CREATURE CARTOONS

 

the series of cosmic character style paintings were based on small sketches I did for the preparation artwork for the Leeds International festival.

The images I created drew on an idea I had to create multi gendered cartoon characters that would create complex discussions about gender without causing offence or interpreted as imagery that people might not understand . The paintings of the creatures had to be accessible to all age groups so the impact and discussions could be diverse. I used my own personal narrative and identity to produce the ideas surrounding thecreatures and bring them to life.The scale of them was important as I wanted them to be relatable to people by being life size in the environment and have quite life like expressions on their faces. I used pastel colours for their vibrancy and detailing to have a calming gentle therapeutic effect rather than bold garish colours and abstract marks.

The Mr men have become and interesting component of the art work produced for the festival as they have produced strong positive reactions and new ideas such as tools to work with children to discuss gender and new ideas such as a children’s book or new wall murals and canvas work .

I specifically wanted to create the creatures with multi genders and create new creatures that might be from another planet as this was a way of talking about a serious subject without the heaviness this subject often has. I drew the creatures quite child like so they can have a voice of their own when people look at them and interpret their own meaning without words to go with the art work and cause a reaction without offence or negative reactions.