Ali J Art & Illustration

365 Day Project - Day 162

Wow, I can't believe I'm already 162 days into my "365 day project".  It's been 105 days since I last blogged about what I've been up to with my business so I thought it was time for a bit of a round up.

Business Update

Christmas orders have started to flood in, so I'm on overdrive at the moment.  Luckily I'm now 5 months pregnant (as of this Saturday) so my energy levels have returned enough to cope with it all.

I'm working on a whole range of different projects at the moment, all with rush deadlines, all due to be completed within the next 2-4 weeks.  The great thing is that now I'm getting a whole variety of projects to work on and keep driving my illustrations to the next level. 

When I think of client jobs I will admit I do have a bit of a chuckle.  Just after I started illustrating back in 2007 I applied to various illustration agencies at the time and was told that they couldn't take me on because they didn't think I'd be able to get client jobs.  Well Mr Agencies.... look at me now!   I absolutely love client jobs/commissions.  (BTW - Applying to illustration agencies is once again in my future sights, but I've decided I'm going to wait for the baby to come first)

So.... I'm currently working on the following projects -

• CD Design
• Poster design for a series of community art courses
• Commissioned painting for a wedding gift
• 3 x character illustrations for a lifestyle website
• 3 x dating illustrations for a dating website
• wholesale orders
• proper multiple page spread & interview for a major magazine (eep!)
• graduation show

+ more jobs not yet finalised.....

I am a little bit panicked at being so busy during peak market season, I think I've got 12+ markets before January already!  I don't want to cut back on them though as this will be the last few months I'm going to do markets for a significant period of time.  Our aim is to earn as much as we can through the business so we can put as much $$ aside as possible for the baby.

My aim for the next few weeks is just to work, work, work and keep the flow going.  I've got so many plans for the future but until I know where life is heading, I don't want to overplan the business.

But great news - I've been accepted into the Life In Style trade show next year!!  My first trade show, and I'm super excited.  =)

Life Update

In 5 weeks time both myself and Mr R graduate from our studies.  Hooray!  Our plan once that has finished is to take a few days off housesitting to recharge before throwing ourselves into work again.

The downfall is that because our studies finish, so does our financial support from the government.  I won't be able to get help again until I give birth, Mr R's income from the army stops as well (they go on holiday) so it will be an interesting time relying completely on me and the magical artwork I can create.  He's applying for jobs in the interim period, but no-one seems to want to hire anyone right now.

We have our 20 week ultrasound booked for next week that we are SO excited about.  I can't believe we are already 1/2 way through the pregnancy.  Oh, speaking of halfway Mr R and I have our 6 month anniversary on Thursday night.  We are going to go out for a meal, so exciting!

We're just impatiently waiting now to discover if Mr R has a job teaching next year, and where that may be.  As soon as we find that out we'll organise a house, move into it, then set ourselves up.  I'm hoping that can be done in January as I'm not keen to move during the hottest month of the year - February where temperatures often sit at 40 degrees+.  Yuck!

Pregnancy wise everything is going great.  I have very little problems, just little niggly things that remind me of what I'm going through.  I feel like a dried out shell everynight.  I can't drink enough water and my skin, mouth and nose are bone dry.  I'm affected quite badly by hayfever at the moment, first time in my life.  My record of sneezing so far has been 21 sneezes in a row!  Other then that I've been keeping my fitness up by both walking and swimming - sometimes laps in the pool, other days in pregnancy fitness classes.  I really really miss exercising stronger, and I've been aching to run up and down sand dunes.  Of course I can't, so I'll just have to wait a bit longer.  Oh, and I've started to waddle.  But don't stare!  LOL

Last of all, I just wanted to share a sneek peek with you about an upcoming exhibition I've got one work in.  I really wanted to do more works for it, but had a reality check that time just isn't on my side.  This exhibition revolves around fairytales.  The story I was given is "Puss In Boots".  So here is a sneak peek.... when the exhibition opens I'll show you the full image and the story behind it.

Sneak Peek - "A Gift For The King"

Here is the exhibition poster.  It's been getting a lot of press, and it has been so exciting to see my name everywhere (including a mention in the latest Frankie magazine!)

So I hope your day has been going well.  Hopefully I can pop back onto here quicker next time with plenty of new things to finally share!

Character Illustrations

I was commissioned earlier this year for a client Fox Maven to create a series of character illustrations.  I finished them a while back, but forgot to post about them and thought now would be a good time!

"Casual"

"Cooking"

"Masquerade"

"Pampered"

"Travelling"

Silhouette Installation

I'm still studying, now on the countdown until I graduate.  It looks like I have about 8 weeks to go before I have to have all my work finished ready to show.  Unfortunately, things haven't quite gone to plan.  I haven't felt one tiny bit creative the past two months whilst I've been pregnant so what I've achieved is nothing.  I just can't seem to focus my mind and I'm either stressed, tired, exhausted or feeling like a hot air balloon that needs a big pin jammed into it.  So I haven't been able to draw, paint or even sketch.  Although I have wanted to make things, or do things that don't require thought.  So I'm thinking it is time to come up with an additional hobby to help focus!

Anyway, even though I haven't been able to paint or sketch, I'm still required to do work to pass my course.  I'm a bit worried though as I have an assesment on Thursday for my major studio work and have nothing to show.  Everything I've created this year so far in my studies I don't like, and I want to start from scratch.  I don't know whether that is a good idea, considering it is now September and I should have been working on all this work since February.  But I have to follow my gut instincts and my heart, and it tells me to start from scratch and create honest works.  So that is what I'm going to do from tomorrow.  I know that is leaving it late, but I tend to work at the last minute so I'm just going to do what feels right.  Hopefully I'll be able to create work good enough to present as part of my studio work.

I had my first set of assesments today for my installation class.  We were required to create an artwork about us and our relationship with the building we are studying in somewhere on campus.  I've been thinking about this for weeks and weeks but it wasn't until Saturday night that the lightbulb moment hit me.  I knew exactly what I wanted to do, it was just a battle with time that I had ahead of me.  So this is my concept/story behind the installation peice.

When I first started studying this art course it was 2000 and I formed a close friendship with 3 other people (2 guys & a girl).  We became inseperable staying at eachothers houses during the week, weekends, going camping together and even going on holidays interstate.  It made studying enjoyable, it made us all want to create work and helped us in our creative processes by working together.  However now I've returned to studying this year, 6 years later, I don't have those companions around me anymore and we've all drifted apart.  Now I'm here, I don't know anyone in my class very well and haven't got that same bond with anyone that I had with these friends.

So this installation artwork was created as a tribute to those friends, the past and my childhood.  Setup in the space we always used to hang out in.  The theme for the work is animal silhouettes.  Animals as myself & my friends used to play games naming animals for hours to keep us entertained in the cold when we camped with damp firewood.  Silhouettes as a symbol of my childhood - the simplicity and the joy of simple creatures.  The colour black as a referral to shadow puppets without a stage.  The animals are painted with black ink and a reference back to the art college and also to give the figures tonal quality.  They are made from cardboard reflecting what we would use as children to make something.   

Ideally I would have liked to have created more animals but ran out of time.  So this is something I need to continue over the next few weeks.  They are arranged in rows for a reason.  There are 6 rows, 3 animals per row except the last 1 which has a single butterfly.  The first five rows symbolize the years that have passed since I've seen my friends (3 animals for 3 friends), and the last row symbolizes this year where I'm on my own.  The type of animal I am - a butterfly - reflects the massive changes my life has endured these past 6 years and that I'm finally blossoming into a happy young lady.  =)  So I've grown without realising it.

This work is very personal and I'm glad to have been able to do it.  I like that it is so unlike what I do, yet fits in.

Love & Hate

Some images I whipped up for a zine created by a lovely group of Australian illustrators before going away on my holiday.  The theme was "love/hate".

In Print : Through The Clock's Workings

Recently I was commissioned by Creative Commons Australia to create a book jacket for an anthology of mixed stories.

I was given the brief of incorporating a portrait with text, using the stories within as inspiration (and as the text that I used).  I chose two stories, melded the characters together, and created my interpretation.

Through the Clock's Workings
Edited by Amy Barker
Sydney University Press
ISBN: 9781920899325

A world first! The first remixed and remixable anthology of literature.

This anthology of short stories is not some textual tome, frozen in time and space. It is alive, evolving organically in a constant state of flux. Why? Because each story is available under a Creative Commons licence, giving you rights to share and reuse the book as you see fit.

So how do you use a remixable anthology? Simple.
Step 1 - Read. Thumb your way through the pages at will. Find the stories you love, the ones you hate, the ones that could be better.
Step 2 - Re/create. Each story is yours to share and to remix. Use only one paragraph or character or just make subtle changes. Change the genre, alter its formal or stylistic characteristics, or revise its message. Use as little or as much as you like - as long as it works.
Step 3 - Share. Be part of a growing community of literature remixing. Post your remixes to the Remix My Lit website, remixmylit.com, and start sharing. The entire anthology can be remixed - the original stories, the remixes, and even the fonts.

Through the Clock's Workings is Read&Write!

The book is available to purchase from the Sydney University Press online e-store for $24.95 rrp AU.

Who Can? Toucan

I have another group show opening next week at Famous When Dead Gallery in Melbourne.  I've got a few works going there, and will start introducing them slowly, as well as do a proper post about the group show just before the opening.

For now, I'm going to introduce you to one of my new works.  This is the first for the show, the  main piece, my new love.  Seriously, I don't want to let it even leave the house and can't stop staring at it.  Not many of my works cause that reaction in me.

This was the work that was driving me to the edge of disaster last week, but in the last few seconds some kind of magic happened and it transformed.



"Who Can?  Toucan"
Acrylic and collage on canvas
60.5cm x 76cm x 4cm

It tells a story of two fashionable girls wandering through the forest, obviously out of place, and very lost.  They are being watched by tropical birds that surround them, who are trying to converse with them and tell them how to get back home.  However the girls don't understand bird-speak and ignore them, then they continue on their journey, getting more lost every step they take.

The collage text used is from English dictionaries and school poetry books.

Forbidden Kiss

Thursday night is the opening for "skull_duggery" the group show that I'm in at Blankspace Gallery.  The theme of the show is skulls, be sure to pop on down and have a look!

skull_duggery
Blankspace Gallery
374 Crown St, Surry Hills, NSW, 2010

This is the second work that I've put into the show -



"Forbidden Kiss"
Mixed Media on paper
39cm x 50cm

Even My Daydreams Need A Walk Sometimes

Thursday night is the opening for "skull_duggery" the group show that I'm in at Blankspace Gallery.  The theme of the show is skulls, be sure to pop on down and have a look!

skull_duggery
Blankspace Gallery
374 Crown St, Surry Hills, NSW, 2010

This is one of the two works I've put in the show -




"Even My Daydreams Need A Walk Sometimes"
Mixed media on paper
30.5cm x 44cm

Inspiration : Glenn Arthur

When I first came across this artist, Glenn Arthur I was like "Wow".  His work is very appealling, and has a sensuality that entrances me.  Then, I paused for a moment.  You see, Glenn Arthur only has a myspace page.  No website, no shop, no portfolio and no real information on how to contact him, purchase from him or see his portfolio, or know much about him.  So I actually thought twice about sharing his work, which I feel bad about because I just love it.

 Maybe that is the plague of the modern age -  That I almost expect artists to have a proper portfolio/website.... and don't give it a second thought that the reality is not everyone does.  Is that just me who is put off by artists who have almost nothing online?

Anyway, here are some of my favourite pieces he has created.

Framed Work "Beauty Is My Middle Name"

I just love seeing my work framed up - it takes it to a whole new level.

drumroll for dRaw exhibition

I have a group exhibition opening this week.  I'm very excited.  :)



dRaw exhibition

15th April - 1st May

214 William St, Northbridge

11am - 6pm daily

free entry

Opening Night - 15th April, 6.30pm, $10 entry (pick up the free arterial exhibition mag and then grab some Coopers beer or Madfish wine!)

check out the website or facebook event page  for more info

I've got four artworks in the exhibition.  All are available for sale at the event, and limited edition prints of each (5 I think) will be available.  I've also got a bit about me in their magazine which is being released on the night.

 

"Beauty Is My Middle Name"

14.9cm x 21.9cm

Mixed Media on paper - Ink, collage, marker, graphite, pencil, acrylic

2009

 

"The Next Brad Pitt"

14.9cm x 21.9cm

Mixed Media on paper - Acrylic, graphite, marker, ink, collage, acrylic

2009

 

"An Honest Portrait"

14.9cm x 22.1cm

Mixed Media on paper - Ink, graphite, collage, marker, coloured pencil

2009

"Escaping For A Few Hours"

29.6cm x 42cm

Mixed Media on paper - ink, marker, coloured pencil, acrylic

2009

dRaw = super sneak peek

I've been working like a crazy woman this week finishing off work and trying to get my 'spice' back into my illustrations.  With everything that has been going on the past few months I must admit I lost my path for a while there.  I haven't quite found it yet, but I am getting closer.

I'm quite pleased with the final works, but it always surprises me how many works/ideas I have to start and then play around with before I get the right ones.  I finished about 9 artworks, and then chose 4 of them for the exhibition.

Here is a sneak peek at one of them -




Okay, I lied, here is a sneak peek at a second -

 

I can't wait to see everything up in the exhibition.

New Work - The Past Always Returns

"The Past Always Returns"
21cm x 29.75cm
Mixed Media, 2009

I broke my non creative spell the other day and finished this illustration for the upcoming Love Is My Velocity cookbook II.  They even have a page on wikipedia about them, how cool is that!  Basically 60 creative types were invited to participate in this cookbook.  The idea is that a Perth band wrote a recipe that would have an image accompany it.  Then the whole book will be full of different recipes, different bands and different types of creations.  Great huh?

My band was 'French Rockets'.  An electronic band that consists of three guys that love psychedelic, lights and the hypnotic.  My recipe was spicy Indian balls.  I must admit I was stumped for ages on what I was going to create..... then decided to focus on the psychedelic/hypnotic elements.  I'm totally entranced by what I created!

The cookbook will be launched on May 8th @ The Old Bank, 214 William St, with an exhibition of all the works in the book.  I'll post a flyer/reminder closer to the date.  It's going to be huge.

All Together Now

"All Together Now"
Private commission, 2008
29.5cm x 21cm, Mixed Media

I was asked to create a portrait of a lovely couple, and include their dog if at all possible.  So I did.  :) 

Coraline Animated Movie Trailer

I haven't been very excited about an animated film in a long time.... until I started hearing about "Coraline".  A combination of children, dreams and the imagination........ everything I could ever ask for!  Already the film clip has inspired masses of sketches & drawings, I'm so entranced by it all that  I can't even think of what the entire movie will do for me!