Saturday 7 November 2015

Badger

A recent piece I have been working on, inspired by my favourite season; Autumn, is the elaborately named 'Badger'. I thought it would be nice to work on something responding to the current season, and after a long walk collecting fallen leaves I decided the Badger was a topic I'd never touched on, and something I'd never actually drawn before. So the Autumnal Badger was born. I wanted to give the impression that the Badger was framed by his environment and surroundings, embracing the forest and at one with the leaves. But also, drew on the idea of the Badger in his Sett hunkering down for the hard winter ahead. Its made a nice change to work on something vaguely 'seasonal' and finally paint my beloved Badger at long last.

Monday 5 October 2015

Derby Folk Festival

This weekend saw my first solo event as an artist displaying and selling my artwork, cards and prints at Derby Folk Festivals Arts and Craft Fair. The weeks leading up to the Folk Festival had been nerve wracking to say the least, filled with lots of preparation and fear of the unknown.

The three day event was an exciting, colourful celebration of individuality and self expression, by countless musicians, artists and crafters. I was visited by many wonderful people throughout the weekend, excited by the event, the music and the atmosphere. A huge thank you to all the people who took the time to visit my stall, for your kind, encouraging words and for your purchases. You all made the weekend a great one!

Major thanks to my friends and family for all their support leading up to the event, to my Partner for making everything from POS to frames and being there beside me all weekend and to everyone that visited me over the weekend! Without all of you this wouldn't have been possible.

Many thanks! I hope to see you all an another event soon!




Sunday 27 September 2015

'Divinus animalia' Prints

Exciting developments have been taking place in the Danse Macabre studio. After the investment in my own behemoth of a giclee printer; 'The Beast' I am now pleased to say I can offer Limited Edition prints of my artwork, starting with the 'Divinus animalia' range.

'Divinus animalia' series is inspired by the historical symbolism of animals, and uses the characters created to portray the supernatural. The resulting creatures; the 'Divinus animalia' are both the evil and divine. These creatures should be worshiped, and feared, in equal measure.

So if you're interested in bagging yourself a Limited Edition print of one of these curious characters, head on over to the Etsy for a closer look ...

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/DanseMacabreUK?section_id=17927965&ref=shopsection_leftnav_3




Sunday 30 August 2015

Fête de la Saint Louis - Aigues Mortes

When planning our stay in Langudoc-Rousslain I decided this year (being our third holiday in the beautiful region) I would research local events and festivals taking place across the area during our stay. During my research I discovered that the Fête de la Saint Louis was taking place and celebrations were being held in Aigues Mortes and Sete. Setes celebrations included Water jousting events (an incredible sight to behold!), Markets and Fireworks displays. Aigues Mortes pays hommage to Saint Louis, the founder of the Medieval fortress town, with a weekend long Medieval Festival, harking back to the ancient traditions of the town and Frances rich history, featuring; jousting, processions, theatre, music and feasting (to name but a few activities). Needless to say I was sold, we were off to Aigues Mortes to feast like it was 1272.
We had visited Aigues Mortes previously in 2012, and taken in a relaxing warm day in the sleepy town, visited its museums, salt flats and taken a walk around its ancient streets taking in its profound beauty. But that was October, and this was August, and the largest annual event in Aigues Mortes calendar. The contrast in atmosphere was immense. The entire town was buzzing with life and excitement. The locals and those with genuine Medieval skills, knowledge and craftsmanship were easily identifiable. Clad in an array of very convincing, highly detailed Medieval costumes which identified the role of their character for the weekend, each was clearly filled with lots of personality and care. My favourite, a delightful old lady who was one of the lepers, clearly having the time of her life.

The Medieval alter-egos of these townsfolk began the festival with a huge procession into the town, when after a vast silence, the gates are flung open and in marches everyone from fire breathers, belly dancers, merchants, lepers and musicians to soldiers, knights, bishops, the mayor and of course the King. This huge ceremonial event climaxes in the square with the King being presented the key to the town.

Throughout the day there were various events taking place across the town; theatre, music and dancing, feasting, jousting, demonstrations by people skilled in ancient techniques; such as Iron mongery, herbal medicine, carving, calligraphy and a huge Medieval market, selling everything from animal skulls to pies to jewelry.

There was so much to be discovered and enjoyed across the town, with everyones beaming happiness and enjoyment a delight to behold.
I had a wonderful day absorbing the sights, sounds and scents of Medieval Aigues Mortes. A truly wonderful experience in an incredible place. Put it on your 100 things to do before you die list, there's no chance you'll regret it.





Sunday 2 August 2015

Castillo Monumento Colomares

While researching for our stay in Spain I stumbled across one place which immediately went to the top of the 'Must See' list. Castillo Monumento Colomares in Benalmádena came highly recommended and with great reviews on trip advisor, and a quick glance at a few photos and I was sold.
Finding the Castillo was an interesting challenge to say the least. With an out of date map on the Sat Nav, and what appeared to be several changes of street name it took us a few attempts spread across 2 days to eventually find it, which in the end was a stroke of luck when I spotted part of a tower jutting out from behind some trees.

The Castillo Monumento Colomares was certainly worth seeking out in the end. A breathtaking building designed as a monument to Christopher Columbus and his discovery of America. The designer of the building Dr. Martin considered the Monument to be Columbus' Mausoleum, as the whereabouts of Columbus' physical remains are unknown. He described this incredible building as '(Columbus') fifth trip to Eternity.', his final voyage following his four to the New World.

The Castillo itself is full of imagery and symbolism relating to Columbus' life, from the ships he sailed, the people he met and the Andalucíans with whom he shared his voyages. Through his use of stone, brick and cement, Dr. Martin and his two stonemasons created a fitting, fantastical narration of the discovery of the New World. The otherworldly creation took seven years to build, but it stands proudly as a testament to creativity, architectural history and Christopher Columbus. Dr. Martin, who sadly passed away after the Monument's completion, is also immortalized through his daring, truly beautiful creation.
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Raven Haven

Recently I began the preliminary work for a new in depth, detailed series of artworks, but while I develop my ideas in more depth I have been taking the opportunity to realise a few neglected design ideas, which have come in many different shapes and sizes. As well as finally painting a haloed Raven, Ive also been able to unleash some previously unreleased artwork as cards, as well as restock on some previously released owl cards which have been long sold out.

So check out the webstore for the largest range of cards to date! The return of some feathered fiends, the appearance of the previously unreleased 'Wise Crow' and the brand new beautifully bold 'Corvus Corax: Tertius Oculus' (Raven: Third Eye).


Wednesday 8 July 2015

Monstrous Minibeasts

My never ending love of nature has always been the main driving force behind my artwork. The uniqueness and bizarreness of so many creatures utterly fascinates me. Recently I have been creating some artworks which reflect this, particularly the wonderful weirdness of insects. By combining intensive studies of nature and my own bizarre twisted additions, largely inspired by a play on words relating to the creature in question, I have created a collection of monstrous mini beasts for your enjoyment.


Monday 25 May 2015

'Divinus animalia' card range

After a few months of concept work, idea development and intense work on the final pieces I'm pleased to say that my new artwork series 'Divinus animalia' is now complete. The series was a natural progression from my 'Sanctus Strix' artworks, and combines many of the same aspects, such as; good and evil, historical symbolism and the occult. The series features some of my favourite animals, and those which have a strong symbolism in many cultures, and are emotive, powerful creatures. As well as being given supernatural features, the animals have also been studded with jewels and guilding, indicating their status as a divine animal, be it a demonic deity or a saintly soul.

A new card series featuring the artworks from the series is now available to purchase at:

http://dansemacabredesigns.bigcartel.com/








Wednesday 11 March 2015

New artwork development

Recently in the studio I have been working on a new collection of original mixed media artworks. The pieces are closely related to my Sanctus Strix series, and incorporate many of the recurring themes of my previous artworks, such as good and evil, magik, ancient symbolism and the occult. As well as feathered fiends the series also features some of my other favourite animals. Below, 'Vulpes vulpes: Tertius oculus', is just a taste of things to come ...