Art Notes: Not this time - short arse!

Mouse-over the image to see what Ben looked like first time around. You know, before I did a Lucas-style tweak and perfected it. I did fix it straight away though. That's allowed.

Over-confidence in your own abilities is a terrible thing. You get told in every school you go to to that you're the class artist, brilliant, etc... so don't bother to learn about BASIC RULES OF ANATOMICAL PROPORTION! "Nah, I'm brilliant, what do I need rules for? Borrrrr-ring."

Art Notes: I love these ones

"WHAT He's dissapeared"

The Epic SWa9

I'm sorry, but I get such a warm fuzzy nostalgic feeling when I see the earliest, most naively drawn ones from 1977. Oh, to be 9 again. Now -I'm just a boring old git, with lots of responsibilities and a mortgage, who drags his weary arse in and out of a desk job each week.

But there was a time when I - like most of you - had dreams (naive ones) but dreams none the less, aspirations, even lofty ambitions to be a comic artist - or just an artist of some type. I'd no idea what that entailed or how to even get there but I eventually went to art college. I won't blame college for my being diverted way from that path, but like many people who went to art college I did seriously get turned off art for a quite a number of years. I did go into film and animation and eventually got sick of that when the commercial reality of working in an animation studio sweat shop hit me (Ninja Turtles!) but I should have then reverted to illustration instead of wandering, cluelessly in the wilderness feeling disillusioned.

I was in a review at work around 2006 - not a pay review (fat chance) - but a yearly chat about performance; and I was asked

"What would you ultimately like to do?"

(I was a web/graphic designer back then too, but had started a painting evening course at the National College of Art Ireland) I responded:

"I'd like to be a painter".

My boss quipped - David Brent fashion,

"Ah, yeah. That'd be nice. Like, when you retire - eh?"

Don't know if you ever saw the British series The Office? Brent asks Dawn, the receptionist, the same question. She replies "I've always wanted to be a children's book illustrator."

"Yeah. Pipe dreams. Well I suppose you'll always have something to fall back on if the receptionist work dries up."

Thanks for reading! Care to comment?

Comments  

 

0 # RE: Not this time! (31) — T. Gatto 2011-09-19 21:04

Maybe Ben was a midget under his robes, and wore stilts, who would know?

Reply | Reply with quote | Quote

 

 

0 # RE: RE: Not this time! (31) — john i white 2011-09-19 21:18

Ha ha. The toupee was a diversionary tactic so we wouldn't notice the stilts!

Oh no - did I just shatter everyone's illustions?

(Have to say, I never cottoned on to the hairpiece until recently! I was very surprised to see him with a bald head in 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' back in 1978 or whenever)

Reply | Reply with quote | Quote