all cut off each other’s heads: At first Akugoro cut off Kosanta’s head. Next, he caught up to the fleeing Matashige, but unfortunately Akugoro tripped on a small rock. Matashige then cut off Akugoro’s head. But, while Matashige cut off Akugoro’s head, Akugoro managed to cut off Matashige’s. Both heads fell to the ground. Shamefully, even after their heads had been severed, they continued to fight. Finally, their three heads dropped into the sea and they continued to fight under water. They continue to fight in the water even now. At midnight they shout and cause waves while “dancing” on the water."

I also found some other interesting monsters and demons from Japanese folklore and myths which I found quite interesting, and they might apear in my work soon also, who knows?:

ONI : No folkloric creature encompasses the varying roles of Japanese monsters like the Oni. Oni are a sort of demon or ogre that have taken a wide array of roles in Japanese storytelling and folklore. Oni are popularly represented as monstrous, wild-haired and having red or blue skin, one to three horns, terrible claws, tiger skin loin cloth and an iron club. They are said to be able to eat a man in one gulp and have often been depicted torturing, butchering and devouring their human victims. They move freely between the world of the living and the world of the dead. An Oni can be a terrible, destructive force to be feared or they can be a powerful protector and guardian. In a few stories they also possess the ability to shape-shift and appear as a normal looking man or woman.

Kappa: A turtle-like water monster with a reputation for drowning the unwary around ponds, lakes and rivers. This water-sprite has the back of a turtle, a beak-like snout, and a flattened or bowl-like head ringed by a tuft of hair. One of the most popular Yokai, a Kappa's character ranges from mischievous prankster to bloodthirsty, murderous monster. They kill both people and animals, drowning them, eating their livers, drinking their blood, and sometimes even raping women. They are also known to be so polite that when bowed to, they return the bow, causing water to spill out of their bowl-shaped heads, rendering them inert until their head is once again submerged. Kappa can also be befriended and if shown proper respect, award favors. They love cucumbers. If you should run into a Kappa, simply offer them a cucumber with your name carved into it as a bribe for your life.

The cucumber idea is definitely something that would be comical in my drawings and maybe it will find a place in this years batch of work, who knows. Anyway I hope I have not scared or weirded many people out, watch this space as there is going to be plenty of bamboozling and interesting things coming soon!

The Abduction of Europa - Ancient Greek Myth

2011-08-30T21:52:00.005+01:00

(Enlèvement d'Europe by Nöel-Nicolas Coypel, c. 1726)

In Greek mythology Europa was a Phoenician woman of high lineage. The story of her abduction by Zeus in the form of a white bull was a Cretan story:

"The mythographers tell that Zeus was enamored of Europa and decided to seduce or ravish her, the two being near-equivalent in Greek myth. He transformed himself into a tame white bull and mixed in with her father's herds. While Europa and her female attendants were gathering flowers, she saw the bull, caressed his flanks, and eventually got onto his back. Zeus took that opportunity and ran to the sea and swam, with her on his back, to the island of Crete. He then revealed his true identity, and Europa became the first queen of Crete. Zeus gave her a necklace made by Hephaestus and three additional gifts: Talos (a bronze statue), Laelaps (a dog) and a javelin that never missed. Zeus later re-created the shape of the white bull in the stars, which is now known as the constellation Taurus."

I think this story would make a fantastic basis for a set of characters within my own drawings. I could hint towards this stories, its characters, its ideas, but at the same time still retain that sense of ludicrousness my drawings seem to entail.

I kind of like this whole idea of hinting at stories that could exist between my characters, and illustrating stories i have read, researched, created myself and heard about. I also like the way the stories I hint at are understood by some people, and connections and comparisons are made, but at the same time, someone who doesn't know can create and concoct new stories and new ideas. This in a way captures this continual flux of mass marketing of information we are subjected to everyday in our lives. But whether we know the story, or make up our own, we can all enjoy the images.

Eric Fischl Research

2011-08-25T20:52:00.010+01:00

I thought I would blog today about an artist I have know about for a while, but havn't really researched or looked into properly. Eric Fischl (born March 9, 1948) is an American painter, sculptor and printmaker.

Bio: Fischl was born in New York City and grew up on suburban Long Island; his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1967. His own web site describes him as growing up "against a backdrop of alcoholism and a country club culture obsessed with image over content."

His art education began at Phoenix College, then a year at Arizona State University, then California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California, where he earned his BFA in 1972. He then moved to Chicago, taking a job as a guard at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

I find some of his his work a little disturbing and at the same time have

(The Life of Pigeons, Oil on Linen, 1987,117.5x292).

a mesmeric quality about them. I have chosen a slightly less provocative one in this blog. Some of his paintings that i find really interesting are the one that seem to be made up of different shaped canvasses, but combine together with the painted image. I really like the way the images 'logically fit together' and capture a multi-faceted viewpoints of the same scene, but at the same time stand alone as singular paintings capturing an 'essence of the whole'.Maybe this would be a way I could approach creating my work, but also displaying my work. Initially creating work through automatic drawings, which produce very nutty and fractured narratives, and then further fracturing them by creating montages of these resulting images. The possibilities are endless and process like collage can be worked into my work, combining it all the time with my love for painting and drawing, but keeping it fresh, relevant and interesting.

I think i will leave it there as blogger has mucked up and blew all my text out of proportion, i hope it sorts itself out! Will post some of my work soon as I really should be focusing on my work so I have something to show in September when we go back!

Victor Brauner Research

2011-08-21T22:56:00.004+01:00

Fascination 1939 (Oil on Canvas - 65x54cm)

Well today was fun, nice weather new car and some interesting art - very positive me thinks! Just did a little research today and found this cool surrealist artist which I haven't come across before, Victor Brauner. I love the

painting to the right titled, Fascination 1939 (Oil on Canvas - 65x54cm). I think i may create my own version of this painting, or incorporate the elements within my drawings and paintings. I especially love the peacock on the head idea, it similar to the character out of the film Labyrinth, The Wiseman if i remember correctly. - perhaps i should look at this film more closely as there are some crazy and nutty characters that I could use in my art - Ambrosius, Mr Didymus, Ludo, Hoggle, King Jered - the list is endless!

Victor Brauner (B: 1903 - D: 1966)

Although he worked mainly in France, Victor Brauner, a Surrealist painter and sculptor, was born and raised in Romania, where he studied at the School of Fine Arts in Bucharest. In 1924 his first one-man show was presented at Bucharest's Galerie Mozart. He moved to Paris in 1930 where, through the sculptor Constatin Brancusi (a fellow-Romanian), he met the painter Yves Tanguy, who introduced him to other members of the Surrealist movement. The Surrealists were departing not only from the realism and academicism of nineteenth-century art but also from tendencies toward painterly abstraction

of the early modernists. Partly under the influence of contemporary psychology, they sought unexpected juxtapositions of sharply depicted figurative images, often recalling the landscapes of dreams. In 1934, Andre Breton, the leader of the Surrealist movement, wrote the introduction to the catalogue for Brauner's exhibition at the Galerie Pierre.

Brauner's paintings evince a fascination with wounded eyes, and he depicted scenes drawn from magic and the occult. His work shows the influence of the other Surrealists, but the modernists, such as Picasso andKlee, also, decidedly influenced him. From 1935 to 1939, he lived in Romania.

After his return to Paris he developed a reputation as a clairvoyant when his longstanding preoccupation with wounded eyes became a reality: he had lost an eye during a brawl at a party. With the advent of World War Two, Brauner left Paris and settled first in the Pyrenees and then in the Alps, where in the absence of painting materials he worked in both collage and fumage. He returned to Paris after the War and continued to work in a Surrealist style, despite having been officially expelled from the Surrealists by Breton. His best-known work, completed in 1947, is not a painting but a sculpture entitled "Wolftable", in which a table is mounted with the stuffed head of a wolf. Beginning in the early 1960's Brauner lived and worked in Varengeville, France; he represented France at the Venice Biennale in 1966, the year he died.

BoomSatsuma Festival Launch Day

2011-08-19T20:58:00.003+01:00

A bright warm and fun day today at the BoomSatsuma Festival, shades on, enjoying the rays and company of my fellow arty-farty pal Miss Charlotte Pain. We spent the afternoon looking around the various displays and events - including some children's entertainers and also some free running (I must admit i did feared for their lives on the wibbly-wobbly make-shift environment) - and soaking up the atmosphere of the festival. I was very impressed at how many family's, and of course doggies were enjoying the festival, and it didn't even officially start till 4! Judging by today's turn out, I'm thinking its gonna be very busy this weekend and hopefully me or the lovely Charlotte will sell some artwork, fingers crossed!! Anyway, no much else to report on, so i will leave it there! check this space soon!

2011-08-19T18:44:00.005+01:00

I remember hearing about this performance piece from Kate and thought it was quite interesting, and i have been reminded of it from my book today. The Work is 'I like America and America Likes Me (1974) by Joseph Beuys:

I copied this from the Tate website to explain what happened and what it means!

I Like America and America Likes Me 1974

Beuys’s most famous Action took place in May 1974, when he spent three days in a room with a coyote. After flying into New York, he was swathed in felt and loaded into an ambulance, then driven to the gallery where the Action took place, without having once touched American soil. As Beuys later explained: ‘I wanted to isolate myself, insulate myself, see nothing of America other than the coyote.’ The title of the work is filled with irony. Beuys opposed American military actions in Vietnam, and his work as an artist was a challenge to the hegemony of American art.

Beuys’s felt blankets, walking stick and gloves became sculptural props throughout the Action. In addition, fifty new copies of the Wall Street Journal were introduced each day, which the coyote acknowledged by urinating on them. Beuys regularly performed the same series of actions with his eyes continuously fixed on the coyote. At other times he would rest or gather the felt around him to suggest the figure of a shepherd with his crook. The coyote’s behaviour shifted throughout the three days, becoming cautious, detached, aggressive and sometimes companionable. At the end of the Action, Beuys was again wrapped in felt and returned to the airport.

For Native Americans, the coyote had been a powerful god, with the power to move between the physical and the spiritual world. After the coming of European settlers, it was seen merely as a pest, to be exterminated. Beuys saw the debasement of the coyote as a symbol of the damage done by white men to the American continent and its native cultures. His action was an attempt to heal some of those wounds. ‘You could say that a reckoning has to be made with the coyote, and only then can this trauma be lifted’, he said.

KuaFu Chased the Sun

2011-08-17T22:02:00.002+01:00

Just thought this story was quite interesting - possibly and interesting idea for a drawing?!

KuaFu Chased the Sun

"It is said that in antiquity a god named KuaFu determined to have a race with the Sun and catch up with Him. So he rushed in the direction of the Sun. Finally, he almost ran neck and neck with the Sun, when he was too thirsty and hot to continue. Where could he find some water? Just then the Yellow River and Wei River came into sight, roaring on. He swooped upon them earnestly and drank the whole river. But he still felt thirsty and hot, thereupon, he marched northward for the lakes in the north of China. Unfortunately, he fell down and died halfway because of thirst. With his fall, down dropped his cane. Then the cane became a stretch of peach, green and lush."

And so comes the idiom, KuaFu chased the Sun, which becomes the trope of man's determination and volition against nature.

2011-08-15T22:44:00.004+01:00

Well, well, well i have the internet back and have decided to make a conscious decision to blog a little more as i have neglected it for about a year now. A little update on things - finished 2nd year of the foundation degree, and moving into the 3rd year in september - hopefully :) . Over the last few weeks, or holiday as some people put it, i have a done a little drawing and created one interesting piece which i think i will develop into another large scale painting. I call it the 'Fate of Fish' (Checkout my twitter for better pics) - again the fishy themes are seeping through into my work!!! I've also been reading, an arty book obviously, E. H. Gombrich - The Story Of Art and its quite an interesting read - check it out all you art lovers! Anyway, check back soon for more pics, news and random babble! bye for now!

2011-08-07T02:05:00.001+01:00

SCISSOR SISTERS
"She's My Man"

This town was built on muddy stilts
By the lunatic parade
It rains like Revelations
Gonna wash these freaks away
Some girls wanna hold your hand
And some girls like to pray
Well my girl takes her drinks
With dust and rusty razor blades

As I lie between these covers
I wanna tell her that I love it
When she chokes me in the
Backseat of her riverboat 'cause

She's my man
And we got all the balls we need
When you taste that pavement
You're amazed
She smells your sympathy
So bye bye ladies
May the best queen hold the crown
For the most bush sold on the levee
My my, how word gets around
She strangles for a good time
And she kills my self-control
She's my man, don't be too sad sonny
'Cause she'll never be your woman no more

Someday soon, this dank lagoon's
Gonna sink right into hell
They'll hide you from Big Ida
At the Sho' Enough Hotel
The Ladies of the evening's just
A tombstone in your bed
Well my girl eats a wounded preacher
'tween two loaves of bread

I know she's up to something
But how can I run when she's just
Keel-hauled twenty-on to nothing
I'll stay next to the steel coal oven 'cause

She's my man
And we got all the balls we need
When you taste that pavement
You're amazed
She smells your sympathy
So bye bye ladies
May the best queen hold the crown
For the most bush sold on the levee
My my, how word gets around
She strangles for a good time
And she kills my self-control
She's my man, don't be too sad sonny
'Cause she'll never be your woman no more

All you need's just a fist of a tear-stained bunny
When the good ship comes to town
Who said loves a bitch'll sit next to me honey
Because this old boat's gonna run aground
I don't want to be the burden
Or your jealous bastard
I don't wanna be the Tarzan of your next epic disaster

She's my man
And we got all the balls we need
When you taste that pavement
You're amazed
She smells your sympathy
So bye bye ladies
May the best queen hold the crown
For the most bush sold on the levee
My my, how word gets around
She strangles for a good time
And she kills my self-control
She's my man, don't be too sad sonny
'Cause she'll never be your woman no more

She's my man, can't you feel her comin'
She's my man, she's gonna keep you runnin'
She's my man, she's gonna teach you something
She's me, she's my man

at long last, a post from Joe

2011-06-20T12:08:00.006+01:00

Just realised i haven't blog in absolute ages!! Sorry all you avid Josef Hoccom fans! :) Well i'm sat in the studio invigulaeting (sorry bout spelling), on an Ikea faux leather sofa contemplating the last year and admiring just how good our room is compared to the other one, lol, joking......no i'm not..........yes i am, seriously i am. Well done all involved in the 2011 Weston College Summer Exhibition exhibition, its great and definitely one of the best this college has seen, but of course i am biased. If people have not come down to see it then you should, only a few more days left now (23rd June Finishing date). I was also contemplating that some of the more vibrant characters are not going to be back next year, and ijust want to wish everybody luck in there future dealings and hope people make lots of monies and became famous and decadent, see you in another life! I just thought i would blog a picture of the exhibition i have put ip and i hope people enjoy it, and decided they want to buy one of my pieces. Until the next post, i promise it will be sooner rather than later, but if you cant get enough of me then check out my twitter account @josefhoccom and keep up to date that way, bye for now!

2011-01-20T11:16:00.002Z

'Medusa and The Octopus'

Acrylic on Canvas

2010-2011

This is the finished piece I currently have in an exhibition entitled 'Transition', the show finishes the 28th January. Many More images reflecting this surreal nutty way of working will follow, i just have not had the time and the internet connection to update all of them, as there are so many! I hope everybody likes the new layout of the blog, I just thought it needed a little spring cleaning and updating!

2011-01-11T16:03:00.004Z

Just thought i would blog as i haven't in a while. Recent new is that i am part of an exhibition entitled 'Transition' at Weston College University Campus. The show runs to the 28th of January, and exhibits the fruits of our labour from the last few months. The preview night went very well (10th Jan), we had the mayor come, and i was shocked at how much positive support we received. I have entered the piece "Medusa and the Octopus", which i will blog a photo at a later date, and it can be described as one of the most colorful pieces and most surreal in the exhibition! :) Anyway i have attached my statement from the show, and hopefully all my readers will have the opportunity to get down and see the show!

Artists Statement

Within the last few months I have been on a personal discovery and my work has taken another unexpected path.

I recently discovered the process of automatic drawing and the images I now produce have returned to figuration, colour, tone, composition and relational space between all these elements.

My work has evolved from a process adopted from the thoughts of Andre Masson and The Surrealists who took their ideas from the writings of Sigmund Freud on automatic writing, developed by Masson it into automatic drawing, with the intention of ‘rebalancing the world’ dominated by bourgeois, high class thinking. Many artists have started with marks, to remove them from an intellectual vice; examples include George Braque and Da Vinci. Starting with marks, or even candle light they hung their imagery upon this basic framework. These forbearers have given me permission to produce the work that I do today.

The works I have placed in the show, represent the transitional process I have gone through, starting with scribbles, developing material usage skills, looking at anatomy, positive and negative space, colour space and transferring ideas and narratives from one artistic medium to another, resulting in a painting full of interesting juxtapositions of iconography and narratives

The work could be described at ludicrous, nutty, comical and in a sense a hype-real representation of life. This is partly because the resulting postmodernist world, dominated by commercialisation, consumerism and improving dissipation of information with technology, is one where everything is a product of our imagination and so all we have left is irony or playfulness, or even to look in on ourselves. In spite of this we are still searching for something meaningful, even if what we discover is apparently meaningless.

This works is representative of my transitional journey through the year so far, developing my skills set and really getting to the core of what I really want to express as an image maker.

Josef Hoccom, 2011

2010-12-21T00:17:00.001Z

Just thought I would blog as I haven't done one in a long time! Since last blog it has been a bit hectic sorting out my work for the show in January and also sorting out the show! My painting and drawing skills have come on leaps and bounds over the last few weeks and I will post a few images soon, I have two massive paintings on the go and when I get back to uni in the new year I plan to stretch a few more up and start to be very prolific! Essay for terrance is also due in the new year so I'm planning to get that done this holiday, and all the reading that goes along with it. I'm a busy bee at the moment, and there is no sign of it slowing down anytime soon! Anyway, i will try and get back into the swing of things with this blog as I have not really bothered with it much lately, bring on 2011, bye for now!

2010-11-18T13:21:00.002Z

Well just thought i would blog. I am sat in the studio and have a a little time spare time before i get told off again for being lazy by Terrance again. I have spent most of the morning charcoal drawing and developing ideas and i think i am going to start another big image this afternoon and turn my diptych into a tryptich! I havent really done much in the last few weeks but i have worked up a few of the larger drawings that i have blog on here before. Im in a state of flux at the mo and cannot wait to start painting on a massive scale, which hopefully we are going to start tomorrow. Anyway, i hope people enjoy the images i have attached to this post! bye for now! Chloe Smells, lol :)

2010-11-17T16:00:00.000Z

The day started with a trip to the Royal West of England Academy art gallery to see the annual show; The Autumn Exhibition. Artists, local to the Bristol area, submit their work for this open exhibition with the aim for people to visit and perhaps purchase a piece of ‘affordable’, slightly more commercial artwork. I have mixed feelings about this exhibition, as it approaches art in a very different way, and being somebody that tends to produce work that is less commercial, and perhaps because I don’t intend to make myself that accessible and commercial in the way I work, I found myself at logger heads with the whole visit. I found that there was little artwork within the exhibition that I was haggard towards, and thus I found the exhibition a little dry and uninspiring, however it definitely asserted my view that for me art is about what I want to achieve and comment upon, not what the general public, with want for a better word, desire.

After the exhibition at the RWA, we then moved to the fixed exhibition at the Bristol City Museum. The museums art exhibitions range hugely from romanticism, Georgian portraiture and the more up to date Modernist period. The museum is obviously aimed at day trippers and possibly families looking to entertain the kids, but I feel that the art side of the museum tend to be more selective in what they show. Recently they have had a more individual and possibly less commercial slant on what they show. Their exhibition; Art from the New World, linking with the Corey Helford Gallery in America, looked at pop-surrealism, neo-figurative and street art, drawing in audiences of a certain age and type , and previous to this they have also had a Banksy exhibition, both which proved very popular, but were perhaps aimed at more closed, less commercial audiences.

I found this visit a little more interesting and there were a few pieces that I found really interesting and relate to the way that I work. The first was by Richard Nevinson (1889-1946) titled ‘Dog Tired’ (1916, oil on canvas), found on the first floor. Nevinson was hugely influenced by the First World War, but before this time he shared a studio with Modigliani and was influenced by the cubists and futurists. The work shows a troupe of soldiers resting upon large square shape packages. The whole scene is bright and the men seem relaxed and calm. I think I was drawn to this piece of artwork for a number of reasons. Firstly it is figurative, and I gravitate towards images that involve people. I also find that there are a number of similarities in the way that I have recently started to approach image making and similarities in the techniques that I have started to adopt. The shapes of each form lock together and create interesting relationships, and this combined with the understanding of the way the light falls upon the figures anatomically or upon the bale shaped forms, also makes the image more visually believable, and in turn more interesting to look at and make ‘sense’ as it were.

I think the image overall is perhaps trying to capture the very innocent feelings that people had at the beginning of the war. The men being very relaxed are perhaps not fully aware of the atrocities that war and conflict can cause. We know now what war entails, and inevitably these men are going to fall on hard times, but in a way it’s nice to see an image that doesn’t look at the horrors, and reflects the feeling that these men really did believe they could make a difference and also reflects the joy of companionship and comradery.

Another piece I quite liked at the museum was by Christopher Wood, titled The Bather. It is a very simple image of a single semi-nude male figure with a net in his hands. I think I was drawn to this image perhaps because of the fact it was so simple and really summed up to me what I am trying to achieve in my own work. The whole image again is very calm, but at the same time you get this blank soulless gawping from the figure off to one side, which seems very confusion to start with, but then you learn that the artists struggled with addiction, the whole image seems to make sense and the emotion hits you. I really liked this image, it illustrates you don’t need lots of signifiers to produce a meaning, this boiling down of all the shapes, tone, emotions and feelings to the bare minimum, and a little understanding of how to approach image making, gets the ideas across, and this is what I want to achieve within my own work.

Overall I found there were certain nuggets of interest along the trek around Bristol. It was inevitable There were certain aspects of the day that is found more appealing and others less, but I felt what I have confirmed to myself is that I don’t want to produce work that panders to what others wish for, and I definitely do not want this constant niggling of commercialism to effect what I ultimately want to achieve.

2010-10-28T13:00:00.003+01:00

Well just had five minutes so though i would blog in the painting/drawing workshop that I am currently sitting in. I has been a very interesting few days and we have produced lots of large, messy charcoal drawings. It has been a real eye opener and I cannot believe just how much you can learn in such a short amount of time. It was definitely worth giving up a few days of "holiday" to get in the studios, I'm really buzzed and looking forward to the rest of the year! Unfortunately I cannot post a photo of the two large pieces I have been working on as this damn iPad does not link with the blog website properly! But o well, I will take photos and blog them at a later date. I will leave it there for now and get back to drawing! Chat soon!

2010-10-13T13:58:00.004+01:00

Well I have just longed on through college and have realised I haven't updated this blog in ages, I would just like to say at this point I am sorry for any spelling mistakes. The reason for my absence is that I have not got regular access to the Internet and it's been very difficult lately to try and keep up with everything else, so unfortunately the blog, which has been very beneficial and therapeutic for me for the last few moths, has come under strain! I will update now as soon as I can. since the last post we have .come back to college and it's has been a very eventful few weeks. we have been plunged into the realms of post-modernist theory, started and 'finished' a three week project and got up to speed with getting back into college life. unfortunately it has been a little to much, and cracks are starting to show themselves, but I think once these are ironed out we are going to have a very nice years, full of wonderful memories that we will treasure forever. as I write this in the second year base room, I am revising Terrance's lectures and sorting out CV,s and statements. Some would say I am a geek, but I'm not getting myself into the situation I had yesterday! Don't ask is all I can say! I hope to get some images of work up on here soon, I may search for an app which may allow me to do it from my iPad, but until then boring old text is all your getting! Bye for now, and here's to a wonderful and eventful new year! Bye

2010-09-02T00:57:00.001+01:00

Hey just spent the last few days settling back into normal Congresbury life, but still haven't got access to Internet, but I have found this cool app which will allow me to do it on my iPhone, which is a bonus, and I can finally start blogging up to date! Anyway I have just finished tidying up my room and car, and also studio today so haven't really had time to enjoy the mysterious sun which always seems to pop up around September time lately, but yeah, I'm gearing myself up for a busy start to the college year, although I still don't know when we officially start or when we do all the admin stuff! Perhaps I should go through my mounds of post! But me thinks it's next week?! I hope all you readers have had a nice holiday and it's not long now until we can all have a huge gossip and catch up, see you soon!

2010-08-15T22:46:00.000+01:00

Hello all not a very interesting day to report on, basically I have just watched DVDs, played Wii and created some interesting optical illusion shapes which I will attach at to this post. I really love doing these patterns, and it keeps me occupied for hours, lol! Perhaps I should do something a bit arty with them!? Anyway, chat soon, bye for now!

2010-08-12T14:45:00.002+01:00

hey all, just thought i would blog as i am sat near a computer and have access to the Internet, which is a rarity these last couple of week, just to let everyone know i am fine, given the circumstances, and I'm really sorry i have not had contact with anyone, its just been really difficult to try and fit everything in. I spoke to Sue the other day, at work of all places, i heard her before i even saw her, lol, and she said she was going to organise something, maybe Bristol, dunno whats happening about the London trip we have to do for Kate, does anybody else know? or perhaps that has done it?. I really wanna meet up and do something arty, as I'm getting withdrawal symptoms, so phone me if anybody is organising anything, i will definitely come, regardless!! hope everyone else is good and having a fruitful art existence, i haven't read the posts you have all done but i will catch up as soon as i have a regular contact with the Internet. i will chat soon hopefully to everyone, I'm in Bristol tomorrow and probs will get my iPhone, which i still haven't got yet! grrr, so i will probably have a new number, but i will make sure everybody gets it! right, I'm waffling, bye for now!

2010-08-10T12:08:00.000+01:00

Hello all, I just finished reading a book I got yesterday on Keith Haring, and found it totally engrossing and extraordinary, because 'street art' is not soothing I usually look at, and I especially don't look at very graphical and comic style art either. The thing I was most intrigued by was the fact that even though Harings work seems very simple is is engrossed with bundles of iconography and symbology, that must be understood in the context of when and where they were created. Initially we just see iconic simplified images, which look very commercial, and this was something that Haring really danced along the verge of, commercialism vs high end art, and how you can achieved both, but without losing the certain sense of style or individuality. On the contrary to common belief, Harings work is far more than just simplified graffiti scribblings, they are responses to the world at the time of inception. "Haring became a voyeur of American society and acted as a medium that everyday absorbed and processed inspirations before disseminating them via artistic statements" (Haring, Kolossa, pg 7, Taschen Publishing). Whether is was creating images that shocked the audiences about nuclear activity, political unrest or his constant struggle with HIV and AIDs, he does it in a style that makes the issues seem that more shocking and as a result leaves the viewer questioning and contemplating ideas.

I think he is a very interesting artist to look at due to the fact that he did become highly successful both on a commercial level but also on a art elitist level. He started of being a little bit of a 'bad boy' by grafting, but it worked as a sort of marketing technique, more up to date this has worked with people like Banksy, Once he started getting recognised, that was then when he started to sell his work, and started making more of a 'financial' gain from his work, but still managing to stay true to his beliefs and ideas. Getting yourself out there in very quirky little ways, increases your reconcilability and builds a buzz around your work, networking is the key!

I really enjoyed the book and definitely recommend it as a fairly short read, but full of very useful information.

Other than this I haven't really done very much else, I'm just counting the days until I get back home and start getting back into the swing of things, I don't want to come back in September and have not done anything arty, so my time is running out, but I will achieved something, even if it is just doing some drawing or painting. Bye for now!

2010-08-02T23:05:00.000+01:00

Spent today in Weston looking at the iPhones and various other things to spend my money on. I also went to have a look at a couple of MG soft top cars and saw a lovely grey model, which I am eery interested in getting, it just depends on what the insurance cost are going to be, let's hope it's not too expensive as I would really like to upgrade my car now, and feel as if I deserve it given the crap last few months I have had. Hope tomorrow proves fruitful on the online issuance searching world, bye for now.

2010-08-01T12:00:00.000+01:00

Just thought I would start to blog on here on my new ipad and then email all the notes online to the blog. I have spent the last couple of weeks cooped up in a pokey little flat and cannot believe how well we have all coped. It's small, and very crowded but we are going to be home in a few weeks so all is good. I have loathed not having the Internet as it has ment that I have not kept up to date with everything, but I am doing my best, and I will be online soon, clogging up Everybody's post feeds soon! Mark my words, I will be back! Bye for now, I have no idea how everybody else is, due to the lack of internet but I hope everybody I having a nice holiday! Bye for now, until week meet again!

2010-07-04T00:49:00.001+01:00

Just finished work and i havent blogged in the last few days because i have no internet so im stealing works! lol! Not much has happened this week, but hoping that the next few weeks are going to be more interesting! Bye for now!

2010-06-20T23:09:00.005+01:00

Well, well, well, what a hectic weekend, I haven't stopped working since Friday, but have lots of wonga, good times. If i never see another dog or chicken again, it will be too soon! Anyway, I haven't much else to comment on, but I have come across Nigel Cookes work a couple of times now and thought it was worth a mention. His work is a bit surreal, with lonely looking figures within desolate landscapes. I especially like his use of colour, which is very pastel and subtle, and tends to be of the blueish/turquoise nature. I also like the fact that his paintings are very large, which seems to accentuate the atmospheric qualities.

Experience - 2009 - Oil On Linen - 220 x 220cm

2010-06-16T21:19:00.004+01:00

This advert made me laugh a lot, but it may be slightly controversial depending on how you take it and respond to it! A very clever though out advert! I do like the Bulldog though, no surprise there!

2010-06-13T23:54:00.003+01:00

I found a really interesting artist, Walton Ford, and thought i would blog. I'm going to be a lazy blogger and copy from another website, wikipedia to be exact, but i just don't have the time and i am enjoying a rock cake and tea at the moment and only have one typing hand! I absolutely love his work and am wondering whether i should buy his book, tis £40, and treat myself? anyway, here's an extract about his work:

Bula Matari - 1998 - watercolor, gouache, ink and pencil on paper
153.7 x 304.5 cm

"Walton Ford (born 1960) is an American artist who paints
large scale watercolors in the style of Audubon's naturalist illustrations. Each painting is a meticulous study in flora and fauna, while being filled with symbols, clues and jokes referencing a multitude of texts from colonial literature and folktales to travel guides. Ford's paintings are complex narratives that critique the history of colonialism, industrialism, politics, natural science, and man's effect on the environment.

Walton Ford appropriates the crisp, descriptive style of 19th-century naturalists and artists—John James Audubon, Karl Bodmer, George Catlin—but he puts their conventions to work in an investigation of natural history itself.

Re-purposing a field-guide aesthetic, Ford composes dense allegories that make sometimes pointed, sometimes sidelong allusions to everything from conservationism and consumption to war, politics and imperialism.

While staying uncannily faithful to the natural history mode, Ford paints on a much larger scale, producing outsize watercolors with epic compositions. He renders his scenes with operatic drama, capturing moments when the natural order changes, such as the last member of a species struggling just before extinction." Source: Wikipedia

2010-06-11T20:53:00.001+01:00

Love this video and definitely is worth a blog!

2010-06-10T01:38:00.002+01:00

I am part of an installation! O, the fun we have at college!

2010-06-08T23:00:00.000+01:00

Found a postcard today advertising the graphics/illustration company Peskimo. Absolutely love there work so decided to blog them. check them out!

www.peskimo.com

Moodberry - "Yeti Schmeti" TShirt Design

2010-06-07T23:08:00.004+01:00

Today i am going to blog an image by Rick Smith, who is somebodies work that i found at the
Affordable Art Fair. I really like the very simple idea and the use of the rabbit as a sort of logo, as they appear in most of his work. I also like the very whimsical feel to the images and the very simple and effective decorated shapes along the bottom.

Love Is Like a Butterfly - Gouache and Oil Pastel - 95 x 75cm

2010-06-05T23:30:00.005+01:00

Well this post is a milestone, its post 100! I cannot believe i have been sad enough to keep this up, and now, the strangest feeling is that if i don't post, then something feels wrong, i am a blog-junkie! Anyway, what shall i write to commemorate this iconic moment? I have had a busy working day, and am on a high and full of energy, perhaps because i have just has a mocha, but i have been in a cheery mood all day for some reason. I think i will blog a few images of what i have achieved this year and produced this year. I am very proud to say that i now have started to call myself an 'artist', and have finally got the courage from somewhere deep within to start getting myself out there. Without this course i would not be as confident as i am now. I think i should say a few thank yous, even though its a bit cheesy, but i have really enjoyed this year and have made some good, hopefully life long friends. Firstly thanks the 1st year crew, we have all got on so well, and i think as a group we have achieved tremendous things. We have bonded and battled the elements to get where we are, and its definitely been one of the highlighted years of my education so far. I hope we all come back next year, because i think it will be a huge loss if we end up loosing someone. I also would like to say a huge thanks to the tutors! yes they have been a huge pain the ass sometimes, but without that upset i don't think i personally would have come on leaps and strides like i have done, and also i have given just as bad as what i have got! They have awoken a the inner beast inside me, and i am out for blood :) I really mean it though, Thanks to everyone, its been a life changing experience!! Now there is only a few more things to say: Keep reading blogs, researching, selling yourself to potential clients and expressing yourselves through the means of creative dance.......i mean art, lol. bye for now and enjoy the summer!

Ten Week Project

Commission Project

PS. this post is not the end, its the beginning of new and better things to come!! don't panic!

2010-06-04T23:00:00.000+01:00

I found an interesting artist today. His name is Chuck Close and he paints amazingly interesting portraits, using a technique where he builds up the images using blocks of colour. His images up close look very abstract, and only when you stand back can you really get the impression of the face. I really love his work, and would love to try out this technique of building up coloured blocks/forms to get an overall image.

Self Portrait

2008

Oil on Canvas

182.9 x 152.4 cm

2010-06-03T23:33:00.003+01:00

Just a few interesting artists today as i am tiered!

First is Fred Tomaselli who's work is very interesting and decorative. Tomaselli's paintings include medicinal herbs, prescription pills and hallucinogenic plants alongside images cut from books and magazines: flowers, birds, butterflies, arms, legs and noses, which are combined into dazzling patterns that spread over the surface of the painting like a beautiful virus or growth. He uses an explosion of color and combines it with a basis in art history. His style usually involves collage, painting, and/or glazing. He seals the collages in resin after gluing them down and going over them with different varnishes. Tomaselli sees his paintings and their compendium of data as windows into a surreal, hallucinatory universe.

Glassy, 2006
Mixed media, acrylic, and resin on wood panel
30.5 x 30.5 cm

I found this other artist also called Gabriel Orozco, and i specifically like his Mobile Matrix (2006) piece. Its basically a whale skeleton which he has draw concentric circles upon, but somehow its just really mesmerising. I have always loved museums and especially the intricacy of the way bones have been reassembled. I love the fact that this piece has been created as an installation and that the piece has been put into a non-museum environment, its definitely conceptual art, which i am now becoming more interested in.

I found a good website and video specifically about the piece, check it out here:

http://blog.art21.org/2008/09/18/gabriel-orozco-mobile-matrix/

Mobile Matrix (2006)

2010-06-02T23:00:00.000+01:00

Well there isn't much to blog about the days events, but here is a few nice images of artists i liked at the Affordable Art Fair we went to a few weeks ago and a few other odds-'n-sods:

Frea Buckler
Butterfly Circle 3

2008

60 x 60 cm

Screenprint

I liked this image due to the colourful nature of the piece, i also like the fact that the butterfly creates a mesmerising pattern that draws you in and makes you stare in wonderment. I think it's a little bit of a Hirst 'rip-off' and don't really classify it as 'ground breaking', but the artists has cashed in and commercialised herself, which is what the fair was all about.

Steve Johnston

Big Enough Umbrella

Oil & Acrylic On Board

24 x 30"

This piece i feel is a little twee, but i like the contrast between the abstract background and the fairly detailed foreground elements. Its more of an aesthetically pleasing image than one that challenges and preconceived alreadyness of fact ideas.

The advert is from the Kai & Sunny advertising illustration/art

organisation. I find there work very whimsical and decorative, and almost Arts and Crafts/Art Nouveau in style, which is very interesting and definitely works as something to grab you attention like an advertisement.

The other image is by Tom Lewis who i decided to look into a bit further after watching Junior Apprentice. I really like the sort of illustrative, quirky nature of Lewis's work and it really reminded me of the Art From The New World exhibition i visited last month.

Craig is not very good with new people, Giclee print, 30 x 30 cm (edition: 200)

2010-05-31T23:14:00.019+01:00

Well I haven’t really had a very interesting few days; all I have seem to have done is work! One task that I have quite enjoyed today was updating my portfolio using my favourite life drawing images from this year. I have also tried to sort out all the rest of the stuff, and as I write this post I am surrounded by art, it’s everywhere and taking over! Ahh, I feel a huge purge of my room is eminent to regain some form of order. I must admit I have really relished not having to do much coursework, and am definitely catching up on sleep and all the things that I put off over the last few weeks. I have especially loved walking the dogs without having to worry about being anywhere or worrying about deadlines. I am definitely going to saver the weeks ahead, before the hectic New Year starts in September.

Well I have done a lot of research over the last couple of days and have found many new and exciting artists which I have found really appealing and inspiring. The most interesting artists I have found is Kirsty Whiten. She produces very eerie, but very comprehensive drawings of people and animals, in ‘comical’ surreal positions and compositions. I especially loved her monkey images and have attached them all to this blog. I don’t know why I found them so interesting, perhaps because they seem so peaceful which juxtaposes the whole nature of what it is to be a monkey, I can just see them jumping up and letting out a huge shriek. They seem very sacrificial also, and the combination of object and figure is something that really interests me also. I have looked at this combine idea in previous projects, and perhaps, as I like both figurative elements, but also like collecting objects and transposing them into art (for example my recent final project I have just completed on my current course) this is something I should follow through and look at next year. I feel technically, finishing my current course, that I have reached a level where I can start producing ‘ground braking‘ (with want for a better phrase!) art. Who knows, I may just do something completely different, perhaps conceptual art? I have no idea, there so many choices and options? Ahh, anyway this is what the artist has said about her ‘monkey’ images; I just thought it was interesting idea conceptually:

“There is a certain zeal in the way that humans set themselves apart from the rest of nature. To me there is just a continuation, we are animal, we have drives and instincts that always flow just under the surface of civilization. I am really interested in this line between human and beast; language, culture, and tool-making were all once held up as examples of what makes us unique, and have
all been shown to exist in other animals.

Death to me is a state of non-being. All of the hopes and prayers lavished on these monkeys are the desire of the living to create meaning and continuation; just as with religion. I have
none, and I am totally intrigued and touched by this need in people. My technique, the level of detail and time spent on rendering surfaces has always been a kind of reverence.

I think of these monkey relics as Darwinian saints and sacrifices, adorned with the futile beauty of trying to reach across the veil.”

Anyway I'm going to leave it there, buy for now, chat soon!

Lace Monkey

pencil and watercolour on Somerset velvet paper 57x76cm 2009

Flower Monkey

pencil and watercolour on Somerset velvet paper 57x76cm 2009

Ribbon Monkey

pencil, ink, watercolour and household paint on paper 35x70cm 2009

Bug Monkey

(60 x 80 cm) 2010

Vessel Monkey

Blood Monkey

pencil and watercolour on paper - 60x80cm - 2010

Leg Monkey

pencil and watercolour on paper 60x80cm 2009

Prayer Monkey

pencil, ink, watercolour and household paint on paper 35x70cm 2009

2010-05-28T23:18:00.002+01:00

Thought this piece was a little comical and was worth a blog, as i do quite like octopuses (<--hope this word is right?!).

Bushra Fakhoury
Octopus Dance
2007
Bronze
67 x 64 x 41 cm

Toad Wallpaper....poop! poop!

2010-05-26T01:09:00.002+01:00

2010-05-24T23:28:00.003+01:00

('Love Poem (10 minutes after the end of gravity)', 2005, flashe and house paint on tyvek, 14 x 75ft)

Well i haven't had a very interesting day, i have spent most of it sifting through notes and books trying to gather information on Expressionism, Nietzsche, Shopenhauer, Kokoschka, Auerbach, and various other art related mumbo-jumbo, but i just don't seem to have got anywhere with the writing of the report, i just don't know how i am going to manage this, and what also scares me is that we have to do a summary presentation all for Thursday! ahhhh!

Anyway we are getting our grade back tomorrow for the ten week project we handed in about a week and a half ago, so not sure whether i am looking forward to the day or not! I have just done some research for our six week drawing project, and found it really difficult to find artists that explore wallpaper, or installation art looking at repeat imaging. I have found one artist, Adam Cvijanovic, that looks at creating huge wall-hanging type artworks, which are quite interesting, but its not really relating to my project (I have attached an image of his work). I have had a look at M.C. Escher's work for its pattern use, so i think that's enough, tbh i don't have much time to do anymore, the critical theory report is just eating up the time. Anyway, im going to bed as i have to be up early, bye for now!

2010-05-23T22:33:00.003+01:00

Well just a quick blog post, i haven't stopped all weekend. I have been working since Friday night and have spent the days trying to read books on various artists and on the topic of expressionism, but i haven't got very far on the essay as i have been literally not been able to concentrate as it is just too hot. I just don't know how i am going to approach this report as i don't really know what one is, and every time i try and write something, i don't know how it relates to each section set out in the guideline! I'm seriously thinking that its not going to get done in time! bad times! :( Anyway i am going to spend a few hours on it now, and go into college tomorrow as i think i will concentrate better there!

I have attached a photo of Ninny-Nancy in a swimming pool cooling down, as i thought it was rather cute! I promise she got in there herself and nobody needs to phone the RSPCA!! lol. Anyway, bye for now, enjoy the sun while it lasts!

2010-05-20T23:24:00.003+01:00

Where's Joe, Bo, Sue and Charlotte?? We were papped at the Art From the New World Show, can you find us? lol

2010-05-19T22:27:00.004+01:00

I was Internet surfing and just thought this artist was worth a blog! Josh Keyes does some really interesting surreal animal/urban juxtaposed paintings - check out his site http://www.joshkeyes.net/

London's Olympic 2012 Mascots

2010-05-19T22:05:00.001+01:00

London's Olympic 2012 mascots are revealed: Wenlock and Mandeville unveiled as the 'faces' of the Games - Mail Online
I just found out that these are our mascots for the Olympics, I'm not sure whether i like them, there just a bit too conceptual i think! what do others think? perhaps they will grow on me!

2010-05-18T22:54:00.007+01:00

Well what can i say, it has been a very hectic and busy last few weeks and i finally have a spare moment to blog! yippee! Well I just thought i would blog a few things about last weeks hand in date for the ten week project. I have attached an image of my final piece, which i must say did turn out really well in my eyes. It was nearly exactly what i was hoping for. I was aiming to create a very graphic looking image, with a sense of structure to it, but i also wanted to combine lots of processes and start to layer it up. Within the piece there is lots of autobiographical elements, collected and stolen, recorded, rubbed, collaged, stencilled, screen printed, drawn and last but not least printed. One of my main aims with the piece was to try and capture rhythm and capture the very structured routine of my life, and pin point certain points and experiences i have throughout the day, for example the teapot (of which there are two) illustrate and mark the time is use this object once in the morning, one in the evening. Other elements include a calendar which depicts the passing of time, and the duration of the project, and various scraps of discarded mono-screen prints represent the process of technique which i have gone through to get to this stage of a 'final' piece. All the elements seem very dull and boring on there own, but i think that the way the have all combined together really make for quite an interesting overall image. I really enjoyed the project, and hopefully i will develop it further, perhaps incorporating other print process and other techniques to give more of a diversity to the piece. There was an idea where i just continue the piece of a colossal scale and do a huge long piece and create a sort of installation style piece, which is another idea i really quite like the sound of.

Anyway, on to something a little more interesting, or not interesting as the next few paragraphs continue. We went gallery visiting the other day and we visited two main events. One was to the Museum in Bristol where there has been a new exhibition opened which is called 'Art From the New World'. This exhibition for me was not enjoyed as much as potentially it could have been, as there was quite a few people there and i was being pushed from pillar to post as people were trying to listen to the talk given by some of the artists that are exhibiting - I have pure envy for Miss B, who's 'groupie' skills really came into good use, as she recorded the whole thing, well done!! lol! I initially felt a little uninspired by the pop-surrealism style work, but tonight i have look a few of the artists up and have found that the work is quite interesting once you start looking into it further. I think it is definitely worth another visit when its a little quieter as i perhaps will be able to to take in the ambiance of the whole thing and appreciate it more.

(Image - Aj Fosik)

The other event that we visited was the Affordable Art Fair. I found this a real struggle to get my head around, and through various chats about it today in the studio, i think i have got my head around the fact that this type of event looks not at 'ground breaking', original work, but looks at artwork that allows artists to sustain a living by, dare i say the dreaded 'c' word, by being commercially accessible, to people who perhaps do not know a lot about art but want to buy and enjoy art. I have no issue with the process of gaining money by producing work for the average Joe Bloggs, heck i even bought into it by purchasing a print and would produce a piece of work just to get a little wonga, but what i am about to say sounds like a contradiction. Why produce work that isn't different and the same old stuff others are churning out? I know this is what you have to do to make money, make stuff that sells, but is this selling your soul a little? Is this what you need to do to keep this profession sustainable? Its a double edged sword, and I'm in the middle balancing very carefully, I'm getting confused just thinking about this and trying to portray my ideas within this blog, so you can imagine what it feels like trying to crunch this information within my loaf and doing it within the real world! I can only speak for my own work. I want to produce work that challenges, inspires and excites audiences, if it sells then that is a plus, if not, who cares! I love doing it, and i will never stop doing it and i am very fortunate to be able to do it. I have decided that i am just going to saver every moment i can until that dreaded day i get kicked out, on the other side of this course, into the pit of 'real life'!

Anyway i think i have said enough for one day, and hopefully this is the regeneration of this recently very sparsely updated blog! watch this space.....

2010-05-14T23:08:00.004+01:00

Well it has been a very hectic last few days, we have just handed in our ten week project yesterday, and have finished my commission today (I have added a photo), and am quite proud of it. We are going gallery visiting tomorrow, we are going to Bristol Museum and the Affordable Art Fair so should be quite fun, and i will blog the days findings tomorrow. Anyway, i am going to leave it there, i know this post is not long, but i haven't really anything else to blog. chat soon!

2010-05-12T00:01:00.003+01:00

Just a quick blog, i am very stressed, ten week project is in on Thursday and i am totally panicking. The picture is of my commission so far, progress is small, but its emerging, anyway, got to get back to work!! bye

2010-05-09T14:59:00.002+01:00

I just thought i would blog a the happy face of Mr Toad, which i drew a few weeks ago in our life drawing sessions! I haven't time for a proper post as i should be doing the ten week project and commission final piece, so i will leave it there, and will post soon! bye for now!

2010-05-04T22:21:00.003+01:00

Well what a day, i have spent the whole day in the screen print room trying to get a grip on the ten week project. I have many prints, of my little pooch Princess, i just need to now combine them and produce a piece of work that looks similar to my initial piece, but is some how a development of my ideas! somehow?! ahh! Its all very confusing. I think i am going to approach it like i always do, be prolific, and somehow i will come up with an idea that draws all my ideas together. I did have a spark of an idea where by i could produce a number of these 'timeline-like' pieces of work, and then place them physically within my life. Initially i though house ect, but then i thought i could perhaps place them within places where i work and visit, and then take photos. This would then open the gates to something a little more conceptual, and could potentially be a little more interesting than something that is very literal and a biographical depiction. I am worried though, that i am over complicating this whole project, and i didn't really have time, so i am taking the view that i can only do my best! Anyway, we have Critical Theory tomorrow, and i have already started the essay the other day, so I have had a really relaxed evening, and have spent it looking at the late Alexander McQueen fashion shows, and also researched a few interesting fonts that i can use for the typography elements within my final piece. I think what i need to do now is get a good nights sleep, and wake up refreshed for tomorrow, as something tells me that its going to be very confusing, which in turn makes it very mentally exhausting! Anyway i have attached an image of a garment that i saw in one of McQueen's shows (Fall/Winter 2009), I just loved how the model strutted it down the runway, it made me lol! anyway, bye for now!!

2010-05-03T21:14:00.004+01:00

Well I have just spent the last couple of hours starting my essay, and just thought i would post it because it all about me, and that is what this blog is about. I also feel that i don't reflect on my work very much, only others that i have found whilst searching the world wide web. I hope I'm on the correct lines, but if not, I'm sure I will be corrected! here goes:

To start I am going to look at the things I like to do as an artist. My work looks at my life, my experiences and my response to the mood and atmosphere both surrounding the subject initially, but also through the process of creating a piece of work. I like to use colour, and much of my work is very bright and bold and occurs very quickly and is of the moment. I try to achieve as close to an instant product as I can. I work on a couple of things at a time. I have developed this as a technique to keep me focused, without this I tend to procrastinate and become stagnant, and my creative process becomes disrupted and I become stressed and enter a vicious cycle of inefficiency.

To start I am going to look at the technique and process I tend to gravitate towards when I produce an artwork. I have chosen a piece of artwork that I personally like, and also a piece of work that I think illustrates what I do, and how I approach making an image.

The piece of work that I have decided to look at was produced a number of years ago, but I think it shows, and is still relevant, to how I produce work technically right now upon this course. Within this work I looked two dancers and aimed to create a piece that tried to capture the physical motion of the characters and also the atmospheric qualities of the whole scene. I used a paint undercoat, filling a predawn line underneath and then overworked oil pastel marks on top.

By looking at this artwork, it suggests that I like to use a layering technique when I approach making. This is very relevant within all my art practices. I primarily use paint, and this lends itself well to layering and piecing together colour, texture and movement. I have also developed other ways of working that uses this technique of building up layers that produce and overall image. For example I have recently started to use charcoal: rubbing away each layer with tissues, hands and rubbers, so I get a suggestion of form, which I then overwork further. This creates the tones of the subject, and when all the layers emerge further, the whole image takes shape and is revealed. I also tend to use techniques in other processes that produce layers. The screen-print processes really interest me and rely on layering to produce interesting works, and within ceramic I tend to layer glazes, and add elements on top of each other to achieve the overall effect I desire.

Another element I like to capture within my work is texture, which is naturally achieved through this layering technique. I tend to have very low relief textures within my work, but it is definitely more prevalent within some of my other works, where I have added plaster to get a much exaggerated surface texture.

2010-05-02T23:11:00.003+01:00

Well hello, I haven't really anything interesting to blog, but decided to come on here and write something as i haven't in a few days, and I'm having a little withdrawal!! lol. Anyway i have just watched Modern Master: Andy Warhol on BBC, and am about to make some notes on it for our research files, and i have also watched the series finale of Heroes, which was a little disappointing tbh, but oh well! I have contemplated my essay today as i was sorting out my loft space and i am going to attack the first couple of paragraphs tomorrow, and get up to date on various other admin activities. I know i will be ridiculed as being a 'keener', but i was really hoping to get into college tomorrow and do some more commission, as time is running out fast, but then i found out it was bank holiday weekend, and was really disappointed! I haven't been able to do anything at home because it is all at college, which is rather annoying! Anyway, i am now going to write some notes on Warhol, enjoy some choccy trifle and then go to bed, and accumulate some energy for a food shopping trip tomorrow: its going to be a huge task, as we need everything, our cupboards are bare!! lol! Bye!

2010-04-28T22:17:00.003+01:00

Well today was as normal as a Wednesday could get. Terrance in the morning and life drawing in the afternoon. We discussed the essay this morning and we have been told it has to be in in a few weeks, which is not good, as we have lots of other things to hand in around the same time. In the drawing session i managed to produce a charcoal and pencil image of Mr Toad from Wind in the Willows, looking at a small figurine i had, which unfortunately has now lost a leg, due to me knocking it off the table! I was really proud of the resulting drawing and will blog a photo soon!

I have attached an image by Taichi Nishida. It's an illustration depicting the saying: 'Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained'. I really liked it when i went through an illustration book this afternoon, looking for inspiration, and just thought i would blog it.

I have a lot planned for tomorrow. I want to finish off my autobiographical piece that i started on Monday. I also want to get into the print room and do some mono-drawings which i can utilise within my ten week project. I also plan to make some more screens, so that i can also screen print a few more layers upon older images and start drawing my project altogether conceptually. I am therefore going to be a busy, busy bee tomorrow! Anyway i am going to leave it there, bye for now!

Modern Masters - New Series!!

2010-04-27T21:34:00.000+01:00

BBC One Programmes - Modern Masters: A series charting the life and explaining the work of modern artists Picasso, Matisse, Dali and Warhol, and looking at their influence on contemporary art, design and architecture."

Just saw an advertisement for a new series. It starts on Sunday at 9pm, and i thought it would be interesting to watch, it kicks off with Andy Warhol!!

2010-04-27T20:56:00.005+01:00

Well, id like to say i got loads of things done today, as we have end of course deadlines in less than three weeks, but i achieved absolutely diddly-squat!! bad times!! anyway, we did manage to have a 5 hour psycho-biography discussion all about our lives and habitus, which was really interesting and has prepared me for tomorrows critical theory session. I have attached a few images showing my progression through my commission final piece, for Woolmers Kennels and Cattery. I haven't done much of it, but its getting there!! I have nothing more to say and i will save the long post for tomorrow, as i will have a lot to discuss, because i probably will end up being 'Terranced'!

2010-04-26T12:08:00.003+01:00

I'm at college and have just stopped working on my commission for lunch. Its going really well and i have taken photos at various stages for my journal, and i will post them up on here as soon as i get to a decent computer that will allow me to do so, damn studio mac!!! I have altered the left hand panel slightly by adding a few more lines to both the human and dog, to suggest form, and accentuate the movement, and i now think it looks much better than my practice pieces. I'm now deliberating whether i should stop doing this and move onto my ten week project, but then again I'm set up for the commission, ahhhh i have so much to do and no time to do it!!!!!! Anyway, I'm now going to check my facebook and then knuckle down to some more hard work!! bye for now!!

2010-04-25T21:06:00.008+01:00

Well hello, i just thought i would blog as i have not done it in a week, and i feel a little naughty for not doing it as i made a vow that i would do it everyday, but this week has been filled with various time eating tasks, and i just have not had the time to make a decent post. Anyway, twas the first week back at college and i have amazingly done very little, even though we have to hand in all work in 3/4 weeks time. I am slightly bricking it now as i have got so much to do and very little time to do it. First of all i have to do my commission that has now been hovering over me for the last 8 months. I just have not had the time to really go at it, but i will definitely start it tomorrow, and hopefully will get the best part of it done, which will then be one less thing on my mind. The other thing i have to do now is produce some presentations/essay type writings for my critical theory part of my course. I'm finding it really difficult as its all about me, which sounds as if it should be really simple, but when you are asked about yourself, its really hard to put into words/images what your values and beliefs are. Its a little bit of a drudge, but we have been assured by our tutor that we will gain a better understanding of ourselves and produce better work as a result. I'm slowly but surely getting there, and hopefully it will become really clear when he goes through my work, and psychologically analyse me. We also have a new project set, i know crazy times!! within the life drawing sessions. Its all about 'us' and producing work related to us. We started it this week and it wont take up much time, as we do it within the Wednesdays allotted times. My Thursday project has more direction now, and i finally have bits and pieces that i can now combine together. My basic idea is to combine print, frottage and text, upon a long piece of paper, and then print over the top, perhaps a map showing a journey. The work is suppose to represent the journeys in my life, and the things i come across, experience, feel, hear and enjoy. I feel really pumped about it and just want to get it going, as it has gone a little stagnant over the holidays. The holidays, in my mind were a little too long, and i have definitely lost my artists mo-jo over the three weeks. but its now back and I'm raring to go for the last few weeks.

Right enough about the weeks events and the work i have procrastinated over, and now to something a little more analytical. I found a few artists the other day whilst surfing the net: Thomas Shutte, Yinka Shonibare, and Steve Mack (an illustrator). Shuttes work for me is a little hit and miss. I love some of his sculpture, but some of it i tend to get a little confused about. I love his abstract Torso piece (2005). I just love the way this piece looks as if it is coiling and wriggling, and just love the way he has severed the arms and legs of and this has not altered this movement. I also feel it gives the piece an awkward, and uncomfortable feeling which just accentuates the movement. The piece, shown above is by Yinka Shonibare, and the reason i looked at this work specifically is because this reelects how i want to approach my 10 week project. I like the predominantly white and black elements and how he contrasts this with flashes of colour and pattern here and there. I also like the way he has added and incorporated text, in the form of collage newsprint and also utilised collage cut-out elements. He has also incorporated shape, and texture through drawings and mark making. Overall i just love this piece and this is definitely the way i envisaged my work looking initially. I however, in my own studies and work, want to add more colourful elements and make my piece more complex, and less 'graphicy' simple. I want to fuse Rouchenberg's 'Combine' paintings which Shonibares graphic style painting, and create a way of working that is responsive to my own life and sensitive to my own own skills and qualities. (Shonibare's piece is called 'Climate Shit Drawing 1, 2008)

On a very different note, i have also started to look at illustrators and children's book illustrators. I just love the job that these people have, although they have the most difficult job, I believe. They must keep the imagination and attention of children, and this can be a very difficult job, but if done successfully, its must be the most satisfying accomplishment.

Anyway i have spent enough time on here and my back is starting to ache from sitting up and typing this post. I am now going to watch Heroes and then get ready for college tomorrow. Bye for now!

2010-04-19T22:21:00.005+01:00

Well today has been a little hectic. I have sorted out the first part of my Student Finance, i have recorded my day for my final project and i have made a start on my critical theory presentation. I'm also ready for college tomorrow and quite looking forward to getting back into the swing of things but i am not really looking forward to getting up early! An added bonus is that there will be road works on my normal route, so i have to leave earlier and change my route, yay!

I have attached an image of a sculpture by Jim Skull. I find his sculptures really interesting due to the complex juxtaposition of the object and how its presented. In a sense skulls can be seen as being quite a dark, sinister and a symbol of death/destruction/tragedy. What Jim Skull does is make them very decorative and 'attractive', which is quite a peculiar feeling to experience. I just think they are really mesmerising, and i just want to look them, I'm sort of transfixed. There is obviously a close connection to Damien Hirst's piece For the Love of God, and diamond encrusted skull, which is equally quite interesting when you try to decipher the meaning.

Anyway, i am now going to have an early night as its going to be a busy day tomorrow. later's!

2010-04-18T23:44:00.004+01:00

Hey welcome along, what a day! Sun was shining and the dogs and me disported on the Millennium Green, soaking up the rays and enjoying the last day of unstructured heaven, stroll on Monday and scheduled hell. As well a frolicking and generally lounging, i am quite proud of myself as i got a little artwork done today, good times!! I have started the 'All About Me' presentation that we were set for Critical Theory, and reading through the extensive guide sheet, I was pleasantly surprised that i understood, to an extent, what i have to do, shock horror! I have been procrastinating over it now for nearly 3 weeks and am hopeful it wont take long to do, but those are famous last words!! :) Anyway i spent some of today doing a little frottage and now have loads of pieces i can hack up and mess about with, the next stride is to start collecting and figuring out what i need to collate next: text, photos, drawings, colours, objects. Without this i am a little stuck. I have done a little research but have not come up with anything dramatically influential, which is a little annoying and another necessary job i have to do. I think tomorrow i will record everything i do, times, photos, frottage and see what i get. I know its a little OCD, but i need to do it or i will never do it, and its only for one day!

Anyway i have seen a program that might be interesting for all you readers out there. Its called 'Goldsmiths, but is it art?' (BBC 4) (its probably available on iplayer), i found it quite interesting and it was all about curating there 2009 final show. There is another episode on tomorrow (Mon at 9pm), and what i gather its going to be about life and art after the education bit, and carving a pathway and transcending into the Artists Community and making and sustaining a career. Its going to be case study based, but i think it may be worth a watch!

Anyway i have attached a photo of a very slothful lady in my life, my showgirl lapping up the rays, and who says big girls aren't beautiful?! lol! I hope everyone had a most enjoyable day, week, holiday, and that bloody Icelandic volcano has not been too much of a pain in the arse, although it has been strangely quite over my house, so that's a positive i suppose! I look forward to meeting and greeting all readers soon, bye for now!

2010-04-18T01:32:00.002+01:00

Just got in from work, had a lovely day in the sunshine and am going to enjoy my last day off, as i have no work, until Monday and routine kicks in again! I perhaps should do some college work, but it depends on what mood i am in! Hope everyone has had a nice fruitful holiday! See you all very soon! Bye

Picture Close Up

2010-04-14T00:17:00.001+01:00

Anita Jeram
Boy being pulled along on a skateboard by a bull dog.
2003. 165mm x 160mm. Watercolour

I just loved this image so i blogged it!!

2010-04-13T22:48:00.007+01:00

well well well, i have just realised i have not blogged in a few days, so here goes. I have had a fantastic few days converting our wasted loft space into a 'functional room'. I have also made myself a little space, which will now be known as my studio!! yay! We have also made space for a games/music/playroom, so the whole family will benefit. We have attached a brand new folding ladder, and will be painting/carpeting it soon, just to make it look less like a loft, and more like a room! i am really proud of me and my brothers work, as we have gone at it now for three days, non-stop, and its starting to come together. Other than that i have also enjoyed the sunshine with the dogs, but unfortunately i have not done any college related work. There has been a few obstacles in my way: I cannot get on with my commission as i am not happy with the overall composition still, and i need to try and get it blown up on the OHP at college, just so i can get a visual idea of how its going to look. My PowerPoint, for practice and theory, is worrying me slightly, as i have no real 'new work' to base it on, and i don't wish to use any from previous years as that is a little pointless and isn't really addressing the task at hand! I have however done a little more drawing for my final project, and have a better idea about what, and whom i am going to do my second commission for, so its not all doom and gloom. This week, i fear, is going to be a little stressful as i have also got to go to work, and have everyday life to fit into my schedule! But it will work out well in the end.

Anyway, now for something more arty. I have attached an illustration by Owen Brozman, who i found whilst looking through other artist website links. I like his work as i like clean black line against a white background, but i also like the randomness of his work, and the combo of man made elements contrasted with more natural elements. Its also very comic book in style, which i love, and others that look at this way of working, which i also quite like are Roy Lichtenstein and also Tim Sale who produces the Isaac Mende's paintings, for the series Heroes. I love this very stylised way of working, and i would love to have a go, but i never get around to doing it, which is a shame.

I will leave it there as i have a few things to do before i go to bed, bye for now!

Tim Sale - Trainwreck

Owen Brozman - Null

2010-04-10T22:28:00.002+01:00

well hello there, just a little post to remain current, i have spent most of the day sorting out our loft and placing boards down, so we can have a 'chill-out' area and enjoy the space, instead of just having it full of junk! i haven't done anything arty except a little more frottage rubbings from various surfaces. I really have to start getting back into the work frame of mind as i just haven't got the time anymore to procrastinate, i only have a week left of the holidays to get up to date!! I hope to try and get all of the loft done tomorrow, and hopefully i will have time to collate my frottage rubbings and make a montage image, but i don't know whether i will get the latter done, as i am very good at putting things off, and interlarding (my new word of the day) life, work and art is a very difficult thing to do! anyway, i am shattered and I'm off to bed, bye for now!!

2010-04-08T23:21:00.004+01:00

Well i enjoyed the sunny, and relatively warm day today, and i have got a little excited about the fact that its starting to be a little more summery, which means lots of glorious sunshine and slowing down a little, as the days are a bit longer!! I haven't had a very art productive day, but i went to B&Q and got a few wallpaper samples, which i have taken frottage rubbings from, and they have turned out really interesting (they are of a small embossed bird). I really like the idea of getting a frottage rubbing and then overworking, perhaps with a more detailed photographic screen print. This idea, combined with lots of layers/textures/papers/texts will become the basics of my work, i think!! The picture i have added was produced by an Ipod app i have, and i just really liked it, so i blogged it for decoration. Other than that i have nothing else to say, so i will leave it there!

2010-04-07T22:14:00.001+01:00

Well i have had a very relaxing, but expensive day in the sun today. I went to Clark's Village for most of the day as i have not been there in a few months, and i had a little extra money so i thought i would have a nice session getting rid of it as it has burned a very large hole in my pocket, lol. Anyway, as i was moving from shop to shop i realised that Chloe was doing her commission in the Saltrock store, and i decided to have a nosey and check it out!! I initially knew a bit of how it was going to look by her presentation, but i was absolutely flabbergasted when i saw it. It was bloody huge and her drawing and painting skills are amazing. It was, tbh the most interesting thing within the shop. If your in that area, go and see it!! Overall the day was a little disappointing as there was not a lot to buy, and the shop were a little bare, but i did get a few things: jumper, jeans, shoes and a swimming dragon (i will attach a photo soon!!). When we got home, we was greeted by a bloody huge great mess, as my dad was 'sorting' out the kitchen units, so i left him too it and walked the dogs, lol. So i have spent most of the evening dogging kitchen utensils, and as an added bonus i have no signal on my TV, so that is why i am blogging a little earlier than usual!!

I did have a looksy at one of my t-shirt designs i bought today, as i really like it. I have attached an image. It was done by Paul Smith, who is a fashion designer and it was designed for an organisation, found at whateverittakes.org. It looks like a good site, so check it out, and its for charity and the betterment of mankind!!

Anyway I'm going to leave it there and surf the web to see if i can find anything else that i find interesting!! Bye

2010-04-06T23:30:00.000+01:00

Hey, I'm just going to quickly post today, I found this artist/illustrator, Si Scott, a last year and i just really love the way he uses sinuous, simple line, often black and white. I have attached an image of a fish which i just love. He also uses a lot of sinuous lines using the shape of letters and text, and has inspired me to experiment with typography, which is something i want to include in my final project

2010-04-06T00:35:00.003+01:00

Well i cannot believe its been nearly two weeks since i was last a college, but i just cannot bring myself to go in. I just feel that i need the time off before i go back and end up working solidly for the remaining weeks of the course. I have done a little work within various folder, and attempted to finish the Student Finance section, but as with all these tedious jobs, you just procrastinate and find other things to do instead!! I have lots to do, and if i don't knuckle down, i just don't think i am gonna end up doing it, and this is a very serious predicament i will find myself in. So i am going to follow a list of things to do, and not leave it to the last minute!!
I haven't really had a very productive day, although i have managed to hang a chandelier type light fitting, with a gazillion crystal-type things on it and also measured up a new table that i think we are going to collect tomorrow, and this just proves how much of a procrastinator i am, i could have just let someone else do it. Anyway enough about the days events, i am going to get up early tomorrow and start sorting out these blasted mini-commissions i have going on, and then find another more meaty commission i can get my teeth into. I also plan to collect some objects for my life drawing class, and start collating my life for my final project. Its all a bit up in the air at the moment, but i will get there in the end. Anyway, that's enough for now, bye!

2010-04-04T23:59:00.000+01:00

well tbh ive had a chill-axed day, nothing more interesting to add, sorry for not adding anything more, over and out!!

2010-04-02T23:47:00.004+01:00

well its the second day of April and i cannot believe its this time already, i can vividly remember Christmas and New Years as if it was yesterday. Anyway, i spent most of today sorting out our loft as i has become a little cluttered. I came across some old baby/small child photographs of me, and various other family members, and have just spent the whole afternoon/evening looking at them. I was just shocking just how many there actually was, and some even dated back from the 30's, i think i must have looked at over 1000 photos give or take a few hundred. Anyway, other than that i have not really done much else, although i do have a busy weekend ahead of me with work, meetings organising various events for the future, shopping and hopefully catching up with college work, but i think the latter can go on the back burner for the next few days if needs be. I don't feel particularly great today, i have a massively saw nose from this bloody cold I've got and have spent most of the day with a tissue in my hand, and trying not to sneeze. I have sneezed so much, that the back of my throat/nose is staring to get saw. Anyway i don't want to go on anymore blabbering away, i have attached the logo for the dog show i am organising for the 31st August, all are welcome to come, but now i am going straight to bed!! :) bye

2010-04-01T22:34:00.002+01:00

Today, to be quite frank was a waste. I didn't get up to quite late, but in my defence i am not feeling well, and i also up at 4:30 this morning. I did a little frottage work today on my screen prints produced last week. I would quite like to do some more screen printing over the top of these samples but i will not get back into college as least until next week, which is a bit annoying. I still haven't started my commission, but again i am waiting for college to be open so i can blow it up large scale using the overhead projector. But i must say i have not been lazy this week, i have been getting on with my Creative industries files. I ordered all my research yesterday and put it into a folder neatly, and i have completed a contents page. I also have also written up a few notes in my Gathering Research File/sketchbook, so its all coming along, bit by bit. I have still got many many things to do, and my 'to do' list is not getting any smaller, but i am going to remain optimistic, i still have 2 and a bit weeks left!! I am really peed of at my phone lately, the battery is only lasting a few hours not, so i think its time for me to get an iPhone!! so tomorrow looks like i am going to go to the shops and spend lots of cash, which hopefully will make me feel good, after a crappy lousy week!!

Another thing i have started this week is learning how to properly speak Greek, as i think i am going to go traveling around Europe, when my course has finished in 2 years time. I would like to spend a little time in Greece, and beens that i work at a Greek restaurant where i am surrounded by the language all the time, i hopefully will pick up the more complicated stuff more easily if i start now, rather than later.

I think i am going to leave it there, thank you for reading, Eυχαριστώ Πάρα πολύ (Sas Efharisto para poli)!! bye for now! :)

2010-03-31T23:59:00.001+01:00

Just thought i would blog Ronnie's blog! its ronnietheredpandaadventures.blogspot.com!! get on there and show your appreciation!!

2010-03-30T23:59:00.001+01:00

Hello! yassou! Guten tag! bonjour! and welcome along. Well there is nothing really to report as i have not had a very interesting day, just thought i would blog a few words to keep current!! i have done a little creative industries stuff today, e.g. writing up a few notes and updating my website list and contents pages. I'm feeling a little lousy, and have felt like it for a few days now, i just don't have the energy to do anything, i think its this British Summer Time clock shift, it has really mucked up my biological clock!! anyway i have have attached, i hope a photo from our last Brizzle trip, when i had a go on Janek Simon's 'Carpet Invaders' (2007). twas a fun day, and this was not a hightlight, just a funny pic!! lol

anyway, goodbye until the next time!!

2010-03-29T22:51:00.007+01:00

well i just thought i would blog as i have not posted in a few days. This is down to the fact that i have been at work and have just not had the time, but i have lots of money, good times!!

well i don't really have much to post so i think i will say a few words about my new project, well i say new, it has been going on for about 5 weeks now, and i have only just really got my head around the idea that i want to explore. I want to produce a body of work that looks at my life and my relationship within it. Its similar to what i had initially planned, but instead of just focusing on the relationship of figures within my life, i now want to collate data from a certain period within my life 'schedule', perhaps a couple of hours, and then respond to this using screen print based techniques, and possibly other processes. I have decided i want to layer all these 'experiences', for example: sound, visuals, colour, texture, tone ect, and produce multi layered images that are both colourful and possibly include text, which is not something i have explored before, so i am hoping it will prove quite interesting. I am really psyched about this project and definitely feel i have got an idea that i want to explore, and hopefully it will not become mundane, and i produce some really interesting work. I now have to decide at what point i am going to start recording my 'data', and i also have to start taking photos and recording through drawing, frottage, painting and collecting of materials. I also need to do some more relevant research as i have changed my idea, and the previous research i did on Paula Rego and Lucian Freud is not really relevant any more (I did these as we were looking at etching, and they produced some really interesting work relating to this process). I have been told to look up Richard Long, Robert Rouchenburg and David Hockney for ideas responding to this layered idea. I especially like the idea of looking at the 'joining' idea (combining separate photo and college elements, to create and overall image) that Hockney explored within his work. I also need to look into art that explored narrative ideas and possibly illustrators. After this research is done and collated/arranged in my journal, i will then start to gather inspiration. I have attached an image of a screen print i did of my dog, and i aim to start montage photo-realistic screens, with screens that i have produced myself, e.g. through the act of recording drawings and through paintings. This project is all about me! (perhaps this could be used for my presentation for critical theory!?) This screen was collaboration between me and Bo, i think it is really interesting. We have called it 'Bull Terrier Chewing a Wasp', in response to Chloe's remarking "It's a Bulldog chewing a wasp!!" We lol at the moment she said this!! (she also said it during our Australian accent session, so it was doubly funny!!!) (Remember Pugs not Drugs!! - private joke only A21-ians would know!!)

Apart for this final Major project i also have to start my commission. I now feel very apprehensive about starting it as i don't usually fixate so much on a final piece, they tend to just happen. All the prep is ready and i just need to do it!!

Anyway, i have a very long list of things to do, and blogging, although very productive for next years course, is not getting this years work done. I will leave it there and will post gain tomorrow. chow for now!

2010-03-26T23:53:00.004Z

well hello there, welcome along. Well well well, what a prolific week I've just had! Today nothing really interesting happened as i just thought i would have a day off, because i have worked all week, and have not had 5 minutes to myself. Although its been a very busy week i have really enjoyed it. I have produced some interesting prints, and i now know what i am going to do for my final project. its going to be based around experiences within my life, within a time limit. I think i may record everything that happens to me within a certain time span, and then transpose this into screen-printing, and produce multi layered pieces, possibly installation, i am undecided. I know this sounds very OCD but i think it will make an interesting body of work overall and i will not get bored of doing it, which is a tendency i seem to follow lately. This week has also be filled with presentations, examinations and also handing out of work we have to do over the next few holiday weeks. I have so much to do its unbelievable. I have an A4 page list of jobs, and its not getting any smaller!! I probably will end up going into college as normal which is a good thing as i like going, and we don't have the studio space for much longer, so i best make the most of it. I'm also very hyped up and want to get this commission done now, so i think these holiday weeks are going to prove very fruitful!! (watch this space, i may just contradict myself in a few weeks time, lol!)

Anyway i thought i would add something interesting to this blog, and finally respond to something a bit arty, instead of just going on about my life. I have attached an image of a chair, and i came across this when i was watching a program earlier. It was produced by Julia Lohmann, The pieces are called cow benches and you can find a little bit more about her, and specifically these art/furniture creations on her website: http://www.julialohmann.co.uk/. There is a little extract on her website that describes these works:

"We don’t want our food to remind us of the animal it is made of
and, at the same time are able to create living materials through advances in
bio-technology. The ‘cow-bench’ explores the threshold between animal and
material"

I don't know why i was attracted to this specific 'chair', out of the selection of 5 that they was exploring on the program, but i think i was just attracted to the simplicity and the ambiguity of this piece. She describes them as 'benches' and it just made me feel sorry for these 'inanimate objects'. In a way the action of sitting on them it metaphorical of how we force ourselves onto other creatures, and its illustrating our ignorance about where we get our animal products from, and that these creatures, be it a cow, pig or any other animal, are just surviving to make us 'comfortable', to provide for us. It just makes you feel nasty and greedy as a specie, which could be described as what we are!? On the flip reverse these pieces look as if they are very comfortable and the sinuous forms and line create a beautiful figure to look at. In a way you admire the form of the cow and the existence of a cow. It can be argued now that you are appreciating the cow, which is a contradiction to the more negative ideas. I just found this piece very interesting, and the other works by Lohmann prove to be very interesting also. She has create very 'beautiful' looking sculptures, which are then given a different edge when you find out what the process was, utilising animal carcasses. She has also used maggots and small frozen mice to create works. It all sounds very sordid, but i promise you its very interesting when you take a look!!

Anyway i think i will leave it there, i have lots more to write about as i have just spent the last few hours researching, and came up with about 20 new and interesting contemporary artists that i like, but i will leave them for future posts!! Bye for now

2010-03-23T23:37:00.001Z

I just found the image by Maria Pacheco which was on the front of one of the print mags in the library. I just liked it because of the very bright colour. The composition is also a little dream like and a bit weired!

Well today was interesting, did some screen prints and now think i have an idea, a proper thought out idea!! shock horror and cannot wait till Thursday when i can get it going and start producing work!! yay!! I'm not looking forward to tomorrow as i have college all day, lectures and life drawing, very long sessions, and also i have to go to work all night for a Woman's Day Celebration, don't ask me, I'm very confused to, its a foreign thing-a-ma-bob and its happening tomorrow evening. which means i will not get anything sorted for college the next day, and knowing my luck i will not get in till early hours, so will be absolutely hanging by Thursday!! anyway, all is good, presentations went great today it was really interesting to see all the commissions, and how far they have come! there is so much diversity, and i think that's what makes our group a very strong and interesting organisation to be in!! right, I'm off to do my evaluation thing for tomorrow's life drawing session, bye!

2010-03-22T20:35:00.004Z

here is the image that i promised i would blog earlier on. its what i plan to do for my final piece, although there are a few changes going to occur in the bluer panel as i think the figure look comical and silly, almost as if a child has done it, perhaps because it is very simple and not as complex and 'detailed' as the other figures. The dog also in this panel is not as clear as it could be!! Comments please, i would love to know what people thin

2010-03-22T14:25:00.004Z

well i have just finished a long day a college. I am on the studio mac and thought i would blog now, as i have 5 min spare, and that means i don't have to do it later when i should be spending time on my commission. I have finished my presentation, which is only a few slides long, but i am not going over the top with slides, as i just know that i will end up blabbing on forever, and the 4 minute time restriction will just go out the window, and i will be marked down!! If i keep it to a minimum, i will speak to a minimum, and i will fill the 4 minutes perfectly! I have finished my most recent mock-up pieces, so when i get home i will attach some photographs, as this studio computer is very slow and wont let me add any, which is a little annoying, but o well. I have organised my portfolio and stuck lots of things in my progression journal for the commission. I just now have to annotate, which i am going to do later as i feel a headache coming on, and i have no paracetamol, and i am definitely not working through a migraine!!
Anyway, the 'Bookman' was in today and i had a look and bought a very interesting Henri Toulouse-Lautrec Book, so i have something interesting to read over the holidays!! I feel a little better about all this work i have to do, as in reality its not as much as i initially thought!! I wont be having any sleepless nights that's for sure! Right, I'm going i have things to do, people to see, work to complete, chat soon!! bye

2010-03-21T23:54:00.005Z

well, a very busy weekend, as usual. I have worked and tried really hard to try and get a majority of my commission done for Tuesdays presentation. I have a lots to do, so it looks like I'm in college tomorrow. I am just have not had the time to get anything completed this year, and as the year is coming to an end, the pressure is starting to intensify. This week is full of presentations, assessments, observations etc etc, and i am not looking forward to it at all! I just know there is not going to be any spare time to do any work that perhaps will benefit at least one of the fifty things i am doing at the moment. Its not good, if i could add an extra few days to the working week, then i would!! if i don't blog for the next few days then you know why. On the plus side we have a nice long holiday to look forward too next week, but i bet X-amount of money i will have extra work too do!! Anyway, enough moaning, i am really excited about getting my commission final piece up and running. I just have a few more things i have to do before i start, one is i have to get another piece of canvas and stretch it over my last piece of board, and finalise the design and then I'm good to go. I will get a few photographs of a few mock-ups, of which i am hoping will become the final piece. Lets just hope i can get the admin stuff done tomorrow!! Right i am going to leave it there as i have to be up in the morning!! The picture that i have added is of a sign i made for my front door, just to warn people of the horrors that lay within!! lol!! bye for now!!

The Official Alan Carr Website - Diary

2010-03-18T22:23:00.001Z

The Official Alan Carr Website - Diary - As i love Alan Carr, i just thought i would blog his blog lol!!

2010-03-17T23:23:00.002Z

Hey, i just thougut i would post, im doing this of my ipod as i cannot be bothered to load my laptop up, and i need a computerless night as i seem to be on it all the time lately! Anyway, today went as usual, lectures and life drawing, tbh both were quite interesting, didnt do a lot but like alway it was nice to get my hands dirty and do something else, rather than my commission all the time. I have spent all evening creating a new and improved mock up piece for my commission, i just need to oil pastel it and email to the client, and also tell her its not going to be finished by this weekend! This is a little annoying as i want to get it done and dusted as it is taking forever! I will post some images of it when its completed. I have few more things to do before i go to bed tonight so bye for now!

2010-03-16T22:50:00.003Z

Well what can i say, today i personally think has been very productive, which is a strange occurance, as other might agree, tuesday is a bit of a doss. We started off the morning with Creative Industries, i got my research sorted out into each section and sorted out a contents page. I didnt have very much to show for 5 months off work, and then realised that i had a journal/folder full of commission related work, but also a Gathering infromation journal which has got all my gallery reserch stuff in. I then relaised and was a but resentful of that fact that i was 'told off' for not doing very much. Hmph! is all i have to say, time management is my main priority and its not a priority at the moment!!
It was very quiet today, and i felt our room lacked a little something. I missed the usual hustle and bustle of conversation and clinks of a spoon around a tea cup. But if eveybody was in, i perhaps, or should i say i would, have been side tracked, and the amount of work that i did do would not have got done, overall it was nice to have a day set aside for some good old fashioned hard graft!!

Anyway im going to talk about something arty as i have neglected it a little over the last few posts. Last week we had Nicola Donovan come in a give us a talk on her work and her general life experiences. It was very interesting and i liked the craft, textile and sculptural elements in her work and how she combined it all to create very interesting pieces/garments/sculptures, however you would like to describe them. I have attached a photo of a few of her pieces that look at sheep skulls and she decorates them using various craft techniques. I cannot rememeber exactly the exact intention, but its something to do with how sheep are thought to be dumb, but in reality they are not, and she linked them to figures withing a game of chess. They initially look very appealing, but there is something a little more sinster once you look at them for what they are, a carcas, and reminant of a living organism, dead! I think this juxtopostion between pretty airy-fairy covering and the dark sordid underneath is very interesting, and they just stood out for me when compared to her other works. Overall i thought she was very interesting to listen too, she was sort of like a female Terrance, which is not a bad thing!! lol!!

Anyway, i will leave it there. We have lectures in the morning and life drawing in the afteroon. I hope there is a few more people in tommorrow as it was a bit quite today, i suppose some of the loud mouths were not there distracting everybody, lol you know who you are!! (im joking!!) :)

Bye for now!!

2010-03-15T21:13:00.004Z

Well what a busy weekend. Firstly i thought i would just mention a few things about Crufts. I went Saturday, and saw all the Utility and Toy breeds, it was a great day and saw my favourite breed the Bulldog. I also saw many Shar-pei, Bichon Frise and Chihuahua's which was really great. I didn't see any Bull Terriers which was a little disappointing, but o well, i live with three, and i think the are by far the best!! Anyway I spent the whole day up north. and dint get back till 10, we left at 7:30 in the morning, so it was a very long day. We managed to get many freebies, including quite a cool breed poster, a few official crufts breed stall signs and also many pens and pads, and also a Crufts 2010 badge, official Eukanuba!! We also got a lot of Info sheets and leaflets, so i have lots of reading material. Anyway, the winner was a Hungarian Vizsla, my money was on the Pharaoh Hound, an absolute stunning dog, but the Viszla was very nice, i have attached an image of him.

I spent today trying to sort out various life and college things. I was at the doctors this morning and have had a steroid spray prescribed for my nose complaint. Its like drugs and it blows your head off a little when you use it!! I also went to Dunelm and tried to get some more canvas, but they didn't have any and wont have any more until the end of this week, which is a little annoying as i planned to have the whole thing finished by this Sunday, grr!! Anyway college tomorrow and i have no idea what we are doing, i think we will just end up going over the same things, changing hand in dates, and also going off topic!!

Another thing i said i would do a few weeks ago was add the info i found about Oskar Kokoschka's painting: 'The Red Egg'. Here is what i found:

In Munich, on the 29th September 1938, Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain and the French prime minister, Edouard Daladier, signed an agreement providing for the Sudeten German areas to be ceded by Czechoslovakia to Germany.
On 1 October German troops marched into the Sudetenland. This concession to German
demands, together with an Anglo-German non-aggression pact and an agreement to
respect existing Franco-German frontiers, was intended to halt the expansionary
drive of the German Reich an to secure peace in Europe.
In fact, the Czechoslovakia state had been shattered, enfeebled and delivered into Hitler's hands. As early as October 21st, regardless of his own assurances that after the cession of the Sudetenland he had no further territorial ambitions, Hitler issued secret orders for elimination of the Czech remnant. More prescient than the western politicians, Kokoschka did not wait for this to happen. On Dec 18th 1938 he left Prague for England. He did not remain silent over the fate of his fathers native country, In the winter of the 1940, after the European crisis had inexorably turned into WW2, he embarked on an allegorical painting that was to unmask the British-imposed policy of appeasement as one of the causes of the war.

The Munich agreement is shown as a breakfast party, with Czechoslovakia served up to the power hungry guests. The realistic portraits of Hitler and Mussolini are unmistakable: the cat that curls around the table leg is identifiable – by the Napoleonic hat and cockade - as FranceThe British lion lies crowned and majestic, its tail curled into a £ sign, on a plinth that reads ‘In Pace MUNICH’. Czechoslovakia is a roast fowl, ready for carving, which shows unexpected signs of life and takes to its wings., laying a blood red egg as it does so. The egg (ei) is the German name of Kokoschka's adoptive country – ‘Tschechoslowakei’ – reduced to its final syllable. It is smashed and unwholesome food for revenging jaws

I think i am going to leave it there as i don't have much more to talk about, he he, rare moment, bye for now.

2010-03-12T22:40:00.003Z

Well i have not had the most interesting day of all. I didn't end up going to college, i decided to stop at home and stretch my canvas boards, as i didn't need to tram all the way into college and waste petrol, when i had all the stuff right here at home. I have just finished watching Crufts and Your Country Needs You, and i thought Crufts was more interesting to be honest. Our song is mediocre and not going to do very well i don't think, but oh well. Anyway, a Pharaoh Hound, a Cardigan Welsh Corgi a Scottish Terrier and a Rottweiler is the line up so far for Best in Show. I think its going to be the Pharaoh Hound that is going to win the overall best in show title, i just have a hunch. I'm off to Crufts tomorrow, and I'm dead excited, everything is packed, ready for a very long day walking, researching and spending lots of cash. I think i will take my Ipod and update as i go tomorrow, as i think they have a free Wi-Fi station, so watch this blog. Anyway, i have nothing more to add, that's all folks! Bye

PS. Watch out for me on tomorrows Crufts show (More4- 7:30) as i will try and get into one of the TV segments, lol!!

2010-03-10T23:28:00.002Z

wow, i just looked and cannot believe how many posts i have done, and actually how quick the time has gone, although i would have had more quantity wise if i stuck to my one a day blog. I don't know what i am going to waffle on about as today was busy, but i don't have the Wednesday moaning head on for some reason. We looked at expressionism with Terrance this morning, along with a few presentations, so that was too bad, an i like expressionism, so i found it quite informative to my own work. In the afternoon we looked at negative space, and how to utilise this way of working when we look at figures and objects when we draw. I found it quite difficult and ended up drawing a lamp and leaf, instead of Andrew, our life model, lol. TBH this evening has been eaten up with commission work, no surprise there. I have a week and a few days to finish everything, i need a miracle to occur. I'm dreading tomorrow as we have to do aquatint in the morning and i haven't researched anything, or even know 100% what i am doing, which is not good, now that we are three weeks into the project, but hay-ho. I must do my canvas stretching tomorrow as i must have it done before the weekend, i have a time management plan, and i must stick to it. Anyway, i have attached an image of how i think my commission is going to look, although i do have to do a lot more developing as i am not 100% sure on the overall design, please leave a comment as i would love some feedback. I am going to leave it there. Bye

2010-03-09T23:34:00.006Z

Well i had a very enjoyable day today. we started the day very practically by going up to the library and looking through the Art Journals looking for 'stuff' that we could put into our professional practice folder. It was quite an enjoyable task, and a complete opposite to normal. In the afternoon i then attempted to stretch raw canvas onto my commission the boards. I got half way through and where i was pulling hard, and holding the canvas to staple it, it started to wear away the skin, and i got a little peed off with the staple gun not working, so i kind of abandoned the task at hand, and had a good long chat with Charlotte, which is a regular occurrence on a Tuesday afternoon. Today has also been full of shocks and horrors, as i lost my etching plate this morning, somehow it ended wedged between my desk and my small cupboard, but i was looking for it for ages, that was the first annoyance of the day, It perhaps ended up there when i mass moved all my work from one side of the room to the other. Secondly i nearly had Siamese kittens, and a small cocker spaniel puppy, when it came to the end of the day and i realised i did not have my bag. Now this was a major worry as it had quite a few important things in it. Firstly my camera, but also all my documents regarding student finance, and all my bank details/the money i am receiving. Luckily it was still in the library where i left it previously this morning, and it had not got into the wrong hands. The reason for my strange negligence, as i don't usually forget things, was I got a little side-tracked when i took out the Lucien Freud and Paul Rego books. I'm so glad i found it, and it had not be stolen, as i just don't know what i would have done. eek! Any way i have done a little more on my commission this evening, i have got the figure sorted out for blowing up on the OHP, i just need to get the dog sorted now, and then i can finish it, and start on the hundreds of other things i have to do. I am now going to sort out a few things for tomorrows busy, busy day. Only 2 more days to Crufts, woop woop. Bye for now

PS i have just added a Harry Hill TV Burp video on Crufts as i remember seeing it a few years ago and it just made me chuckle, lol.... enjoy

2010-03-08T23:32:00.003Z

well tbh honest there is not a lot to report on, i have just done a little commission work, did a little bit of research and got my board ready for stretching tomorrow. I wish i had something more interesting to post, but i haven't. sorry. Anyways, i think i am going to have an early night as i have lots to do, and not a lot of time to do it. Bye for now.

2010-03-07T23:56:00.000Z

o my gosh, what a busy week and weekend, i just cannot believe how quick it has gone. I have worked straight through from Friday afternoon, and i am definitely feeling the tiredness kicking in right now. Anyway, i have finally found some time to blog, which is a good thing, as i like doing it, and it offloads my thoughts onto 'somebody else' and i can just forget everything, but it is all stored right here!! its great!!

Anyway, the last few days have been filled with me trying to sort out a few things for my commission meeting today. It went really well, the clients liked the mock up and have responded really well to the ideas i put forward of how it needs developing to make the overall impact better. I just have to do it now, all this needs to be done by the 21st of this month, and also i have to do a presentation on it a few days later, at only 4 minutes long! i dunno how I'm going to do it!! Practically it probably wont take long at all, but its all the development, and processing of ideas that will take a long time.

As well as sorting out college stuff, commissions and also research, I have also done 2 long shifts at Sousta (fri pm, sat pm), 7pm-1am, my legs are still killing me right now. I have done a shift at the chicken farm (sat am), took the dog to the vets (fri pm) and also walked 6 dogs in between and also did playgroups cleaning (sun pm). I just cannot believe i have done so much!! The best thing is i get to start it all again tomorrow as i have another list as long as my arm of things to do!

Anyway, on a more happier note, its only 3 days to Crufts, and 5 days till i go, woop woop, I am so excited. I have also got a new commission/job to do. I have been asked to take a few semi-professional photographs of a Hollywood Icons party that happening a few weeks from now, so that should be interesting and an idea learning and networking opportunity. I also have got to organise the Congresbury Dog Show for the summer, so i will be up to my eyeballs in paperwork and meetings, but its all good in the hood as it is stuff that i find interesting, and also i get to raise money for charity, and put my name out there, you never know, somebody just might scout me out, and i may be the next Hirst, who knows?!

Right, that's your lot, i am bored of writing, i will post tomorrow for definite as i am going to get back into doing it everyday, even if i have to keep my eyes open with matchsticks, lol. Bye for now, hope everyone has had an enjoyable weekend!!

2010-03-03T21:50:00.001Z

Well firstly I would like to apologise for not blogging over the last few days, I just haven’t had the time and also the motivation to write a post. Anyway I think I will just recap the last few days.

Monday

Today was a little unexciting and my creative juices were a lacking. I basically went to work and that was it. Not a very exciting day but hay-ho!

Tuesday

Today was fractionally a little more exciting as it did, to some extent, have a structure to it. We had a commission meeting in the morning, and found out that we actually was required to produce, for the Creative Industry section of the course. All the work I did on my ‘inspirational’, montage journal; a gathering of found arty-farty information, need to be split up into separate sections. This is not going to happen, full stop, I am not re-doing it after I have spent so long on it, and also I do not want to fill another folder up with stuff, as I have 3 already, and carrying this stuff to and from college is just getting ridiculous. We also received our grades/percentages from out workshops. I am quite happy with mine, but I was just a little disappointed by a few comments, but that’s life, o well, I am over it! Overall today was very good, I finished my presentation and spent most of the afternoon chatting and tiding up our studio, not my job I know, but if I don’t do it things may go missing, as I have leant the hard way, I am still livid about those custard creams. Grrrr!! Lol!

Wednesday

Well what can I say? A very hectic and full up day! Firstly we had presentations in the morning, I went first, never again, that’s all I have to say. We then had a nice relaxing lunch, which always seems very quick on a Wednesday for some reason, and then whisked ourselves up to life drawing room. I found today’s drawing sessions very difficult to start off with. We had charcoal to begin with, which I found really challenging as one of my weak spots it tone, and we were required to create a drawing, incorporating tone, ahhhh!! Anyway, we did 2 drawings and I just wasn’t getting into it, and in hindsight, I was being a little awkward, but Sophie steered me into a direction, with a few home truths, and I really got into it, rubbing away, redrawing and building up the image. I think what my problem is, is that I just don’t take to new things well, I dig my heels in, which is not good, and if I go with the flow, I may just surprise myself, and that is what definitely happened today. I really liked the drawing that I produced and it will definitely go up on my wall. We also did 2 more drawings after the break which again I found really interesting, but this time we used pencil. An interesting thing that I noticed on Tuesday, when I was flitting through my portfolio looking for interesting things for my wall, was that my drawing skills have changed dramatically over the weeks and months. I just could not believe all the work I had done, and also how much I have refined my technique, without losing the essence I had developed during my foundation studies. I just loved looking through it all, and also comparing it to other pieces that I had done during other passed school years. I think it is a worthwhile task to do, if anything it just makes you feel good about how much actual good work you have!!

We also did a little studio-DIY today, and I really like the new layout, it feels much more open and accessible, which is good, and I think the shakeup will do us good, it’s not healthy repeating the same thing all the time, I should know! I also want to move to the corner desk, and may pester a tutor again about this, there is no harm I feel, switching with someone, if that certain someone does not come in!! Anyway enough said on that matter, If I do get to move, it’s a bonus, if not, what a bloody farce! J

Tomorrow we have etching and I presume we are going to explore the technique of hardground etching. I am not really fussed tbh if I do it or not. Personally I would like to do some screen-printing, but I am a laid back person and will go with the flow. The prints I did last week were crap, simple as, and hopefully I will master the art of wiping a plate tomorrow.

It has been quite a full-on; jam packed day, but generally an enjoyable one!

Anyway I think I will leave it there, I have things to do, for example research, and doing this post has already taken up far too long! Bye for now, I promise I will start blogging regularly, too feed the addiction of my devoted fans, I know how much you miss it, lol!! Bye for now! J

2010-02-28T21:34:00.005Z

Hello, i do not have much to report today, twas a very boring day, and i have literally haven't done anything! i fell really lazy, lol!

Anyway i am watching the Program the Severn Ages Of Britain, which i must say is very interesting. I have just heard him go on about a painting by Anthony Van Dyck of King Charles. It is Called 'Charles I with M. de St Antoine' (1633). This painting just really stuck out from me as being quite interesting, perhaps because of the symbolics and the Majesty of it. Charles rides the horse, through a very difficult dressage maneuver with such ease, and this symbolises how he believed himself as a ruler: Calm, collected and majestic. I just love the general aura of the painting, and i think i may of come across it at the Tate Britain, but cannot remember, but tbh i don't remember much of that day, or that specific museum!

I just though i would also add an etching by Lucian Freud. I was researching last week for the etching workshop and came across this etching called 'Pluto' (1988, Etching and Drypoint with watercolour). I really like the interaction between figure and animal, and want to transpose these ideas into my own work. I really like the idea of creating something like a portrait but looking more at the emotional link between animal and human.

Anyway, enough said, i am just going to watch Heroes and then get sorted as i have a busy, busy day tomorrow. Bye for now!

2010-02-28T00:34:00.002Z

I have just got in from work, I finished at 11:30, don't know why I have got in so late. Anyway today, Saturday, has not been very interesting, I have tried to do some arty-farty stuff but have just not had any inspiration! I think I will have a mess around with some materials tomorrow just to get my creative juices flowing, I could start coming up with ideas for my new art project as I still do not have really a proper idea of what I want to do! I should really get some sleep as I want to do lots of jobs in the morning! Anyway, bye for now! :)

2010-02-26T23:34:00.001Z

Hello, and welcome along! I think I will start with a little diary of the last two days events.

Thursday

Well today we broke our virginity in the medium of etching. We began with the softground process and experimented with using different textures and eroding away pieces of metal with acid. TBH it was more of a science experiment than anything else, and there was a very fetching outfit, that unfortunately I did not get to wear, damn! J. The resulting prints, from nearly 4 hours worth of work we absolutely dire, I hope next week when we do hard ground etching I end up with something what resembles a dog figure, rather than a big black splodge!! Tbh the day dragged on a little as we then had a group tutorial that went on for a very long time, twas about 2:30 when we finished, which meant there was not a lot of time to do anything else. After we did some printing in the afternoon, I then went to the library and took out 2 books, one on screen-printing, which I read a little yesterday evening, and another looking at the work of Oskar Kokoschka. If you remember a few blog posts ago I mentioned about the image ‘The red Egg’, well I know have the information regarding the analytical reading of this painting. I think I may type it up as it is very interesting, and I think others may enjoy reading it, I will do it on a separate post! The day ended just a quick as it had started and that was that!

Friday

Well not much to report on, other than the dog went to the vets and I had a scoot around Morrison’s looking for various food stuffs, not particularly exciting if I may say so. The day just meandered on, I was suppose to go to college and sort out various things, but a choice between getting up from a nice cosy warm bed and college was a no brainer. I have just booked my Crufts Tickets, so I will be off in 13 days to the biggest dog show in the world! I am really looking forward to it as it is such a great day out, you can spend lots of money and meet lots of doggies!! I have also ordered some more business cards, so I will have plenty to give away and get some much needed public attention, commissions accepted!! Lol! Anyway, the dogs are sleeping, the family is sleeping and I’m about to fall asleep so I think I shall leave it there!

Oh I just thought I would add a picture of Ronnie the Red Panda, not Raccoon!! This image took a lot of ingenuity from both Bridget and me, but It has paid of really well even though you can see Bridget’s trousers a little, Smile Cary, you’re on camera!! A Ronnie blog will follow, watch this space!

Bye for now, chat soon!