The Art of the Brick: A Life in Lego

Summary
Nathan Sawaya is renowned for his incredible, sometimes surreal, sculptures and portraits--all made from LEGO bricks. The Art of the Brick is a stunning, full-color showcase of the work that has made Sawaya the world's most famous LEGO artist. Featuring hundreds of photos of his impressive art and behind-the-scenes details about how these creations came to be, The Art of the Brick is an inside look at how Sawaya transformed a toy into an art form.

Follow one man's unique obsession and see the amazing places it has taken him

Reactions
This spring and summer, Nathan Sawaya art was exposed in Paris. And I was really curious and tempted to go.  Unfortunately, something was always distracting me when I was planning to have a closer look at his work.

And now, I deeply regret it! :-(

So when I've seen the book, after missing my chance to do it for real, I've decided to read it and enjoy his creations.

It's amazing since Lego is a toy, we all have played with at some point in our life. I've appreciated how the author explains why he has decided to build a skull or what he was thinking when creating Yellow and the way the meaning of this sculpture has changed over the time.

"Yellow is not about death at all, but about opening yourself up to the world without fear or reserve. It's about dropping the mask and the hundred of little compromises you make every day to show the world the true you, and letting life come at you as it may."

Nathan Sawaya's creations are impressive but in this book, i've really enjoyed the stories about his life, his depression, his work. It's direct, easy and really add something more to this art book. It's not boring, it's little bit of himself he is sharing to make us understand his art.
Cool artist!

The Red Dress is one of my favorite and Yellow too.

Don't hesitate to read this art book, it will do you some good to the heart and to your art. ;-)

Source
*Arc provided by Edelweiss
I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

Badly need a haircut!

Ok this girl needs a haircut! :-D

Was tring to work on the neck and the shoulder but still not good at coming with the shadows i want to add. 

Will try pastel next year as I'm starting to get frustrated with watercolor. 

On some stuff, it's nice and smooth, on others it's hell. 

Something is not working for me with this medium. Maybe I need to distance myself, have fun and try something else and come back again.
Will see!

Woven Gold: Tapestries of Louis XIV by Charissa Bremer

David, Pascal-Francois Bertrand (Contributor), Arnauld Brejon de Lavergnee (Contributor), Jean Vittet (Contributor)

Summary

Meticulously woven by hand with wool, silk, and gilt-metal thread, the tapestry collection of the Sun King, Louis XIV of France, represents the highest achievements of the art form. 

Intended to enhance the king’s reputation by visualizing his manifest glory and to promote the kingdom’s nascent mercantile economy, the royal collection of tapestries included antique and contemporary sets that followed the designs of the greatest artists of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, including Raphael, Giulio Romano, Rubens, Vouet, and Le Brun. 

Ranging in date from about 1540 to 1715 and coming from weaving workshops across northern Europe, these remarkable works portray scenes from the bible, history, and mythology. As treasured textiles, the works were traditionally displayed in the royal palaces when the court was in residence and in public on special occasions and feast days. They are still little known, even in France, as they are mostly reserved for the decoration of elite state residences and ministerial offices.

This catalogue accompanies an exhibition of fourteen marvelous examples of the former royal collection that will be displayed exclusively at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center from December 15, 2015, to May 1, 2016. Lavishly illustrated, the volume presents for the first time in English the latest scholarship of the foremost authorities working in the field.

Reactions
Interesting and impressive work of art!


Since I'm interested in art and its different representations, when this book has come to my sight, at first I was afraid it will be a boring one. Because who really want to read about old carpets? o.O?

When in reality, it was a very great read.
This textile art is impressive for its size and often very well detailed that you can ask yourself how complicated it must have been and how much time it must have taken. I have an attachement for realistic drawing and some of Louis XIV tapestries are just fantastic piece of work.

The French King, during is reign, has gathered 304 differents tapestries and was only rivaled by Henri VIII, King of England, in the amount of his possessions.

Coronation celebration and ceremonies, hunting scenes, Old Testament, Mythology or Alexander war stories, angels, nature...

You will discover a lot of amazing scenes as well as some drawings that were made to help the artist to create his masterpiece. Most of the tapestries under Louis XIV brought the art of Renaissance from Rome to Paris and throught the art, you learn a lot about the French history.

It was a great combination between art and history. I'm very glad I've been able to appreciate this awesome collection.

A very good surprise!

Source 
Arc provided by Netgalley. I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

Game Art by Matt Sainsbury

Summary
"Game Art" is a collection of breathtaking art from 40 video games and interviews with their creators. Featuring major studios like Square Enix, Bioware, and Ubisoft as well as independents like Tale of Tales and E-Line Media, Game Art explores and celebrates the creative process that turns a video game into art.

Art from: Akaneiro: Demon Hunters Alice: Madness Returns American McGee's Alice Atelier Escha & Logy Atelier Meruru Atelier Rorona Atelier Shallie Atelier Totori Bientot l'ete Bladestorm: Nightmare Child of Light Contrast D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die Dead or Alive 5 Deception IV Dragon Age: Inquisition Dynasty Warriors escapeVektor Fairy Fencer F Fatal Frame II Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn flowmo Gamebook Adventures The Graveyard Hyperdimension Neptunia KILLER IS DEAD LOLLIPOP CHAINSAW Luxuria Superbia Malevolence: The Sword of Ahkranox Monster Monpiece NaissanceE Never Alone Ninja Gaiden 3 The Path Samurai Warriors Shadows of the DAMNED Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God Spirit Hunters Inc Sunset Tengami

Interviews with: Peter Budziszewski and Tamara Schembri Amy Fredeen and Alan Gershenfeld Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn Yosuke Hayashi Keisuke Kikuchi Makoto Kitano Mike Laidlaw American McGee Naoko Mizuno and Tsunako Alex Norton Yoshito Okamura Jean-Francois Poirier Guillaume Provost Neil Rennison Jennifer Schneidereit Mavros Sedeno SUDA51 Hidetaka Suehiro Akihiro Suzuki and Hisashi Koinuma Nic Watt Naoki Yoshida"

Quote

Not only do video games provide a complete visual and audio experience that rivals any other form of art, they also put players at the center of the action with the ability to control what happens.

Larry Goldberg

Reactions
Strange and cool!

I know my introduction may be confusing but this book was not at all what I was expecting. I was thinking about a retrospective of the video games. Instead, I got the vision about gaming and how it would evolved from independant artists.
It was interesting and pretty cool to discover other stuff than the usual best sellers.

I'm not a gamer but I've always been attracted by animation and the art behind the programming. So this book was also a good way to have a glimpse into the gaming world without being too scary. ;-)

I've enjoyed the different perspectives about art, inside a game, given by the interviewers. Like Jennifer Schneidereit's vision of a game that should be more about details and beauty than a commercial story. I've also appreciated  her Japanese approach in "Tengami". It’s beautiful.

Like the title of "Purveyors of Beauty and Joy" or the way Auriea Harvey and Michaël Samyn describe themselves and their vision of a video game. The difficulty of joining art and programming and creating a game that will please the gamers and the non-gamer too. Frustrating for them as much as for the people outside the video industry.

So even if it was not what I was expected, it was a cool way to spend an afternoon in company of talented artists.

Have fun reading this book!

Source
*Arc provided by Edelweiss
I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

The duality of silence

The duality of silence

Some nights, all is still and calm

The mind savors the absence 

Of music, of noises, like a balm

You cherish the sound of silence

Clearly thinking, creating, 

No humming, no madness

Gives you wings for dreaming

Without borders, without darkness

Silence can free your soul, 

Heal or smooth your doubts, 

Make you feel wonderful

By coloring your blackish thoughts

Some nights are not so blessed 

Your core dreads loneliness, absence

The mind is acidly stressed

You fear to suffocate in silence

Choking with anxiety, sinking, 

Unable to smile, talk or sleep

You rock back and forth, you’re shaking

Collapsing into a silent hole fast and deep

Since nothing stays still, beauty of the evolution 

You can choose the quiet or the cacophony 

Just don't use sound as a weapon

Too loud or mute, it creates agony

Silence is beautiful when made of gold

Proof of trust and acceptance

Sinister and cold when turned into coal

Can bruise a soul with indifference, words untold 

Don't replace its comfort by silent distance. 

Art: Malo And The Whale. Found on Pinterest.

Coffee break

These are my friend's hands.

I wanted to practice on drawing male hands and without blinking or thinking I was being silly, my friend agreed to send me pictures and being my model. :-D

As the exercice is not easy, especially with a curved surface. Was having trouble while adding the shadows, on the one that is flat on the mug, to make her alive.

The outcome is not bad. Probably some trouble with the proportion but I like it like that.


At first, his hands made me think of a tree.
They are huge, knotty and strong but also nice to look at and very gentle while holding the mug.

Exactly like my friend.
He has a funny temper, a full mouth and a cool personnality. It's never dull to be around him even when he is pissing me off and behaving like an ass.

That's why I like hands, they are telling you a story when you watch and draw them.

And what's best than sharing a coffee with a friend?

Cheetah Stare

Big Cats
I have a fondness for big cats since I'm a teen. When I've first started to draw again 5 or 6 years ago, their hair, furs and eyes soon have become an obsession.
It's hard to find the texture, to play with the light when working on the moustaches and the beard.

And I remember the amount of time i was spending on them, trying different techniques to succeed.
Then, I became bored as working on it 10 to 15 hours was making me crazy, especially when the outcome was still not what I was looking for.

And even if I still browse and store pictures of lions, tiger on my compturer, because I'm attracted to them the most, this Cheetah has caught my eyes. I wanted something different.
So not Black and White.

A frustration since I would have loved to work on it just with different shades of grey. But I was interested in the color of its eyes. With all the watercolor I've done lately, it seems that colors are growing on me! :-D

I've spend between 6 or 7 hours on it, speeding at the end so I messed up the chin and bottom of the fur. But I was starting to get tired. And since it was an obsessive drawing/meditative one, I couldn't put down my pencil before it was over.

Why do I call it meditative? Since it was based on a pic from Pinterest, I was not into trying to create or imagine something. I was just focusing on the colors, the hair. It was like coloring a mandala or running. You soon find a zone where you are just enjoying yourself without paying attention.

And I can forget my surroundings easily...Burnt my lens for lunch and completely forgot it was dinner time, so end up eating at 10pm. :-)
And it was exactly what I needed since I've slept like a baby after this session.

The drawing have flaws, is empty of emotions since it's more about copying but I like the feeling it has given me. Emptying my mind and living me with contentment. :-D

Sleepless

Sleepless
Nightmares, memories, I feel empty
In the dead of the night, I call your name
From my sleepy lips, the echo is loud
Bouncing on the walls, bringing me shame
Knowing I’m vulnerable and you are just a cloud
Tonight in the obscurity, your absence is heavy.

Funny how you try to pass an emotion and the reader will see and read something completely different. All the comments I've received where about unrequired love or longing. I was very surprised.
Because there is only one person I call and scream the name out loud when I have nightmares since I'm a child. Someone I still hope I could be comforted by.

Goodbye to yesterday

A3

11/29/2015

Pencil, color pencil, watercolor, characoal.

Ok, it's a bloody one. LOL!

Not at all a sad one as I was getting rid of old, unwanted feelings. I was pursued by horrible nightmares and the pictures of a bloody hands was following me. The more, I was refraining myself, the more the photo was becoming clear.

Think it's more about lost dreams, a future that will never be and being finally happy about the second chance I've received to start anew.

Because what are dreams, if you are not happy living them? Just a beautiful prison that hurts you. Happy to have start dreaming again. :-D

Because love is a blessing when there is no attach to it. When there is innocence and trust in the concept. Knew it hurts to lose people. Never imagine it will ask so much strenght to let go of promises and souvenirs. So easy when people don't promise anything. Most don't understand that words are believed.
That's why I challenge the Universe... This forever concept is bullshit! I have what? 30 to 40 years to live, then...I prefer this amount of time spent with someone that will promise me nothing, but will spent all these years making me smile and laugh, once per day, because that will be important for him. :-p
Who can do forever today when it's so easy to change socks and phone every day? :-D

This drawing would have been for my eyes only but I don't care anymore.
Now, the picture will be the keeper of my emotions and I will be able to sleep better I hope.

I had fun!

Love Letter

"I will love you forever.
Start first by loving me every day"

Alexandre Jardin

Love Letter

I was just in the mood for something sweet and delicate. Something that will take off my mind of worries while I was focusing on painting. So I got lost on this one.

It seems that roses have a calming effect. Still need to work on the light and shadows to give them more dimension.

As for the quotes, they are random ones about love coming from French authors that I like.

And nope...I'm not Romantic or In Love because I draw Roses. Rolling my eyes here! I just like how this flower is delicate, vulnerable but also royal, elegant and full of thorns. And I like the layers and spiral. 

A4

11/23/2015

Color pencils, watercolor.

Sniffing Fox

Sniffing Fox

A4

11/08/2015

Watercolor.

I love "Le Petit Prince" or "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
I often remember quotes of this book. 

I have also a fondness for fox. Like their bright sunny fur and their brillant mind.
So I've decided to paint one.

I'm still not comfortable with mixing colors while using watercolor. It lacks of fluidity and realism. Got frustrated by the result but I like this little guy.

Eiffel Tower in Tears

I will shed tears today but just today

Just because it's a sad day after an awful bloody night in Paris.

Just because the emotions are too much, not enough...

Just because I want to continue to smile at a stranger 

even if he is white, black, red, yellow, with a beard, a moustache, gay, 

straight, big, tiny, tall or an Allien

Just because I want to be curious and not suspicious

Just because I want to keep my believes and not be afraid 

Just because crazy people cannot change my way of seing life

Just because I want to stay naive and a dreamer

Just because yesterday has shocked me.

Yes, I will change

I will love more, 

I will enjoy life fully

I will be radical with my happiness

I will be gratefull for the ones in my heart

That's my only respond for yesterday, today and for tomorrow

Eiffel Tower is in Tears and me too.

Lucie

Heartless

Heartless

A call while walking on the streets

One word and you feel cold

Nothing to do with the weather

Nor the lack of a sweater

Tears rolling, you seem old

Your heart ended his beats

Just an tiny organ breaking 

Dropped after been dismissed  

Left unwanted, Wounded,  

Empty, messy, unworthy 

Leaving a hole in a bloody body

Now lying on the ground shaking

Universe, Sun and Stars

Should I keep it locked?

Behind walls and doors blocked?

Or can you repair my heart?

Make it stronger for a new start?

One loveable with no more fears

For the next thief to hold and keep…

Lucie

Art: Girl Without Heart by AnnMei

The Fool

The Fool

In the cacophony of a busy life

Lived a fool not wanting to see the signs

Believing tainted words and false smiles

Avoiding warning bells, red lights flashing

Preferring to focus on laughing and dancing

Easily brushing doubts and half-truths aside 

Not paying attention to inner voice gone mute

No action able to shield the blind from a sweet knife 

He was too far gone to listen or to be reasoned

So the voice let him swallow warm beautiful lies

Be lured by fine linen, silver cutlery and wine

Enjoying gourmet meals served with lights and sighs

Because a rude awakening was already there

A treachery revealed by the strange humor of fate

That shattered the dupe mind, soul and core

Cauz’ the murderous hand was the one of one trusted.   

Always listen to your guts even when your compass is broken.

They understand what you don’t want to.

Lucie

Sleepy beauty: October Mist

A friend of mine posted a picture of a Wyoming Landscape, where the mist was taking over the place.
Loved the feeling of a scenery being put to sleep or hidden by the power of the element. It reminds me of the spell cast by Maleficent in the "Sleepy Beauty".

Since then, I wanted to try playing with mist to see if I will be able to reproduce this feeling.
You tell me...