Kim (in print)

visual arts & london stuff 
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Where Books Come to Life

Having tried a teeny bit of paper cutting, I'm in awe of this beautiful stop motion animation from Andersen M Studio for the NZ Book Council. My friend Sarah McIntyre posted this vid the other day, as tweeted by Neil Gaiman, so it's already garnered a lot of comment about the place.

The voice over is in the evocative spirit of Gee's writing, and it made me think about my own association with some of the locations mentioned... living in the inner city suburb of Kingsland, taking a shortcut each day across those tracks to work on Mountain Road, opposite the castle-like prison, (Mt. Eden), just downhill from Auckland Grammar where the boys enjoy a lofty view of the prison yard....

The selected text is so rich visually. Yeah, I love all the NZ scenery, but it's somewhat refreshing not to see a mountain/river/lake in this advertisement.  I'd only been to Auckland once as a kid, and apart from the harbour bridge, my main visual cue was the prison. Which to a kid is more like a castle, turrets and all. It's an unusual NZ landmark, and it makes a superb paper sculpture.

Oh, and as for the delicious voice over, I'm going to stick my neck out and say that's Alan Dale, (aka Jim from Neighbours, also in LostWest Wing, Ugly Betty etc) reading the script in his native Kiwi accent.  

(OK, I could get shot down....)

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Filed under  //   art   book   culture   illustration   london   new zealand   video   visual arts  

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Pixar and IMAX look great together


I haven't seen A Christmas Carol yet, however I did see  Pixar's Up at the recently refurbished BFI IMAX. Visually intense, the story at the heart of the 3D illusion is of course where Pixar really delivers. There's always a sense that it takes years, (which it does) to develop a movie like this, with nothing rushed or left to chance. I'm working my way through a book on Pixar, and I look forward to reading more about the story editing process as a script goes into development, how much visual design is done in tandem with writing, if at all, etc. Up was preceded by a stunning 3D trailer for Alice in Wonderland and the enchanting Pixar short film, Partly Cloudy here's the best quality full version (for as long as it lasts up on RuTube!). Enjoy.

Photo: BFI IMAX, situated on a roundabout outside Waterloo Station on the South Bank.

 

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Filed under  //   culture   entertainment   illustration   london   visual arts  

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Interactive Views at Tate Modern

New online technology at the Tate - a nice interactive addition which includes close-ups of Richard Long's work, artist statements, glimpses of people in the gallery, etc.

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Filed under  //   art   culture   london  

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MA Summer Show Photos - Camberwell Coll. of Art

 

The Camberwell College of Art MA Summer Shows (University of the Arts, London) went off really well last week, though it's sad to see a lot of great people leaving fromIllustration and leaving a few of us part-timers kicking around the place! The work from Illustration was exciting, and as predicted, very diverse with editorial illos, children's books, graphic novels, animation and more - something I really appreciate in this course. Group crit sessions and regular meetings meant that we all had an inkling of who was doing what, but most went an extra mile towards the end and a few suprises lay in store.

500 people came through the door in the first 15 minutes, and around 2600 through the evening. See some of my photos here and get more on '09 MA Illustration grads here (thanks Tom). The crowds made it a bit tricky to get photos so above are a few Illustrators except for the guy with the toast - a printmaker - who gave out an edition of 'toast prints' at the door.

 

 

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Filed under  //   art   camberwell college of art   culture   illustration   london   visual arts  

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Exploring Spitalfields

I love the look and idea behind this store in Spitalfields, North East London - A. Gold - which sells English produce. It's the kind of place you wish inhabited London's more ubiquitous High Streets.

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Filed under  //   london   this is wonderful  

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Hot Potatoes

Today's Guardian (a major UK daily) is running friend Sarah McIntyre'sVern & Lettuce comic strip, so I've already sneaked a peek to see how it looks and it's... fantastic! Of course, humble newsprint doesn't quite do the same justice as the classy matt DFC magazine, home to Vern & Lettuce, however the colour is looking really good. Sarah tells me her comic is running for 12 weeks, so take a look at the Family section of The Guardian (Saturday editions) before recycling!

So much more humble than newsprint is the potato. This morning I sketched some Maris Pipers. Everyday Matters challenge #26: Vegetable. (graphite pencil, marker, coloured pencil)

   
Click here to download:
Hot_Potatoes.zip (448 KB)

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Filed under  //   art   children's literature   EDM - everyday matters   illustration   london   publication  

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Jonny Hannah's Hot Jazz Special

One of the great aspects about being a student at Camberwell is having the opportunity to meet some of Britain's best illustrators. Yesterday Jonny Hannah gave us an insight into the way he works, entertaining us with a wide array of examples; books and jackets, advertising and theatre work, and screenprints sold through his  business, Cakes and Ale Press

I first came across Hannah's work displayed in the V&A Museum's Illustration Awards in 2005, and subsequently purchased the book, Hot Jazz Special  (photo shows one of the most popular spreads) which he graciously signed for me. 

Last night I did some very un-Hannah like drawings of a large Linzer biscuit. (These are little practice drawings for Hansel and Gretel, part of my MA project - anything with hearts or faintly biscuit-y/cookie-ish in nature will do....)

         
Click here to download:
Jonny_Hannahs_Hot_Jazz_Special.zip (2265 KB)

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Filed under  //   camberwell college of art   children's literature   culture   drawing   food   illustration   london   picture book   visual arts  

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Drawing Every Day[stuff]

Drawing everyday stuff, every day. Cute toadstool pin cushion from local store, Cath Kidston.

 

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Filed under  //   art   drawing   illustration   london   visual arts  

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Preparations for Book Festival

I have a break from work next week - good timing as I've come away with a list of 'to do' notes from a tutorial with illustrator Anne Howeson yesterday and loads to prepare for The Crystal Palace Children's Book Festival. Writer-illustrator Alex Milway is the super-organizer-creator, and thanks to Garen Ewing, we've got some starter artwork. A bunch of illustrators and publishers are lined up for this South London event, and I'm expecting the time between now and then to disappear way too fast....

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Filed under  //   children's literature   exhibition   illustration   london  

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Dog's Day at Book Launch

   
Click here to download:
Dogs_Day.zip (603 KB)

Last night I caught up with some friends from SCBWI at Sue Eves' launch of her brilliant book, 'The Quiet Woman and the Noisy Dog'. Yummy dog biscuits, (for humans) got the thumbs up from everyone, including a real dog who faced off with Sue's 'noisy dog' puppet. Not to be upstaged, 'the noisy dog' fed the real dog a treat, captured here by Sarah McIntyre. As always, The Illustration Cupboard, off Piccadilly, was the perfect venue, and it was a great chance to see original artwork from Angela Barrett's latest book on the wall.

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Filed under  //   book   children's literature   illustration   london   picture book   publication   visual arts  

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