Tuesday 23 November 2010

Faces, Photoshop and Water

As I drew this face, I found out via a TV quiz show, that raindrops are spherical, not raindrop shaped. So all the cute depictions of raindrops in various places are WRONG! Art over reality.
These faces (thank you Linda Sue!) are providing me with much amusement, using them in tiny shops, taping them to the wall (I removed them, remembering the plumber was coming round and not wanting to scare him) then to some lovely cardboard packaging. I used the very handy multicoloured masking tape to match their faces. I have painted a rough dress shape and done some patterns. Photoshop next. The faces are so sweet and I like the pretty soft look with the textures added.






The last face is drawn on a page that has trimmings from my paper trimmer-a work job-stuck to the page and then gessoed. The effect just makes me think of having a headache. The sort of headache you might get if you don't drink enough water.
I have just watched a very interesting programme all about the growth of bottled water, how it is branded, and stories about it-for example the one about Coke selling its water in the UK, which was in fact tap water from the Thames with a few treatments, one of which resulted in it containing bromates which are apparently cancer causing. I have always had the uneasy feeling about bottled water that it is just a big con-and remember clearly the days before it. I don't often buy it-only really when on a journey of some sort, certainly not for everyday use. Apparently it takes three litres of water to produce one litre of bottled water, and a fifth of that bottle in oil-in the plastic production and transportation. When there is perfectly drinkable tap water available it seems ridiculous. Also the fact that so many people do not have access to clean water makes it seem immoral. There were some good things in the programme-one of which was a bottled water company which puts money into water projects in countries without good water supplies. Apparently sales have been falling-not sure if that was just the UK or other places.

14 comments:

Diane Rooney said...

Love the faces, Sarah. And I couldn't agree more about bottled water. We usually only buy it if out and about as well. It seems mad to me to buy bottled water when we live in a country that has perfectly ok to drink tap water??!! Madness really. Hope you're well x

Linda Sue said...

Oh Sarah! I just knew that you would do the most amazing things with the faces! You are so fabulous!!!!

Leenie said...

Hmm...I got so caught up in a rant about greedy people marketing plastic and water to fools at the expense of hungry children that I hit delete and lost it all. Well, 'nuf said.

Love what you've done with the Photoshop filters. It's the best software ever invented!

Lori Saul said...

Beautiful work and effects with the faces Sarah- each is unique with different color and textured expressions. Love the scratchiness and weathered look!

rebecca said...

i don't know...would have been interesting seeing the plumbers reaction!

Yiota said...

It's amazing how many different forms art can take!
Interesting work!
xo

Rattling On said...

Couldn't agree more re bottled water. We have a bottling plant in town where the spring water is piped in and flogged all over the world (Obama has been pictured drinking it!). Feels like they are 'stealing' our natural resource and gaining massive profits. They provide jobs, yes, but not very many to be honest. And the plant is ugly.

Louise said...

These kind of programmes are really interesting...I don't watch much tv but I miss stuff like this. I hate the sight of overgrown children walking around sucking their bottles...we are never that far from a tap in the UK! I always order tap water in restaurants too...Love the doll faces...especially the postcard
{*}

kendalee said...

me too - object to bottled water in a country where we should be able to turn on the tap and drink what comes out...

Love, love what you've been doing with the dolls faces! I used to find dolls a bit creepy - but you've converted me.

rebecca said...

love your new banner!!!!

Relyn Lawson said...

I love your precious doll face art. Love it! Especially picture number two.

Unknown said...

Love what you have done with the dolls faces.

And picture two is my favourite.

Anonymous said...

I love what you have done with the dolls! I would think bottled water sales will have fallen as people tighten their belts and spend less on non-essentials.

Anairam said...

I so agree with the bottled water issue - I never bought into that whole thing - it seemed to me a marketing scam of enormous proportions, and people fell for the novelty (and the trendy labels, I suspect) for a while. Talking about water, I have just read an article in the NYT about losing weight if you drink two glasses of water about half an hour before a meal. Yay - that sounds easy! I love what you have done with the dolls' faces - I love the postcard especially. More friendly than frightening, I think. Perhaps they are a little crazy-looking, but in a good way, like us. I do promise if I ever make stickers to stick on my forehead, I will send one to each of my abnormally-crazy-creative friends, and you are definitely high up on the list!
PS The drawing with the paper trimmings could be a photograph of me, right now. It is 1.20 a.m. here, I'm battling away at editing a science book, with a horrible toothache to boot. I would down a bottle of brandy/whiskey/whatever-would- blunt-the-pain if I could, but anything I put in my mouth sets of the most excruciating stabs of pain.