The kick about at Red's Kingdom is underway, the first prompt being Moon In A Bottle by Max Ernst,
I enjoy creating using a process like this, trusting there's method to your madness to end up with something in the end is what I am attempting to put into practice nowadays - it's basically a form of automatism.
I think it's important to know that you can peel it back - If something works you can turn your thinking cap back on and try and make sense of it to understand why. That golden moment when something clicks and the piece starts to make sense is a feeling I crave every time.
Max Ernst -Moon In A Bottle
At first I tried to think of how Moon In A Bottle made me feel, the way that the painting bends around towards you makes it feel encapsulating, it brings an uneasy feeling like something is trapped... or maybe thats just lockdown?? also what the hell is that red and purple thing in the middle? so many questions too difficult to answer... so I started to paint.
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〰️I envision a beach with textured hard shells and unfamiliar effigies hiding in the sand and waiting to pounce at the twinge of life
Manifestation 1
Manifestation 2
〰️But the moon illuminates, it casts a glow on everything, a bottle on the other hand is man made - it could be plastic - it could be glass, it could be melted or it could be hard like a shell? But it too reflects and can glow.
Long time no see blogger... I apologise for the lack of updates here, truth be told I really miss it and want to get back into the swing of things - I forgot how cathartic blogging is as well having a time capsule to relive all the creative endeavours that projects relinquish over time.
Who would have thought that I would leave one basement albeit a lot more nerdy and multicoloured and enter into a different one - I have been working as a runner at the Mill since the end of July last year, and although I can't complain as it is a job and I do enjoy it, it is sometimes really hard to not spend a good chunk of my day creating things (I've no excuse now). I do love being with the other runners, they are great bunch and I can't wait to give them a big hug when this is all over!
Album drop coming soon...
Please enjoy this satire view of the life of a runner for the annual Christmas video competition.
However when things are quiet in the basement where all of us runners reside (and when we are not jumping in slomo or eating our weight in Coco pops) you can bet I'm taking time chipping away at something. I would like to share an assortment of info and paintings that I created pre-lockdown while in the basement.
The title of the film is still up for debate... I am trying to keep it in the folds of my brain in the hopes that I will have one of those eureka moments and the film name will just come to me - I'll await patiently, or I probably should do some spider graphs. I can however share the Logline, it reads:
“One day, a man leaves his car on a motorway choked with traffic to find an oasis of nature and some peace”
The Oasis Concept Art
The Metropolis Concept Art 1
The Metropolis Concept Art 2
The Metropolis Concept Art 3
The Metropolis Concept Art 4
Translating these pieces into 3D has been a lot of fun, I am trying to keep the original scratchiness and texture of the paintings and bring that into the mundane greyness of Maya, so far these are my efforts with the Oasis World, I am liking the look of the last couple of renders as they were more experimental, thanks to Phil Gomm who advised me to apply what I learned from Lost Boy when coming up with the art room where I was just experimenting to see where things went.
They resulted from throwing a bit of abstraction in the mix, taking inspiration from impressionistic painters from the likes of Monet to really get my own impression of this blissful slice of heaven.
The Oasis Render 1
The Oasis Render 2
The Oasis Experimental Render 1
The Oasis Experimental Render 2
The Metropolis World has been really enjoyable to toy around with, Ever since the many fuck ups but eventual successes with alpha maps during Lost Boy, I feel like I have a grasp about how to utilise them now. Alpha maps are fantastic because you can turn concept art into geometry within Maya to try and get the feel of the original paintings, they are my secret weapon for making Maya look less CG perfect.
The Metropolis Render 1
The Metropolis Render 2
Because of this Lockdown I am enjoying getting some sun on my pasty Irish face in my dainty, pip-squeak of a yard - a little alfresco creation station if you will and continuing to experiment while listening to the weird and wonderful lyrics of Glass Animals. I'll leave you with one of my personal faves and I'm looking forward to continue reviving this blog with more updates of this new passion project. X
Manifestation 3
Manifestation 8
