St Kilda Festival

We decided to enter the St Kilda Festival image competition. We have both been wanting to create entertainment imagery, and we felt that this would be the perfect opportunity to do it.

Cheri's entry:



Rob's entry:

Down By The Beach

We went down to the beach in Chelsea and Carrum. I brought my trusty watercolour palette and supplies and started to paint. It was freezing, the wind blew, the rain rained and sand mixed in the paint but it was one of those moments when you feel really close to nature. I've never been much of plein-air painter but I understood that need to go out and paint - to really get it down. All the elements were mixing in my pictures (literally!) but I felt that it made the pictures truer as a result.

Life Drawing

Friday morning life drawing again! This time was a special treat. We had Suzy, a beautiful woman who is 7 months pregnant. We had a great time, and her large curves were truly inspiring. If you ever get a chance to draw a pregnant woman, take it!

Cheri's pictures:





Rob's pictures:

Theatre Sets

Adelphi Players asked us to create some sets for their upcoming play. The background has a strong English country flavour. They require a tree, a stone wall and an English country landscape.

The Toy Shop Across The Road

Across the road from our studio is a toy shop. Not just any toy shop. It's one those ones you see in the movies where there are crowded shelves and handmade toys and weird creatures. Spaceships with eyeballs...





And what would it be without a dragon bicycle in the front?

Friday Morning Life Drawing

It can be hard to find a life drawing group that you like. Enough to attend on a regular basis. There are all kinds of variables to account for - people, price, time, length, models ... After going to a few different ones we found one that we are happy with. Its on a Friday morning with beautiful daylight. A good group of people, not too crowded. Plus great models!

We attended one this morning, our third now. We'll post them up as well as from the other weeks over the next few days. Enjoy the pictures!

Cheri's drawings:





Rob's drawings:

King Arthur

Here is a picture I made about King Arthur. One of the elements of the story that interests me is the sense of destiny, the famous drawing of excalibur to his ultimate defeat. A man who knows his fate but keeps moving on - that's essentially what inspired me. And at the boy's side, the ever present Merlin...



The initial sketch:

Signature of M

Signature of M is a competition where we had to put something together to represent Melbourne in Australia. Sydney was done a few years back, this year Melbourne, and to other major cities around the world in the near future. This is the first where we hand in the concept for the final piece. Each concept had to have a quite a few logos inserted into it (100+ !!). Rob found out about it bit too late and so we went to an American style diner down the street and drew them on.

One rule we discovered from the experience... always carry a Sharpie on you. They work when all other pens fail! These were our entries. Our perspective on Melbourne.

This is Robs entry.



This is mine.

Made 2 Measure

Marc from Made 2 Measure contacted us to develop their logo and brand identity. They are a tailoring company, specialising in delivering made to fit school uniforms. Some key concepts Marc wanted to communicate about his company were conservative, affordability and trustworthy, all without appearing as a luxury brand.

Initially we were thinking about using a tape measure image in the 2. Then, in a haze of enlightenment, we discovered that a coat hanger looks remarkably like the number 2! A match made in heaven...

Lake Attack

The Defence Force is running a charity event called Lake Attack. This raises money for four charities that specialise in helping kids.

Working for Mind Gallery, we held an art workshop at the defence force in Melbourne. The painting produced will go to be auctioned, with the proceeds going to charity. We hope it will go well. There was a preview dinner and initial response has been great.

One of the themes behind the picture was opening doors. So, we mounted the paintings on screen panels attached by hinges and added door handles on the two ends. Another theme was Australia, and keeping a part of the landscape. So, when all the pictures are joined, they create this rhythmic landscape with Australian oranges, reds and blues.

Here are some pictures of the painting once we put it all together in the studio. Its quite a big piece, so we couldn't get a good shot of it. However, we'll be getting pictures and post it as soon as they arrive.







The initial concept sketch:

Create Awards 2008 Shortlisting

We have been shortlisted for the 2008 Create Awards, Illustration category. You can vote for us in the People's Choice by clicking here and then selecting the picture you want to vote for. As a little hint, our illustrations are numbered 185, 186 and 188. All support would be much appreciated!

Cheri's illustration:



Rob's illustrations:

Vietnam part 2

After the KPMG conference we had some free time to spend in Vietnam. Here are some sketches I made.


A lazy morning at the hotel. Cheri sleeping.



At the art gallery. A beautiful old French building with details that fascinated me.



The start of a 2 day Mekong Delta tour. On a bus full of interesting people from all parts of the globe.



More sketches on the bus. It took almost 4 hours to travel 80 km.



Heading back to Ho Chi Minh city. Made some friends by the end of the trip.



Last night in Saigon. Waiting at the airport watching planes fly.

Vietnam

Two weeks ago, the Red Penny Studios team went to work in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We worked with Mind Gallery to hold an art workshop for KPMG. It was a blast and the end result was stunning. Relating the work to their Vietnamese experience, especially in community aid, everyone created art based on variations of the theme.

Our team consisted of Trish the party leader and spokeswoman, Warren the handyman (plus handle any problem that might arise), Vietnamese artists Kuong and Long, plus of course everyone from KPMG. Many thanks to all.

Kuong and Long kindly took us on a tour around the city on the backs of their motorbikes! We were very fortunate to see Kuong's studio, which was amazing. Four generations of artists have been there and they are hoping for a fifth. We will definitely keep in touch with them and I hope to post some of their art up one day.

Concept picture:



Final Painting. Made up of 8 canvases and assembled on site.

Welcome to Red Penny Studios

The official Red Penny Studios blog is now up! Stay tuned to view all the behind the scenes action from our projects.