Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Funky Fish Graphic

  Taking my pen and paper on the road I had a few hours to sketch out a custom fishing graphic.  I was in the mood for something way out of my norm so I went for a graphic that might meld into the mainstream of funky art.  I was also looking to create something that draws your eye in and had a lot of elements in a small space to keep you eye looking into the image.

    The original is simply a pen and ink sketch of three fish in a world surrounded by all things that we fishermen love.  I actually love the look of plain black and white inked line drawings but they don't seem to transition well to other mediums.  The exception to this line of thought is a master of pencil and inked drawings - M.C. Escher.  I had not gone into this drawing with the thought of emulating Escher but when I finished and stood back to look at it I thought of him immediately.  As a child I was amazed at his work and checked out many a library book of his drawings.
    This drawing is purposely crude in its lines and free form style because I wanted to have a more natural form to the image.  The only external 'ruler' or template I used was a top from the hotel ice bucket to form the perfect circle.  Otherwise I kept a loose hand and 'hippy' 60's style in mind to draw out this image.

     So what am I going to do with this?  Again, nothing but it is a valuable piece of my evolution as an artist and illustrator.  The image on a shirt -courtesy of Zazzle's graphic tee building tool - is just my attempt to show what can be done with these graphics.   Every time I create one of these graphics or paintings I grow and develop skills that aid me in future projects.  Graphics like this could eventually be sold to companies like Orvis, Sage, or in the mainstream business world, the suppliers of companies like American Eagle, or Target.  (of course if anyone of those (or other companies) would like to purchase this graphic for mass production I welcome any emails. ;-) 
 
    For those of you that have read though this entire post hoping to hear something about fish or some new tactic to hooking trout - my apologies   All you get is the fish and flies in the graphic.

6 comments:

Jay said...

Interesting design. Escher was the first artist that I learned about whose work truly blew my mind. Some of his pieces are just mind boggling. I think "Drawing Hands" is still my favorite though. I'm a fan of Zazzle too, and I've been pretty happy with everything I've ordered from them.

Feather Chucker said...

I really like that Joel. I could see a lot of women wearing that design. It looks just like a cool design at first glance then when you really look at it you realize what it is. Awesome work.

Mark Kautz said...

The drawing, the picture, the tee-shirt. It's enough for this post. Having been through the 60's I can relate. Nicely done.

cofisher said...

You're killing me Joel. Make some money from these great ideas you have.

Unknown said...

Jay - Eschers design sure suck you in and defy reality. I've only ordered a few mugs and little things from zazzle but they do make products that last. The trout mug of mine has gotten a lot of use and it still looks like new.

Kevin - I think I might order one for my little girl. I don't think it will trump the ponies or kitten shirts but I think it will make it into the rotation batting # 5 or 6.

Mark - thanks. The 60s had some funky art. Not a big fan of a lot of the overdone pop art but occasionally I'll come across a piece and say - I get that.

Howard - thanks again. like a lot of artists I have a brain full of ideas but not very good at marketing myself. Besides I often need to remind myself that this is a hobby. Of course if it develops into something beyond that then I'll do what I always do and roll with it.

Shelley Whiting's art said...

I love the sense of movement in the piece. A very funky and fun work.