Tripping Over Perspective

April 5, 2010 in Art, Illustration, Illustration Friday | 8 comments

Tripping Over Perspective cut paper art by Patrick Gannonsize: 8 x 10”
medium: cut paper on wood

Given “Travel” (the theme of the recently wrapped-up Sound of Scissors), most folks would picture the glittering lights of Paris, the sun-baked desert pyramids of Giza, or the stone noggin chorus line of Easter Island. Then they would draw that picture. I, however, am not most people. By which I mean that I never get to go to any of those cool places. Instead, my mind wandered to the kind of travel that I do get to enjoy.

Evidently, the kind of travel that I enjoy begins with me dipping my head into any convenient hole or hollow whereupon it is rent from my body molecule-by-molecule, cast through time and space, and finally bonded to the underside of a nebulous, floaty, precipitation-prone bundle of gasses.

On the other hand, I coulda been thinking along more metaphorical lines when I was sketching out this moody forest scene. Something about how different experiences force us to re-evaluate the things we’ve always taken to be universal. Perhaps travel inside ourselves. Maybe even a short trip through the metaphysical astral plains. Y’know, that sorta high-minded nonsense. Read the rest of this entry »

A Short Trip, A New Perspective – WIP

March 27, 2010 in Art, Art show, Japan | 2 comments

A Short Trip, A New Perspective - WIP art by Patrick GannonThe Sound of Scissors show wrapped up a couple days ago, and I’m almost caught up on sleep. Huge thanks go out to everyone who dropped by to chat and look at all the talent on the walls. The show was really well attended; it was a pleasure meeting so many new art fans. As usual, silly me forgot my camera, but a good friend has promised to get some photos to me soon. You’ll be able to see them soon after.

As soon as I get the chance to do a little scanning and color-correcting, I’ll start posting the new artwork. Until then, please enjoy these small glimpses behind the curtain of mysterious secrecy. Cast your eyes below to peruse the original thumbnail sketch for “A Short Trip, A New Perspective”. Now, glance upwards to see how the image changed on it’s winding path to completion. What you’re looking at right now is the back of the paper which will form the main foundation of the piece. With all the linework on it, still in need of chopping. It took me a bit to figure everything out, but in the end, it came out pretty much the way it was envisioned. I can’t wait to show you.

A Short Trip, A New Perspective - sketch art by Patrick Gannon

Hasami No Oto / The Sound of Scissors update

March 19, 2010 in Art, Art show, Japan, News | 2 comments

Stop by Niji Gallery Saturday the 20th after 3:30pm or on Monday the 22nd (it’s a national holiday!) to chat. I’ll be hangin’ out, checkin’ out all the paper art, and breakin’ out the charm. The only thing I won’t be doin’ is makin’ out.

Oh yeah, if the map on the postcard is a little too… hand-drawn, here’s the google version.

Gallery Show: はさみの音 – The Sound of Scissors

March 7, 2010 in Art, Art show, Japan, News | 4 comments

はさみの音 - The Sound of Scissors @ Niji Gallery, Kichijoji, Tokyo
It’s been a little quiet here at PaperCuts recently, and with good reason. I have been buried up to my arms in paper preparing for… taxes. Yes, tax season in Japan comes a full month before the US’s relatively laid-back April deadline. And as an American living abroad, I get the pleasure of participating in both tax seasons, doubling my paperwork pleasure. Oh yes, and I’ve also been hibernating.

But I’m breaking out of my frozen slumber for a celebration of all things papery and cut with はさみの音 (hasami no oto) – The Sound of Scissors. This will be the first all-切り絵 Cut Paper Show I’ve had the honor to join, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. We’re a diverse bunch with work ranging from children’s book style to more mature themes, from traditional to contemporary. The art is rich in color and shape and line. The theme this year is “Travel”, a subject wide-open in it’s possible interpretations. I’m excited to see the work everyone comes up with, and I urge everyone in the area to stop on by.

Here are the folks involved:

the details:

name: はさみの音 – The Sound of Scissors

greeting reception: TBA

dates: Thursday March 18 – Tuesday March 23, 2010 12pm-8pm

place: 〒180‐0004 東京都武蔵野市吉祥寺本町2‐2‐10 / Tokyo, Kichijoji Honmachi 2-2-10

access:（ＪＲ中央線　吉祥寺駅より徒歩４分）

tel: 0422-21-2177

gallery website: right here.
はさみの音 - The Sound of Scissors @ Niji Gallery, Kichijoji, Tokyoclick image to enlarge

Guest Shots: Jiro Takidaira

February 25, 2010 in Art, Children's, Guest Shots, Japan | 2 comments

Guest Shots: Jiro Takidaira“Baby Powder” Takidaira Jiro, 1974

Not so long ago, I gave a brief PaperCutting workshop to the local Tokyo chapter of the SCBWI. It was a ton of fun to do, and I really enjoyed being able to show a little bit of what goes into the process of one of my cut paper images. Just as rewarding for me, though, was researching the history of the art form and some of its most talented practitioners.

I had always assumed that cut paper art in Japan had as long a history as the Chinese tradition (which dates back to…well, pretty much the day after they invented paper!). Shockingly, I was wrong. While paper cutouts had been used for centuries as stencils in the textile industry, mostly for creating exquisite kimono designs, it was not recognized as as art unto itself.

That changed with 滝平二郎 (Takidaira Jiro). Born in 1921, he grew up in the Japanese countryside on a farm. After returning from the war, he threw himself into artwork. His early work reminds me of Russian poster art of the time, with it’s strong, serious, proletariat farmers. As time went on, the paintings become sparser and more graphic, borrowing the strong and simple line of manga comics. Eventually, he segued into children’s book illustration, and this is where his work truly bloomed. Sometime in the 1960’s, Takidaira began to incorporate cut paper into his illustrations, laying it over backgrounds painted in watercolor and India ink. It’s fascinating to watch the progression of his work as he became more and more enamored of the paper and the cutting. In the 1970’s, we can see the amount of detail increasing until it fills the whole page with patterns of flora and the textures of Japanese life. Then, in the 80’s he cut the artwork back down to the basics, with wide swathes of black and simple, powerful compositions. Read the rest of this entry »

A Juxtaposition of Lines and Colors

February 14, 2010 in Art, News | 2 comments

lines and colors logoHere’s a belated Thank-You to two great websites that featured some of my work a little while ago.

Lines and Colors is, in their own words, a blog about drawing, sketching, painting, comics, cartoons, webcomics, illustration, digital art, concept art, gallery art, artist tools and techniques, motion graphics, animation, sci-fi and fantasy illustration, paleo art, storyboards, matte painting, 3d graphics and anything else I find visually interesting. If it has lines and/or colors, it’s fair game.

I’ve been a fan for ages, and have bookmarked any number of inspirational and helpful articles posted about art, illustration, and web design. Here’s an ol’ favorite from about two years ago when I was re-jiggering my website.

Juxtapox Magazine should need no introduction. They have been championing and defining urban, low-brow, pop surrealist and underground art for over a decade and a half, and are currently the biggest art magazine in the US. It was through this magazine that I first came to know of this art movement (otherwise unavailable to an east-coast country kid), and been introduced to countless influential and inspirational creators. Their Reader Art section is a great way to experience new and upcoming artists.

Thanks guys! I appreciate the support!

Juxtapoz Magazine logo

This Lightning Won’t Forge Itself (Fūjin Raijin Diptych, l)

(sold)

February 3, 2010 in Art, Art show, Illustration, Illustration Friday, Japan | 5 comments

This Lightning Won’t Forge Itself cut paper art by Patrick Gannonsize: 7 1/4 x 10 3/8”
medium: cut paper on wood

Raijin and Fūjin have always struck me as the odd couple of the Japanese Shinto pantheon. Two ex-demons pressed into service by the powers-that-be, they are forced to work together despite their opposing personalities. If they are The Odd Couple, then Raijin is a moodier version of Felix. Focused, determined, ominous. He doesn’t have time for Fūjin’s playful, needy antics. Or does he? Is that the slightest sliver grin at the corner of his mouth as he dutifully ignores the looping breeze?

This Summoning Wind / This Lightning Won’t Forge Itself diptych cut paper art by Patrick Gannonclick here or the image to see Titans Clash

Raijin and Fūjin are fascinating and awesome (in the traditional sense of the word) as typically depicted raging through a storm. When I sat down to sketch this piece, that was my first approach as well. After a while, I started wondering how they spent the quiet hours between typhoons. What kind of relationship evolves between the people who spend all of their time together; coworkers, best friends, husbands and wives, Gods of thunder and wind.This Summoning Wind / This Lightning Won’t Forge Itself diptych cut paper art by Patrick Gannonclick here or the image for the big frame-up

Cut to the Chase – Discovering and Making Cut Paper Art and Illustration

January 27, 2010 in Art, Art show, Children's, Illustration, Japan, News | 1 comment

Cut to the Chase Event promo with Patrick Gannon Hey everyone, I’m doing a workshop on Friday! It’s reservation only, so if you’d like to see me turn tomato-red while chatting about how cool Cut Paper Art is, and you’re going to be in the Tokyo area, grab a seat. Here’s the description:

For centuries, cut paper has had a place in storytelling and folk art traditions throughout the world. From intricate Chinese cutouts to Mexico’s Papel Picado to European silhouettes, papercutting has been a vibrant part of the craft life of many cultures. Cut paper became a popular technique with childrens’ book illustrators, valued for lively colors and versatility. Recently cut paper has received renewed attention from artists, merging modern creativity and thought with traditional techniques.


In this 90-minute workshop, cut paper artist/illustrator Patrick Gannon will conduct a brief tour of the history of Cut Paper art traditions throughout the world. Modern papercutting art from various artists and illustrators will be introduced. He’ll demonstrate some of his techniques for creating this fascinating and fun art form and lead participants in the creation of their own cut paper illustrations. Participants are encouraged to bring sketches, characters, or story ideas that can be used as a creative starting point for their illustrations.

And the details:

Time:  Friday, January 29, 2010, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Place:  Tokyo Women’s Plaza, Conference Room 2
           5-53-67 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
           (by the Children’s Castle and United Nations University)
For a map see www.scbwi.jp/map.htm
Fee:  SCBWI members 1,000 yen
         Non-members 1,500 yen
Reservations:  Contact info@scbwi.jp by January 28
Materials to Bring:  

  • sketch pad or paper
  • colored paper (optional)
  • pencil or mechanical pencil
  • eraser
  • scissors
  • glue or glue stick (optional)
  • cutting mat (if you have one) or A4 to A3 size sheet(s) of thick cardboard
  • NT design cutter / X-acto knife and blade (if you have one)

This event will be in English;
Japanese interpretation available on request.

Also of note, this is the first time I’ve ever posted a photo of myself on this blog. Try not to let it scare you off from the event.

This Summoning Wind (Fūjin Raijin Diptych, r)

(sold)

January 13, 2010 in Art, Illustration, Illustration Friday, Japan | 7 comments

This Summoning Wind cut paper art by Patrick Gannonsize: 7 1/4 x 10 3/8”
medium: cut paper on wood
click here or the image to let the big wind free.

Confined in a leathery sack, the wind swirls and gusts, waiting to be loosed as a gentle zephyr or a raging hurricane. The keeper of the wind is Fūjin 風神, one of the oldest of the Japanese Shinto gods. All along, I thought it was an amazing coincidence that Fūjin, along with Greek gods of the wind Boreas and Aeolus, carried the wind in a sack over his shoulder. If Wikipedia is to be believed, it is because the Japanese deity evolved from the Greek. Go figure.

Fūjin here is part of a diptych. You can probably guess who is featured on the left half. There’s a whole story to be revealed, both thematically and artistically, when the halves are placed side by side. For the moment though, I think I’ll keep things simple and let the old windbag speak for himself.

Where the Forest Ends and the Flesh Begins

January 6, 2010 in Art, Illustration, Illustration Friday, Japan | 12 comments

Where the Forest Ends and the Flesh Begins cut paper art by Patrick Gannonsize: 38 x 27.2 cm ( about 15 x 10 3/4″ )
medium: cut paper on illustration board
click here or the image for a more titanic tiger

Each new year is a time of renewal, a clean slate where the previous year’s missteps have been scratched out to make way for hopes, plans, schemes and triumphs. Who better to lead us out of the dark than the fearsome tiger.

Of course, the trick with a beastie as temperamental and finicky as the tiger is to know whether it’s leading you into the light or pouncing on you from the inky shadows.

One year ago, I waxed and whined about how weird it was to use cut paper to mimic another medium (in direct opposition to my cardinal rule of paper cuttery). Well, I still feel a little awkward faking sumi-e, but I really liked the result so I decided to try it again. This time, I tried to take it even further, playing around with different shades of grey (and some truly cool new papers) for the bamboo. The tiger’s outside line also got nixed, playing up the natural camouflage /positive/negative aspect that makes this cat so cool. Read the rest of this entry »

« Older entries § Newer entries »