NOVEMBER 24

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November for the last 3 years has been two things: Firstly I always seem to be somewhere away from home on a nursing placement; and secondly and most importantly it’s Ausmusic Drawing Month. A friend started this challenge, they pick an Australian band for each day of the month who are mostly small time bands. They share this list with us and we all (try to) start and finish a piece each day, raising awareness for the bands and raising money for the music industry charity: Support Act.

I pick a different theme to stick to each year. Last year I redid their band name into a metal logo, the year before I illustrated each band as a retro toy advertisement. This year I did each piece traditionally in my own abstract style.

I’m happier with some more than others. I’m glad I committed to doing all the art analog and in a style that’s fun for me, it’s something I’ve developed myself through trial and error over the years. I love that it doesn’t really on being precise, overly detailed or symmetrical which I feel like a lot of my other work does. It’s strength is in the chaos, contrast and imbalance.

INPUT

The element most impacting my creativity this month is being out of my comfort zone for a sustained amount of time. I learnt about the anterior mid-cingulate cortex which basically is a part of out brain involved in functions such as pain processing, cognitive control, emotion regulation, and decision-making, particularly in tasks requiring effort or conflict resolution. The mid-ACC integrates information about physical and social threats and is crucial for adaptive responses to challenging situations. It’s also something we can exercise and strengthen, I feel like this is something that I’ve always known is true and have worked towards, “ Easy choices hard life. Hard choices easy life”.

The three top movies I watched this month include:

The Moogai is an Australian horror with Jon Bell directing, a Bundjalung/Wiradjuri man, focused on the trauma of the stolen generation and the very apparent systemic racism Indigenous people still face today. It was harrowing. The worst parts were from lived experience with our institutions like schools, police, and hospitals. But the supernatural element and monster design was also done really well. Get out and see it.

Perfect Days is a must watch if you’re sick of all movies having an overly ambitious protagonist who always wants more from their life, and is always striving towards some unattainable future. Our protagonist Hirayama, a toilet cleaner in Tokyo, finds beauty and contentment in each moment. The movie goes over his daily routine in great detail but instead of this being bleak and crushing like it would in similar movies, it’s simplicity is like meditation.

Return of the Living Dead is from 1985 and surprisingly holds up really well. It’s so much fun and should be seen as a comedy rather than a horror. It has a really decent script with hilarious dialogue and doesn’t only rely on gore and dumb jokes. I think I’ll have to watch the rest of the series.

I listened to so much good new Australian music this month, it’s hard to pick what I enjoyed most but here’s three music videos that I really enjoyed. See the first image for some more recommendations

  1. Locket by The Lonesomes

OCTOBER 24

OUTPUT

Mostly work for Cypher Brewing Co. this month and not too much for myself. I recognise this is something I have to keep an eye on, too many commissions and I can’t really keep motivated. But there were some really fun ones that I’m pretty proud of in this mix.

This one is meant to be a knock off of the excellent 90s movie with Brendan Fraser, Adam Sandler and Steve Buscemi. I illustrated two of my mates into it as well.

I think this one is my favourite beer can art I’ve done yet. It’s got some really interesting forms, textures and I love the colour palette. I did a bit of research into Greek mythology to figure out what imagery would fit and make sense, then had a great time hand lettering a new font style. I think it all came together really nicely.

This design was the exact opposite. Aaaabsolute dogshit, and pretty funny in hindsight. I stayed up way too late meeting deadlines for other art and just pushed this one through at the same time. At no point in the multiple hours it took to make this did I realise it was probably a bad idea to illustrate a car crash on a beer can. Fucking idiot haha. And it’s a terrible composition and colour palette on top of that as well. It’s great to have a second set of eyes look over your work before you get too deep into it.

But to be fair “Dream Collision” is a really difficult abstract kinda name to think of appropriate and catchy imagery for. Sure there’s a cosmic spacey vibe, but would that image have a focal point that can sit in the middle of a beer can? I tried and I can tell ya I couldn’t figure it out. In the end I bounced ideas of my partner and we decided that the only collision to safely illustrate is two schooners on a sunny day and this was the end result which is a faaair bit better than the first attempt.

I made a new carton design that’s pretty fun. The top is meant to be like a vintage bank vault door. The details in the design provide enough info to solve the cipher and unlock a hidden message. The design on the sides you can rotate so that they tesselate and make up a larger image when you stack them. Here’s my initial design and the little mockup I printed off and folded up to make sure I had the correct images on the right panels, and then how they turned out.

The last piece I finished this month was a collaboration with a talented Githabul artist Peter Lee. This is my first collaboration on a beer can and I think it turned out beautifully. You can read in the beer’s blurb what this project is about. Peter supplied some of his original work and I adapted it to fit a beer can template and updated some of the cricket symbols.

INPUT

This was a pretty hectic month for art as half of it I was bundled up in an airbnb share house situation interstate as my last nursing placement. It made me really grateful for the set up I have at home with my own tools and drawing board specifically but more generally just space for myself that isn’t just a pokey sweaty bedroom.

It was a good month for movies being spooky season and I used the local cinema as my treat to mark the end of the week and to recognise the work I was putting in. Here’s the top 3 movies I watched this month.

I need to watch all the directors other work for each of these movies. They were all so weird and wonderful with truly emotional performances that made me care about the characters. The wolf of snow hollow was especially impressive, as the director is one of the main characters and had a dark humour that was infectious.

You ever hear vocals that were so brutal they just sounded like two bricks scraping together? (wait until 3min26sec) A mate shared Tavern by Netherwalker with me and I couldn’t stop listening to it which I guess impacted my listening for this month to be quite heavy. Here’s two tracks that were on high rotation:

Tavern by Netherwalker

Amongst the Low and Empty by Signs of the Swarm

Pretty happy that I did a tonne of reading this month as I challenged myself to read 100 pages a day for 10 days in a row, which was actually really hard when you’re on your feet and out of the house either working or commuting to that work for 10 hours a day. Since the 10 days have finished I haven’t been hitting the same number of pages but I’ve definitely been more consistent with reading. Books I started or finished this month included:

SEPTEMBER 24

It looks like I get charged to email out my blog posts, who would have thought, welcome to capitalism baby. So this will be the last one I email, you can check back on the website if you’re interested in updates.

OUTPUT

I got a pack of seven small square canvases for more skull work. I really like how these two came out as a pair, especially the one on the left with the contrasty chunky swirl of a brushstroke and the extra white splatter texture.

The band Daughters was really impactful for me and this album (You Won’t Get What You Want) and album artwork in particular, notice any similarities?

About 2 years ago now it has come to light that the front man Alexis is a piece of work. Which raises the question that seems to keep appearing regarding male artists, can you separate the artist from the art? and should you? I’m keen to hear anyone else’s opinion. I think where I fall on it is that I’m not going to be paying anymore to support the work where funds will go to Alexis, I already own the albums that are important to me. And I won’t shy away from condemning the fella if their music comes up in conversation.

Here are some of the other skulls I’ve done this month. My idea with these is to use the absolute cheapest and most accessible materials. The cheap poster paint for the others ran out of stock so I got a different brand of acrylic that was a bit chunkier and more opaque.

These chunkier, grittier skulls also make me think of album art that I’ve always loved from Converge, I think the albums Jane Doe, and Axe to Fall are my favourites from them.

I put out a fair few designs for Cypher Brewing Co this month. I’ve started playing tuba in our local orchestra and even managed to sneak a couple of tubas into one of the Oktoberfest beer designs.

I finished my last clinical exam for my bachelor of nursing this month and snuck back into the labs to draw the space. I asked other students what the piece should be titled, there were a lot of suggestions but I think “Anxiety Manifest” and “Where Confidence Goes To Die” were most fitting. I wouldn’t change things if I had a second chance because of the people I met along the way and the resilience to incompetence I’ve developed, but it really was a terribly run experience.

I also got to make a cute little colouring page cover for a collaborative cooking booking in the local language Gumbaynggirr.

INPUT

After all the hype of Alien Romulus from last month I kept thinking about how tragic it was that the studio pushed so hard for requel elements pushing out the space for more creative and interesting storytelling which we all know Fede Alvarez is capable of. So I went back and rewatch Prometheus and Alien Covenant which both copped a lot of criticism at the time. It was so refreshing, they were taking big swings, and covering new ground.

I really liked the original Dutch version of Speak No Evil and did not have high hopes for the English remake. I couldn’t keep my eyes off James McAvoy it was like watching a car crash in slow motion he was so unsettling and sinister when he wasn’t an outright monster. Without giving too much away the endings of the two movies were very different and I prefer the original, fits the tone a lot better. These movies are an examination of the lengths we go to for social niceties, how none of us want to rock the boat, our own values and morals even take a back seat to avoid confrontation.

Beetlejuice 2 was such a good sequel! Perfectly hit the tone of the original and continued lots of the same themes with Burton’s unique style of silly dark comedy. Very funny that he wrote his current girlfriend into the movie for no apparent reason though.

Perihelion Live (with Jay Weinberg) - KGLW

Music for me this month has been absolutely dominated by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard live streaming all of their shows on their US tour. I feel like this has literally changed the music landscape, being able to access all of your favourite bands shows for free is absolutely wild. These guys have 26 albums across so many genres, they jam with all of their tracks changing them and combining them, I literally don’t have enough time to consume the amount of art they’re putting into the world. The clip above has Slipknot’s ex drummer join them on stage, another band that has been so important to me. Below is one of my favourite live sets:

Nonagon Suite Live in Newport - KGLW

The books I’ve started or finished this month have a particular slant towards psychotherapy and mental health care. I’m gearing up to start my graduate year as a mental health nurse next year.

AUGUST 24

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The break from working for Cypher was very short lived haha. Sometimes you gotta close a door to open a window. I’m back at the drawing board and pumping out designs. Here’s some I did this month:

I also recently got my hands on most of the tap art decals that I’ve designed for Cypher, and it was nice reflecting on the amount of work I’ve put into it over the last 18 months

I’ve been having lots of fun just sinking time into a singular subject with a very basic process that can be started and finished in one sitting. I read a book and watched a video on this idea a few years ago and it really clicked with me, and my god have I been pumping out these skulls.

INPUT

I rewatched the entire SCREAM movie franchise. The first movie is such an iconic idea and execution, it’s a great slasher while still being fun, campy and full of satire. If they edged closer to parodying horror tropes rather than satirising them we get the Scary Movie franchise. In my opinion Scream 3 is the only real stinker in the series. Here’s my ranking of the entire franchise:

  1. Scream (1996)

  2. Scream 4 (2011)

  3. Scream 2 (1997)

  4. Scream 5 (2022)

  5. Scream 6 (2023)

  6. Scream 3 (2000)

I really enjoyed Late Night with the Devil, horror set in the 70’s hits different. It had elements of found footage, possession, and a decent amount of comedy.

Alien Romulus did not disappoint. The director Fede Alvarez blew me away with the super gory Evil Dead (2013), it holds the record for the most fake blood with over 260,000L. Unfortunately it was pretty clear in Alien Romulus that the studio really wanted to include lots of callbacks to the other Alien movies, some that hadn’t even occurred yet in the timeline which was stupid. But overall the practical effects and creative ways to problem solve with the xenomorphs and face huggers was a very fun watch.

New albums by both Chatpile and Amyl and The Sniffers are on the horizon, they’ve both been trickling out singles that I’ve had on high rotation:

Books I finished or started this month:

JULY 24

Lots happening in July because we decided to take our first international holiday together in 9 years. Before this most of our time and resources were geared towards saving for our next batch of overseas travel in a cycle, I guess we’re at a different stage in our lives now. We went to Indonesia, spent some time in East Java and hiked into Mt Bromo and Mt Ijen, two active volcanoes. Then went to Nusa Penida, an island off Bali with the main mission to swim with GIANT MANTARAYS! We found them, they were incredible. They can get up to 5m wingspan.

OUTPUT

When there was a bit of spare time I’d work on a 5 point perspective drawing of where we were that day. I think 5 point perspective, or fish eye drawing, or curved linear perspective is really interesting for the same reason I’m interested in cubism. They’re both meant to be truer representations of how we view and experience, here’s an interesting video explaining how to do it. These style of drawings are particularly good for indoor settings, I’m happier with some of these more than others, usually I do them about three times bigger but these are the travel bite sized variety.

I also managed to find some choice sticker locations. If I’m new to the location I’m always careful to try and hit spots that already have a bit of coverage.

I’m doing a series of reflective cubist storytelling pieces, one for each hospital placement I do. I worked out the composition, and line work for my fifth one. Next steps are to do a colour study and then fully commit with watercolour for this one.

It’ll be a bit clearer once it’s coloured but some of the experiences I wanted represented in this piece are: Identical twin security guards, caravan life, cardiac patients and telemetry, stingray attack, alcoholism, and a broken car door and window.

I’ve decided to take a break from doing the design work for Cypher Brewing Co. for the moment, here’s my last can design, going out with a bang:

I’ve also cut off all my commissioned work. I want to get back in touch with doing art for myself and not ruin what’s been my strongest coping mechanism and source of motivation since I could pick up a pencil. I think making the conscious choice that I don’t want to rely on my creativity as my sole source of income has been the best thing I’ve done in the last few years. Reading Big Magic really helped form my opinion. Here’s two of my last commissions from last month, these may not be the final versions:

INPUT

Obviously this month the biggest input that’s been inspiring me is the trip to Indonesia. I love being thrown into new environments for the first time, some of the stuff that sparks joy:

  • Seeing the different shapes and colours in their flora. Natural beauty in general

  • People watching, what’s fashionable, and how chaotic things can seem as an outsider

  • How cities versus villages look. What sort of statues, architecture, how they do or don’t dress up the streets

  • Seeing hand painted signs and different languages hand painted

Slow month for movies, I only watched 8 and these were the top 3. I went through the whole Hell House LLC series, if you don’t like found footage it’s not for you but I loved how fun they were on such a low budget and pretty sure they were under 90 mins each. Long Legs had such a good marketing campaign but the movie was quite different to the marketing, which I liked. It had a bit of everything in there, definitely kept me guessing and the performances, sound design and cinematography were top notch. Deadpool and Wolverine was really good, I grew up copying my favourite characters from comics and have gotten pretty sick of marvel movies but this one was worth it. SO much fan service.

My top listens for this last month. I’ve jumped on the Joey Valence and Brae bandwagon like the rest of the world, so catchy. The newer Fontaines D.C. tracks have a quality of bleakness and despair that I absolutely love, the inhale in starburster has me coming back regularly.

These are the new books I’ve started in July. Lanny was fantastic, not really sure how to describe it maybe a surrealistic, existential, folk horror. Some of the more poetic passages had me repeating the phrases just to see how they’d feel in my mouth.

Like all Irvine Welsh novels I pick up I couldn’t put The Long Knives down. This is the first strictly crime book of his I’d read and the filth, grit, guilt, emotional distress and chaos fit perfectly.

Legendborn is something my better half recommended because of how it authentically weaves in generational trauma and racism into contemporary fantasy. I don’t usually read YA and felt it has been a bit slow to start but some big plot points are starting to drop.

JUNE 24

I don’t have too much of a plan with these updates but I’m always super interested in what inspires other creative people and also how their work changes across a timeline. So to add a bit of a structure I’m going to include art that I’ve made and art that I’ve consumed.

OUTPUT

Did a few bits and pieces for Cypher Brewing Co. You can see my alternate version of Omerta ( a mafia code of silence) where I illustrated what happens if you break Omerta: You’ll be sleepin wit da fishes! I love seeing full can designs together in a shot.

I’ve been getting back into more traditional acrylic painting by making it more fun for myself. The trick is to paint as fast as you can and not worry about symmetry or brushwork or any of the usual stuff I spend way too long agonising over.

I’ve also been learning more about types of cubism and following specific artists through their evolving work. To do this Google Arts and Culture has been a life saver! You can do virtual gallery tours, zoom right in and see textures and brushstrokes and read about the period, the artist and the context of the art. I’ve also been enjoying these channels on youtube: Contemporary Art Issue, Great Art Explained, and Crash Course Art History.

I find my abstract cubist work to consistently be the most interesting and enjoyable stuff recently. I can cram in so much personal storytelling into each image and it’s such a change from getting too hung up on perfection and traditionally beautiful looking work. I can still include high contrast and my colour blindness doesn’t really matter haha. To get my head in the zone I’ve been doing quick little post it notes as well as reveiwing my past work for elements I like.

The main piece I’ve been working on this month is like one of those MY STYLE NOW VS. THEN type deals.

8 years ago I painted the picture to the right and like every artist I hated the end product but over time I’ve come to quite like it. It’s meant to mash up laid back aussie coastal life with religious iconography with a bit of collage thrown in, I used jute for the powerlines.

Below is my synthetic cubist interpretation of this same artwork. Line work stage and finished.

It felt like a pretty big gamble trying to do something like this symmetrically, and to be honest that probably doesn’t fit the cubist aesthetic. I think I like how it’s turned out. It’s meant to be viewing the ibis through the fourth dimension of time as the viewer walks around the base of the telephone pole. Looking one direction we can see an overcast dreary evening, the other direction is warm sunset. It’s a bit of bushland close to my house that has a tree tunnel which lines up perfectly with a setting sun. The clippings are from our local newspaper and illustrate how the telephone poles, these big ugly structures, interrupt natural beauty but also keep us connected and updated.

INPUT

I love watching movies and this is a regular source of inspiration for me, cos I watch some weird stuff! I have a Letterboxd account if anyone else uses that. My account is a no negativity affair, if I hate a movie I give it 3 stars, love it 5 stars. I watched 24 movies in June, here are the ones that got me thinking the most:

Paprika is absolutely stunningly animated and I can see a very strong likeness with Christopher Nolan’s Inception. Come to Daddy is all kinds of great, I love that Elijah Wood is kicking out the same energy as Daniel Radcliffe and just picking bizarre indie projects, don’t read anything about this one before watching. Godzilla Minus One shoots straight to the top of my favourite Godzilla movie list, it has a heart that Japanese cinema does way better than Hollywood, I’m keen to get my hands on the black and white cut of this. Beau is Afraid gets a lot of hate but it definitely makes me feel things, I really enjoyed it such a good representation of anxiety manifesting.

Pretty eclectic mix but these are the albums I’ve been going back to most regularly this last month. It’s all the major food groups with angry, nihilistic, melancholic, chill, and pump up music. I’m always keen to find new music so hit me with some recommendations.

These are the books I enjoyed. I’ve waited sooo long for Red Side Story, the book before it ‘Shades of Grey’ really rocked my literary world, I didn’t know you were allowed to write books like that. I actually had 2 books that I had the courage to put down and didn’t finish and I usually force myself to endure them until the end and then regret wasting my time, so go me.

BYE SOCIAL MEDIA

It’s happened. I’ve finally become annoyed enough that I’m dragging all of my artwork off of social media. I’ll probably still use the stories functions on insta when I want to promote a finished project or other artists, but I just don’t want to spend time on those platforms anymore. I’ve stripped my phone down to the basics and locked myself out of social media and reddit. So far it’s been amazing!

Going forward I’ll be aiming to write a blog post at least once a month with examples of the different art I’ve been working on. Subscribing to this blog will be the best way to keep up to date with what I’ve been doing and it’ll be outside of the clickbaity 15 sec reel format that’s rotting all of our brains.