Nina Simone Steampunk pieces

This is the first of my pieces for ArtSHINE's Draw Me A Calendar event. It's what my Niña Simone sketches were for,  and, basically, I hope I've done her justice.

©2015 James Mathurin

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

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

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

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

The Assault on Alton Lane makes the Local Press - Street Art Superheroes

This is a bit of an experiment. Tammy suggested that it'd be cool to add a sense of narrative to my street-art superheroes, so I've been giving it some thought. After coming up with the background for Assault on Alton Lane, I thought it should be reported on by the media.

©2015 James Mathurin

I'm one of ArtSHINE's new artists!

ArtSHINE continue to support my work really well, and also just generally be an excellent gallery. They have made me one of their new artists, which means that any time you want, you can go in and see samples of my work and some of the products I've put them on.

Oh, and you can also get a great cup of coffee, lunch, and enjoy whatever exhibition they've got running, I mean, obviously, you're already really excited to hear about my stuff, but maybe you have to drag along someone who's not interested in, well, me, so there's all that as well. They will thank you.

INTRODUCING OUR NEW ARTIST Artist James Mathurin will be showing his artworks, prints and tote bags at ArtSHINE Market this Saturday 25 July from 10-4pm. Come in a say hello to James and have a chat with him about his current artworks. About James: James Mathurin is a Londoner, living and working in Sydney, who primarily works in a mixture of traditional pencil and ink linework and digital, and also photography and graphic design. James holds a BA in Illustration from Middlesex University, and has worked in advertising and stand-alone pieces. Comics, animation and science (both real and fictional) have always been influences that turn up in his art. His art and tutorials can be found at his 'James Mathurin Art' blog, his photography can be seen on his tumblr 'Stuff Wot I Done', and his humorous infographics (yes, that is a thing) can be seen on his 'Things You Didn't Know You Didn't Need To Know' blog. #market #artgallery #artisans #artists #artshinemarket #artgallery

A photo posted by ArtSHINE Gallery (@artshinegallery) on Jul 24, 2015 at 12:21am PDT

Doing my first #market at @artshinegallery . Come and get a #postcard , #poster , or #totebag ! At 3 Blackfriars Street, Chippendale NSW 2008 #forsale #steampunk #steampunkart #streetart #superhero #illustration

A photo posted by James Mathurin (@mathurinjames) on Jul 24, 2015 at 7:38pm PDT

©2015 James Mathurin