Happy new year to you!!
Here’s a picture from my Christmas Sketch Book….
It’s inspired by street art pieces and so I paintshopped this picture transforming it into a street art piece on a wrecked boat by the Seven Bretheren causeway, Barnstaple… more to come on this subject before long…
Paintshopped Piece
Negative sketch of Teahupoo barrel view celtic knotwork
Here’s a sketch I’ve been working on over the last week or so, it’s inspired by a photo by Jon Frank of the monster wave at Teahupoo. It’s taken from inside the giant tube Mick Fanning is racing away from. It’s a pretty awesome shot, I love the way the wave is curling over and completely joins up with the spray from Fanning board. I think the shot was taken up by Rip Curl or Billabong for an advert.
The knot in this sketch wasn’t really finalised, I didn’t resolve it to be continuouse or a single line, I really just wanted to try out a few different ideas the photo gave me.Â
I’ve played with scale on the lines to give perspective and depth. The sea heading off to the horizon I was playing with an arbitrary pattern when I made the network for the knot and then chose a rule for the crossing over points (which way the knot continued to lead or break). The result looks quite computer generated, a bit like game graphics from the 80’s I think. Â
I played about with the shot in paint shop pro adjusting the hue and saturation, lightness, contrast and then making the image negative. The sketch original was done in coloured fine-liners. You can see the steps I took in the sketch:
Mick Fanning, Teahupoo, by Jon Frank
 I came across this photo in the Surfers Path Magazine, you can see more Jon Frank images here:
http://surferspath.com/photographer-folios/image_full/253/
Favorite quote from the artical:
“Most opportunities slip quickly away, but occasionally I will trap one in my little black box to keep.”
Best shot in the Folio is (in my humble opinion):
Silver Linings, Tahiti, by Jon Frank
It looks wild and stormy, I get the feeling the surfers alone in the elements. It looks like a huge arena to be lost in! Hmmm how much is a flight to Tahiti?? Still, I think this appeals because it invokes a feeling of what it’s like to be alone in a big stormy surf area, like a less than perfect but big ish day a Saunton, when there’s not many people out and you find yourself all alone.Â
Like Tahiti, but cold, without the power and mushy. Ok so not that much like Tahiti.