There Be Dragons

Dragon Draws Breath :: Watts // Big Up // No flashWhat happens when you look for historical references to dragons online …

Evolution of The Golden Dragon

The final illustration for The Golden Dragon. But why is it coloured red, you’re wondering? The action is rather bloody … Last December I began working on an illustration concept for the play The Golden Dragon that the MTC is putting on at the Lawler Studio this year. Basically the play is about the tribulations of illegal immigrants in the restaurant kitchen of The Golden Dragon.

In the beginning the action is strange, confusing; partly enacted in metaphor, with actors switching between many parts. Over the course of the play slowly one unravels the truth. One of my concepts involved a tangle of noodles that form a maze, with an ‘in’ and ‘out’ arrow in striking red and yellow. But as much as the Assistant Artistic Director liked this graphic, it was deemed too light-hearted.

The first rendering of the illustration included ominous puffs of smokeSo I came up with a few more ideas, one involving a dragon snatching at hapless Asian immigrants, and suggested etching as the medium. After the second presentation, the AAD felt this was still not sinister and mysterious enough, and himself came up with the idea of a dragon wrapping around a tooth.

I observed that the tooth was only a device of the story, and this concept did not really visualise the message of the play, but was told it was more important to create a striking image that would be enigmatic enough to draw people’s interest.

The original colour of the illustrationSince a real etching was not possible (I’ve never done etching, although I would love to try my hand at it, nor did time allow anyway) I attempted to emulate the look in ink and conté. The AAD was still keen on the red and yellow, so I executed the illustration in red, with a yellow wash, although I was positive that this would be ditched as soon as it was compared with the mono- and duotone versions. I was right. Thank goodness for Photoshop!

I rather liked the smoky effect of the first rendering, but in the end the plain background in black with a red watercolour wash was chosen.

You can see the entire brochure I designed here (I also executed the illustration for Happy Ending).

Sweet Madeleine

From sweet Caroline to madeleines to Valentines – that’s the trail of rhymes that leads to this Valentine illustration.

Did you know that the scallop-shaped madeleine cakes were named after one of King Stanislas’s maids, in 1755? In the middle of dinner, the king’s pastry chef went off in a huff without preparing dessert. It was left to a maid to save the day, and when the King demanded to know who was responsible for this delicacy, he named the sweet cakes after their maker. (Read the full story here.)

Hope something sweet comes your way today. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Rush

In 1937, British Vogue was advocating the hunting season in their September issue, with this illustration ‘Country Clothes and Hunting’ by Eric (Carl Erickson). Now, I don’t know that many of us these days will be doing much hunting (unless you’re an Eskimo or something) … except you might perhaps be hunting for party frocks to wear this party season, or those perfect last-minute gifts for your most-favourite loved ones.

It’s the end of an era (my last Vogue calendar page!), and we’ve a month to wrap up the year’s triumphs and regrets, missed and frantic forgotten holiday things and tie a bow on those loose ends.

Twenty-five days to go, and your time starts … Now!

The Real Deal

I while back I posted a story about my Dr Ph. Martin liquid ‘radiant concentrated’ liquid dyes that were masquerading as watercolours. Despite their fancy-sounding name, many online reviewers had come to the conclusion that these impostors were not lightfast, and were probably only suitable for commercial work, rather than fine art. What they do have going for them is the super-bright saturation of the hues, and they can easily be reactivated in the palette after they dry out.

I had already found that they did not behave in the same way as watercolour paint as far as creating textural effects by dropping salt onto wet wash. Nor do they seem to have the same lovely luminescent quality of true watercolour if they are watered down or mixed too much – the colours start to look flat.

Discovering how expensive watercolour paint was in art stores (many cost more than $20 for a 5mL tube), I managed to find a small, inexpensive box of Holbeins on eBay, and have since augmented this basic set with a few extra colours by Winsor & Newton (I haven’t yet discovered any difference in quality). As much as I used to love my Dr Ph’s, my watercolour paintings seem to have more depth and vibrancy.

And happily, these watercolour paints do behave as the tutorials online promised. I have experimented so far with fairly fine-grained iodised cooking salt and enormous chunks of rock salt, which was all I had in my pantry. I’d like to try some flaked sea salt too, and see if there’s any difference in the formation of the texture.

It will be perfect to create the crusty old skin of the monsters I am illustrating for a children’s book series.