Mark Nicoll

This illustration documents the usage of materials in the life cycle of a kettle, from the quarry, through steel works and other factory processes, packaging and distribution to warehouses and showrooms. Finally, mass domestic use of power and water, and the product’s eventual fate as landfill.

It was drawn in response to the DOTT07 "Stuff-o-meter" brief for the D&AD Global Student Awards 2007, and it was nominated in its category.

The original drawing is 2 feet high by 24 feet wide, in pencil on 200gsm paper











http://www.marknicoll.com is up, and I also use http://nicoll.deviantart.com for regular art dumps.

Shaftsbury Avenue, Soho, London. Oil on canvas







I spent a month in Australia earlier this summer, and drew all the animals in Toronga zoo, sydney.




I have tonsilitis at the moment :(

Oh, hey, I signed up for a DeviantArt sight at last! ~Nicoll on Deviantart

Still sketching people without their permision. Have yet to be brutally assaulted. In fact, I'm finding the more open and inclusive one's attitude towards the sketchees, the more enjoyable and worthwhile the experience becomes. The ol' coy peep n' sketch game is a bit lame. Mind you, I might need to watch this since I have occasionally taken it to the point of being rude. I wonder, what is the morality of looking at strangers or even friends for the purpose of artistic development? Heheh.

( A few more sketches )





Merekat set me an assignment of studying statues, so I spent some time in the British Museum. Pencil on paper (A2 size).

Ten minute sketches




Thirty minute sketch


Three hour sketch


Apparently I need to work on demonstrating an understanding of 'form', rather than just going straight for the values and accidental light effects. Maybe I'll learn a thing or two at the Michelangelo drawings exhibition.

[Mini update]
Sketch with attention to form


Studies of Michelangelo's drawings made in the exhibition.


A poster design for a university project, for a prospective imaginary documentary on an 'Unsung Hero'. I chose Kasturba Gandhi, wife of Mohandas Mohatma Gandhi.


Paintings in progress.


Sorry about the pose. *wince*

This is a scan of an etching plate

It actually came out a bit like this when printed. Oh well.

String Storyboard

I recently drew a storyboard for a short film.

String is an exciting new short film by an inspired and up-and-coming group of filmmakers. It’s about a man on his way to work who finds a label on the ground attached to a piece of string...

Click here to go to the String website

( - The String Storyboard - )

Life drawings



( - Click here for more life drawings - )

Miscellaneouseouseouseous images

Four pints down, in the Charles Dickens pub on Union street, and out came the paints. No water to hand, so the medium is Guinness colour.



( - Click here for more misc images - )

Photography



( - Click here for more of my London photographs - )

For the past few months I've been drawing people on public transport. There has been some development, if only in the way I view strangers; there is not a single uninteresting face on a crowded bus or in a tube carriage. For any drawing where the eyes are visable there's probably a story attached. It can be a tricky exercise, socially because staring at people is considered rude and weird (at least in Britain!) and artistically because busses and trains tend to be rather bumpy. It's an exercise in letting go of control; the pen is going to do it's own thing some of the time and I just have to deal with it.

Here's where I'm at.

( More drawings )( More drawings added 09.06.05 )

A particuarly random thread on the Always Black forum put me in mind of a Mos Eisley cantina brawl (Star Wars). The thread was is called "Thief 3 Editor Released", but then this happens...

Each page is an hour and a half's worth of early morning exercise.

Oekakis:

I just found a thirteen year old photograph of me. I'd have been ten at the time. Earlier on this evening I was dabbling on the State Oekaki boards and did a self portrait... I wanted to make a few comparisons between versions of my mug although my early self-portraits are conspicuously nowhere to be found. Tonight's painting was only 20 odd minutes and I neglected to give myself cheekbones and went for a stigmatism instead. I intend to do a proper self-portrait in the not too distant future.

A 10-year-old Space cadet; Ensign Marky.	A vodka'd out dark Mark of two years ago.
A Mark of earlier this evening.	This would be me, as would this.

I don’t consider myself particuarly coy or repressed (rigorously examine inveterate beliefs), but I have massive trouble expressing some things in any way other way than art. It’s a matter of feeling it strongly enough, otherwise I default to whatever the hand dictates (fantasy) but it’s the only means of catharsis I have.

Note - Have been dumping Oekaki contributions in the previous post rather than giving any of them a post of their own. Check em out?.

Except not, believe it or not, pharmaceuticals. I’ve been playing with a graphics tablet that was kindly lent to me. I like. Looking forward to using it more. Must get one.



These paintings average between 13 and 30 minutes. Oekaki on the State boards.

A five page comic. Written by Kieron Gillen, art by me.


( Preamble by Kieron Gillen )

( The Comic )

( Notes )

London, baby. The city.

I just prematurely spring-cleaned my web space and since lots of links were killed in the process I've been back over my previous LJ posts (all two of them) and updated them. I also added a load of content in the relevant places rather than spamming it in a subsequent post. 'Few toons, more paintings and... yes! Some utterly innocuous nekid people (life drawings) to entice you to look back at those posts. Oh yes.

Mmmm... I just downed half a dozen pints of water, having mixed various beverages in the terminal moments of 2004 {Here's too a} Happy new year {and the imminent prospect of passing plentee of pee}.

All that stuff is copyright me 2k2->2k5, o' course. Not the buildings, obviously. They're... copyright they're respective owners. Architects. Whoever. Ain't mine. Infact, I wonder… am I allowed to say these images are copyright me? Having taken these photographs, is there any litigious scenario whereby they wouldn’t be? If you know about this kind of thing, please let me know. Mmm, actually I quite like small print. I see why they do it, now. It's kinda cosy. How sad.

Here are a few pages from my most recent sketchpad which is coming to its end.








( Details of drawings )

For lack of actual /content/, I'll use this as an art dump.

Here's a 40 minute speed painting apropos of nothing in particular.

( More past paintings. )

( Past sketches and toony things. )