I do hope you all experienced a lovely Friday 13th today. I myself had a rather pleasant day and spent the evening filling in detail on the new piece “Yes Sir” (working title), which I think you’ll agree is coming along quite nicely! Well I believe it is time this old man got a little rest. Goodnight all!

“Yes Sir” rests on drafting board while I get some sleep.

]]> http://grandpastudios.com/blog/2010/07/getting-comfortable-in-the-new-studio/feed/ 0 http://grandpastudios.com/blog/2010/07/rhonda-goodall-kirk-retrospective-show/ http://grandpastudios.com/blog/2010/07/rhonda-goodall-kirk-retrospective-show/#comments Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:13:46 +0000 Grandpa Shea http://grandpastudios.com/blog/?p=578
“Sensational” from the series “The Greatest Show on Earth”.

The rumors are indeed true! Highly skilled, respected and prolific artist Rhonda Goodall-Kirk is putting on a two day (I know, it’s far too short!) retrospective show over at Kipl. This will be a rare chance to see many early paintings from her extensive back catalogue alongside recent works. What I am personally quite excited about is that due to her already mentioned prolific nature, Rhonda consistently paints more paintings than she can possibly hang for her theatrical themed and emotional shows… This means there will be many works which have previously not been publicly displayed! And on top of that there will be paintings from a never exhibited series based on Euripides’ “Bacchae”! Very exciting indeed!!

“Incommunicado” from the series “The Greatest Show on Earth”.

So please try your darnest to get down to Kipl this weekend!

Saturday 10th July 4-8pm + Sunday 11th July 1-4pm or by appointment

Kipl 136 Roden Street West Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

Since my last post I have been occupied searching for a suitable space to relocate the studio (no luck yet), sustained injury, stepped back in time with a tedious dose of slow “capped” internet, melted some solder and laid down a decent amount of carbon graphite polymer with my trusty mechanical pencil.

The recent completed drawings are starting to pile up around here and I must say I am extremely pleased with how they are turning out, very pleased indeed! Would love to show you a few but my current scanner is being a tad temperamental at present, seems I am in need of a new scanner. Does anyone have a working Epson 10000XL laying around they are keen to dispose off?

Believe it or not, the four pastel drawings featured in this post (which I drew around the age of ten) are not images from a disturbed little boy, contrary to what a great many people thought at the time.

I wasn’t a violent kid who beat up on his peers, worshiped satan and tortured animals in his spare time, I was actually a pacifist. I didn’t want to take part in violent games and clearly remember once sending a neighbour home after he ran over one of my toy plastic dinosaurs with my sister’s Barbie car. I wasn’t a damaged or bullied child screaming out for help either.

One of the skills the artists I looked up to displayed, was the ability to evoke strong emotions and thought. These were some of my early attempts at creating powerful and emotional art which made people think. Back then (and still now) I believed art was much more than just a showcase of amazing technique and draughtsmanship. I had seen a lot of expertly rendered images that just felt cold, left me feeling nothing.

On another note, there are a few recently finished drawings hanging around my studio at present. I might post a sample of one in the next week or so (we’ll see if I can drag the old scanner out). Could make for an interesting contrast.

]]> http://grandpastudios.com/blog/2010/02/early-renderings/feed/ 0 http://grandpastudios.com/blog/2010/01/scribble-a-glimpse-of-what-i-am-currently-working-on/ http://grandpastudios.com/blog/2010/01/scribble-a-glimpse-of-what-i-am-currently-working-on/#comments Sun, 17 Jan 2010 11:04:06 +0000 Grandpa Shea http://grandpastudios.com/blog/?p=468

One of the quickly scribbled, crude sketches from the planing stages of the most recent drawing…

Seems a few of you out there found the Gradation of a Woman post interesting. Here are some more photographs I snapped while working on that same drawing.

If my camera is in arms reach I will generally take a few photos while I draw. I find it can be rather helpful for me to process and actually “see” the drawing from a detached perspective. There is also the additional long lasting sentimental, nostalgic benefits.

Enjoy!

The finished piece!

As a few of you have noticed the “shop” section of this site has been open for business the last week or so. Rather than continuing to operate in stealth mode, I decided to make an official announcement and cut the celebratory red ribbon with my giant scissors.

There is a new series of prints in the works, planned for possible release later in the year…

Stay tuned!!

I have been collecting and skinning both Tiger Electronics‘ standard Furbies and Furby Babies. The collecting part has almost become some kind of strange obsession, resulting in Furby furs and carcasses now littering my entire studio… Once circuit bent, these guys are capable of all sorts of crazy glitch and drone sounds.

Skinned Furby Babies!