Illustration Friday spot

Artful Todger

2008-09-13T17:41:00.002+02:00

Deadline Fast Approaching! Please submit your entries and spread the word!

The Artful Todger:
The Penis in Popular Culture

Why is the depiction of the male member still
considered such a taboo in today’s society?
And how is it truly represented by creatives
and influential figures in today’s culture?

Thank you so much to everyone who has submitted work so far, the project is looking really good! Only a few weeks left, so please spread the word!

The Artful Todger proposes to be a light-hearted book, examining the artistic representation of the penis in today’s culture, and invites you to contribute. Be it a line drawing, a detailed sketch, a collage, a hand crafted piece or pop up, we want your representation in our book. There will be a whole chapter dedicated to current interpretations and selected entries will be published with the most successful entry used for the front cover. All copyright will remain that of the artist and all artists will be credited unless otherwise requested. Donations from the published work will be made towards testicular cancer charities. Successful entries may also be selected for use in the forthcoming exhibition of the same name. Please send all entries to mitey@theartfultodger.com by the 31st October 2008 for selection in jpeg format, 72dpi, no larger than A4, with your contact details. By submitting your entry you are confirming that you are over 18 and that you own the copyright to your image.
No photographs please.

Island

2008-09-12T16:02:00.003+02:00

The Illustration Friday word this week is 'Island'. The image of an eye on top of an 'i', on an Island immediately sprang to mind. It's a bit of a subversive image in it's way. 'Eyed' rhymes with 'Lied'.

Drawing, 10 minutes, cleaning up etc, 20.

Enjoy!

Missing

2007-08-03T23:26:00.000+02:00

I don't have loads of time but I like Illustration Friday cause I like drawing. Here are a few ideas I sketched out for this weeks theme. Cast your vote. I'll illustrate the one that most people like, or the one that people are most convincing about liking.

Cheers

Tom

A)

B)

C)

Car

2007-05-26T06:04:00.000+02:00

This is an illustration which I did years ago for a drive in Deli.
Created in Photoshop. Sorry, too busy to create something for IlloFriday this week.

Neighbour

2007-05-06T21:43:00.000+02:00

This weeks theme is Neighbour.
I didn't have any real free time this weekend and there is a busy week ahead but here is a sketch for the theme based on a nosey neighbour idea. Our neighbours are pretty good and
so far this hasn't happened but I imagine it's far from impossible in most places.

Remember

2007-04-30T13:14:00.000+02:00

First painting I've done for Illustration Friday for a while.
The topic is 'Remember'. It's done in oils and tempera.

Remembering is recalling something from the past. When you are a new born child everything is new and the past is only a minute away.

One minute you didn't exist and the next you are here. A child is not slowed down by the memories or experinces of the past because everything is new.

After a while the past becomes a part of you and although you can live in the present the habits that you formed in the past inform your actions today. Only after a sustained time of living in the present can you begin to truely say that you are living in the present. Your actions of today become built on the experience of living in the present, yesterday and so you begin to truely be there.

Polar

2007-04-21T08:31:00.000+02:00

The word this week is Polar.
Here are two images, one is an illustration which I did many years ago for a beer label. It's called chiller. A great tasting beer, served up in a great bar. Portor House in Dublin.

The other is a painting for the wall of an apartment, done in oils.

The illustration was considered a lighthearted symbol for a strong beer. Now however it might remind people of the damage that unneccessarily driving their cars does. I imagine that more than one or two bears are a bit pissed off right now.

Climate Change

2007-02-03T15:22:00.000+01:00

PARIS, Feb. 2 — In a grim and powerful assessment of the future of the planet, the leading international network of climate scientists has concluded for the first time that global warming is “unequivocal” and that human activity is the main driver, “very likely” causing most of the rise in temperatures since 1950.

Please read.

Red

2007-01-28T06:32:00.000+01:00

Red, the colour of traffic cones. This is a traffic cone that doubles as a dunces hat.

Buzz

2007-01-06T05:21:00.000+01:00

This illustration was created for the Electricity Supply Board of Ireland. There's more to the image but it's not relevant to this weeks Illustration Friday Spot so it's been cropped.

Hope you have a happy new year and that you keep all your resolutions.

Peace

2006-12-22T21:03:00.000+01:00

The topic this week is Peace.
It's also too close to Christmas to be inspired to do anything elaborate or even concentrate for more than 20 seconds so here is my newly created 20 second offering.

Who could argue with this little guy.

Have a Happy Christmas eveyone!

Invention

2006-11-28T17:12:00.000+01:00

I love Christmas. It's great to meet family and friends and share on the day as well as have a rest from the schedual, but there is a huge push by manufacturers and retailers to twist peoples arms into buying enormous amounts and go into dept rather than simply share symbols of affection. Christmas wasn't intended to be like that.

It's an invented industry rather than a time of sharing and giving. We should do something for the earth at this time each year, rather than wasting our time, energy and money getting gifts for one another. Very often those gifts are simply put aside and never seen again after Christmas morning. So here's my interpretation of 'Invention' for Illustration Friday.

Thanks Giving

2006-11-20T02:27:00.000+01:00

A paper Mayflower.
Isn't this what it's all about.

Clear

2006-11-10T15:37:00.000+01:00

Hi
Tis the season and the theme is clear. A clear glass dome over Dublin showing the major landmarks. I did it for Dublin Bus a few years ago. The bus' definately qualify as landmarks too.

Wind

2006-10-27T15:28:00.000+02:00

Winter is here, or so it seems. The storms have begun but so far the forest is fine. No fallen trees but wonderful windy nights and golden leaves everwhere.

Phobia

2006-09-26T09:29:00.000+02:00

Strictly speaking I didn't have the time to do this one yesterday but (shish!) I put a few things aside. Ah what to paint? At first I couldn't relate to this but then I looked up a list of phobias on the internet and suddenly realised that I had one of two of these at one point or other in my life. For instance I used to suffer from a morbid horror of pubs. Of all the things to be phobic of. It made college very difficult.

Anyway there are any number of possible phobias that this chap could be suffering from. At this scale, I hope you can see the perspiration. Click to enlarge.

He could have a fear of confined spaces, crowds of people, heights, strange people looking over his shoulder or imminent meetings.

Farm

2006-09-14T18:12:00.000+02:00

The Illustration Friday word this week is 'Farm'.

This is a painting that I did for Kerrygold USA.
They make butter. Very famous in Ireland and the USA. This was used on packaging for the brand.

Anyone interested in buying the original?
It's done in Gouache and Watercolour.

Play

2006-08-17T00:58:00.000+02:00

In the last week there has been no free time at all. I was in Ireland to see my family. So, I rooted out this image which I had done for a rugby client some years ago.

It was a very nice visit. Dublin looks pretty much as I remember it. The construction work in Dublin city centre has finished and despite the hype it looks almost the same as it did before they began. I hope that they haven't been pulling our legs about it being worth while.

We returned a couple of hours ago and it felt odd to be back in France again. Perhaps I have not yet found the right place for myself.

Clean

2006-07-29T01:05:00.000+02:00

The word is clean so I had no choice but to use this image which I created a couple of years ago for Aquafresh. It was used as part of a three image, national, outdoor advertising, poster campaign.

I loved to see the printed images on the streets of the city. They were up for weeks and many people commented on them. they looked great. Anyway, hope you like this one.

Tom

Opposites

2006-07-22T17:06:00.000+02:00

Opposites, Culture, fat cat, property, capitalism, closing the eyes to grease the wheels of....progress, change, profit?

I did this image for a magazine that is no longer with us. The Yoke. It passed away quietly after only two years in existance and it's main theme was idealism. Everyone worked for free and we all did good work, some did their best work. This image illustrates the opposites culture and preservation as opposed to profit or capitalism. Obviously the theme is celtic.

With capitalism everything gets stripped down and sold for parts. Culture requires constant attention and nurturing. It never goes away but it never flourishes without TLC. Long term culture wins over capitalism. The beauty of Paris or the monuments of Egypt bring people back again and again and have done so for hundreds of years. The initial investment into those cultures would no doubth be considered folly by todays short term thinkers.

Sacrifice

2006-07-18T14:50:00.000+02:00

I painted this for a Charity Christmas card. The carers society of Ireland. Odd bunch of people. Never thanked me and the next year they printed it again without asking permission. Then they started asking for all sorts of favours. Some people get jobs in these places and think that that makes them good. Next time I charge.

Rain

2006-06-25T16:37:00.000+02:00

This is an oil painting of a musician I saw performing at a village fete. He completed his performance despite the weather and the tree sheltered him while everyone else ran from the rain. Originally I did this painting as though it was bright and sunny and it was used by a client for packaging. Because it sprang to mind I added the rain in for this weeks topic.

Jungle

2006-06-10T20:02:00.000+02:00

The word is Jungle.

Which is very apt. This image is a collage of two which I created for an Irish Bank.

I think they might have been having an honest moment.

They wanted to use this in publicity and the idea was to communicate to their customers that those who do not keep up in terms of technology get eaten by preditors.

Eventually I think they realised that they might be interpreted as the preditor so they decided to not use it. They were very happy with the execution etc and I got paid as agreed.

The twist in the tail is, on my invoice I had stated that the charge was for useage within a newspaper advertising campaign (I knew they were too mean to pay me for the physical act of creation and I deduced that this was the best way to ensure, if they used it again, I would get paid).

A few days after I received my cheque there came a phone call from the banks accounting department, asking for a refund. As they didn't intend to use it they reasoned, I should give them the money back. I asked them what they expected me to charge them for the actual work in creating the image. They didn't have an answer, so I said no!

The moral of the story: Careful what you put in your contracts.

Portrait

2006-06-02T20:15:00.000+02:00

This is a portrait in oils of another artist whom I worked with a few months ago. It was completed in about 20 minutes and is just a study.

She is just beginning a large panel painting and after putting in an oil wash is beginning to add in some outlines before painting colour.

She is looking a bit tense and her hand is laid against the panel which resulted in her lines being more rigid than they should have been.

Wasn't her fault though.

Someone who should have known better took the effort to come over and tell her how important her work would be when finished and laid it on thick as to how she should produce her very best piece.

Of course her logical mind (thinking it knows best) kicked in at once and she wasn't able to do anything near her best work. That's the thing about the left brain. It always thinks it knows best despite it's obvious shortcoming in the art field.

Fat

2006-05-08T21:43:00.000+02:00

The new Illustration friday site is looking pretty good. Http://www.illustrationfriday.com
It's just been revamped and it's wayyyy better than before.

This week the theme is fat and this illustration is one that I did for Club Orange a few years ago. A real fat snowman for their Christmas campaign.
It was used in outdoor 6 sheet posters. To see a larger version click on the image to enlarge.

Have a nice week.

Tom

Under the sea

2006-04-28T14:58:00.000+02:00

Click the image to enlarge.

This is the earliest that I've been able to get an image into Illustration Friday. This was painted in photoshop for a 48 sheet poster campaign.

Originally someone developed this as a 3D piece for a TV ad. When their client wanted to reproduce it as a 48 sheet outdoor poster they realised that the still from the TV campaign couldn't be reproduced without the image becoming out of focus so the client commissioned me to make a painting in photoshop which had the same feel and look as the TV add.

I was eventually asked to do three different posters and all were used in national outdoor poster campaigns. It was during the summer and they looked great when they were printed.

Robot

2006-04-27T07:57:00.000+02:00

To see a larger version click on the image.

I had to post this onto Frapper first because Blogger.com wasn't working. Glad that it's back.

A lot of this image was done in a French cafe on Rue Vielle Temple called Cafe Columbus in the 4th. The weather is great and all the things that people like about Paris are pretty much outside the window.

It started out pretty wet but now it's very typically spring like. Parisians must be used to this because most seem to be wearing tee-shirts now. Not something to leave the house in when it's pouring rain.

I came in here to recharge the battery on my laptop and have a hot chocolate and finished this while I waited.

There's a lot happening and it's nice to chill out for a bit.

Hope you have a great week.

Tom

Spotted

2006-04-15T13:04:00.000+02:00

This weeks word is 'spotted'.
Most people are embarrased by being spotted eating when and what they shouldn't be.

Why don't American police have that problem.

Might do them some good.

The word is "Speed"

2006-04-08T17:11:00.000+02:00

Hello.
To me the fastest things are usually also surprises.

As there is no time to prepare yourself for their arrival there is a real sense of occassion when they happen.

I was eating a banana when I read the word of the week so naturally I thought of people who slip on banana peels.

Something I have never actually seen happen but it might look something like this.

It's Monster Time

2006-03-28T22:18:00.000+02:00

Monsters...are scary. Well sometimes.

This one hasn't eaten anyone but he looks like he might.

I did this today in phtoshop. It took about 2 hours and was interesting as I just started with a doodle. Really rough at first and then brought it up to a more finished level. It's nice to work with a free hand rather than work to a firmly defined brief for a change.

I've used a lot of filters to add textures etc. If you want to see more detail just click on the image.

Cheers
Tom

The word of the week is 'Feet'

2006-03-20T04:42:00.000+01:00

This is a watercolour that I did when we moved into our new home. That was almost two years ago. Click on the image to enlarge.

A tough two years but the house is almost finished.

I've been decorating and just put a mural up in the 2nd floor hallway. There's still loads to do but it's starting to look like a home with some personality. The stairs need a lot of work. I'm almost finished the main bedroom which will have walls decorated with Portor (a black marble with gold looping veins) and the doors are painted to look like walnut. The sliding bedroom doors have been painted to look like walnut burr (loupe de noyer).

We're still working on the lighting. My wife is very enthusiastic about home decor but unfortunately she's not a lot more than that. I've given up discussing things with her and now I just do the work that comes to mind, which is the best way anyway.

The Illustration Friday word this week is 'tatoo'.

2006-03-11T15:09:00.000+01:00

This painting is on a Celtic theme. The design in the centre of the shield is like a tatoo and it illustrates seven sides of celtic life. The crafts person, the musician, sports, hunting, spirituality etc.

It was very hard to do this as I had never done a celtic design as complex as this before but it lead me to design jewellery and logo's in that theme.

It's probably the most facinating and demanding kind of design I have ever done but it's extremely rewarding too.

Tom

2006-02-25T11:42:00.000+01:00

The Illustration friday word this week is Tea.
There will probably be loads of mad hatter images. This is my sketch for the mad hatter. I'll do a painting later. The mad hatter comes from the time when hats were finished/polished with mercury. The hat makers, hatters, eventually went mad as a result. In Alices wonderland the mad hatter has a never ending tea party. In my mad hatter his brains are bursting out of his head.

Competition

2006-02-21T10:06:00.000+01:00

To win a drawing goto http://www.tombyrne.com/win.html and check it out.

Song

2006-02-18T17:22:00.000+01:00

The Illustration friday word this week is "Song". There were a few images I could have chosen but I think this is the most appropriate.

I did it in photoshop and it was used as an outdoor poster.

Guinness time

2006-02-06T09:24:00.000+01:00

Hi
Test post.
This one was done for the RI-Ra pubs in the USA.