A comic all about me!

I was set a sketchbook project as part of my Masters course, I had to write and draw a twenty page comic all about things I am good at and things I could improve on. Here is the comic....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Studio Talk with Gary Powell.

What an inspirational talk this was!

This is Gary Powell:

"If I see you with your phone out, I will stop talking and point you out. If I see you not listening I will stop and point you out. If I see you yawning I will stop my talk and point you out."

He went on to say that whilst we are doing something else in his talk we might miss out really important views. What a way to get out attention first thing in the morning. I was all ears...out of fear!

Gary studied graphic design and is an enthusiast of printmaking, lithographs and etching. He was told early on that he wouldn't get anywhere with what he was drawing. To this he stated "Don't please your tutors-they wont be around forever. Please yourself. Not all the advice given to you is relevant, learn to choose."

Learn your Morals. Powell has turned down lucrative work from a well known  tobacco company as his Uncle died from smoking related illness.

Ideology-the science of ideas, their origin etc. Where do ideas come from? "Wake up and make that idea. Don't wait for others to give you inspirational words." The original meaning of inspiration was receiving the breath of infinity. We are all breathing. Gary said that we don't wait to breathe, we just do it, as a basic function, drawing air into the lungs. Make art in this way also.

On an MA we need to see different perspectives, we are all individuals. Gary asked the question....

What is important to you? Answer this, it will shape your ideology. What are you passionate about? Immerse yourself.

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt.

Gary went on to say that the things that may shape our attitudes and image making, don't always happen in the studio. Art is noticing things, art is observation. We are born into our legacy, our skin colour, our gender. Art can happen at any time in any place, keep your eyes open.

"Yawning" Gary lunged forward screaming at a girl in front of me. Yikes!

One of Gary's prints.

Powell stated the importance of research, and discovering facts. What are we curious about? One of the themes that interests Gary is Faith. He told us about his Grandmother who was afraid of flying in a plane, she would ask how they stay up in the sky. At the same time she had faith in the Bible and a belief in God. Gary asked us if all angels are white, challenging us on our own preconceived ideas. He asked us to imagine a deep sea diver, hooked up to something above, if your airway is blocked then you are in trouble.

What are you hooked up to?

He asked does God wear lambswool? God likes lambs. 

I like Gary's sense of humour, he will make a funny observation then go on to say something quite profound, he said life events can put into focus or can cloud our beliefs, by making a visual response as an artist can be a cathartic experience. He said that we don't own our breath, we simply have to give it up.

A Powell print

Illustration is about ideas, it's about making choices, sometimes they work out and sometimes they don't. When does that observation become obsession? Have a content to your work, but also have an aesthetic.

Gary went on to explain how his interests shape his work. The notion of black, a skin colour, and the way black people are persecuted, he told us he is the son of slaves. He looked at slave logs from ships and responded with prints. His research informed the content of his practice.

"He who controls history controls the future." Gary explained if you teach a willingness to learn, you can create a future. This links in with his charity work with disadvantaged kids in London. As an activity he would ask them what they wanted to be. To enable them to see their personal aspirations,  the child would stand in front of a projector as Gary searched for images of their dreams to project behind them. He would instruct them to work towards these dreams and to never underestimate their ability or potential.

Look out the window, the view is the same for all of us, but our eyes see the view from a different perspective. What is our personal view on the world and where do we stand, how do we get this across in our work? We need to find out what is important to your work, what concerns you.

We were almost at the end of the talk when Gary projected onto the screen...

"You will never be as good as me.....you will be so much better."

He told us that we need to feel stronger about issues so it will provoke us to make work. Gary said "I've been fortunate but I also made my own luck." He went on to say that sometimes, the loudest voice isn't the one to follow. Extrovert personas can be a diversion and a coping mechanism. The art business is about making a fool of yourself and taking a risk, be yourself, don't worry, keep making art and most importantly Gary said....

"Believe in yourself."

Retro love

On the Masters course they keep telling us to draw what we love drawing. Ultimately the passion you feel will shine out of your own drawings, or so they say. Well I have a love for retro art with simple block colours and cartoony drawings but I don't really draw in this way, I've has fads where I TRY and draw this way but it feels like I'm trying too much and it isn't really me. I thought I would put some pictures up of what I am on about.......

These are the graphic designers Marie-Claire Lefort and Marie-Francine Oppeneau who work under the name Lefor Openo who worked in the 1950s and 1960s. I love, love, LOVE their work but have never been able to find out much about them.

I love the colours and simplicity of the art. About 10 years ago I was obsessed  with trying to paint like this and re create the style, but I felt I was just over influenced by them a little too much.

 Derek Yaniger

This artist is current and is influenced heavily by all things retro. I really like his use of colour and the way he limits his palette to a couple of choice colours. He has a background in working for Cartoon Network and worked on characters I adored in my student years (Powerpuff Girls etc).

Ed Vere

Vere is a writer and illustrator of children's books and studied at Camberwell too (but in Fine Art)! I love Mr.Big and have read it thousands of times in school. Its style leans towards retro but is executed in a slightly more contemporary way.

Jim Flora

Another amazing retro artist, probably a very obvious one to name but I couldn't write this post without a brief mention. Have a look at his record covers, I am so envious of how he draws his jazz musicians.

I also found out that Floras son discovered unseen work hidden away in the attic, glorious woodcuts!

So there you have it. I could look at this style of work all day and not get bored. There's so much to see and so many funny expressions and characters up to adventures in the background. Although I've tried working in this style I don't feel its my own voice and I feel like I'm ripping too many people off, I wish there was a way I could combine some of the elements in my work, but I just can't figure it out!!

Angouleme 2014 Festival Report

I had an amazing time at Angouleme Festival this year. I think it was the best yet, here is my BD diary.

Linocutting Experiments

I was lucky enough to have a linocut workshop with Christopher Brown just before christmas. Go and check his work out if you haven't seen it. I have always loved the look of linocut and woodcut but never got around to plucking up the courage to try it. After the brilliant workshop I am hooked! The process takes a lot of time and requires some patience but as I am a beginner I may speed up with practice.

Step one. Choose a design, start with something quite simple until you get the feel for it! Next you need to transfer your drawing by using tracing paper, or you can draw straight onto the lino, be brave!

Step two. Clear a nice working space and begin to cut using special linocutting tools tat are cheap to get hold of. I would suggest going across like you are spreading butter, rather than digging down. I took the picture above FOUR HOURS IN, yikes. Make sure you are comfortable and have good back support, try not to hunch over as you will pay for it later!

Here is the finished carving. Happy jolly miners waving. A word of caution...be VERY careful when cutting and always cut away from yourself. There are various hand guards you can buy but nothing beats a bit of common sense and not rushing. On that note, if you slip and make a cutting mistake there is a product you can buy that is like a filler, again, just take you time and BE CALM.

Step 3. Put paper down on your nice expensive John Lewis table. I probably should get a proper arts and crafts table cloth but Paul isn't in so I can get away with it! I prepared my work space accordingly, a spare kitchen tile, useful masking tape, water based block ink, a roller, a spoon, and A4 paper to register your art.

Step 4. The fun bit! Squodge a blob of ink onto the tile, mmm smells nice. Manically roll your roller through the ink, ensuring a good even coating. Roll over your lino cut, it's very simple. Next place you design on the A4 paper, using it as a guide you can line up your 'nice' paper that you will be printing onto on top. Take a spoon and rub gently all over the paper that is sitting on top of your linocut. Be careful not to press too hard as you can rip the paper. Then....hold your breath, and peel the paper away for the big reveal.....

You never quite know which areas you have pressed hard onto so you get a mottled effect, this is what I like about this type of printing. Have lots of different papers so you can experiment, go wild!

Here is the print and the linocut together. Last thing..don't forget that your design comes out mirror image.