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Showing posts with label pen and ink. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pen and ink. Show all posts

Monday, 16 November 2015

Artwork of Fantasy and Imagination - The Croydon Wanderers Linework

This is my last entry for Artwork of Fantasy and Imagination, the next exhibition that I'll be doing with the group I did the Sydney Comic Art & Drawing Exhibition with. The show will run from 17th - 24th December, at The Shop Gallery, Glebe, here in Sydney. 

Keeping with my idea of otherworldly refugees settling into everyday life, this is the pencil and ink work for an amateur team from Croydon (either Croydon near London, or Croydon in Sydney - my Anglo-Australian neutrality remains intact). The original art and the finished digital art will be exhibited with The Builders, and The Office.

Like I wrote before, I even came up with a story that links these pictures:
It's been just 18 months since the first of the refugees arrived through the portals. In cities all over the world, people have started to grow accustomed to having neighbours and, increasingly, workmates who would have been the stuff of myths 2 years ago.
While most refugees are reluctant to talk about their experiences, there are rumours circling of harsh and brutal feudal societies, with appalling living conditions. No wonder, many say, that they have been so quick to train and enter the modern workforce, and, where possible, assimilate into 21st century culture.
Of course, even extra-dimensional refugees need time off, and a Sunday league football team is  the perfect way to socialise with their neighbours.




 ©2015 James Mathurin

Sunday, 8 November 2015

Artwork of Fantasy and Imagination - The Office

This is my next entry for Artwork of Fantasy and Imagination, the next exhibition that I'll be doing with the group I did the Sydney Comic Art & Drawing Exhibition with. The show will run from 17th - 24th December, at The Shop Gallery, Glebe, here in Sydney. 

Keeping with my idea of otherworldly refugees settling into everyday life, here are a couple of office colleagues having a chat. This will be exhibited with The Builders, and at least one other piece in the series.

Like I wrote 2 weeks ago, I even came up with a story that links these pictures:
It's been just 18 months since the first of the refugees arrived through the portals. In cities all over the world, people have started to grow accustomed to having neighbours and, increasingly, workmates who would have been the stuff of myths 2 years ago.
While most refugees are reluctant to talk about their experiences, there are rumours circling of harsh and brutal feudal societies, with appalling living conditions. No wonder, many say, that they have been so quick to train and enter the modern workforce, and, where possible, assimilate into 21st century culture.

 I did a couple of versions of the colours, but in the end, I decided to match it up with a third version of The Builders.




 ©2015 James Mathurin

Sunday, 1 November 2015

Artwork of Fantasy and Imagination - Builders and sketches

I went back to The Builders from last week, and did some work on the colouring, based on some feedback I got.
 Also, here are some research sketches I've been making for the next couple of pictures. I've been using African masks and statues for ideas, and some of these are from the Bena Luluwa in Zaire, a Kasangu mask, from the Sola Mpasis of Zaire, a Ndimo mask, from the Makonde of South Tanzania, and a grimacing mask from Tunisia.

 ©2015 James Mathurin

Sunday, 25 October 2015

Artwork of Fantasy and Imagination - Builders

This is my first entry for Artwork of Fantasy and Imagination, the next exhibition that I'll be doing with the group I did the Sydney Comic Art & Drawing Exhibition with. The show will run from 17th - 24th December, at The Shop Gallery, Glebe, here in Sydney. A lot of my stuff has been comic and sci-fi based, so fantasy is a chance to try something different.

Most of the fantasy stuff I've enjoyed has been in a contemporary setting (China Mieville, Geoffrey Thorne, Neil Gaimen, and Garth Ennis' Preacher are the ones that come to mind), so I wanted to do some pieces that put fantasy figures into everyday settings.

This is why my research sketches from the last few weeks have bounced from builders on a tea break to flaming skulls and people with fish heads. So what's the backstory?


It's been just 18 months since the first of the refugees arrived through the portals. In cities all over the world, people have started to grow accustomed to having neighbours and, increasingly, workmates who would have been the stuff of myths 2 years ago.
While most refugees are reluctant to talk about their experiences, there are rumours circling of harsh and brutal feudal societies, with appalling living conditions. No wonder, many say, that they have been so quick to train and enter the modern workforce, and, where possible, assimilate into 21st century culture.






©2015 James Mathurin

Sunday, 18 October 2015

More sketches for my next project

These are more preparatory sketches to go with the builders and faces I was drawing a while back. I'm quite fond of my fishhead guys, but I'm looking forward to using all of these, including the office scene.



©2015 James Mathurin

Wednesday, 14 October 2015

Democracy in action! - Vote for 'Nina' and 'The Couple' for ArtSHINE's Draw Me A Calendar event

This Saturday The Winners of ArtSHINE's Draw ME A Calendar competition will be announced. With your help, Nina and / or The Couple will be among them! This is democracy in action, people!
Here are ArtSHINE's presentations of my pieces:
 

Remember, as well as winners chosen to go into ArtSHINE’s 2016 calendar, there are 2 People’s Choice awards. 

You can vote for me online by going to ArtSHINE’s facebook page and sending them a message saying your People’s Choice is either: 
or
 
If you’re in Sydney, you can actually visit the gallery (always a good idea, plus you can get coffee and lunch) and vote for me in person.
The gallery is at:
3 Blackfriars Street
Chippendale
Sydney
2008

The Draw Me A Calendar opening night is next Saturday, the 17th October, between 6 and 8pm.

©2015 James Mathurin

Sunday, 11 October 2015

The Couple - Steampunk piece

This is my second piece for the ArtSHINE 'Draw Me A Calendar' competition, and the final version based on the sketches of the Victorian couple I posted last week.

I just want to say, I drew this before the new series of Doctor Who premiered, so any resemblance between the chair in the picture and certain pepper-pot shaped aliens is... well, it's not coicidental, is it? I've been a massive Whovian since I was a kid, so, yes I quite happily admit to being inspired by Terry Nation's designs.

Also, as well as winners chosen to go into ArtSHINE’s 2016 calendar, there are 2 People’s Choice awards. 

You can vote for me online by going to ArtSHINE’s facebook page and sending them a message saying your People’s Choice is either:

James Mathurin - Entry 03 -  The Couple (this one)
or

If you’re in Sydney, you can actually visit the gallery (always a good idea, plus you can get coffee and lunch) and vote for me in person.

The gallery is at:
3 Blackfriars Street
Chippendale
Sydney
2008

The Draw Me A Calendar opening night is next Saturday, the 17th October, between 6 and 8pm.

©2015 James Mathurin

Sunday, 4 October 2015

The Couple - Victorian sketches

I like the sheer stiffness and awkwardness of Victorian photos. It actually sums up the inhumanity that seemed to characterise that period. They're actually quite a contrast to the expressive, flowing Art Nouveau images, but I've enjoyed using them to make my Steampunk / robot / Art Nouveau pieces.

This is the preparatory sketch for my other Draw Me A Calendar submission, to go with the Nina Simone one I already shared. Down the bottom is the original photograph. Such a  happy couple.




©2015 James Mathurin

Sunday, 20 September 2015

Nina Simone sketches

These are some sketches I did for a piece I've been working on. I really like how some of them came out, and frankly, I just love Nina Simone. I find it hard to imagine how you couldn't.



Here's the original images, and hell, a Nina Simone video for you (better than the original, IMO)!



©2015 James Mathurin

Sunday, 6 September 2015

Beginning some new stuff

These are sketches for something new I'll be working on, that should be in my next exhibition. There is a connection, or at least, I am intending to make one.
 

©2015 James Mathurin

Sunday, 30 August 2015

The Lady

I took a while away from The Lady to work on some other stuff, like Art On Board, but now I've had the chance to go back and work on it and add some colour.

I'm glad I got her finished because I've got a few things coming up to work on, and it's always nice to have a finished piece under your belt, rather than hanging over your head (I win at mixed metaphors).
©2015 James Mathurin

Monday, 17 August 2015

Tkay Maidza and Australian Hip-Hop

This is something new I'm trying after a suggestion a friend made. I want to keep this an art blog, but sometimes there's stuff I want to talk about, so here's some art I did specifically so that I could talk about something I wanted to.

Tkay Maidza's someone I've learned about recently, who seems like a musician tailor-made for me. A singer / songwriter / rapper from here in Oz, with a distinctive style and flow, plus a penchant for cool anime-inspired music videos? Result.

So here's my response to her whole hip-hop afrofuturist thing she's got going on. I was especially inspired by her latest video, M.O.B., which I've stuck below. It's a great song even without the video, but with all this anime sci-fi space stuff going on, It's something else.


I'm going to be really interested if this is something that sparks a subgenre of Aussie hip hop. I love that Maidza's sound incorporates plenty of Electronic Dance Music, as that is something that represents a big part of Australia's music scene. I know Flume has done pretty well, and big EDM festivals like DEFQON show that it's a big deal here.

I love hip-hop first and foremost, but I think a country or region needs to find its distinctive voice for hip-hop to thrive. The UK had great rappers the whole time I was growing up, people like Roots Manuva, Ty, Estelle (nowadays maybe better know as Garnet on Steven Universe) and Blak Twang, but it was only when the UK hip-hop scene incorporated home-grown styles, like Grime and Dubstep, that it really took hold and started to break through like it has in the last decade with people like Tinie Tempah and of course Dizzee Rascal.

It was the same when hip-hop started to leave it's New York birthing ground: The West Coast took a while to really break out with NWA and Ice Cube, and really defined itself with G-Funk; The South needed acts like Outkast and Lil' Jon and the Crunk scene.

I loved watching these voices be found, and I'm excited to see if what Maidza's found is her voice, or the voice of something bigger. Either way, there's great music being created, so I'm happy to wait and see.
 
The original photo I based my picture off, from Sodwee.

 
©2015 James Mathurin

Sunday, 5 July 2015

Finished ArtSHINE Art On Board piece - Profile Pic of Sarah Bernhardt

I've finished off the piece I've been doing for ArtSHINE's Art On Board show. I had to come up with a title for it, which led to researching the original painting I based it off.

Like I mentioned previously, based on Sarah Bernhardt by Paul Emile Berthon. It turns out Sarah Bernhardt was an incredibly famous actress of the time, both in theatre and early movies. She was also an artist and writer, and generally lived a pretty interesting life. I'd like to be able to pretend I knew all this, and that it was another Berthon piece before I started work on it, but, nah, it was just a piece of serendipity. Still, after the research, I ended up with 'Profile Pic of Sarah Bernhardt' as a title. I wonder if Berthon or Bernhardt would have liked it...

This piece and pieces by 99 other Sydney artists will be on exhibition and on sale at ArtSHINE from Wednesday 8th July 2015 to Friday 31st July 2015.


©2015 James Mathurin

Sunday, 14 June 2015

A Steampunk experiment

I'm taking a break from The Lady to work on something for a show / competition. Thing is, I think I'm going to need to not work digitally on it, which has really been my thing, as far as shading and colouring. So, I had a go at doing a quick steampunk / Art Nouveau sketch with felt-tips. Apart from the skin tone, I'm pretty happy with it.



©2015 James Mathurin

Sunday, 7 June 2015

The Lady - Ink Update

I'm already well into colouring The Lady, but here's what she looked like with the inking finished.

©2015 James Mathurin

Saturday, 9 May 2015

Melee in Melbourne

So, here's another Street Art Superhero piece. The art for this one is from Melbourne, and as for the characters... I'm not entirely sure. Still, I'm pretty happy with it.
©2015 James Mathurin

Wednesday, 29 April 2015

Assault on Alton Lane (Newtown, Sydney)

Here's the first of the pieces I've been working on while the ArtSHINE show was on. This is another one of those pieces where I've used a street art photo I took for my Tumblr, and used it as the background for the superhero image I did.

So, what we have here is a giant lizard creature trying to catch a speedster on Alton Street in Sydney's Newtown.


©2015 James Mathurin (newtown)