Recently, via the twitter networks, I was shown this great blog Sparkapolooza, which is in a similar theme to the Monday Project except a new brief is up every two weeks. Please pop by and have a look it’s got some really, really lovely work submitted there.

I really couldn’t get it together to come up with their last theme but this time around they’ve got: “Let them Eat Cake”.

My work being what it is, is still dead quiet and I had a image in my mind to go with this phrase. Normally I don’t break out the sketchbook at work cause management don’t like it. Thankfully management had been struck with a lot of meetings and absenses, so I was able to knock this up between the odd email. Really, I’d prefer to spend another couple of hours refining finishing sketching out the picture but alas, nobody knows what meetings the future will bring management. So I thought I’d stick up what I managed to get done today.

I’ve hit one of those times at work where theres nothing to do. You’d think that would give me the opportunity to get all inspired and creative for my own projects. However, it’s one of those workplaces that even when you’ve got nothing to do, you can be seen to do anything productive that isn’t related to the company. So I basically get bored into brain death on a daily basis which seems to spill over to the out of work hours.

So with that discalimer, I present my Monday Project submission for the month. It’s pretty much a literal interpretation of the phrase (the first idea that popped into my head) and me playing around in Photoshop again.

 

 

I hate myself for that post title already…

But anyway, it was my birthday the other week. I celebrated in my usual way, which was by allowing myself to get a little grumpery and talking disparagingly about younger folk. Y’know, stuff that makes me happy.

But besides that, ASimpleTune has paid for me to do some life drawing classes

I’m doing them at the Guildford Lane Gallery. The classes for the last two weeks have been small, only around 4-5 people but the trainer has told us the class does sometimes get up to 12 to 15 people.

The classes are tutored (not sure if this the most up to date link, but I can’t find a better one at the moment), so a teacher supports and gives advice as you go. In the two weeks I’ve been there has the classes have followed a format. A series of 30 second to 1 minute poses, follow by around 3 10 minute poses that also explore a certain theme (last week; lines, this week; scale) and finish by a 40 minute (2 x 20 minute) pose. At first I was planning to only do a couple of weeks while I try out the tutored structure, to see how I felt about actually being ‘taught’ in the field of drawing again.

In all honesty, the themed drawings have been my favourite, and I’ve found having a teacher again proving the old lesson, we’re never too old to learn.

Anyway, I’ve got some more pictures, but I’m too lazy to put them up here right now… but they are here at my facebook page.

I know, I know. I’ve been quiet again.

I’d explain why, but it’s Friday and the pub is calling it’s siren’s song. Hopefully a little more wordage tomorrow.

In the meantime the weeks post it notes… though more notebook notes. sketches. something.

I’m a little suprised that I don’t have more doodles to show you all this friday.

I spent most of the week in a work shop at the company that pays me to turn up and do… something? I really need to find out what that is one day.

Anyway, like most meetings I seem be told to go to, it was only about 5% relevant to me or my job role. Which is bad enough but just to make sure I suffered, the workshop went for three and a half days. As you can imagine I was expecting to have a lot more doodle time. Especially considering when I got sent to a training session in a similar situation.

However, there were a lot of people there who are… I’m not sure how to describe them, they’re not quite ‘big wigs’ but they are at a level where they could easily get me fired. So the compromise seemed to be that I’d try to a pay attention more often than not and they wouldn’t ask why I was the only person in the room drawing cartoons and checkered patterns all over their notes.

It seemed fair enough…

As you probably can tell, it’s a composite from several pages. I’m pretty sure my employers wouldn’t appreciate putting my notes up on the net.

Anyway, another workshop next week. So I’m 99% sure there will be another Post it Note Friday update soon…

Update: Whoopsie. Forgot one!

OK, so my first post-it note “I’m going to do this every” Friday was three weeks ago.

However, I’ve been very busy, I’ve got a life y’know. Well not really but I like to pretend.

Two weeks ago, I had the week off work, so I was busy doing things like sleeping in, watching DVDs and playing the xBox. Last week, and this surprised me more than anyone, I was incredibly busy at work. I was working on a project for a different department that required me to use flash (which I haven’t touched for months) and actionscript 3 (which I’ve never tried using before) all while thinking about (and I’m not kidding here) time travel.

But it did make me realise something. Thinking is a lot like sit-ups. You can’t go an extended amount of time without doing any and not avoid struggling and seriously risking hurting yourself when you start again…

Besides that here is a compilation of some of my weekly doodles…

P.S. Started working on a simple idea. Hopefully there will be an update soon.

So I’m enjoying my week off.

My parents visited on the weekend. At 6:30 in the morning, but that aside it was nice to see them.

Anyway, I caught up with friends yesterday, had a few beers and came home and attempted a quick sketch.  I probably would have been better off starting it before the beers, but well, sometimes these things are out of our hands!

Anyway, I was so focused on trying to get the lines right, I didn’t really notice that I had completely stuffed up the face…

(Click to embiggen)

Also. I finally fallen to peer pressure and set up a redbubble account. So, on the off chance you feel like buying some drawings…  y’know…. Go there!

Urgh. I’m having one of those mornings where I just can’t get my head together.

You know the type of mornings where you get to the train station and you have to pause because you’re struck by the thought “Did I remember to put pants on before I left the flat?”

And what’s worse is when you have the same thought 20 minutes later but can’t remember the answer from the first time…

Yeah, that’s the kind of morning I’m having. I just can’t get my head together So here is an old doodle, done on one of the many previous days where I’ve turned up to work with this problem.

PS. On the bright side though, next week is looking cruisey…it worked out this way;

Monday is a public holiday.

I had Friday off as an RDO cause I’m seeing Circus Oz on Thursday night.

Then the company I’m working for said it was going to hold a ‘fun day’. Either on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week we had to turn up to someplace with a stack of other people from all around company for a day of “activities and fun”. Of course, to maximize the fun, all the activities are top secret until we turn up. We weren’t going to be told till today which of the two days we’re meant to turn up to it. Now while I’m sure it wouldn’t be too bad I also couldn’t help but to wonder if I could get out of it if I gouged my eye out with a rusty spoon.

Now I’m known for dreading corporate events like this, so my team leader joked, ‘I suppose you’ll take a leave day then?’… and I thought maybe that idea was a better alternative to the rusty spoon.

But now, I wasn’t sure if it was going to be Tuesday or Wednesday, so the safest thing to do would be to take them both off. But then meant I would only have to turn up on thursday next week and that just seemed silly.

So I’ve got all of next week off….

Well, I’ve just gotten back from a week in Tassie visiting the sketchy folks.

I have some photos which I’ll put up later, but for now I’ll show a picture I started while I was down there. You can’t see it too well, cause I was using some metallic pens (the river is silver for example).

I’m not sure if I like the way it’s turning out, so and ideas or feedback would be appreciated…

Alternative title; He draws the picture or he gets the hose again!

Honestly, when I  saw the theme “She looked at the pile of books and wondered how she would ever fit them inside her head.” My thought was “…”

Followed by “Maybe if I drew a… no, that won’t work.”

Which lead to the thought “…”

And I concluded with “Oh, shit!”

So a while later I got to drawing patterns again and I had the image of a picture of a girl with large hair and keeping books in it. So…

(Click to embiggen)

PS. I just wanted to thank Soph & Kate for running the Monday Project. I know they’re both really busy, but I find it a great motivator and a lot of fun. So thanks!