Artist Book Pictures

The finished product of my artist book!!

Part 1

Here is part 1 of a painting i am doing for my cousin. It is all tattoo inspired and is a reflection on the good and bad side of a persons personality using the day of the dead gypsy. I'll keep updating every tim i finish another layer.

Photography

Creepy huh! I had to do night photos experimenting with light and this is what i managed to do! Not bad seines as i was the composer, photographer and model but i managed to walk away with some alright shots. I basically was in a complete dark room, had the shutter speed on 12 seconds and almost a completely open aperture and had a touch pointed at my face and slowly moved then stopped then moved again and stopped. This is a really fun way of taking photos cause you can play around so much with them.

Final Drawing Project

So this is one of the pieces from my final drawing project body of work. With this picture i used print making in for the the body, applying it with a small pallet knife then watered down Yellow Oxide acrylic paint and let it dribble and work with the wet ink and the two mixed and the dribbles run over the the ink. I really like that i gives a clean image a dirty, careless feel and that it's not taken too seriously. This picture is one of 6 in this body of work which also includes 3 done with my toothbrush.

Tattoo Apprenticship

So i had work yesterday and it was a great day! I found myself really comfortable and a bit more confident dealing with the clients which was handy cause it got really busy in the studio yesterday. We got to the end of the day and Grub asked if i had a design worked out to tattoo on myself and i had one drawn up and ready to go so we stayed back and i done my first tattoo! And to be really honest i didn't find it as bad as what i was thinking and i found myself sitting there really enjoying holding the machine and consecrating on what i was doing. Sure it is going to take a lot of time getting used to the weight of the machine and the correct way to hold it but as a first time i came away really happy. Some of the lines drop in and out a bit but nothing to major and the lines aren't too wobbly either. So that was my day at work yesterday, thanks Grub for staying back and helping me with my first tattoo :)

Artist Book

For our Digital Media unit we are making artist books and the idea for my book was to combined old tattooing with new tattooing. Above is an image that i photocopied from a vintage tattooing book then using a citrus spray, transferred the image onto a piece of Stonehenge paper that i stained with tea and coffee. For the front side of my pages i used the photos that i took at the tattoo studio that i am an apprentice at, stained them, ironed them and basically destroyed them to make them look old but with modern tattooing practices as the images. On the back of the pages i transferred old pictures that i photocopied and made them look aged by not rubbing them too hard. The overall affect of the new and the old images on either sides of the page turned out much better then i ever thought and i am really happy with the outcome. To present my artist book i have bought a cigar box and collaged it to make it look like a old school tattoo trinket box with a Sailor Jerry quote and a quote of my own.

Tattoo Apprenticship

I have been slacking of a little with my tattoo apprenticeship updates (oops) So i have worked 3 days since my last update and all is going fantastically although i did make a whopper of a mistake which caused the disposal of a full bottle of lining ink but like i always say you make a big mistake once you never do it again!!! Apart from that everything has been going well, getting to know the guys better and getting more comfortable with talking to the customers. I am actually going to attempt to tattoo myself this week with my kit which i am slightly nervous about (i don't know why due to how many i actually have) but it is different when you have to do it to yourself! So if it turns out well i will put up a picture of it and if it doesn't work then we will never speak of it again!! Being so openly obsessed with all things tattoos i am very excited to announce that my sister and her boyfriend both got themselves tattoos on their holiday to Bali last week. It was my sisters second and her boyfriends first and i am so proud of them although oddly they don't share the same love of the feeling as i do :)

Best quote!!

Found this quote on the internet when i was searching for Sailor Jerry tattoos and fel in love with it!! It says everything i want to say to people who criticize my tattoos and it comes from the man who put tattooing out there as an art form! Love love love it!!

More life drawing

All images- By Alyce Burton
Ok, so maybe it's not exactly drawing but they were done in my drawing class. Our breif or his project was to come up with our own breif and mine is to see what tools make what marks. The top two pictures are done with Gouache and a tooth brush, the third down is done with a small palete knife and print making ink and the bottom image is done using oil pastel, solvent and a little water colour. I think i am finding my thing using the tooth brush, i love the marks it's making and the spontaneity of the look. I also really enjoyed the print making ink and palete knife, again real spontainious marks!

More black and white photos

Image above- By Alyce Burton
So one of our projects for photography was to use black and white film and photograph mirrors and shadows. The image above i took of the shed window that had a really strong reflection of the garden. It took me a couple of times to get the balance right with the filters on the enlarger but i finally got it and i think it has turned out well.

Top image- By Alyce Burton

Bottom image- By Alyce Burton

We have had nude life drawing the past couple of weeks in our drawing unit (which has been very exciting) and we have been given free range on how we want to approch this project. Here are two images that i have recently done, the top image was done using water colour and an old toothbrush and the bottom image was done with a oil pastel, solvent and water colour. The toothbrush image turned out so much better than i ever thought and is my favorite. My main idea was to use lots of different tools to see the marks they make. I experimented with ink, texter, different brushes, having brushes taped to the end of a long stick ect. I really enjoy the uncontrolled idea of the toothbrush and also having tools tapped to the end of long sticks which takes away that control and makes you relax and not worry about getting the picture perfect.

Ok, so i have had this project in my photography unit to use black and white film in an old camera and take pictures of mirrors and shadows. I have done that but i also thought i would take a roll of film to the tattoo studio where i work and take some pictures of the artist while they are tattooing. This is a picture of Nick tattooing an owl on a ladies shoulder blade. I have taken a whole lot of other pictures and they turned out really well i think ( even though it has taken me three times, sorry to all those clients who i took photos of and never saw the finished product) But i am happy with how they turned out.

I have just got back from being home for my sisters 21st birthhday and here is a picture of the cake i made her. I used a block of icing and made litle things to put onto of a chocolate mud. Not bad for my frist real attempt at cake decorating. It was just lots of fun little objects that remind me of my sister and everyone was a fan of the cake.

So think my hands are going to forever smell of rubber gloves and disinfectant! Which i love so it is all good. Day two of my tattoo apprenticship and it really gets better and better, now i know how to clean everything i can just concerntrate on learning how to tattoo, i just have to speak up more about wanting to know things but i will get there. I was able to take some pictures this time on both my digital and on black and white film (for another project) so i am excited to see if they worked or not. The 3 pictures above are of Grub, his machine, his work bench and one of him tattooing a young guy. Grub is the tattooist who has been doing my left arm sleeve and even though we started it in April, it is still not finished yet and to be honest i really don't mind, i think thats how a sleeve should be, a working progress so that by the end it is exactly what you want. So Saturday was quite a busy day, Grub had client after client all day and Jay managed to get a really difficult tattoo that tooka couple of hours to just get ready and it was a great learning day, seeing how Jay was able to over come a difficult body shape to place a tattoo on and what size linner you need to use on the ribs and how us apprentices seem to have this obsession with Frosty Jacks White Cider! Was a nother great day!! Can't wait til the next!

Title- Portrait of the artist, Nick
By- Alyce Burton
On my first day of my tattoo apprentiship i took some inspiration from my favorite artist Shawn Baber and decided to draw Nick's hand and machine while he was tattooing and this is what i got. Not bad for the first time and i think i am going to take the opportunity to draw alot at the tattoo studio because people have to stay still and it gives me good practice in life drawing. Nick was tattooing this guy that was only told by his wife 15 minutes before his appointment that this was his fathers day present! AWWWW, i thought that was so sweet! He had his kids and wifes name put on his back, it's going to look great when it is finished! This is going to be the first of many tattoo protraits of the guys at Industrail Tattoo.

So yestrerday was the first day of my tattoo apprenticship at Industrial Tattoo in Diamond Creek Vic and it was a great first day! I think what made it easier was that i know the guys there cause i have been going there since April for my sleeve. There is alot more to tattooing then most people think, all the cleaning and tools of the trade really supprised me and the systems they put in place to make sure everything is sanitized. I spent most of the day learning how to clean the tubes, take apart the machines after a tattoo is finished and just watching and asking questions. I did manage to draw a little picture of Nick while he was tattooing. If every day is going to be like that then i am going to be one happy little apprentice. Over and out!

Here are two drawing that i have just finished, one quite obviously done with lead pencil. The top image i painted using my own blood! Before jumping to any freakish conclusions this was just an experinment that was good timing. I cut myself while making dinner and because i have been looking at alot of Dr Rev's work i thought why not give it a go!!! You only live once! To be honest, i love the look of the blood painting, there is alot of tonal value there and it is easy to use. You kind of have to layer it a little to build the tone but overall i think it looks great.

Title- Untitled By Loo
Oil on linen
This is my first attampt at painting on linen primed with bunny skin glue and it was fantastic, the paint just gluided on and mixed beautifully on the linen. The whole process was great, to learn how the old masters used to make a canvas was brilliant and i really love the start to finish process. The painting didn't turn out to bad either, my initial drawing up is what let it down, not getting the angles correct really made a difference but over all it turned out ok. Will definatly be using bunny skin glue alot more!!

Title-Beauty for Blood
By Alyce Burton
Yet another unfinished drawing. I have a problem drawing hands and feet so i tend to leave them out hence my pic turn to look creepy.

Title- Little Creep
Alyce Burton
Just a simple pencil drawing, not sure whether to develop him more or just leave him as is. Make sure you smile back!

Studio Lighting

Studio lighting with Nathan Jokovich, Eugene Mott, Hennrieta Ebbs and Alyce Burton.

Untitled Collograph print

By Alyce Burton

I really enjoyed doing the collograph prints, they are similar to the soft and hard ground but give you these incredible background texture where the board has been peeled away. This print is fairly large being 60cm length and about 20co width.

Michael Hussar

If you think of an amazing painter the first person you should think of is Michael Hussar!! I have been an admirer and fan of his tallent for years now and I erge people to look at his work and become inspired by his beautiful American Baroque style. You can get to his web page by clicking the link i have. Just sit back and enjoy his work, it is trully incredible!!

BloodPainter

I was listening to Triple J on Friday the 13th and their sfternoon guest was a man by the name of Dr REV, a BloodPainter!! A totally inspiring man, not only is he a bloodpainter but also a tattoo artist, photographer, painter and sculpture. His work is amazing and beautiful. When painting in his own blood he is able to get so much tonal value, it's really incredible!! I really suggest you check his work out. You can get to his web page by clicking on the link to your right!!! Check him out, his work will open your eyes to truly beautiful work.

Title- Self Protrait

Medium- Oil on canvas

This painting was done following a brief. We had to choose a colour combination, for example, tint-tone white and I chose Black-Shade-Colour. It was difficult to work out how I was going to approch this colour scheme but once i got started i became quite straight forward. I really like the impact the black-shade-colour combination has and have started a series of paintings in thi scheme. I will have to do my own arms again as i have had more tattoos put on them.

Hosier Lane in the city that i have photo-shopped. I have made the graffiti stand out a lot and darkened the whole image.

So these are soft ground etchings. The image is about 8cm by 8cm, so it's pretty small. I have experinmented with chine colle on some of the prints which can be seen on the print with the yellow rice paper. I really enjoyed the soft ground process as it allows you to be really delicate with the prints.

Just Finished these today in my painting class. The brief for these pieces was to experinment with Bondcrete so this is what i came up with, some sort of conceptual abstract. It turned out alot better than i thought and i am happy with what i was able to produce.

A simple black and white painting i done at the begining of the year. It was just an exercise to practice using only black, white and grey scale, turned out ok i think.

" I awoke, only to find my lungs empty. Through the night, so it seems i'm not breathing. And now my dreams, are nothing like they were ment to be and i'm breaking down- i think i'm breaking down. I'm afraid to sleep because of what haunts me. Such as, living with the uncertainty that i'll never find the words to say, which woud completely explain just how i'm breaking down. Someone come and save my life. Maybe i'll sleep when i am dead, but now it's like the night is taking sides. With all the worries that occupy tha back of my mind, could it be, this misery will sufice?"
Song- Sleepy sickness
By- City nd Colour

Here is a tattoo design that i done for my cousin. She wanted a cherry blossom and over a couple of months trial and error we finally come up with this. The design changed after i took these photos, but basically i cleaned up the lines of the tree and made to blossoms seem more delicate. We were both happy with the resuult and she is booked in to get it tattooed in a week!!!!

Nick Morte is another one of these terribly talented tattoo artists. is work is delicate yet bold and quickly reconcilable. You can look at more of his work on his web site which you can get to by clicking on the link to the right. Enjoy because his work is beautiful.

This article proves that drunks and disorderly behavior isn't just a recent issue.
1904 drunks.
Have a look and have a read, it's hilarious!

Another one of those crazy but brilliant artist, Wim Delvoye (you can look him up on my links list) is a sculpture, painter, tattooist (of pigs mainly) and anything else you can think of. One of those truly unique individuals, check him out!!

Check out this artist/tattooist Ex Di Medici which can be found on my links. Her stuff is amazing and she uses so many mediums.

So on the 12th May i went to the Tegan and Sara concert at the Forum, it was a fan-freakin-tastic concert. Both Tegan and Sara had guitar changes after every song then changed and went onto keyboards and their on stage vibe was awesome. If you don't know them check them out by clicking on the link on my blog or just look them up on you tube.