Shaun Tan

Another talented illustrator. He's Australian and paints alot of his works, although The Arrival is breathtaking, it is all pencil work and is so intricate and detailed that you honestly must see it in the flesh to appreciate it's beauty. He writes all the stories aswell. His characters and tales all generally have a moral behind them, really easy to read and such an array of visual happiness for your eyes!

TRON

Tron Tron Tron

Crazy effects! the lights, and the contrasts are amazing! Just look at the images! Im so glad they did a sequel, and I think spending the 27years developing the script paid off!

Who knows?

Re-reading On The Road (Jack Kerouac). It's hard not to fall hard for this book. Life just opened up for me, I remember I read it first when i was just 17 and my life...my brain couldnt actually process this new information. It was like I had been living a certain way, comfortably, happily and suddenly I was presented this new possibility and I didn't dare to turn my back on it. It seemed too important. Kerouac described his generation as the lost generation, and whats to argue that our generation, my generation isn't also a lost generation. I sure do feel lost at times, is my future safe, should I worry if it's safe or not, if I worry about this will I miss out on life's excitement, should I embrace it, are there too many restrictions too many rules...feeling guilty for things that previous generations didn't think twice about...not feeling guilty about things that previous generations did feel guilty about...is technology distracting from what's important...what the hell is important do we know? Will we know...should we know? Or maybe thats all we are supposed to do...spend our life on a journey trying to discover this meaning and hopefully be rewarded with some answer at the end, but by which time it will be too late to divulge our knowledge with anyone else, and so they cycle continues...This confuses me about 95% of the time but there is that 5% were I have moments of tranquility, understanding (or possibly not caring anymore). Some day I wont have a definite answer...but I will have a better one.

Robert Frank

Man,...what a guy. His photographs have recorded the grit and soul of America and Amercicans. The bleak outlook that the small-town man has as he listens to the jukebox in an empty bar, the teenagers idling outside stores with nothing to do, the road, the journeys the hope that all Americans have that one day they'll reach their dreams even though from our perspective this seems unlikely. He captures the spirit, if you get me...the essence, I mean I feel the despair of the coloured passenger in Trolley. I feel it. And if I feel it then Frank can be called a genius, because he has manged to transport me from my home - a different place, a different time - to New Orleans decades ago. In the days gone by this would be called magic. And it still is.



He has moved on to different media styles now, feeling I'm sure that he has done all he can with a film camera. He has made several films, including Pull My Daisy. He uses his talent as a photographer but includes more freedom and fluidity which is seen in the conversation scenes as he echoes the frantic pace of thoughts and talks.


He produced many of the images that defined an era. An era where America was figuring out what it was doing. He is responsible for many images associated with the Beat Generation, friends with Kerouac he was in there with them, he travelled with them, was one of them and presented them to the world. Of course he wasnt the only photographer at the time doing so, but man did he do it well.




"There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment. This kind of photography is realism. But realism is not enough - there has to be vision, and the two together can make a good photograph."
-Robert Frank

And the Living is Easy

Looking back at them other travels, makes me want to go away even more. I'd love to go for weeks, months...just explore and discover what lies out there. I dont want to hear anymore stories from anyone about how amazing the world is. I want to be able to tell people this, know what it's like for myself. Europe again definately, the small towns and villages have much more to offer. I'd love to go to America, find an old car and a long road and just drive and see where it takes me. Asia is somewhere that seems so distant and I know it's not, it's also on the go-to list.

Peaceful

Time for sleepykins :)

Imagine if advertising was still like this...beautiful

Stuart Kolakovic

I found this guy through Nobrow - a really great illustration publication. He calls himself an Illuskator...get it? He likes to skate as well. His work is inspired by his family history which is traced to Eastern Europe.

And I have a new found love for this guy after reading this..."This is fleshed out on nasty cheap A4 copy paper, inked up with a brush, scanned in and then coloured in on Potatoshop."

Charles Addams

Continuing on from Edward Gorey I've chosen Charles Addams. Similar to Gorey in the macarbe themes of his work, Addams' illustrations seem slightly more humane and funny. And of course we cant mention Charles Addams without humming and clicking our fingers- The Addams Family of course!

He married his second wife in a pet cemetary...unusual. Regardless, he has without doubt inspired so many illustrators, artists and filmmakers.

Edward Gorey

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Ogdred Weary, Dogear Wryde, Ms. Regera Dowdy, Edward Gorey. A curious man. Amphigorey (Vol I&II) are great collections housing many of his dark tales and illustrations. But nothing beats The Wuggly Ump, even if it is only on name alone.

The images are of Mr. Earbass Writes a Novel, Gorey's desk, Edward Gorey himself, his cover for T.S Eliot and The Wuggly Ump. Surprisingly he's an American, even though all his work has a peculiar British feel to it. Apparantly he only left the U.S.A. once and that was to Scotland. He also only studied art for one semester at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work feels like more than just illustrations, rather they are poetic and elegant, mysterious and hypnotic and represent more than his illustration skills, but really showcase his macarbe mind and thoughts.

"If you're doing nonsense it has to be rather awful, because there'd be no point. I'm trying to think if there's sunny nonsense. Sunny, funny nonsense for children — oh, how boring, boring, boring. As Schubert said, there is no happy music. And that's true, there really isn't. And there's probably no happy nonsense, either."

Ballet, fur coats, tennis shoes and cats.

Hello, Bonjour, Hallo!

This is my shiny new blog. Things I like, things I dislike. Books, art, illustrations, films, people that inspire and make me smile. Enjoy