illustration of Vessels, for Amelia's - don't think it's posted yet, it has shiny collage and ink. yum.

I want to talk a bit about some cool stuff.

one of the good things about the PGCE (the bad things include it being super exhausting and confusing - but there's more good than bad) is that it's making me expose myself to a load more art than usual. This should continue when I'm teaching which is super cool.

Most of the big galleries have special private views for teachers where you can see paying exhibitions for free, yes please.

Also, I'm like, burrowing into the internets looking for hot examples of tonal graduation or reductive lino or aztec patterns or whatever that I can show to the kids and be like, check out this awesome use of tonal graduation. do that. I am happy that I know about awesome art blogs like brown paper bag, Ballad Of featured, Illustration Rally, to name but a few.

I've seen awesome new inspirationstuff like Liesl Pfeffer's awesome photo collages
Lulu Allison's slightly creepy but beautiful papercuts
Anna See's lovely bird lino prints (i loves the birds you know)

I also went to the National Gallery yesterday on an inset thing, and fell in love with Van Gogh's Two Crabs. Little bit more famous. Check out those colours and tonal definitions tho. hot.


While I was there I saw the temporary free instalation of Clive Head's London paintings - if you like London I thoroughly recomend it. super awesome. Makes the point properly that painting wins over photography really, and that London is awesome also.

take that the letter A

todays blog post is brought to you by the letter A (and the number 25)
because that's right kids I have now drawn all of my friends who start with this glorious first letter of the alphabet, project stands at 25 down, 299 to go.

you like stats? um, you want more numbers?

ok, i will next be drawing only 4 friends beginning with B before embarking on a mammoth 29 beginning with C, 20 with D, 13 with E, and I'm bored of counting now, plenty more.

of the 25 drawn so far there have been 7 in black and white, 5 painted in watercolour, 2 coloured entirely on the computer,
5 friends are holding drinks (what does that tell you about facebook culture, or is it just culture?) with other props including sword and unicycle.
9 out of the 25 are wearing hats or prominant hair accesories. 11 friends so far have made my drawing their profile picture.
well, thats enough of that anyway.

I definitely am going to draw them all by the way. don't you go doubtin' ya'hear?

what have I learned so far from drawing friends beginning with an A?
well, I have learned that I am really happy to have such awesome friends, even the ones I have blatently lost touch with, because looking at everyone's photos and deciding how to draw them mostly made me think how much i like them and am glad to have met them.

HORAY FOR FRIENDS

i could make observations about how people often pick for their profile pics the photos of themselves that look least like them, or how some people just don't photograph as hot as they actually are, and other people photograph hotter than they actually are. but that's not really anything I havn't thought before.

so far the project is more than meeting its primary objectives. I'm enjoying it, it's helping me to be in touch with people and to meet new people, and enhancing my, you know, web presence or something. I love having a project.

HORAY FOR PROJECTS

in addition and as well, check out this photo of all dissapointed sparrow t-shirts in different colours Michael over at tinyrun sent me. cest magnifuque ne'st pas?

last night i went to the solipsistic pop 2 launch. it was a pretty fun night, it wasn't super dull at all. i kept my adrenaline levels high by repeatedly talking to strangers and aquaintances, and tenuously connected people. It was nice to see Cliodhna and Jimi there, the zinecore. zinescenecore. yeah. possibly.

anyway. It was awesome and stuff, the book is a thing of beauty, i like the weird comics best, there are a few themes like childhood memories and serendipity snapshot, defining moment type stories. my faves in the comic are Sweet Mystery by Jack Noel, Mud by Matilda Tristram and the back page of the funnies by Joe Decie, who i love anyway. postives positives. it's all good. go comics. I talked to a tall boy called Tom, and he said maybe i can be in Solipsistic Pop 4. so that would be uber cool.

Also at the event was the famous comedien Robin Ince, he talked about comics and philosophy. and mooning. I enjoyed it, especially the bit about the stranger. I failed to draw him and missed his second bit because i was talking to Barny's brother.

This is the story of how i met Barny's Brother: he had only just walked in to the pub but i saw his face as i was coming back from making a phonecall to my friend clare. I asked him if he was Barny's brother, he said he was. we had not met previously. Later i talked to him again and recomended that he read Love and Rockets. sometimes i can be a bit agressively friendly when talking to strangers. I get this from my dad.

Also some musiciens played. this is dogtanioni met them after by mistake, although it didn't look like a mistake, tho it was. they were very nice. i have mentioned before that i am not a music journalist even a little bit, so i will say that i enjoyed their tunes and lyrics. At the bottom in a different blue you can see my aborted drawing of Robin Ince. It was aborted (at 20 weeks) because he stopped talking and left. i should have started earlier, but you know, what's life without regrets?
this is Tristsamor one of him, them, it. whatever. as you can see. he is pretty. his music was too.

i forgot! i was also featured in super awesome online zine (soon to be come real life printed zine)
Cut-Click - go have a goosey gander.

honestly. me. head. if wasn't sewn on. etc.