Your life on film: Marina

There are moments in your life when you simply need a photograph. The first face you fall in love with, the ultimate moment of beauty you'd like to keep to yourself forever, because you know it will drip away like the dewdrop on a morning-washed treebranch in the grip of time... or the yearbook with your graduation photo, prom portrait, wedding day. I didn't think I'd have fun shooting wedding photography, but it happened naturally as two friends decided they would love each other for life and the bride invited me to shoot her portraits. Marina is 27 years old, loves to dance and smiles the entire time, showing no signs of worry on her own wedding day. She is sure that this will be one of the best days in her life, and with this feeling she forgets about the camera's presence and stays herself. Out of ca. 500 photos, it's quite the tedious task chosing which to post.



My next wedding shoot is set for October, when Krassy and Zori will take us to the wild wild west... :))

FWA site of the day

If you're an artist, designer, writer, film-lover or simply anything close to a visual-art appreciator, you're bound to be hit by lightning. Take a look at Sergej Minaev's incredible Website, and you'll need serious rehabilitation afterwards. Especially if you decide to read his books!

Aniboom Video Winners are Announced

So, I mentioned somewhere in my personal blog that I'm waiting for Radiohead to finally announce the winner of the Aniboom competition. Now it turns out, that instead of one video, to win the price of $10,000 to complete their projects FOUR winners have been annonced. You can check out the current status of the clips here:

Videotape 2.0
Reckoner v2
Transmutation
15 Step v2.0

As soon as the videos are completed, they will premiere on the band's myspace page. Why there - who knows, perhaps they're just really into their fans and want to encourage them in any way they can. I've always been amazed by their up-to-date trends and high-end cutting schematics...

Textile workz II

Just a quick update on what I've been working on this weekend.
The first is commission art for a vest, I call it "The Surprised Airheads" :)
The latter is my first experiment with mixing textile colors, this one was more complicated to draw (as you can see it's far from perfect, but with more practice I hope to improve). Based on Tori Amos' new Comic Book Tattoo, it's the most time-consuming textile work I've done so far.

"Can you hear me, Major Tom...?"

The Parkhotel

So, this is the Parkhotel in Bremen, Germany. Some already know. It was built step by step in the years 1958, 1963, 1966/68 and 2004.
There is one certain thing I am confused with, and that is why I felt like it needed a discussion.

As you can see, there is no perfect symmetry. So the question is: why? You have to know, that the park around that building IS perfectly symmetrical (you can see it here: http://www.park-hotel-bremen.de), only the building is not.


This photo shows the former "Parkhaus" from 1890. Unfortunetaly it burned down in 1907. Well, as you can see, it was perfectly symmetrical.

Don't get me wrong, I am no opponent of asymmetrical buildings.

For me personally the present Parkhotel, as we know it today, feels like a lame compromise. It is not really asymmetrical and it is not really symmetrical. Are we afraid of perfect symmetry today?

A day in the life: how to ruin your favorite shirt

For those of you who've seen my T-shirt designs, worn by some very special people, or those who are simply interested in the materials needed to make your own clothing branding... welcome back to our little blogspot. First of all, you've always got options, options, options. You can either make your own design on PSD or AI file and send it over to the nearest textile printers, or you're the creative do-it-yourself type and would rather risk it with a brush and some suitable paints. Here's how you start up: choose textile colors and make sure you know how they react in the washing machine. Pick your brushes carefully - a thin one for contours and a thick one for coloring in. I use only thin brushes on clothing.




For inspiration, there should be tons of music available in the player at all times. Remember Paul Gogain, another supporter of my theory that art and music go hand in hand - both create atmosphere and illustrate feeling in a subconscious kind of way. I usually have a song playing in my head while drawing or designing, and that's the way it'll always be. Preferably, get headphones (but not if you're afraid the music will complete take over what you do :P). In this case, the initial inspiration was Muse, however later we moved on to...




Then you'll notice strange thoughts and memories passing through your head while you draw. You won't even feel your mind wandering, and your hand, somehow mechanically, as though it's part of some foreign instrument operated by a mysterious force, goes on on its own. Depending on your task, you can chose to concentrate or (like me) give in to the trains of thought and jump on one, tripping away...



Then you might suddenly return to your work, just for a quick check-up on what you're really doing. You've probably travelled through one entire Tea Party album by now. I had no idea those swirls would come out like they did. Seems my concentration level is a bit, um, low, tee hee. Good thing lil' Isis was there to check on my progress.




And there you have it. Remember your options. They can save your life. Thank God for choices. If you're happy with the result, your T will make a great present. Just don't throw it away. Never throw your work away, it's bad luck. Your final step is to fixate the paint. You need a hairdryer, or, preferrably an iron to make the colors stick and keep them from washing off in places. And... voila.



I definitely think the next T will be a psychedellic traverse through the steppes of the surreal. Don't envy the person who ends up wearing it! Pair-o-eyes out.

Grapevine

So here I am listening to my favorite Radiohead tunes, when suddenly I decide to open youtube and marvel at the band's amazing videos once again. I type in 2+2=5 simply out of curiosity, and I stumble upon the videoclip of an artist, calling himself Grapevine. His name is really Gaston Viñas, an artist quite fond of Radiohead, but not only that is why I decided to introduce him to the readers of this blog. See for yourself:


You can find his other video on youtube as well, a visualisation of the song "Wolf at the Door". If there were another contest organized by Radiohead for animated video, I would surely vote for this guy. Sometimes, it's simplicity with a strong idea that does the job. Not even too much artistry necessary. To convince yourselves, visit this guy's website. It's worth it. I've already placed a permanent connection to him on my personal blog. Many thanks to Pinky for the info. Pair-o-Eyes out.