Nat Janin Illustration

Pizza Love

2012-01-23T12:43:00.004-05:00

Quickly whipped up a little bit of love and pizza for this coming Valentine's Day.

Also, moving this blog over to tumblr in the near future. I like pretty interfaces.

Eyebrows and Pizza. mmm.

2011-12-09T17:38:00.001-05:00

Hello World. I went to NYC for a week with some illustration buds you should check out (Kassem/Taj Nabhani/Caitlin Taguibao/Erin Ornstein), met some wonderful and insightful art directors, had a blast at the AI party and possibly harassed Josh Cochran and Sam Weber. Good sports - Good times.
But there was also work: A small illustration for the Dec/Jan issue of NYLON Guys Magazine on men's eyebrow maintenance.

...And finally put together Pizzeria Defina's website with illustrations! You can see it all at www.pizzeriadefina.com

And apparently it's Christmas in two weeks. My head is still in September. You're all getting kraft paper Christmas cards. Be grateful.

suuunnny day, chasing the clouds away...

2011-09-27T00:39:00.004-04:00

I've been drawing too much food lately.

LOSERS

2011-09-08T00:07:00.003-04:00

I like to quickly draw stupid stuff before I need to do something serious. That way my mind doesn't wander. Otherwise I'll start to think about stupid things like how high-waisted parachute pants remind me so much of nine year old boys who would tuck their t-shirts into their sweat pants.

Bugs.

2011-08-30T20:22:00.001-04:00

A little drawing that is essentially concept art for a side project... Doing a lot of graphic design right now. Hopefully I should be drawing more soon.

BIG on Bloor Festival

2011-07-22T19:51:00.006-04:00

Saturday afternoon from 1-9pm is the BIG on Bloor Festival! http://bigonbloor.com/festival/

I will be hanging out with Public Exposure at the Xpace tent (between Lansdowne and St. Clarens), where we are putting together a live installation throughout the day called "Shelter." There will also be plenty of zines and prints available! I will have a very limited supply of my
"specimens:" Petri Dish prints and perhaps some surprise test tube babies...

Romance of the Wheel: Road Kill

2011-07-08T18:46:00.003-04:00

This was a drawing for Romance of the Wheel titled "Road Kill."

Rabbits everywhere.

2011-06-27T01:08:00.003-04:00

Drawing rabbits are something like eating Lay's chips... something like that.

Hare

2011-06-23T19:30:00.003-04:00

I'm thinking about getting rid of this blog for Tumblr instead... perhaps?

Back to it.

2011-06-20T20:42:00.004-04:00

So after one computer debacle, a busted scanner, illness, official graduation, vacation, another illness and a couple gallery shows tossed in there... I think I finally have everything in order and can start working towards some summer projects.

I'm still getting over a weird cold after coming home from Bonnaroo in Tennessee, so I decided to go for a walk around the neighbourhood. I ran into this AMAZING trio of girls whose mannerisms and attire made them look like they had walked right out of a cartoon. I had to scribble them down quickly - I think it's actually a pretty accurate depiction.

Romance of the Wheel

2011-05-25T12:09:00.004-04:00

Coming up next week! In honour of Bike Month, Jet Fuel Coffee is kindly hosting "Romance of the Wheel" - a bike themed show for the duration of June. This is an amazing line-up that I'm excited to be a part of.

The opening is Friday June 3rd from 9pm onwards. This awesome poster was created by Jessie Durham and Dmitry Bondarenko.

First Stop

2011-03-31T21:58:00.004-04:00

I recently started up with First Stop, a great paperless way to promote your work. http://www.first-stop.org/2011/03/31/winter-wear/

I never liked mailers much anyway.

Website updated! Finally a section to document my happy little corner of Cavalcade. http://natdraws.com/

Cold as Death

2011-03-09T05:48:00.004-05:00

For my eternally damned cold hands and feet. I'll look for anything to keep them warm.

Today's illustration brought to you by the letter ehhhhhhh

2011-02-17T20:28:00.003-05:00

I don't think the Fonz could even get waves like that in his hair.

Some furs hunted and gathered from Cavalcade.

Winter "Whair"

2011-02-16T00:12:00.003-05:00

This made me so frustrated when I began to edit it after the scan that I eventually decided it was best in it's rawness.

Such a twit

2011-02-02T22:44:00.002-05:00

I'm sorry for the neglect blog but I can spill out a bunch of randomness over here: http://twitter.com/#!/nat_janin

All the better to see you with, my dear.

2010-12-09T22:10:00.000-05:00

Treasure Trail

2010-11-01T22:12:00.003-04:00

X marks the spot.

Toupe-"A"

2010-10-28T19:50:00.003-04:00

Yep.

Cavalcade

2010-10-20T22:20:00.002-04:00

At Xpace from November 12th to December 11th, I am participating in Cavalcade, a mural show that will change and progress over the course of the month. There will be an opening party Nov 11th and a closing reception/artist talk Dec 12th! Also involved are a very talented group of illustrators:

Adrian Forrow
Ahmed Kassem
Ali Hall
Daniel Downey
Dmitry Bondarenko
Javier Ortiz
Jessie Durham
Sean Lewis

Find out more about the mural show on the Xpace website http://www.xpace.info/mainspace/cavalcade/.

No Cat Food

2010-09-30T23:37:00.002-04:00

The real District 9 stretches along the highway for miles.

Bang Bang

2010-09-30T22:26:00.002-04:00

Analog Love

2010-09-27T23:41:00.001-04:00

I think I owe Madame Holga a date.

2010-09-21T01:24:00.001-04:00

Planning for something exciting...

In da hood

2010-08-31T10:15:00.003-04:00

I've recently had some turf wars with raccoons in my kitchen. They're the real homeboys in the neighborhood.

Toys

2010-08-25T01:05:00.003-04:00

I took a quick trip to New York City and stumbled upon the greatest art store ever. So I had to buy a new toy. Brush pens are so convenient.

And always experimenting...

Public Exposure Zine Launch

2010-08-08T20:23:00.001-04:00

The Zine Launch was awesome. Completely worth it! Here are some scenes from Ron Wan:

http://www.ronwan.com/blog/07_30_2010.html

A little bit of nothing much

2010-08-06T09:51:00.002-04:00

Meanderings

Go Do

2010-07-13T14:26:00.002-04:00

Since I recently moved a month ago, I have no home internet so updating is difficult! And after doing a final liberal studies course I can graduate! Turning on another side of your brain is difficult when you've been drowning under drawings. Also, summertime head cold - terrible.

BUT I have not been idle... upcoming projects:

- Public Exposure Zine launch party coming at the end of July! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Public-Exposure/122637377772725
- Hadron Colliderscope comics! http://www.hadroncolliderscope.com/wp/
- New painting and animation projects!
- Future Travels!
- "Float" is officially an Adobe Design Achievement Awards Semi-finalist http://vimeo.com/12308613

whoaawesome!

American Illustration | mosiac | name game

2010-04-17T22:25:00.005-04:00

Shuffling around.

Pre-edit thesis mosaic. It feels so nice to be just in the process of some alterations. Despite the mental exhaustion, it was fun, though I really cannot wait to be done with it and onto a new project.

This piece was chosen by American Illustration for the AI-29 web gallery. I was actually not expecting anything at all, so it was really nice to get a positive response on my first entry to AI.

Let's play the name game. I remember when I once dreaded telling anyone my middle name and now the illustration world gets to know it as my last name... Janin. I guess ideally you're suppose to pronounce like you're french - but I couldn't care less. haha, seriously considering making my middle name wilson. ~~can't let my parents retain all of their sanity~~

Guitar Hero

2010-04-14T19:50:00.003-04:00

Another drawing and painting assignment. This one is in acrylic. Again, it would have been nice to have more time for it. However, I like how the time limit forced me to make it more graphic, which is nice for a skateboard.

On Target

2010-04-14T12:13:00.004-04:00

A drawing and painting assignment. Here is a case of something I would have liked to fully finish if I had the time.

Birthing cries

2010-04-08T11:19:00.000-04:00

It's like a bouncing new baby.

http://natdraws.com/

Elope

2010-04-04T12:31:00.004-04:00

Illustration and I are eloping. I will be taking it's last name, Song, at the jaws ride in Universal Studios. It may also be a combination of my love for Nat King Cole and and half of my own last name.

Random:

I love Mr. Gnome's album covers. So great, so eerie.

(Happy Easter)

It's all about me.

2010-03-25T23:40:00.002-04:00

Roughing it out some more.

The Geocentric model was based on the belief that the earth was the center of the universe and all else revolved around it. Compared with modern egocentric behaviour, the hair of a vain woman spins around her like a galaxy littered with the junk of disposable culture (tba).

I find posting roughs helps keep me focused. It reminds me of what the bare bones of the pieces looked like so it's easier to go back and make alterations. Also, I'm bizarrely finding it more effective to work on a bunch of finals at once and jumping between them. Versus systematically going from sketch to final between each piece. That or I'm just a huge procrastinator who gets off on the stress of finishing everything at the end. Nothing ever makes sense until then end.

Fresh Meat

2010-03-23T02:27:00.003-04:00

Currently working on three illustrations for thesis, a website, and three paintings. As much as I would like the next few weeks to end, I need every hour, minute, and second to finish this stuff. I feel guilty sleeping. All I really want to do is paint Patti Smith and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Clones. Seriously.

Thesis: Roughing this one out...

Shaunamitism was the belief that old men could retain their youth and vigor by sleeping with (though not necessarily having sex with) young girls. Compared with our ongoing desire to maintain, reconnect with or steal aspects of youth - Silver Foxes hunt and consume their young prey.

I love stuff like this right now.

Foxes Mate for Life

2010-03-23T02:21:00.004-04:00

The Creative Type show was inspiring.

I am also inspired to find a scanner that doesn't butcher every little detail.

layers of paranoia

2010-03-11T11:31:00.003-05:00

tough

Jurassic Park

2010-03-03T02:55:00.003-05:00

Playing with a variation of one of my thesis pieces.

Thesis Things

2010-03-03T02:50:00.003-05:00

Theoretically Pleasurable

Theoretically Contagious

Theoretically Nurturing

Theoretically Speaking...

2010-01-25T13:14:00.004-05:00

Finally something from my thesis, which is reinterpreting ridiculous theories from the past as present day facts.

Refrigerator Mother

Via wikipedia:
"The term refrigerator mother was coined around 1950 as a label for mothers of children diagnosed with autism or schizophrenia. These mothers were often blamed for their children's atypical behavior, which included rigid rituals, speech difficulty, and self-isolation. The "refrigerator mother" label was based on the assumption — that autistic behaviors stem from the emotional frigidity of the children's mothers. "

Part Two: death she must have been your will

2009-12-16T02:49:00.004-05:00

a bone beneath the reaper's veil

oh lord i must have heard you knock me out of bed

it was real and i repent

all those messages you sent clear as day

but in the night

i have become what i most fear

and i know there are no such thing as ghosts

but i have seen the demon host

Art, Illustration, and Animation?

2009-12-08T17:29:00.002-05:00

And it's done, finally, in HD too:

Find "Float" on youtube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM8HXv_e5_I

Not bad for a first try, I think! Definitely going to pursue more animation in the future.

stay awake

2009-11-25T22:45:00.003-05:00

My "stage" for what will be animated soon...

- thesis work in two weeks

- tired

- hungry

antithesis

2009-11-25T22:42:00.001-05:00

scribbles and things

A History in Rust: part one

2009-11-25T19:24:00.006-05:00

A precious corner

Hush

the best parts are hidden

1860

always have a favourite pair of socks

precious things from precious people.

Fresh starts -

2009-09-01T00:50:00.004-04:00

- with old friends:

New things don't always come shiny and clean. Babies for example.

A mouthul of feathers stops the guilt from going down

2009-09-01T00:50:00.000-04:00

A little something for Whippersnapper.

From Life

2009-07-18T03:14:00.002-04:00

I focused on life drawing over the spring. I really enjoy the 360 gesture poses. The semi painted figure is really big - larger than the model. It was the first time I got to work at the size in life drawing, which was amazing but difficult. Adding collage to the mix was also refreshing. I was allowed to intertwine some of my sketchbook "manners" into the ink figure.

Doodles and paint play

2009-07-18T03:11:00.001-04:00

Gestures at the Gladstone Art Bar

2009-07-18T03:08:00.002-04:00

Hello again

2009-07-18T02:53:00.004-04:00

I haven't been that lazy, I swear.

Friends and street strangers:

Smile for me, pretty.

2009-07-17T03:58:00.004-04:00

Consumed by 60 hour work weeks. Returning to your favourite channel shortly, perhaps with dehydrated space food.

48 Laws of Power

2009-04-10T17:06:00.003-04:00

Law 28:

Enter Action with Boldness

If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.

Law 26:

Keep Your Hands Clean

You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency: Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds. Maintain such a spotless appearance by using others as scapegoats and cat’s-paws to disguise your involvement.

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover

2009-04-07T14:03:00.004-04:00

Movie poster for "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover" + texture print on panel! Good dark humor British movie.

Portraits

2009-04-07T12:46:00.002-04:00

In class with waterbased oils.

The eighties, acid, and Marxism

2009-03-26T16:32:00.003-04:00

Guilty Pleasure = Ode to eighties cartoons:

Portrait of Benicio Del Toro as Che. My goal was to show his "expressive" performance being overshadowed by Steven Soderbergh's "stylistic flair".

Skateboards

2009-03-26T16:31:00.002-04:00

Art Show experiments

2009-03-26T16:26:00.001-04:00

Details:

HIV Annual Report

2009-03-25T01:26:00.002-04:00

Respect, Protect, Fufill.

Style and Fashion

2009-03-25T01:07:00.003-04:00

A little something until I get around to scanning things again. These were from my digital media class for a fashion article about how personal style is something that comes from within.

And we're back: Preview

2009-01-05T13:18:00.002-05:00

In the works for:

http://www.gladstonehotel.com/exhibitiondetail.cfm?id=1358

I also finally got some decent true colour lighting for my work space. It is spectacular.

Abominable large chested bride of the Michelin man..

2008-12-11T21:07:00.004-05:00

...alla Tim Burton.

For our final assignment in media studio, Hector left it completely open. We just had to utilize all the programs and elements from the semester. Originally I was going to make this crazy abominable snow-woman lazily perched in some mountains trying to blow away a person trying to reach something (undecided) on her head/horns/trees.

I got too into having the freedom to screw around with the programs and didn't have the time to complete what I originally wanted and ended up with this monster instead:

After looking over my work from the semester Hector called me weird but the assignments made him laugh - I consider that success.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL HARVEY{s} ...CHAN

2008-12-10T21:38:00.004-05:00

I love Harvey. ~!! I'm afraid I might miss this because of work... or I will run in at 5:59 hoping something is left. Perhaps I will stalk him around school for a print or two.

Sleepness nights

2008-12-09T19:39:00.003-05:00

After pulling an allnighter last week and completing a 4000 word marathon, nothing ever makes sense any more. However, I don't think my sketches ever do.

Taj very kindly gave me some skateboards for my business class. I'm working on creating a business plan for a skateboard/street art company. It didn't turn out at all how I expected, I painted it over so many times... I decided to try something different. I'm not sure if I like it, I'm just tired of looking at it. I feel like it's missing something tiny, but I'm not entirely sure what yet.

Discovery

2008-11-28T23:35:00.005-05:00

Illustrators like tigers. I guess it's because they're awesome.

Embracing pen and nib again. It's been too long. Don't tell me I can't use ink and oils (and a little ballpoint pen) together , because I am probably going to do more of it!

How I left the painting. I'm still finding it extremely difficult to be loose with complete paintings. I considered going in and blending everything and getting detail happy with a small brush. I don't think I went smaller than an 8 (normally I would go down to my 10/0!). I'm trying not to render things to a point where taking a photograph would probably just make a better image, but I think that struggle is obvious in this. I need a colour corrected lamp for my room. My lights are all warm - everything turns really yellow.

Wisdom hurts your brain

2008-11-26T14:35:00.002-05:00

OW MY FACE. :( Incoming dental surgery.

IN PROGRESS:

Hi TS!

Pictorial Ramblings

2008-11-23T20:06:00.006-05:00

Like most students this time of year I have been extremely bogged down with school assignments and work. Haven't posted many sketches in a while! These consist of subway subjects, sleepy classmates, central park zoo animals, mental farts and unconscious ramblings...

acrylic painting and old experiment

2008-11-14T02:12:00.002-05:00

It's nearing a year since I touched acrylic paint so I decided it was time to play around with them again. If you can make out anything in this painting I commend you. Still have plans to invest on some decent hardware...

Taking up Taj on his daily paints. Super speed paint of.. lamp! Exciting! Also, too chalky.

I found this little past scribble/experiment from what feels like ages ago. It really helped me focus on a method for digital illustrations.

Guts cover

2008-11-06T23:39:00.003-05:00

Cover for "Guts", using illustrator for line and colour, photoshop for textures and further editing. I consider this still unfinished... certain elements need to be fixed like the author name and some of the line work.

American Illustration Cover

2008-11-04T02:32:00.003-05:00

I can't decide on a colour scheme... this is one of a couple I'm going to print out and choose from.

mixed media + digital colour

Update:

We ended up settling on the greenish scheme. This was the first scheme I did originally... unfortunately a lot of the vibrancy was lost in the print.

Lost experiments

2008-11-04T02:22:00.002-05:00

I have pages and pages of random pieces of paper with these mini tests and experiments all over them. Most of them disappear under piles of paper or eventually get tossed out. I really love what comes out of these. I just wish I would remember to take note of how to do certain things.

Flutter

2008-10-31T09:40:00.003-04:00

Check out Flutter by Howard Shia.

I love this scene at 3:55. The quality of the animation is just gorgeous.

AI cover sketch and random encounters

2008-10-29T00:05:00.002-04:00

Sketch for an American Illustration cover... I loosely used "deadlines" as my concept. Being something that as illustrators we're always racing/reaching to meet deadlines, but as soon as we get there the next one is right behind us. I haven't gotten any input on this yet because I was delayed getting back from New York today where I spent the past four days.

I normally take the overnight Greyhound when visiting. On my way there is was a fairly empty bus and I had a row of seats to myself. During a rest stop I was scribbling in my sketchbook when I heard someone behind me say how she loved that "look" and wanted to look though the book. She introduced herself as a product developer who is currently working with this designer/illustrator http://www.brandnu.co.uk/, asked if I had an interest in fashion illustration and then gave me her card and contact information and told me to keep in touch... for future projects? We'll see what happens there. Even if nothing comes out of it, it was a pretty flattering moment.

I try to pay attention in class, I really do.

2008-10-22T23:44:00.002-04:00

But writing essays should be outlawed in art school.

Paint play

2008-10-20T22:57:00.003-04:00

The first of (eventually) four paintings for my painting class. I was bad and didn't use reference, so it's all out of my head. I'm sure Terry will call me out on it, but I like far too much seeing what I can do in those imaginary places! Completed with water-based oils.

Sometimes it feels like everything is crashing down

2008-10-15T22:35:00.003-04:00

My great aunt died today, two months short of her 100th birthday. She was only other person in my family that seriously pursued the arts. She was also the most spunky nun I ever knew.

I wonder what kind of person I'd be after a century of life. I don't think I'd want to spent my last twenty years slowly wilting. I think it would be awesome to be the witchy old lady around the corner that small children are terrified of. Do kids even get scared any more? They're too busy running their own lives by age five it seems.

Anyway, I always thought I'd die young. I was a morbid kid.

Bonus Round

2008-10-13T22:36:00.002-04:00

I am actually getting a little bored with experimenting. At least with the oil + other media. I can handle oil by itself. I feel like my grasp on the pen could become infinitely tighter. I love the effect I can achieve with a little mat medium. And I will be golden when I start playing with mylar and photoshop again.

It is the combination of these things that I want so badly. I just don't know the formula yet.

Colour study #2

2008-10-13T22:32:00.000-04:00

photographic reference - oils

Part One - Egg donor wanted

2008-09-28T21:26:00.002-04:00

I cannot take a decent picture with my ancient camera and spot lighting, so there is a blurry version and a flash version. Try to envision something in the middle.

Gummie worms kill

2008-09-24T23:39:00.003-04:00

When I don't pay attention in class I think of things I used to scratch into the desks of my elementary school of yore.

sketches crossposted

2008-09-24T01:56:00.001-04:00

For Graham's class we were suppose to find three classified ads and make a narrative out of them. Mine were:

1. Egg donor wanted
2. metal bird feeder with unique features
3. innovative psychotherapy

Birds/psychotherapy made me think of Edgar Alan Poe's "The Raven" so my illustrations are based around that: see here: http://www.online-literature.com/poe/335/

These are #1 and #2 after hearing Graham's suggestions. I had to scan them in two parts so the alignment isn't very good. I'm still working on the third one a bit. Spoiler: the egg hatches.

Something for the sake of something.

2008-09-16T22:41:00.003-04:00

Terry is making us do some colour studies again - the copy a photo one for those who've done it. It's one of those things that by the end you are completely frustrated because every mistake screams "look at me!" like a massive swollen zit. For some reason my colours keep drying too dull. I think it was due to dirty water.

I wish I did some painting this summer.

Dear sir, please remember to wear appropriate pants.

2008-09-11T19:56:00.002-04:00

Prepping for School

2008-09-02T13:32:00.002-04:00

I'm looking forward to class.

Those are some gills, Mr. Costner

2008-08-11T23:30:00.003-04:00

Just a couple sketches from today...

Recently I've had a couple days off to rejuvenate after working 7 days a week for all of July and into August. So it pains me that I haven't had a decent chunk of time to work on some finished illustration, although I think about it all the time. Always thinking about what's next, different concepts, and potential mysterious techniques.

I have been running an art camp on weekdays out of a ceramics studio that I work at, as well as showing up to Curry's on weekends. I've actually been looking forward to this week for the past month, partly because it means I have less than two weeks left at the camp but mostly because the kids are at a higher age group (11-15). This means that I've been able to move away from the more "crafty" projects with the the younger kids (7-10) and really pass on some knowledge to these girls who are eager to learn. They had their first experience with figure drawing (5-10 minute stances) from a real "model" i.e. each other. Most of these scribbles are of the girls. I had the joy of actually being paid to have someone sit for me, even if they are hopeless at staying the least bit still.

cannonballed into a stream of consciousness

2008-07-27T20:58:00.001-04:00

Don't hit your head on the bottom.

mindless moleskin sketchings

2008-07-22T21:07:00.003-04:00

Some scribbles so I don't lose my mind from work...

In Toronto on Friday

2008-07-01T11:43:00.002-04:00

I've been in NYC for the past week and a bit, but I will be home in a couple days. It's been so bloody hot here, we've been avoiding the sun. I brought some of my materials so I've been experimenting on marrying media I love. Hopefully I will have something different to show when I get home.

ICON5 starts in NYC this week. I would give anything to be able to stay and meet all the amazing illustrators! That's just the way life is, I suppose.

value this

2008-06-08T23:44:00.004-04:00

Very quick and not so good value fun head. I should have used a reference but challenging the imagination is frustratingly fun.

He looked at me funny

2008-06-03T23:35:00.000-04:00

most random subway sketchings

2008-05-28T14:38:00.001-04:00

Hey kids, we're on threadless (kinda)

2008-05-19T12:55:00.004-04:00

I tossed on a little submission a while ago and now it's up for voting! You can do me a huge favour if you have a threadless account (or go make one!) by giving it a 5 and pressing the "I'd buy it" button if you like it of course. ;)

It's an ink drawing of a reinterpretation of the tool bar from the game Lemmings (awesome game). I would actually like to wear the shirt - I'm considering just screen printing one for myself if need be. Geek joy. :F

Madame Pigeon

2008-05-16T22:40:00.004-04:00

That's pronounced "pijon" like Dijon mustard. Good stuff that mustard is. I'm working on something! This has been in my head for quite awhile, but didn't seep out until I saw this fantastic photograph of pigeons covering a storefront on College Street.

This is a very rough sketch. It was inspired by seeing many fluffed up cold pigeons in february that always made me think of very extravagant women with huge fur collars or feather boas. Mixed up with My Fair Lady and Moulin Rouge. I want to rough her up a little more, like she's a Parisian red-light district worker but with a "you could never afford me" attitude. Perhaps stylize the pigeons in a way where they're all, "I only eat FRESHLY baked 100% whole wheat bread... with flax seeds!"

Whoa, haven't posted here in too long! I always think I'm going to have more time for art in the summer but I always have less. Probably because I'm actually sleeping after 8 months of insomnia. Annnnd I actually did start the past assignment for the weekly, "terraforming machines" but it's very unfinished... I will finish it! I promise!

Bizzzzzap

2008-05-01T21:24:00.003-04:00

Cross post from the weekly...

"I wanted to play with this more but it's already late! Experimenting with some techniques I've started to use a little more. Kaleidoscope made think of fly eyeballs and I couldn't get it out of my head so I had to draw it out. Flies are the one insect I hate with a passion: KALEIDOSCOPE LASER FLY EYE FLY ZAPPER. I might start to like flies if they were all like this."

There's so much more I wanted to do with this atmosphere wise, but I rushed it to met a deadline which I already missed.

I feel like I've been doing nothing but job interviews and meeting people since I finished classes. I actually just got home from one, which I think/hope/pray went well. On my ride home I was sitting next to a man who exhibited signs of some sort of mental disorder. He would fidget nervously and repeat the same few phrases to someone who wasn't there. It really fascinated me. He stared blankly at me at one point, like if I were a window - utterly transparent. I had my moleskin out and started to write what I saw and heard.

He is talking to himself
"Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop."
They are shaking their heads at him
He clenches his knees. Relax. Breathe.
He's upset about his grades
He doesn't want to to talk to him about it.
"Stop it. Stop."
Click. Click. (Tongue)
Yawns.
"Don't talk to me man, FUCK.
You gotta problem with me?
Voices are all around him.
Nervous glances.
He wipes his face.
Humming.
"Thank yooooooooooou, come agaaaain." (Classic Abu accent)
He stares at me.
Mumbles.
Silence.

In other news... I want to start a project with a series of illustrations based off music. I know this is hardly an original idea, but when I hear music I picture things. They imprint themselves in my brain and scream at me to release them. Vivid landscapes, unique people, dramatic events. Music, like illustration, tells a story. There is a soundtrack to my madness, I just haven't made the movie yet.

Fellow Illustration OCADians of 2010:

2008-04-23T13:27:00.004-04:00

Taj and I are putting together a weekly illustration blog. Think illustration friday, but better and just for us OCAD kids. You can find it here in it's fledgling form: http://ocadillustration.blogspot.com/

We'd like to get started tomorrow (thursday), but we need your emails to make all of you lovely people authors and admins so you can contribute! As well as pass this message on!

Welcome to the Present

2008-04-17T13:09:00.007-04:00

These are all from this past semester. Just one exam to go and it's a summer of drawing and painting and experimenting with whatever I want!

The first two are waterbased oil paintings for my drawing and painting class. While I don't think they're great, I think they're passable for an afternoon's work and for having my first painting lesson ever a couple months ago. If I had more time I think I really could have gone above and beyond the call of duty with these... So that's something to work on this summer. I apoligize for the crappy scans.

I really enjoyed this... it happened at 3am in an "oh shit I have an assignment due in a few hours" moment one night. This was for my mixed media class where we had to do "man v.s machine" in mixed media/collage. I was going to do something completely different but it wasn't working out, so in a leap of faith I decided to modify a mat medium transfer technique that we were shown in class the week before. While there's no real paper collage in this, I like to think of it as a collage of mediums. I didn't get much sleep that night but Harvey liked it and I liked it so all is well.

Drawing skeletons is always fun. Rib cages with a million different values? Not so much.

Quick pencil and ink sketch from workshop. They're such a nice combination.

Something I was messing around with the other day... I wanted to play more with mat medium tranfers. I took a little ink drawing I did and just played around with it a bit. Originally I was going to make it a redo for an assignment on "Unity" from Taxali's class but I decided I'd rather screw around. I brought it (the piece on wood) to my critique with Gary anyway. To my surprise he really liked the mass of bodies, the clusterfuck. I was pleased.

I get really frustrated and regretful when I think I could have spent my 4 years of highschool and 2 years out of highschool before OCAD perfecting my skills. I still feel so raw and out of pratice. I feel like I could have been ages ahead of myself in skill if I had just gone with arts from the beginning, now I have 2 years to go as far as I can. There are days when everything just looks like garbage and I want to convert back my science textbooks and not have to deal with artist anxiety which I so often feel. I swear that's why some artists lose their minds. That and solvents. Overall, I think I never want to be satisfied. Satisfaction is dangerous in art, complacency is suicide. You can't just be "good". We all know perfection doesn't exist but we're reaching for it anyway. Because if you don't, you're fucked.

photography interlude....

2008-04-17T12:43:00.005-04:00

I used to do a lot of photography. Analog only. I hate, hate, hate digital cameras. These were taken around Toronto a year or two ago. Points of interest: Mount Pleasant cemetary, Spadina House, the orchids by my bedroom window, Bloor Subway station. Ahh, I miss photography now. <3

Massive dump of old stuff.

2008-04-17T12:15:00.005-04:00

I need to fill this puppy up... since I'm completely directionless, let's go backwards! This is a mix of things from last year and fall semester....

"Toyland" Toy store bag design: it's suppose to be a wrap around for a bag around the size of a small gift bag/loot bag. From first year winter semester... it was also my first real attempt at Corel Painter.

Anatomy Assignment! Not really art, but I appreciate science and there's nothing to say that science can't be art! Second Year, Fall semester.

Two part architecture assignment. Take a perspective photo (top left) and render it in line work (bottom left) and colour (right). This is from First Year winter semester. The photo is one I took in the distillery district, the line work is pen and the colour is oil pastel.

Two words and a figure... this is from second year fall semester. Oil Pastels.

Something random I must have done in painter! I think this was sometime during first year, not for an assignment, just screwing around.

This was for a typography portrait assignment first year, winter semester... I was angry. :) I really didn't like my prof. haha.

Now for something totally random

2008-04-10T19:18:00.002-04:00

When I saw this shirt on threadless I nearly toppled over. So great! I think I would have liked it a different colour, however. This is for the artgamergeek in me. ;)