31/1 - 06/2 :: Week summary.

★The Journey that is Paris.

Thought on The Demon Girl book...

I plan to create a Illustrated version of The Demon Girl book, I am not sure on sizes etc for the illustrations but I will probably do them either A4/A3 so I can shrink them down to whatever size I feel is fitting for the book. I think the sizing will come when I start to brainstorm ideas and develop them. I am also not sure on how many illustrations there will be through-out the book, but right now the strongest images in my head are the ones in the forest with Rae and the demons. I am not sure about their faces; when I think about the characters in the book I can kind of see their faces in my head, but they are not clear, they are kinda fuzzy but they are there.

I think once I start to highlight areas of the book, including colours mentioned in the book, the book is a colourful one with the author mentioning specific colours such as crimson hoods or silver eyes; I want to use the specific colours mentioned in the book because I know I want to stay has true to the book as I possibly can.

Peace. I'm out.

Finally found and ordered...

After days of surfing the web, I have finally found an actual hard copy of my book; The Demon Girl by Penelope Fletcher. The downside is I have had to order it from America, pay the same amount for postage and packaging has I did for the actual book, and I have to wait 8 - 16 days for it to arrive. The joys.

P.s I really should pack for Paris.

Valid Information...

We had a Fig Taylor lecture/talk to day. Well, talk about a lot of information. I don’t know what to say about it, apart from it as confirmed that wanting to own my own tattoo/artist studio. Everything that Fig was saying just proved my thought’s on the Illustration rat race, it’s everything I don’t like.

We also had a group get together the other day to decide on our ‘identity’ for our Degree show. Theatrical - Apparently we’re on the drama course, does anymore need to be said? I think a lot a people are slightly concerned about how this is going to represent our course, us as a group and that it is also going to look very miss-matched. I don’t know what else to say on the matter; I think the making of the idea needs to be started and then maybe when we can see it starting to take form, we will be able to make a judgment on whether it is the right way to go. Right now I am not sure.
However, when Annika, Becca and I were brainstorming idea for the degree show we did come up with some interesting ideas; such as, Do you remember those life size boards they used to have, with a large picture of people doing something amusing painted onto them but there was a whole where the face should be - so you would stand behind the board, put your head in the hole and have your picture taken. Well we thought we could recreate one of these boards, and when guest arrive we could take their picture and give those pictures away as their freebie, a reminder of the show and the artist/illustrator’s that featured in that show.

Annika's, Becca's and my brainstorming session.

Im out.

A reply from the author...

A couple of days ago I was looking on Penelope Fletcher’s (the author of Demon Girl) website, twitter etc and I decided to email her, about how much I loved her book, and that I was planning to illustrate it for my Final Major project.

Hi,
I hope you don't mind me contacting you. I have just read your book via my iphone and I fell in love with it. I read it in 3 days, I could not/would not put it down.
I have never been a big fan of fantasy books (apart from reading the Twilight saga which I was bullied into reading by my friends. Not that I regret reading them.)
Sorry back to the point, I loved your book and can not wait till the sequels come out.
I am an Illustration student who is in her final year of study. I am just starting my final project and I had it all planned in my head what I wanted to do. That was until I read your book, and got very vivid images in my head of Rae, Breanden, Tomas, Devlin, the forest, the wall and the Clerics.
Anyway my plan for my Final Major Project at uni to create and Illustrated version of your book. I hope to send you images as I progress through my project, and hopefully get your feedback as I am Illustrating the words written by you.

Thanks for taking your time to read this, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks Dionne Clarke


Today I received the following reply.

 
Hi Dionne,

I don't mind you contacting me at all, I love hearing from readers and getting feedback on the story. Thank you so much for your kind words, they made my day.

Fantasy books can be such a diverse genre. I read any kind of book but admit I gravitate to the paranormal much more than I should. :)

How fascinating. I'm blown away that you would choose my words (thrilled actually) to base your illustrations on. Please do let me see them, it would be amazing to see the characters (especially Rae and Breandan) through another's eyes. Maeve would be a thing of wonders too. And the Clerics with their crimson hoods. Oh how exciting!

Thank you for taking the time to read and feedback, good luck with your studies, and please do send those illustrations! I look forward to hearing from you again.

Penelope

How cool is that! An author of a published book actually replied to my rambling email, and not only thought it was great but wants me to keep her informed in my progress and send her my illustrations. Totally pleased.

Much cutting and sticking later...

I decided to do a mock up book for my self promotion project, to try and figure out if a book is the way to go and what images worked the best.
After much cutting, printing, re-sizing, re-printing, re-sizing, re-printing, re-sizing and re-printing again; I managed to come up this:

Front page with contact details.

Middle page's.

Middle Page's.

Back page.

I feel the mock book went well, I like the format and it allows me to use several of my images. However I do feel that there may be too many images. I would also like to investigate into creating something that could be at use to someone, like a keyring, or coaster etc
I like the idea of someone having used something for a while and then suddenly coming across it again and seeing it in a new light - maybe to answer to a problem. Or is that just a fantasy idea, that that could happen.  I would still like to investigate this idea though.










Tararabit.

Another Day, another tattoo...

To satisfy my itch for more ink, and after I had wore out my idea to get my lip pierced. I designed a tattoo of a pair of shoes. With my on going shoe addiction I could not believe I hadn’t thought of it before.
On the way to my favorite tattoo shop in Southampton (Pauly’s Tattoo), I stopped by another tattoo shop out of curiosity, I showed them the design and asked for a price. They said they needed to make it bigger as they couldn’t do it at that size (which I knew was perfectly fine). They also wanted to charge me double to what Pauly’s would, and did.
I’m mentioning this because it keeps me determined. There are so many tattoo shops around but very little shops that have the laid back, professional, unique custom design attitude and where they take care of their clients needs. Pauly’s, by my experience seems to be this kind of shop, and there are not many of them around, especially back home (Dudley).
Having yet another morning like this morning, it makes me more determined to create a shop, one with a friendly, laid back yet professional, with a unique custom designs policy and one where we take care of our clients needs.
The tattoo that caused me to have this moment of re-determination, was this;

The stars still bleeding, slightly as I type this. :)

✭✭✭✭✭

I plan to spend the rest of the day concentrating on my Self promotion project. I have to may favorite images to choose from, many paintings, tattoos, the odd photograph or mono print. I know I don't want to use just one image, as I feel one image does not some me up or some my work up.
I'm considering the book format idea as this would allow me to use several images to promote myself. 
Below are images of some of my favorite works. I hope you like them. I also I hope I manage to make some sort of decision soon.

Acrylic on Canvas - The Studio

Acrylic on wood - Birds.

College FMP - Paint on Skin (Close up).

College FMP - Paint on Skin.

College FMP - Paint on Skin.

College FMP - Paint on Skin.

College FMP - Paint on Skin.

College FMP - Paint on skin.

College FMP - Paint on skin.

Mono Print - Disappearing Face.

Acrylic on Canvas - Home Bird

Acrylic on Canvas - Love Hurts

Commission Painting - Acrylic on Canvas.

The 3rd tattoo I did - Grandad's parrot.

Lion on Dad's back - Done by me.

Hilary's butterflies for her grandchildren - Done by me.

See what I mean to many to choose from ... That's it for now.

Im out. 

Change of Direction

I could have challenged you on your opinion on the subject of tattoos, but it’s your opinion and you are entitled to your opinion. You do not see them as I see them, and why should you? You are not me and I am not you.

I read it in three days. I fell in love with sci/fi fantasy. The way I imagined it in my head was nothing like the pictures I had seen of fantasy novels. I wanted to get it down on paper.

The book is called The Demon Girl by Penelope Fletcher.
It is a Ebook that I stumbled on by mistake. I started reading the first page out of bordem and I got hooked, drawn in. I have fallen in love with the world were they live, the demon’s they face. The demons being magical creaters , shapeshiffters, vamires, fairies, witches and humans called Clerics and disciples. I could see the world so vividly in my mind.
Rae the main character believe she is human but as always been an outsider among other humans, she could do things that she could not explain. She heals quickly, runs exceptionally fast and make things happen by the power of her mind. She lived in the human world but was drawn constantly to the world the demons lived in.
I was also drawn to the demon’s world through out this book, yes I should have been afraid of the demons and the world they lived in, but like Rae I found my curiosity over took my fear. I could not put this book down!
“Rae Wilder has problems. Supernatural creatures swarm earth, and humanity is on the brink of extinction. Stalked by a handsome fairy who claims she is like him, demonkind, she thinks maybe it was a mistake breaking the rules by going over the Wall into demon territory.
Plunged into a world of dark magics, fierce creatures, and ritual sacrifice, she is charged with a guarding a magical amulet. The changes to her mind and body are startling, but rather than accept her purpose she struggles against who she is destined to be. Throw in a big lust for a vampire who can't keep his hands off her, and life starts to get complicated.
Rae is forced to make the ultimate choice: to live and die human, or embrace her birth-right and wield magics that could turn her into something wicked, a force of nature nothing can control.” http://www.amazon.co.uk/Demon-Girl-Rae-Wilder-Novels/dp/B00480OPOK

I do believe this book is a way to go.

Peace.

Initial Ideas for FMP (Final Major Project)

I used to love to draw and paint on a large scale, but I have lost that passion during the years of uni. I want regain that passion back as I know it’s still inside of me. I feel it twinge now and again wanting to come out.
We were set a project at college (back in the good old days) to reproduce an old master’s painting. Mine was “An Artist’s Studio” by Jan Vermeer (see below).

"An Artist's Studio" by Jan Vermeer

I reproduced it as this;

"The Studio" by Dionne Clarke

I wanted to capture a modern day studio, that is full of passion and that breaks down boundaries; with another strong passion of mine being tattooing, I took one of the most famous tattooist and painted her doing what she does best.
I only used tones of blue, not only to represent the colour of old school tattoo ink but because Vermeer used a lot of blues in his work.
I chose to use tattooing in my painting because it is an old and valid tradition, that as varied through out the years, and while remaining true to it’s originally ‘creators’, it as become  partially excepted in todays society and it is seen by many as an art form.

Just how Vermeer would study is object’s body deeply and explore the details, and become close to his subject. Tattooist do the same, they get to know their clients, understand the reasons and ideas behind a client’s tattoo and create something personal to them. Not only that but the process of tattooing crosses boundaries that would not be crossed in other circumstances. Tattooist invade their clients personal space; with bodily contact that out side a tattoo studio would not be received very well. A tattooist becomes linked to their clients through ink, blood and needles, just how a painter becomes linked to their subject and canvas, via the paints and brush strokes.
At the same time of creating or re-creating this old master I discovered a quote which as always stuck with me and I find it to be true. It reads;
“Ink to paper is thoughtful,
Ink to flesh, hard-core.
If Shakespeare were a tattooist,
We’d appreciate body art more.” Carrie Latet


For my FMP I would like to create a series of old masters reproduced, maybe using tattooing inspirations through out some of them or maybe not depending on what direction I wish to take.
I do feel this is my passion and something I could get excited about again.

Where as before I would use acrylic’s on canvas, I am going to experiment with ink’s and water colours.

Tattoos/tattooing is not as dark and skull ingested as many seem to believe. It’s about life, many lives in fact, about tradition, a ray of many different cultures; about colour, fantasies/dreams, experiencing, having regrets and memories. They deal/represent life, and show how many people deal with life itself.






Peace. Im out.

24/1 - 30/1 :: Week summary.

★Blog gets started.
★FMP gets decided.
★FMP as a change in direction.
★Self Promotion brief gets given out.
★Getting more ink!
★Starting the self promotion assignment.
★Contact with the author or The Demon Girl.
★Fig Taylor visits.
★Degree show Identity debate begins.
★More thoughts on The Demon Girl.

"Why try to be someone you're not? Life is hard enough without adding impersonation to the skills required." ~ Robert Brault

Well, my name is Dionne. I am a third year Illustration student who also wants to pursue a career in tattooing. I am learning the art of tattooing as well as studying at uni. I am originally from Dudley in the West Midlands (I am not a ‘Brummie’!) I hate my own head sometimes, my imagination is always ticking over. I’m addicted to shoes and tattoos. I have nearly 100 pairs of shoes. Getting tattooed is the best feeling ever and the feeling when tattooing others comes at a very close second! My everyday life inspires my work and my work sometimes inspires my life. As I have stated tattooing is a great passion/obsession of mine, and I am constantly looking, designing and tattooing tattoos; so without even thinking about it my tattoo style, sources and influences inspire my other works. Some people don't like this, others love it but I would not have it any other way! I plan to draw forever and open up my own studio one day. There are many places and cultures I want to explore because the world is a weird yet beautiful place to be!

I could go on for days telling you about things I like, things I don't, stories, happy memories, sad memories; however I don't believe you can truly get to know someone via the 'world wide web'. With all of today's technology and social networking sites; which, don't get me wrong they are fab for keeping in touch with friends who are in different parts of the world, but I miss the days where you HAD to pick up the phone or go out and actually meet someone to have a conversation. These days you can have a conversation, make new friends with people on the other side of the world, even have a date via skype or web cam (not that I have ever done this) and never leave your room! To me this isn't getting to know them. I believe by only using these methods of communication you can only get to know an 'internet version' of someone, however real and honest that internet version may be. It's not like meeting a friend for a drink, talking and laughing face to face.

With that said I am willing to let you guys know the 'internet version' of myself, I will try to remain myself throughout this process because why would I want to be anybody else.

Much Love.

Also for those who may be interested here's a link to my CV.
My CV

Introducing this blog...

Here goes..

With this blog I hope to introduce you to myself and my work, keep you informed and guide you through my Final Major Project (FMP), for BA (hons) Illustration at Southampton Solent University.

The FMP entails us creating our own briefs, which will allow us to create our own illustration project.  My aim is too create/reproduced several classic paintings, interpreting their meanings and recreating the images with todays influences etc.
Along side our practical work we have been asked to document our way through our FMP's via blogs, or by creating a book.
I chose to create a blog for my FMP because I felt it to be more suited to my writing style and it will also keep it separate from my FMP work to a certain extent. It also makes me feel slightly like 'Carrie' from Sex in the City; although my ramblings are far less interesting. However, hopefully you find some form of interest and entertainment from my blog and find the need to read it ever now and again. I dare say there will be ups and downs, tantrums and random joys, through out this process; I'm sure by the end of it I would have thrown my dummy out the pram several times, turned a few hairs grey and will be breathing a sigh of re-leaf when it's finished, if it gets finished! Hopefully it will!