INKTOBERFEST I

Beginning a series of smaller, experimental artworks on watercolour postcards.

...THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY

A Facebook blast from the past - 

It's great when I get requests from students in the UK and around the world, who want to interview me regarding my POLYGRAPH NUDES drawings. Some of them have even done really cool versions of their own in this style. At some point, I'll compile them into a blog article.

There are other people in the internet - seemingly professional artists - who are also intent on heavily imitating this style... to varying degrees of success.

This style has taken on a life of its own since I originally drew them in 2011 / 2012. A portfolio of the nudes made its wider internet debut in 2013 in Robert Kothe's great but short-lived art magazine The Corner, and then in a gallery debut in the West Midlands Open in 2014. The following year, they appeared in NORA Apartments, Orlando, and continue to generate interest wherever they go.

I'll be embarking on a new chapter in this style, later in 2018, and you'll see them here on this blog.

2017 ANNUAL REPORT / 3rd QUARTER REVIEW

[ For best viewing on your phones, click 'VIEW WEB VERSION' at the bottom of this page. ]

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JULY 2017: ELASTICITY, BOOK COVER ART [ based on a my 'Brazil Mood Flag' painting ] and the signing at the launch in London.

Full article here.

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AUG 2017: Beginning new series of PEN DRAWINGS in consultation with Kim Edwards, art director at Stonehouse Taylor, New York, for future 'designer hotel' project.

SNOWBOUND

Being snowed-in right now in England, the enforced time at home has allowed me to find these drawings from December 2004, when I was staying in New Rochelle, New York. We were similarly snow-bound, and on one of the days, I spent an hour in the garden looking at tiny fragments of twigs that had fallen off the trees from the weight of the snow. They looked like intriguing bits of code, or written characters from an as-yet undiscovered language. It was very satisfying to make art that was so minimal.

Twigs in Snow I - IV New Rochelle, NY, ink on A5 paper, circ. Dec 2004

Stone in Snow, New Rochelle, NY, ink on A5 paper, circ. Dec 2004

PENCILLED IN

As mentioned in the previous post, November's work-in-progress is now out of bounds due to being on display at Custard Factory. This has necessitated starting a new piece before the other is finished. The difference, is that this time I am making pencil shapes first, rather than automatically painting onto the blank grid. Whether this will result in a piece of work that looks significantly different than its two companion pieces is debatable. But at the moment it's a refreshing change to spend longer composing in pencil.

Untitled Work In Progress, Pencil on Canvas, 60cm x 60cm, Dec 2017.

TRUNK CALL

I was asked by an American design company recently to resurrect my 'POLYGRAPH NUDES' style, to which I happily obliged.

Over the years, this particular way of drawing has attracted the interest of many architects, interior designers, fabric designers and students. Therefore, when I was asked to supply some drawings for a hip hotel currently being built in New York City, I saw this as a good excuse to, at long last, explore this style again and see if I can evolve it.

Below you will see a rather belated attempt at a male figure...I'm not sure that it's particularly successful, either, as it does look somewhat androgynous. However, I rather like it, so maybe I should consider including more male figures in the future?

Below: Male Abdomen, Ink on Paper, September 2017

SLEEP DEPRIVATION

Below: 'Vector Mandala', Jan 2017.

Experimenting with vector drawings over Christmas has had the unfortunate side-effect of allowing me to work late into the night. Whereas with painting, you have a short window of natural daylight, and are then forced to down tools for the day, with computers you just keep going, your brain kept artificially awake by the glow of the screen affecting your melatonin levels.

At that point, your brain is on auto-pilot, randomly composing pictures out of lines that are drawn, multiplied, flipped, mirrored, grouped, duplicated, and so on. That's why so many recent pieces in this blog have been made of 'discarded fragments'. It's when, days later, I come across files that I barely have any recollection of, and am able to enjoy them with fresher eyes. 

The above composition was originally discarded because it looked 'too picturesque'.

It's made out of this simple shape being repeated:

With enough repitition, the results become increasingly complex, forming other, hidden shapes inside the larger structure.

MULTIPLE SINGULARITIES

CONTINUING EXPERIMENTAL WORK...

( All diagrams made from discarded fragments of other drawings, randomly placed on top of each other, and made entirely of vector lines. )

EXPERIMENTAL WORK #8

Above: 2D Digital Drawing.

DIGITAL STRUCTURES #1

Emulating my postcard art in the digital realm has an unforeseen side-effect: It is actually very difficult to look at. Still, there are properties here that can be put to good use in future art. 

Below: Structures 01, 2D Digital Line Drawing, Detail.

Below: Structures 01, 2D Digital Line Drawing, Full.

Below: Detail.

EXPERIMENTAL WORK #4

Still getting a feel for the software.

Below: Grey Structure II, 2D digital line drawing.

Below: Deconstructed, recoloured and with added texture.

ORIENTATION

Updated from 1st June 2016

I was recently between projects, and decided to do some quick postcard-sized pieces. There's something very satisfying when you can do several pieces of art over a couple of days, as opposed to take months over a single piece.

I've always loved the beauty and simplicity of classical Japanese illustration. It's amazing how the art can look incredibly contemporary to our modern eyes, when in fact some of it is five hundred years old.

What's strange, is that the smallness of each panel kept prompting my mind to think up a linking narrative, as if they were shots from a movie storyboard, or panels in a graphic novel. I never did come up with a story.

Medium: Graphite Pencil on Watercolour Postcard

Below: Extreme Closeup, showing surface texture

MY ELECTRONIQUE SHOES - NOW SOLD OUT!!

If you're a fan of this design classic, stay tuned to this blog or my Facebook & Twitter pages for updates!

LAKE GARDA WAVE-FORM STUDIES

A few years ago, I was holidaying on Lake Garda in Northern Italy. I had a fantastic view of the lake from my apartment, and was able to observe the ever-changing weather conditions and their effect on the surface of the water.

Size: A5 approx  / Medium: Ink on Graph Paper

TALKING ABOUT MOVIE DESIGNER AND SURREALIST HR GIGER

You know how much I love movies and film design. Here's me musing on Giger's influence.

Picture: Tribute to HR Giger, Graphite on Cartridge paper, by Alexi K, November 2014

ALL THAT JAZZ

As you will see, further down this page, I'm currently experimenting with a particular abstract drawing style based around a grid. Nothing is planned, with the exception of the grid itself. Therefore, it's easy for things to go wrong...or maybe too right. Here is a good example of a piece that looks a bit too neat for its own good. I really wasn't that impressed when I did it...but actually I think it looks great now, and reminiscent of a funky 60s jazz album cover.

Untitled Abstract, ink on watercolour postcard, May 2015

Pen: Rotring isograph .35

SKYLINE POSTCARD

Part of an ongoing series of hand-drawn postcards.

NEW POSTCARDS-IN-PROGRESS

Decided to take a few days off...or so I thought. Ended up sitting on my bed tinkering with these until it went dark and I could barely see..! 

All postcards: Ink on watercolour paper. ( Pen: Rotring .35 ).

Below: Detail at 1200dpi

NEILL BLOMKAMP, I WANT A JOB ON YOUR ALIEN MOVIE!

I've not made a secret of the fact that film designers like HR Giger got me into art in the first place, and since he passed away last year, I wondered if my homage ( below ), which I did for Monster Club in November, may serve as an introduction, should they ever decide they need a 'new' Giger. 

It's just been announced that Neill Blomkamp ( District 9 / Elysium ) is to direct a total overhaul of the ALIEN mythos, picking up before the frankly terrible 3 & 4 destroyed the franchise. Mr Blomkamp - please consider this my audition!

Film design legend GMunk ( Prometheus / Tron Legacy ) says: 

''Sh*t brother, that is a RAD illustration.''

Above: Tribute to HR Giger, Pencil on cartridge paper, by Alexi K 2014

LAST CHANCE TO SEE!

'Woman Disrobing' is currently available to see at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, until Sunday 15th February. There will be an update on this picture, and some new pieces in this style, soon.

Woman Disrobing, Pen & Ink on watercolour paper, by Alexi K