Cutting Out The Control

Yesterday evening my fiance and I took a trip across to the Wellcome Collection as he had missed out on joining me to see the Death exhibition a few weeks back. I left him to wander through this incredible collection and made my way up to the first floor where I planned to draw any of the various treasures on display. I'd brought along a couple of the painted palettes that I mentioned in my last blog post to be used as my drawing surface. After doing a brief round of the gallery I decided that a particular cabinet would go very well with one of my painted textures. This cabinet glistened with an array of medical saws and knives, used for amputation. Whilst drawing I overheard the tour guide explain to a visiting group that one of the fastest surgeons of the time was Robert Liston who could perform the removal of a limb in an amputation in 28 seconds. This was a time when speed was thought to reduce pain and increase the odds of survival!

Drawing directly onto my painted texture, I found I experienced a very different sensation from the usual one I get when drawing into my sketchbook or composing finished drawings and images using the computer. I felt like the stakes were high - there was only one perfect texture that suited the subject matter, and this could have easily been ruined by an incorrect stroke of the black ink pen, an awful drawing or bad composition. Plus I only had the luxury of about an hour to draw and then the only way I'd see the objects would be by another visit, by which time I would have most likely 'moved on' from this particular drawing. This sensation is something I thrive on - there's nothing like the mixed emotion of thrill and terror when the stakes are high. It seems like too often many artists fall into the trap of being able to cmd+z or erase unsightly lines - it makes for laziness and ultimately uninteresting and well-trodden lines. I always find that the little 'mistakes' I make in drawings urge me to explore a 'solution' and I end up with something exciting and quite different from what I had first planned - it always nice to be surprised, even by yourself, now isn't it!

 

More Than Just a Pretty Palette

Since the silly season and a brief visit from my mum in early January, I've been glued to my desk drawing and colouring a new animation I am working on. Finding myself flooded with tiles of painted textures that boast an array of colours mixed from the acrylic spectrum, I felt like they had more creative potential than just being a colour palette. So I'm pushing myself to find new ways of bringing these textures to life.  The first instalment is below!

Sweating Out Xmas

Christmas and New Years have passed by, swiftly launching us into 2013. However, one thing that hasn't yet disappeared is the Christmas sweater. While I was doing a brief stint of Christmas shopping late December last year, it seemed that every store I poked my head had their own knitted versions of snowflake, reindeer or santa sweater. And despite the annual post Christmas lull, the sweater still stands strong throughout stores big and small across London. So for a change I decided to keep up with the latest fashion trend, and made my very own knitted version of sweater....well almost....my version was crafted instead with a pen, hung for display on the cover of a greeting card, then given with love to my fiance!

Jumping for Joy

Another Christmas has lept by once again, leading us into 2013, a year that already promises to be full of exciting new experiences and challenges. This particular Christmas however, has already a found itself a special spot in my memory. During a peaceful stroll on Christmas Eve, winding our way through the leafy walkways of Rowledge, my boyfriend pulled out a very interesting-looking ring from his jacket pocket....and asked for my hand in marriage. Shortly after the suprise and shock subsided I found myself jumping for joy! Much like the drawing (above) I created for a series of greeting cards, which I handed out to loved ones over Christmas. I'm conjuring a way of celebrating the engagement in a creative and memorable way and look forward to sharing it here soon!

Soupa Man

I had a strange dream last night about someone trying to eat soup, but couldn't because they had a napkin in front of their mouth. I decided to rescue this soupa man from dreamland and bring him into reality.

Cityscape

The recent change in weather must've unconsciously inspired this piece! It's an amalgamation of newspaper, paint, charcoal and graphite, creating a gloomy looking cityscape.

A short story about making...

I had a dream a couple of nights back and detailed it in the drawing below:

Picturing Product Photography

After years of dabbling in and out of freelance photography, my boyfriend finally decided to take the necessary steps to building his own photography business. One of the first steps was creating an attractive website that captured who he is as a photographer and what he has to offer. Together we looked at various product photography sites and noticed a lot of bad design, poor colour choices and unintuitive site structures around - something we certainly wanted to avoid!

After a lot of searching we decided that Squarespace.com seemed to be able to offer the best-looking templates, which could be tailored to individual needs. So with the platform figured out, I started drafting up some concepts for the site header. I wanted to avoid the cliche of the camera out of the equation, instead suggest it in a more abstract way.

The basis of Yeshen's business is product and lifestyle photography, so I decided to communicate this through using a selection of household and personal objects. The simple line drawing style is a nice contrast to the rest of the beautifully photographed images that are featured on his site, and avoids any clash so they can 'breathe easily' alongside each other. The textured circles allude to the camera lens, as well as capture the natural grains and features that Yeshen depicts so well in his photographs.

Below are some of the drawings, textures and the finished product! You can also check them out on his website at: www.yeshenvenema.com

Plush Pussy Cat

I fell in love with some postcards I found, which were illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley, who was well renowned for his ink drawings that captured the grotesque, the perverse and the decadent. Prompting me to illustrate the Plush Pussy Cat below after his inspiring work.

TB or Not TB....

This drawing is in response to the recent call for culling Badgers in the UK. Unfortunately these creatures have become a scapegoat for the various outbreaks of TB in cattle. Whilst it is important to safeguard against this terrible disease, which can ultimately be transmitted to humans via milk, there are many other factors that attribute to cattle catching TB. It is reckless of us to start killing innocent creatures based on lightweight evidence, and it shows how little respect we have for other animals! Please check out the Team Badger website http://www.teambadger.org

Regard for Rabbits

I came across an old postcard, which was from my boyfriend's Opa's collection, and fell in love with it. I had an old frame around the house so I decided to draw my own version of the postcard, so it would fit in the frame!

Voyage of the Voigtländer

This time two weeks ago I was in the Bavarian region of Germany, more specifically a town called Tützing. I was sorting and rummaging through memorabilia and a treasure trove of retrospective objects, many of which I'm sure a London hipster would give their 'rolled up pant' right leg for.

This body of thinamajigs and watchamacallits belonged to my boyfriend's Opa, who at 94 years young, was moving into a retirement home nestled in the Alps, in a town called Öberammergau. He once owned a photography store and was a skilled amateur pre-digital photographer himself. Countless cameras, paints, photographic lens's, postcards and records revealed the passionate artist that lived within.

Given his keen interest in photography, the gift idea to celebrate his 94th year came easily. The classic Voigtländer camera, one of the oldest names in cameras, formed the crux of the idea, which was to make a hand-drawn plate camera box that holds photographs (instead of glass plates) in the back.

I found a few different images of the Voigtländer plate camera online, and used these to inform my drawing of a front-on view of the camera. The paper I used was 300gsm smooth watercolour, meaning it could hold the ink and fold into shape nicely.

Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a photograph of the final finished artwork. But I did scan in the front of the camera, which I've inserted below. It made me very pleased upon receipt of his gift, Opa drew a large smile and recognised the camera right away!

The English Goat

My boyfriend's mother is a talented writer, regularly producing all sorts of wonderful tales on her blog. Whilst reading one of her most recent pieces from her short story series, a wonderful image came to mind, and I thought it would make a lovely birthday gift for her - and be a lot of fun to draw! I've inserted the illustrated story below. So make yourself nice cup of tea, sit back and enjoy the ride!

Words copyright Ashen Venema 2012

Images copyright Natasha Tonkin 2012

A Tale of a Fish and a Dog

Usually I illustrate most birthday gifts, but decided to put my animation skills to work and make a short animation instead. The star character of this animation is based on my dad's dog, Russel, whose favourite pastime involves much fishy business.

Happy Birthday Dad from Natasha Tonkin on Vimeo.

Muttonous Lamb

My recent camping trip to Wales inspired me in all kinds of new and exciting ways. The fertile landscape and lush fields were home to many healthy-looking farm animals. Below is a rendition I've made of a sheep I came across during a long walk. Her stance gave her away as a bit of a poser - she had a bit of undeniable girlish charm about her....some might say, 'mutton dressed as lamb'.

Vintage Profile

A good friend of mine celebrated his birthday yesterday, and during its approach I'd come up with a nice visual idea for his gift. As music producer/musician/composer, whose wardrobe is mainly filled with shades of black, and sports a wonderful profile, I felt that a Victorian style bust portrait would be the perfect way to capture him. I had a few pics that I referred to, which weren't exactly the correct angle, so I had to reference each pic, as well as my memory in order to fill the gaps. I used my favourite ink (Higgins Black Magic), a dip pen for the outlines, brushes to fill in the centre and a rotoring pen to add the border.

Baby Bilby

A small painting for a dear friend who has just had her first baby. The mother and baby Bilby (A native Australian mammal) reflect the precious bond shared in the first years. 

Magical Moviemakers

I've come to learn that many of the first filmakers were magicians. Much of early cinema was shown in the form of side shows and peep shows. It was viewed as a 'common' form of entertainment. As film developed and matured, these flickering Victorian novelties became recognised as an art form, and today the magic of cinema continues to maintain its grasp on audiences. Inspired by these early film magicians, I did a drawing to capture the spirit of Victorian cinema.

Team Turtle

I came across a strange picture today. It was of conjoined turtles. I imagined how difficult it must be for the turtles to go about their everyday lives, being connected connected at the hip. But, at the same time, two minds are better than one, so perhaps these turtles are at an advantage!

I often enjoy disappearing into my own world when I'm drawing and generally creating, but at times I find that a second opinion helps me to see what I may have missed or how I can improve. In the drawing below I've captured the turtles as a creative team, independent but always willing to give a spare hand when needed.

Changeable Chameleons

I was stumbling around on the web last week and came across some pics of tiny chameleons. Famous for their ability to change colour, I decided to draw them metamorphosing in another context. I really enjoyed exploring these characters and aim to develop them further in a series of artworks, using illustration as well as animation to bring them to life.