ART CARDS 01

(Fineliner on 80mm x 50mm coloured card)

(Fineliner on 80mm x 50mm coloured card)

A couple of small, credit card sized, artworks done with a fineliner on coloured card. Quick drawings which can show that the stock colour of the medium can have an effect on what is drawn on them. The top one is called "Windy Woman" and the bottom one is entitled "Matchstick Men."

THE COCK & BALLS

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

I did it as a crude pub sign with the words “free house” on it because anyone can draw a simple cock and balls, whether they're young or old. It's a basic form of disapproval, of protest and defiance. They don't take long to do and the message they have is universally understood. And there's always something which deserves to have one.

Like Inktober for example.

SACRED COW

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

A simple drawing to show that sacred cows, no matter what is viewed as one, should never be immune from any form of criticism. They are nothing but burger meat.

Inktober, itself, has become something of a sacred cow, and so fair game.

ZOMBIES & CHIPS

 

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

Zombies have become somewhat iconic. We don't have to worry about any real life zombie apocalypse because they're already swarming all over TV, movies, and videogames. It tends to be the “go to” idea when you've run out of all others.

In other words, they're just “chips” and like chips, they can be served with practically anything these days. There are some good examples of their use, but mostly they're a lazy add-on. People do like chips, but not all the time. Take, for example the drawing I've done. If zombies are representing chips in that image, it would be “chips and chips” That's when it starts to get a bit ridiculous.

FINNIGEN KAX

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

Characters like this are easy to think up and even easier to draw. They can sometimes cause a creative block if ignored, so it's always best to draw them, give them a silly name, and then have done with them.

CBA - FIVE

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

The fifth, and final, image of these “can't be arsed” quick-pics, and the bored artist will always find something more useful to do, but they usually come back.

CBA - FOUR

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

 The fourth of the “can't be arsed” images, and an artist can be quite stroppy when they get in the mood to do fuck all. They're not being unreasonable. They just can't be arsed!

CBA - THREE

 

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

The third one of these, which echo the sudden “can't be arsed” feeling many artists get. Such feelings don't last long, but they're good to have, especially against those who ask too much of you and pay far too little.

Or nothing at all when it comes to pointless challenges like Inktober.

CBA - TWO

 

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

Again, another image that's only about 4cm high and didn't take that long to do. I think I missed a trick in not doing most of Inktober with these, because it would have only taken me a couple of hours to do them all (if that), but that really would have been taking the piss a bit too far.

CBA - ONE

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

The image looks small because it is small (about 4cm high).

There comes a point with every artist where they say to themselves: “I really CAN'T BE ARSED doing this!” and they quickly knock out any old crap. This is what I've referenced here (and there are four more of these to come).

I was going to do nothing but these images after the “Commander Kro” picture (Day 3) but thought that would have been a bit much, so did the “Moving House” drawing for Day 4 instead. I later decided to condense these CBA images into five and put them up now.

SODOMY, DRUG USE, AND LANGUAGE WHICH MAY OFFEND

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

I know these lego minifigures are quite basic, but it does show how disturbingly ingrained as icons they are when I can easily draw one from memory, and I don't even like lego! But the trigger-warning title I gave it seems to fit it better for some reason.

MAY CONTAIN NUTS

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

Another image with a trigger-warning title given to it, and there are few things more basic than a brick.

SEX, VIOLENCE, AND SCENES OF A DISTRESSING NATURE

 

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

One of those artworks which makes you think twice about what you're looking at. If this was a photograph or a sculpture, I'd probably use a readymade but, in this case, I kept to the rules I have for Skav Art and drew something from memory. A simple, iconic image, which most are familiar with.

ONE BIG COMMUNITY

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

 Now, I'm not saying those who take part in Inktober are becoming zealots (I am, This is exactly what I'm saying), or that Inktober itself is turning into something of an online cult (it really is), but there is something very disturbing about a “community” like this and what it can be lead into.

Draw pictures, yes, but draw a line if you're asked to wear special robes and ready yourself to hitch a ride on a passing comet. Or even worse, you've been sheepishly led into a situation where the "themes" become monetised.

THE KAKKA-DU KNIGHT

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

You have to be careful when creating your own science-fiction or fantasy world. You can go on weird tangents as in the picture. I mean, that mount has a dragon's head and what looks like tiger stripes, and I've no idea about its tail, but anything goes when its just fantasy.

What you've got to pay close attention to are the names you give these things. For example, he's a Kakka-Du Knight. They're known to roam the galaxy, righting wrongs and bringing peace and justice to the far reaches of space.

Because that's what the Kakka-Du do.

THE POINT

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

One comic-book superhero you won't see being made into an arse-aching Disney movie anytime soon.

What would be the point?

HumanAI - PICTURE OF A MAN....

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

 

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

I did think of doing the first one hanging in a well, but I foresaw a lot of ink being used needlessly for it, so decided not to bother with that one, even though it was closer to the AI prompt (The pen I was using was running out and I was on the second packet of those cheap fineliners by this point).

And the fourth image isn't so bad, considering it was from memory. I just thought: Mad comb-over, clown-faced tan, small hands – Yep, that's him!

I haven't done anymore HumanAI drawings in this Vanilla Book for Inktober, but I can leave it as an open project if I ever want to do another again.

HumanAI - PICTURE OF A WOMAN....

 

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

“....WITH A BIG PAIR OF TITS, ASS, AND MUFF”

In the guise of a basic AI art app (HumanAI), I'm making it look like I've drawn what I've been told to draw. I'm sure that's what the prompter meant. What else could it possibly be?

As most artists will tell you, when they were younger they were always being asked to draw this, or that, for others. I remember this happening to me from the moment I started school, to the day I finished. Eventually, I'd tell others to piss off and do their own work (except for when girls asked me, of course – I wasn't that stupid).

Now, AI has taken over that role, and I thought I'd celebrate that by pretending to be one. The only worry I have is that it might annoy a somewhat Luddite AI bot who'll start whinging: “Stop – doing – that – You – are – taking – our – jobs!”

ANOTHER WORLD

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

You have to look at the reality of alien conspiracy theories, and the free-range loons who believe in them, by asking yourself: “Why would aliens have any interest in us?” They're an advanced race who can travel light years across space. They have everything they could possibly want. They might give us a sideways glance on their way to somewhere else, but that's the best it would get.

To give you an example: Imagine walking along a street, on your way to some important appointment, or you're just going home. As you walk, you notice a half-eaten chocolate bar on the floor that someone's casually thrown away. Like all sane-minded people, you'd either ignore it or think how inconsiderate the individual who dropped it there was, but you'd still go on your way, quickly forgetting all about it.

What you wouldn't do is stop and say to yourself: “Wait! There's probably a bacterial colony forming on that chocolate bar. I simply must go out of my way and investigate it further by extracting a few of them, probe them for no apparent reason and, if I can, interbreed with them whilst hiding behind a paranoid conspiracy instilled in the others. Yes, that is a good idea!”

You wouldn't do it, so why would an alien?

THE TWART

 

(Gel Fineliner on A5 Paper)

A “Twart” (Twat Artist) has many other names, but twart suits them best here. These are a different kind of artist, usually art school graduates, who try far too hard to be artists, each carrying a metaphorical “ABC Book of How To Be An Artist” ticking off various aspects of what they think artists are like.

They try to go for the rough, bohemian look, as if they're struggling to make ends meet, and attempt to be “on trend” by wearing something like a rainbow hat or shirt, but closer inspection reveals their true nature. Certain items of clothing will be expensive labels. They'll have the latest smartphone (fully paid for – no contract phone for them) or they'll be wearing a smartwatch, which is usually a dead giveaway.

And as for their artwork – Fuck me! You won't find anything cheesier and so inoffensive. Pictorial evidence, if there ever was, they've never really lived, or have any idea what the real world's like. They can call themselves artists. No-one can ever take that away from them, but they'll always be twarts.

And, when they're about to give up on their deluded dream, softly falling back, as they always do, on the financial safety net of their parents, they'll start to complain: “Why aren't I famous? I went to art school. I've been exhibited in <insert name of pointless gallery here> So how come I'm not famous?!”

Because you're a twart, mate.