Truth be Told- artists get bored
Hey, there sports fans, Al here with the latest:
I think the biggest truth about artists or at least with illustrators is the fact that we all get bored.
There is no doubt about that. We are only human and that is one constant I know, no matter how hard we all try to get away from it it's gonna be there.
It’s just hard to follow through on projects. We all have the greatest of intentions but we all fall short (at one time or another) of those lofty goals that we set for ourselves.
I have seen that from friends of mine and occasionally we will even look for excuses to say why things have been held up in the production of a work. We don't want to look like we are being lazy. But if artists are really being true to themselves they’ll tell you they’re bored. They’re bored with the topic that they are working on, they're bored with the style of artwork they are currently are working within. A kind of emotional stoplight blinded by that red-green stop-go. They’re just visually and creative just really bored.
Holy shit did I say that out loud? Is this is sacrilege? Could be, but I don’t think I’m wrong by saying it out loud.
All artists are looking for something new to work on, that’s a fact. Mastering a new style or a new topic to cover. Personally, I stepped away from Richard Parker and took a break and that’s because I got bored with the project plus a lot of other things which would be an excuse for you to mentioning that here. Don’t give me wrong I like deep-sea diver’s otherwise I wouldn’t have been that being invested for seven years of my life working on one character and one story but the scratchboard stuff has evolved to a point where I need to be able to crank out a lot more work in a very short period time. And that’s a problem of what I’m running into right now- a limited amount of time.
And don't even get me started on real life, ah yi yi!
So every once in a while you have to step off the path and do something else, something new.
And for me, that means challenging my perception of morality and social acceptability. Of course, that means that I have to render stuff that makes me feel "uncomfortable".
This is not a puritanical thing but rendering a nude figure (male or female) in-not-so flattering poses, cartoon exaggeration of violence, social commentary, and most of all humor.
The human form because though as beautiful as it can be it also can be right down silly to look at. Plus when you touch upon this topic all matters of people begin to frrrreak OOUT! Listen, every human being has one, get over it. You have to look at yourself all the time when hunched over dropping the kids at the pool - if ya know what I'm sayin'. Stop being ashamed of what you got- it's not like you can trade it in for a new model anytime.
Violence is frowned upon too because society says it's wrong. I don't totally disagree with this but it happens. I am not advocating to go out into the world and bash somebody in the head with a bat, as you would see in the movie "The Purge". But to scrub images in pop culture of it is ridiculous. When you watch a cartoon it's just a cartoon folks. Animals do it all the time and you can't tell them to stop it. What makes you think that you can stop that? Last time I checked a human being is an animal with just a slightly more advanced brain- maybe. Sometimes I wonder.
Social commentary is a huge swath to delve into. That covers all topics that "trigger" others. Everything from Identity defining terms, religion, "progressive and inclusivity". In fact, it shouldn't be called "social commentary" but rather "trigger society".
But humor is what makes ALL of this palatable. Poke fun at the topic but most of all poke fun at ourselves.
Okay, I'm off my soapbox you can return to your normal programming.
Anyway, the challenge I have for myself is a new project loosely titled "The Parody Project". I had originally envisioned a few new separate big pieces of scratchboard that had nothing to do with each other but in a total show with hopefully something fun to see and laugh at. At least something I would find funny.
So there is a list of topics that I am putting together. And really I have no issue putting it here because it is subject to change.
A Robert Williams flavored kind of piece along with the fanciful titles
with two previous existing characters, I created two separate but linked submissions of the characters Heavy Metal (an old school robot) and Sady Starkiss a woman who can't seem to keep her spacesuit on.
A possible title for it is "The Spark of Life".
The hilarity of "The Narotu Run - 2019". Get your pet alien now!
ALSO the AHAB and the search the great entertainment troll of Bad Robot and all the franchises that have been "Mystery Box'ed".
Possibly revisit "The Savage PoodleMoth Man" from years ago of a 50's movie that was never made.
"Juice Box" needs a massive update.
"Target Earth" a mix of 2001 and First Contact.
This is only a part but it is enough to focus on right now. Especially for large pieces.