pseudo rhys

Inspired by tape

2011-09-29T08:30:00.001+10:00

Inspired by tape

This is my third and final submission for the AGDA poster annual and the theme inspired by music.

Having already submitted 'caged by routine' and 'the Beat and the Melody' I started thinking about what has changed in music, any why nowadays I spend more time listening to the radio than my iTunes library. I decided it was because I miss the story of the album and that the ability to shuffle my library has made me less observant of what has been compiled by the artist.

My memory skipped back to laying on my bed killing hours listening to music with the low hum of the tape moving from spool to spool. And long hours in the car on family road-trips with the auto changer taking us from the A-side to the B-side and back over and over again. All the while the composition of the album taking us on a journey that is now missed by skipping or worse still not purchasing.

There are albums from my uni days I can't bear to listen to out of sequence, or feel like I'm missing something when the strange little interludes are jumped over in the hurry to get to the next pulse racing anthem.

I suppose that's why I like a good live set or even music dvd – the story is unavoidable.

The Beat and the Melody

2011-09-27T08:30:00.001+10:00

The Beat and the Melody

'One spring afternoon the Beat asked the Melody to meet in a park not far from here. Melody showed up in a white dress. Conveniently all their friends were there when they gave their lives to each other. Now the Beat has a melody to keep his head in the clouds and the Melody has a beat to keep her feet on the ground'.

This is second submission for the AGDA Poster Annual and the theme of 'inspired by music'. The idea behind this poster came ready made being that I attended the wedding of the Beat and the Melody.

Caged by routine

2011-09-25T14:52:00.000+10:00

Caged by routine

This is the first of my submissions for the AGDA poster annual which explores the theme of 'inspired by music'.

When thinking about the theme I reflected on the way I use music to relax or escape from the day to day grind and the positive difference music makes to my immediate environment. So even when caged, putting on my headphones can help me to escape the boredom.

AGDA poster annual

2011-09-25T14:02:00.000+10:00

So the ADGA Poster Annual finalists have been released which is very exciting. I had a go this year but missed out on making the shortlist. But I did had fun putting together a few submissions which I'm still happy with. I'll them up this week and look forward to seeing the winners on the 21st of October at the Gaffa Gallery.

Sketch Club – The Paper Mill

2011-08-03T08:30:00.001+10:00

George

Kiera

Recently I have started going to the Sketch Club sessions at the Paper Mill gallery in Sydney, and it's been a blast. With just two hours to address their project it's a create opportunity to see how other people attack the project and the varied results that come out of it.

The last session was on portraits I couldn't find anyone who sat still enough for my pedantic line making so i made do with a couple of magazines. Hopefully you can recognise my models.

Sessions are run on the last Thusday of each month – see here for details https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Paper-Mill-Public-Programs-Workshops-Classes-Events/158904684134216

They called her name ...

2011-07-31T14:43:00.001+10:00

“They called her name until it didn’t sound like a real word anymore, but she never returned.”

When the team over at the Monday Project put up their latest theme I was a bit intimidated by the specificity of the title. But having read the back story I found myself sitting on the couch with the sketch pad out pondering a few projects at once. At the same time our dog Milly was sitting on the floor ignoring instructions to go outside – all of a sudden I totally got it!

special T

2011-07-13T20:48:00.001+10:00

special T

I've always been a fan of beautiful type so when sparkapolooza put up the theme 'special tea' I did my usual trick played on the words and went straight to my favourite type book (a visual history of typefaces and graphic styles) and a specimen sheet by Johann Heinrich Meyer for a very special 'T'.

Agent of change

2011-07-04T20:43:00.000+10:00

Special agent of change

I couldn't work out where to go with the latest Monday Project so after a few false starts I've ended up with a this well hatted character as my 'agent of change'.

DADA

2011-06-27T18:39:00.000+10:00

dada

After having missed the left them eat cake theme over at sparkapolooza I've made it back for the DADA theme. Having recently been to the National Gallery in Canberra and seen some real DADA I decided to leave the toilet where it was and work from the sound of the word rather than it's artistic meaning.

under the lamp post

2011-05-27T23:00:00.001+10:00

One last puff

Another theme from the Monday Project. I've gone reasonably literal on this one for a change, but added in some copy for context. I'm finding that using the wacom I'm less precious about the line and prepared to command z, where as on paper I'm very reluctant to pull out the eraser.

beneath the surface

2011-05-23T19:49:00.002+10:00

safe beneath the surface

Another submission to Sparkapolooza, this time for their theme 'beneath the surface'. I've got a few ideas, but this was the first I was happy with.

Robin

2011-05-14T17:05:00.001+10:00

Robin

After some blog hopping I found myself on Tori Cat. Wow! Super impressed and inspired to draw some animals. I already had some reference from older projects when I was paring them back, this time it was all about the line. So I started with a robin, it's not really finished, but I want to jump to another project so a drew a line and here it is.

Rivcoll's new logo

2011-05-10T19:58:00.000+10:00

A little while ago I saw that my old university (Charles Sturt) had undergone a rebrand. And while digging around I saw that what was the student union (now the SRC) in Wagga Wagga was undergoing their own rebrand and were asking for submissions for a new logo. I thought it would be a great opportunity to give something back, and have fun along the way.

For a first submission I decided to push for an icon which could leverage the University's new brand, showing that they were linked. I knew this would probably get knocked on the head, but certainly was worth a discussion.

Submission 1

After the discussion was had and it was ruled out as an option it came back to me as a bit of a frankenstein with two logos combined. I made it my task to take this version and polish and develop it into a logo which hopefully has longevity and will help Rivcoll present itself with a professional identity.

As you can see the crow survived the first chop and once the restriction of the CSU logo shapes i had used were removed I added extra detail on the head. I also worked on the text and fixed the kerning and created a ligature for the R and i.

Ultimately it came down to a committee decision and one of the top three I had submitted was chosen.

Today I jumped online to see that it is now used on their website, which had also been updated to a much more accessible design. I'm looking forward to seeing it rolled out further.

icon

full logo

TTRFFTPTD

2011-05-07T16:55:00.001+10:00

TTRFFTPTDISFC

I was just reading one of my favourite blogs and came upon a random contest to create a international symbol for cycling (ISFC) icon from the time-traveling t-shirt-wearing retro-Fred from the planet Tridork (TTRFFTPTD). Now to see if it gets a run on the blog.

Fox Grylls

2011-05-07T14:27:00.000+10:00

Fox Grylls

After seeing that the new Sparkapolooza theme was 'Fox & Bear' I mentioned it with some people at work and one of the suggesting was a cross between Bear Grylls and Fox Mulder. I wasn't so sure about the Fox Mulder bit, but Bear Grylls seemed worth a go. So here he is in all his glory.

BearFox & Bare Fox

2011-05-07T13:34:00.000+10:00

BearFox

So the latest theme over at Sparkapolooza is 'Fox & Bear' so again I've had a play and come up with two illustrations which I thought had legs. So after gaving them a quick lashing of colour in pshop, here they are.

BareFox

canberra in autumn

2011-05-02T22:01:00.000+10:00

Canberra in Autumn

I'm playing along again with the Monday Project. This is one of my ideas which combines typography and illustration. It has been a little too subtle for my test audience so I hope you can see it.

blue ewe downs

2011-04-03T12:26:00.001+10:00

Blue Ewe Downs

I've started playing along with a second blog this week, so it gives me something to aim for between Monday Project themes. The creatives over at Sparkapolooza put up a theme every couple of weeks and their latest was an open brief but had to include: you, an animal, the colour blue, money and a bottle.

The graphic designer in me just had to do some packaging and a play on words so above is my latest vintage 'Blue Ewe Downs'.

beach baths

2011-04-02T21:33:00.000+11:00

Toes in the sand

Once again the Monday Project has added creativity to my month. This time with the theme 'beach baths'. I have referenced the style of David Hockney which I found because of Forgers Masterclass, which has become my sunday evening addiction of late.

It was great to apply paint to a canvas with a roller, it seems as though you achieve a lot in a small amount of time.

Something new

2011-03-02T08:28:00.000+11:00

In my couch ridden stupor I have found a spark of inspiration from Forger's Masterclass on ABC. Every week John Myatt (art forger) introduces one of the masters and 3 'students' have a go at it. With nothing better to do I also had a dash at it. Though I don't think I have a future in forgeries it wasn't a bad exercise for someone who hasn't painted in a long long time.

First up was Edward Hopper

Next came Andre Derian

They have also worked through Monet and Van Gogh, but I don't think I am ready for those yet.

Another person also working through the shows themes is barbsartfrenzy, it's great to see her painting skills improving with each piece.

re:ducks

2011-02-18T11:55:00.000+11:00

re:ducks

With open arms i welcome back the Monday Project to my list of monthly inspiration. Having been inactive for a while they aptly chose redux as the theme of the month. But being that I'm still slow I've mangled together a homophone and gone back to my early artist days to make a potato stamp.

Perhaps I will revive the theme later in the month to have another go!

---

Also, BenZen is heading off on a new adventure under the guise of Larsen.

hop to it

2011-02-18T11:42:00.000+11:00

Now that I am stuck at home with a broken hip I have no excuse to not be drawing and reading so here is one from my latest scribblings. Now to get my sketching mojo back and create something from nothing.

get your work seen - new competitions

2010-07-22T17:26:00.003+10:00

a couple of great sounding design slash arty comps which have popped up on my radar today are mother tongue (with is more of a online exhibition than a comp), being run by indigo design network, and positive posters new comp with the theme of 'glass half full'. grab the briefs on their sites.

i can't wait to see the submissions showing up online.

Update: if you are ever looking for a comp to work something up for visit the graphic competitions site

Art of Brewing

2010-07-06T18:49:00.000+10:00

at ambush last week

art of brewing

these darkened streets

2010-07-06T18:31:00.000+10:00

every time i take a walk through my neighbourhood i catch a glimpse of something i have never taken the time to commit to long term memory before, and quite often i will comment on the same 'new' interesting thing many times. walking up victoria street newtown gave me a back in france moment which was quite a pleasant surprise. followed by some wild 'budapest'ish' powerlines and german signage.

i wonder what i will 'find' next time i go for a walk

so far a quiet year for the blog

2010-04-09T15:26:00.001+10:00

So far this year has been a bit of a fizzer for the ol' blog. Mostly because I have spent so much time driving the mouse and not enough behind a pencil. Fortunately a couple of projects were realised.

Firstly a cycling jersey I designed for a friend in Canada was produced for the GatiGators triathlon team. With textured skin and yellow eyes it is certainly something different.

How hot is the helmet hair in this pic!

Also a colleagues performance 'click tease' needed a poster for the Adelaide fringe festival, which kept me busy in the lead up.

I even managed to fit in going to Semi-Permanent in Sydney.

Then finally, for easter, headed out of the city for a country break. Below is a quick sketch I put to paper to leave at the farm-stay in Ruffy, and a photo from my vantage point on the hill.

The Naked Truth

2010-03-02T21:21:00.000+11:00

After convincing myself I wanted to wake up at 3am, go into the city, get naked and stand with thousands of others I finally did it. Joining the 5000 other people on the steps of the Opera house and then in the concert hall for Spencer Tunick to snap a few frames. It was an amazing experience being surrounded by a surreal landscape of bodies.
Hopefully one day I get to do it again!

pandas and birds

2010-02-02T21:36:00.000+11:00

A little sketch from the plane back from Albury after a Christmas.

Life drawing

2010-02-02T21:32:00.003+11:00

The first life drawing for the year at the Sando saw a return of the model from July last year.

3x five minutes

five minutes

five minutes

ten minutes

twenty minutes

Good intentions

2010-01-05T18:21:00.000+11:00

As seems to be the story all over creative town the good intentions to put the mind to work over the christmas break have fallen in a heap. I am no exception, so I apologise for not having anything creative to show for my two weeks away. Though thats not to say that nothing will come of it.

Having spent my two weeks frantically catching up with friends and family from Albury to Melbourne and a few places in between I'm sure I picked up some inspiration along the way.

While pen rarely met paper, the bicycle infatuation of mine was working overtime and I came away with a 1980's Centurion roadbike. On a whim I had it changed to a single speed and haven't looked back. Though I keep being tempted to upgrade components, especially the pedals.

My new toy

Now with dust of Christmas and New Years settling I can get back to my art and hopefully share some more here, and meet some more of you in my adventures.

flash of red

2009-12-09T17:41:00.000+11:00

Having the house to myself for a few days I have taken over the dining table and started creating. This is one of the results, though not the greatest photograph. One day i'll manage to get the scanner to hook up to this computer again. I'm still not entirely sure if it is cute or confrontational with the robin using the panda against the other male robin!?

Delirious

2009-12-08T19:30:00.000+11:00

For the last few days I have had a bit of a flu and each night a throbbing headache sets in, but it didn't stop this strangely proportioned bird from being detailed in my mind. Then when I woke up this morning he was still there at the front of my mind ready to be put to paper.

So the paper was wrong for what I ended up doing and the details might not be bang on the vision but he's looking quite happy with himself and thats what really matters.

Beary nice

2009-12-07T16:02:00.000+11:00

Ever since Leeloo's exhibition 'Once Upon' I have been resorting to nursery rhymes and fairy tales to fill the spaces when I can't think of anything else to draw. And it's working for me, great characters, stories and hidden messages. Though I have ground to a halt on this one while I try to think up what to write on the ribbon. Any suggestions?

There was a little girl

2009-12-07T15:54:00.000+11:00

I've been meaning to do a reflected work for a while, and while scouring my brain space for some inspiration I came across the little girl who when she was good she was very very good. but when she was bad she was horrid. The perfect nursery rhyme to illustrate around.

another canvas

2009-12-06T10:02:00.001+11:00

Following on from my canvas a few weeks ago I painted up some more with the brightest colours I could find in the milk crate of doom, let them dry and promptly stacked them on a shelf. Then just a few days ago I found both my sharpies and the canvas's at the same time and here is the result.

I don't always title work apart from when I'm trying to describe it, but I've got a series planned for this one so lets call it 'I'll just wait here'.

Pigeon post

2009-12-06T09:44:00.000+11:00

It really is a shame that pigeons were swept by the wayside as a form of message sending with the advent of reliable telephones, internet and postal service. I can't imagine anything more exciting that having a cooing pigeon sitting on my mailbox each morning with a bundle of letters for me.

Performers wanted for CLICK TEASE - an original work

2009-12-06T09:18:00.001+11:00

In brief:

In the privacy of your home, a new voice is unleashed. It’s spoken by your Facebook identity, your online dating profile, your twittering self. For your avatar, the world is a seductive playground. For you at home, it’s a sandpit smelling of wee. What happens when virtual and real intersect?

To find out more head over to pseudonym to fool him

The Ineffable James Garfield

2009-12-02T19:49:00.002+11:00

The Ineffable James Garfield has been totally inspired by the Bloggess' coliary posts (It's like losing James Garfield all over again and For the love of James Garfield) following her triumphant purchase of James Garfield and all his awesomeness.

Inspirathon (let's pretend it's a word, just for now)

2009-11-26T21:52:00.004+11:00

After having rushed out an email so that everyone knew what was happening, I realised that I had forgotten about the why. Which left the people who had missed out on the original email thread in the dark, so here is what started it all.

"Anyone keen for a food, gallery and creating day over the weekend? It would be great to get a group together and find some inspiration then do something with whatever we find. I have been trying to find time to go to White Rabbit for ages so that's an option, or I'm open to suggestions if anything has just popped up in creative land. Even a design crawl through Surry Hills (similar to Urban Walkabout tours only without the $75 fee) to drop into cafes, shops and galleries.

The more the merrier! Lets hatch a plan."

--
So the idea is to get creative people together in Sydney to find inspiration and then do something with it.
Below is the email (aka the plan) sent on Thursday 26th of Nov.
--

Hey all,

With interest coming from all over the place thanks to some power networking at Junior on Wednesday night, our little 'gallery, food, design and art tour' is gaining numbers and a creative collective of designers, artists, illustrators and directors is forming. There may be even more after Pecha Kucha tonight at the Red Rattler.

So that we can all meet up, the start will be at White Rabbit in Chippendale at 11am on Saturday the 28th of November.

After a look around for how ever long is required we can head off in the direction of Surry Hills to explore cafes, bars, shops and galleries. Be prepared to go with the flow, float aimlessly and backtrack when necessary. I have a habit of being drawn to nice papers, fat books, letterpress prints, patterned wallpapers, op shops and shiny bicycles so don't forget to steer me towards, clothing, furniture, lighting, magazines stores and second hand stores and anything else that is 'your thing'. Remember this is your tour to guide (majority rules of course), I'm just holding the umbrella, whether metaphoric or literal. Check out TwoThousand for some inspiration and keep an eye/ear out for anything that's opening/closing or showing that we can drop by.

We also have the option of Young Blood designers markets running at the Powerhouse Museum which if anything like last time is well worth exploring. The $5 entry includes access to the museum.

Then once the legs are tired we can retire to somewhere comfortable to do something with the inspiration we have gleaned from the adventure. If you want to share something you have been working on bring that along too.

Don't forget:

comfortable shoes
some cash for entries, food, drinks and stuff
something to be creative with
to be open to changes of plan
to share

Feel free to comment, discuss and expand in the comments section at the bottom of this post.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Cheers,

Rhys

aka PseudoRhys

--

Also on at the moment is http://www.lanewaysbygeorge.com.au/ which is highly recommended, and for a quiet ale 'the Pond' has popped up in Darlinghurst.

Something a little different

2009-11-23T22:10:00.000+11:00

After a weekend with creative friends including BenZen and Soph and great exhibitions I have started playing with paints again. It has been a long time since I have tried anything seriously, so this troll is a work in progress.

Life drawing

2009-11-17T20:03:00.000+11:00

5 mins each

10 mins

20 mins

Bad blogger

2009-11-17T19:59:00.000+11:00

Dear Blog,

It has been 2 weeks since my last submission. For that I ask forgiveness. It was not my intention to be away this long. But, due to factors outside of my control I have created no content worthy of your code. Do not despair dear Blog as I have once again taken control to circumstances to apply myself, creating for you drawings of a man, a naked man.

In my time away I have attended many creative and festive venues including fairs and galleries. Invested in fabulous magazines, books and maps. I have even made baby steps towards more canvases. Which I aim to offer to you in the near future. Though naked men will not be available again until February when life drawing starts up again.

Thank you for your understanding, I will strive to provide for you more regularly in the coming months.

Yours,

Pseudo Rhys

Marriage leaves a maiden name unused

2009-11-03T22:44:00.000+11:00

Another month on and the monday project strikes again. October's theme of 'Marrying left your maiden name disused' really had me stumped, and still sort of does. None the less below is my submission for the month. Enjoy.

Together with the doubled up cutlery, toasters, kettles and tvs another maiden name sits unused, gathering dust as a happy marriage continues.

New art

2009-11-02T22:36:00.004+11:00

Life drawing

2009-11-02T22:34:00.000+11:00

5 mins

10 mins

20 mins

Happy halloween

2009-10-30T21:55:00.000+11:00

So after being getting away for a weekend escape to the Gold Coast for a wedding and being very slack on the sketching front i decided that it was time for another upload.

Happy halloween

Life drawing

2009-10-20T20:05:00.000+11:00

With the long weekend stealing the last life drawing session it was great to get back to the Sando and put some marks on paper.

5 mins

10 mins

20 mins

20 mins - the crowd

magic

2009-10-19T12:00:00.023+11:00

Over the weekend I found some motivation and rather than adding to the glut of unfinished sketches I started developing them into larger pieces. This magician made an appearance back August for the Monday Project's 'brave' project and had been stylised and detailed into this piece.

Other escapees from my sketchbook were 'oh crap' and 'treehouse'.

and the treehouse continues to grow

2009-10-18T13:31:00.000+11:00

The seed was planted when I posted my original sketch just days ago, now I have taken it though enlargement to colour. It has been a long time since I have even attempted painting with water colours so I was pleasantly surprised when it didn't look like a brown wet blob at the end of it. I'm still not sure if I am finished with the project, but am stoked with where it has gotten to.

Maybe I need a story to put with it or a character who lives there. Food for thought.

Roughing it out

Adding colour

All done, for now

pressure works

2009-10-17T23:30:00.000+11:00

It didn't take long to work, less than a day in fact.

With the added motivation of putting it out there and not wanting to let the concept go stale again I have taken my tree house to the next stage of its development. I still see it progressing to a coloured stage with creatures hiding in the branches and people wandering below. It is definitely a while off being finished, but I can justify buying a some nice watercolour paper to accommodate it.

Another project which I have been playing with started last weekend with some acrylic paint being applied to sheets of paper to provide a base layer to work over. With no idea of what I would end up doing with the sheets I was pleasantly surprised when the character from by roll of brown paper made the trip to the big motley blue smear I had applied with a piece of cardboard and a washing up rag.

Tree house

Oh crap

Harbour monsters and leafy trees

2009-10-17T13:05:00.000+11:00

I have been meaning to polish these two illustrations for a while but haven't found the time so to add some pressure to myself I'm posting both of them. Hopefully this will make me take them to the next stage.

Harbour monster

Tree house

GO FONT UR SELF

2009-10-15T21:44:00.001+11:00

I was starting to wonder if design exhibitions existed in Sydney, now with two in two weeks I'm excited. Tonight was Go Font Ur Self at the Peer Gallery in Glebe. To start with it reminded me of a exhibition I went to run by the Typographic Circle in the UK. The difference is Sydney is graphic design/typography exhibition starved (someone please prove me wrong), so every Tom, Dick and designer was there.

Excitingly one of the typeworks 'say it with flowers' (image below) was by Jessica Hische who got a mention just 3 posts ago with her Daily Drop Cap project. Her work is amazing, so I will have to keep an eye out for a piece to decorate my wall with.

The second type event that I am excited about, but can't make it to is Some Type of Wonderful. Hopefully someone will go along and take some photos and tell me all about it.

Following on the type them. I was doing some googling today and read about the Australian Type Club which seems to exist only in a couple of forum threads in last 2008. Hopefully it reappears in the near future to be something like the Typographic Circle, Type Directors New York or Tokyo. Maybe then we will have a chance to get a design museum like in London or Breda.

Anyway, hopefully this is a sign of good things to come. Sydney could do with some design culture, not just designer markets.

Japanese calligraphy made to order

Lots of people in a small (awesome) space. DJ's on the staircase. Cold beers at the bar and sausages on the BBQ.

Jessica Hische, Say it with Flowers

Dave the Chimp, Amazing living wigs

Brett Stenson, Grue

From the outside in

Not really blog worthy

2009-10-15T21:01:00.000+11:00

Now, I wouldn't usually find this blog worthy (except i've had a couple of drinks), but in my local alley walking adventures I found some havoc caused by a recent storm. Creatively cropped to make it look worse I missed out on the more interesting feature of the tree.

It had already had its upper limbs lopped and carted away. But in true council style, they not only left a giant (word used for effect) tree trunk protruding from a fence line, then stacked the broken palings against it instead of taking either away in the truck they obviously had.

Under all this chaos is a very sad looking wheelie bin, which will no doubt need some TLC once the tree is removed.

Even after all that the most interesting part was that its a great metaphor (or maybe its the few drinks talking), being that I have been bashing against a creative block for a couple of days.

Now lets pretend the fence is the creative block (to tall, to hard, to much effort). To get to the other side I could scale it and drop to the other side with only a small struggle, but then my return trip would involve climbing back up and over (who knows how many times I would have to climb the fence each day/week/year). The rest of the metaphor is that the tree is effort/energy and if instead of avoiding the problem I use the tree to smash my creative fence I won't have to climb back over it to get home.

Strange places

2009-10-15T20:38:00.000+11:00

Ever get that feeling that you've been there before, even when really you know that if you had, you would have remembered ... well, this was not one of those times. Tatzu Nishi has taken over the Art Gallery of NSW, enclosing (partially) the two bronze statues which guard the entry. It is definitely worth going to visit to get an understanding of the scale that these images don't convey.

Now if you ever pause to ponder 'hey, i think i remember a giant bronze horse and rider mounting my bed' or 'wasn't there a horse in that tv cabinet last week' you can blame Tatzu Nishi.

Hmm ... no posts this week

2009-10-13T19:53:00.000+11:00

very week I make a promise to myself that posts will come thick and fast. Unfortunately the week just passed I was particularly unorganised and didn't even manage a weekend update. It's not that I haven't been sketching away, but just that none of my bigger projects have finished. Now if I just stopped procrastinating through the medium of blog I will have something to show by friday.

--
Usually I don't use other peoples images, or yell and scream about things unless I am involved/know the person. This time I'm making an exception. Today the letter 'E' is brought to you by Jessica Hische's blog, Daily Drop Cap. Go have a look, it's a great concept and showcase of beautiful lettering.

I've created a monster!

2009-10-05T20:22:00.000+11:00

I have been keeping my eye out for something different to sketch on. Something cheap to buy (moleskins are an expensive habit), and that I won't be precious about if it is hard to get. Cardboard was too thick to carry enough, butchers paper too murky and everything else fell into the expensive or mainstream pile.

BenZen had told me of a pianola roll that was given to him to illustrate (imagine drawing though the music, the holes providing glimpses of the other side). But my habit of thinking while drawing, as opposed to having the idea then drawing it, is not pianola roll worthy, yet. So I didn't need to start the long (potentially expensive) search for a piece of pianola music.

With an architecture student in the house rolls of yellow/white trace litter the office during assignment time. Both great candidateds, both unfortunately falling into the expensive pile.

So when I spotted a roll of brown paper in the stationery section of the supermarket I knew it was right. Cheap, alternative and totally replaceable.

Having watched it from across the coffee table for a couple of days I decided to use some of it to line the back of a display frame for a Jess Bradford print I purchased at a COFA art fair. Laying unwrapped on the desk I thought I should at least try it out. I found my sketching pencils and sharpies, placed the pencil to the paper and ... thats when my plan for a open slather doodling session came to a crunch.

Often I find myself changing pages in sketchbooks to change styles, but with a roll there is no page to turn. Your next image references the previous because you can see everything at once. Not that it's a bad thing, but it has created a monster. A long, brown, lightly textured, wood based, cylindrical monster!

If I cannot over come it I may have to resort to slicing its body into sheets each time I need a change. Until then it's decoration can keep dreaming up the page.

Bespoke temptation

2009-10-05T11:53:00.001+11:00

After the Young Blood market at the Powerhouse I mentioned my very exciting purchase of a letterpress print from Bespoke Press. I didn't put up a pic of it as I thought it was rude to have an image up before they did. Excitingly they have not only put up Honey in Sunshine, but a whole lot more. Just as exciting they have put up little bios of the artists so now my print has a story as well.

Image from Bespoke Press website.

and there followed a moments silence

2009-10-03T22:55:00.000+10:00

Another month down, though it seems much shorter. With more creative endeavors and weekend filling activities time seems to fly by. Hence my rather rushed submission for the Monday Project's theme of 'and there followed a moments silence' developed into two ideas. One close to home, the other a much larger scale.

Along with running short on time, having a mid 20's designer/illustrator identity crisis doesn't help. As a designer I have been loosely advised to not have a style of my own, but to work to what is best for the purpose. Whereas illustrators are know for their style, it's what makes them salable. Hmm, now I need two mindsets to toggle between.

So to help solve my dilemma (or at least tide me over until I find a less time consuming solution), I am going to put up one illustration in 'my style' (though I am still not entirely sure what that is) and another in which I have tried something different.

GOfish3 : open for submissions

2009-09-30T17:48:00.000+10:00

GOfish is a great creative arts publication straight out of the country. With two editions under their belt, the first focused on artists from Wagga, the next all female artists. With fantastic artists from around the world submitting, it's time to check it out and get your work seen.

Creative Sundays

2009-09-28T21:38:00.000+10:00

Sundays usually consist of a bike ride followed by takeaway food, a beer in the backyard. But this weekend, for a change, I was invited by Sophie to a afternoon of creative/crafty arts. Though I didn't stray from my sketch book it was fantastic to be around creative people and talk about our projects. Can't wait to do it again! Also a big thanks to Iris (for hosting) and Fiona for adding to the creative pool.

So, the conversation ended on something like 'thats about as likely as a gorilla wearing a pink tutu, marching around a congo drum, hitting it with rubber snakes'. Strangely the image was still in my head the next day, so it deserved a page in my sketchbook.

I have noticed the theme of wind power popping up in a lot of my scratchings lately. I'm not sure if it is because of the weather here, Carly's wind/water powered building or just a fascination at how much power it actually has, and how different levels can make or break your day.

Life drawing

2009-09-22T19:14:00.000+10:00

Another fortnight down and complete sketches are at a premium. Lucky for those of you who like pictures more than words I did make it to life drawing at the Sandringham once again, where we were treated to an excellent model and cold beer.

I had attended with a back up plan of creating cartoon characters of the other artists in attendance, but we don't always get models of this calibre, so i'll let that back up plan wait for another day.

I did manage to play with a few different styles and even reached back to high school days when I spent hours doodling with black biro through my workbooks – they are towards the bottom.

Urban non-adventure

2009-09-21T19:06:00.000+10:00

Through the grapevine I had heard about an underground water reservoir in Paddington which had been unused for this purpose since 1899. Researching a little more I learned that it had been through a few uses since then, including a garage. Still I hoped it had decayed through time. A little later in its life (1990) sections collapsed as the park on its roof finally weighed more than the supports could hold. Immediately my mind went

Wow ... an urban wasteland, nature consuming the reservoir. Trees and plants growing wherever nutrients allowed. A snapshot of a ruined civilisation. Sydney's version mayan cities. I started wandering through a humid jungle of vines, hiding the animals as they watched me pass. The dappled light showing glimpses of fur and feather as they scurried ahead. Brushing the ferns aside so to pass my sleeve catches on the frond and a tickle of blood runs from a scratch on my forearm. I make a note to watch for that fern in the future

In the darkness a slow dripping sound resonates through the still humid air. A startled lizard hisses and opens its mouth wide when I disturb its basking. Perched on a stone jutting from the wall at shoulder height its diminutive size being no indication of the monster lurking inside. The effects of water lapping against the stone wall has evolved the surface into contours, even in this artificial environment drought years showed as undercuts closer to the floor. What is tucked away in those recesses I am not game to fell to find out.

Ducking below the lizard range I spot a leech looping its way up my sock. Despite looking gorged on blood it progressed swiftly upwards before being flicked to the ground. Immediately contorting its body, before rising to full stretch and attaching itself to an overhanging fern so to transfer itself to the next passer by.

The rubble from the collapsed ceiling lay in piles, obviously moved by human hand to ease the passage through the maze. Slabs of brickwork creating caves, hills and valleys. Trinkets and rubbish blown down from the city above adding to the colours of the birds and insects that flashed through the tree tops. The low hum of traffic droned quietly in the chambers, creating haunting tones as the arches and columns of the still standing sections directed it on unexpected paths.

A trickle of water crossed the path, small scratch marks lining its course. I hope it is something native, but could be assured of its vermin status. Moving further into the darkness giant fungus protrude from the walls and the sound of a bats leathery wings makes me stoop, before peering up into thousands of tiny eyes. Their high pitched chirps bouncing off the walls while they register the surroundings. The ground below slick with the remains of their victims.

The air is thick and warm towards the rear of the chamber and the smells irritate my nose. Rags, food wrappers and bones litter the ground. Huddled in the corner a ball of fur whimpers before scaring the life out of me with a blood curdling scream. Not wanting to wait around for who was being call for I continued along the worn ridge line to where the trickle I had seen should pass.

Finding its course easily I gingerly stepped over twisted metal and the ribcage of a dog. Grateful I had not sampled the water at my first crossing I follow it across the cavernous space, until it disappeared into a wall. A micro-system of ferns, fungus, climbing vines, insects and frogs had established itself at the tiny pool, their meager means easily met in the warm damp environment.

Conscious of time, I stand from my crouching position and turn a set of eyes look back at me. Straddling the stream I had followed to this point was a small boy. With wide eyes and a hard-set jaw he stared not at me, but though me, like he could see what I was thinking. But when I looked down to check my step forward he vanished without so much as a rustle.

Not wanting to tempt fate I turn to my left and take the most direct route towards the stream of light which pierced the darkness. Stubbing my boot against a the buttress of a massive fallen tree I stumble to the ground. Hidden in the leaf litter thorn covered vines start to curl upwards, clawing at my hands. Not being one to hang around I am up and away, my foot aching, and the tiny barbs form lines across my hands. They have not bled yet, though I'm sure it will be another story when I come to removing them.

Crashing though a stand of saplings a nest falls from above, the contents smashing to the ground while the understandably disgruntled parents attack with all the ferocity of a magpie after a cyclist. Flailing wildly at the birds I once again miss my step and find myself sprawled in a clearing.

Painfully rolling over I refrain from using my now throbbing hands and scan the shrubs. No sound, nothing. Beyond that barrier is another world. A wilderness surrounded by an urban jungle.

Then somehow I pop out of my daydream and back to the couch, google and reheated sausages. My imagination has been betrayed by reality, the council and an architect. Why did they have to conspire to turn a raw, evolving element of our past into a sterile park/function venue. No taking away from the great detail on the gates, the trendy vibe and manicured gardens, but, you can create that without carving up a piece of history. Hope fully next time the wilderness wins.

So when I did visit the site, it turns out that while I thought I was going on an adventure, instead it was just another day in the park.

Header #4

2009-09-18T19:44:00.000+10:00

This typeset managed to get a special treatment for its time as header mostly because it provided the full suite of letters, but also because the letter forms ranged from clean to ornate. Which is because they are a collection of letters from 12th century manuscripts all illuminated by Henry Shaw.

My favourite from this set is the first of the 'k' characters, the lines flowing from the ascender are beautifully weighted.

In response to a response

2009-09-17T20:47:00.000+10:00

Ever get so into a story that it forms an image in your mind, well that was the case with Amanda's (Pocketful of courage) submission to the Monday Project's 'box of sun' challenge. Make sure you read Amanda's great short story to see find out what's happening in the sketch.

Click on image for larger version

Life drawing

2009-09-12T20:56:00.000+10:00

With a full week behind me I only have these sketches to show from life drawing with Sophie of 'the Monday Project' fame.

The adventures for this week that distracted my sketching time were Fire: a retrospective, friends from Wagga (who left with my alley bike to take on Tour de Rutherglen), a 3 year anniversary and dinner with friends. Hopefully next week at least one night will be spent between the sheets (of my sketchbook).

my box of sun

2009-09-06T21:37:00.003+10:00

After starting again and again on this project I kept getting stuck on the descriptive title of this months challenge provided by the Monday Project. 'A box of sun' told the whole story to me and no matter how I tried to bend my head around to something new I decided to develop on the very basic image in my head. Make sure you click on the image to see it larger and read the text on the box.

Thanks again to Kate and Sophie for getting me to finish at least one creative project each month :)

Why do I even live in Sydney?!

2009-09-06T18:03:00.003+10:00

It's a question I have pondered quite a few times and the pros and cons always match up.

We are close to everything! Sooo much traffic.

Lots of friends! I know people everywhere.

Don't have to spend money travelling to the city! City sized rent on the same pay as I could get in the country, hell I could fly to the city every weekend on the difference in the rent.

Coast roads to ride my bike on! Sooo many cars trying to knock me off my bike.

Etcetera! Etcetera.

But then along comes a day like Saturday and Sydney doesn't seem so bad.

My new highly recommend thing to do on a sunny day in Sydney is catch the ferry to Taronga and walk east through the national park to Balmoral. Keep an eye out for the bearded dragons and brown snakes!

Header #3

2009-09-06T17:27:00.004+10:00

Whatever happened to the decorative drop-cap. Yeah I know it doesn't really have much of a place in the modern san-serif world, but why should we always like everyone else. Not that I'm overly precious about decorative drop-caps but it's hopefully going to make do as a metaphor.

I think that where appropriate we should all try to add that little extra detail to our work. Like a drop-cap highlights a passage of text you should incorporate into your work a point of difference, which tells a little about your character.

Indulge your inner self. I don't mean you have to carve your notes on a stone tablet with the tooth of crocodile, or write in latin right to left bottom to top (unless that's your thing), but use your own voice and style to create and interact with your environment. What works for someone else doesn't have to be your way ... experiment and have fun doing whatever it is you find yourself doing. Work doesn't have to be boring!

Big thanks to Kate's memo over at the MondayProject for the little reminder.

--

Image update: These decorative letters are from a bible illuminated for Charles the Bald in the 10th century.

Code word: Taswegia

2009-09-03T20:38:00.004+10:00

View of Hobart from Mt Wellington.

Escaping ... it seems to be a recurring theme now that I live in Sydney. The act of letting go of the everyday and finding new things in new places, or simply visiting old haunts and catching up with seldom seen friends. It is for these escapes that I work my clicking finger to the bone and strain my eyes staring into the comforting WYSIWYG of the Adobe Creative Suite. Saving up my pennies so that those meals out and sneaky beers don't come at the expense of rent (or bicycles).

Breaking through the bars and over the razor wire I was on the run. Leaving behind, work, grocery shopping, buses, traffic and living under the flight path. Some friends on the outside had been in contact for the few months before and just about had everything set up for a swift getaway. Everything was on a need to know basis, all I had to do was rise early on the thursday, not wake the warden, then a yellow car would meet me at the door and before I knew it we would be at the airport and free.

Unfortunately a death in the family made the plans a little more complicated and the escape had to be pushed forward. The schedule was changed and zero hour was moved to the tuesday lunch time. Escaping from the labour camp appeared to be an easier challenge than directly from the cell, but with guards constantly checking up on me it did pose a few timing challenges. On the premise of slipping off to the loo I sent off one last email and casually whistled my way down the hall before dropping back past the warden to my cell to make sure I had my disguises for getting past border control.

Even with the late notice my driver arrived perfectly on time, but at breakneck speed we arrived at the terminal dangerously early. In the confusion I stuttered the wrong destination, but quickly corrected to Albury and my boarding pass was handed over after an uncomfortable chuckle.

Having perfected the art of passing security checks back in my formative years I breezed through the detectors and with a nod dodged the bag inspection (i think he was in on the deal). Picking up some subway I tucked into the first fast food I had seen since my last escape.

Sitting in the waiting lounge the delayed flight had me suspicious that with the late changes to the plans someone may have been tipped off by all of the chatter. Constantly scanning the crowd I felt a little better as the room emptied completely as flights departed. But still the flight attendants were running late to the desk. I always get uncomfortable when the timelines change on an escape.

Fifteen minutes after the planned departure I slunk aboard, ducking under the low doorway of the plane ... i'm sure there was more room last time!

Listening in on the two behind me I was assured I hadn't been followed on board ... no one would fake a Canadian accent as a disguise.

After having constantly lost time in the air it was comforting to be met on the ground as promised and chauffeured to Wangaratta for the handover to the family.

Having been locked away in Sydney for so long it was fantastic to catch up with dad, mum, my sister and the rest of the family. Shame it was for such a sad occasion, Granddad had been a huge part of all our lives and it showed with hundreds of people crawling out of the woodwork to celebrate his life.

Staying in the same safehouse for 3 nights it was time to move again, and to get back on schedule. Andy and Damo would be waiting, and I know what kind of trouble those two can get themselves into when left alone for too long.

Taking the low profile option with Tiger Air it was just a short hop from Melbourne to Hobart to complete my escape. free Free FREE

As I had suspected my contacts had gorged themselves on golden fried seafood and the local beers so were a little worse for wear. Never the less they were ready to make tracks – right after another feed of golden fried seafood and beer :)

Having dropped our supplies back to the hideout we made our way out to see Kram at the Brisbane where Andy tested his new identity to its fullest as he adopted full deafness in his right ear as he attempted to ignore an intoxicated local. Very funny to watch, but the trials of our other identities were as stretched as the denim and leather that strutted around the bar.

After the gig and having consumed a few too many celebratory ales we slunk back to the pad for some well earned rest. No one would find us here.

During the night a light drizzle fell across the city which continued throughout the next few days, all the while we gathered information from locals on the best places to go so see or be seen and go we did. From trendy bars and cafes to vantage points second to none. We did miss one rendezvous when the road to the top of the mountain was closed because of snow to lower levels. Even with the disruption we were able to hike high enough to see what we had come to.

With the new understanding of the lay of the land we were sure to make the most of what the city had to offer. Then from the Shot Tower we saw the access to the ocean which all going well would eventually act as our next escape point.

On a reconnaissance south of Hobart we found a small pub in Dover where the conversations floating around the bar questioned the morals of some of the locals. A little scarred from the experience we dashed back towards the relative safety of Hobart, taking the scenic route on the other side of the river there were tiny shacks that may come in handy should our current hideout be discovered. Tucked away on the hillside they melt into the landscape and provide a great view across the valley.

Under the cover of darkness we slipped back into the suburbs and swung through the CBD before tucking the car behind the building for the night.

Strangely I was woken early and instructed to shower and pack, the only clue I was give was that I was moving again and I that we had brought too much attention to the house ... the other tenants were getting suspicious.

Bundled into the car at 8:15am we shot out of the complex and past a suspicious looking van 'fixing the phoneline'. Swept up in the pace I hadn't had time to comprehend what was going on until it was too late. It was a double cross it would seem that in exchange for some favour they had decided to deliver me directly to the airport. Into the lions den as they would say.

Trying to act cool I tried my luck, but it all seemed too easy. A new line opened just for me and before I knew it my bag and I had been swept plane-wood. Though not before I was robbed of $11.80 for a toasted sandwich and BigM.

Betrayed and beaten I accepted my fate and board the plane.

While my escape was short lived I will remember my time on the outside and starting plotting the next time I go over the wire.

Header #2

2009-08-15T19:38:00.003+10:00

I have once again let a week go bye forgetting to bring home the book I scanned these images from so keep an eye out for the credits on these when I finally remember.

Update: Spanish letterforms from 17th & 18th centuries which combine strapwork and strange beasts and fish.

Inspired, but cranky

2009-08-15T17:22:00.003+10:00

[inspired]

Once again I am lacking in original content but totally full of ideas. Today was another design festival adventure. This time it was the Young Blood Designer Markets, again at the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo. Having attended back in 2006 I was looking forward to a sprawling maze of stalls and creative people selling their creations to other creative people – how things have changed. This time the market was constrained to a small area on level one and you spent your time waddling like a penguin, peering over the shoulders of other penguins while they searched for fish.

Even though the space was small and there weren't as many stalls as I had envisaged they were all great. Fantastic designs, fresh ideas or at least fresh interpretations and friendly designers. All well worth the wait in line to get in.

My highlight was the stall of Bespoke Press (who I have been following the blog of) with their collection of prints. I won't provide a photo of the print I purchased, but will link to it once it has been put up on their website. All I can say is wow, their prints are amazing, the indentation and the attention to detail and quality make it worth every cent.

I may have to make my next project to print from the printing block I picked up in London. From their maybe digitise it to keep the letter forms alive.

[cranky]

With a design market under the belt we added a trip through Omnibus lane to see how it had evolved but sadly the idiots of this world had taken it upon themselves to tear down posters, deface art and destroy the perspex piggy bank (to steal the donations inside) among other things. It was supposed to be a exhibition about real social issues, apparently it was the target of some of the problems it was trying to address.

[inspired again]

To right my mistake from last Sunday we strolled up to Gaffa in Surry Hills to see the Alter Ego exhibition which turned out to be well worth the second trip back. My favourite being the everyday items moulded from soap and accompanied by an anecdote from the artists alter ego's life. There were lots of really interesting pieces, though I would have loved to compare the artists work to that of their alter ego ... what do you think?

Lastly to add another passion to the day we passed Deus ex Machina, who had a swap meet happening in the vacant block across the road. So many beautiful bikes. Definitely inspiration to keep working on my project bikes, despite one being too small and the other very hard to fine a new spoke for. Oh well continue the search.

Finishing the day with ice cream it is time to take the inspiration forward and see if I can get something original on here this week. Watch this space.

7x7 upload

2009-08-12T21:23:00.007+10:00

Tonight was one of the big nights of my Sydney Design festival calendar as the 7x7 Designer talk series was held at the Powerhouse. Run by the DIA it had a great line up of, as the name suggests seven designers of varying fields. And in the cross discipline spirit of the event the logo was created by an architect (Peter at campbellbarnett).

The speakers were:

Peter Black - Architect

John Brown - Product/industrial designer

Guy Burgoyne - Designer for GM (Holden)

Ana Maria Escobar - Oroton

Andrea D'Cruz - RLD

Andrew Hoyne - Graphic (among other things) Designer

Andrew O'Connell - Architect

While the individual talks were great the themes running through the data presented were where the truths lay. The 7x7 theme was future predictions, but the responses were very current and underlined the values every designer aspires to. So here is my interpretation of what I can remember.

1. Create to meet the purpose. It's the old form follows function catch cry revisited. With the current economic climate, sustainability and technological trends the consumer is (or believes themselves to be) very savvy. This means that people are judging not only the design, but also the perceived value or energy consumer in the realisation of the work.

2. Being savvy the consumer is looking for a point of difference, an originality, and an authenticity. With thousands of knock offs showing up in markets the value is in the quality, and this new wave of consumers are more prepared to save for the premium product as it will become a 'badge' they can wear.

3. Desireability and aspirational are two words that are slowly blending in the stew that is my brain, but in our future designer world the icons of the generation like the iPhone will have become common and the savvy shopper is looking for something special, not off the production line and onto the shelf. They want their purchase to have been cared for from concept through to creation or communication, or even the hand over of keys.

Limited editions are a great example of this quality and Ana Maria's example of one hundred handbags selling out in 5 days despite the price tag of $950 demonstrates the pulling power of quality workmanship. Or if you are a bicycle fan the creations at Deus ex Machina, whose off the shelf individualism makes them very desireable.

4. Next in the firing line is personalisation which has the potential to blow a hole in the bow of sustainability. To personalise you blog is easy, to personalise your car/house/aeroplane isn't. To create a balance between what can be done and where the limits lay should be compared to the environmental costs before offering 40,000 varients of a product which performs the same task.

I'm probably blurring the lines between my points so don't get too stressed out as I attempt to make 7 points for 7x7.

5. Along with wanting a high quality, sustainable product, with street cred, in a limited edition and personalised (wtf) they also want it to have a story. Not a once upon a time, but more of a from humble origins, family business grown through interesting times with interesting people sprinkled through their photo albums kind of story. Whether this story extends back a week or a century they want to know what makes the brand tick. Kind of like nudie or moleskin.

6. Following on from wanting a story the consumer then wants to see, feel or experience the authenticity. The same way being able to see the chef doting over your meal makes your experience better, is how your consumer wants you to care for your work. Passion ignites passion. It is this grandure and sense of meticulous attention to detail that has Volkswagen purchasers in Germany travelling to Wolfsburg to collect their new chariot from the towers (image at top of post) at the autostadt. The theatre of the location and the presentation as it is drawn from the column and brought before them is why they didn't opt to take it from the car lot in Halle.

7. Last but not least local materials make sense. With the cost of transport no longer limited to monetary values, but also measures in carbon footprint we need to look closer to home. The less distance it needs to travel the better, environmental credentials need to be thoroughly considered and careful consideration needs to be put into their use as a resource used in efficiently is a resource wasted.

In summary lets just say design should:

be quality; be authentic; have history (or a story); be sustainable; be personalised (whether real or perceived); use materials available locally and made by locals; finally it should be a badge proclaiming what the customer values, because very rarely does a person spend so much time searching for the first 6 criteria if they don't want everyone else to know that they are design savvy (sorry for the repeated use of 'savvy' in this blog, but it was the catch cry of the night).

Now that i have pulled together my seven which I have sharpened or blurred with the filter that is my memory I hope you can use it to justify some of your design decisions for the future.

Creative weekend ... sorta

2009-08-10T22:35:00.005+10:00

Over the weekend I attempted to have a very creative weekend. Unfortunately I wasn't. Luckily some other people were and that gave me something to do.

With the Sydney Design Festival on there is something to explore almost everyday. So I headed out to see what I could find.

Thinking globally and acting locally I returned to a familiar haunt at Oh Really to meet up with Sophie one half of the Monday Project and two halves of Avocado and Lemon. Creative dreams, strains and realities crossed the table along with lattes and lime tart. What a great way to spend an afternoon.

Full of inspiration and a need for stimulation I headed down to an exhibition being run by AGDA as part of the festival. Not knowing what to expect I was enjoying the street art in Omnibus lane before I realised that it was the exhibition. I would post some photos from it, but as BenZen said about the studio of Ghost Patrol and Miso ... you could walk around it 4 or 5 times and see something new everytime. The same can be said here, and I would not be doing it justice if I tried. Definitely worth exploring on a sunny day.

To top it off a visit to the Object Gallery to see some more commercial work in the form of super trendy kitchen objects. After which I attempted to visit Gaffa on a Sunday. Not the best idea, so I will have to go back when they are open.

Anyway thats the abridged version of my weekend. Hopefully it gets you out to the Festival (these this don't happen every day) and inspired, maybe even to Young Blood next weekend. Hope to see you there.

Omnibus Lane, Ultimo.

This little pig

2009-08-09T16:22:00.002+10:00

I'm not sure if I am enough of an 'artist' to submit for this exhibition but it does sound like alot of fun. Maybe time for some collaboration on a project. I see a story and pig submission and takers?

Sketching during meetings

2009-08-07T14:46:00.002+10:00

Do you know those times when meeting float off into irrelevant conversation that doesn't apply directly to you. Well I start scribbling. Here's the latest.

header image

2009-08-02T22:29:00.004+10:00

My latest header image has been up for a couple of days so I thought I should share the rest of the page it came from. Fantastically detailed lettering and frame. I will summarise some details for it as soon as I remember to bring the book back from the office.

Page 2 coming soon.

Update: The letterforms are from St Cuthbert's Gospels and were written by Aedrith, Bishop of Lindisfarm. They decorated the opening pages and marked the beginnings of new paragraphs. The arch is also taken from the same manuscript and is ornamented with Anglo-Saxon decoration.

another monday ... put on a brave face

2009-08-02T21:29:00.006+10:00

Another monday project down. this months theme was brave (courage, not American Indian like my half month sketch), and up until tonight I was working on the idea that the bravest thing you can do is admit defeat. But hey, I'm just not that brave. So here's my submission.

A little bit of magic (courage) can bring out the hero in all of us.

tiny tiny chairs

2009-08-01T16:57:00.004+10:00

As part of Saturday in Design, Chandon and Living Edge in Surry Hills ran a miniature chair competition. They supplied you with a kit containing 2 champagne corks (pre distorted by bottle), 2 foil sleeves, 2 wire cages and 2 caps. The concept was to create a miniature chair from these materials and a little glue if you needed it.

Having been given one of these kits I set about procrastinating right up until the night before. Slammed a few ideas onto paper then set about with scalpel and sandpaper to create my lucky chair. The '7'. I managed to drop it off on the due date and then waited patiently until Saturday to find out how I went.

I was excited to just have a piece in the exhibition, but to find out it had made the cut when it went from over 250 down to 60 was awesome. Apparently I should turn my hand to 3D more often than I do.

In the end I didn't win, but the free beer and a day out was what it was really all about.

For all you miniature chair enthusiasts here is a link to Living Edge's blog with some more photos of the tiny tiny chairs.

for identification

2009-08-01T16:48:00.000+10:00

type

2009-07-31T21:34:00.004+10:00

I had always taken typefaces for granted until I went to uni and spent my time ploughing through assignments attempting to create a visual hierarchy. Since then I have attempted to sit down and create all of the characters of the alphabet a few times. The challenge always coming when one or two stood from the rest, and I just couldn't work out how to give the rest that edge to make them work together. Thanks to my inability to create one great set –(or is it that I am not one of those blessed with the patience to create it) I now take the time to admire the work that goes into the characters. Though I usually have favourite characters.

Now i hope to share a collection of fonts that I picked up at Berkelouw books last weekend. A fantastic selection of decorative typefaces. My aim is to use each page as a header for my blog so that you too can enjoy them, so keep an eye on that space.

I hope someone has taken the time to digitize these families so that they can appear in some fine print publications. Keep an eye out for some of the very ornate lettering as it pops up.

Adopted

2009-07-28T21:36:00.002+10:00

It would seem there is a little Angelina Jolie in all of us. Fortunately i'm only adopting unwanted bicycles. Not only are they cheaper ($30) but you can fix them or if it gets too hard you can get rid of them.

This is my new baby. Full of character and mystery. The only identifying marks found so far are: The Malvern Star seat, and 1/81710 stamped into the bracket near the seat post.

The frame looks as though created at a plumbing supplied store, but that is part of the charm. The foot brakes, sweep back bars and mud guards take me back to a time before the sophistication on my other bikes.

Hopefully with a little soap and a lot of sand paper I will be able to clean it up before enjoying a laid back ride with no choices, no gears and probably no brakes!

I haven't pulled this one apart quite as quickly as the Peugeot. But I can see that more work will go into panel beating the mud guards and truing the rims than anything else.

Hopefully with a couple of solid weekends work I can get it back on the road. Watch this space!

inspire me now

2009-07-22T22:19:00.001+10:00

one of my favourite sites to go for a designer smile.

cool new comp - best friends forever

2009-07-22T21:54:00.002+10:00

this one might be worth an effort, looks like fun

i found this one at graphic competitions.

More scratchings from the couch

2009-07-22T21:19:00.002+10:00

I have been a bit slack on the sketching lately though some nice weather and spare time I have managed to put pencil to paper and get something out.

the first is an early response to the Monday projects theme of brave.

second is due to watching a lot of the tour de france – i think this bloke is a bit Lance Armstrong'ish.

third is a scratching that i did on a nice day in the park. just a mother and daughter enjoying the day. shame i had started another sketch then worked over it.

Life drawing

2009-07-22T21:07:00.002+10:00

It has been a while but with a little reminding from a friend I dropped in on another life drawing session at the Sandringham in Newtown. This time with a male model who made some great shapes even if i didn't do the greatest job of capturing them.

The little sketch in the top right of the first picture is of one of the local street people who makes a nuisance of himself by lighting little fires on the street. People were ignoring both the fire and the person as they walked past.

random acts of inspiration

2009-07-22T20:30:00.003+10:00

nothing kick starts you creativity like seeing the results of someone else's creativity.

obviously someone had an overflow of childrens toys and decided to add some joy to Camperdown Memorial Park.

pot of gold

2009-07-17T19:55:00.004+10:00

Not every day is sunny and dry, yet with the right conditions even the most depressing rain cloud can produce a phenomena so beautiful you can not do it justice with camera or ink. The tiny complexities that mean you have to reference your life's experiences to fully describe.

All the tones of grey from a workday commute in London, split in two by the colours of the tour de france.

Life, like the weather can produce special moments, created from a concoction of individually everyday activities. Such was my weekend away.

Having had my cycling restricted by Sydney's traffic for months, not to mention my adventures being mostly restricted to the confines of the inner west. It was time to create a rainbow. Adding an extra day to my weekend my trip started with a long yet strangely interesting 6.5 hour drive. I have made this drive countless time, but still this time something was different.

Passing through these areas in February, the grass was burnt, the sun was parching the earth and heat haze distorted the horizon. Now, with rain having fallen the hills are covered in a carpet of green from valley floor to hilltop. The transformation amazing. The depression that clouded your drive 6 months prior, can lift to see that there may still be a chance for the people who rely on the land for their livelihood.

By leaving early and stopping for breaks to appreciate the clean country air, the length of the journey seemed to whir by like on fast forward. Even the roadworks which are so frustrating, lent time to view the passing countryside at a much more leisurely pace. The bypass around Coolac making the tiny town much more appealing – and much less a RBT station.

I am sure that just being away from the hustle and bustle of the city made my overly hot pie and 7/10 coffee taste so much better. Reassuringly the other travelers look up from the paper and giving a friendly nod as I head back to the car. Letting me know I was back in the country.

It' not the big things that make a difference.

Dropping off the freeway back into Albury there was no beeping, no pedestrians running in front of cars, no one shaking a tin or trying to wash my windscreen, and no backed up traffic. Dropping past the house I was able to say hi to the dogs, go wash the car, get a carpark out the front of the shop I wanted to visit and meander through the streets. Until I was once again parked out the front of where I was staying.

It is always the little things.

Unpacking into the bedroom the only thing on my mind was getting back out into the air and onto the bike. Unlike in Sydney my ride started the moment I mounted the bike. In the confusion that makes up Sydney's traffic the pace rises and falls as you move from traffic light to traffic light. In Albury you can ride for hours rarely encountering a sign harsher than the quite friendly, GIVE WAY.

The traffic is local and considerate, the roads maintained and taxi's never dive across your line to pick up their next fare.

On my weekend weapon of choice I charged off the asphalt onto the gravel and dirt. Immediately noting that I had lost all of my handling skills by being restricted to the concrete jungle. My confidence waned until I had run the same short section a couple of times, remembering that my mountain bike was made to be punished.

Over the two days I managed to ride almost six hours. Even though at times my lungs burned and my legs ached, it was always exhilarating when I crested a climb, left contact with the ground or caught the front wheel as it skittered across the loose gravel. My rides were made up of tiny achievements. Things I had achieved before, but hadn't for a long time.

Sometimes it's the little things that reconfirm who you are and what you are capable of.

When you are pushing yourself, challenging your limits and making the most of the opportunities you have, that is when you are rewarded. Whether by a clear view up the Kiewa Valley to a snow capped mountain range, or a great chat with a inspirational 70+ year old runner who managed to be an age buster at the Nail Can Hill Run many times, even meeting up with old friends to roll around amazing single track. Rewards don't have to be trophies, money, fame or friends. If that comes as a result of doing what you enjoy most it is just a bonus.

The rainbow is the reward.

The people you surround yourself with should inspire you, and you should inspire them. These people are the ones you go out of your way to see, the ones who even when catch ups are year apart you can sit around with a coffee, or beer and be as if nothing had ever changed. Using references from shared experiences to bring life to stories and spreading a rainbow through the conversation. And every time you stand up to leave you can't wait until the next time you can sit down together again. These were the people who I made the trip for and will again.

It is the small things.

When time is limited and you have little to share and yet they come. Mum and Dad, who upon hearing I would be within 2 hours drive of home sprung to the bat mobile to share lunch for a few hours. And you know they would drive all that way even if it was just for a hug and half an hour of chatting over a dry biscuit and a weak tea. Then they bundle back into the car and they do the traditional parent wave until out of sight.

Just because you take it for granted doesn't mean it isn't special.

Then the stay ends, but the journey continues. Usually back to you point of origin. But it should not be about what you are leaving behind, or what you are returning to. It should be about what you can take back with you, and what you can appreciate on the way.

Remember it's the small things.

The usually daunting 6.5 hours back again is split up but also much more relaxed. Having left the frantic pace of the city behind only 2 days prior I was surprised to find myself taking a less direct route. Venturing away from the path of least resistance. Tracking via Wagga and a few back roads, my progress was punctuated by tiny towns, the type you miss on the freeway. Farmers worked the land, dogs hung their heads over the edge of ute trays and flocks of cockatoos dotted the landscape. Never while driving in Sydney can you glance away from the road without fear of a nose to tail accident, but here if you don't take time to swivel your eyes away from the blurring white line you may as well be on George street.

And from the six and a half hours back to Sydney I don't remember the kilometers or time. But vividly I remember:

• the bright green hills and brilliant blue sky around Oura

• the black calf strolling away from the herd and across the road in front of me

• the drover who was shading his eyes with a broad akubra

• stopping on a bridge across the Murrumbidgee

• the familiar look of the lady serving at bullocky bill's

• a Ford Falcon, who after barreling past down a hill was caught by the highway patrol

• skydivers plummeting downward toward the road while the plane dived out of the sky to land as they touched down

• that one of the skydivers was wearing a wetsuit and flippers

• four children were on top of a massive wall of dirt throwing clods at each other

• wishing they would hurry up and get to number one in the Triple J hottest 100 of all time before i got home.

It is the small things that run the tour de france through a grey London workday commute.

Jumping in puddles

2009-07-05T22:31:00.002+10:00

After a long day trapped inside because of the rain little Carly went out to play adorned with wings and halo. Poor old mum was blissfully unaware until her little angel proclaimed her greatness in the centre of the living room.

Thanks to the Monday Project for another great challenge :)

Jumping in puddles - a challenge

2009-06-23T19:07:00.003+10:00

With a little reminding from the girls at the Monday Project I have been re-united with my desire to jump in puddles. The want to break contact with the earth only to plunge feet first into a shallow pool of water causing it to explode and onto the surrounding people is almost impossible to deny. Unfortunately the restrictions of being a grownup and the need to not be dripping on the carpet at work seem to keep me in line. Not to mention that in Sydney puddles only seem to form in the most un-fun places. I can't wait to get back to the country where puddles form on the lawn where it is acceptable to have fun, whereas if i was to jump in a puddle on the lawn of the University of Sydney's quad building I'm quite sure I would be marched to a quiet place and disposed of. I'm sure cadavers used to be sourced from the greenskeepers after a downpour – the suspicious slashes of a whipper snipper wire on the achilles tendon gives it away. Because of my fear of the lawnmower men I won't indulge this passion any time soon, but hopefully I can embrace the thought of letting go of inhibitions and create something fun for the project.

Greenpeace

2009-06-16T22:33:00.003+10:00

Another competition that I have been working on over the last few weeks has finally been submitted. This one was for the Greenpeace poster competition. Having decided to try something completely different from my monster illustrations. I opted for a pixel style and had a bit of fun clicking wildly across the page to create the green jungle texture. Best of all was creating the bulldozers to plow through the trees.

Escape

2009-06-08T19:34:00.003+10:00

Having been trapped in the city since February it was time for the great escape. Even if only for a day. Over the last few weeks I have been slack on the creative side of life so getting out and experiencing life away from the hustle and bustle should kick start me again.

I even sacrificed a sketch crawl starting in my own backyard, Newtown. So I will have to fill my sketchbook some other way.

For the escape we headed out to the Blue Mountains and went for a walk around Wentworth Falls. The 30 minute stroll extended to almost 2 hours when we decided to continue along National pass. Luckily the weather held off and the rain skirted the cliff we were walking along. Finished off with a hot drink and some cake at the end we had certainly forgotten about the pace of the city.

Unfortunately the long weekend traffic really became a drag with the first 10k's taking forever. But we are home now and all the better for it.

scratching from the couch

2009-05-27T18:22:00.008+10:00

My latest scratching 'baby scarecrow', direct from the couch he was born upon. Just something random from a monday night.

All together again

2009-05-27T18:07:00.005+10:00

Having spent Saturday morning putting the now clean Peugeot back together I can proudly say it works. And surprisingly with less new parts than I had anticipated. Making this a lot cheaper than I had feared.

Costs so far:

cleaning stuff $20

trip to cheeky transport (see below) $60

new seat (thanks to the clarence st cycles may sale) $9

chain $30

The biggest cost with this project was getting the local bike shop to pull the crank and head stem apart to grease the bearings and basically make sure the frame was sound.

All of the other parts cleaned up alright and with some lubrication will serve the purpose for the time being.

The shiny extremities of both stays was a little daunting to tackle as the rust looked like it was making some headway, though with a little elbow grease and some super fine glass sandpaper it came away leaving a shiny yet slightly pitted surface.

The only real problem I have found with this bike is that the small chainring on the crank is very worn and is having fun tearing up my new chain with its jagged teeth. So perhaps it will get an upgrade if the bike gets enough work, even though thats another $100.

Latest thoughts on the upgrade are some sweep back bars as the recipient of this wicked racer is not ready for the world of dropbars and going as fast as you can. But i'll change that!

sadly, no

2009-05-20T23:27:00.005+10:00

a first timer to the Monday Project, here's my submission for the theme of 'sadly, no'.

thanks to BenZen for putting me onto this great little project.

Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard to get her poor doggy a bone. But when she got there the cupboard was bare, so the poor little doggy got none.

Monster Maintenance Manual submission

2009-05-15T17:41:00.003+10:00

Finally after 6 weeks of tweaking these illustrations the competition deadline has come and gone meaning that I have submitted them for judging and don't have to worry about them anymore. Fate is in the hands of others.

Below are the Quarking Duck with his massive black stomping boots, love of maths, card tricks and random fashion. The Long Legged Underbed Pig with his red wig, crash helmet and long hairy tail. Finally the tiny Nose Ghoul who enjoys nothing more than sticking hair in funny places on old people.

This great brief was put together by Peter Macinnis and Murdoch books to find an illustrator for their upcoming publication. Hopefully I can find another like it soon.

For a different interpretation of the brief check out MissLeo's and Jess Bradford's submission both very nice.

Free helmets

2009-05-10T11:38:00.002+10:00

My fave campaign of the moment. Check out the video here.

Bike update

2009-05-10T10:18:00.006+10:00

Having spent far too much time browsing websites trying to find out what model this beast is I have decided it is the most like the PX-10E as described on this site I found. Apparently the PX-10 was very collectable, the PX-10E a little more mass produced but still very desirable. The PX-10 has a good heritage outlined here, including some Tour de France wins.

I have managed to clean the frame, chain and most of the components fairly comprehensively. Though the chain did take 4 days of soaking in turps to free up all of the links. I have also used over half a can of citrus degreaser in the process of removing the years of grease, dust and oil. It was a very satisfying to watch it become white again.

With brand names and serial numbers becoming readable again I can tell that a few components have been replaced over the years. Replacing the Simplex Prestige front derailleur with a Shimano Suntour, and the MaFac Competition rear brake with a Shimano Tourney.

I have managed to salvage most of the parts including the jockey wheels which I had previously believed I would have to replace. All they needed was a lot of attention from a plastic scourer. Now the only parts which needs professional attention (because I can't justify buying the tool) are getting the crank pulled, cleaned and put back together and the same for the rear cassette. Just so that it all flows better and the grinding noises stop. I think I will get the boys down at Cheeky Transport to do the work as they have a mission statement that fits well with this kind of project. And they had a very similar model hanging in the shop which looked awesome with its fresh paintwork and decals.

Apparently I should be able to get a repaint for around $300 and decals are available. But that might have to wait a while. Lets see how much use this bike gets when it is sitting in next to my other much more refined rides.

Parts which I will probably still have to get are a new chain, new brake pads, new seat post (if I want the bike to be tall enough for me to ride) and new tyres (the old Dunlop gum walls are looking a little haggard).

Next on the list is to give the brake calipers a polish to see if the weathering will come off. Though if it doesn't it's only cosmetic so I can get onto either re-assembling it or get it down to the shop to take it apart, and maybe order some new parts.

Little bit of sticker

2009-05-04T19:25:00.005+10:00

Just something that I felt like releasing.

What a find

2009-05-04T18:15:00.007+10:00

Taking the trash out has never before been so rewarding. This Peugeot Record du Monde racing bike was leaning against the gate waiting to be picked up by the garbage truck.

Complete with 10 speed gearing, gum wall tyres, and a beautifully butted frame it would have been sad to see it die. Obviously the previous owner didn't have the patience to clean it or time to ride it. Spiders had taken up residence in the frame, over the handlebars and between the spokes. Grease and debris had clogged the gearing and seized the chain. The rubber housings around the gear levers has perishes and the tyres are flat.

Within a couple of hours of rescuing this gem from the alley I had started to strip the bike back to a bare frame. Off came the wheels, brakes, derailures, seat, cables and pedals. The only parts still together are the handlebars, brake levers, crank and fork.

Covered in grime all of the components went straight into some degreaser and were hit hard with an old toothbrush uncovering chrome and fine detailing on some of the components. The only parts to have escaped the wash are the crank, rear cassette and frame. They will have to wait until I manage to beat the sun home from work, or at least until the weekend.

So far the pieces that have to be replaced are the:

chain

jockey wheels

cables

tubes

Seatpost (this one is too short probably unsafe)

Pieces that will probably have to be replaced:

brake pads

tyres

Pieces I would like to replace:

seat

bar tape

rubber brake lever covers

I am loving the chrome details on this bike. Half chrome forks, and rear stays, embossed gear shifter bracket and head stem. The colour is also great with world championship decals.

Hopefully it all cleans up great and the spots of rust will disappear. It's going to take a lot of elbow grease but it will be worth it in the end. Watch this space for updates along the way.

MyHaus

2009-04-19T17:37:00.008+10:00

In July 2008 I managed to visit the Bauhaus in Dessau, Germany. Today I made the Bauhaus in my office. While I slowly cut around each piece then glued it all into shape and then into place I could remember walking through and taking photos of each part of the building. An amazing place with a fantastic legacy. Shame it lay in disrepair for so long. Fortunately it and the Meisterhaus' are being cleaned up so that the design history can be enjoyed by all the good little designers and architects. You can even stay in the old student accommodation, (the part in the foreground of the 5th photo) for cheaper than the most hotels.

Now i just need to find somewhere to hang my new model.