2013 | A year of Opportunity

As many of you may already know, I'm not one to shy away from a project, in fact Lucky is happy to tell you that I tend to commit myself to too much. But I tend to think that if I stop doing something to keep my mind active then I'll go insane.

Regardless of that I've got quite a few projects on the go for the year already and I think I should probably list them then stew a little on my self imposed workload.

1. Grade B - Alphabet Movie Poster Series

Every second Monday for 2013 I will be releasing an alphabet poster (A is for...., B is for ...., etc.) in the style of a B grade movie poster. The first, A is for Attack of the Alien Bombshells , has been released:

and the whole series can be followed if you want to follow the Iron Oak facebook page or just check back regularily to the contents page .

All posters are available for sale but there is a limit of only 10 per letter. Click through the Red Bubble Contents Page to the poster you want (when it's available) Alternatively you can buy postcards and greeting cards of the designs.

2. Archibald Prize Entry - Jessica Madden

This is the first I've officially announced this but I'm going to put an entry in for the Archibald Prize with the subject as my friend Jessica Madden (Tremp). The Archibald is said to be the pre-eminent competition of portraiture paintering in Australia but I'm really looking at this as a challenge for the first three months of the year.

The subject is intended to be an artist and can be a self-portrait but requires you to have had a sitting with the subject that I completed early last year while sitting next to her dog Soda. You may recognise the name from other posts I've done or just from her being a highly talented and well known photographer, but I'm really looking forward to enjoying putting this piece together (as big as it becomes.)

I hop to have the piece completed before the end of February so I'll keep you all updated with the progress and the final option.
 

3. HIVE - Tile-set Art

What would it be for a year without something entirely out of left field and HIVE is a project I didn't see coming but am really happy to be working on it.

HIVE is a role playing video game being written and developed by a friend of mine, Dave, and he was looking for assistance in a tile set artists. Essentially this will involve working with tile-sets, patterns and creating artwork for the world.

Check in on Hive here or the facebook page here

4. The Nauticals - The giants of the deep.

A while back, while watching the waves at the beach I started imagining giant creatures slowly wandering through the surf. This idea kept on floating back and forward until I started to get the idea together for a book and the idea still hasn't left my head.

The story, about a boy of 16 traveling on the top of a giant mechanical contraption, known as a nautical, over the waters of the Mediterranean has not left my head and every day new ideas pop in about the world, the mythology of the creatures and the ways that the rest of the world would respond.

I'm hoping to start getting art out and about after the next six months but like all my projects, if I don't happen to get it done then nothing will happen but while the idea sits in my head it's easiest to get the concepts out.

And that's 4....

If you have any questions on the four I'm more than happy to answer them, just place a comment below.

but wait there may be more:

• Ukelele design (Pimp my Uke - Melbourne Ukelele Festival)
• 1 Niece is turning 3 and so get a personally designed book each.
• The school of faces is still going (but has been put on hiatus, at least for a few months)
• Sketchbooks from 27 onwards

So as you can see there are a few things on my plate, a few things more than I expected but nothing that can't be finished if I have a Delorean and a Hoverboard.

Michael.

Busy like a bee or other carnivorous insect

And I have been quite busy working on a few new concepts, a few old concepts and some fun things in between. To give you all a quick run down

For the fanatical sports following fan that I am a fixture wallpaper gives me a chance to work with a brand without being restricted by guidelines. Awesome fun, if I do say so myself.

So here is the Melbourne Victory highly unofficial Wallpaper:

Home Kit:

1920 x 1200      1920 x 1080     1600 x 1080

Away Kit:

1920 x 1200      1920 x 1080      1600 x 1080

and as well as this work has been quite busy but I got to SKETCH A FREAKIN LION and if you don't believe me you can look at this below(I'm still excited):

So this resulted in some good responses from the legal community including emails and a phone call indicating that I may be asked upon for private illustration work.

And as well as this I've been sketching lots including pencil and ink art that result in things like this.

and more and more sketching on mondays

Will keep posting. Have fun lovely people.

Keeping up Appearances

 So I've been keeping myself busy posting up weekly sketches (missing only the occasional week) for you to look over and some additional projects have popped onto my radar.

I've posted a selection of them and I'll try and post up occasional blogs with some images. If you want to follow it on facebook the account to track is here

 

 

This image(above) was drawn to celebrate the birth of my nephew to my Sister and Bro in law in Helsinki

As well as all this I'm entering a competition called (and don't judge me on the name) Pimp my M.U.F. by painting/sculpting/changing a Ukelele for the Melbourne Ukelele Festival. The final piece is incomplete as yet with the quick dry clay and a base level of paint applied. 

Here is a preview:

And with only the penwork and paper strips to finish this off it should be all set to be on show at the Trades Hall on the 9th through to the 11th of March 2012. If you can tell what it is, congratulations because I'm still hoping it will work.

p.s. Any questions or requests, please post through.
 

Monday Notepad Image #004 | X-ray Teddy

The fourth image, is an overnight pen wrecker from Notebook #17.

X-Ray Teddy

I have worked on an x-ray style before now, once with a stick figure and once with an X(yes an X) but while starting off a sketch of a bear I got more involved in its structure the more I put the pen to the paper. 2 pens later and I'd made enough dark patches around the outside to see the bare bones of the piece (forgive the pun though)

Monday Notepad Image #001

So to start off a new series while the School of Faces gets underway, here is a sketch for the week from my notebook, specifically from book 16.

The Tattooed Elephant

After a recent trial working on different styles I've started working on a tattooed series including a tattooed eye, a tattooed building and a tattooed tank. The elephant I'm quite happy with. I may work on a larger version of this as well.

The project continues

So I have been quiet recently, whiling away my hours inside my evil lair buried within a volcano.
And I have been receiving lots of images from many nice people around the world. My numbers are almost at 40 (of 1008) so I'm still pushing for any further images from people.

To give you all a bit of an understanding of the project I've started taking some photos and putting together some diagrams.

So If I happened to stand up straight at 183 cms I couldn't see over the top of the 3 panel high art piece. The width is almost 4 meters wide so I could also use a couple of horizontal panels as a bed before I start sketching on them.

And there are the initial panels that, once cut will make up the backing of the piece. I will keep posting 4 photos of each panel once I have completed it so you can get an idea and print out a copy(should you want to)

Thankyou all for your support and keep on inviting your friends. If you're interested in submitting for the project please read this post and email a photo and name of yourself to schooloffaces@gmail.com

Thanks

Michael.

Are you kidding me? 2010 Calendar Complete and 2011 Project Announcement

If you had to ask me to single out one thing from 2010 that was truly epic I'd have to say getting married, but if you kept on asking until you got to about the 7th or so you'd hit the true reason I'm writing this blog today.
And the answer would be the 365 Notepads Calendar.

In short, in one year I managed to sketch and post up 365 images to create a calendar and I'm extremely happy with the result. As well as sketching the images I took the time, for every Friday's post, to include colour into the piece as well as highlighting a few  specific days during the year that are important to me.



but while this project has been completed (though a print run for the calendar is in the works) another has started for me and I'm putting the word out for your help.

Here's some frequently asked questions to help you out.

What is the project?
The project is an art piece that combines a mass of people faces together to form a pattern reminiscent of fish scales. The final piece will be 6 1x1 meter panels with 1008 faces on it. This will be exhibited at various places, either as a full piece or the six separate panels spread out.

1008, isn't that quite a lot of images?
1000 was the original intended number but the pattern needed requires 1008 to work correctly. And that is also why I need your help. While I am asking all who read these blog posts to put themselves forward, I'm also hoping you to  pass this on to anyone you know who may be interested. I'd like to include as many people from anywhere and everywhere around the globe.

What is needed?
For each face I need a name and a photo in profile, as per the example shown. The only parts that will be included is the face, a small part of the hair and the chin. Any person who is under 18 years of age will need to have parental permission to have the face included but I am happy to include anyone of any age.

Does it have to be a high quality shot?
The quality of the photo doesn't have to be that great, the example was taken on a mobile phone though I would I will need the image to be light enough to make out your features. If I find it too hard to work with I may ask for a reshoot.The photo will not be included in the final piece.

Where do you send this to?
email both the photo and name to schooloffaces@gmail.com


And where do updates appear?
The updates will mostly appear on this redbubble account or right here, on this blog

If you have any questions please post them below or email me directly.

Thanks

Michael.

Summer Presents

So you may be looking at getting a gift for someone in the near future and your eye may just hit a piece of my art on Redbubble. Maybe it could be A calendar, a greeting card, a framed print, a tee, or even a sticker. What I'd recommend is dropping in to the store quickly and having a good look around but ensure you enter in a brand new code for 15% reduction:

Michman_is_on_sale_8036

 

and this should work right up until the 14th of November

and should you like my 365Notepads items you can use this code to get the equivalent 15% off till the 14th of November:

365Notepads_is_on_sale_4600

A calendar for life and other news

In order of importance of news I have the great pleasure that I am the new illustrator for Bananafish Magazine as well as having the fun of designing their new masthead. After seeing advertisement for an illustrator for there site and upcoming publication I approached them and have happily had the header accepted.

and all this after a year of keeping my notebooks with me and sketching for all I am worth. But onto that news as well. I have happily completed two months of The 365 Notepads Calendar and am working my way, whistling, through March.

I have specifically kept the day and year off the calendar so that you don't have to buy a new one every year and am looking into the options of publishing the whole lot at the end of the year. Most likely it will be a  day to a page (with some method to cover leap years).

If you have any comments please leave them here or on the Facebook fan page as I'm always intrigued which images people like (even like them if that's all you want to do). It is also posted on the