Hikaru Genji: Sexy Hero

Noblemen in Heian period Japan had a tendency to wear certain, rather phallic, lacquered hats, & run around having fun with women (& sometimes men). They would then stop to compose poetry about the moon before being so moved that they would cry into their dried rice & make it swell up. The noblewomen did the same sort of thing, only with fewer hats & more robes.

The Heian period? Clearly the best historical period in Japan. This is Hikaru Genji, of the eponymous Tale, written by Murasaki Shikibu. Done on handmade paper with Japanese ink (sumi) & sharpie.

Wet Cobbles

I mainly do illustration-type stuff, but occasionally it's fun to paint! A couple of years ago, my friend Laura commissioned this painting for her new house, saying, as I remember, that she wanted something abstract, but giving me free reign otherwise. I painted it in my room in Leeds, as it was raining outside on the cobbled street. So hence, Wet Cobbles.

T-Rex! *gasp!*

T-Rex (Panel 2) from the fantastic Dinosaur Comics by Ryan Q. North. A card I sent to my cousin, & also one I gave to my friend for her birthday.

I have also found out that I can upload picures direct to Blogger. Uhm. That took me a long time & a lot of hassle. Whoops!

Hipster Giraffes?

So I didn't really fulfil my promise of weekly updates. I will try to be better about that. But! I come bearing gifts! My friend hori (all lower-case like bell hooks, or hide) challenged me to draw a giraffe. So I drew a hipster giraffe:

Paisley

This is a paisley-esque postcard I sent to my grandmother. My scanner has apparently developed the unfortunate tendency of washing out all of the colours of anything I scan, so I have to re-jig it in Photoshop.

Click through for a full view

Sam I Am

I haven't updated in a while. I've been busy writing up my MA dissertation, but now I'm finished, & I'm back!

I'm going to try & get into the routine of updating this blog at least once every week. I'm also trying to do some drawing & maybe some writing too for an hour every day. I've spent a lot of time being dissatisfied with what I do, or how few ideas I have, but I've come to realise that the only solution to this problem is to keep going. To do it. & having a routine helps with that.

So here, I present a quick sketch of Sam from Supernatural. If you like horror shows about angst, epic man-pain, Americana & demonology topped off with daddy issues, then Supernatural is the show for you, baby. In reality, he (of course) has massiver shoulders, and his head looks a little pasted on in this picture. Practice makes perfect.

Click for a full view.

Sketch book pages

Keeping a sketchbook is a good way to stimulate creativity. Click through for fullsize images.


Some men with beards:



Faces:



More faces:



More men with beards:



My sketchbooks, complete with Dinosaur Comics stickers:

Art Show

Last week, my university Art Society organised an art show for its members. Lots of people came, & it was a pretty exciting opportunity for me to exhibit some of my work. Thanks to everyone who came. It was a fun evening! Let me know what you think of the pictures.

Some pictures:







And the pictures themselves. As ever, click for a full view.


Shift





Plum





Flow

No, just the one.

I had a little nut tree
Nothing would it bear
But a silver nutmeg
And a golden pear.

Joe-joe was a man...

Odagiri Joe is a Japanese actor. I admire his variety of hair styles (an acting skill), despite my apparent inability to draw his nose.

Click for a larger view.

Ink sketches

Sometimes I just pick up a brush and see what happens. Sumi on brown paper again, with apologies for the quality of the photos... As ever, click on the picture to enlarge.



Bureaucrat



War



Dream



Bust?

Cloudy day, starry night

I love the effect of calligraphy ink on brown paper. He does look a little like Mr. Spock, but as you can see, he doesn't have pointy ears.

Click for a full-size picture.

Red Coat

I like people-watching, and it seems that a lot of other people do too. I saw this guy in Soho, wearing a bright red coat and waiting for someone. Click for a full-size picture.