Sharing my art - Online custom-gift stores

Hello there Readers

Here are some stores I have just opened to be able to order customized gifts and to be shipped from Zazzle right to our doorstep.

We here in Dubai just came back from a months break in business which meant a month of rumination, clarifying spirits and essentially getting back to business with a fresh start. It was a time for positive reflection, catching up with old lost connections and everyone counting on their blessings.

I took this valuable time to build-up my online presence further and am pleased to have opened a few of my online stores where anyone can get articles with prints of original art never seen before.

So here it is. Thank you for stopping by!

Thanks to Google for their doodles!!

I woke up to another pleasant day and found yet another amazing animated doodle from Google...So interactive that everyone at home could get into the Olympic groove: Happy London 2012!!



Thanks to their link, hey readers look at what I found.... for your viewing pleasure!!

How lovely would it be to get involved in the Google doodle campaigns! Lucky is the person who gets paid to do this! Would be such a pleasure too, to doodle based upon the region. Or does the doodles from Google already exist region-specific!!? Let me find out...I'll post my findings real soon. More soon!

Acrylic Speed painting

I made this little sparrow clasping onto cherries, following my previous post when I had the creative breeze pass by. Thanks to the Acrylic Paints I captured the mood.

Acrylic Colours - a magic medium for Artists

Acrylic Colours first arrived in the art scene in 1962 when they were called Standard Formula. These paints are quite thick in a buttery consistency just like oil colours. Hence it was mainly for palette knife work and is good to build up a terrific amount of relief work called Impasto.

The advantage of acrylics over oils is that oils take months to dry but acrylic paints take only a few hours even if it is applied in thick amounts.

In addition to using palette knives , brushes may also be used.

Then came an excellent extension to the Standard Formula stable matte called Flow Formula. This is better to use with the brush. However it takes a bit longer to dry than the Standard Formula.

I use a retarder where I can in order to slow the drying process if I want to make a long drawn painting where I may not be able to cope with the quick-drying typical of acrylic paints. A paste called Texture Paste could be used for building heavy Impasto.

Nylon brushes of very high quality is best for acrylic. The Stay-wet palette was introduced to keep paint wet indefinitely which was such a breakthrough and helped save paint from drying quickly.

There is a magic in using Acrylic Paints for a creatively charged artist.
Acrylic Paint facilitates creating a painting right at the moment when the artist gets that urge. Such a painting has more value as it is made with more meaning with uninterrupted and truthful expression of feelings on the canvas.

Another advantage is that as soon as you have made the whole composition and you need to work over, you could immediately start from the other side of the painting without any fear of the under-painting getting in the way as by now it is safely dry.

Thus a painting can be created by the artist filled with inspiration rather than be controlled by having to wait for the paint to get dry like in the oil painting process, where the initial emotion is not the same as when the artist has come back to it in a day or two.

With acrylic, a piece started by (say) the evening hours could easily be completed by nightfall.

Artist's Acrylic colours are made of the same pigments used in Oil Colours. Instead of the pigment in drying oil or water soluble as in watercolours, these semi-permanent pigments come in a transparent, water emulsion of acrylic polymer resin.

Sorry for the technical terminologies, but this is an interesting fact to understand so we see how valuable acrylic paintings are actually.

The term polymer means joining together small molecules called monomers into lengthy chemical chains which form plastic materials. These convert into milky white, water emulsions which will dry as a crystal clear film once the water has evaporated.

That's about it on the tech art talk. I found this interesting to think about when I was pulling out my acrylic material to make a quick painting.

I hope it was informative to you as it was for me refreshing my memory of yet another amazing medium of art.

Will be back soon with another flavour of art and creatives. Pleased to see you here ! Happy Painting!!

An Artist from the Animal Kingdom - Should we be worried for the right reasons?

As an independent who seeks to thrive in an ever-growing competition of today... a look at this video amuses me!

Should I worry that this guy here has a better niche following than some of us? Or worry about who is making this a niche market which surely should be lucrative not for the artist.

Just a couple of days ago one of my associates were mentioning about these amazing artists with their skills in Thailand. That would be a painting made by an Elephant.

Today as I was making my routine weekend Google of a few pending research topics, I was amazed to come across this Elephant guy make this piece ... which looked like a piece of art (to humans) or a master-piece? Though am not sure what it looks like to the artist here.



I am in awe wondering how on earth is it able to get the forms right. Just watch it closely, how in it's mammoth form puts all its delicate energy into drawing the lines. Just look at how it has one of its legs suspended in sheer concentration. For a moment, it looked all normal to me, until i saw the Mohawk walk into the scene with a Kane....Now I look at it in horror... is he overseeing his slave at work??

Looking at this, I can't help thinking, why would an elephant pick up a paint brush and start painting, just like that. If it did that was just perfect for all of us to be dumb-founded. Would it do that in its natural habitat when it needs to relax? Of course not! This is no relaxation for an animal!? Though it is said that an elephant thinks like a human being in certain ways. All I know from my experience hailing from a part in India where there exists a natural habitat of Elephants, is that they love to eat plantains in loads and grace on grass and would do anything to have that. At the same time they also obey when they see the stick. There has been millions of instances when they have attacked if they cross the border line into insanity where the Mohawk has been hurled by the elephant to his death. Alas! what do they do? They take the elephant away and shoot it down. Failing to look at who is performing these acts of insanity in the first place. Like any domestic animal it can be domesticated and they respond best to kindness but this is no response to kindness!! Is it? What do you think? I suddenly felt a sense of sadness not because of a fear that my profession of art could get wiped out, but the thought of depriving the freedom of another earthling for the sheer entertainment and commercial gain for human beings.

Though I must commend the skill of the trainer, I am pretty sure these Elephant Artists have got through an extreme amount of trauma doing an abnormal thing like this. I can think of many comparisons to human artists getting compelled to take to art and stardom against their will. At the end of the day they are humans trained by humans. But animals are more close to an innocent being. They get obedient against their will if they fear their extinction. This is what I see in this video

But elephants are such beautiful beings and humans could derive such pleasure by doing so many other things by their majestic presence on earth. Provide a safe habitat for example. This is what I did as an artist with my elephant heroes. I did sketches of them on my child-like visits to the zoo quite often like this sketch here:

And this is one of my comic experiences on one of my zoo trips again with a friend.

This is my take as an artist who loves and dotes on animals and pets. What is yours!!?

This week I lost one of my family pets "Gypsy - our golden retriever" who had a helpless demise after 10 days on saline. What I feel for Suda - the elephant (which animal writes in English!) is most profound when I grieve for gypsy.

I will have Gypsy's portrait posted here one of these days. And some of her funny videos. See you soon! and thanks for sharing my thoughts.

Daily Life Color Theory - Color Harmony

This post addresses an important element in Colo(u)r Theory. ...COLO(U)R HARMONY... after I just figured that my first post on Colo(u)r Theory has received at least 6000 hits. Thank you  for letting me know that you are interested to know more about Colo(u)r-theory and perhaps how I apply it in my everyday life as an artist.

In my first post
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5217181103710191916#editor/target=post;postID=8067908127082557533  I only covered the basic colour wheel, where I featured my new bird pets who still sit chirping and making my garden (oh!) so colo(u)rful and happy, with a new born looking out of its peep hole "green with envy" ;o) watching his other colourful counterparts chirping around. His daddy is green and mommy a nice sunny yellow. Thanks to these lovely birds the place is bubbling with colo(u)rs.

As a second part to my colour-theory post, here today I am featuring one of my real-life art-pieces, showcasing the newest of my pets "Reji" a Siamese Fighter Fish.

May I proudly say that nature has marinated him with these amazing tones...a lovely crimson red, ultramarine blue and deep violet, with a silvery sky blue shimmer along his streamlined scales. An absolute beauty with a proud tantrum!


Here is what I captured of an unforgettable Betta in one of his most temper-filled moments!

I am not to blame for his anger, that is just the way he is by nature a very aggressive territorial aquarium fish.

While I make him a pretty-looking inhabitable space and study his character when finding ways to make him a less stressed-out personality, I am thankful to him for giving me a very colourful painting you see here. It was quite therapeutic while I made it, for the creative-dabble of cool and warm shades in a colorful musical harmony. In his silky display I could almost visualize the harmonizing currents of water around him perfectly obedient to the velvety direction of his delicate majestic fins swaying floret after floret.

This leads me to touch upon a very important topic today.

Colo(u)r Harmony

Colo(u)r is like music. A painting or an art-piece too possesses harmonizing in the aesthetic visual sense like in music compositions. 12 notes in music is just the same as the palette of colo(u)rs.

The art of practicing colo(u)r harmony is in knowing which colo(u)r to use, in what order and proportion. It involves scientific and aesthetic methodologies. Some colo(u)r combinations facilitate us to study all possible variations at once.

Whether you are here to seek inspiration for your next art masterpiece or an design layout for an ad or a cover design or even an inspiration for your wardrobe, it is suggested to start with the overall sense of the effect you are looking for... subtle or stunning, silent or striking, cool or hot.

This week I will be back covering several aspects of colo(u)r speaking of how it effects the mood, based on size and structure and purpose.

See you again very soon.

My Saul Bass Style Illustration

These are a few Saul Bass Style Illustration I had made a few weeks ago.
While you look through these I would like to announce that I'll be back with a post which I am excited to make here, talking about the legendary Graphic Designer Saul Bass and his iconic works. Stay Tuned!

Copyright © 2012 Remy Francis

Copyright © 2012 Remy Francis

  

Copyright © 2012 Remy Francis

Media Bridge at the Dubai Studio City held on 06 June 2012

My appreciation to DSC for extending their invitation to me for their 2nd Edition of "Media Bridge" at the Dubai Studio City. It was a networking event for their business partners to get together and get acquainted with new players.

I was very pleased to meet some great people from the Film & Production industry in such an ideal platform with attendance of like-minded people. The gathering was made very warm by the DSC hosts and the lovely caterers who made sure it was a sumptuous :o) business breakfast gathering to remember.

The speakers were very good, where they spoke elaborately about their offerings. It was interesting to note how well the 2 businesses showcased themselves in the event. Although I went to the event to find two things. Their insight of the industry as players stationed within the cluster and to networking with the partners.

The lasting value I can always reminisce on from yesterdays event would be some promising discussions with the "Attendees" where most of them were interested in collaboratively working on future endeavors (profit or non-profit) to compliment each others presence in the region.

My commendation to the authorities for facilitating such a possibility.

At the next Media Bridge edition I would look forward to the presenters giving their audience an insight into the industry (as being players in the Dubai industry) while they showcase their offerings.

World Drawing Day

Pleased that this event fell on a weekend in my end of the world that I had an opportunity to make an entry today marking the "World Drawing Day"!!


Enjoyed making this portrait online using the Drawing Day Facebook app.
Approximate time taken to create: 40 minutes.

Media Mondays - A Dubai Media Non-profit networking Event 28 May 2012

I understand that Media Mondays - the Media industry's quarterly networking event is going to be held at The Address Hotel, Dubai Marina tonight between 18 and 23 hours, where it is open-doors to Media industry executives from the film, TV, PR, advertising, Internet, mobile, radio, and other Media-related industries.

Details to RSVP are on www.mediamondays.com/

This is my first attendance to this event and I am looking forward to meeting new like-minded people in media and to catch-up with friends/associates. Are you going to be there?

Let's visit to find out what's in store for us as a thriving new community in the UAE!

A dual-creative-satisfaction

This part of one of my illustrations I did today, felt like I got a good brush-up of my 2D animation skills.

Has an absolutely unrelated creation of yours led to an experience of indulging in an absolute different art-form for you too?

Book Trailer - Sci Fi Novel

This is a book trailer I recently put together to help promote a Sci Fi Novel with Original score by a Dubai composer.

Enjoy!

Manga Character Design - Series

As part of My Comic Con presence follow-up, may I release this Manga Portrait among the first of my series responding to Manga character design Icons UAE requests.

Character-design from the outbacks

I really enjoyed a few hours today with some Australia-time, creating this mascot taking us for a ride in the outbacks :o) for a non-profit who invited me to create her and her travel-mate.

An announcement of my published design

I am pleased to announce that I am now an Amazon published Sci Fi Designer dated 24 March 2012

http://www.amazon.com/Critical-Mass-Volume-Gunnar-Garisson/dp/0615623018/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333444438&sr=1-1

I just received a signed copy from the author shipped from Washington. 

Thank you to the author of Critical Mass - Gunnar C. Garisson of Book 1 and Book 2 to have helped facilitate this start of a very promising tenure.

The Avengers - Behind-the-scenes Interviews

Here is a link to the making of Avengers

This was one great action-packed creative experiences in 3D movies I have had after Avatar. Although I wouldn't want to watch a 3D movie too often if I want to have a relaxing movie-day out. The glasses are a real hassle. However I find rather than live-action, 3D has the best impact as far as character animation oriented movies are concerned and would be very useful to especially animation artists and animation students who are looking for some serious inspiration to fine-tune their art.

Todays Event for Artists in Dubai & UAE

I was at... 
PHOTOWORLD DUBAI,
the International Digital & Imaging Exhibition for the Middle East at its opening day and my search for never-before found artists' material ended there.
And....
I came back with a promise and a few future collaborations to help me showcase my art and cater to a Middle Eastern audience effectively.

So drop everything, you artists and art-lovers and head to this annual event that could re-write the way you see art, photographs and Images with displays of latest technology, not to be missed.

The event runs from 25th to the final day 27th today!!

Comic Con Dubai @mefcc-My Whys and Wows!!

Last weekend I was at the Comic Con in Dubai and I had the most over-whelming experience..I accomplished my plans-at-large which was to meet other artists with interests to entertain the Middle-eastern fans and analyze the public interests in this form of art. Though I was subject to an Artist Alley Shuffle and my table landed physically out of the area populated by Artists. The good things out-weighed a resentment if any.

At the Artists Alley I was simply amazed by the vibe of creativity and comradrie (sorry this is not even an official word but you get the idea). Although most of the artists had landed at the Con to make a unique statement for themselves, there was a great sense of bonding irrespective of which part of the world they came from, with no difference in gender, creed or color.

In the following weeks, I will be covering the following exceptional artists I introduce here whom I was so fortunate to meet and connect with. As an artist this is a luxury to treasure and nurture for the rest of my life.

So folks! do read on while I take you around to each of them.

Well as I was an Artist who was also showcasing my works.  I take you to myself to mention what I was actually doing there at my AA table.

I had a presence at Comic Con Dubai 2012 (Officially called The Middle East Film and Comic Con),  simply....

1. To announce that I am here in Dubai and open for business and
2. To connect with Artists especially from the region.

My intent has always been how can we as a community help make the world a better place. Having been an advocate of wanting to bring together and help grow an artists community whether traditional or digital in different parts of the world, this was a feat after living and working in and around Dubai for almost a decade. I am pleased to see that 2012 is taking me closer to my wider goals.

ARTISTS I MET
1. My first intro is to a group of talented young men from Pakistan who were there to promote their comic book with the first pop art comic character from Pakistan.

They were an extraordinary bunch of modern, fun and talented human beings where there was a Creative Director, the PR person and an Illustrator. Wait till I come back to the details. Stay tuned!

2. The Second most extraordinary artist I met was a lady from Saudi Arabia.

I was so engulfed with happy emotions that I did not know whether I should break into tears or laugh. I went crazy just speaking to this young talented lady which came from a land of mystery. I listened intently at every word she told me about how it is to be an artist in Saudi Arabia. Her presence and friendly demeanor defied what I have learnt from the media, my only connection to this part of the world.


3. Artists from Peru - Again! Exceptional and distinct style of work....I can't wait to get into the details as I speak about each of them.


4. Comic Artists from the Emirates!! Wow! I thought...I met a really talented duo Ahmed - the whole squared - I called them. They were there to showcase through their studio a rare site for custom comic creation.

5. A hub which promoted and encouraged aspiring Arabic Artists. All of them were such a rare find.

6. This was another big one for me. I met some Saudi Arabian Comic Artists. The men could not communicate with me in a common language. The only language we had in common were the smiles and our art. I had another Emirati businessman who so patiently translated to me and to them whatever we needed to communicate. It was a pleasure for us to exchange our works of art for viewing and appreciate them without even knowing the language. The myth about any barriers of dealing with like-minded artists from another continent just melted right there.

7. Another site for sore-eyes where the number of women artists especially of Arabic descent. Especially Character Designers (celebrity artists who have taken their next step as well as talented budding artists). I saw the same humbleness in all of them alike.

8. There were quite a few deviant art celebrity artists too. Since I am not so much of a manga specialist or even adult fantasy artist (I am into Sci Fi and Children Fantasy-that's as far as I have gone to be able to connect with Comic con). One thing is these artists like Alwin etc. enjoyed such fan-base, it was simply impossible to even get a furlong closer to them leave alone being able to speak to them. So I did not even try after watching the long files of fans waiting for hours on end to get their autographed prints.

9. Although I stood enticed watching a manga pro artist exercising the jewels in her hands. That was such a treat watching her create. I did not realize until then how I enjoyed watching another artist draw especially when their style is different from mine.

10. Then there was this artist, who simply was busy both days making live portraits of people in various super hero fit-outs....and I could tell his live sketches were being bought like hot cakes. He was so busy that it was intimidating for me to even interrupt him. But I did manage to catch him free for a few seconds to make an artist to artist connection.

 This was my first comic con though I ate, drank and slept in my art world from the age of 2, and I have been in the commercial sector all my work life (production houses and ad agencies) so much that I never had the time to actually spend live sketching to entertain a live audience. Though I have done that only on request in parties doing portrait painting and silhouette portraits. Hmm I could use this experience, if I run out of options ;o).

 Anyway as I was not there to sell any art immediately, I am so glad I had this luxury just at a time when I received a legal permit to actually practice my traditional art in Dubai. So, it was a perfect time during this time of my calling.
So though I started with all the "Why words" when I found my table for some reason moved to 2 isles away from this bubbling artists community and the signed novels with my Sci Fi designs never reached the Dubai shores on time, and a few other things I rather replace with happy thoughts, I must say there were so many things I experienced to say a definite "WOW" and to look forward to Dubai's next Comic con or even end up with a new-found goal to try and visit other comic cons in the world. Especially San Diego. Ugh although this July I just may not be able to make it though one of my Sci Fi illustrations would get showcased there.

 And while I look at this amazon-published novel "Critical Mass" with my Illustration which I just received yesterday (compliments to the author) I have a special signed copy from him, I know there is always a next time for everything. For this first event I couldn't have expected it to be any better an experience than this one. Next time I would know how to react to surprises. Other than a split-second feeling that my table was like a sliver cut-off from a nicely iced cake, I was just taken aback with sheer pleasure about everything that transpired around me. Even bumping into other Dubai artists whenever I just took a walk in the campus for some fresh air. I met total strangers who became friends in seconds for they were artists who just came up to me to simply make a conversation. That instant connection as artists is quite difficult to describe. I hope I get to meet some of them again somewhere in this enchanting city. :o) a fantasy come true?

I am proud that I did the con with a few things to take from it.

• Got to know at least 10 new artists personally.
• I found at least a couple of new material to showcase my traditional art
• I found a focused group of audience interested in my kind of art and character designs. I would never have been able to reach these targets if not for the con
• I got to see live - some celebrity faces and get a rare view of a few who wanted to look like celebrity for the simple reason I went and said a "Hello" ;o) Let me leave this here for you to connect the dots.
• Live Pilate-run of my upcoming Picture books: I got to narrate one of my up-coming picture books based on a true UAE pet story and see the reaction of a few 10-12 year olds. It was such a great feeling to see how the kids got lured into my story.
• I got to live-sketch some fairies for a few kids hopefully making their day brighter.

So, all-in-all it worked out perfect for everyone in the event and I definitely recommend that a comic con is for everyone to behold and experience and be in this very special energy no matter who you are - a child, a teen or an adult. There is something on offer for everyone. If nothing else, it is definitely a fun-event to take you out of any blues. Trust me!!

With this, I end with this some more pictures from the comic con which I managed to take from between my space where I sat hidden among headphone sellers and computer monitor sellers. More pictures of the crowds whizzing past and more Cosplay artists and a few of my sketches I made at and for the event and the book trailer I made to showcase at comic con will follow in a post that will follow in a bit.

Before I end I would like to thank my close friends and family who have supported me 100% to showcase at this event and the best author and associate I could ever wish for Mr. Gunnar C. Garrison - a Scandinavian-American Author who fully supported with ideas and sourcing out images for the making of his book trailer. My appreciation goes more importantly to the organisers of this event for bringing such a promising event to the people of UAE and the region. I am sure next year they would do a greater job after they have done 2012's SWAT.

So folks! I was so glad to share this take of my Middle East Film and Comic con event. I can't wait to be back with posts with details of each artist I met at comic con.

Being the weekend here, I am taking some time off to do some manga character icon requests I received during the con. I have a whooping 20 characters to create and send off. I will post them as soon as I am done.

So do watch this space. And feel free to contact me for anything you need to know about art, drawing and inspirations in art.

Take care!

Happy Earth Day!

Reflecting on Earth Day today ....


I was at a multinational event yesterday here in Dubai, which left me so pleased that artists from all over the world could bond so well through their works of art without borders.

So any fear of the following is banished everytime such events happen :o)

Leaving me this lovely day to ponder upon.

I will be having some special posts about the first Middle East Film & Comic con fest I was mentioning about above here in the following days to come.
So stay-tuned while I share my "Why and Wow" moments at the mefcc.

MY ARTISTS ALLEY 65 AT THE DUBAI COMIC CON

I am off to showcase my works in Sci Fi, Fantasy, Childrens Illustration
with a Display Featuring my Sci Fi Works on a Featured Novel "The Critical Mass by an American Sci Fi Author Gunnar C Garrison.".
Also will be showing the Book Trailer of Critical Mass.

If you are in Dubai, welcome to this fun event to talk to me about the making of the Designs and the Book Trailer. It will be opposite Dubai Media City at the Exhibit venue at Mena Seyahi, (next to Barista.) So it is a fun first floor to hang out at.

I will post some images with my take on the event soon for the benefit of you folks who are not in the city today!!

In case you are, I am on Table No. 65 labeled "rembrandz.com". See you there.