Rhinos and pickles.

I'ts never about the Rhino.

Hmm, I don't know how to lead into this, but I've been looking at a lot of photography of Tribes in Africa for the totally shallow reason that they're stylin? They're pretty? But all those examples of colorful body painting, woven textiles and interesting body modification are in these books that are surprisingly old-school about how they portray people. In that they portray the people of africa not as people but as animals or a "species" that can become endangered. It's really wierd but like they'll have a picture of these kids "stampeding" or of a girl grinning wide with a camel behind her, and because she has a gap between her teeth and the camel has a gap between it's teeth they are suddenly the same thing? They don't have sex they "mate" etc. etc. 

It happens elsewhere too, obvious example: The Lion King and that new movie coming out, AFRICAN CATS! Africa doesn't have people, only singing lions haha

I mean, I can't talk. My sketchbook is full of blackface babies and fictional tribe people. The more I learn about all this kind of negative imagery the more I want to incorporate it into my work, just because it's sometimes so seductive in how it ungulates between benign and scarring.

Plus it makes me feel naughty, there is that.

Reinventing the wheel.

Look what change in medium did! (above)

Bought a sketchbook and am practicing. Because that's what I need, practice, not just technically but practice being able to pick out what I like about how I work, what imagery I'm comfortable with and just getting over the fear of making something ugly. Basically am practicing BEING PRODUCTIVE. Also it's important that I just get more focused and precise for work. 

It's very wierd, actually, what you can discover and feel when you're drawing. For me I've noticed that there's different gears I fall into, theres slow and layered, there's the sort of practiced cartoony and then theres the richocheting around where the drawings are about to shake apart. The goal is to eventually be able to start utilizing how I draw in finished pieces, especially the shaky bit and let go of the idea that my work, illustration or otherwise is ever going to fit in anywhere.

Thanks for listening guys, fun stuff coming up, I'm making a Spring mixtape!

Sleeping woman

Boobies got folds yo.

The other day I was watching that documentary/ film about the four different babies growing up around the world, appropriately titled Babies. One of the kids was from the Himba tribe in Namibia where the women coat their bodies and hair in a red clay that not only tints them a beautiful earthy crimson but also protects them from the sun that constantly beats down on them. They're jewlery is also very practical, particularly their tall metal anklets that protect their shins from poisonous snake bites! Plus the baby boys have these adorable little braided mohawks. Overall visually the tribe is visually fascinating and has earned a steady stream of tourists that borderline fetishize the proud women who walk around bare-chested regardless of age or body type.

And who can bloody blame them! I wish I could walk around shirtless, or at least wear sheer clothing. In New York it was actually legal, but how could one even fathom it when just wearing a skirt garners so much innapropriate male attention? How much healthier would the world be if women were allowed to bare it all without the fear of a sharp pinch or even sharper yelps? Though giant breast implants are now on the outs trend wise (hurrah!), what a breast actually looks like seems to still be a mystery to most. Since women arn't encouraged to be shown the breasts and bodies of others (because of society's rampant fear of homosexuality or honest sexuality of any kind) everyone just walks around thinking they're hella freaky and constantly apologizing, when really they're totally fine. Better than fine, BANGIN'!

At some point western (primarily American) culture decided that it was unnatural and unnatractive to be human... aaaannnddd to be alive.

It's wrong. They're wrong. The end.

Tundra Children

These guys have been walking around my head for months now. Once I was done with this quick experiment in damage control it came to my notice that they look very similar to the Pokemon Cubone. Maybe it's a relic from my childhood?

Either way, I like the idea that they just kind of roam around the vastness of nowhere. Looking back I wish I had payed more attention to the composition in respect to how big and overwhelming their surroundings would be. Maybe by like shrinking them down and showing more of the bleakness. But I hate having tiny people, I always want to be close to who I'm drawing! I'm in love with the subject of the picture, not really the picture as a whole. It's a personal problem :)

It's kind of nice to make something though. Even if this isn't the best I'm happy to actually be trying again. There's a lot of bitterness and confusion I had to get over when the last school year ended and lately I think theres been some personal steps in the right direction to fix that. The first, realizing that I you should make art first and think second! Stop focusing so much on limitations.

So much moaning and groaning! But don't give up on me yet I've been making presents for you guys!! Haha so stay tuned.

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