Sunday 20 January 2013

Anarchy Series: Order without Hierarchy

I am beginning a new series, 'Order without Hierarchy'. The first two canvases are shown below. More to follow in coming weeks.



Saturday 19 January 2013

Duck 4 Cover Photo Shoot

Yesterday, we put together a photo shoot with the Duck 4 Cover Crew from Rubber Ducky Clothing.

It was a successful shoot, as the weather held off and there were some awesome t-shirts to photograph. 

I love wearing these rags, they are seriously tidy designs and superior quality too.

Rubber Ducky Clothing provides street apparel to those who want to step up and make something out of nothing. An ethic that Thomayne can agree with wholeheartedly.

Check out their gear on the
Rubber Ducky Clothing site. You can also find them on Twitter and on Facebook.

Check out just a few of the shots below:












Wednesday 16 January 2013

Finding the Correct Medium

It is amazing just how often this topic comes up in conversation. I used to think that what I am about to describe happens to every creative soul at some stage, but it seems I may be wrong.

My journey in finding the correct creative medium started after high school, when I jumped straight into university. Being socially inept, I mostly drank booze and hung out at the university bar trying to identify with others in some way, even if it was at a more basic level.

I was seriously lacking direction, and so I chose to enrol in a Bachelor of Arts degree. Now, in case you are not aware, generally that is the degree that everyone lacking in direction enrols in. It is like your 'default' course for layabouts. It is the most generic and wide ranging course the university can offer, so naturally anyone lacking a sense of purpose enrols in it.

My primary subjects were English Lit, Drama and Philosophy. In English Lit and Drama I primarily focused my attention towards creative writing. I tried to take it seriously, so I put some effort into my peer assessed stories, prose and scripts.

Back in those days, hardly anyone could afford a mobile phone, let alone a laptop or PC. As a result the university provided student access to computers for the purpose of doing research or completing assignments.  

I spent countless hours on the university computers working on my creative writing. I wrote, re-wrote, edited, re-edited, wrote and re-wrote some more. It got to the point where I lost focus on whatever it was I was trying to say. I was constantly floating in a fetid pit of dissatisfaction. I ended up with a vasty array of floppy discs (yes... I am that old) full of hundreds of edited versions of my ramblings.

After quite some time of chasing my own tail, I eventually had a perfect moment of clarity. Somehow, I knew I had plenty to say - but the realisation hit me that I was expressing it in the wrong medium. I was confident that I was a capable writer, however I was totally incapable of knowing when a piece was finished. Everything I wrote was constantly re-written into oblivion.

Whilst I realised this epiphany was significant, I also knew I was totally lost. I had wasted a lot of time trying to express myself in words.

It ended up with me leaving university. Thankfully however, all was not lost. I knew that all I had to do was find the correct medium for my creative output.

Eventually I dabbled in sound, and totally sucked at it. So I tried visual mediums, and found myself drawn to painting and photography. I soon discovered painting and photography were the ideal mediums for me, because I was easily able to identify when the piece was finished. I simply knew when to stop.

I am sure that this evolution of expression may seem straight forward to some. But it sure took me a while to figure it out.

Tuesday 15 January 2013

Facebook + Instagram = A Pile of Steaming Shit.


With all of the negative publicity surrounding Instagram lately, you may be aware that in Mid December 2012, Instagram revealed a new Terms of Service (TOS) agreement for its users, which immediately proved to be a silver bullet.

A new clause was introduced that made it clear that the service was to have the ability to use your content in advertising, with no compensation to you, the copyright owner, whatsoever.

In addition, it was announced that advertisements would become a part of Instagram in an attempt to monetise the service. Well, that was hardly a surprise when Facebook purchased for $1 billion in a combination of cash and stock. They would need to do something to justify the purchase.

For users who didn't want to accept the new terms, they were courteously advised by @anonymous on Twitter that they could #boycottinstagram by downloading all of their images that had been uploaded to the service and deleting their account.

So, a significant amount of users did just that. The bailout was so impressive that Instagram did a complete back flip and reverted to the terms of service that they have had since 2010.

In reverting back to the previous TOS, Instagram want people to believe that everything is hunky dory. Instagram founder Kevin Systrom blogged that they have ‘listened’ to their users and have made appropriate changes to their policy to accommodate.

Well, yay for them. But you see, for me, it is all a matter of trust.

I simply don’t trust Instagram anymore. And I trust Facebook even less. We were stung hard by Facebook when they made changes to their algorithms mid last year (see our post regarding this). Facebook needs to learn that they can’t just dictate unreasonable policies to their users and expect to get away with it.

So, we have joined the ranks of the disgruntled, and have deleted our Instagram account. We are now on Streamzoo, so come and join us. But be aware, if they get bought out by Facebook – we are out of there!

Monday 14 January 2013

Music and Art Make Sweet Love...

Ever since I can remember, music has inspired me creatively.

Like most people, music touches my soul in so many ways that it is impossible to put it in to words.

As a music lover, I usually get frustrated when people tell me that they listen to pretty much anything, and that they have no particular music preference. 

It is not a matter of my being elitist, but like anything of value - I expect that people should at least try and be selective in their choice, if for no other reason than to get the most out of it.

I guess I get more out of music than some - I rely on music to inspire, motivate and turn me on creatively.

I recall on one occasion when I was younger that I was so enamoured by a remix of a song from Nine Inch Nails, that I wanted to embed a speaker into a painting so that I could have their music playing from within the painting itself. 

Of course, the idea was scrapped for two reasons. The first being that I would never be able to obtain the rights to play their music should I exhibit it in a public space and secondly and most importantly, it was tacky.

My point is that music has always inspired me down to the core of who I am creatively, so much so that I wanted to express it in quite a literal manner.

I often do my best painting when I am listening to music. It helps in so many different ways. It helps to set the intended mood, and it also helps to maintain or change it, depending on what I need.

Music is just as important when I am out and about indulging in photography. Personally, I prefer not to drive (that is a topic that will probably get its own blog post in the future). As a result, I use public transport for the majority of my travels.

This is extremely conducive to great photography. It allows you to be in places that are gritty, urban and real. I can often be seen wandering around train lines, or a train station with headphones on my ears and camera resting in hand.

When working on a new piece, the music you listen to directly influences the outcome of the project. The mood you are in when being creative is reflected in the final work. When being spontaneously creative, sound can totally change the way you approach what you are working.

So if you want your art to become something special, I recommend that you turn the music up. Let the music and the art make sweet love... 

What are you prepared to pay for original abstract art?

What are you prepared to pay for original abstract art? (for the purpose of this poll, we will focus on a 10 inch x 10 inch [25cm x 25cm] canvas)

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