Fascinating Items & Stuff

ryannorth: softowl: ryannorth: T-Rexes were born in wee...

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:43:26 -0400

softowl:

ryannorth:

T-Rexes were born in wee little eggs, and they came out all tiny and adorable. I know, I know: paleontologists have been saying this for years, but we never believed them because they couldn’t produce tiny adorable plushies to prove it. UNTIL NOW.

Micro T-Rex is three inches of soft and fuzzy adorable, and comes with that removable plastic keychain clip you see pictured, so he’s ready to hang out wherever you go! He is Down for Hangouts!

I would type more but he’s TOO CUTE, look at his little arms, i’m DYING

Guys these just came out today and I really think you should buy one. Only $8.50! How can you put a PRICE on LOVE

What if I do a mini-t-Rex mini-giveaway…..??

This is a great idea! EVERYONE who reblogs this gets one entry, and tomorrow I will choose one reblog at random and send them one! REBLOG AWAY AND T-REX MIGHT COME LIVE IN YOUR HOUSE / HANG OFF YOUR FINGERS AND KEYS

jbbartram: [This is one of those ‘blabbing on about my artistic...

Thu, 24 May 2012 01:02:11 -0400

Robur closeup

Robur the Conquerer (Jules Verne)

Professor Challenger (A.C. Doyle)

Capt. Nemo (Verne)

Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brönte)

Emma B. Ramblewood (also mine)

The Young Taxidermist (mine!)

jbbartram:

[This is one of those ‘blabbing on about my artistic process’ kind of posts.]

I recently decided I’d like to develop a more illustrative/stylized method of drawing people, inspired by various incredible illustrators whose work I ogle* (Eleanor Davis, Carson Ellis, Kate Beaton, Jess Fink, Lucy Knisley, Chris Buzelli, Stacey Rozich, etc. etc. etc.) and also by the fact I’m sick of the way I draw noses.

Noses are the bane of my people-drawing existence. If I’m drawing from reference, it takes me 800 tries to get the darn things right, and if I’m drawing from my brains, pretty much every human nose I draw looks the same (and also lame). I love the ‘draw every nose as a charming triangle’ method employed by various artists, but had to find a way to use said style as inspiration without just copying. The final result can be seen in the photos above - I’m letting myself completely simplify nose shapes, but trying to mimic the myriad shapes a nose can take* as I move from face to face.

The first few folks are characters from books I happen to love (which reminds me - I must draw Ahab/other Moby Dick characters), and the last two are my own creations. The next step? Working from photo reference to add more nose-shapes to my repertoire.

I must say I’m pretty happy thus far. They don’t feel overly derivative (I hope?) and there’s enough potential for me to keep on this track for the time being. Next step: adding some watercolour into the mix!

*Somewhere around this point, ‘nose’ no longer looked like a word to me.

jbbartram: Finally, the largest creature yet - it’s seven...

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:27:59 -0400

Full beast

Stomach detail

Brain detail

Entrails, closer

jbbartram:

Finally, the largest creature yet - it’s seven inches tall and contains the most entrails to date (a fine record, if I may say so myself).

Another cave dweller, this thing causes its neighbours to quiver in the darkness for, although its mouth is on the small side, its teeth are surprisingly large and it has no qualms with spending a good few days slowly consuming its prey.

jbbartram: More monsters, these ones finished during my...

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:27:51 -0400

Plotting, obviously

See, seamonster!

See, seamonster in black velvet

jbbartram:

More monsters, these ones finished during my post-school vacation. We’ve got another forest-dwelling hairy beast plus a pair of sea monsters. The turquoise fellow is from the Mediterranean and the black velvet guy hails from the depths of the Atlantic.

In other news, all three of these creatures will be appearing on the shelves at Graven Feather at the beginning of June in the hopes of finding a new home. Just sayin’.

jbbartram: First post of a few, as I’ve not actually gotten...

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:27:21 -0400

Brain o' french knots & etc

Brain beginnings...

Impeccably organized materials.

Sea-ish monster progress.

jbbartram:

First post of a few, as I’ve not actually gotten stuff up here in a while (oops. I blame busy-times and the onset of gorgeous weather).

Feast your eyes on another transparent cave-dweller, the beginnings of its french-knot brain, my embroidery floss which has been rescued from its original tangle-prone storage system (a.k.a. a big ziploc bag) and the beginnings of a wee sea beast.

Up next: some photos from my end-of-April voyage around eastern Ontario & into Montréal!

imathers: goodbyemisery: I can never help but do these even...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:17:49 -0400

imathers:

goodbyemisery:

I can never help but do these even though this image is really obnoxious

Team Band - Black Cab
from a lovely EP of pop punk Jens Lekman covers…

I, too, find it difficult to resist the siren song of this kind of gauche .png (also, songs that are ‘shameful’?). So…

Radiohead - How I Made My Millions (favourite Radiohead b-side? maybe)

Aphex Twin - Yellow Calx

Future Islands - Grease

Talking Heads - Heaven (Stop Making Sense version)

Spiritualized - Let It Flow (the very first Spiritualized song I ever heard, years before the rest, on MuchMusic)

Arab Strap - Hello Daylight

Low - Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me (yes, I like it better than the original)

Phosphorescent - Cocaine Lights (I should dig out my copy of Pride)

Ben Frost - Through the Glass of the Roof

Portishead - Over (PNYC version) (one of my favourite live albums ever)

Songs: Ohia - The Lioness (this is About Someone, yes)

The Divine Comedy - Love What You Do (our old screensavers at work used to get this stuck in my head regularly)

The Sycamores - The Driving Song (I wish this album was known by… anyone, really. Farewell to Deseronto forever!)

Smog - To Be of Use

David Bowie - Blackout (secretly one of my favourite Bowie songs)

Green Day - Haushinka (still like this one)

Wu-Tang Clan - Triumph (…and the stark whiteness of most of this playlist is thrust in sharp relief)

Astral Social Club - Aggro Vault

Chuck Berry - No Particular Place to Go

µ-Ziq - Scaling

Agreed that that image is slightly obnoxious, but can’t resist a good listing game. Makes me miss Livejournal a bit, actually.

Anyways. This should be interesting?

1. Cotton - The Mountain Goats

2. Some track from Mozart’s Requiem (this one’s badly labeled in my iPod)

3. I Just Don’t Know What to do With Myself - Dusty Springfield

4. 2 Atoms in a Molecule - Noah & the Whale

5. Closing Time - Tom Waits

6. 10 Years Later - Mates of State

7. Forgiven - Alanis Morisette

8. Against Privacy - Cold War Kids

9. La Fille Avec Les Cheveux Longues - Jenni Labour

10. Dirty Pants - Smog

11. Hand in Glove - The Smiths

12. Henry Rollins Don’t Dance - Allo Darlin’

13. I Need All The Friends I Can Get - Camera Obscura

14. Allegro molto - Vivaldi

15. The Funeral - Serena Ryder (Band of Horses cover)

16. You Were Alone - Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

17. Awake My Soul - Mumford & Sons

18. Free As A Bird - The Beatles

19. Don’t Fucking Tell Me What to Do - Robyn

20. These Ghosts - Jane Vain & the Dark Matter

Shuffle managed to avoid all of my really embarrassing music. Good job, random programming, GOOD JOB.

jbbartram: Last (but not least - this guy might be my favourite...

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 14:19:15 -0400

jbbartram:

Last (but not least - this guy might be my favourite so far), another cave-monster, all see-through and not one bit impressed about his delicate transparent skin.

jbbartram: More monsters - This guy is a hairy little fellow...

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 14:19:05 -0400

jbbartram:

More monsters -

This guy is a hairy little fellow who lives/lurks in the cave-like structure formed by the roots of an upturned tree.

His tiny red eyes remind me of the trolls (pictured in the last image) from one of my favourite childhood books - Gnomes, which was written by Wil Huygen & illustrated by Rien Poortvliet.

jbbartram: My current project-progress - tiny monsters. This...

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 14:18:50 -0400

jbbartram:

My current project-progress - tiny monsters.

This one’s a cave-dweller and has become quite see-through in the darkness.

For people who aren’t yet following my new Official Artblog, here’s some incentive in the form of tiny monsters! This is reblog 1/3, so hold onto yer butts (insert Sam L. Jackson/Jurassic Park gif here).

jbbartram: I walked home today and found buildings full of...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:12:57 -0400

jbbartram:

I walked home today and found buildings full of clouds.

Still blogging all the good stuff over here on the Fancy New Artblog. Just a reminder!

jbbartram: Some details of the embroidery I’ve just finished on...

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:53:23 -0400

jbbartram:

Some details of the embroidery I’ve just finished on the Frida piece. Will update with full view once it’s scanned on Monday.

I was thrilled with how well the watercolour paper held up to embroidering - it didn’t rip at all, even when I put stitches close together! I suddenly have the urge to come up with a few more pieces that combine watercolour and embroidery (thankfully, I’ve got a whole summer during which to create such things).

Dream Course!

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:38:26 -0400

From here:

HONS 3304-H01 Bones, Botanicals, and Birds (CRN# 26134) Prof. S. Tomlinson T 2:00-4:50 PM

SEMINAR

John James Audubon used to wander the countryside for weeks on end, looking for new birds to paint. This is common knowledge, but did you know that when he found the birds he wanted, he shot them and used wire armatures to pose their lifeless bodies into incredibly dynamic scenes—and changed the face of natural history illustration forever. Well, we won’t be doing any of that in this course (either wandering around shooting birds or changing the face of illustration forever), but we will be learning to illustrate the natural world. We may even hear more ―inside‖ stories about Audubon and other natural history illustrators in the process. This course is an introduction to basic nature and science illustration techniques, ranging from initial sketches in the field and lab to final product in the studio. Students are expected to draw and paint, but do not need artistic ―talent‖ to benefit from—or enjoy—this course. If you have an interest in drawing, nature, or both, this is definitely the course for you. And if you have always thought you could not draw a stick, let alone a bone, beetle, or bird, then this is also the course for you! Prepare to be surprised at what you can do. Required field trips. THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF CORE CURRICULUM VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS AND HONORS SEMINAR REQUIREMENTS.

UNF. I want to take this course ten times. Dear OCAD, please import this course and this prof from Texas. I DEMAND IT.

jbbartram: Illustration progress on my final big project, a...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:56:37 -0400

jbbartram:

Illustration progress on my final big project, a magazine spread for this article, which tells the story of the discovery of a trunk of Frida Kahlo’s clothing that had been lost for decades.

My favourite quote from the story:

“Curators opened the lid to find hundreds of Frida Kahlo’s colorful skirts and blouses, many still infused with the late artist’s perfume and cigarette smoke.”

Absolutely incredible.

See? New artblog! Follow, follow, follow people!

NEWSFLASH: I have created a tumblr-blog that will feature all...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:03:15 -0400

NEWSFLASH: I have created a tumblr-blog that will feature all the art/design progress stuff I’ve been posting here - maybe consider following it?

http://jbbartram.tumblr.com/ - because I’m making tumblr my official blogging-about-art platform and I want it to look professional, damnit!

(I’ll reblog the first few new posts just in case anyone misses this. Of course, people who miss this won’t see this postscript so, uh. dang?)

Tarot-card photo-project progress, in which I am now the owner...

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 08:56:45 -0400

Tarot-card photo-project progress, in which I am now the owner of the tiniest friend!

Thanks to the lovely Tara for being a top-class model - every photo turned out gloriously.

(Next steps: glue tiny leaves to my tiny trees, photograph/cut out creatures, put the whole damn thing together and turn the diorama back into a 2D photo. Oh, and do ALL THE OTHER SCHOOLWORK IN THE WORLD EVER. Ahem. End-of-school drama, it appears sometimes.

While once again searching for a gorgeous cover for my favourite...

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 16:37:00 -0400

While once again searching for a gorgeous cover for my favourite Verne book (which doesn’t yet seem to exist in real life - Penguin Classics, GET ON THAT PLEASE), I found this thesis project by Illustrator Jim Tierney and went all weak at the knees.

Will someone please let him make these appear in bookstores? I would purchase each and every one - click here to see all of the delectable details (eg. overlays! Moving parts!! Swoon!!!).

Some progress shots from the continued work on the tarot-card...

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:51:39 -0400

Some progress shots from the continued work on the tarot-card inspired photo project - pieces for the stage set are done (final size - 10” x 8”) and I photographed my High Priestess last night (she’s there in the last shot - I’ll post some outtakes from the actual proper-camera shoot at some point as well).

It’s chugging along - can’t wait to get the whole set together!

Wish I’d had a proper camera (and someone else to hold the...

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:15:29 -0400

Wish I’d had a proper camera (and someone else to hold the dog’s leash) on the beach today, as it was wonderfully moody, with gigantic waves smashing on the breakers and galloping up the sand.

Thankfully my phone-camera managed to capture the general wildness of the situation.

This morning’s walk to class lead me to believe that...

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:52:57 -0400

This morning’s walk to class lead me to believe that Toronto is secretly a cloud city.

One more post before bed, featuring images from my glorious,...

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:08:00 -0400

Chinatown in the late afternoon.

One of my favourite signs along Dundas.

A charming little church.

Another church about to eat the sun.

First flowers of the season.

One more post before bed, featuring images from my glorious, springtime-in-March walk home from class. I love how this phone-photo-app interprets Polaroid film - makes everything look like it’s from Amélie.

Click to see larger & read captions!