A Whale of a Tale

According to my beloved Paper Place (and its mysterious cousin, the Japanese Paper Place), this June is all about washi (click for Wikipedia-based learnin'!). I had the pleasure of attending a lovely washi workshop a few months ago at the Japanese Paper Place, and, having learned about promptly promised Freedom Clothing Collective I'd make a piece for their washi-inspired exhibition.

Being a master procrastinator, I left the actual creation of the piece until the last minute, but I'm mercifully happy with the final result. It's in line with my current nautical obsession - here's a shot of the watercolour background, pre-shadowboxing:



And the finished piece (photo taken in the GORGEOUS garden that's attached to the building in which my new studio lives...mega-super bonus, guys)!



The shadowbox is 5" x 7", which means this here ship measures approximately 1" in length...



...while the whale is just a bit bigger at 2.5" or so.



Both of the washi items were hand-sewn with gold embroidery thread, which was stressful (thankfully the paper is impressively strong and resists ripping pretty darn well), but ended up giving an appealing atmosphere to the final setup (I like to think it's slightly reminiscent of the handmade dream-scenes in Science of Sleep, though that may be wishful thinking). Once it was finished, I also realized it reminded me of one of my favourite prints by Canadian printmaker David Blackwood:

I swear the resemblance wasn't purposeful, but the end result, which is kind of a kid's book version of the print, certainly amuses me!

New Year, New Projects!

Now that 2011 has dropped its bags on my floor and moved in for the long haul (well, the next 300+ days, at least), my mind has also rambled along, onto exciting new projects that (mostly) don't involve circus freaks.

Here's a sneak peek of the main thing on which I'm working right now. It's in its very earliest planning stages, though my thoughts can't help leaping ahead to even more thrilling stages of the work. Sometimes it's an effort to keep myself confined to the sketchbook, making the necessary preparatory sketches.

Here's one of the more finished (a.k.a. watercoloured) sketch-beasts. Let's just say I'm currently finding myself quite obsessed with marine life, anatomy and cross sections:



Onwards, 2011! May you be full of fishes and sea-swells and the odd curiosity too!

Seal-Folk

Stephan DeSotto, 1899

Known best for his rapier wit, which he developed in his teenage years to distract from his rapier teeth, Stephan was popular in the artist's cafés of Paris as he always had a clever insult ready for any newcomers who dared to show off their attempts at art. He tried desperately to overcome the existing prejudices that regarded leopard seals as nothing but bloodthirsty killers (of defenseless penguins, even), and managed to make great headway until the day he was discovered with the pocket watch of a penguin artist named Pierre who had recently gone missing.

It later turned out that Pierre had merely drunk too much absinthe and fallen into the river (and that Stephan had found the watch by the riverside), but by then the poor seal had left Paris in disgrace and it is reported that he spent the rest of his days drinking in smoky taverns in the South of France.



Clarence Warlington, 1822

Not nearly as famous as William Orpheus Harrington, Clarence was still considered one of the foremost opera singers in Europe. His rich tenor graced many a stage, and his first performance in London (where he played Alfredo Germont in La Traviata) drew one of the biggest crowds ever recorded.

Thaddeus - some sketches

Thaddeus is the main character of a graphic novel/comic I'm currently
in the process of creating. At the rate I'm working on it right now,
it should be done by 2068.


Thaddeus' main goal in life is to make his way to the ocean and find an
octopus to befriend. His dreams are full of tentacles.


Finally under the sea, all Thad finds are some jellyfish - wherever could the octopi be?

Many More Bears

Despite his colourful pants, Cedric was sad.


Renoir found himself amused by the simplest things.


Bookish to a fault, Saul spent his days in the stacks.


Fiona wished for just one more lovely coral necklace.


Fanny wished only for some colour.

Frida & Friends

One of my heroes - not the best representation of her though. Must try again sometime.


A phrenology head (drawn for something I was designing for my workplace, hence the BPC in the brains).


Moray eel.


Another mandrill.


Puffer fish!


Pierre disdains his common English cousin.