Xothique's Journal » Blogroll

Pixel-art, Lady Georgianna and faery masks.

Xothique — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:22:35 +0000

I have exciting news – some of my artwork is now available as ‘pixel-art’ kits. This fabulous new idea evokes all the richness of tapestry, yet there is no messing about with calculating the right amount of thread – it’s just like creating a mini-mosaic. I think of it as tapestry for the digital age.
Check it out here.

For those of you who love living history and re-enactments – and I know I do, having mis-spent quite a lot of my youth that way, I have a treat. An 18th century band, committed to reproducing an authentic sound, and having a lot of scandalous fun on the journey. Not only do they sound wonderful – they look amazing as well.
Lady Georgianna are truly fantastic and you can check them out here.

Unfortunately, ill health has stalked me these past couple of months, and so my production has slowed to a crawl, however, I am feeling much better and am getting back on track with the mask-making and the artwork. May was a busy month for mask sales, Midsummer masquerades are looming, and everyone is getting into the spirit of things, it seems. I’ve a couple of new masks in my shop and more on the way. Watch out for some faery-inspired masks later this month!

Etsy shop opened…

Xothique — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 03:13:33 +0000

I have made some of my masks available from Etsy, though they are cheaper to buy directly from my site – as Etsy charges a commission for each item sold.
It’s worth checking out my shop though, as I will occasionally be listing items there that won’t be available through this website, including leather Runes and pendants, and other pieces of wearable art. You never know quite what might appear.

New mask work in progress, Deviant Art, and digital painting.

Xothique — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:07:09 +0000

A recent conversation with a dear friend sparked some dark and interesting mask ideas, so following on from the oriental masks I did last month, I’ve remained with papier-mache and am happily experimenting. I’ve done pretty and colourful masks for a while, so it’s high time I indulged my darker side.
I’m currently working on a mask which will have a fine tracery of cracks across its surface, like an antique porcelain doll. It looks creepy already, and I’m quite excited at the effect.

I have also been spending quite a lot of time at Deviant Art. The community is excellent for networking amongst like-minded artists and bouncing ideas around, and I’ve made a few really good friends there. Check out Reincarnations for beautiful hand-painted furniture, and some of the most fascinating candle-holders I’ve seen for a long time.

And finally, I’m continuing to play around with Painter X. I had been using Painter 9.5 for a while, and there is not a great deal of difference between the two, though I’m still happily exploring the possibilities of the golden ratio tool and the real brushes that painter X has to offer. This year I would like to spend more time on my 2D artwork as well as making masks, and hope to have something worthwhile to show very soon. Watch this space…