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| Zinaida Serebriakova self portrait. Master-study by Mike Blake. 2012. Digital. |
Yet another masterstudy from one of my all time favorite painters, Zinaida Serebriakova (wikipedia). Partly what attracted me to this painting was the use of primary colors. The whole painting rests, sits and vibrates due to the vibrant colors speaking to each other, yet being subdued by the grayed colors. (I typically like Zinaida for her amazing painterly quality, and unique and attractive exageration/simplification of human form and reality. An interesting fact I've noticed over the years of gathering a digital archive of her work is how much she loves the color BLUE.)
The painting is not meant to exactly copy Zinaida's painting...fyi. Mostly just to test out an awesome painting with my Greyscale to COLOR method (as described in my previous posts.) I am really getting the hang of it!
COMIC REVIEW:
Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell
Online Comic: http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/index2.php
Yet another super inspiration has hit my life. (geez my last post had one too.) Tom Siddell is a self-proclaimed comic artist from the UK that built his career up on the internet, while working a full time unrelated job. Even though he has received large acclaim, several awards, and has his books on Amazon, he still leaves his comic online (a rarity I admire...in a money starving world).
I came across this comic a few years ago, and today I found it and fell in love again. In fact I spent 6 hours reading from the beginning to what is current. There is alot of reasons why I like this comic. Part of it is because it reminds me of the comics I used to write YEARS ago and part of it...well, I will tell you some of them:
What starts off as a seemingly simple whim (for the comic to exist) expands and explodes into an interwoven and complex plot. Tom Siddell captured my attention with his art, and then my heart with the characters and stories.
Essentially his comic was a blend of EVERYTHING cool! Robots, girls, exploring, ancient mysteries, amazing use of line and black, lots of intrigue, fun characters that have complex levels of personality, the list goes on and on.
I have to say that the story doesn't flow like a movie, it is more episodic based, like a TV series. Sometimes you are given the context of the situation from beginning to end, sometimes you are dropped in the middle of a situation, making you wonder how the characters got themselves in that mess. Meanwhile, the overall plot continues to get more and more intriguing, making you want to keep reading.
Overall Sleek, shiny, simple, yet complex, amazing, strange and enthralling. Definitely ingenious and different than most comics. I was equally surprised by the evolution of the character design, year to year, and EQUALLY surprised by the credible, or at least believable facts and research Tom Siddell did...yet he presents it in an interesting/simple/educational way.
Bottom line? Go and read it. Buy it. Support Tom Siddell!
Online Comic: http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/index2.php
Buy books on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tom-Siddell/e/B0034Q3V76/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1336837998&sr=8-1
On a funny note Tom Siddell announced recently that he quit his full time job in order to persue Gunnerkrigg Court...just as I start a full time job taking me away from art. Sigh...don't worry however, I have great, GREAT plans for the near future! This comic may have awoken a sleeping giant inside of me, that has been dormant for years...don't be surprised if you start seeing more comics in the future (and not the one panel, or single page ones either.)
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