For A: Kikay at a Capiz Window

Long-lost marker sketch for the Kikay Project. Kikay is wearing Rick Owens boots, the rest is mine.

altered book

Rabid bibliophiles, this post contains abuse of actual printed books (well, book). You might want to look away.

Some work I've done for my altered book. It is called The Bennets of Tresillian and is the most boring book on the Lord's earth, and I carefully chose it for its commonness (is that a word? lack of scarcity maybe) and high quality of binding as well as being too boring to read.

I find myself reading it anyway, whenever I work on it. Incurable reader, that's me.

Mostly gouache and pens and magazine clippings. Also, in no order: pastel crayons, watercolour pencils, gesso, markers, ink, leaky biros, acrylic paint, screen transfers, and tea.

This window was a rubber stamp.

More altered books and artist's journals here, here and here. Also some tips on how to get into it yourself.

Enjoy!

my heart is like an island...

...where does the ocean go?

Bon voyage; see you soon.

(Image from Corbis)

the monastic life

Some research for a story idea...

Sources:

Romanesque Architecture

Montecassino Abbey

The Alhambra in Granada, Spain

Turkish Hamam (warning: Comic Sans)

Today I did yoga, primed paper with tea, and danced around a lot to the Beatles. Not very nun-like behaviour, some would say, but I disagree!

Sensation

So my friend gave me Pelikan watercolours for my birthday and they were brilliant. I should do a post of all my birthday swag soon...

I thought I needed to do more women of colour in my paintings. My mom agreed--she says she wants to see 'a rainbow of women'! Isn't that a nice name for a project?

Here's the first attempt:

Sensation

Pelikan watercolours with Blue Heron waterbrush in Fabriano notebook.

I think I saw a face...

So this turned out nothing like the reference, and there are some things to fix before I go on to the clothes, but I'm very happy with it so far.

Thinking of everyone 'oop North' weathering Hurricane Irene. Hope you're all ok.

Peach Fall

Blue Heron waterbrushes, Golden watercolours (yes, the incredibly cheap ones!) and ink. Rotring liner and Pilot G-tec size 0.25, for the dots. If anyone wants to point and yell 'Aubrey Beardsley!' I must admit that it's more a Franz von Bayros influence than the great Beardsley.

And for God's sake don't Google that name when you're at work.

(Speaking of which, did you see today's Google Doodle? Happy Birthday, Señor Borges!)

Also experimenting with working in GIMP instead of Photoshop. Verdict so far: ANNOYING.

computer issues, Girls in Dresses

Computer trouble + bad install of scanner driver = crappy Photo Booth pictures. But I haven't posted for a while and I didn't want you to think I'd been lazy.

Some vintage- style illustrations I've been doing, using Pentel brush pen and something really amazing from a company called Blue Heron, which I will post about soon.

I really liked painting the butterfly dress.

One that looks like my friend Monique.

And below I've done one in the style of Daily Candy, or at least what Daily Candy used to look like, which I loved. Sadly they seem to have a different look now...

Anyway, I will figure this new OS out and hopefully get some decent scans in soon.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!

Made a painting for Mom's birthday! Illustrated The Peregrine, one of our favourite books.

And here's the 'self-published' book cover version, hahaha. There's a reason designer and illustrator are two different jobs, I'm afraid.

Also I was so tempted to draw arrows pointing at The Peregrine and J.A. Baker. It's a weakness.

Jónsi Project Production Diary, Part 5

Here's the next work: based on Track 9, Hengilás. I also based it on the original Hans Christian Andersen version of the Little Mermaid, where she dives into the sea and turns into foam.


Visually it has more in common with Kolniður, which I'm told means 'pitch black' or 'deep dark blackness'. But I love the slow, sweet sound of Hengilás, and the fact that it's the last track makes it feel like an ending.

Again I used Quink for the water, with bleach (see my messy setup above). I used coffee for the background, leaving out the Mermaid's body to make it glow. I used Higgins for the night sky; may sprinkle some stars on it later. I used a cup of bleach and a paintbrush to make a more directed spatter rather than the more-or-less even spray I've been using so far, to create the effect of dissolving in foam.

(Warning: do not use a paintbrush you like for this kind of job. Use a cheap nylon or hog's-hair one that you don't mind getting damaged. Because it will be. And wash the brush, and the cup, and your hands, thoroughly with soap right after doing this. Bleach is not a nice material. It eats things, especially soft things like brush bristles and your flesh.)

Close-up below. A lucky stain made it look like she was crying. I wanted her to forget the heartache she had over the Prince (worthless bastard) and just remember dancing. It was the only way she had to express herself, and even with the knifelike pain in her feet she loved to dance.

So in the dark water she can feel herself going, but the patterns of the foam are beautiful and there's no more pain. She moves her legs with perfect grace and rolls with the ocean current and watches the bubbles trail away from her limbs. Her last tears are for joy.

Painting the Mermaid next, watch this space.