I can't believe I never posted these...

So there has been decidedly not enough art being posted here lately, and for that I apologize. The main culprit has been my day job which, while giving me 3 days off per week, also leaves me absolutely exhausted the majority of the time, and that ends up having a negative effect on my art making (enough that I sadly did not work on my Sketchbook Project, and as such will not be participating in the exhibition). I am attempting to rectify the problem, but in the mean time I'm posting a couple of pieces I completed for Escape Artists some time ago, but completely forgot to post.

The piece was meant for their Interstellar site, specifically the site banner and newsletter. The general concept was Syd Barrett and mental health, which you think would be an absolute breeze for me to illustrate, but I got off to a rough start (I supposed I just wanted it too bad). However, after watching many an MST3K and flipping through several Storm Thorgerson books, I managed to get it together and paint this...

...as well as crop it for the newsletter format.

In the end it happened that some of the administration at EA found it "too dark" to use on the site (though it has been used for the newsletter). While I think most people would be upset that their work wasn't going to be used, I was so happy that my work was seen as "too dark" that I didn't mind it not being used on the site. I did end up doing one final image with a bit of a happier edge to it a bit along the lines of the illustrations I did for The Day Goes By.

That's it for now, but I am hoping to get new pieces completed soon.

The Speed of the Sound of Loneliness

It seems like it has been far too long since I have gotten any real artwork done, so it's with great pleasure that I post these two pieces for Escape Artists' September competition. Ironically the contest theme was "Loneliness" and I hadn't been getting to work on them because I was hardly ever alone---for the past month and a half I have had five---FIVE!---different people coming in to visit. I'm not used to that many guests in a small span of time, and while its great to spend time with the ones you love, it can be rather draining creatively when you're not getting a chance to work on what you want to be working on. I did manage to get a break here and there and--ta-da! Two new illustrations done.

For anyone still wanting to submit work for the competition, the due date has been extended to September 20th, so get working!

Call for Entries: Off Your Rocker Arts Campaign

Apologies to those of you that follow me on Twitter and stalk me on Facebook as you've seen this plug already, but you know how it goes...if you love something, you tend to talk about it quite frequently (and let's face it, you could have it a lot worse).

My friends at Escape Artists are holding a series of art competitions as part of their Off Your Rocker arts campaign. The campaign is being held in conjunction with World Mental Health Day (October 10th) and seeks to promote social inclusion through the arts, specifically with themed competitions. The theme for September is "Loneliness" and you're welcome to submit anything you can send electronically---paintings, photos, songs, short films, stories, poems, etc. Winning entries will be featured in the campaign, and the deadline for the September theme submission is September 10th. They're also looking for personal experience stories on how the arts have helped mental well-being. If you're interested in submitting a story, you can send it to jen@escapeartists.co.uk.

For more information, you can visit Interstellar's "Off Your Rocker" arts page.

Drawgasmic!

So my piece for Drawgasmic is finally up on their website. Sure, I put it up here, but you can actually BUY the piece on the website, if you feel so inclined (c'mon, you know you wanna...). You can click the link below to go directly to the page. Be sure to check out all the other awesome art that's being put up!





 Also, if anyone that reads this blog happens to be in the London area on July 13th, you should totally check out the Interstellar gig at 93 Feet East. The event is benefitting the Syd Barrett Fund, and tickets are only £5. The lineup features Skinbat Scramble, All Schools Are Strange, and Department S. And for those of you that don't care to actually watch the bands play, you can peruse prints of my book illustrations which will be on display at the gig. For all the nitty gritty details, please visit the events page on Interstellar.

 **Edit: Check out that sweet gig poster. Ohhhh, yeah!

Interstellar Overdrive

For anyone that's been curious to see the illustrations for my book, I've got some good news...the pieces are now up online thanks to the wonderful folks at Escape Artists and the Syd Barrett Fund. They've been diligently working on creating a new interactive site for the Fund and it launched this weekend. I must say, I am very impressed with the result. In addition to being the new online home for the Fund, the site offers visitors the option to create their own profiles, share images and videos, and connect with other Syd/Pink Floyd fans. My book has its own page that features both illustrations and my proposal for the project.

I'm really happy we could get the illustrations online as up to this point they haven't been viewed by fans. I'm hoping it will generate more interest in the project and provide us with some great networking and marketing opportunities.

If you're a Syd/Floyd fan and want to stay in touch with what the Fund and Escape Artists are doing, I highly suggest making yourself a page! It's a great way to stay updated with a wonderful organization, as well as meet some like minded people. And all in the name of Syd! Just hop over to Interstellar.org.uk. And don't forget to friend me and my book.

It's an idea someday...

I’ve been keeping rather quiet about my book on here (though people that know me personally know all about it) because it’s a bit of a bigger project than “I wrote a book and I’m trying to publish it”. I got a bit of good news regarding the project last week, so I figured it might be time to actually talk about it in a more public forum.

About two years ago I took a class on book illustration as part of my degree requirements at SCAD. I decided to illustrate a children’s story I had written about Syd Barrett. When I completed the project I decided to try and get in touch with Syd’s sister, Rosemary, in order to send her a copy of the book to see if she liked it. If she did, I planned to suggest we try and get the book published to benefit the Syd Barrett Fund, a charitable fund she set up after Syd passed away in 2007 to help the London-based organization Escape Artists. I was very pleased to hear that Rosemary loved the book and was interested in using it to help the Fund.

Shortly before visiting England last November, I contacted Rosemary to see if she would be interested in getting together while I was in Cambridge. She not only agreed to a meeting, but put me in contact with Simon Webb, one of the fundraising managers for Escape Artists. 

 Yay Rosemary!

While in London I visited the Escape Artists’ office so we could discuss the book and how to get it published. Last week I received a bit of exciting news from Escape Artists: MOJO magazine would be running a short news piece on EA in their April issue as a follow up to their Syd-themed March issue honoring the 40th anniversary of the release of Syd’s The Madcap Laughs album. In the piece they would be mentioning how we’re trying to find a publisher for my book!

I was extremely excited to hear the news as not only could it mean a big step forward in trying to find a publisher (MOJO has a readership of over 98,000), but also because MOJO is one of my favorite magazines. I never figured on being mentioned in it as I’m not a big, famous rock star or anything (at least not last time I checked).

The article isn’t available yet, but there is an update on the Fund’s blog about it. The article also reports a bit on the second City Wakes program Escape Artists is getting together, which will feature Syd’s paintings. We’re hoping to feature some or all of my illustrations from the book as part of the exhibition. The exhibition will be the second or third week of November, and I definitely plan on being there. I can’t wait!