This guy is ‘King’. This is a painting I have been working on for a couple of months (on and off). Now it is in the final stages where I am fixing details, adjusting contrast, and basically making it look believable.
King of the Golden Mountain
16 Jun 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: magi, Jodi, art, fairytale, illustration, dark, painting, tale, Abu Dhabi, work in progress, Australia, UAE, U.A.E., oil, portrait, Brothers Grimm, king, detail, old man, blog, fairy, King of the Golden Mountain
Because they can
14 Jun 2013 Leave a Comment
in Completed work, Paintings on canvas Tags: Abu Dhabi, antique toy, art, artist, Australian, blog, building, composition, environmental art, illustration, Jodi Magi, magazine, oil, paint, painter, photo, toy animals, toy bear, toy deer, toy lamb, traditional art, view, window
Photograph of the view from my window here in Abu Dhabi.
‘Because they can’, oil on canvas, 76cm x 51cm, 2013.
Because they can
29 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: art, artist, bear, blog, city, colour, construction, deer, illustration, Jodi, lamb, landscape, magi, oil, painting, traditional, view, window
This work in progress is a comment on humanity’s need to build, construct and demolish, as seen through the eyes of 3 toys looking through a window. Lamb asks Ulysses the bear “Why are they always building? Where have all the trees gone?” to which Uly replies “They build because they can”. Titled ’Because they can’, oil on canvas, 76cm x 51cm (in progress).
Untitled
25 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Completed work, Paintings on canvas Tags: Abu Dhabi, art, artist, Australian, blog, figurative, Jodi Magi, oil paint, oil painting, painting, pink, portrait, red, smoker, traditional, woman
‘Untitled’, oil on canvas, 51cm x 41cm, 2013. This represents my foray into ‘a more painterly style’.
Because they can
23 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: abstract, art, artist, bear, buildings, construction, environment, in progress, Jodi Magi, lamb, oil, oil painting, paint, perspective, toy, toys, traditional, window
This is a comment on humanity’s need to build, construct and demolish, as seen through the eyes of 3 toys looking through a window. When looking down at the endless cranes and concrete pylons, lamb asks Ulysses (the bear on the left) “Why are they always building? Where have all the trees gone?” to which Uly replies “They build because they can”.
Titled ‘Because they can’, oil on canvas, 76cm x 51cm (in progress).
Inspiration #3
20 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Inspiration Tags: australian art, Ba Ba, children, coast, gray scale, inspiration, narrative, rocks, Stephen Bush, sun
by Stephen Bush
This is one of my all time favourite paintings. More information about the concept of it can be read here.
The Juniper Tree
18 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Completed work, Paintings on canvas Tags: art, artist, bird, bird flying, bird in flight, bird shadow, blood, blood on snow, Brothers Grimm, foot print, footprint in snow, Jodi Magi, juniper tree, narative, oil painting, shadow, shadow on snow, tree, tree shadow, wings
Inspired by the Brothers Grimm story of the same name, ‘The Juniper Tree’ 122cm x 77cm, oil on canvas, 2013.
Why Didn’t You Do Something?
18 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Completed work, Oil pastels Tags: climate change, climate change art, deforestation, devastation, environmental art, gas mask, Jodi Magi, oil pastel, pastels, space suit, sunset, trees
Needing a break from oil paints and wanting to work on something really gestural and fast, I bought myself some oil pastels. This piece depicts a scenario which I feel is inevitable given our current unwillingness to address climate change in any meaningful way. ‘Why Didn’t You Do Anything?’, oil pastels on paper, 20″ x 16″, 2013.
King of the Golden Mountain
11 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: art, artist, Brothers Grimm, colour, dead, directory, face, fairytale, fine art, gestrual, illustrator, Jodi Magi, king, mountain, narrative art, oil, oil painting, painting, portrait, surreal, surreal artist, traditional, traditional art, work in progress
The King from ‘King of the Golden Mountain’, oil on canvas, 77cm x 102cm (in progress). I am trying to capture a look of regret and self-righteousness at the same time… Click here to view my initial digital mockup of the composition.
King of the Golden Mountain
09 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: artist, colour, dead, directory, face, fine art, gestrual, illustrator, Jodi Magi, king, mountain, oil, old man, painting, surreal, traditional
Today I thought it might be a bit exciting to only paint half of his face in the over painting. (Living on the edge).
Click here to view my initial digital mockup of the composition.
Inspiration #2
08 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Inspiration Tags: animation, bird, Cat Bruce, fairytale, Gold, puppet, stop motion, the golden bird
I came upon this gorgeous animated short by Cat Bruce today, while I was researching work inspired by The Brothers Grimm.
King of the Golden Mountain
06 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: art, artist, Brothers Grimm, colour, dead, directory, face, fairytale, fine art, gestrual, illustrator, Jodi Magi, king, mountain, narrative art, oil, oil painting, painting, portrait, surreal, surreal artist, traditional, traditional art, work in progress
This is ‘King of the Golden Mountain’, oil on canvas, 77cm x 102cm (in progress). Click here to view my initial digital mockup of the composition.
Seven Ravens
04 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Illustration / commercial art, Vector artwork and/or digital manipulation, Completed work Tags: art, fairytale, Jodi Magi, bird, illustration, story, traditional, surreal art, illustrator, castle, figurative, mixed media, Brothers Grimm, digital, raven, crow, artwork, concpet, fly, damsel, photoshop, vector, vector art
My question to myself: Can illustration and art co-exist together in the same piece? And can a digital work be as emotive and soulful as a traditional piece? Having finished this piece, I still don’t know the answer, however I do think it is a lot more difficult to generate that organic ‘arty’ feeling through the digital medium. On the other hand, other things are easier, such as changing and moving elements, adjusting colours etc.
I am really liking using photographs of fabric in the clothes at the same time as detailed vector elements and art textures. I think this combination is something I will be using more in the future.
Inspired by ‘The Seven Ravens’ by the Brothers Grimm.
Photoshop, Illustrator and traditional techniques.
I Told You This Day Would Come (revisited)
03 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Paintings on wood, Vector artwork and/or digital manipulation, Completed work Tags: Jodi Magi, clown, wood, Flight, illustration, surreal, pop art, street art, surreal art, marionette, doll, hot air balloon, clouds, castle, oil painting, traditional painting, photoshop, digital art, australian art, french clown doll, atmosphere, sky, pop surrealism
This is a digital update of my oil painting titled ‘I Told You This Day Would Come’, on a wooden window shutter, shown in this previous post. I am slowly opening my mind up to the concept that artwork doesn’t have to be purist in order to have integrity: it isn’t ‘selling out’ to let a piece live a new life using Photoshop. For me it is enough that a work is created using traditional techniques, and if the digital medium can add depth or atmosphere when traditional skills couldn’t (for what ever reason), then why not utilize it?
Inspiration: #1
02 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Inspiration, Uncategorized Tags: commencement speech, inspiration, make good art, Neil Gaiman, Sally Franckowiak, typography, you tube
Vector illustration
02 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Illustration / commercial art, Vector artwork and/or digital manipulation, Completed work Tags: art, Jodi Magi, illustration, in progress, Australia, Australian, character, illustrator, UAE, U.A.E., happy, photoshop, vector, vector art, man, game, commercial art, enthusiastic, excited, motivated, montage, Stake My rep
I created this using Adobe Illustrator for the face and hands, and Photoshop for the rest. I think it is important to retain a sense of authenticity / organic-ness in digital illustration in order to encourage some sort of emotional connection. Sometimes digital stuff can look cold. This is why I use a lot fabric photography (the shirt and hat) and traditional textures (ink splatters in the background).
Vector illustration
01 May 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: art, Jodi Magi, illustration, in progress, Australia, Australian, character, UAE, U.A.E., happy, vector, vector art, man, game, commercial art, enthusiastic, excited, motivated
Getting there….
Vector illustration
29 Apr 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: art, Jodi Magi, illustration, in progress, Australia, Australian, character, UAE, U.A.E., vector, vector art, man, game, commercial art
This is a vector illustration I am part way through, for an online challenge game about to launch. Though it is done digitally, it should be known, this is no quick trick!
King of the Golden Mountain
27 Apr 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: artist, colour, dead, directory, face, fine art, gestrual, illustrator, Jodi Magi, king, mountain, oil, painting, surreal, traditional
This is detail from the bottom righthand side corner of the work titled ‘King of the Golden Mountain’, oil on canvas (in progress). Click here to view my initial digital mockup of the composition.
King of the Golden Mountain
27 Apr 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: artist, Brothers Grimm, colour, dead, directory, face, gestrual, gothic, head, illustration, illustration art, illustrator, Jodi Magi, king, man, mountain, oil, painting, surreal, surreal art, traditional
This is a detail from ‘King of the Golden Mountain’, oil on canvas (in progress). I am quite enjoying being more gestural in my paint handling technique so far. Click here to view my initial digital mockup of the composition.
The process of creation
26 Apr 2013 1 Comment
in Progress shots, Uncategorized Tags: air, art, Australia, balloon, castle, child, clown, detail, doll, escape, France, French, hot, illustration, Jodi Magi, marionette, oil, paint, painting on wood, road, toy, work in progress
A friend suggested I might like to share the process of creating a piece of art in gallery format, so everyone can appreciate all the work that goes into the research and composition stages, as well as the final stage of painting. This gallery shows the work-in-progress shots of ‘I Told You This Day Would Come’, oil on wood panel, 2012.
Cleaning and preparing the wood.
Concept drawings and brainstorming
Composition of concept based on the dimensions of the panel
Visual research into the costume of my French marionette doll
Character drawing for style and positioning of the limbs
More practice on the ruff collar was needed before I started painting
Painting has started. Here I am tracing the pencil outline I made with fine white lines in oil paint.
Oil painting underway.
The doll character as it is positioned on the panel. At this point I realised there was way too much unused real-estate above her so decided the composition required more thought… Enter the hot air balloon.
Research and drawing into the make-up of a hot air balloon from the early 19th century
Detail from the top section.
Detail from the bottom section.
‘I Told You This Day Would Come’, oil on an antique Dutch colonial window shutter. 2012. 72cm x 28cm
King of the Golden Mountain
24 Apr 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: artist, colour, dead, directory, face, gestrual, illustrator, Jodi Magi, king, mountain, oil, painting, traditional
This is a detail from ‘King of the Golden Mountain’, oil on canvas (in progress). I am quite enjoying being more gestural in my paint handling technique so far. Click here to view my initial digital mockup of the composition.
Seven Ravens
15 Apr 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: art, artwork, bird, Brothers Grimm, castle, concpet, crow, damsel, digital, fairytale, figurative, fly, illustration, illustrator, Jodi Magi, mixed media, photoshop, raven, story, traditional, vector, vector art
This is a little challenge I set myself: Can illustration and art co-exist together in the same piece? And can a digital work be as emotive and soulful as a traditional piece?
Inspired by The Seven Ravens by the Brothers Grimm.
Photoshop, Illustrator and traditional techniques.
The Juniper Tree
15 Apr 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: art, artist, blue, Brothers Grimm, illustration art, in progress, Jodi Magi, juniper tree, oil painting, pointilism, shadow, traditional painting, tree
This painting demonstrates my attempts to develop a looser, more gestural style and is a part of my ‘Brothers Grimm’ series.
Still in progress (though thousands of dots later), it has been quite relaxing and fun to work on.
Oil on canvas, 123 cm x 72 cm
King of the Golden Mountain
20 Mar 2013 Leave a Comment
in Preliminary sketch, Progress shots Tags: Australia, Brothers Grimm, drawing, fairytale, Gold, illustration, in progress, Jodi Magi, king, mountain, pencil, study
This is my King-to-be. A pencil drawing in progress for my next painting inspired by the Brothers Grimm’s The King of the Golden Mountain.
Click here to view my initial digital mockup of the composition.
Digital mockup for ‘King of the Golden Mountain’
09 Mar 2013 1 Comment
in Progress shots Tags: Brothers Grimm, concept, fairytale, golden, grimm, illustration, Jodi Magi, king, mountain, work in progress
I have just commenced studying a Masters course of Visual Art (scary!). My area of interest will be a modern visual interpretation of fairytales by the Brothers Grimm. I am also interested in incorporating typography within the painting as I want to explore the boundaries of art/illustration/graphic design.
This is a mockup created in Photoshop using my own photos, a photo from the net of a snake and net sourced images of paintings by Rembrandt and Caravaggio. It represents the story ‘The King of the Golden Mountain’ as told by the Brothers Grimm.
The final painting will be oil on canvas, and will be quite ambitious. Naturally I will completely change the faces – this is a starting point in terms of the colours and composition. Fingers crossed it works out.
Her Metamorphosis (Retrograde)
25 Feb 2013 Leave a Comment
in Completed work, News, Paintings on canvas Tags: art, Australia, dark, Dubai, emotive, eye, figure, Jodi, magi, metamorphosis, oil, painting, surreal, Tashkeel, UAE, woman
So, she is finally finished. ‘Her Metamorphosis (retrograde)’. Oil and silk fabric on canvas, 80cm x 80cm.
She will be on show at the exhibition ‘Metamorphosis’, Tashkeel Gallery, Dubai from March 11th.
Click here to view the time lapse animation of her creation.
If Only for a Moment
07 Feb 2013 1 Comment
in Completed work, Paintings on wood Tags: animal, art, artist, Australian, bird, character, children, deer, fable, fairytale, hewn pine, huon pine, illustration, Jodi Magi, journey, light, magic, painting on wood, spiritual, story, tree
‘If Only for a Moment’, 46cm x 32cm, acrylic on camphor, 2012.
Her Metamorphosis (Retrograde)
29 Jan 2013 Leave a Comment
in Progress shots Tags: artist, Australian, dark, emerging, fingurative, gothic, illustration, Jodi Magi, metamorphosis, oil, painting, portrait, regency, UAE
So far so good…
Work in progress, oil on canvas, 80 cm x 80cm
