MIXED MEDIA | ILLUSTRATION

ILLUSTRATION TELLS STORIES. In its most familiar format it includes painting or drawing to illuminate a text – often in a book, magazine, or other published work. However, illustration is not necessarily two-dimensional. I consider my mixed media work illustration because I am using these images to amplify and express concrete ideas, stories, and personal writings (even when they don’t accompany the work). The line between “fine art” and “illustration” is a blurry one, and the two are often distinguished by whether the work is commercially viable or conceptual. However, I feel the term Illustration best describes my work.

CONCEPTUAL STORY TELLING

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ABOUT THE WORK

Animals and plants are the primary characters in many of the stories I want to tell. Animals especially make great subjects – they are easy to use in metaphor and yet people identify and relate with them intimately. Sometimes it seems people are indeed too personal – the natural world beyond humanity gives us a way to talk about ourselves without any human bias. 

I am also deeply fascinated by the microcosm and so medical or scientific imagery often feature in my work.

SKETCHBOOK

My sketchbooks are full of small incomplete drawings or paintings. Many images are lifted from dreams or layered in a steam of consciousness method, others may be drawn from life. My sketchbook includes a mix of graphite, ink, watercolor, and digital exploration. 

 

23

Conceptual Illustration

 

23 is a thought exercise where I challenged myself to create twenty three different compositions based around the number 23. Each image is a different take on the number and they became progressively more challenging as the project went on. In some cases the approach was simple. Vanadium for example is the 23rd element on the periodic table and Overintellectualization is a 23 letter word. One approach used twenty three as a time limit for completing the work. For the work “Constellation” I found the 23rd book on my shelf, turned to the 23rd page, and erased everything but the 23rd letter of the alphabet, it was then superimposed with 23 drawings of the same object from different angles. “Firedog” is based on the 23rd animal and element combination in the Chinese  zodiac. In the end this project proved to be a fruitful challenge which opened up new avenues for exploring subject matter and learning to approach problems in novel ways.

 

 

23

Conceptual Illustration

 

23 is a thought exercise where I challenged myself to create twenty three different compositions based around the number 23. Each image is a different take on the number and they became progressively more challenging as the project went on. In some cases the approach was simple. Vanadium for example is the 23rd element on the periodic table and Overintellectualization is a 23 letter word. One approach used twenty three as a time limit for completing the work. For the work “Constellation” I found the 23rd book on my shelf, turned to the 23rd page, and erased everything but the 23rd letter of the alphabet, it was then superimposed with 23 drawings of the same object from different angles. “Firedog” is based on the 23rd animal and element combination in the Chinese  zodiac. In the end this project proved to be a fruitful challenge which opened up new avenues for exploring subject matter and learning to approach problems in novel ways.

 

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