intriguing & intricate is her sculpture
". . . myths, legends, the strange and
mysterious in nature are the inspiration "
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Saturday, September 5, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
New Work - Window Seat
Photos by Charlotte Minty.
Digital Inspiration - Technology Blog - 4 new articles
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GEORGE COGHILL
I am a freelance humorous illustrator/cartoonist who specializes in custom mascot character creation for logos. Wait—can you call it freelance when you do it full-time? I'm not really a "cartoonist" in that I don't create cartoons per se, rather cartoon-style illustration. But now I am starting to sound over-analytical…
http://coghillcartooning.com
http://georgecoghill.com/blog
http://twitter.com/gcoghill
http://flic.kr/coghillcartooning
When did you first decide to become a graphic designer/ illustrator? Was there a pivotal moment?
I can't recall a time in my life when I didn't want to be an illustrator. As a very young kid, I was always drawing and getting "how-to" books out from the library so I could draw skeletons and monsters. As I got a bit older, I was blown away by all the artists in MAD Magazine—Mort Drucker, Sergio Aragones, Don Martin, Jack Davis. Just about all the MAD artists inspired me in some way.
I used to love to draw the "Asia" album cover by Roger Dean (the ocean dragon chasing the pearl). I would tape together two pieces of notebook paper so I had enough room to work! I continued to draw monsters and creatures as well as plain fun cartoon characters. At one point in time I thought there was an actual "job" of "heavy metal album cover artist" and that was what I wanted to do—draw monsters and get paid!
Who or what inspires you?
Although inspired by many different forms of art—commercial, illustration, fine art, film—my true inspiration has always been anything with clean line art. There is just something about the language of line art/graphic art that has always and continues to fascinate me.
As mentioned above, I was hugely inspired by the artists in MAD Magazine as I was growing up. And as a monster/creature and monster/horror movie fan (duly subscribed to Fangoria of course!) I recall the special effects in John Carpenter's "The Thing" as a big "wow" moment for me in regards to creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. That film just blew my mind and continues to top my list of fave films of all time. There's always been a latent urge in me to become a special effects makeup artist.
As far as artists, Robert Williams has always been a big fave. I'm also a big fan of visionary artist Alex Grey. Stephen Blickenstaff's art as well. And B.K. Taylor's "Odd Rods". Sebastian Kruger, Coop. I'm probably forgetting a bunch of others right now.
Where does your training come from? Self-taught? College/Art School?
I would say I was primarily self-taught, although I did take art classes in high school and graduated college with a fine arts degree. I started out in the graphic design program as it was the avenue to pursue an illustration degree, but as I went through the program I realized they were grooming students to become graphic designers, not illustrators. And on top of that, the university did not see the coming boom of computers transforming the industry, which I saw coming miles away. Not wanting to switch schools, I became a fine arts major and finished my degree focusing on painting and drawing. And bought my first Mac with student loan money right before graduating.
While I had many great professors and learned a great deal about traditional arts, my art at the time started to focus on what I thought was the expected route at the school—contemporary abstract painting. I kind of lost my childhood focus of illustration for some years. I never really wanted to be a "fine art" artist, although things were starting to head in that direction.
Just after graduation I was fortunate enough to connect with a local entrepreneur who was re-starting his cartoon character licensing company. He needed and artist/cartoonist/designer. This was a very laid-back "job" and as my Dad put it, kind of like a graduate school for me. I had the freedom to rekindle my love of drawing cartoon characters, hone design skills and most importantly, self-teach myself Illustrator and Photoshop, which proved to open a whole new door of creativity for me.
With Adobe Illustrator, I was finally able to create artwork I had envisioned for years in my mind's eye. I was limited in the past due to the lack of training in traditional media illustration: ink and brush techniques and all the years of practice it takes to master that art. I really lacked on the technical side of art—which ironically is exactly what I wanted to be taught in my art classes. Unfortunately I chose poorly at the time and picked a school that had a dichotomy
between graphic design and contemporary fine art. Nowhere could one learn techniques and practices for the kind of illustration work I wanted to learn, both on the skill side as well as the technical/production side.
That probably explains why I devoured Adobe Illustrator and continue to do so. I think I was so starved for this kind of infomation growing up that when I finally had an avenue to pursue it, it just took over!
Some people express a disdain for digital art creation tools, but I see them as just that—tools. No different than a pencil or a brush. Graphic art software will not create the art for you; it's just a really fancy pencil. I apply the same level of self-discipline when creating artwork with vectors and pixels as I would with any other medium.
How do you keep "fresh" within your industry?
Personally, I only stay "fresh" in regards to my software tools. I do try to keep a pulse on admired artits via RSS feeds of artist and art portal blogs, and keeping in contact with other illustrators via Twitter and Flickr.
As far as the work I create, I have always been on a certain path that is kind of a "I'll know it when I see it" kind of thing for my own artwork. In recent years I feel I have finally found that wave, and I stay fresh by constantly finessing the style of work I create.
What are some of your current projects?
At the moment I am working on a series of illustrated avatar portraits for the Cleveland, OH visitor and travelers bureau, as well as illustrations for their current destination guide magazine including the cover. I also have a typical slew of mascot/logo projects for businesses around the globe. Some of these include dog mascot cartoon characters for an upcoming dog toy retail chain, alien characters for an alternative coffeeshop/bar in Texas, and cartoon-style shoe designs for toddlers, a monkey in a fez, and a sexy business woman.
Which of your projects are you the most proud of? And why?
To be honest, I am proud of almost all my work. One of my "techniques" for creating client art is to take on the mindset that I am creating something that I would love as if I were creating it for myself. I make a point to want to show off all the work I do, and to be proud of it all.
If I did have to pick some, I'd say my "Girl in the Moon" pinup is a personal fave right now.
Jeep Creep" and some other hot rod monsters I have created were also some illustrations I really enjoyed when they were finalized. My cartoon U.S. coin series also are some illustrations I think came out well.
Are there any areas, techniques, mediums, projects in your field that you have yet to try?
As mentioned above, there's always been an itch to work as a special effects makeup artist for Hollywood films. And who knows, maybe even as a concept artist for one of the FX studios developing monsters and creatures? More immediately, I want to start developing more personal artwork—created digitally and then transferred and finalized as physical, unique works of art where I can have a gallery show.
I feel as if I am finally at a point technically, skill-wise and experience-wise where I can combine the talents I have cultivated in the commercial world and extend them into a more non-commercial setting. I'm looking forward to expanding everything I have learned and combining all of the experience from the different fields I have worked in throughout my life.
Any advice to the novice designer/ illustrator?
Draw, draw, draw, draw, draw. And take some business/marketing classes.
What makes a designed piece or illustration successful?
It's all about balance. Whether the line art, the color, the overall design, everything needs to work together as a whole. Pay attention to all the details, those are where the illustration transcends into "wow".
What do you do to keep yourself motivated and avoid burn-out?
I guess I am lucky in that I don't need to keep myself motivated. I am stoked on a daily basis that I get to realize my lifelong dream of creating artwork for a living, and that in itself motivates me more than anything.
Burn-out I avoid by reminding myself that I am doing what I love for a living. Sometimes one can get caught up and see it all as "work", but by reminding myself what kind of work it is, I usually recharge the batteries. Of course, a trip to the Florida Keys or a round of disc golf doesn't hurt either. And if that doesn't work, I pick up my guitar and write some songs. Sometimes another form of creativity can be a very helpful release.
Finish this sentence. "If I weren't a designer/illustrator I would have been a..."
…cryptozoologist.
And finally, what is the best thing on prime-time TV right now?
Prime-time TV only? Have to say I am a 'Lost' junkie.
Hash Brown Chicken
I must sincerely apologize to Hillary and everyone else for not being consistent on this blog. I hope it will get better soon. Things in my life have been and still are hectic and busy, but here is a yummy chicken recipe to make up for my lack of posts (sorry Hill)! :)
Hash Brown Chicken
Ingredients:
¼ cup all-purpose flour
4 skinless, bone-in* chicken breast halves (about 6 oz each)
2 cups refrigerated shredded potatoes (from a 20-oz package)
1 large egg
3 T Dijon-style mustard
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a backing sheet with cooking spray. Place flour in a shallow dish; coat top of each chicken-breast half with flour.
Combine shredded potatoes, egg, and mustard in a large bowl; mix well. Divide potato mixture evenly onto floured sides of chicken-breast halves; press to adhere and cover tops. Arrange chicken on prepared baking sheet. Drizzle melted butter on top of each.
Bake chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted in center of meat registers 180 degrees and potatoes are golden. About 45 minutes.
Serves 4
* Well… I just noticed right now as I’m typing this recipe that it said bone-in chicken so obviously that’s not what I used. I used boneless. Cooking time may not be as long with boneless chicken breasts.
Honey glazed grilled turkey sandwich
$6 turkey steaks at Bi-Lo got me thinking…A Gourmet Inspired Tip: Sandwiches are the classic lunch staple, from Subway to the gourmet gargantuans you can get at the deli. It is also one of the most popular bag lunch options but you might be uninspired by the dry lunch meat options. Not to mention the “soggy” sandwich dilemma when you finally arrive at work. Try this simple, delicious – and hopefully drier option.
This method works with chicken or turkey. If using chicken breast fillets, slice thin fillets about 1 cm thick.
Ingredients
- 200 grams chicken or turkey fillet, approximately 1 cm thick
- 3 tbs honey to taste
- At least 2 leaves of cos lettuce
- 1 tbs mayonnaise
- 2 slices crusted bread, sourdough works well since it is more resistant to sogginess
NB: By avoiding tomatoes, you’re decreasing the soggy factor
Method
- Glaze the turkey or chicken fillets liberally with honey.
- Place under hot grill and grill each side for 2-3 minutes. Don’t overcook.
- Butter the bread. Make sure the cos lettuce is dry and place on both slices of bread. Spread mayonnaise on top of lettuce. The lettuce acts as a barrier to keep the mayonnaise from seeping through to the bread.
- Put chicken in between the pieces of lettuce. Hopefully, if packaged properly you’ll have a delicious gourmet sandwich, as if it had been freshly made.
Inspiration - Lighting
Photo from Remodelista.
Admiring...John Pawson
One architect that I continually admired is John Pawson. I saw him speak in London and for someone who is famous for minimalism, he is a down to earth, slightly rumpled family guy. I spoke to him afterwards and he signed my copy of his book - yeah, just a wee bit of a fan.
Here is a house in Telluride by Pawson, via Remodelista. For a change, I admire the exterior more than I do the interior...
Photos from Remodelista.
Seafood Spaghetti with clam sauce - and how it all started
My boyfriend had recently taken me to a Surry Hills restaurant favourite, Il Baretto on Bourke Street where we were served an excellent dish of spaghetti and clams that was to die for (apparently called Spaghetti al vongole - thanks George!)
The next week, with $10 in my pocket, I trudged up to the local Coles thinking of how to scrounge up some decent ingredients for dinner – but all I could think about was that spectacular Il Baretto pasta. Clams of course, were not at Coles and would have cost too much if they were even there. But I did happen upon a tin of baby clams for $3.68. After some more considered thinking and smart buying, I went home and threw together a “gourmet inspired” seafood spaghetti with clam sauce.
And unlike at the restaurant, my boyfriend could help himself to seconds.
Seafood Spaghetti with clam sauce (inspired by Il Baretto’s that started it all)
Note: final ingredients and proportions are still being tried, but I would love your comments and feedback! Thanks
The next week, with $10 in my pocket, I trudged up to the local Coles thinking of how to scrounge up some decent ingredients for dinner – but all I could think about was that spectacular Il Baretto pasta. Clams of course, were not at Coles and would have cost too much if they were even there. But I did happen upon a tin of baby clams for $3.68. After some more considered thinking and smart buying, I went home and threw together a “gourmet inspired” seafood spaghetti with clam sauce.
And unlike at the restaurant, my boyfriend could help himself to seconds.
Seafood Spaghetti with clam sauce (inspired by Il Baretto’s that started it all)
Note: final ingredients and proportions are still being tried, but I would love your comments and feedback! Thanks
A Gourmet Inspired Tip: The clams in the original dish tasted amazing and fresh, but the perfectly cooked pasta stirred through what was a very simple sauce with the strong flavour of clams was what won me over.
The tin clams obviously don’t compare to the taste of fresh clams but they do manage to give the pasta that delicious clam flavour. To give the dish some substance and a “seafood feel”, basa fillets are cheap but they taste like nothing. A little bit of paprika married with the basa fish texture helps flush out the essence of the dish. Top with a couple of prawns if you feel like splurging. :)
Ingredients
- 250grams spaghetti
- 1/2 brown onion, finely sliced
- 1/2 red capsicum, finely sliced
- 1 basa fillets, cut into chunks
- 2 tbs paprika
- 1 tin baby clams
- Parsley to taste, finely chopped
- 3 tbs olive oil
- ½ cup white wine (cheap chardonnay works fine)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 5 cooked peeled Tiger prawns (optional)
Method
- Follow instructions to cook pasta. Try and get it as “al dente” as possible, do not overcook.\
- Add the paprika and basa chunks into a small baggie and shake to lightly dust fish with paprika
- In a non stick pan, lightly fry the pieces of fish until they are slightly charred on the outside and almost cooked through. Remove from heat.
- In a sauce pan over medium heat, add the olive oil garlic and fry until garlic brown on the edges. Add onions and capsicum, cook until onions become translucent. Add baby clams and white wine. Turn down heat, cover and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Use the clam tin to add water if the liquid level gets low.
- Add cooked pasta and parsley and stir through, cooking it for another 1-2 minutes to ensure eveness of temperature. Remove from heat. Add the cooked basa chunks and tiger prawns if desired, cover and let sit for 1-2 minutes before serving.
HINT: Oil and salt in the water before it boils will help keep your pasta from sticking. (Thanks Kez!)
Thoughts? Comments? Am I completely insane? All feedback much appreciated thanks! x
The tin clams obviously don’t compare to the taste of fresh clams but they do manage to give the pasta that delicious clam flavour. To give the dish some substance and a “seafood feel”, basa fillets are cheap but they taste like nothing. A little bit of paprika married with the basa fish texture helps flush out the essence of the dish. Top with a couple of prawns if you feel like splurging. :)
Ingredients
- 250grams spaghetti
- 1/2 brown onion, finely sliced
- 1/2 red capsicum, finely sliced
- 1 basa fillets, cut into chunks
- 2 tbs paprika
- 1 tin baby clams
- Parsley to taste, finely chopped
- 3 tbs olive oil
- ½ cup white wine (cheap chardonnay works fine)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 5 cooked peeled Tiger prawns (optional)
Method
- Follow instructions to cook pasta. Try and get it as “al dente” as possible, do not overcook.\
- Add the paprika and basa chunks into a small baggie and shake to lightly dust fish with paprika
- In a non stick pan, lightly fry the pieces of fish until they are slightly charred on the outside and almost cooked through. Remove from heat.
- In a sauce pan over medium heat, add the olive oil garlic and fry until garlic brown on the edges. Add onions and capsicum, cook until onions become translucent. Add baby clams and white wine. Turn down heat, cover and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Use the clam tin to add water if the liquid level gets low.
- Add cooked pasta and parsley and stir through, cooking it for another 1-2 minutes to ensure eveness of temperature. Remove from heat. Add the cooked basa chunks and tiger prawns if desired, cover and let sit for 1-2 minutes before serving.
HINT: Oil and salt in the water before it boils will help keep your pasta from sticking. (Thanks Kez!)
Thoughts? Comments? Am I completely insane? All feedback much appreciated thanks! x
Gourmet Inspired - leave the professional tricks to the professionals, let the professionals inspire us.
Introducing Gourmet Inspired
The professionals all agree, when it comes to gourmet restaurant quality meals, you have to get your ingredients right. This means, the freshest herbs, picked from your backyard, the best cuts of meat and of course, organic in-season produce from your local farmers’ market.
Garden? Farmers’ Market? HELLOOO???
I’m sorry, but the professional chefs may have the time to trawl through the markets and drop by the wharf to pick up the fresh catch of the day. But for the rest of us, “fresh” means the mad dash to the supermarket aisles in a suit straight after work, desperately trying to scrounge together the ingredients for tonight’s meal - if you manage to remember exactly when you bought that last carton of eggs. Organic means picking up the saran wrapped package with the green seal instead of none. Not to mention with today’s economy, exquisite cuts of meat may not be particularly wallet friendly.
But does that mean we can’t enjoy our favourite seafood pasta and tartine tarts at home?
Gourmet Inspired is a new way of looking at home cooking. We all know about home style roasts, spaghetti bolognaise and stir fry out of a packet. This collection of recipes has been developed to be simple and budget friendly, “inspired” by the tastes of your restaurant favourites, perfect for the amateur chefs in all of us.
Leave the professional tips and tricks to the professionals, but let the professionals inspire the rest of us.
Coming up: Seafood Spaghetti with clam sauce
Garden? Farmers’ Market? HELLOOO???
I’m sorry, but the professional chefs may have the time to trawl through the markets and drop by the wharf to pick up the fresh catch of the day. But for the rest of us, “fresh” means the mad dash to the supermarket aisles in a suit straight after work, desperately trying to scrounge together the ingredients for tonight’s meal - if you manage to remember exactly when you bought that last carton of eggs. Organic means picking up the saran wrapped package with the green seal instead of none. Not to mention with today’s economy, exquisite cuts of meat may not be particularly wallet friendly.
But does that mean we can’t enjoy our favourite seafood pasta and tartine tarts at home?
Gourmet Inspired is a new way of looking at home cooking. We all know about home style roasts, spaghetti bolognaise and stir fry out of a packet. This collection of recipes has been developed to be simple and budget friendly, “inspired” by the tastes of your restaurant favourites, perfect for the amateur chefs in all of us.
Leave the professional tips and tricks to the professionals, but let the professionals inspire the rest of us.
Coming up: Seafood Spaghetti with clam sauce
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