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Around the world – #8 Eddie Vegas – Patagonia, Chile / Ireland
Artist: Eddie Vegas
Location: Patagonia, Chile via Ireland
Website: www.republicofvegas.com
Who are you, where are you from?
My name is Eddie Vegas, I am originally from the south of the world, a land called Patagonia (Chile). I am the mastermind behind Republicofvegas.com and the owner of 3 cats and several windowsill plants. Since I left my homeland 4 years ago, I have spent most of my time in the green island of Ireland, watching the rain and eating potatoes next to my beautiful fiancée Sarah.
What do you do?
I am a jack of all trades, At the moment I work as a tattoo artist, illustrator, graphic designer and entrepreneur. I am currently writing a book about tattooing and the magic behind it, so I guess that makes me an author as well.
I try to put an original touch to everything I do, I like combining modern tools to perform old traditional trades. As a tattoo artist I get most of my work from the internet, I work from my studio at home and every now and then I do home calls, how ever, as an illustrator and designer things are a bit more complicated though, it’s a different clientele I must work with, they’re still related to the art scene, but somehow more connected to the
corporate world.
Why do you do it?
I do it because I love being able to express myself through my work. I graduated from IT engineering, and I knew from the beginning that the corporate life wasn’t for me, I am a more sensitive person and I really enjoy making people happy by working with
them. I started working as a teacher in a big IT company, they offered me the chance to start hosting Photoshop and Web Design courses and I completely fell in love with it. A few years later I decided to explore more traditional medias and ended up as a Tattoo artist at the other of the world, it was definitely the best decision.
How do you create these images?
I feel very inspired by current affairs, social movements, alternative history and the global economy. I believe everything is interconnected somehow and I think my mission is to inform people, in a graphic way, about what I read in between the lines. I am a big fan of sketchbooks, fine liners, graphic tablets and Photoshop.
Who are your influences?
Art wise, my influences are people like Gustav Dore, Mike Giant, Salvador Dali, Ed Repka and Angela Giussani (Diabolik), on the other hand I feel very inspired by authors involved into current affairs and alternative history, such as Erich Von Daniken, Michael Tsarion, John Perkins, etc… I am also very inspired by the Bible, the teachings of Buddha, the Kybalion and the amazing Sumerian discoveries by Zecharia Sitchin.
How does the place you live impact upon your work?
The place where I live in has a massive impact on my work, I try not to think or analyse the things surrounding me, instead I decided I should simply concentrate on how I feel about the place and those things, that day everything started to flow in a different way and inspiration was somehow unlocked.
In Belfast, where I live now, I am amazed by the amount of street art related to the Catholic and Protestant conflict, the Painted Murals are full of strong images with a very direct political message, it has a very significant effect within the locals and it identifies the city.
What do you like?
I like lounge music, hotel lobbies, quiet coffee shops, old cars, skate parks and a cosy home. I am passionate about decorating spaces, cooking for my fiancée, cats and farms, traveling to exotic places and learning about the local culture. When I am in a new place I like to find out about the way the locals live and how they feel about the rest of the world.
What don’t you like?
Even though I believe it is the most magnificent and functional invention since fuel engines, Television is what I dislike the most. I believe TV shows are simply marketing tools in a higher and more complex context, I believe News Shows and Hollywood movies must be seen with a very critical eye and it must be understood that even though Cinematography is a form of art, it’s also a very effective way to generate profit and a extremely powerful tool to manufacture reality and consent. However, there are directors and producers who love art and they’re producing wonderful, rich and inspiring
movies.
Find Eddie Vegas here:
www.republicofvegas.com
Mean Bunny Strips – Mute #4
Project: Mean Bunny Strips
Artist: Chris Getliffe
Website: getliffe.com
A new Mean Bunny strip form Chris Getliffe. I never did like maths!
Check out Chris’s previous series of mean bunny strips here.
Who’s that Creature? #8
Project: Who’s that Creature
Artist: Kristopher Kotcher
Website: www.frenemylife.com
Each week we introduce a new character from the minds of two great illustrators. This week we meet Henry Hissinger by Kris Kotcher and get caught up in lots of absolutely awesome alliteration!
Find Ollie and Kris here:
olliestone.co.uk
frenemylife.com
Artist Spotlight – #87 Daniel Hamilton
Artist: Daniel Hamilton
Location: Carlisle / Cardiff
Website: danielhamiltonillustration.blogspot.co.uk
Who are you, where are you from?
My name is Daniel Hamilton and I’m an illustrator originally from Carlisle ‘up norf’. I came to Cardiff in 2008 for university to study Illustration at UWIC (now Cardiff Met) and graduated last July 2011.
What do you do?
Since graduating I set up Morgan Arcade Studios which hosts artists studio space for 14 practicing artists, mostly illustrators. We’ve only been running a few months now, but things are going well so far! It’s a great place to be to help establish myself as an illustrator, see how others work and share ideas with other creatives in a professional environment.
Editorial illustration is my primary focus, but I don’t entirely restrict myself to that. At its core, it’s about capturing an audience in a way that gets them more engaged with information. I’m also really interested in infographics, but from a more illustrated approach rather than graphical. The information I illustrate can be in a range of contexts, from news articles, current trends, posters, maps or one of my personal favourites, showing the benefits of science!
Why do you do it?
I found I had a knack for making images when I was young and I guess it’s a combination of encouragement and wanting to better myself that’s lead to where I am now. Making images for me used to just be for fun, but as I got older – particularly during university – I realised that illustration can be a powerful tool for getting people to engage with information and learn. This capability is quite under-appreciated outside the arts, but it’s important to me that people realise the potential of it, and use it to help people learn and engage with information.
I feel that Illustration and other visual communicating methods should take a more important role in helping people to understand complicated ideas in exciting ways that build an emotional connection to learning. And I find it exciting to be able to contribute to helping people visualise the world in new ways and to help people learn.
How do you create these images?
I tend to sketch out things really roughly until I connect with an idea. Sometimes I go through many pages of doodles before I get something and other times it’ll be one of the first drawings I’ve done. When I feel like I might be onto something that works, I’ll scan it in and finish it off digitally.
Who are your influences?
There are many I look to for artistic inspiration, though much of the motivation behind my work comes from popular speakers like Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson. I love their ideas on promoting a practical look at the world and the way they enlighten about how things work while still making the scientific journey every bit as awesome and interesting as a mythical story. I find using a combination of surreal imagery with this outlook interesting and effective.
What inspires your work?
I’ve been influenced a lot recently by obscure imagery bordering on surrealism. I find it an interesting approach when trying to explain/elaborate on real world information and ideas.
What do you like?
I love to fly! I took up learning to fly a glider a few months ago and have since been aiming to get my solo license. A glider is basically a plane without an engine. Contrary to what people think, it’s cheaper than learning to drive a car. And slightly easier I find. I also love finding out how things work and why they do, something I like to bring into my illustration and try to share.
I would love to be able to do some illustrations for the New Scientist and continue to promote why I think technology is awesome and how it lets us do all these amazing things, like learn to fly planes with no engines…
What don’t you like?
I find it particularly sad when people give up on following what they love for whatever reason or are told they can’t do something. I’m not going to be unrealistic and say everyone can do anything, as I’m unlikely to invent teleportation any time soon, but people far too often give up way before they’ve even tried. I say no to that!
Find Daniel Hamilton here:
Blog: danielhamiltonillustration.blogspot.co.uk
Portfolio: danielhamilton.carbonmade.com
Freak Of The Week with Steven Kraan
Artist: Steven Kraan
Project: Freak of the week
Website: facebook.com/drawingdaily
“Unwind with some gorilla boxing.” Says Steven Kraan.
To keep an eye on Stevens daily doings and for info on how to get your hands on his goods check his Facebook page. facebook.com/drawingdaily
Artist Spotlight – #86 Mr fiend
Artist: Mr fiend
Location: London
Website: mrfiend.net
Who are you, where are you from?
My name is Mr Fiend. I live, work and play in London.
What do you do?
I create work and characters that come from my imagination.
I try to keep my stuff quite surreal as I think it suits my personality that way.
I am always evolving my style but this year I plan to get myself out there more for people to see. Keep your eyes pealed kids.
Why do you do it?
I have always loved art/design/illustration since I was a kid.
Being an artist myself has always been the best way to express my ideas and my plan in life.
How do you create these images?
I use various design programs but I prefer to work using vectors. Usually I sketch things out roughly first and then adapt and build on it in Illustrator.
Who are your influences?
There are so many great artists out there. To name a few: Hayao Miyazaki, Salvador Dali, Jeff Soto, Victor Castillo, Femke Hiemstra, Nobrow, Jerome Opeña (Marvel), DFace, Roid, Rime, Parra and all my friends.
What inspires your work?
I take inspiration from things that I love such as; computer games, anime, all the cartoons that I loved as a kid, comics, street art, graffiti.. All my friends and family especially my Wife.
What do you like?
I like travelling the world, laughing, eating and surfing my subconscious through dreams.
What don’t you like?
I don’t like salad.
Find Mr Fiend here:
mrfiend.net
Facebook page
Who’s that Creature? #7
Project: Who’s that Creature
Artist: Ollie Stone
Website: olliestone.co.uk
This week we introduce a new Creature from the strange mind of illustrator Ollie Stone. Simply named – The head on legs. Brilliant.
Olllie is a talented guy, check out more of his brilliant work over on his website www.olliestone.co.uk. Including the astounding “Beast” illustration, you will not be disappointed…
Find Ollie and Kris here:
olliestone.co.uk
frenemylife.com
Around the world – #7 Doublexuan- Singapore
Artist: Doublexuan
Location: Singapore
Website: doublexuan.com
What do you do?
I pretend to be a chef and draw strange sadistic food that my customers order through Bistro Palooka (http://bistropalooka.blogspot.com/). Sometimes I pretend to be an illustrator for imaginary vintage publications from the 1920s by creating black and white illustrations with men in awesome suits. My entire life is pretty much made-believe.
Why do you do it?
I am chronically dissatisfied with things in which many are beyond my control. So it is important that I am able to feel like I have some power over my life. Some people do it by manipulating others; I do it by manipulating pixels on my screen.
How do you create these images?
I drink some coffee, pick out one of the thousand ideas in my head, and then do a ink drawing. I scan it into the computer and finish it in Photoshop.
Who are your influences?
I love Anke Weckmann’s style, and also pretty much every single artist who worked with NoBrow.
How does the place you live impact upon your work?
I feel disconnected from where I am, so a large portion of my work is based on an idealized place in my head.
What do you like?
I don’t know what I like but I know exactly what I don’t like. In fact I update my hate list every 2 years.
What don’t you like?
Raisins, purple walls, fluorescent lights, long instruction manuals, wrong shades of pink, soggy food, attention-seeking animals, wet hair, my handwriting, banana slugs, needles, when it is too hot, when it is too cold, worms… I should probably shut up now.
Find Doublexuan here:
doublexuan.com
whinypencil.blogspot.com
The Inside Thoughts of Now – Last night I dreamed of you (a poem for Ivy Sullivan)
Artist: Thom Kofoed
Project: The Inside Thoughts of Now
Title: Last night I dreamed of you (a poem for Ivy Sullivan).
Website: thomatronics.com
Thom says: Its called Last night I dreamed of you (a poem for Ivy Sullivan).
There’s not much to say other than I had a dream about the fictional 90210 character Ivy Sullivan that felt so real that when I woke up I sunk so completely into grey that I couldn’t do anything but let minutes tick by until the day was finished. This is my attempt at grounding it in some sort of reality.
It is Poem 51 in my ‘Poem a day’ series which you can follow on my blog: thomatronics.com
Freak of the week – The Cat Man of Tonopah
Artist: David Litchfield
Project: Freak of the week
Website: www.davidlitchfieldillustration.com
David Says: Dennis ‘The Cat Man’ Abner is a computer programmer from the town of Tonopah, on the edge of the Navada desert. 23 years ago Dennis was visited by an Indian Chief in a dream. The Chief told him to “Follow the ways of The Tiger” and Dennis did just that, spending over $150,00 on plastic surgery and tattoos and -over the course of 25 years- nearly 2,000 hours in surgery to become the fearsome ‘Cat Man’.
When not working as a computer programmer Dennis tours the world as ‘The Cat Man’ and has appeared at numerous festivals, conventions and has made many Television appearances.
A very worthy inspiration for todays Freak of The Week.
