Min And Val Inspiration

Today I was flipping through my copy of 100 Years of Fashion Illustration and I happened to see a couple of illustrations by Jo Brocklehurst of sort of punky rockers with green hair, and then I found my brother's old box of illustration markers and decided it was fate. I usually draw from a picture but with this I sort of just went with it. I'm trying to think of a name for him...

Inspiration-

On a completely separate note I discovered G-Dragon last night and now I'm obsessed. He's like, Korean Lady Gaga with a punky little attitude and HIS OUTFITS ARE ON PAR. ON. PAR. #Newstyleicon

I want all the outfits in this right now. I mean that Prada fur coat alone is reason enough for this video to exist. I actually cried out in pain when he dragged it on the ground, though.

HIGH FASHION APOCALYPSE REALNESS.

Color Studies

In art class we had to do color studies for 

-colors we like

-colors we dislike

-seasons

-four moods/feelings/emotions

I had to do the last four at home because I'm a slow poke when it comes to art. (did I really just say slow poke..)

The top one is writer's block- I don't know if that counts as an emotion.... I used guache paints for all of these and for the top one I used makeup sponges. The on below is inspiration/inspired. I tried to contrast them, because the writer's block is very dry and not going anywhere, while the inspiration is all flowing and running together to create new things, etc.

This one summed up in one word is sleepiness, but what I was really thinking of was when you wake up but you're still in a deep sleep and sleep keeps dragging you back down, and reality and dreams start blurring together. 

The last one is loneliness-- it was kind of an eh because I couldn't come up with another emotion that I wanted to paint, but I'm fine with this.

Sick of Screaming Let Us In, The Wires Got the Best of Him

I had a pretty tough week this week, so I got home and drew a little. This picture is based off the song "Wires" by The Neighborhood....and yeah it turned out a little freakier than I had intended. It was sort of interesting to draw just from imagination, since I usually draw from a picture. 

It's Alive!

My scanner finally came back from the dead! I haven't been able to scan anything for weeks so now I finally get to and post all my failure to the world wide web. I'm pretty excited, too.

This is actually from last year but I don't think I ever posted it. There was an assignment to illustrate a line from Romeo and Juliet so I chose
"Swear not by the moon, th'inconsistent moon, that monthly changes in her circled orb, lest thy love prove likewise variable."

I took a stab at the Mirror's Edge poster, but just using three colors and more of posterized style. My interest kind of petered out after the figure and the logo, so the city and text are sub-par.

I did Cara Delevigne in pencil. Some charcoal from another picture rubbed off on it though, so all the shading is messed up- I'll probably re-do it in the future.

I started reading The Catcher In The Rye  last night and felt the need to draw Holden. Except of course I had to make things hard on myself, so I challenged myself to do under ten minutes and with charcoals. This is the outcome... As far as the book, I'll probably review it when I finish (I'm about halfway through, so hopefully in a couple days?). I like it a lot so far... I can read through a pretty good chunk of it in one sitting without feeling like I have to stop and digest, but it's not shallow or anything either, and I like that the narration is so stylized and conversational. It's not my favorite, but it's definitely a good book.

Library Book Sale

Every year my town has a library book sale of donated books, so early this morning I made my way down there to check out the offerings. I only took thirteen dollars because if given the chance I have no doubt I would blow all my savings on used books. I ended up with a selection of five paperback and one hardcover, all which I got for eight dollars.

The books I ended up with (there was much editing done before I got to the cashier) were:

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland

The Stillborn God by Mark Lilla

East of The Sun by Julia Gregson

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

The Accidental Masterpiece by Michael Kimmelman

"In the realm of psychological suspense, Thomas Harris stands alone. Exploring both the nature of human evil and the nerve-racking anatomy of a forensic investigation, Harris unleashes a frightening vision of the dark side of our well-lighted world. In this extraordinary novel , which proceeded The Silence of The Lambs and Hannibal, Harris introduced the unforgettable character Dr. Hannibal Lecter. And in it, Will Graham--the FBI man who hunted Lecter down-- risks his sanity and his life to duel a killer called...

The Red Dragon"

I'm not really into the whole FBI murder mystery type of book, but I've wanted to read this ever since NBC's Hannibal came out-- it's one of my favorite shows and I just think it was done so excruciatingly well. (To hear me gush more, click here) The plot and ideas in the show were great, especially the way Hannibal and Will Graham's relationship was portrayed, so I wonder if that's drawn from the book or Bryan Fuller's own genius. I'm excited to get through this so I can compare to the show.

(Excuse my dangly hair)

"A professor invites a colleague from the art department to his home to see a painting that he has kept secret for decades. The professor swears it is a Vermeer--why has he hidden the important work for so long? The reasons unfold in a series of stories that trace ownership of the painting back to World War 2 and Amsterdam, and still further back to the moment of the work's inspiration. As the painting moves through each owner's hands, what was long hidden quietly surfaces, illuminating poignant moments in human lives. Vreeland's characters remind us, through their love of the mysterious painting, how beauty transforms and why we reach for it, what lasts, and what in our lives is singular and unforgettable."

Even though people preach not to judge a book by it's cover, I couldn't help it with this one; I love the blue and the little picture window. I picked this book because of the art history aspect, but also because it seems to be the type of book I like best; not very dramatic, relaxed and contemplative, asking questions about human nature, life, beauty, but not necessarily answering them. And it involves a professor--- I have a weakness for any insight into the lives of professors *see: my obsession with The Rebel Angels by Robertson Davies*

"The wish to bring political life under God's authority is nothing new, and it's clear that today religious passions are again driving world politics, confounding expectations of a secular future. In this major book, Mark Lilla reveals the sources of this age-old quest--and it's surprising role in shaping Western thought. Making us look deeper into our beliefs about religion, politics, and the fate of civilizations, Lilla reminds us of the modern West's unique trajectory and how to remain on it. Illuminating and challenging, The Stillborn God is a watershed in the history of ideas."

I really had trouble exercising self-control in the philosophy/religion section. I basically wanted to carry the whole table home-- but alas, my thirteen dollars. So I settled on this- combining religion, philosophy, and politics. I was remembering history class this year, learning how the Constitution and early government was built on Judeo-Christian ideas. I think it'll be a good read for when I'm not in the mood for fiction.

"As the Kaisar-i-Hind weighs anchor for Bombay in the autumn of 1928, it's passengers ponder their fate in a distant land. They are part of the "Fishing Fleet"-- the name given to the legions of Englishwomen who sail to India each year in search of husbands, heedless of the life that awaits them. The inexperienced chaperone Viva Holloway has been entrusted to watch over three unsettling charges. There's Rose, as beautiful as she is naive, who plans to marry a cavalry officer she has met a mere handful of times. Her bridesmaid, Victoria, is hell-bent on losing her virginity en route before finding a husband of her own. And shadowing them all is the malevolent presence of a disturbed schoolboy named Guy Glover. 

From the parties of the wealthy Bombay socialites to the poverty of Tamarind Street, from the sooty streets of London to the genteel conversation of the Bombay Yacht Club, East of The Sun  is graced with lavish detail and a penetrating sensitivity---historical fiction at it's greatest."

I originally picked up this book because the title reminded me of the story East of the Sun West of the Moon. I'm not sure if this book relates to that at all, but the story on the back cover sucked me in-- set in an interesting place in an interesting time with interesting people. I don't really expect this book to be all that deep or English-class material, but it sounds like the kind of book I could read just to relax and hear a great story. 

"Set at a boys' boarding school during the early years of World War 2, A Separate Peace  is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world."

I bought this one because I had heard a lot about and I'm also pretty sure I'll have to read it for school sometime in the future. 

Chihiro

Drew this awhile back when I was messing around with animation styles... the skin color came out wonky since I was too lazy to test it :/

Chihiro From Spirited Away

"The Fall" Review

I recently watched the movie The Fall directed by Tarsem and starring Lee Pace and Cantinca Untaru. I can honestly say that this movie is now settled solidly up on my favorite movies list. It premiered in 2006, and mainly fell under the radar, which was quite a shame. I personally found it at the end of a long journey of Lee Pace fangirling that led me through Breaking Dawn and Pushing Daisies, and deposited me at this movie.

This movie is really what I would call a work of art in all aspects of the phrase. The costume design, the music, the landscapes, the character development, I thought everything was right on point. The story takes place in 1915 in Los Angeles, the era of silent movies. The main character is a stuntman name Roy (Lee Pace) who winds up in the hospital after breaking both his legs while doing a stunt. Alexandria (Cantinca Untaru) is a five year old immigrant who broke her arm when she fell picking oranges, and therefore winds up in the same hospital as Roy. The two meet by chance and Roy forges a fake friendship with her, designed to manipulate her to attain pills for him so he can go through with suicide; he's heartbroken after losing his girlfriend to the star of the movie. As incentive Roy offers to tell her a story, and here is where the other dimension of the movie is introduced. Roy weaves a grandiose tale of five bandits, all seeking revenge against the invidious Governor Odious, who wronged all of them. As Roy tells the story Alexandria envisions it, drawing on familiar faces and objects to create the fantasy world. The movie switches back and forth between the epic story and the mundane hospital, and as the movie goes on, these two dimensions become more and more entwined and bleed into each other. 

A strong point of the film was how the subtle feelings and relationships in the hospital were played out more obviously in the story Roy was telling, the strongest case for this being the relationship between Alexandria and Roy. The attitudes of the characters towards each other in the beginning seem disinterested; they're both stuck in the hospital and likely bored out of their minds. Roy soon begins to see her as a tool to get pills, but you realize very soon that Alexandria is beginning to see him as a father figure; she tells Roy that her father is dead. There is a moment in the movie where she asks Roy why he narrates the Red Bandit in an accent, and he informs her that it's supposed to be her father. She tells Roy that she wants the Bandit to speak like him, and shortly after the bandit removes his mask and  you see that she envisions him as Roy. Although throughout quite a bit of the movie Roy seems to see her only for what she can do for him, Alexandria's view of Roy grows, coming a time in the movie where she tells Roy that she is his daughter in the story. After Alexandria falls and hurts her head trying to get morphine for Roy, he comes to her room drunk and finishes the story, having all the characters die. He is about to make the Red Bandit die, but Alexandria protests, and this is the scene where Roy seems to accept Alexandria's view of him; he tells her that the Red Bandit isn't really her father, and she tells him simply that she loves him. This love seems to heal his broken heart, and he gives up on suicide. What I found out after I watched the movie amazed me: almost all of Alexandria's parts were unscripted. To me it made the whole movie that much more sincere.

I may have died a little at this.

 

 The costume design in the movie was done by  Eiko Ishioka, one of Japan's most well-known graphic designers. The saturated colors and eye-catching designs of the outfits in the fantasy story are a sharp contrast  to the dull and plain outfits in the hospital, and they contribute a great deal to the artistic quality of the film, as well as to the personalities of the characters themselves. I kept noticing throughout the film how well the palettes of each of the character's outfits went so well together, and how they complemented each other.

The outfits of Nurse Evelyn never ceased to amaze me. They are completely fitting to the story Roy is painting and Alexandria imagining; over-the-top in the most elegant and beautiful way. I also love the fact that they call attention to themselves; so often in movies the outfits are supposed to go subtly unnoticed, simply blending with the scene and not getting in the way of anything that is happening. The costumes' roles in this movie were to add to the visual beauty, not to go unnoticed, and I loved that.

A fun fact I noticed only the second time I watched the film- the armor of Odius's men is the same as the gear of the man working the X-Ray room in the hospital. This is a perfect example of what I love about this movie; ideas taken from real life are swirled around in a five-year old's head and spit into this story she's imagining in the way she really feels about them. She was afraid of the X-ray operator, and so that fear was amplified in the story. This happened with the feelings of both characters, enabling you to really feel like you could understand their feelings so much better because you were seeing them portrayed through a different medium.

I would just like to quickly say that I thought the music selections for this movie were perfect. There doesn't seem to be an official sound track for the movie that I can find, but I do know that the theme song was Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in Allegretto. It seemed an odd choice to use Beethoven as a movie soundtrack, but it fits into the movie so perfectly; it adds to the grandiose air of the story. I would also like to note this scene:

The way the music kicked in, echoing what Nurse Evelyn was saying almost as if she was singing the lyrics, was just a gorgeous touch. I loved how the music in the movie really interacted with what was going on, and I love how the camera zooms out a few times. I'd like to note that Tarsem is a music video director, and I thought that he really brought that aspect to the movie in an interesting way.

I could honestly go on and on about this movie for hours and hours and pages and pages, but I would just like to reiterate that it really is one of my favorite movies. I went online after I watched it, and read reviews about, and I was honestly so surprised because people were, like, HATING on this film. That's why I wanted to write this review in the first place- I wanted to contribute my positive thoughts on the movie. It's obviously not a typical movie: it's not supposed to be. I feel like to watch it you have to relax your view of what a movie is; like I said before, I consider this art. The costumes, the settings, the actors, the music, it's all coming together to create something beautiful and stunning, not to just support a story line. I felt like the movie was equally about those things. To me, it seemed like something made out of love, something that didn't want to be mass marketed, something that was created for the sake of bringing something beautiful into being, and I completely respect that. Because of these things, I felt a sort of sincerity from the film that I don't feel from other works. I could feel Tarsem in every single aspect of the piece, and I didn't mind that in the least.