PORTRAITS AFTER DARK -11th Nov 2011, 7.30PM

November’s Portrait session is here!  Bring a good friend/ soul mate/ family member/ even pets! and share this edition of “PORTRAITS AFTER DARK” with us! This is where you can meet the most interesting illustrators in Singapore and get your portraits drawn on a Friday night!

Twit and spread the word- @oicsingapore PORTRAITS AFTER DARK – http://bit.ly/oicdark03

Registration for ARTIST – Register here! ( Click Link )

Our web server seems to be having some intermittent technical problems.  If you cannot register at the link above, please register manually by sending an email to info (at) oicsingapore (dot) com

Are you an Artist / Illustrator or Doodler!? Come draw with us! Polish your drawing skills & catch up with your OIC buddies at the same time. Everyone gets 20 minutes to draw the “patron/ sitter” at the same time. You get $10 for each drawing sold . Make it PLAYFUL and COLOURFUL, all skill levels welcomed. OIC Portrait Day is about artists having fun and experimenting with new ways to capture an interesting image and making new friends.?You don’t have to be an OIC member to take part but you have to register and please read the FAQ. Come and draw, make friends and spread good drawing vibes.

Artists Registration is S$10/- each

Posting your work for view & sale (compulsory ) is a sign of appreciation to the patron/sitter/ poser .

Registration for SITTERS/ POSERS:

You want your Portraits drawn? Pose for us!! We will love to draw YOU!! Email us and book the time slots you want.

email “info [at] oicsingapore.com”
subject: “I want some portraits!”.
State name/ mobile number/ email address/ couple or 3-some/ your preferred timing ( 7.30pm, 8pm, 8.30pm, 9pm, 9.30pm )
Posing is FREE, each artwork is S$10 available for purchase- all proceeds goes to the artists.

Poster illustration contributed by Vernnie Chong, see more of her work here: http://vernnie-c.tumblr.com/

Pacific Diptych by Miel & Jose Tence Ruiz

Pacific Diptych is an exhibition by 2 Filipino artists Miel in Singapore and Jose Tence Ruiz in the Phillipines. They explore the theme traversing – from past to present, between homeland and their adopted cities, identities, imagination at the same time traversing to be together again in a congress of re-examined icons.

For this exhibition, both artists attempt to bridge the geographic distance between themselves with their artwork, transcending freely into their own imaginations revolving itinerant heroes and transnational blunders. They take inspiration from fellow global Filipinos Jose Rizal and David Medalla, questioning their roots as well as discovering their own beginnings. This exhibition is part of the highlights of Filipino Art Trek in November 2011. Exact details below :

Date:  8th November 2011 –  29th November 2011

Venue : Artesan Gallery+ Studio, 793 Bukit Timah Road, #02-01 Singapore 269765

All OIC members are welcome to the opening on the 8th of November.

NeoFolk – South East Asian Contemporary Art Exhibition

For a long time throughout history, Asia and it’s culture has been an inspiration on artists and their  artworks. Neofolk is a contemporary art exhibition organised by Damien Brachet , Clear Editions Japan along with Kult magazine to showcase Asian influenced art works. This exhibition held in Cutlog Foire d’Art Contemporain, France includes many talented artist from Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Taiwan, Philippines and Singapore. From Singapore is our very talented Kuanth and Sokkuan Tye. See their dedication to perfection and crafting in this unique exhibition.

Sokkuan Tye

” Kuih-muih” , 2011

Hanging Installation, Felt, Polyester and Acrylic.

5kg, 70cm X 70cm X 100cm

Kuanth

杜十娘 Du ShiNiang (Lady No.10), 2011

Xin Hua Puppet Show Installation, Wood and acrylic, animated with internal engine.

25kg, 150cm X 90cm X 40cm

Below are more details to the exhibition :

NeoFolk Paris

South East Asian contemporary art exhibition, October 19-23, 2011

Cutlog Foire d’Art Contemporain
Bourse de Commerce de Paris
2 rue de Viarmes 75001 Paris Paris, France

www.cutlog.org/

Throughout South East Asia since the end of the XXth century, artists have been rediscovering their roots and traditional crafts, by reinterpreting their mixed and painful pasts.

They have grown out of State-condoned folk-art and tourist-priced exoticism, and back from the counter-culture distraction of self-denying, copycat Western conceptualism. Entrenched in soul-searching identity crisis, pioneers, pillars and heralds of the local scenes have dug up their forefathers’ hand-woven, paper-cut, hand-dyed, studded, pierced, cursed and blessed techniques, which contemporary art used to look down upon as arts and crafts.

Asia is reborn of gift-shop mentalities and ridding of self-loathe, cultivating local flavours and tastes for indigenous tribal aesthetics, from ancient script and tattoos, to music, graphic design, fashion and contemporary art. Crews of grunge-skater-nerd, ghetto-punk and retro-rockabilly artists are digging back into their drawers and closets. Their art is profoundly idiosyncratic, raw in discourse, sophisticated in delivery.

It is expressionist figurative, from mutant tribalism from Taiwan and the Philippines, to street animism and folk esoterism from Indonesia, brand-new retro pop from Singapore, and graffiti opera from Hong Kong.

This is Neo Folk.

Syan aka MC Yan (Graffiti art – Hong Kong), Kuanth (Graphics and installation art – Singapore/Malaysia), Samuel Indratma (Painter, sculptor – Yogjakarta), Darbotz (Graffiti artist – Jakarta), Jam Wu 吳耿禎 (Poet, photographer, paper-cut artist – Taipei), I Made Palguna (Painter – Yogjakarta), Sokkuan (Illustrations, installations – Singapore/Malaysia), redslim08 (Visual artist – Philippines).

Fruity Show – Call for Submissions

The Fruity Show, an Art Doll exhibition, is calling for participants. Let your creativity loose with anything at all, from fabric, crayons, markers, glitter with the only rule that the doll has to have a fruit for a head. All artworks wil be exhibited at The Pigeonhole at Duxton Hill. The dateline for submissions ends 18 September 2011. For more information and updates, please check out Red Dot Workshop on Facebook. Thanks Sooz for the info. 

OIC Interview with YAP KUN RONG

Kun Rong is a new breed of Singaporean concept artist. He interned in IFS ( Imaginary Friends Studio – www.imaginaryfs.com/ ) before going to Japan for 3 years, learning the language/ culture and obtaining his diploma in Musashino Art School. He worked in Tokyo during his time there as a concept artist and illustrator, doing commissions and projects from magazines to background art to Anime Series.

1) How long have you been an illustrator and how did you get started?

I have been drawing from a very young age, copying and rendering from references of anything that appealed to me. From then on i slowly moved  on to painting as well as discovering my personal direction. I kept on experimenting, learning, and pushing my works as i really enjoy creating. I was lucky enough to get acquainted with professional works through the net, starting out from card game illustrations when I was in the army. From there, I started building more contacts in this area, and have been doing freelance projects for 3-4 years now.

2) Who/what are your inspirations?

I am very inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci, MC Escher and Syd Mead in their meticulous approach to art and design. I believe that creativity and imagination is the result of repetitive labour of playing with forms, volumes, geometry, shapes and colours, rearranging, reconstructing and re-evaulating them a thousand times. I am very inspired by things i see around me because i feel that any possible form that exist in one context can be brought to exaggeration in another. I like to keep an open mind  and accept everything as I feel it is very important for growth.

3) Describe your typical day as an illustrator.

I usually wake up to do a few sketches before doing work. They may or may not make sense, its more of a habitual thing. After that I may dive into work, but depending on the kind of projects I am working on I would say my days are not exactly typical. Sometimes i spent alot of time researching depending on the topic. The one thing typical about my day is that i definitely will be doing sketches every now and then as i find them the most important process in the honing of a thought.

4) How was your work experience in Japan and how different is their illustration scene

I was sent there to study and was again lucky enough to manage to get freelance work experience while studying. It is a very inspiring place with many passionate people. There is really a great deal of artists out there, working part time in restaurants while trying to do their own exhibition because they just want to. Not to mention the quality of work produced, but the Japanese passion for creation is really respectable. Their are works of all kinds, people of all kinds, and the thing that bring them together is their passion for creation. Success is not so much defined by recognition but more by their earnest wish to create.

5) What is the best thing you have learned while working in Japan?

I believe Singapore is more influenced by western culture and Japan is really on the extreme scale of Eastern Culture and that alone was the biggest learning experience for me. To speak in art terms, I have been more interested and inclined to the western’s style of mass and volume approach, whereas for the Japanese, the lack of perspective and the emphasis on lines is something I could never have grasped. Through the time i spent there, I slowly got to understand why and how their approach came about, making me appreciate things from a whole new perspective. This swift in my perspective was the most valuable thing I have learnt while I was there. The broadening of mindset meant a whole great deal of possibilities to me as a creator.

6) What advise would you give to an aspiring illustrator?

There is more often than not a great deal of hard work behind any illustrator or artist. A lot of practice and training is required and it is definitely not acquired in months or a few years. The reward is the empowering ability to bring visions to life. Never give up practicing no matter how bad you may be because the ability to see space and dimension can eventually be achieved with practice. Eliminate technical limitations and the rest is for anyone to create!

See more of his amazing work here:  http://yapkunrong.net/

SYNÆSTHESIA

Organised by the Substation and presented by Ceriph, Synaesthesia is an exhibition that combines two genres of art, the written word and illustration. With both genres, this experimental exhibition sets out to evoke production of sensory impression on the viewers. Partnering 17 artists and  17 writers, this exhibition is definitely something unusual definitely worth checking out. Illustrators participating include Mojoko, Mindflyer, MrB, Eeshaun, David de Winne, Stephanie Ye, Alvin Pang just to name  a few. Show your support and mark your calendars!

Venue : The Substation Gallery

Date : 08 – 17 April

Opening hours :

7pm to 9pm on opening night

10 am to 9 pm daily

Further info :

http://www.projectsynaesthesia.com/

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=204586602892408

Singapore Polytechnic Graduation Show – Birth 2011

Call for Submission – Book Illustrators’ Gallery (BIG)

As part of the Asian Festival of Children Content ( AFCC) happening from May 26th to 28th, its organisers the Art House Singapore and National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) are inviting illustrators to contribute to the Book Illustrators’ Gallery (BIG), an exhibition showcase as part of the 3 day event.

Eligible illustrations include those which have been published in children’s books, audio/video products, comics/graphic novels, games, or are standalone works. Basic logistics like technical support and publicity will be handled by the festival, while the artist bears the cost of resizing the illustrations, sending and collection of their own artwork.

The deadline for entries ends on the 31st of March. A maximum of 5 pieces of artwork will be accepted. Please send selected artwork in the following format for consideration :

Read the rest of this entry »

Anitya I An experimental performance by The Observatory featuring Artist-Illustrator Andy Yang

Hi guys, these are some the photos for last night’s event Anitya I by The Observatory featuring our very own talented Andy Yang at Lasalle Earl Lu Gallery. Borrowing from the Buddhist mandala ritual, Singapore art-rock band The Observatory puts on a performance series exploring the relationship between music and non-musical art form. It is a unique and one of its kind live performance both visually and musically for those who were able to experience it live.

All photos taken by the awesome Fleecircus.

Twisstii’s illustrations for Philips Kidsplace Lamp Catalogue

Philips kid’s lighting series designed in picture storybook format, with the lamps integrated as part of the storyline with various hands on interactive activities like foldables and stickers to have fun with. It was an interesting project, experimenting with various colour schemes, shapes and placement of objects, overall I took off with a very eye opening experience.

Many many thanks to Enling, Chuiying, Ginny, Thomas Yang and Mindflyer for the guidance during the project.