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.