Physicist Turned.. Digital Artist?

Even I didn't see that coming, as I always assumed the right-brained (a.k.a physics challenged.. am I off base here?) would be the ones ending up in that category. But yeah, who knew!

I’ve been looking at UK based design/illustrator Nik Ainley’s work and there is really sooo much to look at. I’ve absolutely fallen in love with it and would shamelessly link to every single image on his portfolio (Shiny Binary v2.1, go dig in) because I just happen to like all of them, except that whoring off his work might not be such a great idea no?

Ainley taught himself Photoshop during his spare time studying for his degree in physics, and has since then shifted to designing full time after his major success. Goes to show that with determination you can do anything, After Effects here I come. ☺

Enjoy some of my picks… If you like what you see (and I’m sure you do), don’t deny yourself the opportunity to check his full portfolio at Shiny Binary v2.1.

We Been Featured, Yo..

Yep, you heard right. And even if you probably don’t care as much as I do, you should know that this here blog has earned it’s first feature on the blogosphere in a recommendation☺ see, you’re not wasting your time over here at all.

Check it out on Angelopudus for party’s sake :)

Dirty White Trash

I've always been iffy with installations, especially when they force a lot on the viewer that's open to interpretation. Maybe that's just the designer in me versus the 'artist' ... Which is why I really appreciated Tim Noble and Sue Webster fantastic shadow-play self portrait installations.

Noble and Webster use light in a creative way to put piles of rubbish into context fit with the title of each piece. Random fact- each pile of rubbish is really six months of the artists' rubbish. (not that means anything more than a possible aha moment.)

Dirty White Trash (With Gulls), 1998

HE/SHE, 2003

Real Life Is Rubbish, 2002

Some of their other work..

**photos via boredstop.com

…Versus ‘Doing’ Candy? (Well, not a chance)

Ha, of course I’m not daring to pitch my work for battle against the previous work from the Paris Fall OXYGENE Exhibit, but yeah speaking of candy – The following is a photo shoot I did for my Creative Photography studio, titled “Doing Candy” (play off doing drugs or any high inducing drug… granted it’s a sugar high in this case ☺ ). It was a really fun shoot. Really.

Large Promotional banner (pre-exhibit)

Hard Candy (Not By Madonna)

This fun find of the day is from Maison & Objet OXYGENE magazine, featuring a spectacular editorial piece by Vincent Poinas (stylist) and Arnaud Gouallec (photographer). Poinas and Gouallec took the conceptual task of turning regular and precious raw material into decor that's deliciously different for display in the magazine's Fall exhibition in Paris.

**photos via yatzer.com, sourced from Maison & Objet OXYGENE magazine

"Start at the beginning.." said the Mad Hatter to Alice...

The following work could be considered very typical of me as a Dubai gal. Coming from a Bedouin Arab heritage, I’m one of the first people you’d expect to jump on the heavily ridden heritage art wagon here in the U.A.E (even though local artists are not the only ones on that ever beaten path).

So when does this stuff get old? Well it already is, literally… Joke. ☺

I’ve steered away almost completely my entire (short) design student life from doing what I had considered stereotypical of the region’s creative community, I even rebelled with a Swiss design phase (or what was close enough). But once upon a time in my sophomore year, I decided to get the local out of my system and the following photo series was born. This was a final in my Photography Basics course, labeled Heritage Stills; a recreation of typical traditional settings from dated life in the Emirates. The grainy quality of film helped with its past like quality (I’m hoping you wouldn’t know they’d been shot in the metropolis that is Dubai, 2005), and a special thanks to the Dubai Heritage Village for providing the actors and settings used.

Traditional Dagger Carved In Stone

Old Woman in typical yard setting

Blacksmith in his Workshop - anonymity in this photo and the previous one is intentional to keep the characters iconic heritage figures from the past; almost ghostly even.

Food covers hanging on a wall - both the wall and the covers are made fully from Palm Trees and their derivatives.

Inside a typical Storage RoomFirewood for cooking and making coffee, set close to camp. Typical setting of a wandering Bedouin nomad.

Portrait of an Old Man

Still shot of a man reaching for the ‘finyan’ or small coffee cup. The bowl close by is filled with water and used to dispense of used cups immediately, avoiding stains.

Composition 1

Composition 2