Rich Color in Chocolate Rain

It seems that one of my favorite Hong Kong illustrators, Prudence Mak, loves colorful works. She introduces pieced work in her character, Fatina. Pieced work is a form of needlework that involves sewing together pieces of fabric into a larger design. By putting piece by piece fabric in her illustrations and product designs, Prudence’s work is not only rich in color but also incorporate a sense of living.  This is what she said for her brand, Chocolate Rain:

Life is sometimes like a chocolate-like taste sweet, but there will be like a rain-like sense of sad. There are sweet, happy and bitter. For this reason, life is interesting.

In her brand book, Prudence said she worked for an advertising agency for a short period of time. She then quitted agency and pursue her dream by developing her own brand, Chocolate Rain. It’s common among advertising executives around the world. In the UK, they have Peter Mayle. I think most people read his book, A Year in Provence. There were a time people from the US and the UK rushing to either France or Italy to restore old cottages. Some of them wrote books to share their interesting experience.

Is marketing communications job that scary? I could only say, “If you are blessed, you can work anywhere.” Say, for example, one of my jobs is out of track. I asked, “God, one of my jobs is out of track and this is not biblical teaching. But, if You allows, I’d believe this is Your will.” During the process, He allowed something bad happened. When I gave up and believed that way was His will, He made it on right track again. What shall I say? Because of our God, I’d never experience what I experienced before. And, Lord, I’m grateful because when chocolate rains, I am sure You’d have Your umbella for me.

Pop Culture: Working in an isolated house could also deliver bright and colorful works. Bravo!

A colleague said, “Oh, it’s good to deliver twins, better of all, one boy and one girl.” I shook my head and said, “You don’t think it clearly. It’s going to be a disaster.” She asked, “Why? Is it because the hard labor of raising twins?” “No, it’s because a man face should be different from a woman face.” We burst into laughter and then get back to work.

Fortunately, the illustrator, Vincent Mathy doesn’t have twins but a cute baby. Although Mr. Mathy has been working in an isolated house for the past six year, as a father, his works are also rich in color with good composition. Working in an isolated house could also deliver bright and colorful works. Bravo!

He drew a boy who puts Christmas ornament on a deer’s antlers. The deer doesn’t seem very happy but he just allows the boy to do whatever decoration. “Okay! Just put it in a nice way.” the deer mumbles in his heart. And, the Christmas tree is decorated with fishes. Good.

Mr. Mathy was commissioned for a children book, La princesse au petit pois in 2010. It’s a story about a sensitive princess who could feel a pea under multi-layer mattresses. The interperation of the story can be very different. If you like the princess, you’d say, “She is sensitive.” If she reminds you of  some picky people, you’d say, “She is picky.” But, marketers always think it positively. We’ll ask, “Oh, it’s a seed. Could we grow it into a cedar in our garden?”

Vincent Mathy is an illustrator who lives at the Belgian border between Liège and Maastricht. After studying “Bande Dessinée” at the St-Luc Institute in Brussels, he becomes passionate about visual communication.  His work is a mix of traditional and digital techniques.

Pop Culture: Christopher Corr drew Cats!

Colorful illustrations which could uplift your day are many. Tom might be an artist which stresses on composition. But, some artists play on elements. They just nicely arrange their favorite elements and that’s it. The drawings still look good. For example, Christopher Corr. The way he drew a city is so much different from Tom Schamp.

There are not much details but the elements are nicely arranged. Oh, magnifier please. Thanks. He asked, “Do you have Calvin Klein underwear on?” Wow, what is it all about? See, I’m now like a reader who loves to read tabloid. Calvin Klein, what did you do to gain such kind of interesting exposure? But, the truth is pop artists don’t mind to incorporate their favorite brands into their works because, like us, brands are like air in everyday life. Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out… Of course, the duties of brands are to keep a smoothing breathing process. Consumers, nowadays, have no brand loyalty as brands boast. Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out… Brands, therefore, have no choice but to keep the engine on. Should there be any evil in brands, people would give them up both in subconscious and action.

Christopher also drew cats. Again, there is no story inside. He just nicely put cats on a yellow background. In between cats and dogs, I like cats more. I find it hard to communicate with dog owners who treat their dogs as babies. Yuck!

Mr. Corr’s works are more like a poem than text because he likes to stress on elements.  There is not much logics and details. I like his works and can’t find a reason for hate. If you hate his works, I suspect it’s because of your own problems.

Christopher Corr was born and grew up in Camden Town, London. He studied graphics in Manchester and illustration at the Royal College in London for a total of 7 years. This was followed by a period of travel and painting across the globe. He likes to incorporate his travel experience in his works.

Pop Culture Delight: Tom Schamp’s joyful works

Don’t believe you can find kindness and beauty of human being in popular culture? You can go Etsy for beautiful craftworks or the Guardian for the “ah-ha” silly stuffed snakes. For sure, most of the crafters introduced by Esty are some interesting souls and they present themselves decently in a business site. The Guardian? Yes and No. People who write have the “attitude”. But I don’t have to buy them all the time. Without sense of humour or kindness, bitchy writers are no difference from fierce dogs. Anyway, the craftworks trend flourishes. The trend might help people who are forced out of job due to the failure of American banking system. So, people it is the system failure which force you out of job. But, if you are looking forward, something better is in front of you. Because if you are craft gifted, you can earn your living in a more decent and better way. I hope the saying is better than nothing. Amen.

Snakes are legless reptiles which are punished by God. Its ancestor tempted Eve to eat the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Hereafter, snakes can’t walk because God took away their legs. Women were punished to deliver their babies painfully. Adam and Eve were told to leave Garden of Eden. Adam had to suffer from hard labor for food. If you have baby, why not buy a stuffed snake and tell him/her this horror of God. But, don’t ask me about responsible marketing because your baby might cry crazily. I warn you already and I’m not a brand which would be confined by silly laws imposed by psycho parents and the government. There’s difference between a writer in a blog and a marketer in a company.    

Want to ease your mind from whatsoever complexity aroused by religion? How about appreciating Tom Schamp‘s illustrations from pop culture? His works could bring you timeless joy. Oh, it sounds like I am talking about Rolex.

  

 I showed his works to friends. They screamed and said his colorful illustrations bright their day. Tom’s works target both adults and kids. His works are self-explanatory as in bright, colorful and joyful. You can find a decent soul behind the works. It might because he needs to answer commercial clients. But, if it works, commercial is not totally bad. He can’t love you but his works tell there is a decent person in the world. How about “bad art”? If you want to see the light, they got to have something which you still can see the soul to be classified as art. Otherwise those dark arts are no difference from the man who went to the Discovery Channel’s office and try to kill someone for his so-called environmental protection belief.  He was shot dead by American cop. You might ask, “Cat, why don’t you go for Andy Warhol for pop culture? He is a master.” When we talk about art, we should have courage to tell his/her works work or doesn’t work espeically he was a master. I don’t think his works work but many say they are inspired by Andy Warhol’s bibliography. May be Mr. Warhol spent most of his time on other things but not his works. Who knows? What average American looking for is rapid success. With or without root, they don’t care. It’s so Andy Warhor who talked about 15 minutes of fame. Americans, however, are blessed with a very outstanding President, Mr. Obama, who tries to answer every call.

Absolut Emergency: Water not Vodka

The community worth1000 organized a lot of creative contests in different themes for our pleasure and appreciation. Here are some selective works. The project Absolute: Play on Absolut Vodka creative platform, artists came up with fresh ideas which make us smile. Absolut water, not vodka for Absolut Emergency.

The feeding bottle won’t be able to pass responsible marketing but it’s really interesting. A similar creative worked by Absolut  Guinness was banned. If this kind of creative comes again and again, what does it mean? It says law is too harsh and exceeds its limit. Life can be a lot more interesting without awful laws. I’m not trying to boost people who have aesthetic sense but I do appreciate their abilities to break the laws with wisdom and eye-candies.

   

Other creative include strawberry, madness, lamp, war, old, city etc. The list could go just on and on. Would this create a universe? Theoretically yes but who would spend time for all? Just like we read bible, we fix our eyes on the author, our Lord Jesus Christ. Do I find the Lord boring? It’s very much depends on which verse you read.

“Honey Pop” Chair

Goldfish Ball Ball: Cat, can you show me a chair which could nourish my eyes?

Me: Sure, how bout this Honey Pop Chair worked by a Japanese artist, Tokujin Yoshoka?

Goldfish Ball Ball: Any additional information?

Me: It’s a gift from Francine Shapiro, Los Angeles to American Friends of the Israel Museum. I supposed Francine Shapiro invited the artist for the gift.

Goldfish Ball Ball: Oh, the chair is very interesting. I wonder its functional purpose.

Me: I trust Japanese design. Mr. Tokujin Yoshoka came up with many interesting projects for years. But, normally, we wouldn’t have this kind of chair at home. Ah, Ball Ball, former Japanese PM, Junichiro Koizumi, is handsome.

Goldfish Ball Ball: Is the outlook an entry ticket to a successful political life?

Me: Unfortunately Yes.

Goldfish Ball Ball: How about unattractive outlook?

Me: Then, the leader should have charisma.

Goldfish Ball Ball: I appreciate your honesty. Cat, speaking the truth is never a sin.

Me: Do we need telegraph for modern communication?

Goldfish Ball Ball: No. Almost all modern societies including Japan had given it up ages ago.

Me: Oh, I see, Ball Ball, you are knowledgeable given that we are too young to expose ourselves to something named telegraphy.