This is a very moving video by a brilliant sand artist from the Ukraine. Her performance tells the story of the Soviet Union during World War II. Watch.....
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Friday, January 13, 2012
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Where in the World
Maps are awesome.
Don't you think?
I love some good map art.
Embelish a globe.
Monochrome neighbourhoods.
Highlight several special spots....
or maybe just one.
Copenhagen. Ink. Want to go there so badly.
But there's no place like....
Monday, November 29, 2010
When the bee stings.....
As we bid farvel (as they say in Denmark) to Cyber Monday 2010, here are a few of my favourite (online) things:
Happy Bee Day Cards by ZenBrush
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Featured Artist: Walter Helena Photography
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, creatures and critters, allow me to introduce to you the phenomonal photographic talent that is WALTER HELENA. The creative mind behind these images is neither Walter or Helena, but my dear friend Nadine. Nadine and I met a decade ago when we were students and working in a neighbourhood pub. Since then we've migrated to different corners of the continent and lost touch temporarily, but as the magnetic force of the westcoast would have it, we have both stumbled gracefully home and connected once again - this time via creative endeavours and creme brulee. In fact, our visits are never without the tastiest in food and beverage, and she is some of the most pleasant company I could ever hope to have.
Nadine has recently launched Walter Helena Photography and I am a huge HUGE fan. I needn't write descriptively about the works because the photos speak for themselves. But I will say that part of their success (for me, at least) is in each image's abililty to evoke an emotional response from the viewer. And because I know the photographer personally, I dare say that I can sense her mood just as the shutter snaps.
The landscapes are subdued...soft...kinetic. The florals are textured...still...vibrant. The urban images are strong...honest...confident. All are ephemeral - and it is this quality that gives each photo a kind of melancholic grace.
But this is of course my personal response to these painterly photographs. I invite you to read the following interview with WHP and allow your own response to surface.
KP: Under what circumstances/conditions do you feel most inspired or creative?
WHP: Dawn and dusk. Anytime really where the light is not directly overhead. Storms. After a glass of red or a tumbler of whisky. After I’ve been quiet for many hours/days. Spending time with the women in my life who are confident and slightly forceful and have grand goals and crass humour. Watching my partner work. Performing unfamiliar tasks. Reading. Wind. Walking new neighbourhoods at dinnertime before curtains are drawn.
KP: What type of equipment do you use?
WHP: For many years I used an ancient Minolta (a gift), which served me well, but its capacity couldn’t support file sizes large enough to print as full-scale as I was looking ahead to do. So I invested in a Canon 50D with a 17-85 lens, a computer with a very large screen, and Photoshop CS4. I keep it simple and my only accessories are a polarizing lens and tripod. While I know there are better, the camera is astounding and serves my purposes for the time being. I may grow out of it one day, but until I’ve exhausted every option and resource it offers, I’m pleased to keep it by my side. Or around my neck, as it would be.
KP: Is there a photographer or artist whose work you admire or are influenced by?
WHP: I appreciate and respect anyone who diligently strays from pretty photographs and commits to a focus and sticks with a theme. I hold dear any artist who stands strong with their creations despite lack of audience. I’m drawn to works that use colour in vibrant and different ways. I have always loved stark black and white and desaturated barren landscapes. I like works concerned with industrial scenes -- anything dilapidated. I love antique photographs and tintypes; I spend a lot of time in antiquarian bookstores looking for orphaned photo albums.
A few photographers that presently interest me:
Lobakov (http://www.labokoff.fr/)
Roy Arden (http://www.royarden.com/defaultee.shtml)
Stan Douglas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Douglas)
Chris Friel (http://www.chrisfriel.co.uk/)
Li Hui (http://huiuh.com/)
Fred Herzog (http://fredherzog.com/)
Lukasz Wierzbowski (http://sequin-covered-swans.tumblr.com/)
Jeremy Kohm (http://www.jeremykohm.com/)
Noa Emberson (http://www.joystain.com/)
As far as looking towards others for inspiration, I don’t outwardly like the idea. To be honest, I find repetition and duplication distasteful. At some level, I’m sure I’m being influenced by a hundred sources outside myself every minute. But the moment I try (and I have) to replicate a look or a style, the product falls flat and it has no meaning to me. The best photographs I’ve taken have been when I’m in a fluid mood and I am not trying for anything in particular. Those hold meaning to me, because they are deeper than mere thought.
KP: Your favourite photograph (of yours) to date?
WHP: This one:
It’s an older work, but I think its age serves it well because I’ve had so many chances to look at it -- and I always see and feel something different. My hope is that over time, all my pieces will be like people and become complex and find home in me.
KP: Where can we see your art in person?
WHP: Presently I’m only showing in one space, a gallery/bookstore in Vancouver. In the past I have shuffled larger stretched pieces around, showing here and there in my home city. Ultimately they were very positive experiences but two matters hold me back from doing much more showing of my work at this time. The first is the cost: to hang a show is rarely met in financial returns. The second is the isolation: it removes me from the process of knowing the people who respond to my work. For the time being, my work is available for viewing and purchase online. I work within Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/walterhelenaphotography/) and Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/whphotography).
While I’m still a grain of sand online (a platform so big I am daunted and overwhelmed), I can’t justify spending more time on sorting through the good and the junk to find appropriate people and places to publicize. Also, I think your audience can find you, albeit slowly, if you let them discover you. But to force your way into inappropriate spaces seems successful perhaps at the moment, but I wonder how it does for longevity. Most likely, I’m just too stubborn to commit to more time spent behind the computer that does not involve editing my photographs with a glass of Bordeaux at hand.
KP: If you were to offer one piece of photographic advice, what would it be?
WHP: Oh goodness, it would feel contrived to offer any actual advice because I feel strongly that photography, like any creating/crafting/art, should come from the core. We all have demons and hopes to explore and how we go about that is so particular and individual. I dislike guidelines (always have) in most arenas, especially with art. The kind of meaningful creating (the kind that changes you and shows you about yourself and the world) gets lost a little each time you adhere to another’s words of advice. So I suppose I would say just that: remove as much advice from your surroundings as possible. Trust in yourself. Lock yourself in a room, field, parking lot – alone – and go with your gut. Make big mistakes. Allow inappropriate dreaming. And keep on pressing the shutter.
KP: If you were given a plane ticket today to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
WHP: Anywhere quiet. With nature. And my partner. And European bakeries. Maybe a farm in France. Or a room in Montenegro. Anywhere that I can feel unknown and freshly optimistic that I don’t know all. The unfamiliar is good for me and keeps me humble.
KP: What does your perfect day consist of?
WHP: Waking early and inviting the animals into bed. Cuddling. Opening all the curtains as soon as I’m up to let the light in. I love the rituals of morning. Making americano. Walking the dogs. The smells of a day. Sitting by the river. Kicking pebbles at the beach. An outdoor market. Cooking a fine meal with my partner with a bottle between us. Laughter. Taking time to be in public with strangers and notice them. Really notice them.
KP: Chocolate, vanilla or strawberry?
WHP: Chocolate. With mint.
KP: What does the future hold for WHP? Creatively, how would you like to see your work evolve?
WHP: Ultimately, I would like to be able to support myself through collaborations and selling prints. But I have to continue to remind myself to forget this hope completely. When a goal, especially a financial one, is awaiting, it blurs my vision. It makes me rigid and takes away the joy of the process of creating itself.
I also tend towards preferring a path coming organically rather than constructing one. I shy away from plans and contrivances. I carve as I go. It can be more debilitating, but also more awakening. I want to be at the ready to be open to anything.
Thank you, WHP.
xo, KP
http://www.walterhelenaphotography.blogspot.com/ (enter monthly contests here!)
http://www.whphotography.etsy.com/ (so much more to see here!)
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Featured Artist: Shirley Ng-Benitez
Ever since my introduction to the blogging world in 2008, I have crossed cyber paths with countless interesting, artistic, friendly and supportive people. Illustrator Shirley Ng-Benitez is one of them, and I've recently had the pleasure of interviewing her about her work and other fun facts.
SNB: Wow, this is a tough one, as I'm still figuring it out - though I would say, 1) story-like 2) heartfelt 3) warm
KP: Do you have an illustration that is especially close to your heart?
SNB: I have two: La Partie de Thé dans le Bois (http://shirleysillustrations.blogspot.com/2010/01/miette-and-tea-party.html); and "Monsieur Olivet" (http://shirleysillustrations.blogspot.com/2009/10/fallits-here.html). I feel that the first one is special to me because the sketch came from a thought from a lovely friend and I just started sketching the idea out quickly. Miette's face came first and then the party crowns, the tea, and the whole forest scene came to life. I just keep sketching and everything just came out so fluidly...that is something that doesn't happen very often for me. Monsieur Olivet is very special to me because of his expression. This expression just "spoke" to me and he came to life one day. I found the "right" name for him, and he is off on his adventures. It has been such a treat to come up with his friends and story..which is still unfolding, by the way.
KP: An artist/illustrator whose work you admire?
SNB: Oh so very many that I can't say just one..can I name a few? Holly Hobbie, Amy Bates, Lisbeth Zwerger, Maurice Sendak, R.W. Alley. So very many more!
KP: Please tell us a bit about your artistic process, from concept to finished artwork.
SNB: When there is a problem to solve visually, there is an initial period where I have a few immediate thoughts about how to go about illustrating the piece, and so I quickly sketch out ideas on regular bond paper. After I sketch a few ideas, I move on to my daily chores and work-load all the while thinking about the problem. I tend to work on my illustrations at night when all is quiet in the house, and when there's time to think. Each night, before I go to sleep, I sketch. I think this has helped me a lot this past year, feeling more comfortable with just letting the pencil go. I erase a lot, and keep sketching facial expressions, poses and environments until I get to a point where there is a special something that I see in a sketch. Then I get pretty excited, and eager to work through all of the details to enhance the entire piece. Once I'm happy with the sketch, (and hopefully have succeeded in solving the visual problem), I define the sketch more with detail. Not a completely detailed piece, but I add enough detail so that I can then move to the next phase, which is to photocopy the sketch and enlarge it by about 150%. I tend to sketch small, so I blow up the sketch so that when I paint, I can add a bit more detail. Once the copy is made, I turn it over and add graphite all over the back so that I can transfer the copy to a watercolor block. I use Arches Cold Pressed 140lb. currently because I really like the texture of the paper and enjoy the format (12 1/8" x 15 1/8"). Once the pencil is transferred to the watercolor block, I wet the entire area I'm going to paint on with plain water and let it dry. Sometimes I float color into the backgrounds at this stage and leave it clear where I might place a character or animal. Then I start laying in color here and there in light washes. I move back and forth between focusing on the main character, or the background as I find that I like the differences (detail work, and then soft washes). I start adding fine detail with my favorite 00 Winsor Newton Sable brush throughout. I really enjoy the whole process...and it's always hard to know when to stop..but I'm hoping I'm getting better at knowing when. I am still a student, that's for sure!
KP: What have you found to be the greatest challenge as an illustrator? What is the greatest reward/Why do you love what you do?
SNB: Greatest challenge: overcoming self-doubt. I have always loved drawing ever since I can remember. I drew all along the sides of my papers as a kid, and would always scrunch up and cover my work as a child. Even after finding my direction in college, I remember hesitating to show my work to the class for any sort of critique. It was much too personal and I remember feeling that to show my portfolio to anyone was like wearing my heart on my sleeve. It was SO hard to break through that self-doubt and fear of rejection.
The greatest reward is to have my girls respond with a verbal, "Awww!". (Extremely awesome when you're aiming for illustrating something sweet and cute!). I just asked my little one to help with question 1, and she said, "what does that mean?". After I said "what does mommy's work look like to you?", and she said, "it brings you into the forest". Heck, I was just so tickled to hear that because that's what I'm shooting for - bringing people into my work and having them feel as though they've just been transported to a childlike world again..full of innocence, light, and fun. I love to illustrate because it brings me such joy to be able to send a cheerful break to anyone who might chance upon a piece. I believe in living each moment to the fullest, to stop and smell the flowers, and enjoy what nature brings us, so when we can pause a bit in our busy day to relax and ponder, it makes me happy to know that my work might be a part of that levity that we all need.
KP: As a child, what did you aspire to?
SNB: I always wanted to be a veterinarian and own a horse. I now, crazily have a barn but no horses, just a dog, a fish, and lovely family. And up until my first year in college, I thought I was going to be an Engineer, just like my dad. Thankfully he has been so supportive of my quite-the-opposite career direction.
KP: What do you do in your spare time?
SNB: I walk the dog; ride my bike; in the spring through summer I enjoy pretending to play golf; love to bake and cook; read about the illustration industry and about artists, illustrators, lettering-artists, and designers of the past and present; crochet scarves, sketch, sketch and sketch some more. I also love chatting with my girlfriends and catching up with my favorite blog friends and artists!
KP: Chocolate, Strawberry or Vanilla?
SNB: Chocolate - all the way. Especially dark of any kind.
All images copyright Shirley Ng-Benitez.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Featured Artist: CABIN + CUB
My home office renovation is almost ready for its grand unveiling - and it is a HUGE improvement. I'm doing all the fun stuff right now like organizing bookshelves and deciding which art to hang on the walls. I'll post photos as soon as it's complete!
In the meantime, I'll be eagerly watching the mailbox for two prints and an original collage (pictured above) from cabin + cub. Owner and designer Valerie Thai is a Vancouver-based graphic artist and illustrator. Her popular collages feature illustrations from vintage children's books as well as her own creative embellishments.
I can't remember how I first stumbled upon cabin + cub, but I've been admiring this shop on Etsy for quite awhile. I'm pretty sure the name had me at hello because I'm instantly drawn to anything that conjures up thoughts of coziness, and who doesn't love cabins and who doesn't love cubs? But of course, Valerie's beautiful work was the real reason I became a fast fan. These collages aren't just for kids either, I plan to hang mine in my sparkly new office!
oh and p.s. : remember a few weeks ago I mentioned an exciting giveaway involving Koo & Poppet and Big Fat Hen? Well it's JUST AROUND THE CORNER......as in this week! Check back in a few days.....
Saturday, February 20, 2010
It's a small world
It has recently occurred to me that I am on a perpetual quest for the perfect world map, especially one that is kid-friendly. Although this one from Children Inspire Design only labels continents, it is definitely in the running. In fact, the lack of text is a nice change.
It reminds me of my sixth grade geography projects. My teacher showed me how to shade coastlines with blue pencil crayon and I spent hours perfecting my technique.
I also distinctly remember the moment when someone pointed out to me that Italy is shaped like a boot. Well whaddya know.....
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Ork - City Neighborhood Posters
I love these Ork Posters.
There's at least a dozen U.S. cities to choose from (Toronto is "coming soon"), each with several colour schemes.
I've got my eye on SAN FRANCISCO. It might be a great way to honour the city where Scott and I were engaged. I'd love to go back there soon.....the food, the shopping, the vistas, oh my! It is one of my top three places I'd like to live one day.
What about you? If you could live anywhere else for one year, where would it be?
Sunday, January 24, 2010
"Help is a Verb"
“Help is a verb” – we have one world and our neighbor is crying. By Michele Bedigian.
I love the ways of the worldwide web.
I love the ways of the worldwide web.
The online exchange of information is so astonishing to me, especially at a time like this, with so many people in need of so much.
Think of the ways of the world 20 years ago; information technology was not nearly what it is today (I know, duh). There wasn't really an internet (or at least, the majority of the world's population didn't know how to use it and even if you did, it took ten minutes to load a page) and there was no texting, no instant messaging. When fundraising efforts were in high demand, we relied on toll-free numbers, snail mail and in-person donations. Not to say there's anything wrong with those methods, but here and now in 2010, we can press a button and send help on any scale.
I guess what got me thinking about this is that I realized that 90 percent of what I know about Haiti's current humanitarian situation has come from the internet. And 90 percent of that 90 percent has been information about relief efforts. Where to click, what to text, how to help.
There is one effort in particular that I would like to highlight and, not surprisingly, I found out about it online, from local designer Beth Campbell of bethcampbellcreative.
What it is: for every $50 donated to CARE for Haitian relief efforts, donors receive a limited edition, signed 13" x 19" illustration by the one of the STUDIO 1482 artists.
Click here: OneDrawingADay (see, it's that simple!)
Art at its best, that for a cause.
“Hispaniolan Trogan” – Drawing/collage of the national bird of Haiti, the Hispaniolan Trogan. By Greg Betza.
Thanks to Beth for the info.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Featured Artist: MINU
Based in New Zealand, Minu is an illustrator and a toy maker. I am in love with the little stuffed creatures (Bous) and how their ears seem to blow in the wind.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)