Danzahoare Art ©: June 2010

The Birds

Vignettes from the birds by Daphne Du Maurier.

Watercolour and Pen.

Drawing- Spaces 2

Bedroom

Kitchen

Central Library, Cardiff

Cardiff Market, Cardiff

Queens Arcade, Cardiff

Wet room.

This was a self directed drawing brief which i chose to do whilst looking into my dissertation subject. Its about the south bronx in the late 70's, full of poverty, street gangs and the emergence of Hip Hop culture.

Gouache on Drawing Board.

Drawing- Spaces 1

The Crapper

Pencil

Picaresque

I chose to try and interview one of my favourite illustrators, Jeremyville. Jeremyville is based in Sydney, and has a studio there and in NYC. I could've set my goal lower and interviewed some one I had really no idea about and no admiration for but decided that I would potentially get more out of interviewing someone who's work I admired. While I didn't get an interview how I wanted, I did get an interview for a magazine that he had just finished writing, prior to publication. I initially wanted to set up a Skype interview of sorts and got in touch with him. Sadly he had a lot of work on and was unavailable to talk to me via Skype. I did manage to ask some questions that were not included in the interview that was sent to me. Both of these were helpful and while I wasn't the one that asked the questions, the questions I wanted to ask were there.

The interview gave me an insight how an illustrator would work and I will find it personally, very helpful to develop. Here is the correspondence I got, except for the interview. I'm not sure if I can show that due to copyright. I don't know who holds the rights to it and i don't know which magazine published it for permission. So just to be safe, ill leave it out for now.

- hey jeremy,
your probably busy but i have a project coming up for university where i have to interview a professional illustrator/artist about professional practice and inspiration etc. just wondering if you could possibly help me with this and maybe set up an interview via skype or something as i think i would get more from interviewing an artist i really respect. cheers
Dan

- hey Dan, I'm actually really slammed with some overdue projects right now, BUT I just finished this interview for a mag, does it help?? it all recent stuff, as of like 1 hour ago!

hope it helps? thnx so much for asking me, I think this interview would cover some of your questions?

cheers
Jeremy

(Interview)

- Thanks jeremy, this will help a great deal! sorry to ask but could i just ask you another question? basically just wondering on salary or just generally how much you can make on a project? and any tips for getting noticed and being successful?

thanks for your time and hope the upcoming projects go well!
cheers,
Dan

- hey Daniel, no worries

I can't answer the budget question, but on being noticed, the best way is to create as unique a voice as possible, which still can resonate with a large audience. the best way to go about this is to start drawing all the time, and it will evolve naturally in the course of the process, it can't be forced, and there is no short cut to success.

cheers
Jeremy

- thanks jeremy this will help me alot! thanks for getting back to me!

All the best,
Dan

NYC

New York- Nov 2009

In November, I took a trip to NYC for the 3rd time. I mostly humoured myself by walking around Manhattan aimlessly, however I did take the opportunity whilst I was there to visit MoMA again and see my favourite sports franchise- the Knicks play to a sell out crowd at Madison Square Garden. Sadly they lost to Golden State 107-121. Perhaps this was because it was Friday the 13th? I love New York, I love how its a melting pot of different cultures and different races. I find the effects of this culture clash on the city fascinating. Another thing that interests me is that for a city that is seen by outsiders, to be very rich, there is a lot of poverty. Its a city with so many job opportunities and what I struggle to understand is why there are so many homeless people in the city. I know that some, have drug addictions etc and this i guess could be why, but its hard to believe that everyone living in poverty in the city is strung out on crack. I spent a lot of time walking around Manhattan, and the scenery instantly changes. You could be outside Madison Square Garden, full of hustle and bustle and what is seen as a "Rich" area and walk three blocks or so west, where you will see what looks like projects and a completely dead area. I stayed in a hotel, opposite MSG and was pretty central, which was good because I got to experience a whole lot more. I didn't do anything touristy this time, which allowed me to absorb a lot more of the real new york. This is what initially spurred me on to do a story about a homeless guy, its what made me see the documentary, Dark Days which has had a strong influence on the story as well. One picture i took sums up my perception on the subject of homelessness. The man in the picture was sat on a bench, on the east river bikeway, underneath F D R Dr and in-between the Brooklyn bridge and the Manhattan bridge. I had seen a few homeless people pass. I saw this guy and it seemed to me that he was contemplating life, completely unaware of his surroundings. I saw it as compelling and wanted to capture it. I carried on walking and shot from the hip, as I took the picture he noticed me and turned round to which I immediately thrust the camera out of sight. This picture while accidental, has meaning. the motion blur gives the viewer the impression of looking away trying to ignore the homeless man. He is looking over to be noticed and acknowledged.

I love the glamorous side of New York but, i like to keep it real and the darker side of the city interests me more.

Narrative

The brief was to choose a painting and illustrate a narrative around it. I was away in New York when the brief was set so chose a painting i had seen in MoMA. I chose Mark Rothko's No3/No.13. The colours in his piece reminded me of when i was younger, building tree houses in the nearby woods out of any thing me and my friends could find, and after working on the it, climbing up it and lying back watching the trees sway and the sun set. I have used the colurs of Rothko's work in mine in my narrative.