Colourful animation!

Stumbled across this vid on YouTube and thought it was mint so thought i'd whack it on here! Love the colours and just the animation in general- would like to be able to do something like this one day....

Leo Lionni

Video and Photo Gallery | 100 Years of Leo Lionni

I found this video online of Leo speaking about why he likes to write about animals...I think his characters are really simple and cute.




A children's book author and illustrator who i'm very fond of is Leo Lionni who produced more than 40 children's books in his lifetime. He did paintings, sculptures, collages, drawings, mosaics, designs, posters and advertisements. He became widely recognized as one of the most distinguished and innovative designers and artists of the twentieth century. His life, most especially his early, formative years, bears testimony to how his everyday experiences, his family, and his surroundings influenced him as an artist and creative thinker. I am particularly drawn to his work because it looks like he has used a collagraph technique so i feel like my work has a similar style to his. Here are a couple of books which he has published...^

Collagraph printing...

One process that i really enjoy doing is Collagraph printing. I did more of this in the first year but i love waiting to see what the outcome is going to look like once i've rolled it through the presser. I like to make collages out of lots of different textured materials and then seeing this in the ink instead of it being just a flat matte colour. I definatly want to try some more of these next year. Here are some examples of what i mean...^

Before I changed my working method, my drawings were very detailed and accurate but I soon realised that this isn't what people want to see nowadays so once I bean tearing up bits of materials, I made good use of the print room which became my second home for a couple of months! I just love the grainy outcomes and every time you put something through the press, you get a different outcome every time. Here are a few examples of my new found technique:

One of my major influences...

Jan Lenica

It was only halfway through my first year that I began to find myself in my work. I'd constantly get myself all worked up because I was never happy with my final pieces and I thought i'd never get anywhere until I looked at Jan Lenica... I liked his style as soon as I saw it and literally, most of his work his made up of torn bits of paper/materials. I gave this technique a try when I did my Sinbad the Sailor project and have to say, I was so chuffed with my final pieces...for ONCE! If I hadn't have looked at Lenica's work, I think i'd still be stuck in the same rut! Here are a couple of my fave pieves of his work which helped me the most... 

Tina Berning

Tina Berning's work is something i've always admired...i like how she mixes watercolour paint with ink pen drawings over the top to outline certain elements in the picture. They're really fashionable and i've come across some of her work in Cosmopolitan magazine whilst flicking through.

A few of my favourite arty things...

The image below of the caged monkey definately touched my heart the most - it actually made me feel quite upset (sad I know!) but atleast it was proof that Coe has actually managed to produce a piece of work which speaks louder than words...

Recently, I came across an illustrator called Sue Coe whose work shocked me at first. until I realised it was highly political, often directed against capitalism and cruelty to animals. I thought i'd incclude her in my blog because I believe that Art should be used more to portray some of the worlds biggest problems as it has proved more effective. I think it's wrong that people have criticised her work (then again, everyone is entitled to their own opinion) but it annoys me when people have said ''she's motivated by money, not morals." 

I mean, I'm sure she really enjoys sitting in a slaughter house hours on end, painting cows that are being treated like crap and then chopped up in front of her eyes........ (that was in a scarcastic tone by the way) It's just something that she feels so strongly about and even though i'm not a massive fan of her actual style, i think that other artists should be inspired by her.

"I've always felt that I should save that pig. It's been my mission."

Sue Coe

I'm not really sure why exactly, but for some reason I'm fascinated by 'The Scream' by Edvard Munch. I love how he described it: 

”I was walking down the road with two friends when the sun set; suddenly, the sky turned as red as blood. I stopped and leaned against the fence, feeling unspeakably tired. Tongues of fire and blood stretched over the bluish black fjord. My friends went on walking, while I lagged behind, shivering with fear. Then I heard the enormous, infinite scream of nature.”

When i saw it, it was the first time that a painting had struck me and to me, it drips pure emotion. I don't believe that the man himself is screaming, more like it's his inner self, the person he's keeping locked away inside. It suggests frustration, anger and annoyance - basically when something's getting to me or i'm having a bad day, this is what I feel like.

I absolutely LOVE Niki de Saint Phalle's 'Nana' female figures made of papier-mâché, yarn and cloth. I first came to like these when I had to make some form of board game for my Art Foundation course and I chose her as my influence simply because of her strong, vibrant use of colour and funky shapes. I would sooooo have one of these in my back garden ;)

Vincent Van Gogh has to be my favourite artist of all time -  "but why?" I hear some of you ask... Well, ever since I did a written project about him at school, it made me question whether he was famous for his work or his life. Personally, I think his work is brilliant and find it such a shame that he couldn't have been so successful when he was alive. After all of the constant effort he put into his paintings, he sadly only managed to sell one painting throughout his lifetime and only really became famous after his death :( I really respect and admire him for constantly trying to succeed despite being drove to suicide along the way... 

''I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process.''

Vincent Van Gogh