In the begining

This is one of my first full-scale paintings, which is partially why I named it “In the beginning”. The image was from studies of the Turkish Bath by Jean-Auguste-Dominique INGRES (Montauban, Paris) where dozens of nude Turkish women are sitting or lying on sofas in various poses, in an Oriental interior which is arranged around a pool. Ingres was inspired by the letters of Lady Montague (1690-1760), who recounts a visit to women’s baths in Instanbul in the early eighteenth century.

I arranged my figure similar to the figure on the right of the Turkish bath, what I tried to depict is a figure that looks as if she is emerging and just awakening like a mermaid just lost her tail or the birth of venues.

The painting is peeling a bit because charcoal doesn’t sit well on canvas long term but it all adds to the effect.

In the beginning – Charcoal and acrylic on canvas

Street

When I first finish the plate I decided I didn’t like it anymore, because I thought it would look too cartoonish once printed, so I tucked it away in one of my art books. It was not until the end of the semester when I realized that I didn’t have enough prints then I decide to give thi one ago. I only had time to try the black ink and the result was surprisingly good.

It looks moody, the smooth nude figure against the dark scratchy back ground creates contrast and it tells a story. I named “Street” because even though the focus is on the façade and the figure but as a viewer you can’t help but wonder what was happening on the street that has caught her attention. I am pretty happy with the end result. Architecture and landscapes are areas that I would like to explore more of especially in prints.

Etching Print on Paper- Plastic Dry Point

Squeezing for Great Design

After “exploring the landscape of sour taste” the designers at Tonfisk came up with this cute lemon squeezer that you can bring to the table. This palm sized white ceramic bowl is one of my favorite designs. The tiny little spout looks pinched on the smooth white face as if its experiencing the same sourness the user is about to taste. I love the simplicity of its design; it removed all that’s not necessary to leave us with a blank mysterious looking instrument that draws the on looker to pick it up and investigate its purpose.

The Oma Lemon squeezer is sold at Funkis, go to http://www.funkis.com.au/ for more information and for more fabulous tableware go to http://www.tonfisk-design.fi/

Busy Bee

I have been a busy bee updating my REDBUBBLE site. “What’s Redbubble?” I hear you ask, well they make fabulous prints from original artworks by artists much like myself, and it’s where I have been getting lots of inspirations for my own work. To compensate for my neglect, I’ll give a sneak preview of my current project.

Currently I’m working on few designs for T-shirt, which will also be available on Redbubble when I’m done, and my latest obsession is bird cages. I saw an empty bird cage used as decoration in a magazine, the clean lines of the cage hanging against a white background looks fragile and beautiful. With the absence of the bird, the cage itself is looked at as the centre of attention and till now I never thought how beautiful it can be. I’m not sure if it’s a reflection what I’m going though right now, but an empty bird cage is a metaphor for freedom, it makes me think the soul it once contained is now free, free go where ever it wants to.

Image thanks to www.tonystone.com