Valoche Designs

Cesars Awards "Revelations" - translation

2012-01-18T06:13:00.000-08:00

This is the translation for the French Cesar awards "revelations" video. It is not perfect, I am not a professional translator, but I am french and that helps! Enjoy (bar one or two mistakes or misses!)

"Body and Soul"

Look at me at this very instant naked,

free in body and spirit,

blaming only myself for the pressure I put myself under,

I surrender body and soul,

untainted again, I am whole,

I go back to chaos,

my DNA scattered for ever, I enter the dance,

escaping from myself,

my art will be to act,

In your dreams I will become flesh

I will make words subtly resound,

Like fruits under my tongue,

I give you my skin,

Torn apart, incensed, content with tears and laughter,

You would be breathless with cries, light, with the crowd…

I want to be brunk

Your “impossible”, your “unrevealed”

Come cold or stage freight, uncertain times,

I will remain deaf to the sellers of puff,

I have faith, I dive in,

at this very instant naked, free in body and soul

I surrender body and soul,

Look at me, look at me,

The road is free

Laurent deBartillat

John Martin's Apocalypse at Tate Britain

2012-01-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

John Martin , The Great Day of His Wrath 1851-3

Will we survive the Apocalypse? In a day and age where stories of doom assault us from every corner of the media spectrum we look at, one would be forgiven to think that the end is near indeed. Would it be easier on you if I told you that we’re not the first ones to have despaired in times of chaos? In its last week of showing at Tate Britain, John Martin’ s Apocalypse is a spectacular show rewarding us with an insight into the world of a printmaking genius and by extension into his Romantics contemporaries’.

John Martin , Plate from 'Illustrations to the Bible': The Covenant published 1832, Intaglio print on paper ©Tate Britain

The mezzotints are this artist’s most famous achievement and it was indeed for me a revelation. I am currently continuing working on my graphic novel “Written byMen, Blame it on God”and I found ‘The Paradise Lost’ and 'Illustrations to the Bible' series most inspiring. Needless to say, this was the perfect exhibition for me to start the year with- I now have a renewed sense of urgency as to my bible illustrations!

John Martin , Plate from 'Illustrations to the Bible': The Destruction of the Pharoah's Host published 1833, Mezzotint on paper, ©Tate Britain

My work is about denouncing and subverting the bible’s lithurgy and the traditional way the holy message is conveyed in popular art. I mow see how using printmaking and the old bookbinding methods along with the old illuminations format will have the desired effect I am searching for.

John Martin , Satan Presiding at the Infernal Council© Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK

So far, I investigated William Blake who along with John Martin made a brave but eventually ruinous attempt at independent publishing. Here are two contemporary yet highly personal and inspired visions of the scriptures that couldn’t be more poles apart from one another. I bought, read and studied Jake and Dinos Chapman’s “Unholy Libel. Six Feet Under” and seeen a number of shows by artists investigating the day of reckoning from a religious (or not) point of view. I am going throught the long process of rereading the bible.

John Martin, Sadak in Search of the Waters of Oblivion 1812 © Saint Louis Art Museum, Friends Fund

Let me dear reader ask you this: is Judgement day upon us then? From my personal experience growing up in Guadeloupe hasn’t the apocalypse always been there? There is something about growing up on a picture perfect/ postcard island that outsiders would call paradise…but is it? “The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a heav'n of hell, a hell of heav'n.” (1:254-255) or again "the more I see / Pleasures about me, so much more I feel / Torment within me...". (PL 9:119-121) (All excerpts from Paradise Lost) Heaven is not not always what it looks like!

Mill 24 Mural

2011-12-02T06:56:00.001-08:00

Videos of my live performances drawing and then painting at the Mill in Manchester last year for just 24 hours in front of a crowd and with music bands playing on the stage nearby.

2006 Porsche Cayman S RK Coupé by StudioTorino

2011-11-23T09:01:00.001-08:00

I am currently working on a series of speculative illustrations. Here is the first of the series. Car spot illustration made with watercolour, gouache and felt tip pen. Do not reproduce without permission. All rights courtesy of Valerie Pezeron

Jungle Queen!

2011-11-22T09:27:00.001-08:00

Executive woman- Tests

2011-11-16T08:50:00.001-08:00

I am currently working on the "Executive woman" series. These are tests before getting on with the final illustration. I am looking at composition, style, colour, characterisation...

Quick Sketch Today

2011-11-16T04:29:00.001-08:00

New Website with the Cargo Collective!

2011-11-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

At last, my new website is up and running! I will be updating and adding to it regularly so watch this space! http://cargocollective.com/valeriepezeron

AOI Artist of the Month

2011-11-02T07:28:00.000-07:00

Each month the AOI Portfolio website highlights four artists and give them the opportunity to talk a little more about their work. This November, I am one of them. Have a look here at my feature!

The Sculpture Park at Frieze Art Fair 2011

2011-10-17T04:44:00.000-07:00

I visited the Frieze Art Fair last Saturday. I really enjoyed the sculpture exhibit in the English Gardens of Regent's Park.

Haermaphrodite

Here I include photos of the exhibits I enjoyed the most.

Among the best "artwork" on display was this "natural arrangement of boozed up comatose folks sleeping right in the middle of the sculpture displays. They were totally oblivious to the commotion taking place around them. Bless!

Le Banc des Amoureux

Kiki Smith

Mistress!

2011-10-07T08:29:00.000-07:00

Image courtesey of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright Valoche Designs 2011

At the Office

2011-10-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

Image courtesey of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright Valoche Designs 2011

Sexy 100 at the Wall to Wall Gallery

2011-10-05T07:24:00.000-07:00

Photography by Lula Stone

Painting by Lee Maelzer

Last Wednesday I headed to Kentish Town to see the Sexy 100 show at the Wall to wall gallery. Curated by Stimulus Ltd, the show was quite big as is to be expected with that many sisters' work on display, with two floors plus reception filled with the most avand garde and interesting work being produced right now in the UK.

The female artists's voice was the focus of this exhibition and several of my coleagues at the University of East London were participating. I must say when I read the title of the exhibition, I was expecting kinky femninist art. And indeed, there was a good amount of that! From the diamond encrusted dick to the ornamented dildo, there was much to make you smile and shock the more...sex shy and squirmish customer. But then again, such people would not step into such a gallery in the first place, wouldn't they!

So if we are to believe our eyes, many of these women artists are concerned with their position towards the male gaze. Nothing much surprising here but I loved the funny chicky tone that was used in treating said male member, so to speak.

Installation courtesy of Maria Arceo.

Meandering across the three floors at Wall to Wall, I found myself happily surprised by other very sensitive and evocative work such as maria Arceo's burnt sea installation. No, this show is not just about sex. Although there is nothing wrong with that, many other artists were displaing very sophisticated thoughtful pieces of fine art. I post here a few of those I really enjoyed.

Painting courtesy of Geraldine Swayne

Art installation courtesy of Miyuki Kasahara

Art happening courtesy of painter, photographer and aerialist Maria Teresa Gavazzi

And what was a bonus on the night of Sexy 100's finissage is that I got to be the object of an art happening. It was fun!

Many more little happenings, concerts and interactions took place. It was a good night to come and see the show. I love London and it's that inventive and exciting!

Sculptures courtesy of Natuka Honrubia

Photography by Lula Stone

My apologies in advance for not naming all the artists involved. I forgot to write down the names of a few to remember.

Sculpture courtesy of Anna Niman

Painting and chess installation by Alice Herrick

Today's Drawing Exercise

2011-10-05T06:32:00.000-07:00

Drawing courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright ValocheDesigns 2011. Do not reproduce without permission

Work in Progess - Coffin Island

2011-10-04T10:16:00.000-07:00

I am posting here work in progress related to my upcoming children's book "Coffin Island" , based on a semi- autobiograpical story devised by me.

Much is left to be done in terms of layout, style, hand lettered typography and reconsidering the story's flow. I also have to work out three more colour spreads.The final spreads will look quite dramatically different in style, espescially the colour ones!

Needless to say, all images are copyrighted and courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Any attempt at reproduction or other use without permission will be prosecuted.

Today's Drawing

2011-09-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

Drawings

2011-09-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

Drawing courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright Valoche Designs 2011. Do not reproduce without permission

My last two drawings executed after watching the debacle of the French side versus the All-Blacks!

The London Art Book fair 2011

2011-09-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

The Art Book Fair 2011 took place at the Whitechapel gallery last week-end. I went on the Saturday. It was busy and much larger than I expected, with artists, dealers, publishers and imprints showing on two floors.

Items from the bookbinders' collective

Book dealer Josie Reed of Reed Contemporary books was very helpful, easy to talk to to and supportive of my upcoming book project. She gave me some good tips!

I bought the "New Artisans" book from the Thames and Hudson stand

The upstairs part of the fair was more interesting to me, as this was the floor with smaller collectives and more handmade works.

I bought the "Unholy Libel- Six Feet Under" by Jake and Dinoe Chapman from the Gagosian stand.

A photographer's stand.

I had a good long chat with Scottish printmaker David Faithfull about his practice and how the fair was working for him.

David's items that were on sale for the fair. David was one of the few individuals who had a stand all by himself. A costly enterprise no doubt! But David told me it was worth it in the end for him because of the contacts and opportunities he made that week-end.

Drawing for the Day

2011-09-23T15:19:00.000-07:00

Drawing courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright Valoche Designs 2011. Do not reproduce without permission

One Drawing a Day

2011-09-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

Drawing courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright Valoche Designs 2011. Do not reproduce without permission

New Designs in my Etsy shop!

2011-07-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

My Etsy shop is again up and running with new listings added this week!
Two illustrations are now available to purchase, framed or unframed.

"Written by men, Blame it on God"

Drawing courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright Valoche Designs 2011. Do not reproduce without permission

and "José Bové and the Mac Monster"

Drawing courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright Valoche Designs 2011. Do not reproduce without permission

AVA's Professional Doctorate in Fine Art

2011-07-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

Painting courtesy of Linda Wu

Last Tuesday, I had a blast! I visited the School of Visual Art's Professional Doctorate in Fine Art show. The work on display was varied with diverse sections of the Arts represented.

Etching prints courtesy of Martin Barrett

Detail

Detail

I was fairly curious and a tiny wee bit envious I must say. How fun it must be to be part of a group of highly achieved peers with whom you can share your thoughts and present your work for constructive feedback! And be challenged in order to keep growing.

Photographs courtesy of Pete Nevin.

Detail

A few pieces caught my eye and I have photographed the best of the crop for your enjoyment! Apologies for the lighting, it was quite tricky photographing properly some of the art, especially those framed with glass tops.

Prints courtesy of Anna Daniels

In the end, I made do with the reflection!

I love Anne Daniels' artwork! With titles such as "Red Cabbage World" and "Meltdown, I find her prints are strong visually and deal with the subject of global warming and the threat to our resources' sustainability in a very innovative way. Pretty clever stuff really!

That's me, yes, hard at work! I really liked this Art Deco inspired display with its "isms"; strong concept.

Another one of my favourite artists was museum curator Gisel Garriconde Azevado. I particularly liked the piece below. I don't know where Gisel is from but I appreciate the way she uses her cultural references in her work. Below, the piece reads "Granada" and reminds me of banners hanging outside of government building .

Paintings courtesy of Margaret Steiner

Plates courtesy of Eric Geat Rex

Paintings courtesy of Tim Weston

Painting courtesy of Mark Sowden

Art courtesy of Eem Yun Kang

And I have saved my absolute favourite for last! I adore Linda Wu's take on childhood and the dreamlike mix of death, animalism and the dark take on anatomy. I find her use of colour really strong and evocative.

All paintings courtesy of Linda Wu.

Visions of the Walworth Jumpers at Sassoon gallery

2011-06-15T06:29:00.000-07:00

On Sunday the 5th of June, I completed the mural I had been working on for a few days at the Sassoon gallery. Titled "Holy Shit!:Visions of the Walworth Jumpers", the show was a gathering of four graphic artists under the arches of Peckham Rye.

The lovely Peter Lally, organizer of the International Alternative Press Fair.

We were four artists committed to rebeautifying the gallery and were given just a week to do so. I started the mural quite late in the week. These 7 days were quite challenging because I was in the middle of marking/doing assessments for my 3rd year Illustration students at the university of East London and also being engaged with other smaller assignements.

The lovely daughter of the Sassoon gallery managers.

Is it a lighthouse, a candle or a...penis?!

One strand of my work is about subverting imagery taken from established mainstream strands of culture. Here the religious brief, inspired from Mary Ann Girling really suited me perfectly because I had an opportunity to play with classical iconography and apply my own modern twist on it. The arches where the gallery is situated was the location for many wacky sects in the Victorian era and to this day, the area is peppered with churches of all denominations. Philip Hoare's book on the New Forest Shakers was of particular inspiration.

Pink eyes? Is it a classical painting? They must be positively alien!

I revisited Michelangelo's sistine chapel paintings, William Blake's prints and Gustav Doré's bible woodcut engravings.

Lord Hurk's painting. one of the other three artists doing work for the show.

The Krah came in and crafted this in one day with the help of an assistant. A well oiled and impressive business!

Kevin Ward's pastoral/ voodoo dance.

I like this little guy!

There was an advantage to having started last and using colour last also. After a little chat with the gallery owner, I decided it would serve the show and my work best to try and tie in all the other disparate murals together by taking one colour from each mural and using it in my own.

I borrowed the grey from The Krah's, the orange from Hurk and the pink form Kevin's.

I am very happy with the final result. One reason I like doing murals so much is that you can't be too precious about the process and the result. It allows you to be bold and unattached to the work as these murals are not permanent.

The Sunday zine fair and Start your Own Cult workshop in full swing.

The Editions of You stand.

Kevin Ward at work under the watchful eyes of my demoness/ priestess!

BBC Radio 5 political correspondant John Pienaar came down to interview the team behing the fair. I have to say I was not aware of the political connection when I took on this assignement and was quite surprised when I saw Pienaar come down to the gallery. So folks, any political connection here made is the fair's and not my own. I prefer to be in control of the political tags I put onto my work, if and when I chose to. And so far, I am more interested in forms of social commentary.

That said, the interview was pretty funny!

Consecrate that Body: Exercises in Holy Life Drawings

2011-06-08T04:31:00.000-07:00

Life model Philip before going in the nude.

Last Saturday, I organised and taught a themed life drawing workshop set up to coincide with my big mural drawing at the Sasson gallery for the Visions of the Walkworth Jumpers exhibition.

Gallery manger Laura as the Virgin

By the original enthusiastic response I got from the class description I had written that was posted on the website, I expected the event to go well. And I was not disappointed! A large crew came along with the type of attendees being dedicated and very talented life drawing enthusiasts.

The International Alternative Press fair provided the papers, people brought their own drawing materials and colours were highly encouraged! Oh, and tea, coffee and bruschetta came courtesy of the life drawers. I provided the kettle!

2 of my illustration students came along- excellent drawers Helen Parsliffe and Gosia Kackmarczyk.

It was the first time I was working with life model Philip and I will definitely use him again. His quiet professionalism went down a storm, with the gallery owner's daughter very happy to pose as baby Jesus on Philip's Virgin Mary's knees. We had such a laugh!

It was a proper class where I taught a number of precepts such as drawing from the left side of the brain. Diverse props were used such as a big woodden cross or the photograph of Jesus.

The idea was to make life drawing creative and enhance the student's experience. To that end, I used a playlist ranging from Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode and Dvorak among others; all songs were to convey emotions related to life, death, heaven or any other religious issues.

The idea was for participants to think in terms of drama and on how to add colour to create this dramatic effect... and have fun!

The event was so successful we are looking to do it again! More info on this blog soon.

UEL School of Visual Arts Graduation show

2011-06-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was the opening of the University of East London's School of Visual Arts graduation show. It was a much bigger and crowded affair compared to last year with personalities from the art world showing their support. Gavin Turk presented the awards ceremony. Check out Gavin's outfit. Love the shoes!

Notable public personalities graced the event with their prestigious presence and I was positively starstruck when UEL board of governors member Mark Stephens, who just happens to be Wikileaks Julian Assange's lawyer, came to enjoy the tear-soaked display of deserving hard-working art newbies receiving prizes.

Among the awards this year, 2 BA graduates were recognised for their innovative and outstanding work in the illustration. Chi Ghavure (below on the left) received a Best Overall Illustration prize while Sofia Miller Fleming (below right) enjoyed a Best Original Illustration Artwork prize for her RBS poster. The prizes were courtesy of Amelia's mag; Sofia received a vintage Amelia's mag while Chi got an Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration.

Video courtesy of Chi Ghavure

It was a big family farewell opportunity for lecturers and students alike, with students accompanied by their entire relatives; Printmaking/ illustration combined graduate Helen brought along several generations of the Parsliffe clan.

Prints courtesy of Helen Parsliffe.

Helen's artwork displays her fascination with the criminal world and the seedy underbelly of society.

Printmakers Lesley Logue and Eric Great-Rex.

The art produced this year is as distinctive as the people producing it; check out that Superman!

Rob Hopkins

2011-05-24T15:17:00.000-07:00

Drawing courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright Valoche Designs 2011. Do not reproduce without permission

This image has been revised and I am pretty happy with the final result!

Work in progress- Spiritual Life Drawing

2011-05-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2010. No reproductions without permission.

“I am here in great distress and with great physical strain, and have no friends of any kind, nor do I want them; and I do not have enough time to eat as much as I need; my joy and my sorrow, my repose are these discomforts.”- Michelangelo
Sometimes when I create, I am so consumed by passion I feel like the master. Michelangelo’s ‘unsociableness’ has been seen as the typical attitude of what was known in the Renaissance as the vir melanchonicus. I can be so absorbed in a solitary contemplative state, wholly wrapped up in my art, that involvement in creative activity is transformed into suffering.

Work in Progress - Deepak Rughani

2011-04-27T04:15:00.000-07:00

Drawing courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright Valoche Designs 2011. Do not reproduce without permission

I am working on an improved version of this illustration about climate activist Deepak Rughani. This above version can be seen on Amelia's magazine

Holy Shit Flyer

2011-04-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

Drawing courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright Valoche Designs 2011. Do not reproduce without permission

Art Shop Collective Opening

2011-04-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

This is the entrance of the Arthur and Albert studio where the Art Shop Collective have found a home for their twice a month contemporary artefacts sales.

The brain -and the red glasses- behind the 27 artists strong collective!

Katie, a member of the collective and a lovely person to boot!

Taking place every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month, last Saturday was the opening of the venture.
There was cake, tea and rose wine on offer.

This is me posing next to a row of my watercolor portraits and trying my best expressive face. It worked? Non?

Yep, there was music on the day! And the atmosphere was really chilled and friendly. The day was sunny and the public very supportive. We sold quite a few artworks on the day!

The till with tea, business cards and other promotional materials such as artists statements.

Yum!

My watercolors and below, one of my digital prints on display at the very bottom.

More of my watercolors and digital prints above.

As you can see the collective is a collection of very disparate styles, the only selection criteria being it must be just very good art indeed.

Above another one of my digital prints, called "Fear".

The lampshade made of sunglasses was quite popular with the crowd!

The shop was pretty busy all day. Set right next to the Regents Canal in Haggerston, we benefited from a fair bit of footfall from all those ramblers making their way to Broadway market.

Many of the collective came along with their friends. The collective is composed of a good mix of up and coming and more established jobbing artists such as recording artists who also paint.

Art Shop Collective

2011-03-30T05:17:00.000-07:00

I am now part of the artists collective and gallery called Art Shop, a new venture from Arthur and Albert. The gallery space will be open to the viewing public every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month.
Looking forward to seeing you there!

Mokita at Pick Me Up Somerset House

2011-03-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday I attended Mokita at the Pick Me Up art fair at Somerset House. The brainchild of reputed academics Roderick Mills, Darryl Clifton and Geoff Grandfield, this all day symposium had for ambition to take an in-depth critical look at illustration today. The all-mighty Adrian Shaughnessy was chair of the proceedings for the day. I understand Shaughnessy cofounded Varoom magazine and that it might be in this capacity that he was there on the day, but I still found his presence puzzling yet perhaps revealing about the status of illustration today? Could it be that the industry is still struggling with a widespread perception of it being an offshoot of graphic design? Surely there are illustrators of the status of Shaughnessy out there that would do just as much justice to the role of mediator for the talks?

On the programme were three questions; the first one “Is commerce the only real context for illustration?” was discussed by James Jarvis and Darryl Clifton. I found that particular exchange the most enlightening of the three, not least because of the well constructed Powerpoint presentation of Jarvis. “Illustrator as Author, new paradigm of the disciploine?” and “Do we need a theory of Illustration?” were respectively discussed by Luke Best with Roderick Mills and Sam Arthur and Geoff Grandfield.

At £70, this event was a naughty treat that I thoroughly enjoyed. I guess Somerset House does not come cheap but my wish is for Mokita 2 to be more democratic and accessible to a wider audience. After all, the overriding thought of the day was for illustration to raise its profile and be on a par with photography in the mainstream British culture the way it is for the French. That said I enjoyed seeing some familiar faces there such as Gary Powell and Richard Harris, a former tutor of mine at Kingston University.

Where were the girls? I am told Simone Lia dropped out. Why not replace her with another woman? It was a bit of a sausage fest on the day and one of the participants heckled: "It all looks rather 19th century to me!" After all, if the conference is to be a true window of the recent seismic changes within the industry, then it is only just to shed a light onto the vast amount of ladies working as illustrators. Geoff Granfield mentioned an agent told him 90% of illustration buyers are male... I’d love to meet that gentlemen and find out where he got his “facts”.

Dismomorphibia- Ted Talk

2011-03-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

I am fascinated by people's faces. I find this talk interesting for its treatment of the psychologies of the face and its link with art as therapy.

Saving Grace- Work in Progress 2

2011-03-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2011. No reproductions without permission.

I intend to have this image included in my "Coffin Island" picture book. The final version will look quite different! We're gathering ideas away....

Saving Grace-Work in Progress

2011-03-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected. No reproductions without permission.

New York Exhibition

2011-03-16T04:30:00.000-07:00

All images courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected. No reproduction without permission.

In January of this year, I took part in an exhibition at the Brownson Art Gallery, part of the Arthur M. Berger Art Gallery in New York. The group show was named Exhibit III and included artwork by faculty staff and students of Manhattanville college and the University of East London.

The artwork I had displayed were prints in progress from my book "Written by Men, Blame it on God" that I am developping with New Humanist and the Rationalist Association. Yes, the book is being developped and is coming along! Taking on the bible is a big job and one that I want to do well so I am taking my time.

I am quite happy with the results so far and am planning a cheap print run and a smaller one-off handmade set of books for collectors to buy.

Blind but Seeing

2011-03-16T04:05:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2011. No reproductions without permission.

I have used sculpture and clay to mold my own perceived flesh while blindfolded.The tactile experiement was also done while listening to music and tapping into my deepest thoughts.

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2011. No reproductions without permission.

For facial surgeon Iain Hutchinson, it's about restoring people's humanities and I find that deeply moving.

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2011. No reproductions without permission.

Dysmorphophobia and the Landscape of the Face- Experiment

2011-03-15T05:02:00.000-07:00

Irritable as Daylight

Below are experiments and definitely not final work to be put in my portfolio. I am fascinated by people's faces. I find facial surgeon Iain Hutchinson's talk on dysmorphophobia interesting for its treatment of the psychologies linked to the look of the face and its ties with art as therapy.

Somber is the Night

Calm but Doubting

I for myself have explored for a while now faces as landscapes that betray our inner turmoils.

Anger and Alienation lead to Madness

As usual, I tend to use me, my own experiences or events that I intimately know to make art or to illustrate the stories I write.

Content to Oblivion

Here I use my face to explore the correlation between moods and colors.

Tired and Hungover

I want to turn the world inside out...

2011-03-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

...just like JR, who uses art to make a difference.

L'Enfer et la Femme Idéale...

2011-03-08T12:32:00.000-08:00

Delphine Lebourgeois is Over the Cover

2011-03-07T13:13:00.000-08:00

All illustrations courtesy of Delphine Lebourgeois

Article first appeared on Amelia's magazine.

Last Thursday I made my way to the Frameless Gallery to meet up with illustrator Delphine Lebourgeois. I have admired Delphine’s work for some time now and interviewed her for this very magazine over a year ago. With Delphine and I, it’s a curious case of strange coincidences. We both are French and moved to this country the very same year – 1998. We studied illustration with both graduating in 2005, me from Kingston university, Delphine from Central St Martins. To complete the freaky set of remarkable happening, we have both lived in the same neighborhood for years and might have even crossed path without even knowing it!

All photographs courtesy of Valerie Pezeron

Camberwell Green is a good location to set up shop even if temporarily. Lebourgeois’ last show at Coningsby, even though a success, did not have Camberwell’s regular traffic of savvy art enthusiasts. The show is on two floors and with Delphine acting as my guide, I meander around what turns out to be a display of a series of large prints of book cover illustrations elegantly framed. This illustrator is used to producing for the publishing sector under the strict constraints of commercial deadlines. It was apparently a welcome contrast to work in a more relaxed way.

"Most of these images are constructed over weeks even months, until a global architecture emerges. The images change continuously, inform each other...I add or remove layers, and even swap them from one picture to the next until a harmony is reached.” I know exactly what Delphine means! Illustrators need to have that time to nurture their inner artist. I’ve been doing just the same putting the finishing touches to my illustrated book. We both concur the simmering time to be of utmost importance.

I found Delphine’s way of working so puzzling as fundamentally different from mine. For me the concept, the idea is most important and will then dictate what material I will use even if I do have more or less a preferred style. For Delphine the basis of her images is the physical process; here the typographic cover of an existing book, onto which she superimposes her own drawings and printed material using digital collage as her main media.

Lebourgois illustrations always strike me for their surrealist subtext. The choice of book is of no importance; "I decided to work from titles only, ignoring the narrative, and to focus on the complementarity between the imagery and the title itself, creating another story altogether". The result is a set of covers as exquisitely quirky as Delphine herself.

Over the Cover- New works by Delphine Lebourgeois is at the Frameless Gallery - Clerkenwell Green - EC1 from the 28th February to the 13th March 2011

KTZ menswear

2011-03-02T13:29:00.000-08:00

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2011. No reproductions without permission.

KTZ Menswear at London Fashion week winter 2011. Fashion illustration for Amelia's magazine

Mia Nilsson on Saturday

2011-01-13T07:29:00.000-08:00

Artwork courtesy of Mia Nilsson

Artist Mia Nilsson will exhibit alongside me at the Horse Hospital.

Exhibition at the Horse Hospital

2011-01-09T11:41:00.000-08:00

I will be exhibiting and selling full colour high quality prints at writer Julia Bell's party this coming 15th of January at the Horse Hospital, a three tiered progressive arts venue in Russel Square, London. A few of the artwork that can be found at my Etsy shop will be on display plus a few more from my Dolls' illustration series.

Merry Christmas / Joyeux Noel!

2010-12-24T23:27:00.001-08:00

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2011. No reproductions without permission.

Night of the Hunter

2010-12-23T09:54:00.000-08:00

Oh Comely magazine

2010-12-21T12:10:00.000-08:00

I interviewed animator Julia Pott for Issue Four of Oh Comely magazine now available in selected newsstands all over the UK.

Dear Santa

2010-12-19T10:02:00.000-08:00

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2010. No reproductions without permission.

Petiole

2010-11-30T11:20:00.000-08:00

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2010. No reproductions without permission.

My Etsy shop is now open and up for business. Thank you to Fabrice in Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean for being my very first customer. You may now purchase A4 and A3 digital prints of my original dolls collection watercolors. 4 Artworks are at the moment up for sale: Petiole, Positively Charged, Grenouille and Protithenai are all currently available as a Christmas gift for your loved ones.

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2010. No reproductions without permission.

Handmade and Bound Winter 2010

2010-11-23T11:40:00.000-08:00

All photographs courtesy of Valerie Pezeron 2010.

Hang on, Santa! It's that time of the year again where Christmas markets and festive pop-up shops are sprouting all over the place!

Last Sunday I made my way to the St Alyosius Social Club in Euston for the winter 2010 edition of Handmade and Bound.

I always look forward to spending time at such events where I can lose track of time perusing interesting self-published books and admire high quality prints.

Forget about the packed alleys full of eager art and craft enthusiasts! I always arm myself with a great dose of patience and a smile- that usually does the trick!

The lovely Karoline Rerrie of the collective "Girls who Draw".

This season's Handmade craft fair was smaller than the one I attended in summer a year ago around Shoreditch... I forget the name of the school.

There was less on display this time around and not much of the edgy comics I remember from last time. There was an anarchy and radical London printers stand and the graphic novel"Diary of a Miscreant" was on sale at the Last Hours table nearby.

I left with this book, "Revolutionary Women" after I saw Angela Davis was one of the sisters profiled in it. Why not learn more about strong and brave women from very diverse backgrounds and be inspired?!

Updated Sketchbook

2010-11-16T07:54:00.000-08:00

I have updated my sketchbook pages with some observational illustrations. Check it out here

All images courtesy of Valerie Pezeron 2010. No reproductions allowed without permission.

Vampyr

2010-11-15T15:05:00.000-08:00

This is a scribble I made while watching the Nosferatu and Vampyr movies back to back during the Halloween week-end. Should have posted them earlier!

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2010. No reproductions without permission.

Museum Drawings

2010-11-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

Some observation drawings at the Hunterian Museum. I love the place for its creepiness!

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2010. No reproductions without permission.

All images courtesy of Valerie Pezeron 2010. No reproductions allowed without permission.

And one from the Science Museum. I love to draw big and on different kind of papers- especially the prospectus from the museum itself!

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2011. No reproductions without permission.

I guess that means you spotty kids at the museum, get outta my way! Or I WILL draw you....Those are from the Imperial War Museum.

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2011. No reproductions without permission.

The Argument

2010-11-03T04:34:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron 2010. No reproductions allowed without permission.

Written Landscape

2010-11-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Antoine Corbineau

I like Antoine Corbineau's Written Landscapes as I call them and especially this image above. I like the way he combines hand lettering with little naive drawings and textured shapes to create descriptive maps or more imaginary ones. I also think he is a master at colour and a much copied artist.

Cats sleeping

2010-10-31T13:16:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 201o. No reproductions without permission.

10 minutes quick drawing with pen.

Sonnets from the Portuguese by Phoebe Anna Traquair

2010-10-31T13:04:00.000-07:00

Currently working on my own book, I find myself quite inspired by the illustrations of Phoebe Anna Traquair that accompany the lovely texts of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s ‘Sonnets from the Portuguese. It can be found at the National Library of Scotland.

I love the way the text and the images work together- especially the drawn lettering combining image and letter and the way the drawings frame and invade the writing creating a fully composed artwork. Zooming in on details, the little vignettes really draw one into the poetic narrative.
Lovely work!

http://digital.nls.uk/traquair/index.html

Philistine

2010-10-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2010. No reproductions without permission.

My handdrawn writing for the week.

Edmund Clarke: Guantanamo- A review

2010-10-20T02:46:00.000-07:00

Detail of Interrogator/guard's call button in Camp Five courtesy of Edmund Clarke. Photograph by Valerie Pezeron

Where is the fire in Edmund Clark’s exhibition? Guantanamo: If the Light goes out is a photography exhibition now showing at Flowers galleries in the East End next to all those yummy Vietnamese restaurants. And I was licking my whiskers heading to the opening last Thursday, “This show has great promise to be explosive!”
Edmund Clark’s commercial work for people like Adidas is widely known. He balances advertising assignments with smaller more prestigious gallery projects that garner critical acclaim and his first book was a well-lauded affair. His specialty? Private and personal portraits conveyed through domestic settings and people’s objects.

Ex-detainee's sitting room and original handwritten child's letter courtesy of Edmund Clarke.

Photograph courtesy of Valerie Pezeron

It’s a pity those small vignettes of everyday life were not so successful this time around. What went wrong? For one thing the large scale of the photographs did not serve what should be a highly charged narrative in intimacy. The gallery had a hand in it too with crude choices such as similar frames to tie together the upstairs Clarke exhibition and Nadav Kander’s Yangtzee show downstairs.

Detail of Administrative Review Board Letter courtesy of Edmund Clarke. Photograph courtesy of Valerie Pezeron

Original, handwritten and hand-censored letter to a detainee from his daughter. Photograph courtesy of Valerie Pezeron

I learned of ex-inmates trying to cope with life after Guantanamo while talking to Clarke. These folks had no anger but seemed resigned to their fate and had formed an ex-Guantanamo old-timers community thus a support system. Very touching stuff indeed and the letters brought tears to my eyes. But I struggled to find a sense of broken domesticity in the Clark's own pictures on display and some are more suggestive than others.

Camp One, exercise cage. Camp One, Isolation Unit. Camp Six, mobile force feeding chair. Ex-detainee's sitting room. All Photographs courtesy of Edmund Clarke.

The irony in all of this is, as my fire was never lit Nadav Kander’s sweeping evocative Chinese landscapes gradually pulled me downstairs. Those beautiful pictures of Yangtzee- The Long River merge the great beauty of China with the Chinese government’s attempt at taming it.

Of the two private views at Flowers downstairs was the place to be at. Photographs courtesy of Valerie Pezeron.

This great battle I witnessed first hand when I visited Shenzhen a few years ago and saw for myself the damages on nature and the people living off the land. There the large format suits the visual conflict between the fragility of the daily domestic scenes and the imposing totems of China’s economic success. Think high towers, concrete bridges and family Sunday diners that sit uncomfortably side-by-side by the banks of the Yangtze river.

Photograph courtesy of Valerie Pezeron

Article originally published in Amelia's magazine

Drinks that never tasted so Bitter

2010-10-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright Valoche designs 2009. Do no t reproduce without permission

These are my best attempt at advertising art. These original drawings I made for an advertising agency's campaign I was hired to work for did not make the cut and I was asked to change the look and feel until my style was unrecognizable and very run of the mill average!

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright Valoche designs 2009. Do no t reproduce without permission

Food is very challenging a subject and I feel more comfortable with people and objects. I think an illustrator needs to know what s/he is good at and stick to it! But will I ever get caught in this situation again? Nope! I learned a great deal from the experience. Basically this is what happens when account managers get involved in the creative process. These people work for the benefit of their clients and that is that. Get the contract very clear right from the beginning! I can't complain on the money I earned from it at the time! But I hated every minute of it and my porfolio/ reputation did not benefit from the experience. And then I got screwed on the licensing...I guess all jobbing creatives have had their fair share of these!

Réglisse

2010-10-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2010. No reproductions without permission.

The cat is doing his best pose... trying to charm me and it works! Réglisse means liquorice in French. And he is SO sweet!

Man on the Train

2010-10-17T07:50:00.000-07:00

10 minutes, that's what it took me to draw this gentleman on the train home from work on the overground. When people keep on moving, well, you just keep on drawing! I think the mistakes make those drawings interesting.

Fat and drunk? girls should know better!

2010-10-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2010. No reproductions without permission.

Mistaking leggings and tights for trousers is SO unhygienic. Take that! fat girl at London Bridge train station!

Tanya St Val- I am in Love

2010-10-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

Strong free spirited women are passionate women of course!

One Sketch a Day

2010-10-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

I am currently working flat out on my book. I am at the moment finding inspiration looking back at Symbolism, Fauvism, Expressionism and the Pont-Aven schools.

Image courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2010. No reproductions without permission.

To that end, I a keeping a sketchbook solely dedicated to helping me in my investigations into colour, composition and synthesizing ideas about my dreams and the unconsciousness. Those quick sketches are done in less than five minutes each in front of the TV and using only my imagination. And they are great fun!

Valoche Murals at Mill 24

2010-09-17T01:51:00.000-07:00

All images courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2010. No reproductions without permission.

In April of this year, I exhibited at Mill 24 in Manchester. For me this was the opportunity to paint two murals and adapt my illustrations to a very large format. Even though I have in the past designed large banners for associations or been part of a group working on large installations, this occasion was my very first solo attempt at creating live on such a big scale and I found it quite challenging but ultimately very engrossing and rewarding!

All images courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright protected 2010. No reproductions without permission.

What made this one-off event special was its context as many of the works shown at the Islington Mill in Salford were understood to be showcased live over the course of 24 hours and never to be seen again in this manner. Local and international artists within a wide range of media such as installations, performance and time-based media took part.

My site specific murals were to be painted during the night between the Saturday the 24th and the Sunday the 25th of April 2010 in front of the public in the large bar area. What a great pick of a work space from the curators! Seeing the 2 large walls I did feel pretty special at first...and then it dawned on me I was meant to draw in front of hundreds of art- savvy individuals chilling with a pint of beer. Talk about pressure!

The job was ambitious and I am no shrinking violet so better be organised then! Between my job as a lecturer at the University of East London's School of Visual Arts and this commission, I worked out I had to spread the workload evenly over the course of the week leading to the event if I were to tackle this project successfully. I ended up going back and forth by coach from London where I live and Manchester crashing at curator Anna Beam's pad and doing several 18 hour days in a row. I have never worked so steadily hard in my life with so little sleep! Because of course one needed to put aside socialising time with new workmates! Ensue plenty of red wine.

It's always been my dream to paint grand scale murals and as far back as I can remember I have always depicted sexy girls stranded in a surreal worlds. My idea at first was to have them swimming among fruits and cakes. Or maybe a cowgirl could ride a fish in the grand canyon. In the end, I named this world "Organika" and those two murals are just the starting point for a series of illustrations based on this theme.

The first mural on the right was done over two days all by myself using mix media such as pencils, gouache, marker pens and collage using some of my old lithographs to make interesting details on my subject's swimsuits. Having to go back to London I enrolled my husband to help me as my assistant for the event itself. We ended up working at night in a crowded room with bands blasting weird experimental music. The only valid experiment, it seemed, was how loud those artists turned musicians could go! On the other hand, I enjoyed having people coming to me to comment during the process of painting. Everybody had an opinion and that was always the point- to leave nobody unmoved! All in all it was pretty positive and it was a blast having such feedback!

It might sound corny but I felt so alive!...until all was done and I crashed for a 48 hour long sleep.
Then I heard the murals would be removed in a fortnight to be used again by another set of artists. I always knew it was temporary but it was a shock nevertheless knowing my girls would not dwell at the Mill permanently. 24 hour is too short a time. But so sweet!

The Threadneedle Prize at the Mall Galleries

2010-09-16T03:27:00.000-07:00

Man on Fire courtesy of Tim Shaw.

To be honest I had not heard of the Threadneedle Prize before nor was I rushing to attend the preview party on Wednesday the 1st of September. The Mall galleries have managed over the years to develop a reputation as the purveyor of stuffy exhibitions.

Phenomena (1) courtesy of Jarik Jongman

But no! No this new cool kid on the block of a prize with its decisively rock n roll intention of freeing figurative art from the shackles of conceptual taste. Move over Turner Prize. It was a nice surprise to get acquainted with this young show at a time when similarly funded prizes are running scarce and the government siphons money erstwhile dedicated to the Arts to programs deemed more “in the public’s interest”.

Oil Baron courtesy of Martin Roberts.

Detail of Moon Loght courtesy of Mark Entwisle

Let’s huff a long sigh of relief! At last art on display that does not pretend to be what it’s not… Yep, this dedicated art lover has been more than once unimpressed by the shovelful of bad abstract material pushed down her throat! But let’s not be mistaken by what kind of art Threadneedle is offering us either; theirs is a bold break from the past with a new kind of figurative art that does not pretend to ignore the Tate came that way and altered the artistic landscape.

Displace courtesy of Louise Folliott.

This second will last forever courtesy of Fiona Finnegan

This year the public is encouraged to choose the Visitor’s Choice award’s £10,0000 winning entry. Let me tell you what I was definitely not going to vote for! Some things seemed rather gimmicky to me such as the upside down portrait of Georgina by Oliver Jones. It’s upside down so it is clever so it’s in?

It's a Bloomin' Marble! courtesy of Garry Martin

Plexus courtesy of Valerie Jolly and Toilet Pipes courtesy of Thomas Doran

The exhibition’s booklet read, “our selectors have chosen a smaller but more coherent exhibition than previous years” with 2,170 submissions to arrive to a final 46. So why in the world choose such dreary artefacts that seemed to me to make more of a statement than to offer any redeeming value to the overall group! I was mightily unimpressed by Simon Carter’s Gulls on a Breakwater – it’s representational but hey look, doesn’t it seem abstract? Or Enzo Marra’s John Singer Sargent- it’s got thick paint and tonal Sargent palette. Is that all? Toilet pipes seemed to be all the rage this year…

But to be fair the overall level of work on display was very high. I fell in love with the sculptures and installations. Man on Fire by Tim Shaw (see above) got me all worked up and Stuart McCaffer (see below) got the crowd queuing to enjoy its view! Built like a shed, it reminded me of a watchtower somewhere in the Scottish Highlandds. The dichotomy between the sense of isolation and of space and freedom was interesting.

Den courtesy of Stuart McCaffer.

The prize spoke to me most when it was attempting to be political, daring, intriguing or just plain funny. Special mention to Wendy Elia’s Elsewhere, Jarik Jongman’s piece or the Anna Adamkiewicz cabinet.

Detail of Cabinet courtesy of Anna Adamkiwicz

Elsewhere courtesy of Wendy Elia

Frame, Figure, Frame, Figure courtesy of Caroline Walker

But my personal favourite was Caroline Walker’s surreal narrative. I am still haunted by the evocative psychological space this painting put me in. Very troubling.

Clee Hill courtesy of Boyd and Evans

The Threadneedle Prize for painting and sculpture runs until the 18th of September 2010 at the Mall Galleries, the Mall, London SW1.

View the article on Amelia's magazine blog.

Graphic North Unlimited

2010-09-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

My work is featured on the official website of Graphics North Unlimited. Two of my pieces are of part of GnUAgB's first collective project. Graphic newspapers and an exhibition are to come this October. Find out more here.

Work in Progress

2010-08-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

An Animated Life with David Habchy

2010-08-18T10:21:00.000-07:00

All images courtesy of David Habchy

I just realised I never posted on my blog the David Habchy interview I made in May this year for Dia magazine. So here it is:

Born in Beirut, DAVID HABCHY is an illustrator and animator with a different aesthetic. With a great balance of technical training to base his creativity on, David is one of those artists that captures your interest with just one look at his work. We were lucky enough to be able to interview David and see what the difference is between Lebanon and the United Kingdom, what his new collaborations are, and what other illustrators catch his eye.

“When I grow up, I want to be…” Did you always want to become an illustrator and animator?
I never thought of what I wanted to be when I was young. My only interest was to live every moment and tell it over and over again, until I discovered a visual approach of expression; illustration and animation.
How did your time at university go?
The major I chose “Computer Graphics and Animation” was relatively new; and somehow risky. I spent most of my university years in the drawing studio and art courses I was not enrolled in. In a way, I created a program of my own.

Read the full article here.

University of East London's School of Visual Arts graduate show 2010

2010-08-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

Installation by Marta Pibernat

Last June was a big night! My students in the 3rd year BA Illustration were showing their work and I was eager to show my support. Several of my coleagues were also exhibiting for their doctorate and I was not gonna miss this as I was very curious to see what they had been up to during the year in their private practice!

The crowd came in force to visit the school

The dean bids farewell to the 2010 alumni

For educators and students alike who are part of the School of Visual Arts, the opening night matters on so many levels. This is the time of the year where one gets to appreciate all the hard work in situ.And it was very gratifying to see Marta's 3D drawing taking shape and finally looking so good on the night! Definitely a success!

The Dean distributing prizes to the most deserving 2010 graduates many of whom were from the Fine Arts department

My students had been very ambitious in their final displays so much so that my little camera struggled to capture the surreal atmosphere and viual mood of Emanuella's poetic installation! I have since invested in a much needed upgrade, thank you!

Emanuela Allegra's installation photograped without flash

And with flash! The screen at the back played her lovely whimsical animations!

Illustrations courtesy of Eve Lacy

Illustrator Jade barchelor's exhibition space

Visitors at the fine arts displays

Particularly worthy of note were the fashion textiles of which I took no pictures, sniff! But below is a number of fine art installations and prints, etc... that caught my eye. Enjoy!

There was beer, there was bbq and music; the mood was to party and I very graciously gave in to numerous requests for photocalls! When it came to the end of the night and as I was heading back home, I couldn't help but feel very proud and reminisce as to where this particular batch od kids are heading. All the hard work was not in vain and we all have been at this place where anything is possible and everything is yet to be achieved! How exciting! Good luck to the illustration class of 2010!

My students April May Choon, Rasheed Kayode Bushura and Cherish york

Mill 24 part 1 - All the Hard Work Before the Night

2010-05-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

Above, Mill 24 handbook and map handed out at reception in a little goodie bag.

Over 2 weeks ago, I travelled up North to paint two big murals for Mill 24, a 24 hour week-end exhibtion full of up and coming artists art, videos and performances at the 5 storey Islington Mill in Manchester. I post here some photos of the event with a proper write-up of my experiences to come next !

All photographs courtesy of Valerie Pezeron.

When I arrived earlier in the week prior to the event, I had already figured I would give myself two days to do each mural. I knew I was being given the main bar/dancefloor walls to play with, but I was quite impressed to see how big that space was! So I took photos to give a 180 degree impression of the room.

That's one of my walls before I started anything.

That's the 1st sketch up before painting begins. That was rather a challenge working on that scale!

There is one shot missing as I forgot to take picture of the stage area though. But the here is half of the bar...
I painted the first mural all by myself the first two days and then went back to London to teach at uni on the Friday. That schedule was tough so I enrolled my boyfriend as artist assistant for the week-end- I assumed that years of modelmaking was training enough and, boy, was I right, he was of tremendous help! We travelled again to Manchester on the bus for 5 hours in order to paint during Mill 24 on Saturday and Sunday.

The Mill 24 crew of curators sorting out their handprinted labour of love. Womnderful people, I tell thee- I'm moving to Manchester at once!

The McWhippy van and crew having a well deserved rest after a not so smooth ride on that thing all the way from London. Very resourcefull folks, for sure!

The courtyard at Mill 24 before the crowd invades the premises and the fun begins.

My day at Print Club London

2010-05-12T08:09:00.000-07:00

All photographs courtesy of Valerie Pezeron

Yesterday, I headed to the Print Club in Dalston, North London for a proper induction into the techniques of waterbased screenprinting. I was really excited at the prospect of spending a whole day in the company of like-minded people and getting my hands dirty! Last time I did any proper printmaking was back at university where I had played with etchings, monotypes and woodcut.

This time around I thought I would try something new and also test wether the book I am currently working on titled "Written by Men, Blame it on God" would look good screenprinted. Besides planned publication by The Rationalist Association, I am considering doing a small handmade and screenprinted limited edition for sale to various outlets and also for exhibiting.
I found the induction challenging as there was so much to learn! The tutors were patient, very helpful and entertaining and the facilities more than adequate. Attending the induction was a diverse mix of individuals with a painter, a former advertising executive now turned construction worker, art and design students and a newly made redundant fashion employee.Yep, the recession is still biting and we're all feeling it.

Getting my hands on the final output was very rewarding and my final prints did not look too bad albeit with a few minor imperfections. I left with my head full of data and plans as the day answered many of my questions but also raised new ones!

Later on, I walked around the area to explore what Dalston has to offer and I discovered a really good and well-stocked art shop with very competitive prices named Jacksons on Farleigh road past Princess May tube station.
I can't wait to go back to Print Club and do more, more, more! Now I'm gonna buy a stiff enveloppe so I may send one print to my editor as a peace offering- I'm VERY late on that book!

A French West-Indian Woman in London

2010-05-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

English version above

Episode 1 of my Adventures in London. Sometimes, I feel like an alien in this big city, sometimes things are the most peculiar, odd or fantastic and worth writing about. I especially like to expose people's bigotry or quirks and those short chronicles are social commentaries and ethnographic observations, except the natives under the microscope are not some far away tribe but you and I!

French version above

Episode 2 coming soon

The Pope Song I Adore

2010-05-10T08:15:00.001-07:00

Courtesy of Tim Minchin and Fraser Davidson
Written & Performed by Tim Minchin. Directed and Animated by Fraser Davidson

Now as some of you might know by now, religion is a big topic of mine (see here for my upcoming graphic novel) and one chosen not by predilection but out of sore life experiences; I always like a good piss take when it comes to my religion of birth Catholicism! I think the big hatted holy men have earned a good satire and this one is just spot on! Well done to Minchin and Davidson, song has never been so well used!

Lyrics go as follows:

Lyrics:
Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the motherfucker,
Fuck the motherfucker hes a fucking motherfucker.
Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the fucking fucker,
Fuck the motherfucker hes a total fucking fucker
Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the motherfucker,
Fuck the mother fucker, fuck him, fuck the motherfucker.
Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the motherfucking pope.

Fuck the motherfucker, and fuck you motherfucker
If you think that motherfucker is sacred.
If you cover for another motherfucker whos a kiddy-fucker,
Fuck you, youre no better than the motherfucking rapist.
And if you dont like the swearing that this motherfucker forced from me
And reckon it shows moral or intellectual paucity
Then fuck you motherfucker, this is language one employs
When one is fucking cross about fuckers fucking boys

I dont give a fuck if calling the pope a motherfucker
Means you unthinkingly brand me an unthinking apostate.
This has nowt to do with other fucking godly motherfuckers
Im not interested right now in fucking scriptural debate.
There are other fucking songs and there are other fucking ways,
Ill be a religious apologist on other fucking days,
But the fact remains if you protect a SINGLE kiddy fucker
Then Pope or Prince or Plumber, youre a fucking mother fucker.

See I dont give a fuck what any other motherfucker
Believes about Jesus and his motherfucking mother.
Ive no problem with the spiritual beliefs of all these fuckers
While those beliefs dont impact on the happiness of others,
But if you build your church on claims of fucking moral authority
And with threats of hell impose it on others in society,
Then you, you motherfuckers, can expect some fucking wrath
When it turns out youve been fucking us in our motherfucking asses.

So fuck the motherfucker, and fuck you motherfucker
If youre still a motherfucking papist.
If he covered for a single motherfucker whos a kiddy-fucker,
Fuck the motherfucker, hes as evil as the rapist.
And if you look into your motherfucking heart and tell me true
If this motherfucking stupid fucking song offended you,
With its filthy fucking language and its fucking direspect,
If it made you feel angry, go ahead and write a letter,
But if you find me more offensive than the fucking possibility
The pope protected priests when they were getting fucking fiddly
Then listen to me motherfucker - this here is a fact,
You are just as morally misguided as that motherfucking,
Power-hungry, self-aggrandized bigot in the stupid fucking hat.

My profile on Mill 24

2010-04-15T05:08:00.000-07:00

The countdown to going up to Manchester to do the murals has started for me. My profile is now up on the Mill 24 website and I am very excited to take part! Have a look here.

Fear poster courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Do not reproduce without permission.

Blogwatch: JP Thurlow

2010-04-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

All artwork courtesy of JP Thurlow

During my time as a staffer and writer for Sketchbook magazine, I came across the really cool work of illustrator JP Thurlow who did the cover for the magazine's first ever issue.

Titled "Covers", this project was initiated by Thurlow as an attempt to list all of his hand-drawn remakes of the fashion magazine front covers he owns. And the results are mesmerising- this illustrator is a great craftsman!

As an artist who is also keen on drawing people, I really appreciate the time and effort invested in making each and everyone of those one-of-a-kind special artefacts.

Thurlow mentions that "with each Cover I take a perfect mass-produced object and turn it into a fucked up one-off. Don't expect perfection here, that's not the way I see beauty in the world." I guess this is why there is a certain edginess in these portraits that I find very attractive! Oh, and did I say I am a massive Vanessa Paradis fan? Vanessa, je tadore, j'ai tous tes cds! Bless...

Ping Pong at Mill 24

2010-04-07T08:06:00.000-07:00

All photographs courtesy of Mill 24, except above courtesy of Terrific Tor.

Ping Pong Club is a new monthly night taking place in March and May mixing Manchester's finest djs with the fun of ping pong.

It also happens to be the perfect excuse to throw in a fundraiser for the Mill 24 events coming up on the Saturday 24th of April and 29th of May 2010 in Manchester.
BlankThe evening's music was provided by three dj's from some of Manchester's most popular club nights; Jonny from Your Mama's Cookin', Mark from Up The Racket, and Alex from Sex With Robots.

We raised a great deal of money towards Mill24. The money will go towards paying artist expenses.
There will be another Ping Pong Club on May 20th, probably at Islington Mill but we are looking into hosting it at the newly opened Kraak Gallery in Manchester's Northern Quarter.

I will be one of many international and local artists taking part in this monumental project set on all 5 floors of the Mill. As you can see from the photos, the space is very versatile and the Ping-Pong night was a lot of fun!

Leon Diaper: Photographer Spotlight

2010-03-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

Photograph by Leon Diaper

Last month, I interviewed photographer Leon Diaper. Read interview here.

Scott Campbell's Money

2010-03-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Scott Campbell

I like Scott Campbell's version of defacing money. My version coming soon!

Creative Business Cards

2010-03-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

Business card courtesy of Valerie Pezeron. Copyright restricted. Do not reproduce without permission.

Business cards are an important part of an illustrator's professional presentation and a crucial signature that says EVERYTHING in a nutshell...or a tiny piece of printed matter.

Business card courtesy of Clemence de Limburgh

The size of the card, the information you put on it, the quality of paper are all important. Do consider font style and size, composition and what you will put at the front and at the back. But most importantly, what do you want this business card to say about you?

Business card courtesy of Louise Duncan

I include here business cards I have collected over the years. Many come in all sizes and shapes. Arguably, a good business card is in the pocket size/ fits-in-a-wallet size format.

Business card courtesy of Dan Bernstein

But I have noticed designers like all sorts of things; postcards and other larger formats can be good samples to leave behind after visiting a client with a portfolio.

Business card courtesy of Kanako Usui

I have both, postcards and my business cards as I find the latter more handy over networking opportunities. Tearsheets are a good way to make a lasting impression too. But more on these in another blogpost!

Business card courtesy of Hanna Melin

Creative CVs

2010-03-17T11:28:00.000-07:00

CV courtesy of webdesignerdepot

This post is for my students at the University of East London. I have compiled a list of creative CVs that I consider noteworthy from the good, the bad and the ugly currently filling the web's virtual shelves. Now it's up to you to do the same on your won blog.

CV courtesy of webdesignerdepot

There is no blueprint to the perfect creative CV besides the fact that if you are an illustrator, you CV should show that you have design skills, i.e an understanding of layout and design such as fonts, images and length. More specifically, your CV should not be more than 2 pages long, font size and spacing will be carefully considered in order to emphasise headings versus content.

CV courtesy of webdesignerdepot

Your CV should be a reflection of your personality and strengths. But even before discussing style, you need to brainstorm content, keywords that attract the employer's eye as to your achievements and plus points.

CV courtesy of webdesignerdepot

A creative CV is a perpetually changing work of art? That piece of paper will have to be constantly refined to fit the industry, employer and job you are targeting each and every time. But most important of all, make it visually striking so that it stands out from the pile of dreary CVs piling on that recruiter's desk.

CV courtesy of Jane Heinrichs.

And finally, last but not least, do not make it gimmicky, it's the content that matters most.

Things that Inspire Me: 30 Bizarre Examples of Defacing Money

2010-03-15T04:54:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of 62 The Comic

Courtesy of 300 Jackson

I find that defacing money is a good exercise in graphic design. And the following examples I found on the website Money Mumbo Jumbo are quite successful. It's not just about the visual solution, it's also about content which is something I try to get into my pupils' heads, the really cool kids at the University of East London.

Image courtesy of Hannah Von Goeler

Here everything is so chicky, dealing with money in a very irreverential way and I like that! Making fun with something so many people put on a pedestal and hold more dear than people's lives.

Image courtesy of What To Do

Dia is now online!

2010-03-15T04:26:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Art Lounge

Dia is an international magazine accompanying Dia-Boutique, a kind of Boutique 1, Net-a-Porter or ASOS for the Middle East. I am currently filling in as features editor and as a writer. The magazine has just had its first issue released last Thursday and one of the articles I wrote for the mag can now be read online. Titled Beirut Graffiti at Art Lounge, it is about this art space in the Lebanese capital catering to a more discerning youth hungry for trendy culture breaking with tradition. And Art Lounge is one place where they can find just that. Read it all here.
I enjoy writing features on Middle Eastern Art because even though I am not from that region ( I am French), I am learning all about how vibrant and influential this region is in the realm of the arts.