Spaces Between The Gaps: found creatures

Found Creatures In Paint

Monday, January 30, 2012

A gaggle of cheery critters to wish collectors happy birthday. A selection of the hand painted birthday cards that I send to my fans and supporters. For this year's theme I've been re-exploring my found creatures, but this time in paint instead of found objects. Perhaps they are more akin to imagination animals. Ooo the possibilities...

For you, as a newsletter subscriber. Just send me the day & month of your special day. To subscribe, yellow box top left!

Here's to imagination, optimism & seeing possibilities.

creative cauldron

Creative Cauldron - Urban Decay

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Artist inspiration and artist influences. No biographies, dates or scholarly research here - this is a personal response to beauty in urban decay by Australian artist Fiona Morgan.

Pic by designwallah - flâneur

The original photography group that first turned my head and made my brain pop with the discovery of a world of artists fascinated with the concept of urban decay and beauty in detritus was on Livejournal. The group is still going and still my favourite of the urban decay type photography groups that I know of.

These people go out and photograph what is around them in the streets, not out in the fields or forests. So rusted dumpsters, abandoned houses, leaves mashed onto the road and broken gates are the subjects instead of waterfalls, blue sky and magnificent trees. And no people.

Pic by bellisario :: photography

It was my reaction to these photos that alerted me to my interest in texture. So many of these pictures rely on the complexity and randomness of the textures. I've since noticed that many of these photos that appeal to me also play with subtle colour variations (a part of the attraction of texture) and have an emphasis on line. Many are quite graphic and abstract. And many are 'simply' the result of someone walking around the neighbourhood with the ability to see what is before them through new eyes and use composition well.

Pic by M i x y

Pic by craigfinlay

What I particularly like about the LiveJournal group is the skew toward smaller scale compositions, and the emphasis on texture, colour and line. As opposed to most other sites on urban decay which have beautiful photos of abandoned buildings lit in a mesmerising manner as the photo above demonstrates. I think this style is stunning, but what really gets me hooked are examples like the first three on this post.

Pic by siobhanm_baxter

This interest in urban decay photos began about ten years ago and I quickly adopted my own version which involved me pointing a fat camera lens really close up at rocks, squinting into tree bark and being chased away by loopy owners of rusting metal contraptions lying on the road. I was trying to shoot textures and build up a library. At some point I expect that this interest in texture will fully spill over into the paintings. And that will be fun.

This whole post was sparked off by the realisation that it's SoFoBoMo time of year again. I'm not participating this time as the cookbook is on the go and that is quite enough, but if you'd be interested in a self paced and self directed creative project, it's really neat. Go check it out.

And how does SoFoBoMo relate to urban decay? It was this interest in photography of the small scale, using found objects and an artistic eye that led to the Found Creatures theme of SoFoBoMo last year.

About the Creative Cauldron series of posts

Creative Cauldron - artistic influences & inspiration for Australian artist Fiona Morgan

The Creative Cauldron series of posts explores and showcases the visual styles, techniques, attitudes, ideas, artists and paintings that have had the most impact on me.

The rest of the series is accessible via the Creative Cauldron page. Have a meander if you please, and remember to check out my artworks on Flickr, and have an insider peek at life as an artist on Facebook.

found creatures

Urban Creatures

Thursday, February 04, 2010

The potential that people busy past every day. These are maybe what could be seen if people slowed down. Take a breath, focus on a point, attune, relax. These are what I find in the patterns around me.

And so to begin:

camerabag

Found Creatures - SoFoBoMo Finished

Thursday, October 01, 2009

I am really really happy with my 'Found Creatures' series. I have some ideas of how to take these further, but what I really really want is YOUR ideas and feedback.
Do you like them? Do you have a favourite? If it was for sale, what format would appeal to you (greeting card, photo print, canvas print, eco shopping bag, your own idea)? What in your opinion would enhance the Found Creatures (animal quotes, environmental/recycling quotes, something else entirely)?

Vote for your fave by leaving a comment. The 5 secs it will take you will be very much appreciated.

Without further ado, the constraints of 30 days and an iPhone, travelling and the inspiration of environmental/land art...

Happy Bird Creature	Underwater Swimming Creature
Startled Kangaroo Creature	Fish Creature
Multi-Legged Flying Creature	Damned Cross Creature
Insect Creature	Dragon Creature
Flying Snake Creature	Rhino-Like Creature
Flat Out Running Creature	Angel Bird Creature
4 Legged Critter Creature	Bunny Creature
Underwater Floating Creature	Oriental Dragon Creature
Dog Creature	Cute Fluffy Creature
Magical Pony Creature	Skeleton Bird Creature
Stork Creature	'What Deposit?' Creature
Dragon / Seahorse Creature	Multi-Legged Floating Creature
Cute Running Creature	Pelican/ Brolga Creature
Lizard Creature	Vote for your favourite Creature in the comments...

If you're interested, the full set of 37 Found Creatures is:
On SoFoBoMo
On Flickr

andy goldsworthy

Creative Cauldron - SoFoBoMo and Environmental Art

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Artist inspiration and artist influences. No biographies, dates or scholarly research here - this is a personal response to environmental and land art by Australian artist Fiona Morgan.

It occurred to me that it might be a good/enjoyable/worthwhile/useful idea to do a regular post on my influences and showcase other artists or stuff that has made me stop and go 'wow'. Useful for me to have a reference. Fun to do. Enlightening for my followers.

And so to begin. The Found Creatures were influenced by both the constraints of intended travel, and these artists who all use natural found objects. I love their work. All these pieces are both beautiful and, to me, have that something extra. Soul. Spirit. Spark. I'm not sure how to define it.

Anyhoo, as pictures tell so much more than words, instead of me rabbiting on about different artists and their techniques, here are examples of works that have inspired me and stretched my mind:

Andy Goldsworthy