Stripes, Yippee I Won! and some Limited Edition Books

I had great news yesterday. I won a give-away from the sparklingly talented Shirley Ng- Benitez!

So I have been walking a little taller since then. Shirley's work always make me smile. Her watercolours are fresh and scintillating, her characters dynamic and charming and, dare I say it, just so cute :)

 Thank you Shirley!! 

Shirley's work is here. She has just released two new works that look amazing.

Sorry about the long post. I didn't even tell you how Bella Sinclair of  Doodlespot was my 40,000 visitor the other day! Thank you Bella :) I made this small image to celebrate :)

And  thank  you everybody :)

PS the rest of the Zebras are here:

(Edit: wasn't comfortable with selling the books from the blog so removed that section)

Death of a Pushbike

Okay, sorry I've been away so long. I've spent a month making an 'artists' book.

Ahh, before I get jumped on..... that doesn't mean that I'm claiming to be an artist. It just means that I am making a book in the style of an artist's book. They are quite fashionable here. I can tell that because my local art shop no longer sells much art stuff like paints etc. It sells craft things. And all really, really, really really expensive. So expensive that us poor people can no longer afford to be painters - so it's lucky they don't sell paint.

See, it's a self fulfilling prophecy.

Now of course the book is fantastic. As you no doubt guessed from the above image, it's a rewrite of the Hansel and Gretel story from a feminist perspective with particular emphasis on diverse destinies and the intimate relationship of the the melodious noise the witch makes (as she is being burnt to death) to the alto tenor solos heard in many Post Modernist operas....

Before I started this 'artist's' book, I realised I didn't have a clue what I was doing, so I spent several minutes on an intensive internet search of book making methods. After much aaghing and ooohing and bottom scratching I decided to go with the Japanese Folding style book (JSFB). 

Now why a JFSB? 

Well, to my simple mind it looks easy. No fancy doody Coopernook stitches, no expensive book braces, no arithmetical challenges trying to work out how many folios of  blindfolded flour pages I would need for a 17 and a half  tonne tome. All I needed was a realy, really, really, really long piece of paper.

Well, the best laid plans of men and mice doth go astray.

Now if you don't know Japanes Folding books they are one step removed from scrolls. The difference being is that the JSFB is not rolled, but folded like an accordion. 

The book is about 5o pages long (not bad for four weeks work) and each page is landscaped A4 at 297mm long. So that means, from beginning to end, the book is approximately 15 metres long.

15 Meters? That's where the fun starts. 

Now the last time I played with glue and bits of paper I was about six and young enough to make the discovery that glue tasted pretty good. Apart from that, I recall that I was master of the wrinkle stick, the bubble grab, and the 'oh my thumb's stuck to the back of my ear' move..

Now a lot more than forty years later I have rediscovered that, although I can no longer lick the glue off my toes, I am still am a crappy "gluer."

Ahh, but why am I telling you this? It's because I have this theory that I need to put stuff in the blank black spaces between images.

But the really interesting part about making this book is this: You see,  I have discovered that only people who live in really long houses will be able to read it.

Okay, enough rambling.

About this image? 

Okay. To be truthful it's Giselda. You know, that  girl who was imprisoned in the tower and forced by an old witch named Mary to spin gold into straw. 

In this image Giselda has discovered that, by deconstructing her brother's push-bike and adding the pedals to the Spinning wheel, she can do the job in half the time.

 The raven's are, of course the witches pets, left there to spy on the girl's technique. 

Soon, courtesy of her push-bike pedal discovery (PBD), she will soon be replaced by machines and lose her job. She will then be given in wedlock to the first woodsman who wanders by. The woodman will feel sorry for her because of her left eye traumatic cataract, and the really bad scar she has at the base of her neck. They will have eighteen children, all of which will eventually become associated, in some way or the other, with various medical professions.

:) :)

Thank you so much  for looking at my work. Recently I had the honour of having some work posted, along with the wonderful image maker  Ces, on Illustration Poetry. 

One of the images from my artist's book is there.

Thanks Mita, you rock :)

Hic Sunt Dracones.

 Hic sunt dracones.

Here there be dragons!

What a saying eh? It's like pirate talk, but serious.

 Marked on all the best  medieval maps,  "Hic sunt dracones" is just one of a collection of  flavoursome warnings that also include : "in his locis elephanti nascuntur", "in his locis scorpiones nascuntur" and "hic cenocephali nascuntur" ("in these places elephants are born, in these places scorpions are born, here dog-headed beings are born"). From Wiki.

Hic sunt dracones is also the name of that first image right up the top.

The image tells the story of  eight dwarves who, every night at dusk hear a horrible bellowing noise emenating from the earth beneath them.

Finally, after weeks of terror and sleepless nights, they decide to send the bravest of their number (Baeowulf) down into the earth to investigate.

But as so often happens in life, the brave dwarf is on a fruitless quest because, in reality, the dragons and demons the dwarves seek are lurking in the shadows directly behind them. They are- unseen because they are unlooked for.

You are probably not aware that Baeowulf is one of my favourite stories, and that Baeowulf means "Bee Wulf" which means a "Bear,". In my household Baeowulf also has the honour of maintaning its dypthong - much like Aegypt, Aetilogy and Haematology. Baeowulf ...? Well the political correct manner is "Beowulf" but I like my spelling better because ... because it's mine. :)

So here's a bit of literal translation (from here)

He gave then Beowulf the sword of Healfdane,

Golden standard victory to reward;
Embroidered war-banner, helmet and armor,
Famous treasure,sword - many saw
Before the warrior borne.

Which to my untrained ears sounds much better than the clumsy transliterations accompanying it.

But:

To the crux of the matter: the Illustration Friday  prompt for today is "Beneath". And I've been working on Goldilocks and the six dwarves for about a week, so that is lucky. You think I'm kidding? Well this morning as I was telling my wife about how the dwarves kept eating her porridge... then I sudenly realised that it wasn't Goldilocks at all, but Red Riding Hood and the Six Dwarves ..... hmm.

"Now whose been eating my porridge said the little dwarf?" It has a kind of ring to it. I wonder would the Brothers Grimm be interested in it. Still it's all very confusing when you get to my age (26).

I've also been working on Rapunzel - not that I tell anyone, else the prince be jealous. So I threw her in this post too - but she, like the dwarves, is a work in progress. Her hair is hard to do when it is that long - (it's common knowledge that I have enough trouble with my own). And yet, frizzies and flyaway hair aside, she hangs in there with the theme "Beneath".

The dwarven names? Well I was going to call them 'funny' names like Rhinitus, Stupid, Boring, Unhappy etc, but I thought it was too close to Grumpy, Sneezy et al - and since Walt Dysney owns the metaphorical DNA helix for all cute dwarven names, I didn't want him jumping up out of his cryo-tank to come looking for me.

So, avoiding Gimli, they are called Cedric, Edward, Gayus (he's the Roman one with tight pants), Beaowulf , Godric, Arlo and Roderick. The eight one has no name because .... okay, his name is Freya, it's a girls' name and it makes him depressed. I promised I wouldn't mention his name on the net - so you didn't hear that, okay? Thanks for keeping it quite.

Oh there was something else.... hmm.

Ah. A BIG else!

 Did I tell you what a wonderful scintillating witty brilliant artist my friend Ces is?

Today I received a special nut - not only is it the best nut I have ever received .... no but seriously I am stompfooted and bowled over twice by it's beauty and by Ces' generosity.

But more on that later.

Thankyou for looking :)

Hic sunt dracones.

Aquí hay dragones!
¡Qué decir ¿eh? Es como charlar al estilo pirata, pero grave.

Marcado en todos los mejores mapas medievales, "Hic sunt dracones" es sólo uno de una colección de advertencias sabroso que incluyen también: "en su locis elephanti nascuntur", "en su locis nascuntur escorpiones" y "hic cenocephali nascuntur" ("en estos lugares los elefantes nacen, en estos lugares escorpiones nacen, aquí los seres con cabeza de perro han nacido "). De Wiki.

Hic sunt dracones es también el nombre de ese derecho la primera imagen hasta la parte superior.

La imagen cuenta la historia de ocho enanos que, todas las noches en la oscuridad oye un ruido horrible bramido emenating de la tierra debajo de ellos.

Finalmente, después de semanas de terror y noches sin dormir, se decide enviar el más valiente de su número (Beaowulf) hacia abajo en la tierra para investigar.

Pero como tantas veces sucede en la vida, los dragones y demonios están de pie justo detrás de ellos, porque son invisibles para el inesperado.

Usted probablemente no son conscientes de que Beaowulf es una de mis historias favoritas, y que Beaowulf significa "abeja Wulf", que significa "oso". Beaowulf también tiene el honor de su maintaning dypthong - como Aegypt, Aetilogy y Hematología. Beaowulf aún mantiene una dypthong cuando escribe de la manera correcta política de "Beowulf", pero me gusta mi ortografía mejor porque ... porque es la mía. :)

Bueno el viernes Ilustración del sistema de hoy es Bajo. Y he estado trabajando en Ricitos de Oro y los seis enanos por una semana, por lo que es suerte.

También he estado trabajando en Rapunzel - no es que le digas a nadie, de lo contrario el príncipe celoso. Así que le lanzó en este post -, pero ella, al igual que los enanos, es un trabajo en progreso.

Los nombres de los enanos -, así que me iba a llamar a los nombres raros como estúpido, aburrido, etc infeliz, pero pensé que estaba demasiado cerca de Gruñón y otros - y desde Walt dysney propietaria de la hélice de ADN metafórica de Ricitos de Oro y los seis enanos, que no quería que saltar fuera de su crio-tanque a venir a buscarme.

Así se les llama Cedric, Edward, Gayus (que es la romana con pantalones apretados), Beaowulf, Godric, Arlo y Roderick. Los ocho uno no tiene nombre porque ....

Oh, no era otra cosa .... hmm.
¿Te dije lo que es una maravillosa artista brillante brillante ingenio de mi amigo es Ces?
Hoy he recibido una tuerca especial - no sólo es la mejor tuerca que he recibido .... no, pero en serio me stompfooted y rodó más de dos veces por su belleza y por la generosidad de Ces.

Pero más sobre esto más adelante.

Gracias por mirar:)

Old Fashioned

 

 

 

Oh just more self fulfilling prophecy! Thank you for looking again. And thank you for the poetry and prose on the last post! I have fallen behind again I am afraid. It's almost summer here and that bears ill tidings for my illustration work. 

Oh, sólo más profecía autocumplida. Gracias por mirar de nuevo. Y gracias por la poesía y la prosa en el post anterior! He quedado a la zaga de nuevo tengo miedo. Es casi verano aquí y que tiene malas noticias para mi trabajo de ilustración.

In the lost valley of Vallenstaren, deep in the Forest of Guggle....

In the lost Valley of Vallenstaren,

Deep in the Forest of Guggle,

 In the ancient tree-house Fallofolia,

Lives a forest gnome named Ghent.

He is 912 years old;

He loves Knitting socks,

And has a penchant

For swallowing other people’s gold fish.

The last two images were the original gnome, before he was "child friendly". There's another version of him higher up. I don't know; should I make him more approachable? I havent decided whether he will be part of a story... you know, "grumpy old gnome sees light and lets Reginald the goldfish go."

Thankyou for taking the time to look and click.

Oh, oh! Nearly forgot the gold fish!

Illustration Friday: Diary (A Celebration of Genetic Dislexia)

Back in the 1920's, on Sundays, come hail rain or shine, Gretel, her brother and father would head down to Morris highway junction and set up a strawberry milk shake stand. 

Most days they used the good kitchen table as a base to display their wares. Of course their step-mother Geraldine, had she been present, would have been horrified at the misuse of such a family heirloom.

But, like the wicked old woman in the forest, she was dee-ee-dee.

Dead.

Though they were Sundays, Gretel's father, who had once been a hatter in Mudgee before the revolution, didn't  mind that they weren't at church. " My kids don't need religion," he would say. "We got bush spirits to teach us."

But bush spirits or not, he was always a bit 'iffy' when flocks of White Witch moths, drawn by the smell of fresh strawberries, came fluttering out of the Eucalyptii Dredadora trees lining the road.....

A long time later, when she was on old woman in the Cessnock Home for Hardly Used Catholic Virgins, Gretel would often pull out her ancient leather bound dairy and place it on the altar next to her bed. Inside, next to the fading ink words, were two dried and flattened White Witch moths.

"They were happy days," she would tell herself with a toothless smile as she tapped her wooden leg against the brass bed.  "Happy days full of Thysania agrippina, endless strawberry milkshakes, cornucopic fly swatting, rabbit shooting - and the forbidden pleasure of undiagnosed genetic dislexia."

Thankyou for everyone who looked at my last two posts and especially for watching the animations. I'll be back tomorrow and come visit. So be curafal ... err I mean 'careful." Watch out for Thysania agrippina in the meantime. :) Oh and thank you for the suggestion WW. It's a beautiful moth.

And most importantly I am not making fun of people with dislexia.
Only myself - and my recently discovered ability to not type English.

Have you seen this work? A Bulgarian artist.  On Rossichka's site.
Maistora Vladimir Dimitrov. Worth a look.

Vellapulla - the Witch's House

Hello. Just getting over the flu.

Firstly apologies for not getting back to the comments section yet.

Thankyou to everyone who commented.

Secondly" apologies for not getting to your blogs - yet.

Been taking those wonderfull cold and flu t ablets that send you off the planet. :)

Hehehehehehe -errgh.

You want to know what Mars looks like from close? I can tell you.....!

But seriously in Oz we call it "sickasadog." I think I have been hallucinating for two days - and when I woke up this morn' these images were on my hard-drive.

So what's this about? Hmm.

Did you know there is a style of architecture called Storybook Architecture?

No, either did I. But whoever has been on my machine for the last two days has been looking it up.

About the images above this text  - the top image is rendered at 30 cm by something at 360 DPi and ended up being 1.8 gigs after all the layering. The boy is composited in.

The third image is made by playing with the threshold filter.

The images are alll  basically experiments in style.

The last three images are the bare 3d renders without post processing showing the overview of the model -which is made from several commercial models I ransacked and distorted to my own evil desires.

There's and old well and a celtic cross that I need to take advantage of------ the devil on my left shoulder tells me it could be an uncomfortable experience.

And the boy? (see below this text) He could be any of five Jacks* - or one Hansell.

One thing is for sure - he is "uptonogood." Those rabbits should watch out.

And the witch who owns the house - that could be Fuamnach?

thankyou again for your time

be back again tommorow

honest!

PS: have you seen Denise Scaramai's work? Stylisticaly very interesting and worth a look. 500 plus followers can't be wrong :)

And good to see Daniel Powers posting again.

*Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack Be Nimble, Jack the Giant Killer, Jack and Jill, Jack Sprat could at no fat.....