doomsday girl !

another new piece i just finished (isn't boredom great?) for the new up and coming books by sumografica.
as per usual this image still does not feel quite ...right yet. something about the colours are not saying what i want them to say.

perhaps after a couple of beers tonight i will work it out.
on the note of colours, i read a cool little article the other night all about gender differences, and colour is one of the big ones. so maybe the pic is fine and its just my man eyes that are buggered.
let me know what u guys and gals think.
simon subrosa, over and out

the art of boredom

the tagline for this blog is 'the bla, bla bla's of a bored artist' so for this post i decided to get my hands dirty and discuss the meaning ( to me of course) of the term bored.
(and yes i am bored as i write this)
firstly, let me start this ramble off by indicating that by no means do i perceive 'bored' as a negative state. in fact it is my opinion that the word has been grossly misused by little children and stoner students alike. it is boredom that leads us to produce, create and innovate, next time you eat a KFC Double Down or read the latest issue of 'the helm' blame that awesome shit on boredom. ultimately boredom is a sign of luxury, being able to be bored means that one does not have to work some crazy 10 hour a day soul crushing job for 'the man' nor are you pushing and pulling for some dream to come true (that your parent most likely instilled in you) no my dear readers, to be bored is to acknowledge that the world you are in is not all together great and its up to you to put some fun into it.

but make no mistake, boredom is a double edged sword, in the right state of mind it can lead to wonderful new things (im fairly sure most of the kama sutra started with somebody saying "nah, im bored of that position...what else could we do?") but taken to far boredom can easily become that woo girl you met at the bar last night, it seemed like a good idea at the time...but to much of it will crush the soul out of you.

no my friends, to dance with boredom is to tango with death itself (but with less death and more...sighing)
it can take you to unimaginable heights (if you use the boredom to fuel you forward) but one step past that event horizon and you're screwed, stuck forever in a limbo of  "theres nothing to do....nothing....to do....ever....*sigh*) (but then again...you'd probably get really good at video games....and that could make you quite rich now a days)

new work....choices....

so here is some new work i just did this morning and as per usual i am stuck with choices...i swear, i must have like 5 versions of every image ive ever made.
so this time i will upload both versions and maybe some of you nice virtual people can help me decide

 
have at it then!

sorry its been so quite.

i know , i know...i have been neglecting my blogging duties. my friends have been bitching at me all week to add another post, but i just dont have anything to say. so i have decided to post some of the stuff my friends have been sending me, here goes.

J.F. Kennedy: i are'a still waiting for my'a next RRS feed'a from your blog! ask not what your'a blog can do for you...but rather what you can post'a in your blog.
(thanks jfk, its always nice hearing from you again, we should get a beer sometime)

Elvis presley: hey mann, so, uh, wheres the new stuff? i meanna your blog. its like a toasted bannana and peanut butter sandwich...without the bannana.
(dude...uve got to stop eating that shite...its going to make u fat and kill you.)

Danny Crane: i see a blog as a relationship, and when when im in a committed relationship with a blog....i read very few other blogs. just dont tell anybody i read yours...they might think im a commi...
(sleep over danny?)

Larry page & Sergey Brin: dude, after that chat we had, the one where u told us your idea for an online diary, we went through all the hassle of making you blogger....and then 10 years later you finally start a blog and now look at it. your not even using it....tsk, tsk...by the way, could explain that idea you had for taking over facebook again, sounded ummm...very promising.
(you guys need to chillax a little....take a day off, come over for some martini's in the pool again)

the Muse

Ive been pondering whether i should write this post for some time now....and i think i will.
let me introduce you to my Muse.
Lau.
this girl is crazy sexy and wicked smart, and we all know what happens when you combine those two aspects ...thats right, you get issues. and thank Mr Deity for it! you see unlike most melodramatic emo chiks out there Laura uses her dark and twisted mind to create. She harnesses the power of her past pains and unyielding spirit to make art (and damn fine food) not only for herself but also for others.
This lady has been the greatest inspiration for my art, not only in ideas but also in the flesh. A rock to stand on  and a S&M bondage whipping when i need it. Laura has given the last 6 years of my life colour.
thanx lau.
If its ever in my power you're getting a ranch filled with horses.
here are some pics of lau Ive taken as well as a link or two to her art, if you get a chance, tell her how cool it is.
she deserves it.

here are those links i promised. enjoy!

Alice immortal part 1:


Alice immortal part 2:

and her

showreel


enjoy!

oh, and here's a c.d. cover i did

Volume Conflict. a Port Elizabeth band that's looking to pimp there new album in Johannesburg.

the projects (all things big and small)

silly me, i went and fell a sleep at a reasonable hour...and woke up at 2am...this is going to be a long day.
So to pass time I've decided to make some new posts, this one will cover some of those side projects i keep talking about.
In my last posts we spoke a bit about SLAVE apparel, the t-shirt range, so this time i will skip Slave and jump strait to all the other little things i am working on.
firstly there's DIRTYMAG

The idea with dirtymag was a simple one, i saw a gap in the south african market and thought to exploit it. Dirtymag was seposed to be a means for local graphic artists, tattoo artists,  photographers, models, fashion designers and writers to get there work showcased to a broader world network, all uncensored. I thought to myself, " hey i like dark art, good stories and sticking it to the system, but i hate the way the articles are always so...safe. Lets start a online mag with none of that prissy bullshit. Lets showcase S.A talent right next to the awesome overseas guys and gals."
Dirtymag started off great, i pulled a team together and withing a week we had a handful of interviews set up, we had pictures and we had a theme, but then calamity struck...we soon found our selves swamped with pressure and overflowing with real day to day work, we were juggling our personal project with our bread and butter incomes. As such, Dirtymag slowly drifted away. That said, i still think its a great idea and its something i would love to pursue again one day.

Next on the agenda is the SUBROSA TAROT

I have always had a deep fascination with the tarot, in my younger years i used to collect various decks. Everything from the Rider to the Giger, one night during a bit of a shindig at my place various friends commented on some of my images i had printed and stuck on a door, they kept asking me if these were tarot cards and were they could get some. I thought, "hey, now theres an idea!"
Since that night i have been slowly converting some of my work to a tarot format as well as doing new work to fit with the model.I have also been dealing with a close friend who knows a lot more about the occult then i, its going to rock. This is one of those projects i really love, as it has the potential to get my art out there as well as generate a free standing income.
Expect to read more on this as it happens.



and then finally...the big one, the dream goal, the mecca of all obscure artists.
the PUBLISHED BOOK.
This one pretty much speaks for itself, i want my art in a published book. That's it, it's that simple.

I tried to get this done some years ago, when i was naive and thought it would be simple. For some reason i assumed that the publishers were all sitting around just waiting for something to fall into there laps, after spending about 2 months emailing everybody i could think of, i kept getting the same response, 'simon, we love your work, but until you get a international name for yourself, we cant help. Good luck' So i started to get a name, i entered comps (and won quite a few) i submitted to magazines (and got published) i asked all my international artists buddies for nice words i could quote ("Simon's work skates the fine line between cutting and bleeding edge. Dark, sexy and dangerous, his art is like a trance you can't break." - (CHAD MICHAEL WARD) but alas, it now seems that i need to be someplace other then south africa to get this dream fulfilled, and that's a pity, since i really like this country. (most days)

here are some links to cool stuff thats been said about my work:
ART OF LOVE
(article)

MATT LOMBARD:
This is the beginning . Our savior rises out of the dust of his ancestors to procreate with erotic malformed entities. His screams erase the pulsating signals of a thousand screens. This is a realm far too impure to call heaven and much too familiar to be known as hell. These are the visions of a savage new world . the world of Simon Subrosa. Yes, this is the beginning, the beginning of great things to come.

http://www.mattlombard.com

GABRIEL CHAPMAN:
(co-founder of the Talent DataBase)
Simon's work is incredible. His art challenges us on an emotional level. Dreamy, dark, thought provoking, haunting. I have never seen anything quite like it.
http://beta.talentdatabase.com/channels/1-Art/profiles/25202-Simon-Subrosa/acknowledgments


TOM BROWN
Founder (Copper Age)

What can i say about Simons's work that won't be damning it with faint praise? I'll give it my best shot but when you take a look at the work..you'll know exactly what i mean. and why words aren't enough. Subrosa's work is Edgy, Timeless, evocative, painterly, and dream like. It's wild, skillful and like nothing else, anywhere. It's like..a new visual mythology. it, profoundly rocks.
http://www.myspace.com/copper_age

its friday!

the recipe for a great Friday , in my opinion, goes like this: 1. wake up, smile, its friday! 2. get coffee, light first cigarette,  check emails for any last minute client jobs and or changes to projects. 3.put on some great happy music. 4. start doing whatever you need to do to get the sunlight part of the day out of the picture. 5.get home, check emails/facebook one last time (there is nothing worse then expecting a cool weekend only to find you have to work 07:00 on sat... 6. play more happy music (currently its the dandy warhols for me) 7. go to your place of party, smile when you walk in, buy first drink. 8. buy second drink. 9.buy third drink. 10. by this point you wont care whats on my silly little list!
hahahaha! im really looking forward to tonight, as it will be my last big party for quite some time (read previous post to know why) additionally we are celebrating Keiths success tonight, he will be moving to johannesburg where i imagine he will get a cool bachelors pad and make lots of cool new friends and buy lots of cool new things with his cool new paycheck (or become a coke-head) This is good as it means that i have a cool place to go crash at when im in jozzi again.

the slave who became a...oh screw it...

 captains log, VAC (vegging at computer) date 2010.05.06

oh wow....the cost for my mates car is quite a bit higher then we thought it would be.
screw this whole photography / creative entrepreneur shit, when i grow up i wanna be a mechanic!
sowhat does this meen for poor (very poor now) old simon? it means that i will have to seriously curb my party habits....its xbox and box wine for the next month or two for me my friends.
if anybody sees me out, feel free to buy me a beer...and smack it over my head. it would be the kind thing to do.
but who knows, maybe this is just what i needed, an excuse to save money and spend more time on my business and personal projects. (like watching the entire Boston legal collection in one sitting)
The truly sad news is that SLAVE apparel will have to sit at the back of the bus, like the acne faced loser kid at school, its full potential seen only by its ill equipped parents.
so...on that note i will be posting some of the designs for slave, if anybody knows anybody else that could help get this off the ground and in the pants of the high school cheerleader please send me a msg.
no really, please....

oh shit...

thats right...oh shit....
this week has been a crazy ride of ups and downs, firstly i have some new art (look at the pics) i think the work represents how ive been feeling lately quite nicely, so yes i am happy with them. (hooray!)
:)
secondly, ive gotten a fire lit under my arse to start with SLAVE apparel again (an on/off side project of mine, creating a t-shirt label) hopefully this time i will get some decent quality tees and prints set up for your purchasing pleasure. (i know how much u peeps like to buy stuff)
more  :)
but then last night
and this is a big buuuuuuuut....
i drove my mates car home...and kinda dinged it in a wall....dont ask what happened, im still unsure of the details myself, suffice to say i was about to turn into the drive way, there was a flash of bright light, i missed the turn and his car made sweet love to a stone wall....
oh shit.
i will be paying for damages and as a result...SLAVE will once again have to wait for a while.
sux to be slave.
tune in soon for more bla, blas

and here is a hint of whats to come (one day...i hope)
slave apparel