Ten Images

In the section of my OneDrive where I store my own art I have a folder with 225 items in entitled "Reference". It was originally for exactly that- stock photos, poses, line drawings of hands; except it's since become just a storage of images that I find interesting. I am no way going to post all 225 images, especially since some of them escape explanation as to why I'm interested in them- they're just there, and sometimes I get stuck on a drawing and fall back on one of them for colours or composition or, indeed, actual referencing. However, here are some!

A major theme of my current personal work (and one of my A2 Fine Art project) is Harajuku fashion. Here I like the superfluous details and the sense of personality it injects into an outfit using trinkets, layers and carefully coordinated colours to create something fresh- like seeing idioyncrasies in the decor of someone's house such as an open book or a dying plant, only here those points of interest are displayed on the body as something akin to wearable art.

Aesthetically, I also like the idea of incorperating anime art into something that's not anime; anime styles of illustration are great but seldom stand out from the crowd, so anything that mixes anime-styles with something such as fashion or anime-inspired illustration to create a unique piece away from just anime really interests me. I'm also all about pastels!!

For example, Natali Koromoto is an American artist who's art is clearly inspired by anime (to the point of using a Japanese surname alias in place of her real surname, Martinez) but who is also in tune with current [Western] illustration trends. She has a huge portfolio of work but this one caught me because of how it makes the viewer do a double-take; juxtaposing a "cutesy" style with something far from that aesthetic, yet somehow making it work (the cockroaches for eyes is smart).

The execution is also really neat and in particular the lines works so well in harmony with Koromoto's choice of colours- I love using a black brush pen in my sketchbook but it seldom leaves my sketchbook as I find it really difficult to synthesise strong black lines with colours. The form is also great to- I love seeing "beauty" reassessed, not least with bugs but also large ears, a rounded face and flyaway hairs on a female-presenting character.

Similarly, Ghoulkiss is a British illustrator who draws from two opposing interests- grotesque body horror, and cute and "feminine" styles, resulting in very unique and eye-catching work. Even though her colouring tends to be flats only, her compositions still pop because of the bright and sometimes clashing colours, as well as the quirks in her form (I particularly love the way she draws hands, abandoning trying to make them realistic and instead giving fingers more life in their direction, bending in ways hands shouldn't and yet still not looking odd to the viewer).

None of her illustrations have a blatant concept or judgement of its content, instead her characters are the centre of attention, with some overriding theme always present- sometimes somewhat abstract, like "BON-APPETIT". Ergo, whether her work is really illustration or not is debatable- I'm too in awe of her sense of aesthetic and execution to notice the themes of her illustrations personally, and her portfolio lacks client-based illustration to show how her art could be used as illustration. In a way though, I sort of like illustration where the line between art and illustration is blurred, as it means one can retain more personality when approaching briefs, and you are less likely to get approached by people looking for "hands for hire" (as an illustrator friend once put it).

Besides the fact that of course all ice-cream is great, I was really taken by the cleanness and general simplicity of this Japanese ice-cream advert. I think I originally just wanted to do a study of it, but recently I've been into theming character illustrations around food/drinks (eg, bubble tea), so for example keeping the shape of the glass but turning it into a dress design would be cool. Either way, this image isn't particularly special in the way it is advertised or laid out, yet is still very appealing and inspires a lot of ideas for me.

The photographs are part of a series by Yijun Liao about reversing the roles of [heterosexual] relationships, called "Experimental Relationship". The first image is called "Homemade Sushi" and the second "You Don't Have to be a Man to be My Boyfriend", questioning the objectification of women, sexual fantasies and gender roles. In a way, this idea is very cliche in that plenty of people have changed the oppressed for the oppressor many times in "What if" scenarios, as if the only way the viewer can empathise with the oppressed group is to turn the table; considering what a tragedy it is for the oppressed to live like that while placing no guilt at the feet of the oppressor. However, despite the fact that sexism and "gender" are much more complicated than that, these photos are something different and exquisite in an unnerving way. They seem to tap into taboos and things that are so engrained in our "gender" that they have become unnoticeable- the way women are almost always the only ones who can be objectified, used in sexual fantasy, or be submissive. Furthermore, there's something about these photos that is so casual- they are candids, offering glimpses into a life that seems to go on without us (in narrative terms, something coined hyperdiegesis) and so seems unaware, almost apathetic towards, the issues on which they comment.

"The Match Box" by French artist Soufiane Mengad is an image I like mostly because the painting is incredible- it's drawn digitally and yet so perfectly mimics something like oils or gouache. The detail in the water isn't over the top, more gestural, and so the eye is drawn to the perfectly executed bubble and flame. Of course, the content is also eerie yet familiar- the uncanny, in that Mengad uses everyday objects and puts them together in a very involving yet inexplicable scene. I suppose this would be counted as Absurdism which has also always interested me as a movement (I wrote about Tom Ngo for AS Fine Art, for example).

Tiffany Liao (more commonly know as OMOCAT) is an American illustrator who's had a lot of influence on my work in terms of style, in that I did a study of "Sickboy" during A2 and I kept reusing the style until it worked in a way I liked. Aside from this, Liao's work always has a heavily fantastical element, furthered by her use of animated GIFs. The fact that her work is almost exclusively digitally produced not only enables her to produce incredibly bright, popping colours, but also links her to a new wave of illustration rejecting normal modes of industry practice to using the internet as their gallery and “low” art forms such as manga and video games as their inspiration, “something that many think of as solely entertainment”.

“Press Start” is a vivid, hyperbolic depiction of a video game universe compared to the real world, with the boy pictured clearly enchanted with the prospect of living an alternative to his dark, greyscale life as he reaches through the screen, which splits the composition just off-centre in a nod to the importance of anomaly. However, the piece departs from giving a didactic portrayal of the values of escapism by using eyestrain colour and animation, refusing to give an outright judgement either way on the boy’s decision. This implies that in life our means of escape from banality are never black and white; rather it is the nature of the relationship we choose to hold with are interests that defines what we can do and how far we can go doing the things we love. We can’t see the face of the boy from reality so we don’t know his decision: whether he finds the pixelated smile of his doppelganger inviting or sinister. Essentially, the anonymity created by obscuring much of the real boy’s face, together with the perspective of the piece favouring the gaze of the viewer, implies it is our decision whether to “Press Start” or not.

This is Daeg Faerch, an actor, which is irrelevant as I have no idea who he is. I was drawn to the image not only because of the strange intimacy of a gaze from someone I don't know, but also because of the unforced androgyny of the model. As someone who believes in the androgynous nature of all human beings, the undefinable and yet real physicality of androgyny is something I find fascinating. Furthermore, this seems to blur the lines between childhood and adulthood- Faerch has a strong jawline but remenants of puppy fat. Although male coming-of-age is not underdocumented, it does tend to be something that's the butt of a joke rather than something to be admired, and Faerch's gaze says he isn't uncomfortable with his body, in what could be construed as a small rebellion against the expectations of masculinity.

Sarah Lasater is an American artist with a really interesting style. Her pieces seem to work on little details and kitsch items and her landscapes and characters alike are really dreamlike. Again she works closely with pastels which is something I like, and her work has a looseness to it that I find hard to achieve. 

I take a lot of inspiration from cartoons and although I'm not majorly keen on the art style of Disney's "Gravity Falls", I do like the backgrounds, and in particular this one by Ian Worrel. The thing I like most about the feel of the series is the sort of American Gothic summer- untouched wilderness, small-town America, and blisteringly hot days where mysterious things are afoot- and Worrel captures this perfectly here, as the animated version of the image was used to close the first series. Compositionally, having the trees slightly out of focus in the foreground give the idea of being inside the scene rather than looking at it, and perfectly frames the Oregon countryside. The textures and lighting is also really good, perfectly capturing a sort of late-afternoon effect.