Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
Monday, 25 May 2009
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Lunchtime reading
Yesterday it was Robert Macfarlane (The Wild Places, Mountains of the Mind) on Richard Long. Today Carl Andre on Richard Long. Both from Tate Etc. Perhaps if there's time I'll read this on Turner by Geoff Dyer too.
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
The pipes of Rastafari
Grand tourist watercolour challenge
Bologna, March 2009. Piazza and round the back of the (unfinished) basilica.
From the same day. And this too.
On the head
Screen shot of Anna Kornahrens Millinery holding page, done last year. Normally I'd want to lock the scaling of an image but here it's been left. The changing proportions are rather good. The original image was not great quality. Some photoshop magic applied in the den.The piece shown has reflective edges. Meaning pretty amazing optical effects!
Anna is working for other milliners (Gina Foster, Karen Henricksen and Noel Stewart) at the moment, making hats for various big name pop stars and numerous designer collections. She'll have more of her own stuff available to view soon. And she's always available for commissions...
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
The West Lothian Solar System
Now that it's getting nice again you should go and visit some or all of the Kirkhill Pillar Project sculptures, launched last summer. Shown left is the Pluto sculpture, located in Beecraigs Country Park.11 pieces of art in West Lothian are the outcome of this fascinating community arts project, making a sculpture trail around the landscape. The centre of this new solar system is the Sun, a giant lightbox on top of Broxburn Academy. My favourite sculpture is Neptune, shown below. It's a stained glass lantern on the church at Kingscavil.
The project is inspired by, and re-creates, a scale model solar system built in the area in the 18th century by the Earl of Erskine. The Kirkhill Pillar itself, the keystone of the original group of planets, is inscribed with astronomical tables. The demolition of Kirkhill House meant the Pillar had to be relocated; it is now outside the visitor centre in Almondell & Calderwood Country Park. Almondell is one of the hidden gems of West Lothian. Beautiful place. The visitor centre is an old stable block with a walled garden beside the river.
Access is easy from Edinburgh and Glasgow. There's a map on the site, Along with directions for several walks. You can also reach the sculptures by bicycle, making use of the canal tow-path. The project is managed by Artlink Edinburgh and the Lothians, who appointed Lorna Waite and Donald Urquhart as lead writer & lead artist to work with a group of local people. If you'd like Artlink to post you a fold-out map, drop them a line. Loved working with them on the project.
Thursday, 7 May 2009
Archive: from approx 100 years ago
n.b. update - alice's site has come down for a rebuild; the censer/chandelier/city will be re-used!
Say goodbye to miss accordion's roaring 20s
Pre arrival of new wonder machine. Had to keep it simple. In contrast to the party. Bar sign From The Den too.
Archive: tropicéilidhia
Poster from 2006, for favourite Straight From The Den client Miss Accordion 2009. Incidentally I used Freehand for this. I still think it might be better than Illustrator for drawing the shame the shame.
Archive: night of the narwhal
Party invite from 2005. Below: another draft. Not sure that I picked the right one! The rejected more accurately conveys the mood of the evening. Top: one of first forays into Freehand...see post above. Who knows what OS/memory. My memory is of painful rendering.
Minimialism in tilt
Just answered a question from Elizabeth about the minimalism poster. Thought i'd expand on it here too...The textures are derived from Lewisian Gneiss, which is found in the north of Scotland and named for the Isle of Lewis. The rock is 3000 million years old - the most aged in Britain and amongst the oldest in Europe.
The architect Adolf Loos used highly veined marble in some of his buildings; perhaps surprising in light of his essay 'Ornament and Crime'. However his relationship with surface and material is less than simple. It is dislocated further by contemporary taste.
I was pointed in the direction of the Loos designed mausoleum for Dvorak by Joseph Masheck, and used it in the poster for his lecture 'Adolf Loos and Minimalism'. But re-made in Scottish rock.
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