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.