Early Nights at Farnham.

These days nights are early here at Farnham compared to last months.

Sketchbook Drawings

Illustration for Greek Mythology

Theseus and the Minotaur

With the intention of humiliating King Minos of Crete, God of all Gods, Zeus sent a bull to seduce his wife, Queen Pasiphae. From his union Queen Pasiphae gave birth to the Minotaur a terrifying creature half-man half bull. Ashamed of his son, but fearful of the god's wrath, Minos hid the monster in a labyrinth constructed by the genius Daedalus at the Minoan Palace of Knossos. The labyrinth was such a complex construction that once inside no man could ever find his way out alive. 

Androgeus, son of Minos went to Athens to participate to the Panathenaic Games in order to battle the bull that impregnated his mother Pasiphae. Overpowered by the beast the young youth was slain. In his wrath Minos demanded Aegeus the king of Athens to send seven men and women every year to be sacrificed to the Minotaur or else Crete would wage war on the Athenians. As the third year of sacrifices dawned, Theseus, son of Aegeus, decided to be one of the seven young men that would go to Crete, in order to kill the Minotaur and end the human sacrifices to the monster. King Aegeus tried to make him change his mind but Theseus was determined to slay the Minotaur.

Theseus Promised his father that he could be sure of his triumph when his ship could be seen on the horizon sporting white sails, however, should he be killed then the ship would return with black sails. On arrival in Crete Theseus proudly announced to King Minos of his intention. Minos wanting to be rid of the creature accepted the wager but knew that even if he succeeded so complicated was the labyrinth, Theseus would be imprisoned forever. However, when Princess Ariadne, daughter of Minos met the brave youth she fell madly in love and could not bear to see him perish although she cared very much for the beast as regardless of his brutality he was her brother. She gave Theseus a spindle of thread which he has to unravel as he made his way into the depths of labyrinth, if he was able to slay the beast within he would be able to retrace his steps back to safety.

With this cunning plan Theseus entered the labyrinth and battled the mighty Minotaur and finally slayed the beast and led the other Athenians to safety. However, when Theseus returned from his voyage so over whelmed was he by his triumph he forgot to change the sails of his ship, and on seeing that black sails his father believed him dead flung himself into the sea in sorrow. 

These are some of my Screen prints for the same story.

Prints for the COMIKET Festival.

Some of my screen printed cards were on display for the COMIKET Festival during the first week of November. 
http://www.comicafestival.com/index.php/festival/festival_detail/comica_comiket_fall_2013

Visit to London :)

A Visit to Design Museum London.

Visited the Design Museum in London yesterday. 

[excerpt from the Museum book]

It was good to see the "Designers in Residence Programme" which gives young designers a platform to develop and exhibit new work and provides financial support and mentoring in the early, tentative years of design practice. 

This years theme - IDENTITY- has inspired a record response. "We use design to define who we are both as individuals and as societies" wrote Deyan Sudjic, the Director of the Design Museum in the open call. Design is a signal of identity he continued  it can be personal signal or a ready made identity that reflects a sense of civic or national identity. 

The four designers selected by jury to develop their proposals on identity for exhibition at the Design Museum in 2013 are: Adam Nathaniel Furnman, Eunhee Jo, Chloe Meineck and Thomas Thwaites. Their work for the programme is diverse in form, function  material and process but shares an interest in technology. 

A Visit to TATE Modern Gallery.
[excerpt from the gallery book]

Mira Schendel: (1919-88) is a unique and influential figure in 20th century Brazilian art. This exhibition presents the largest display of her work to date, surveying her career from her early paintings during the 1950s to her last, complete series in 1987.

Schendel was prolific and complex artist, yet she remains comparatively little-known outside Brazil. Her work constitutes an experimental investigation into profound philosophical questions relating to human existence and belief, often addressing the distinction between faith and certainty and examining ideas of being, existence and the Void. Schendel saw her work as activating the void thus poised between being and nothingness.

It was great to see how Schendel was extending her art into different mediums and techniques and that influences the space and environment of the spectator.

LINK Magazine Illustrations

This is one of the interesting project I took part in 2013. I’ve been contacted by the art director Davide Di Gennaro  from Italy to collaborate at LINK [ http://linkmagazine.blogspot.it ], a magazine about TV and media culture, has a limited run and is more similar to a book than to a real magazine. And here are the 14 portrait illustration of the writers who have contributed to the magazine.