Almost going to cry of happiness because big plans are finally coming to fruition.
fabric!
Look what i designed.....! Fabric!!!
Almost going to cry of happiness because big plans are finally coming to fruition.
Almost going to cry of happiness because big plans are finally coming to fruition.
March 29
A new painting i'm working on for an exhibition in april, and a gift i gave to myself - one of those quirky little Paul & Joe lipsticks adorned with cat paw prints. Nice.
Zoe
Zoe! Another editorial piece for Russian fashion magazine SNC.
p.s. Does anyone here have an 8tracks account? Add me! It's a site where you can upload your own mixes and share them with people. It's my new obsession - i tend to listen to music all day long while working on art stuff, so this has helped me to get out of my musical ruts.
Artistic Integrity
By Armand Cabrera
As an artist I love the process of painting. I’ve always taken an illustrative approach to my painting in that I painted anything people would hire me to paint. Commissions were a partnership entered into with the idea someone was hiring me to give them my vision of the agreed upon subject. The client’s participation stopped at the edge of the canvas and the rest was up to me. They had right of first refusal on the work but they didn’t have the right to stand over me and guide my decisions as I painted like puppet masters pulling the strings for every aspect of the art, from subject to style of execution.
Even as an illustrator or production artist I expect to be hired for my knowledge not just my wrist. I am not for hire to render someone else’s vision; it has to be a collaboration or it’s not worth my time and effort. In the last few years people seem genuinely shocked by my stance. I guess the downturn took more than money out of the economy it also took many artists self-respect with it.
I am not talking about large projects that require multiple artists to complete them like television series’, movies or games. In those instances the project style requires consistency. I’m talking about smaller projects like ad campaigns, illustration assignments or gallery work that is completed by a single artist.
I believe if you hire an artist you have a responsibility to be familiar with their work. If you want to have a painting in a certain style of a living artist, then hire that artist. Don’t hire someone to be a stand in for that artist. If you can’t afford the original artist then then hire an artist whose work you can afford but let them paint it in their own style.
I think it is our responsibility as artists and illustrators to buck this trend. Who wants to be known as the guy who paints like (fill in the blank) only at a cheaper rate? Do you even have a career if all you are is a wrist for hire by people who can’t draw and paint?
Do you agree or disagree?
As an artist I love the process of painting. I’ve always taken an illustrative approach to my painting in that I painted anything people would hire me to paint. Commissions were a partnership entered into with the idea someone was hiring me to give them my vision of the agreed upon subject. The client’s participation stopped at the edge of the canvas and the rest was up to me. They had right of first refusal on the work but they didn’t have the right to stand over me and guide my decisions as I painted like puppet masters pulling the strings for every aspect of the art, from subject to style of execution.
Even as an illustrator or production artist I expect to be hired for my knowledge not just my wrist. I am not for hire to render someone else’s vision; it has to be a collaboration or it’s not worth my time and effort. In the last few years people seem genuinely shocked by my stance. I guess the downturn took more than money out of the economy it also took many artists self-respect with it.
I am not talking about large projects that require multiple artists to complete them like television series’, movies or games. In those instances the project style requires consistency. I’m talking about smaller projects like ad campaigns, illustration assignments or gallery work that is completed by a single artist.
I believe if you hire an artist you have a responsibility to be familiar with their work. If you want to have a painting in a certain style of a living artist, then hire that artist. Don’t hire someone to be a stand in for that artist. If you can’t afford the original artist then then hire an artist whose work you can afford but let them paint it in their own style.
I think it is our responsibility as artists and illustrators to buck this trend. Who wants to be known as the guy who paints like (fill in the blank) only at a cheaper rate? Do you even have a career if all you are is a wrist for hire by people who can’t draw and paint?
Do you agree or disagree?
StyleLikeU portraits
Over a year ago i was commissioned by StyleLikeU to create some portraits of their style muses, and seeing as that site is one major source of inspiration for me, i jumped at the chance. Delving into the interview archives is well worth it... but be warned - you'll be glued to your computer all day long. The vast amount of splendid personalities, living spaces (and of course shoes and dresses) has me captivated and in love and utterly excited about exploring my own obsessions and frivolities and living in a way that makes me entirely content. If that means walking down the street in dresses puffed out with tens of layers of crinoline or cinching your waist in with satin corsets till you look like Vampira, then so be it.
I have been keeping these illustrations tucked away for far too long - the plan was for them to be featured on the site, along with an interview, as part of a collaboration series with selected illustrators - but then the site was refurbished and i suppose it was forgotten about. I'm quite pleased with how they turned out, so i'll just share them here instead.
-Tell us about the hows and whys of your becoming an artist, where you
were trained and when you realized you were going to become an
artist.
As a kid I was given heaps of illustrated storybooks and was encouraged to be creative so for fun i would draw princesses and mermaids, which then evolved into portraits of the spice girls and my friends as rockstars as i got older. During early Highschool I began to draw alot in an attempt to cure loneliness and then it started becoming an obsession, so i gradually worked my way through a manner of mediums - texta, acrylics, ink pens, gouache, collage - until i finally settled on pencil and watercolour when i was about 17. During this time i'd been putting my art on the internet (livejournal!) which helped me to gain some critical feedback, make some new friends and be inspired by other people my age who were keen on painting. Most importantly, the internet began to offer me possibilities to utilise my artwork and i realised that it could become something more than a hobby. After spending my graduating year with my nose in a sketchbook i went on to study fine art at university in Sydney. I had extremely high hopes for art school and for some reason never felt at home, so i dropped out after my first year.
For the past two years I've been working out of my bedroom, trying to be my own boss and seeing where this illustrated road will take me. At 21 I've still got a way to go, so it's nice to see my art continually evolve and to have people appreciate it.
If there's a 'main idea' to your art, what is it?
I've got an obsession with girls, glamour, femininity, loneliness, which is subject matter i can't seem to stray from. I think the main idea is to explore the world which is inside my head, (what it is to be a girl) and to create characters and situations on paper that previously only existed in dreams. It's comforting to be able to make small pieces of your brain into tangible images which you can then inspect and enjoy.
What's your process like? Tell us what goes into a piece, from start
to finish.
First i need to have some music in the background. Right now I'm obsessed with Anna Calvi, so this month it's been her album. I sit at my desk under the window and start to draw a vague outline of the image i've got in my head (I like to work with pacer lead pencils on smooth cotton paper). Usually I have to erase parts a bunch of times until the outline looks right. This can take a while. Then depending on the thickness of the paper i'll soak and stretch it to avoid warping. Next comes the watercolour paint which i apply in washes. Then i'll add detail and pattern with goauche and small brushes, and outline details with pencil again. And then i'll probably file the painting away. Someday they'll all go up on the walls, when i have my own house!
What are the most important details to capture about your subjects,
the thing you most try to convey to the viewer?
I try to capture a unique personality for each person i draw, so it's like you're peeking at them during a certain part of their life. If they make the viewer take the time to imagine more about the backstory of the character then that's great.
Who are your influences, as an artist?
J.W. Waterhouse, Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, John Willie, Enoch Bolles, Coby Whitmore, Norman Rockwell, Klimt, Lempicka.
And outside art -- the film, music, and pop culture that's helped
shape your work?
I'm obsessed with 1940's-50's film and watch all the black and white movies on tv, which has really fed my obsession with the golden years of hollywood. Most of the books i read are about that era/those personalities too. The best being 'Marlene Dietrich by her daughter Maria Riva.' - The overindulgence, the scandal and the creative genius both astounds and fascinates me.
As a kid my favourite video to watch when bored on a rainy weekend was 'To Wong Foo, Thanks for everything, Julie Newmar.' - Which stars Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo as three drag queens who get stuck in middle america when their car breaks down on their way to a drag queen competition in Vegas. It's still one of my absolute favourite movies because the storyline is so endearing and you should just see the retro outfits everyone wears!
I'm also fond of Winona Ryder, David Lynch, Bettie Page, Marilyn Monroe conspiracies, the x-files and the supernatural.
Tell us what was unique about drawing the SLU muses. What was the
most memorable thing about the portraits you did?
Going through the archives to choose only seven people was a tough job!
It was a unique experience because i had the chance to combine my illustrative style with the very well defined personal style of another person. The muses inspired me greatly and i found myself wishing i could befriend them all.
The most memorable thing was just going through the archives and feeling invigorated and ready to explore the world because such interesting and talented people are out there.
You have the opportunity to draw any human being who has ever lived,
at any time in their lives. Who do you choose as your subject, and at
what point in their life? Why?
I'd like to draw a young Fred Astaire - his image is so iconic and something about his voice, movement and demeanour makes me unconditionally happy. I'd like to put him in a nice black tuxedo and shiny shoes, smiling wryly, standing on the stage waiting to entertain.
Thomas Gainsborough : Portrait of Lady Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire 1787
Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) est l'un des plus célèbres portraitistes et paysagistes du 18ème siècle britannique.
Tattoos!
Temporary tattoos on decal paper.
Made for plastering all over your arms and your legs and your face and wherever else you wish.
(Actually, i would like a tattoo gun for my birthday so that i can scribble on people for real. Got a feeling that might be a bit dangerous.)
Tattoo sets in the shop as of today!
Made for plastering all over your arms and your legs and your face and wherever else you wish.
(Actually, i would like a tattoo gun for my birthday so that i can scribble on people for real. Got a feeling that might be a bit dangerous.)
Tattoo sets in the shop as of today!
Marie Antoinette for Audrey Grace
A selection of work inspired by Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette. These paintings were commissioned for a gorgeously curated zine which will celebrate the opening of the Audrey Grace pop up shop in New York!
View the entire zine here.
RSVP to the opening night event at Audrey Grace here.
View the entire zine here.
RSVP to the opening night event at Audrey Grace here.
Surface Quality
by Armand Cabrera
Monet
Redmond
Oil Paintings are more than just good drawing and good color and design. Often the way the paint is applied can be just as important. Once you learn the basics of representational picture making in oils it is important that your work take advantage of all the properties of the paint.
Carlson
One way of achieving this is the use of paint quality and handling. Imprimatura, scumbling, impasto and glazing all add an extra dimension of interest to traditional work when applied with intelligence and forethought.
Wyeth
Walk into any museum and look at a representational painting from the impressionist painters or golden age illustrators and you will see the use of all dimensions and properties of the paint at play. Nowhere was this more apparent than at the Howard Pyle show at the Delaware and the concurrent N.C. Wyeth show at the Brandywine Museum. Huge areas of the total canvas rendered with nothing more than a dark imprimatura. Lights loaded with impasto, color glazed and scumbled over other colors instead of blended. In some places the raw weave of the canvas showing through all to great effect.
Pyle
It’s the same for the impressionists here and abroad at the turn of the 20th century. These artists knew their materials and let the unique properties of each artists chosen medium exert itself in the image. It is this philosophy of fidelity to the paint itself that give these works so much power and beauty.
It is an important lesson to be learned, that a thing has an inherent beauty and purpose. As an artist we must be sensitive enough to recognize those qualities and use them in service of our ideas so that it complements the work and raises it beyond the commonplace.
Oh, Baby!
Here are some handcrafted polymer clay baby brooches i've been making.
My new love, as of late, is rolling polymer clay between my palms and then squishing it into little molds to make these pudgy little babies.
Teeny weeny pals to sit on the lapel of your jacket and keep you company throughout the day. Each has it's very own name and individual face and stripey outfit.
p.s. you can adopt your very own baby HERE.
My new love, as of late, is rolling polymer clay between my palms and then squishing it into little molds to make these pudgy little babies.
Teeny weeny pals to sit on the lapel of your jacket and keep you company throughout the day. Each has it's very own name and individual face and stripey outfit.
p.s. you can adopt your very own baby HERE.
Jean Giraud 1938-2012
By Armand Cabrera
The French artist Jean Giraud, who went by the pen name Moebius died on March 10th 2012 after a long illness, he was 73.
I was first introduced to his work in the 70’s when Heavy Metal, the American reprint of Metal Hurlant hit the stands here in the USA. For someone raised on American comics his work was boundary stretching and beautiful. He drew like no one else and elevated comics to an adult level in theme and content. His line work was precise and seemed effortless, like Fred Astaire with a pen; you knew it was a lot harder than it looked.
He was not a super hero guy, although after modest success here in America he did draw some super hero comics for Marvel. He had an exquisite sense of design and color, a wry sense of humor and a seemingly endless well of creativity. He worked doing design for movies like Alien, The Abyss and The Fifth Element. He got his start drawing Blueberry, a western but is primarily known in America for his series The Airtight Garage and Arzach
I had the pleasure of meeting him at a show of his work in the San Francisco Bay Area in the Nineties. There were 100 pieces of art on display at the show, everything from comic pages to film design to personal work.
He was soft spoken and gracious. He seemed genuinely surprised that people loved his work and you felt he really didn’t care about success or fame and would much rather be drawing. He was an artist’s artist in that sense.
The French artist Jean Giraud, who went by the pen name Moebius died on March 10th 2012 after a long illness, he was 73.
I was first introduced to his work in the 70’s when Heavy Metal, the American reprint of Metal Hurlant hit the stands here in the USA. For someone raised on American comics his work was boundary stretching and beautiful. He drew like no one else and elevated comics to an adult level in theme and content. His line work was precise and seemed effortless, like Fred Astaire with a pen; you knew it was a lot harder than it looked.
He was not a super hero guy, although after modest success here in America he did draw some super hero comics for Marvel. He had an exquisite sense of design and color, a wry sense of humor and a seemingly endless well of creativity. He worked doing design for movies like Alien, The Abyss and The Fifth Element. He got his start drawing Blueberry, a western but is primarily known in America for his series The Airtight Garage and Arzach
I had the pleasure of meeting him at a show of his work in the San Francisco Bay Area in the Nineties. There were 100 pieces of art on display at the show, everything from comic pages to film design to personal work.
He was soft spoken and gracious. He seemed genuinely surprised that people loved his work and you felt he really didn’t care about success or fame and would much rather be drawing. He was an artist’s artist in that sense.
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