Yin and Yang; More collaborating with Velvit

After having such a great time working on Yin, Jaimie Lake from Velvit Vault invited me to contribute to her next, twin exhibition Yang. I designed the logo for this exhibition too, as well as creating some ink paintings to be sold in the Velvit online shop.

I'm so happy with how it worked out on the website, and I really feel that the aesthetic works well together with the branding of Velvit. It really has been a pleasure working with Jaimie, and hopefully not the last time!

For my contributing work, I painted four male life studies. I gave Jaimie a description, so maybe that will help add to what I'm trying to say:

"In 'Off Guard', he gently sleeps, naked and vulnerable, as we watch. Studies of male portraits always put across the 'man' in a powerful, strong stance. I wanted to create a series of images that neutralizes the common portrayal, showing that the gender roles of society are just a façade for our own egos. Dreaming and asleep, we succumb to nature, stripping all of us to the balance of Yin and Yang within us."

Although I'm not sure if they're going to sell particularly well, I've really enjoyed making the work and its work that I've been meaning to get out of my system for a while. I'll always love life drawing, and I think that is the main part of illustration that I want to keep; reportage and life drawing for me is just the most satisfying. It doesn't have to look exactly right, but I think in the end it just has to convey a feeling.

I've been having a whale of a time the past few months, and I'm really happy with how work is going so far. As ever, I've got a few projects on the go including FMP (EEK!), but that is what makes it so exciting! I'm so glad to be able to be keeping myself on my toes and making the most out of everything before uni is all over!