Wonderful old illustrations

Another post were I share some of my large collection of inspirational images I search out tirelessly on the web and else were. Tonight I'd like to share some of my favourite old time illustrators, from around the early 1900s to be more precise . This was a wonderful time for illustration with lots of very talented and creative artists.

 

The first work is by Kay Nielson from the book " In powder and crinoline"

I love the darkness of this picture and the ethereal flowing shapes. To me this is a perfect picture of dusk.

Next are two quite different works by "Virginia Frances Sterrett". The trees and colouring in the first picture are so creative and unusual. The second picture is an example of her fantastic black and white work, witch is the stile I love the most from her. So simple and poetic, just wonderful.

 And of course the ever brilliant Arthur Rackham. This man was just so talented. No one captures north European myth and fairy tales better than he did. The foreboding atmosphere, the brooding skis, the dark twisted trees and all that wonderful delicate detail. I love almost everything he ever did, his art takes me away to those quiet dark forests of my dreaming.

 

Hot like / unlike London.

its that horrible hot time of the year wear the sun sucks all energy from me and and the humidity smothers me with a wet blanket and steals all my air. I hate hate summer in the tropics. I get almost no work done because its too hot in my ...

studio. So anyway hear is some ace art done by other people namely "the London Police". Their crisp detailed black and white art is just so clever creative and fun. I love the contrast between realism and big bold solid cartoon shapes. Their works are very imaginative and they seem to really like dogs so I like them. Not the most in depth or particularly articulate review but then it is soooooooooooooooooooo hot. just check them out for yourself. www.thelondonpolice.com

 

Lush

Many years ago in Melbourne I saw a stencil in a car park of a child in black and white vomiting drops/ blobs of colour. I remember that the contrast of the bright colours and the black and white really caught my attention and staid in my mind. So years later I credit that stencil with the inspiration of this painting.

Thank you unknown stenciler.

 

This painting actually has a lot of meaning and emotion for me, it was bourn out of the frustration of the Darwin build up (horrible hot humid time of the year).

 I find it quite a sexual painting, it represents desire and energy for life and love and everything seating within, frustrated by the deadening heat and isolation that is Darwin at this time of the year. It is about frustration but it is also about strength, of breaking free and being yourself. I started this in the build up last year and fittingly finished it in the build up this year.

 I'm rather pleased with it, I love her steady defiant expression.

 

A nice walk in the country

The other day I got out my "how to watercolour landscape" book and just copied one of the pictures in it with a few changes of my own. I had so much fun, not bothering with content just coping the picture and trying out the recommended techniques. So this nothing like my style but it really was so much fun to paint. Very bright and pretty, maybe I'll send it to my grandma. 

 

 

more watercolour

My watercolour explorations continue. This is a detail of a forest study I've been working on. I like how this part of it turned out but am not so happy with the picture as a whole. I painted this on canvas paper, which the watercolours swam on a bit and made more solid colours hard. The tree is drawn with ink and a quill. This is the first time I used a quill and I love it. I really like the accuracy and control of using the quill and it also makes lovely wispy effects as it runs out. Oh and it makes little scratching sounds on the paper which further adds to the basic and old fashioned feel of it. I'm won over.

broken arm time to draw.

Well I've gone and fractured my arm falling off my bicycle. Luckily its my left arm and i now have oodles of time to paint draw read ect. It dosent hurt that much but I have to keep it nice and still, so drawings perfect, i might even get to finish some of all those bits and bobs that have been in the works for a million years.

I felt like just playing around and not concentrateing to much so i got out my markers and watercolours and just had some fun with colour.

 

Doku Rai at Darwin festival

The other night we went to see a play called "Doku Rai" that was in town as part of the Darwin Festival. The play was a collaboration between Melbourns "the black lung theatre and whaling firm", Timor leste performance group Liurai Fo'er and the band Galaxy. The show included live action, film and live music and wove in and out of a story about a death curse, two brothers one of whom can not die and the would be assassin then mixed it with some wonderful music and a sort of comical frustrating commentary on the whole thing. It was chaotic, violent, funny, at times beautiful and all ways alive. Well worth seeing if it comes your way.

I also went two two other shows- Circus/ cabaret extravaganza "La soiree" witch was great fun, clever and amazing and electro hiphop band "Hermitude" witch was one of the liveliest gigs I've ever been to, the whole venue was jumping. There were so many more good shows at this years Darwin festival that I didn't get to see and the whole affair was set in beautiful tropical gardens lit by glowing lights. Im very sad its over for the year. Well done to all the organisers.

Unfortunately the bloody country liberals have just been voted in so I presume the funding for the arts will go down next year. Lets hop not.

My newly purchased drawing by goggle octopus.

Hello, well I've been so busy at my day job that I havent had the energy to do much art of my own or even wright about other peoples art I've been looking at. However last week I went to a little local exebition opening by a young lady who calls her self goggle octopus. She seems to be very influenced by Audry Kawasaki but I really liked her lines and detail and ended up buying this picture. http://www.goggleoctopus.tumblr.com/

"silent night" prints and postcards

My new painting "Silent night" is now up for sale in my etsy store.

           www.etsy.com/shop/styx2stars?section_id=11021282

 Also if you cant afford the original I have prints and postcards up in my zazzle store.

Here are the links.

postcards.

http://www.zazzle.com/silent_night_art_post_card-239088719755823003

and prints.

http://www.zazzle.com/silent_night_fine_art_print-228459117797036024

New painting Pink stars/ silent night.

I finished my latest painting yesterday. This painting is inspired by night time walks in the tall wet eucalyptus forests of Victoria. I can almost hear the quiet chirping of the cicadas when I look at it.  I think I'll call it "silent night" or maybe "pink stars" or "cicada love song".

So here you go, not one, but three pictures of it, hee hee.

One of my favorita artists Amy Sol has just had another solo show. The new work is gourgeus as always. A bit more illustrative I find but still very poetic. Every time I see new work by Amy Sol she has created yet another new effect that makes me think "dam why dident I think of that, I should so steal that".

Take a look at these two dreamy pictures and then head over to her blog to see the rest.

www.amysol.com/blog/

new etsy store open

Hurray, exiting news today, my new Etsy store is now open.

I have listed my first set of original ACEOs as well as some gift cards and

my original painting "Space melt", all  now for sale in my etsy store.

http://www.styx2stars.etsy.com/

 

Space melt original painting by styx2stars on Etsy 

http://www.etsy.com/ 

A beautiful original acrylic painting featuring a little space traveller and a melting stary sky. Something has apparently upset the laws of the

new show at BSG

I sent of my painting for the "painting 12A" show at Brunswick st gallery (BSG) today. Its always hard for me to part with them. If your in Melbourne go check it out for me, I wont be able to go see it  myself. The show runs 2nd - 15th March.

another work in progress

A work in progress. I'm about half way through this one. I have painted in all the undercoat colours now I need to add detail and definition. I usually paint the first half of a painting very fast and freely then at about this stage I become more careful and lose momentum. That's why I have so many paintings half done, 5 at the moment I think. I know a lot of artists have this problem. You get the initial creative spark that takes you so fare and then you get stuck or daunted.  I'll see if I can get back in the flow tomorrow avo after work.

 

more ACEOs

I had an extra day of work today and finished of some more ACEOs for my etsy store (the opening of which has been slightly delayed). These are all done in a similar way to the first one I posted about, with watercolour and pen on watercolour paper. On the one with the two little witches I also used some coloured pencils on their hair and on the plants. The photo of the bird one is crap, its actually not blurry, sorry. All in all I'm quite happy with them for tiny pictures.

ACEOs

Ive been working on my new etsy store, it should be open next week end. very very exiting. As well as my original paintings and giftcard sets I am going to list my first ever ACEOs. There they are all ready to be created, some are canvas and some are watercolour paper. This should be lots of fun, and its raining too, so nice.

And here is the first one done already. I drew this in pencil then went over it in a very fine pen, rubbed out the pencil and coloured it with watercolour. I find water colour so quick and rewarding to use. The only negative is that you cant cover mistakes easily because its so transparent.

Oh I wish I had tomorrow of as well so I could do more arty stuff.

I often spend my nights searching the Internet for pictures I like and save them to look at over and over.
Today I thought I'd share some of the treasures from my inspiration folder. Ive also been watching a lot of Scandinavian electro art project "iamamiwhoami" videos on you tube and that has reintensified my ongoing love of creepy forest magick imagery. So enjoy these wonderful pictures, sorry artists unknown.