If Looks Could Kill - Graphic Art & Design

Not one of my personal favorites, but there’s no denying his talent, the misunderstood Vincent Van Gogh fancied himself a realistic painter, rather than the expressionistic one he was labeled as due to his complementary colors and pronounced strokes.

Though “tragically brought down by incomprehension and madness, Van Gogh himself aspired to serenity and happiness.” It eluded him. He snuffed himself at 37, suffering from the seizure disorder and hallucinations, exacerbated by alcohol and probably syphilis as well.”

(Source) - Slideshow on Van Gogh with detail

Of further fascination to me, is the fact that if people were eventually “scanned” for perceived mental illness, we wouldn’t have work like his. The line between madness and creativity is hardly there - afflicting not just artists, but scientists, raising the question:

Do the mad have access to hidden worlds of imagination, denied to the sane? Is madness the final frontier of art and science? Is genius only a step away from insanity?

(Source)

Better organized and far easier to navigate, I present my overhauled Gallery - thou shalt go stare.

• Illustration
• Paintings
• Miscellany
• User Icons

Over & Out!

As if there was ever any doubt, Procter & Gamble has won $19.25M in a suit against Amway distributors who had defamed them with this rumor. For Amway, to cast aspersions is shocking to me, with THEIR secretive and cult-like meetings. They actually have to misrepresent these gatherings as a party of sorts, in order to lure unsuspecting victims into long-ass sales spiels for their MLM pipe dreams. Loons!

Personally, I never noticed this logo when it was in use, but I like it. As a logo, I probably would have simplified the lines, less swoopties and curliques because it repros like crap at smaller sizes. Also not feeling the unicorn look to the points.

I have such a crescent man-in-the-moon fetish, my only tattoo is along these lines, though in desperate need of retouching and repair.

For the topmost example, one has to reverse (horizontally flip) the image to perceive the 6’s in the hair. The 2nd one’s a real stretch, difficult to even form 6’s from. Then there are the negative connotations with the number 13, the count of stars.

SOURCE | ORIGIN

For me, anyhow, these are totally out of character. It’s been too long since I last posted, and I am filing these away from a Drawing course, so I figured why not show ‘em and put them to some kinda use.

Never, ever, in my life have I drawn so many Western-themed sketches. In Texas, they automatically assume you dig it. For me, it’s an exercise in discipline and self-restraint to not bludgeon myself from boredom and frustration - there’s no feeling to it, no mood, no atmosphere other than perhaps dirty and definitely stinky.

Below are some (presumably) less-smelly subjects. Click to view larger images.

The sketches where I got to use my own stuff are the ones I like best - the African sculpture bequeathed by Angelguts. I love its lines and love drawing it. In the color image where it’s present, I made use of an antique double-necked green and yellow glass bottle, Benedictine something-or-other, with wax seals. Also present is one of my favorites from Japanese culture, the Maneki Neko cat.

At least one more country sketch is forthcoming as I procrastinate on here - Willie Fucking Nelson. I’m entertained by him and his non-pretentiousness, and his music is amongst the few rare country acts I can stand (the other is Dolly Parton). Manalive, he’s difficult to draw - all craggly and Willie-like, but cute in that he’s ornery and true to himself.

Far too frail, Spain has disallowed use of lithe mannequins in stores because it “contributes to eating disorders.”

Personally, I don’t get it. Clothes, fashions, etc. look BETTER on physically appealing specimens - it helps move product. If an enormous ass is devouring the seat of some pants ‘tween its massive cheeks, it’s less flattering to the clothing, thereby potentially affecting sales. I’m being extreme though, their mandate limits it to Size 6 and up, which isn’t big at all. I just get riled when people imply that the media is responsible for girls’ feelings of self-loathing.

What I dig about this article, is that “designers will standardize women’s apparel so a given size will fit the same way no matter who sells it.” YES! Do this. I hate shopping, and if sizes were universal across designers it would make life so much easier!!! Do it to shoes too, then I can order everything online and never set foot in a store again.

Futuristic Badassedness:

To get a better idea of the shapes of Spanish women’s bodies, the government is employing some heavy technology. Using laser-fitted booths that can take 130 measurements of a body in 30 seconds, the Health Ministry is fanning out across the country to assess the sizes of Spanish women.

I demand an uprising, we require this in America, too - the standardization of sizes, that is, NOT the banning of mannequins!

SOURCE

These were valued at $66 million and stolen from the Paris apartment of Picasso’s granddaughter. They join 549 other Picasso works that have been stolen.

It always confounds me when the works of a notorious artist are stolen, presumably because of their value. No one reputable is gonna touch ‘em, so the thieves either take a cut price or get left holding the bag.

I find Picasso technically interesting, and he definitely set a mood in his work, but overrated. The disjointed, chaotic aspect of it has always been unsettling - not pleasing to the eye.

SOURCE