Soaking off Grim Island

Caption: Top image: 'final image', second image 'halfway through post work', bottom image: 'pure render image w ithout post work'

Okay, sorry to be away so long: Ugh.

Without further ado I'd like to state that my real reason for being away from my blog is:

a) I fell overboard (port side)  from my yacht 'Reginaldus Rogerina.III" and was eaten by a baby Blue Ringed Humpback whale who mistook me for a giant cooked prawn (I was sunburnt). I was only released after eight non stop hours of  singing Barry Manilow songs at the top of my voice.

b) I've been holding my breath taking part in the World Breath Holding Championships off Tahiti and came second with a time of eight hours, seven minutes and twelve point 2 seconds. Part of my prize was to act as a human bean bag at the following week's Sudoku wrestling championships.

c) I had my finger stuck in the tap and couldn't get it out till the local green grocer got in a supply of Aldo Moro Cold Pressed First Virgin Olive Oil from Mt Ararat..

d) I was kidnapped by some sardine eating Tasmanian terrorists wearing black pantyhose on their heads (the kind with the sexy zipper seam at the back of the leg). 

e) I have been making a book that I actually finished.

f) I was mistaken for Barak Obama and locked away on a desert island by a bunch of  deprived and depraved echidnas looking for a fun time and the answer to the riddle of the Spinx: ("What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?")

g) I was arrested for misspelling both 'handkerchief and 'miscellaneous'  in one sentence. (The old fat man sat on the small thin boy to make sure that he couldn't escape with the pale green handkerchief and the other miscellaneous frippery.)

h) all of the above.

Sorry, that's enough miscellaneous frippery for one post.....

 To be honest I was lucky enough to be included in an Artists's Book Exhibition which opens on 11th June here in Newcastle. You can see part of my work here. It's about Fairy Tales in the modern world with specific emphasis on feminine stuff that I don't understand ....

Just kidding. To quote from the official site: 

An exhibition of artists’ books at the John Paynter Gallery, Friday 10th – Sunday 26th June 2011, and Artspace Mackay, Friday 22nd July- Friday 28th October 2011, curated by Caelli Jo Booker and Helen Hopcroft.

The exhibition is conceived as an interdisciplinary collaboration between artists, writers and craftspeople invited to work together to create handmade books which explore female narratives within the fairytale genre.

While the classic fairytale ending ‘happily ever after’ envisages a single, finite destiny, the contemporary feminine experience encompasses a multiplicity of roles, expectations, endings, beginnings and relationships. Thus the exhibition theme is probably best conceptualised as a celebration of diversity within destiny, with the fairytale genre used as the narrative vehicle to explore this idea. 

I started work on the book two months ago. It's an accordion folding book. And it's now longer than my living room (about twenty metres plus). I've also adapted it for the Blurb format  and it's come out at 74 pages...... I never know when to stop.

But one of the items in the show is to illustrate a specific scene in a book named Cape Grimm.

So the top image illustrates a moment where the "Holocaust Preacher is Taken by Giant Squid."

I made it this morning in between scrubbing the kitchen and ironing my shirt for work - so it needs some fine tuning especially round the thighs/legs where they are vanishing into the darkness.

The other scattered images are part of the finished work. With thanks to some of my friends. You know who you are! :)

Thanks again for looking at my work and your patience with me.

Grandpa

This is the grandfather out of the book I have sitting in the drawer.

I pulled him out today and gave him the 'new' treatment- some lost and found edges, a bit of an outline in places, some ambient light to fill in the shadows, and less reflection off the corneas. Generally trying for a more illustrated look and less CG.

 I hope you like him. I've given him a bit more style than he had originally. He used to cruise around the house in his overalls. Now he has a 'nice' jacket. For want of a better name, I've called him Grandpa Oliphant. He's actually a bit of a clown - like me.

I don't know if I like him better with hair, or without? What do you think?

Thanks for looking and if you click him he gets bigger. Old rascall!

Leaving Meek-a-Thumpa

Well, this is another double page spread from 'you-know-what'. Almost April, time to send it out .....

Monday Artday: Circus (The Magic Circus)

    

A few characters from my unpublished novel. Here they are, drumming up publicity for themselves. They want to be famous, that's why they are carrying on like this....rowdy attention seekers, the harlequin, the twin clowns, the Oliphant.....always the same, where ever you go. Ho hum!

    Maybe it's time to start sending them out into the world. At least there'd be some peace and quite around my house.....

   You've got no idea how my new neighbours complain.
   They even complain about the odd smells in my backyard.
    One of these new neighbours - Ralph I think he said his name was - had the hide to come banging on my door last Saturday. He's a rather large, three chinned, red faced man that must drink too much.
   As soon as I opened the door he almost jumped on me.
   "Look here Finnie!", he said - which I thought was a bit presumptious because we had only just met.
   "Yes," I said.
  "You're not keeping some... some ... some kind of animal in there, are you?"
  "Certainly not!" I said, thinking guiltily about the three gold fish my wife kept in one of the cupboards in the spare bedroom.
  "Are you sure?" he asked, his face swelling up as if he were going to have a red apocalyptic spasm. He apparently didn't believe me.
  "Of course I'm sure!".
   He looked over my shoulder and began to sniff the air wafting out of my house. "Well I can smell a pachyderm,' he said.
  "A what?"
  "A pachyderm! An Oliphont, an African .... African Bush Elephant!"
   "Don't be ridiculous!" I said. "My house isn't big enough to hide a large guinea-pig , let alone an elephant."
   I tried to close the door but he'd sneakily stuck his foot in between the door and the jamb.
   He squinted at me through his bright little yellow-bead like eyes and sniffed again. "I can smell an elephant anywhere! I happened to be an eggspert on Loxodonta africana africana!"
 "An 'eggspert'? Well good for you," I said, trying not to laugh. "Now I must be off, I have to hang my washing out, we all need clean socks now and then. Goodbye."
  I closed the door as quickly as I could.
 Through the closed door I could hear him sniffing deeply, as if he really could smell an African Bush Elephant somewhere in my house.
  We stood there for about ten minutes, he sniffing on one side of the door, myself on the other, as quite as house-mouse, not daring to move lest he banged on the door again, forced himself in, and discovered my 'little' secret. 

   

 Please click for enlargement.

Just a bit of fun.....

Illustration Friday: Clumsy

Well this is a quickie for Illustrated Friday, I don't have any time this week, finishing a large commision (well making the pieces fit together) and hanging our next painting show, so I've resorted to part of  my illustrated manuscript. I hope you like it! Please click for big.

Monday ArtDay: No Challenge

Well last week's challenge was "No Challenge", so I thought I'd stick up another page of my book. This is from Part One. I guess you'd call it the start of the 'heroes' journey. Thanks for looking and please click for big.

Monday Artday: Mystic

"A visit to the tattooed lady" From: An unpublished manuscript. Please click for big.

Something From Part One of the Book