Labyrinth // Concept Art

"Brian Froud painted this several years before his son Toby (who plays Sarah’s baby brother in the film) was born, and later remarked on the striking similarity between the baby in the painting and his own son."*

"According to the film's conceptual designer Brian Froud, Labyrinth was first discussed between himself and director Jim Henson during a limousine ride on the way back from a special screening of their 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal. Both agreed to work on another project together, and Froud suggested that the film should feature goblins. On the same journey, Froud "pictured a baby surrounded by goblins" and this strong visual image - along with Froud's insight that goblins traditionally steal babies - provided the basis for the film's plot. According to Henson, Froud also made the suggestion that the film should feature a Labyrinth."

Lord of the Rings // Concept Art

Barad-Dûr by John Howe:

"Artist’s comment:  Mordor is more than just a blighted landscape, it is an extension of Sauron’s gangrened and avaricious soul. Every element of the land - the Dark Tower, Mount Doom, the Black Gates, Cirith Ungol, Minas Morgul, must manifest in some way the architecture of darkness and evil. The Gorgoroth itself is more than a parched plain, it is as if a storm-wracked sea suddenly solidified into stone, pitted and decayed but honed razor-sharp over time by the very negation of life the Dark Lord represents. Barad-dur’s very foundations are anchored in the folly of Sauron, his wrath embodied in battlement piled on battlement, his power the mortar that holds stone to stone to impossible heights. The air itself is poisoned by his breath, and the livid sky is torn by the cries of his servants, the ground shakes with the iron shod tread of his armies. The land itself is in his image."

Tim Burton

"Timothy Walter "Tim" Burton is an American film director, producer, artist, writer, and stop motion artist. He is known for his dark, gothic, macabre, and quirky horror and fantasy films such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Dark Shadows and Frankenweenie, and for blockbusters such as Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Batman, its first sequel Batman Returns, Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland."

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I really like Tim Burton's works. I think he is a fantastic director and artist, I also like his poems. My favourite films by Tim Burton are The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and many more. I have his poem book of The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy, I really like this book I like that it is a really dark set of poems within this book. 

Live Action Cinderella

Cinderella is an upcoming American live action romantic fantasy film directed by Kenneth Branagh, from a screenplay written by Chris Weitz. Produced by David Barron, Simon Kinberg and Allison Shearmur for Walt Disney Pictures, the story is inspired by the fairy tale Cinderella by Charles Perrault and Walt Disney's 1950 animated film of the same name.

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I really like that Disney is going to create a live action version of the animated classic of Cinderella, however I would like that it was the original version of Cinderella, which is a dark version. However, I cannot wait for this film to come out in March 2015. 

Ted Lawson // Ghost in the Machine // 48″ x 96″ // Blood on paper // 2014

"Using figurative representation and geometric abstraction, Ted Lawson creates a narrative progression of forms that reveals something conceptually greater than the sum of their parts. Ted’s large scale works combine digital technology with highly crafted traditional sculpting methods to seamlessly produce conceptual objects that express the underlying analog truth within his subject matter. His working process in an exploration into the human existential experience through imagined models of the universe as physical form. 

He has been living and working in New York City creating original works from his studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn."

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I like Ted's work, I like the way that his work is so personally connected, I especially like this piece. I like that his blood is the ink to his printer. Even though this form of work makes me feel a little queasy, I still really like it. The reason for this is that it is really interesting and I like the way it has been created and formed. I also give credit to him for having to keep his blood sugar up all the way through this, and have to drink juice all the time. 

Maurizio Anzeri

"Maurizio Anzeri makes his portraits by sewing directly into found vintage photographs. His embroidered patterns garnish the figures like elaborate costumes, but also suggest a psychological aura, as if revealing the person’s thoughts or feelings."

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I really like Maurizio's work, I like the fact that the string is connected to my project at the moment. I like how interesting the whole images look with the photographs.

Margaret Keane

"Margaret D. H. Keane (born 1927) is an American artist. She is a painter, who mainly draws women and children in oil or mixed media. Her works are recognizable from the over sized, doe-eyed children that are depicted in her drawings."

"Tim Burton, a filmmaker known for his own brand of ghoulish cartoon characters, is taking on the world of wide-eyed artist, Margaret Keane, in a new movie titled “Big Eyes.” 
Margaret Keane (born 1927) is an American artist and pop culture icon. Her works are recognizable from the doe-eyed children that are depicted in the drawings.
In the 1950s, Margaret’s sad-eye waif paintings captured the public’s hearts, creating a sensation; mass-marketed prints of these works became wildly popular, and were sold almost everywhere, starting in the 1960s, and continuing into the ’70s. The popularity of Margaret’s big-eye children inspired many a copycat artist to emulate her kitschy style, and her legacy still lives on today."

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I really like Margaret's work, I particularly love the oversized eyes she gives the women in her art work. I think they give a playful element to the piece, and that they look very mystical.

Tara McPherson

"Tara McPherson is an artist based out of New York City. Creating art about people and their odd ways, her characters seem to exude an idealized innocence with a glimpse of hard earned wisdom in their eyes. Recalling myths and legends, issues from childhood and good old life experience, she creates images that are thought provoking and seductive. People and their relationships are a central theme throughout her work."

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I really like Tara's work, I like how strange and unique her pieces are.

I follow her on FaceBook and I see when she uploads new pieces, if she's giving a talk in America and other little bits of interesting information. I also really like the colours she uses, I love the greens and turquoise colours.