Journal

Harmony.

jngaio — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:37:49 +0000

I've spent a couple of hours today playing with this nifty little thing: http://mrdoob.com/projects/harmony/#squares Give it a go, it's so much fun! I love how the process is kind of like drawing in real life in that there's no "undo" button so you just have to accept and embrace your lines and mistakes.

You can see my doodles here: http://twitpic.com/photos/JNgaio

When you click on the thumbnails, it's worth clicking a second time to see the fullview. Sorry, I know that's tedious and annoying but the images look dumb shrunken. Not that they're amazing fullsize or anything. /End self-deprecation.

Roberley Bell.

jngaio — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:11:37 +0000

I am in love with the work of the artist Roberley Bell. Go to their website and check it out.

Flower Blob 80
Pigmented fiberglass and resin, plaster artificial flowers and butterflies
54 x 16 x 22 inches

I'm going to have to refrain from writing a gushing review of their work right now as I'm currently inspired to go and make some of my own.

Best day ever.

jngaio — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:17:55 +0000

Trying to get back in the habit of sharing doodles. Here are some ones that have been lying around. Boy do I enjoy drawing genitals and nipples. Boy do I ever. It's been a constant in my art for years now. Maybe one of the few constants.

Pearls.

jngaio — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:18:11 +0000

Not exactly an original sort of image but I've just been getting back into the habit of playing with my camera again.

Masque.

jngaio — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:24:36 +0000

Self portraits are hard but I wanted to show you a mask I painted. It's one of those cheap junk store things but it was fun to paint on and photographs rather well. I have a feeling there might be a series in this - masks have always fascinated me, I think I need to explore that fascination deeper. Can anyone recommend any good artists, writing etc on masks that I should be aware of?

Seeing the light of day.

jngaio — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:27:50 +0000

I'm taking a sick day today in an attempt to properly recover from a bug that's been lingering for a couple of weeks. Seems like an opportune time to put up some paintings that have been lying around the house for yonks for no real reason.

Click on the thumbnails for larger versions. I think it's worth it.

Early 2008. Acrylic, glitter and shellac on canvas. 51x76cm approx. Lot of flaws in this one but some interesting things happening with colour, texture and layers. Sad that the transparent layers and glitter photograph so badly.

Early 2009. Acrylic and oil on canvas. 61x92 approx. This is actually one of my favourite paintings to date. I wish I could show it to you all in real life... there's something about the lusciousness of paint strokes that really appeals to me. I need to do more like this, don't you think?

Ok, time for more sleep.

Zoom!

jngaio — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 11:15:39 +0000

I am a doodler. Bigtime. Most of the bills in the tray sitting on my desk here are marked with weird little scrawled dinosaurs, fat birds and boobs.

Every now and then, I'll rediscover a doodle and really like it. Today, however, I came across a full page doodle that gave me a bit of a surprise.

Doodling is such fun. I think I should get into the habit of doing it more regularly in sketch books... for a long time I thought I was a good painter and not very good at the drawing thing but...eh, it's fun and people seem to dig 'em so... eh!

Amazing Video Weirdness

jngaio — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:15:10 +0000

Check out this video, thanks to Eff and his blog for bringing it to my attention.

Weird cultural artifacts* such as this fascinate and inspire me. The absurd, the surreal, the out of context, the strange sexual tones, the creepy educational detritus instilling simplified moral values, the razzle dazzle, gore... all wonderfully, horribly kitsch.

I'm still trying to unpack why this stuff fascinates me. Awhile back I was reading quite a bit about humour, kitsch and pop culture and this really helped to inform my art practice. After finishing my masters and finding myself caught up in the need to make a living and a life, this was put aside. I think I need to pick it back up.

That is after I finish the pile of books I already have waiting for me on the ethics of eating animals, on freaks of evolution, on sex, on atheism, on art... sometimes I wish I was interested in less things, as I get so easily distracted by anything that's shiny or winks at me. I worry I just scrape at the surface of stuff.

Huh, that turned into an unexpected ramble!

* Artifact tends to refer to an object, yeah? But I can't find a better suited word. Help?

Cold Salt Skin

jngaio — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 04:21:11 +0000

At last, I've had the time to upload the images from my last exhibition, Cold Salt Skin.

So go check it out and remember that I thrive on feedback so please give me comments, please oh please!

Phew, it's a relief to get it all online. Now onwards to the next project, whatever that may be! Bwaha!

Do Not Do Not

jngaio — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:45:23 +0000

These two photos were taken in low lighting and so don't look good blown up. I have to go and try reshooting them in the day because I like the idea.

These next two photos are for Kate and Bobby, who are far more talented at the art of wandering and who inspire me.