International Women’s Day
My third ‘day’ to mention is International Women’s Day which is today.
As my blog is all about Art, I want to pay tribute to all the female artists, designers, crafts folk and creatives that I have covered already on my blog, and those that I have yet to feature.
Particularly women who have been forerunners in the design fields of the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s and by gaining the roles that traditionally men would have done, have changed the future of those roles and of the design industry completely.
To all my female followers too, have a great day and ‘Make it happen’.
Alice Meynell Shorehound from the beach
Alice Meynell is a fellow lurcher owner, in fact she has three dogs and four children. When time allows she likes nothing better than to head down on the beach in East Lothian, close to her home and gather bits of broken shells and debris that no-one else wants. What she does with her finds, is something magical… she illustrates with them. I asked Alice to tell us how it all started.
She says “I walk the dogs at the beach every day and always come back with my pockets bulging with stuff I can’t leave on the shore. My children were messing about in the kitchen, having just discovered Instagram and were taking awful pictures of anything they could find. Yoghurt pots with the spoon at an artful angle, or a plate with a half eaten biscuit on it. I was trying to persuade them to make things more interesting, and drew the body of a pelican around a broken bit of shell. A lovely friend, who used to commission illustrators for children’s books, saw that one, and a couple of others and suggested I take it a bit more seriously. ”
I love the prehistoric element creeping in here and of course (it almost goes without saying) that the hounds are fab too : )
“I have always had a longing to go back to art school and do a course in illustration. So when my friend suggested I could sell my illustrations with beach junk incorporated into them, I thought I’d have a go. I started at the beginning of last summer, and now have boxes and boxes of broken shells, sea-chewed plastic, smoothed and softened driftwood, coloured sea glass and crusted pebbles waiting to be turned into things. Usually, nearly always, I see something and pick it up, knowing it’s going to end up as a rhinocerous or a bicycle helmet for a tortoise. Other times I find things and just take them home because I like them. I collect a lot of those little pink snail like shells, as they make very good eyeballs, but I also collect masses of smooth limpets, because I like the feel of them but I’ve not yet used a single one in a picture.”
“My plans for the future are to do more, bigger pictures. I’ve been enjoying the limited space of the small square ones, a hang over from having to work in that shape for Instagram, but I’m going to build some much bigger box frames. I’d like to work straight onto drift wood boards too, and I collect any sheet wood that I can find. My other plan, which will take a lot of organising, is to illustrate a children’s story I wrote years ago, about a duck who is afraid of the water. I’m thinking of doing it as a stop-motion animation so I can use the same shells for each character again and again. I’m planning some storyboards at the moment, but first I have to make a costume for my oldest daughter who is going to be a teapot in the school play, and that’s taking up a lot of my creative energy ! ”
These cakes look good enough to eat, or at least to entice a shell dog to eat !
You can see here how Alice develops her illustrations and builds them up slowly by finding the right shape, colour or texture for the exact part that she needs.
“I studied silversmithing and jewellery at Glasgow School of Art, graduating in the early 90’s but have never done anything that remotely relates to that. For a while I designed floors ( I set up http://www.harveymaria.co.uk with a friend. I designed the tiles while he ran the business side of things, which I am hopeless at. That company too, like Shorehound, was named after my dog ! My current three dogs (two lurchers and an idle terrier who hates walks) are all mixed breeds so when I’m asked what sort they are, I say that they’re Shorehounds. People go away nodding sagely. ”
You can discover more of Alice’s beach coming images over on her Instagram site or grab an original illustration here. Thanks Alice for sharing your gifts and story with us. Happy beach combing.
World Book Day
Wow two World days in one week worth mentioning !
Happy World Book Day everyone : )
Mid Week Mix
Since about 2008, I’ve been collecting images from the internet that have caught my eye. Way back then, I wasn’t so diligent in keeping records as to where images came from, or who had painted, photographed, illustrated or indeed created the artwork in the image. So I apologise in advance for their lack of referencing, but to be honest, it was purely about seeing groups of imagery together, that for whatever reason, I enjoyed.
As I have managed to amass quite a few of these ‘collaged sheets’, I thought I would share them with you, in the hope that they may also provide some inspiration to you the readers, from their shape, colour, texture or out and out randomness : )
Do let me know your thoughts and which images catch your eye for whatever reason. Enjoy !
World Wildlife Day
I wanted to say a quick hello today as it’s World Wildlife Day. YAY !
I suddenly thought that without the illustrations of nature and the animal world three quarters of my blog posts would be empty !
It’s difficult to imagine a world without animals, and to a large extent we do take them for granted. The birds in our gardens, the bees pollinating flowers and trees and of course the dogs and cats in our lives as well as the larger and increasingly rarer land mammals too.
Just a thought
Happy Day : )
Lynita Shimizu Discovering Moku Hanga Printmaking
People often ask where I find the artists and creative people that I feature on my blog and the honest answer is that I just seem to stumble upon them.
Often when I’m searching for someone (or something totally unrelated to my initial search), I will spot an illustration, photograph, piece of ceramic and that sets me off on an adventure to find out more. I can’t stress enough how important good labelling is for all of your images. It’s the one thing that enables others to help find you and your work.
The most frustrating thing, is to find an amazing artist and then discover that there is no link to their site, or that the illustration is labelled simply ‘Joe Smith’ and that when googled , there are about 120 google searches that display results for ‘Joe Smith artist’ !
At which point I often decide to follow another avenue and the search is forgotten. It was whilst looking for the work of a wood cut illustrator/ printmaker that, by chance, I came across today’s featured artist.
Lynita Shimizu has been creating woodcuts using the Japanese techniques of Moku Hanga since the mid-seventies.
Originally from Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, Lynita graduated with a Fine Arts major from Westminster College in 1974.
Following a year at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, she moved to Japan to concentrate on woodblock printmaking.
During her four-year stay, she studied in Kyoto with an elderly master of traditional woodblock printmaking, Tomikichiro Tokuriki, and in Tokyo with contemporary printmaker, Yoshisuke Funasaka.
These landscapes are amazing and somehow possess both a 1960’s and completely modern feel to them.
From Japan, Lynita and her husband moved to River Edge, NJ, where they raised three sons.
Today Lynita lives in Pomfret, Connecticut, where in addition to printmaking, she enjoys her favorite activities of gardening, hiking and playing piano. I think her textured, whimsical birds are also fabulous. These Guinea Fowl made me smile immediately.
Lynita describes the process behind creating the right paper to work with. Amazing work don’t you think ?
The Whitworth Art Gallery
Just a couple of weeks ago the Guardian declared Manchester not only to be a city with it’s cultural head screwed on but also stated that it is paving the way forward when it comes to Art and art establishments. With a 15 million pound refurbishment nearing completion, The Whitworth (who is a mere 125 year old) recently reopened it’s doors to the public. I popped along to have a look for myself and was pleasantly surprised.
It’s was strangely comforting to be greeted by fabrics at the Whitworth, as it’s a place that I associate fabrics with. It has always exhibited, and taken a great pride in promoting, Manchester’s manufacturing heritage in Textiles. A Lucienne Day design ‘Herb Antony’ from 1956 (top right) and others by Liberty & Co from around 1890 make for a harmonious display.
‘Display’, ‘light’ and particularly ‘space’ have always been key words I’ve carried in my mind, as I’ve previously walked around exhibitions at The Whitworth. It’s always struck me as a beautifully warm environment and I was delighted to see that it hadn’t lost that intimate feel with it’s fresh refurbishment and additional new areas.
I noticed the slightly less formal way of hanging the art too. Mixing the old with the new and somehow being a little less precious when showing tapestries next to etchings and drawn illustrations snuggling up to oil painted masters. I feel that it all makes things a little more accessible for a modern audience.
Being situated in a park and having such huge windows, always allows the interior and exterior of spaces to meld together. Almost suggesting that mother nature is also exhibiting here lol The long glass cafe block, even extends out amongst the trees, so you can almost feel you’re having tea and cake with the birds and squirrels !
The above photo (taken from the Whitworth website) shows the cafe stretching away into the distance.
Seeing such warm, calming interior views, for once I was thankful that I hadn’t gone to the opening, alongside the other 18,000 people who turned up !
This marble couple don’t appear to be too bothered by their modern string bindings, and I liked the colourful reflections from this rotating glass hanging too.
I also enjoyed Cornelia Parker’s ‘Rorschach’ (Accidental 1), showing 52 silver plated objects that have been crushed by a 250 ton industrial press and then suspended on wires just above the floor.
Also her ‘Cold Dark Matter’ An Exploded View (1991) currently on loan from the Tate. For me the objects themselves were immaterial but the shadows and that feeling of an explosion caught and momentarily frozen in time, were amazing. Lovely to see school children in the room trying to draw sections of it too.
And staying on the theme of explosions, or rather gunpowder, is the fabulously huge art piece by Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang. The process of making gunpowder drawings is extraordinary. After laying out large sheets of paper on the floor, Cai Guo-Qiang arranges gunpowder, fuses and cardboard stencils to create forms on the paper’s surface. The spontaneity of the resulting explosion, flames and fumes are controlled through the use of wooden boards, rocks and various other materials, which influence the impact of the explosions that create the final work. The landscape forms of Unmanned Nature (below) reference 14th-century Chinese ink and wash paintings, while the scale of the encircling installation parallels Monet’s Water Lilies. Serene and truly beautiful and possibly my favourite piece of the day’s visit.
With not one but two little gift shops and a fine new range of Whitworth stationery products, you’re certain to go home with a little more than you came with. I also had a chance catch up with Simon and Angie Lewin who were there admiring the new gallery space, how’s that for timing.
I took a stroll in the woods afterwards to gather my thoughts and be watched by the eyes of the trees.
A splash of sunlight to make the raindrops on the branches shine like crystals, and perhaps, just perhaps the early feel of spring maybe in the air ! There’s always hope : ) A grand day out Gromit !
Mid Week Mix 7
Since about 2008, I’ve been collecting images from the internet that have caught my eye. Way back then, I wasn’t so diligent in keeping records as to where images came from, or who had painted, photographed, illustrated or indeed created the artwork in the image. So I apologise in advance for their lack of referencing, but to be honest, it was purely about seeing groups of imagery together, that for whatever reason, I enjoyed.
As I have managed to amass quite a few of these ‘collaged sheets’, I thought I would share them with you, in the hope that they may also provide some inspiration to you the readers, from their shape, colour, texture or out and out randomness : )
Do let me know your thoughts and which images catch your eye for whatever reason. Enjoy !
Fishink New Illustration 2015
Good morning one and all. I wanted to begin first of all by wishing a very Happy Chinese New Year to all of my followers. I hope you had a wonderful weekend of festivities and fun wherever you were.
For the past few weeks I’ve been joining in a friday evening event which ‘happens’ on twitter using the hash tag #colour_collective. It begins every saturday, when a new colour is ‘revealed’ which then becomes the colour theme for that weeks illustration.
At 7.30pm on the following friday night, everyone taking part uploads their illustrated entries and consequently likes, retweets and comments upon each others work. Depending how many artists are involved, you can sometimes see between 30 and 90 illustrations, all using that weeks colour to influence or appear their work in some way. It’s the fab idea of Penny Neville Lee and you can read alittle more about it on the Magpie That site.
It’s just a little light hearted fun, but interesting to see how your work compares to that of your contemporaries and also great to feel part of a team of illustrators who assemble online just for this event. You can also see the results on the Colour Collective Facebook page. Here’s a few of my recent ones for the colours Sap Green, Brilliant Violet, Powder Blue, Orange Lake Light and Flame Red.
I’ve been playing around with some new brushes and combinations of hand rendered and digital artwork. It’s a fresh look for some of my work which I quite like. Any thoughts readers ?
Subconsciously, I must be willing ‘Spring’ to be in the air, by creating these two new prints. I’m going to be offering these illustrations framed for £45 each, do let me know if you’re interested. More options on my Fishink site here.
I’m never far from my sketchbook too.
Here’s a potential new range of art cards, that I’m looking for a distributor for. Again let me know if you’re interested.
I’m really enjoying my new artwork phase and finally I’m also on the look out for a new art agent, if any are reading this. : )
All suggestions welcome. Private commissions undertaken too. Please share Fishink blog with your friends and check out my range of stationery products, stamps, stickers and framed artwork here. Many thanks.
Carol Wyatt Animation allrounder
Carol Wyatt is an Animation Production Designer, Art Director, Painter, Illustrator, and Graphic Designer. I contacted Carol to discover more about the fascinating world that she works in.
When did you first start working in animation and how did that come about?
I started working in animation in 1987 after graduating in Communication Design and Illustration from Otis/Parsons in Los Angeles.
At that time there were only a couple of schools training people in animation and there weren’t enough people to fill the jobs. A couple of friends from college had started working on some of the Saturday morning cartoons and called needing more artists. Mostly painting cells and doing color key. I was already working as an editorial illustrator and graphic designer and wanted to try out animation. I was hired for 3 months, a long job compared with freelance illustration! There, I met many talented artists who went on to be giants in the industry. Every new show, commercial, or title project introduced me to more talented people and opened up new opportunities where I was able to jump into new jobs. I learned the most from the original directors on the Simpsons; Wes Archer, David Silverman, Rich Moore, and Brad Bird. But, I am still learning on each job and trying new things. It’s an ongoing process.
Founder of PINK SLIP Animation. Carol holds a BFA in Communication Design and Illustration from Otis/Parsons School of Design in Los Angeles. Owner of Carol Wyatt Illustration, a Graphic Design and Illustration Studio in business for 27 years.
What are your main likes / dislikes about life in this industry?
The best part of animation is the community of artists, technicians, writers and producers you meet on each project. We are a very tight community. When someone has cancer, the artists come together to hold fundraisers. When jobs open up, we help each other get into the best positions. Even when competing for the same jobs, we are supportive of one another.
The worst part of animation is the layoffs. The insecurity of never knowing where you will be and what you will be earning in a year from now. The industry goes up and down. There are always kids coming out of colleges ready to work more hours for less money. You have to constantly look for work.
She has a great eye for setting a scene for a cartoon animation, although I’m not sure I’d send my kid’s off to Camp Runny Rump for the summer !
You’re illustrations are quite retro and has a feel of Disney/Mary Blair about it (if you don’t mind me saying). Do you work this way
because that is what the client wants or because it also happens to be your personal style?
My style is mostly retro. So I am hired often for that particular style or to develop something in a similar vein. My training as an illustrator helped me define what I enjoyed doing. I was strongly influenced by 60’s design, color and pattern. Ironically, I had never heard of Mary Blair until I began working in animation. Once I saw her work I was blown away and became a huge fan. I’m happy to have work where I’m asked to work from her style.
She’s worked for studios including: Starburns Industries, Greengrass, Moonscoop, W!ldbrain, Walt Disney Studios, 6 Point 2, Fox Animation, STARZ/Film Roman, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Universal Studios, Klasky/Csupo, Sony, Hanna Barbera, MTV Networks, Duck Soup, Kurtz & Friends, Joe Murray Studios, need I say more !!
These series of gouache illustrations (below) are all about ‘Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends’ a popular cartoon in the US. I love their vintage look and with a Mary Blair / Walt Disney feel.
I love the work for ‘Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends’ how did this project come about and what was your initial brief?
Thank you. Foster’s was one of my favorite jobs. Some of my best work.
Mike Moon was art directing Craig McCracken’s new show, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. I had worked on the Power Puff Girl movie at Cartoon Network and was looking for full time work. Mike Moon was looking for people for development and I called at exactly the right time. Mike hired me and another designer, Dave Dunnet, to develop the look. Craig and Mike had specific ideas about the house and what kind of world the imaginary friends lived in. I had about 6 weeks for development, which is unheard of now. Digital paint was still new so I brought in my gouache to paint many small comps that we ended up using for the final digital designs.
Do you work with sketchbooks quite often or do you prefer to draw digitally nowadays?
I still love the feeling of paint on a brush, but I find it so easy to do everything on the computer. There are some really nice brushes in Photoshop. I like that I can edit and delete. Sometimes it gives you too many choices, but I find myself preferring the computer.
What is the piece of animation or work that you feel most proud of, and which cartoons gave you the most pleasure to be a part of?
I am proud that I was a part of the first seasons of The Simpsons. It was a lot of work in uncharted territory. It was a change from all of the children’s cartoons we were used to working on. There was a lot of pleasure and a ton of stress. The job I got the most pleasure from was art directing a cartoon for Disney called Nightmare Ned. My personal style was used for the nightmare sequences. There was a whole new group of exceptional artists who made the work so fun. The pitches were the best. It was before its time though and the season ended up shelved after airing once.
I found this essay from 2013 on Carol’s website.
When I’m Unemployed
An essay by Carol Wyatt
We prefer to say “underemployed” (Is that a word?) I believe it’s use is to convince us that we are not homeless, heroine addicts, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Just like all areas of society, there is a heirarchy of unemployed artists. Those who have been out of work for years tend to suffer the most, becoming angry and bitter, therefore making it even more difficult to get work. The middle tier consists of artists, actors, musicians, (name your entertainment profession), who have had shorter layoffs. 3 to 9 months. The top tier consists of those who manage freelance jobs that provide a tiny income and keep the artist semi-confident in between full time work.
When I am unemployed (I use that word because I am a realist), I get to spend more time with my kids and get our home life organized. It is wonderful for a couple of weeks, helping with homerwork (oops, Freudian Simpsons slip), hearing the latest teenage gossip in the car, and taking my kids on excursions. Free, of course.
And then,….the anxiety begins. Money…Where will it come from?! My 6 year old says, “Just go to the money store Mom.”
I walk the malls, the small town of Montrose, watch crazy holiday shoppers and angry working parents rushing from place to place. Sales, sales everywhere, but not a dollar to spend. The artist in me loves the people watching. I could sketch all day. I am now up on the fashion trends and “What Does the Fox Say” videos. The new high heel, wedge, spiked, with mesh detailed shoes are to die for. They are definitely more confused than I. They make me feel slightly superior, if a shoe can do that.
The joy of spending time with the kids is always overshadowed by the uncertain anxiety of my future. But, kids remind me to keep it simple. Their needs are immediate and important. Always a good distraction.
And then, the competitive artist begins playing tricks on my mind. I’m not drawing enough. I’m not producing enough new work. I need to make a new website, fix my blog, have 20 coffees and 50 lunches with work associates. I suck, and I’m a complete fraud, so I’m told, by my wonderfully positive, creative brain. Maybe I could start a new business crafting… I can learn how to knit, and quilt, and use a flame torch on metals. I can do it! That’s what I say to myself.
That is usually when I receive an email or call from a friend telling me how much they love my work. They ask if I’m still painting awesome paintings and working on fun shows. And I’m back to stomping the pavement. Calling people I’ve never met, taking tests, for studios I’ve art directed for. “Dance monkey, dance!” A co worker jokingly said to me at the end of our last job. We joke about it, but it’s true. We always have to jump through newer, more difficult hoops.
But honestly, this is the best job in the world. Telling stories drawing and painting every day with the most talented people in the world. There is nothing else like it and I’m lucky to be included. And I promise to stop beginning sentences with “and” and “but”.
It seems even the most creative and successful of us still have doubts and misgivings, a useful lesson for us all.
Who’s work (in your industry or otherwise) do you find inspirational and why?
Milton Glaser, Saul Bass, Mary Blair, Eyvind Earle, John Hubley, and many others. So many people I work with today are inspiring. Anyone who is a great visual storyteller including great live action filmmakers, inspire me. I have to change styles often and learn new trends, so it helps to see a variety of styles for inspiration.
Is there any advice that you could offer budding artists who are hoping to get into the animation industry?
It’s probably the same advice they get in school. Develop a tough exterior because there will be rejection. Learn how to work with all kinds of people and do your best work regardless of difficult circumstances. It’s a very competitive business and don’t give up. Treat PA’s with respect. They will be your producers one day.
You can see more of Carol’s amazing work on her flickr site here or over on Carol’s Couch. Many thanks Carol for taking the time to inform and enlighten us regarding your enthralling work. Most appreciated.
If you enjoyed this post you’ll probably also like these one’s about Joey Chou, Scott Wills and Eyvind Earle.
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