This weeks kick about over on Reds Kingdom is the work of celebrated Ukrainian Artist – Maria Prymachenko. I wanted to focus on Primachenko’s bold use of vivid colour from her powerful folk art and painted an abundance of flora with some creatures in situ. I’ve been meaning to give a whirl of painting digitally and resemble watercolour and ink, Primachenko’s imaginative and colourful illustrations were the perfect prompt to give it a go.
This weeks prompt over on Reds Kingdom is the art of Peter Mungkuri of the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands of north western South Australia who’s illustrative drawings celebrate the life of trees – an important part of the community’s culture.
My mind instantly wanted to create some cyanotypes, with their mesmerising deep Prussian blue and infrared white, a process that is always a joy and I never tire of. The best part about cyanotypes is its unpredictability, simply letting the cuttings of foliage and flora place where you think and letting the sun do the work always gives a unique result each time.
I purchased the chemicals in powder form added water and coated them on some toothy cold pressed A3 size watercolour paper, adding a minuscule amount of the formula to achieve that rich blue and vivid white.
When viewing Howard Sooley’s Prospect Cottage for the most recent Kick About I was instantly drawn to the opening images of the lighthouse and the water, the way those clips moved – like old pixelation animation. I wanted to create a moving story revolving around the landscape of Dungeness and all its quirky unique characteristics, I also just really wanted to make something with my hands. I have fashioned a shadow puppet theatre out of old cardboard, a large picture less frame and some grease proof paper so that I can bring to life cuttings of the characters and all the little things that make Dungeness so intriguing. While I don’t have the film to show just yet, I do have the storyboard.
Finally a taste of summer! It was glorious to get my milk bottle legs out and get some sun on my pasty Irish face while inviting the aroma of the yellow mimosas and exotic looking palm trees and. A definite serotonin and Vitamin D boost was well needed by all, coupled with the relaxing of measures here in the UK it’s hard not to feel giddy for better times ahead.
Another render from the Green Glider animated short, this time of the lagoon where our protagonist Ash will float in the blissful crystal clear water before he has a sudden epiphany. I wouldn’t mind quarantining here…
I was watching the very beginning series of Tom and Jerry with my niece and was completely blown away by the gorgeous watercolour background paintings while Tom and Jerry run amok in their usual debauchery. So inspired by the paintings I have decided to adopt a similar more analogue and painterly approach, I think bringing down the complexity of many previous attempts of skies that I painted brings more attention and focus to the foreground elements and works better, that same yellow and pink that Tom and Jerry adopted works well for the Meadow scene, which is a pinnacle part of the film and where the beauty of nature of this world needs to really hit home.
〰️ Tom and Jerry Background Paintings 〰️
I was spoiled for choice with this kick about with rural Ireland having a bountiful abundance of botany with textures, colours and shapes of all the flora and vegetation, feeling like an endless pick’n’mix. I always find myself thinking about the intricate patterns and shapes as I snap away, mint green reindeer moss looking like bleached coral under a microscopic macro lens and the swirling and meandering of ice a jigsaw of frozen motion, while twigs, branches and petals looking like spores after some careful manipulation. suffice to say I loved this kick about and loved editing, warping and colour correcting a surplus of photos from recent adventures around Ireland to get a photomontage and mimic Ernst Haeckel’s inspiring Illustrations. I have a real hankering to go on and on with creating more designs like this.
Gentle Giant 