It’s Monday, and the last of the solstice light comes crashing through the window, as work looms up to mock my bleary eyes.

I’m determined not to be so tardy this week, so this post is a few pieces from my random art file. The pieces are ink based, and focused on my sense of humour - dark [fig.1] and slapstick [fig.2, 3 & 4] (and arguably not that funny - although I’m laughing).

This sequence was inspired by last years Inktober prompts, which I was running late on - but fortunately seemed to naturally fall into a suitably gruesome narrative. It gave me a chance to develop characters, but also to go heavy with the ink for a Noir feel. I like the detail in the style, the use of perspective, the dancing of the story, and the twist in the last panel. And the gunk… I like the gunk.

This image was an unused idea for a commissioned piece - aiming for more family friendly in audience. I still wanted to add a sense of the chaos I remember from family days out, and the sheer effort of the experience I have since encountered looking after nieces and nephews. Again I like the energy and movement, as well as the conflicting experiences of all involved. As befits the ‘zany' approach the final version was coloured an tweaked using photoshop (see bel… erm, here…

The disconnected shadow does add energy (and the dad’s shoe is uncoloured, as it was behind an object - (honest!).

I find humour is a great way to explore ideas and thoughts visually - it gives you the space to both articulate, and critique your thoughts, and hopefully find ways to connect ideas, feelings and experiences in a way that makes them accessible in real life. Saying that I’m not sure what ‘Trick or Treat’ says for my relationship with pumpkins? And humour can also feel very vulnerable - after all, the image can be great, but if it’s not funny… well, that’s it.

Still - I must have a big enough ego, as this next lot [fig.4] were my xmas cards last year, and while I’d refine the line a bit (it was a last minute ideas, so I ran up against the print deadline), the main thing was would the idea work? I especially like the carol singers - the image is economical, and the caption tells a strong story; though the tree and drunk-in-the-kitchen relate to my experiences of Christmas. The feedback was good thought, so this year… hmmmm.

Again, gotta rush. Next week I suspect will be also rushed (hopefully then back to normal), so I’m going to focus on places and spaces I’ve explored in drawings before.