Where the Wild Things Are Movie

I had heard that there was going to be an adaptation of Where The Wild Things Are. I loved this book as a kid. Actually I reckon all kids wanted to be Max. I still have a copy, but I must admit I re-bought it a little later in life, as I have no idea where my original went. I reckon Maurice Sendek must of sold a guzillion copies. 

The trailer reminded me of the Michael Gondry film Endless Sunshie on a Spotless Mkind. I am not sure why, maybe the texture with of the light in the sunrise. 

Jimi Thinks

So I worked on another canvas recently. I must admit I have been really getting into painting canvases, there is a real sense of accomplishment when you complete one & then hang it on your wall. I used a bunch of different methods to create this latest one, which I have named"Jimmy Thinks". To create the finished product I followed these steps:

1. First of all I found a photo of Jimi Hendrix on the web & put it through Photoshop to create a black white image. I then traced this image with architects paper & cut it out using a scapel to create a stencil. 
   
2. I then spray painted the canvas silver to prime it. 
3. Using the Jimi stencil I created earlier, I spray painted the image onto the canvas
   
4. I then used masking tape to plot out some straight lines, for a rising sun effect. You can see the tape in the image below
5. Using a brush & acrylic paint, I added the red.
6. Once the red paint was dry, I pulled off the tape, which left dead straight lines
7. All done & ready to hang

GOD - My Pal

Last week two of my firends mentioned the track 'My Pal' by the Melbourne band God. Two random & unrelated conversations both involving a 20 year old song - I love it when that happens. Anyway the track rules, here it is:

Suicide S\T

So Suicide had been one of those bands that I had read about over & over again in books such as Please Kill Me. I knew they were from New York & had started at the same time as the Dolls. I also knew that no one liked them until punk broke & even then, they were meant to be hard to take. I was then given a copy of the Fear of Music by Gary Mulholand. This book talked in glowing terms about the first Suicide album that mixed uber primitive synthesizers with bent rockabilly vocals - I was intrigued. 

I then got a lead that there was a vanyl copy at a new 2nd hand store called All Time Record Emporium up at the Balgowlah shops. It turns out the shop was run by Mick who has been selling quality 2nd hand records at markets all over the Northern Beaches for years. Anyway he had a mint UK pressing of the Suicide LP. I laid down my hard earned cash, took it home & the LP blew my mind. The synthesizers were so relentless. The vocals were also truely twisted. Gary Mulholand mentioned that both Bruce Springsteen (on Nebraska) & Lux Interior from the Cramps had been influenced by Alan Vegas vocals & he wasn't wrong. A bizarre echoing Rockabilly. I realised half way through the first listen just how much Spacemen 3 (another band I am taken with at the moment) been influenced by Suicide. 

After constant rotation for a week on both the turntable & my headphones the Suocide LP has now rocketed into to my all time top 10 albums (for this week anyway). It is definately not for everyone though - I can see how people didn't get them in early 70's, as I have played it to people now & some of them struggle. But who cares what they think this album rules - long live Martin Rev & Alan Vega. 

Radio Show

My mate Wardy does radio show every Wednesday on 2SER called Sideways Through Sound. It is a mix of phsycadelic, folk, drones & other rumblings. I always enjoy the eclectic mix & generally check out at least one or two of the bands I hear on the show. This weeks show was pretty phsycadelic so I dug it. I reckon the pick of this weeks show was Serpintina Satelite, some wierd trippy pshych from Peru. 

To find out some more about the show & check out some podcasts go to the Sideways Through Sound website. 

BTATD - Upstream 7inch

The other day I picked up the latest EP from Between the Devil & The Deep called Upstream.BTATD are great local (Sydney) 4 piece playing punk\post punk. This recording sounds just like the guys live. I am not sure who to compare this band too, however I do think they have a similar feel to Grand Fatal with the way they can change tempo, have great guitar hooks & chorus' that stick in your head. 

The EP has a track each side (a: Upstream - b: 3 Months). The packaging looks great too, printed on recycled card & blue vinyl. I also liked the touch of having a CD included for my Ipod. Good deal for $7. 

I also framed the monkey screen print I posted the other day. I went to my favourite Variety Store, purchased a frame & some black card to make a boarder. That afternoon it was hanging in my office at - job done.

Rage Drones

I couldn't sleep the other night & ended up watching RAGE at 4 a.m. & saw this track by the Drones. I must admit I had never checked them out as Triple J bands are never really my thing. However this song is ace. I have since sort out the LP, called Havilah, that the track is on & it is also worth a listen.
                          

Screening Posters

Beyond printing t-shirts I am really interested in screen printing posters. I just really like the aesthetics of screen printed poster. After printing an Iggy t-shirt a few weeks back I used the stencil to also make a poster. I used some heavy card that I had purchased from the art supply store. All I did to prepare the card was screen print a circle onto it using a mixture of red & white water-based ink. 

I followed the same process after I had screen printed a t-shirt with a stencil I had made of an APE. I have copied photos of the process into a slide below. What you can see is: 

• The  set up I use for screen printing - basically a jig I bought of ebay which has ben screwed onto a table
  
• The screen with the stencil taped to it
• The ink I used & the squeegee
• The final product

I reckon it came out ok. I will post again when I have both the APE & Iggy hanging on my wall. 

                                

T-Shirt Printing

So we moved to a new house at the end of last year (2008) & it had a working studio out the back. Now I have never really done that much art in the past. I think the closest thing to art was creating flyers for gigs back in the 90's. I used to use photocopiers, scissors & a lot of UHU glue. Even with this limited experience this space was just too good to waste.

So over the last few months I have been busy painting canvasses, screen printing, making stencils & trying to get my creativity flowing. 

Below is some examples of t-shirts I have printed so far. To make the stencils I have been tracing the images onto architects' (transparent) paper & then cutting them out by hand. I have been using both the water-based ink & also the super-cover (to varying degrees of success).