We love the pencil illustrations of Belgium-based artist Jenny Mortsell, so we interviewed her recently. How’s life been treating you? ‘Suspiciously good’. Are you feeling more creatively inspired as the years go by or less so? ‘I’m not sure. Creative inspiration is much connected to self-confidence than age. But I think the day you are sure you’re good at what you’re doing is the day it starts to get boring’. What is it about the medium of pencil that has attracted you so much? ‘I used pencils to draw since I was a kid, I feel I have control over it and technically there is nothing else that can be used to blend and create details like it (and mistakes are erasable!). But I am also attracted to it because it got an art school correctness, an ‘I can draw nice’ quality that makes it tragically uncool. And uncool is always more interesting than cool. That is probably why I decided to pick it up again’. Do you ever find it limiting in terms of color and texture?
‘Only when clients ask for color’.
What do you look at first whenever you are studying a person for a portrait?
‘I always start with the eyes, because then the drawing gets ‘alive’, demanding me to make it good’.
The drawings all seem very clean, as if the imperfections are not there. Is this a conscious thing?
‘Yes and no, I am constantly trying to come up with something I can do/add to trash things up in order to make the drawings more interesting, but it has to be something I can argue for, that feels personal and new, not just for the sake of it. Until I’ve found that they’ll stay neat. I do however, often deliberately leave imperfections like the smudges and fingerprints on the paper’.
Do you ever paint?
‘I used to, but when I try it now all the options get a little too overwhelming, so I’ve paused that for a while until I know what to do with all the colors’.
Are you still DJing? And what would be the first three songs you’d spin at a party to get the people up and dancing?
‘I still do occasionally. If people are drunk enough they might dance to ‘Power Run’ by Laserdance, ‘Turbo Diesel’ by Albert One or ‘Happy Song’ by Baby’s Gang’.
Ever have any recurring dreams? If so, what are they?
‘I don’t actually, but I’m afraid that doesn’t mean I’m trauma-free’.
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Win a set of Sony personal audio prizes
Thanks to Sony Australia, four Lost At E Minor readers will win personal audio prizes, including the new 8GB Walkman S series video MP3 player and the MDRXB500 Extra Bass headphones. Read more
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Next big things don’t often come as hot as Melbourne band, The Galvatrons. They’re still on the low down, but with a debut album on the way, this band will soon be everywhere. The four-piece rock-synth outfit do glam 80s better than the 80s acts did, with the attire to match. Currently on a small-scale tour of Australia, they’re worth seeing now before the crowds arrive. The Galvatrons have also already played the country’s biggest festivals, and supported Australian rock royalty such as The Presets, The Panics and You Am I.
The urban planning for Dubai increasingly has the city looking more and more like a still out of a Jetsens episode. The futuristic architecture that charcterises its evolution is pushing the boundaries of design, the buildings climbing ever upwards with their blindingly original facades. Apparently Dubai is home to between 15 and 25 percent of the world’s 125,000 construction cranes, which is hardly surprising. This image above is a sneak preview of how the famed Dubai waterfront will look in a few years time.
Yes, Karen O wears it. And we don’t blame her. Launched by make-up artist, Mike Potter, Knock Out Cosmetics nail polish is a little Victorian, a touch art deco, and a lot of rock n’ roll.
Formerly of Arab Strap, Scottish songwriter Malcolm Middleton sings with all the integrity and smoky purity of someone who has spent way too much time puffing away in the back corner of a sketchy Dundee pub. Read more
Ok, so maybe it’s the extra-strong Brooklyn coffee I’m drinking or perhaps its that the pine coated goodness of Christmas is well and truly in the air, but I’m kinda excited this morning as my wife has just launched her website, Feature Shoot, which is a resource for photo editors, art directors, industry professionals, and pretty much anyone who appreciates good photography. It’s a great way to discover new photographic talent and the website is already bursting with interviews with up-and-coming American photographers alongside that of established photographers who have completed a project or whose work has taken on a new direction.
Set in a remote Chinese village in the 1920s during a cholera outbreak and with a revolution bubbling in the background, The Painted Veil is a wonderfully tortured love story which excels on all levels. Based on the W Somerset Maugham novel, it was a labour of love for stars Edward Norton and Naomi Watts, who also produced the film. Read more
Analog electronics by British outfit Belbury Poly (Jim Jupp and Eric Zann) make me believe machines have souls and the ghosts of obsolete recording devices are haunting the dusty stacks of libraries debating the relevance of 60s avant-garde music and counterculture.
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I live the upbeat, feel good tempo of the new single — A Hundred Hearts — from Philly group, The Swimmers. Off their latest album, People Are Soft, this song is a strangely fitting anthem for the blustery day outside.
Wheeeeee! This game is so freaking fun! You move your cursor over each dot to make them split into four smaller dots ad infinitum.
Creative advertising packaging
Despite the intentions of many, it’s not so often that advertising — as an industry — truly thinks outside the box. Yet, when executed well, clever eye-catching advertising actually works. It does. As these examples will attest to. Read more
Our celebrity-saturated culture makes many of us irrationally hateful of the faces we see on our TV screens and magazine pages. Good thing there’s Celebrity PunchOut to let off some of that steam.
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