Water colours......hmmmmmm?

While I'm typing this I'm listening to an unreleased track by Kylie called Sexual Gold! If you'd like to hear it click HERE. Thanks to Love Kylie for sharing this priceless information!

I have been experimenting with water colour this week for my new work based on sailor tattoos. As I said last week this is probably the best meduim for tattoo style art work as the application and texture is very similar to the real thing. But I am a girl who is used to acrylic, and learning how to handle the watery stuff is not as straight forward as you'd think!

I found a few good water colour technique videos on youtube, but nothing beats just getting stuck in and feeling for yourself how the paint moves and mixes.

It certainly doesn't dry quickly like acrylics and it is much more malleable. You can also re-work the paint even after it's dried completely unlike acrylics. It's advised to stretch your paper before using water colours as they tend to ruckle up the paper otherwise. I bought a special pad of paper glued around all edges so shouldn't have this problem, but I have my suspicions as I covered an entire page in wet paint yesterday and I definately saw some ruckling! But maybe it will look different when it's dry?

So on the whole I'm enjoying the new experience of using water colour and I especially like applying indian ink to the outlines when the paint is dry. So I like water colour and I like acrylic, but which one is better? there's only one way to find out....... Stay tuned!

Other news:
I am soon to be Tart of the Month on the Tart Gallery website! This fabulous website is ran by the Pop Tarts, two female artists based in Vancouver who paint women within a pop culture context. They hold regular exhibits all accentuated by music and costume! The Tart of the Month is a regular feature on the site showcasing other artists with similar themes and styles. I am so excited to be included in this list of sensual and provocative artists, featuring none other than Angelique Houtkamp! (See last post)

I am also to be included in a collaborative virtual exhibition on Second Life in the 3D virtual Tart Gallery with the theme of burlesque! This is extra exciting and new to me and I am really interested to see the results! I am now on Second Life and tentitivley finding my way around, if you bump into me my name is Gemma Vespucciano (You're not allowed your real name).

More info to follow...

Angelique Houtkamp

So, I've been researching traditional tattoos, vintage flash and tattoo art for the past few months all to get my ideas together for my own vintage sailor tattoo inspired pin up work.
I recently discovered the beautiful and striking work of Angelique Houtkamp, the Dutch tattooist and painter who's work is both exciting and inspirational!

I saw her work in the most recent issue of Nude Magazine. In the article she talks of how she originally worked at Tattoo Peter, one of Amsterdam's oldest tattoo shops and she got a lot of inspiration from the city's culture; the port and the sailors who arrived home covered in art work from far off places of anchors and mermaids.

Angelique takes influence from the classic tattoo masters such as Sailor Jerry, but she also has a huge interest in the 20's and 30's and the art work and advertisments from those times, and it's easy to see the similarites in her drawings.

I was intrigued by her use of watercolour. I always associated water colour with something wishy washy, never the strong yet delecate shades found in Angelique's work. But her method was backed up when I heard Tim Hendricks of Miami Ink state that his father's water colour artwork was what got him into tattoo art as the blending and application is so similar!

I emailed Angelique to find out more about her technique and ask her if she had any tips for me regarding my own tattoo work. She was kind enough to respond quickly and I was pleased to bits when she said she thought my work was "pretty sassy"! She advised me to keep looking at traditional flash and I've decided to give water colour a go; cue a trip to Fred Aldous, and £35 later...

I'll let you know how I get on, I'm raring to go as I now have three more designs ready to go!

Other news:

My work at Urbis comes down tomorow after 6pm, so if you haven't had the chance to see it yet get on down and bask in the burlesque glory that is Scarlet Fever.

On a totally unrelated subject, yesterday I was lucky enough to meet one of my favourite authors, Joseph Delaney!
The author of the amazing 'Spook' series was doing a signing of his new book, The Spooks Sacrifice at Waterstones in Bury and I was geeky enough to go over and meet him get some books signed and even get my picture taken with him! It was like meeting the Spook in person, although maybe he's not as gruff as old Gregory.

Anyone not aware of this fabulous series should go out and give it a go, it might be aimed at kids but it is truely scary, magical stuff and as the books warn, 'Not to be read after dark!'

Joseph Delaney wondering why security haven't removed this weido yet