Tag Archives: australia

The Comic Art Workshop

14 Dec

For the first two weeks of November I was taking part in the inaugural Comic Art Workshop. It was held on MARIA ISLAND off the East coast of Tasmania. Technically I was the only Tasmanian at the workshop, but Leigh Rigozzi used the workshop as an excuse to return from Sydney after a decade. So we now have another comic maker in our midst YAY! … and to make things more interesting, I met Eleri Mai Harris at the workshop – turns out she’s an ex-Tasmanian who now lives in Canberra after having lived in the States for a bit – so there was tonnes of Tassie action going on. Leigh’s Dad also works for Parks and Heritage. He came over to Maria and gave us a bit of a talk about the island and the nature and whatnot. Tony Thorne from Hobart also came over on the middle weekend and talked about the history of Indigenous peoples in Tassie and also gave a watercolour Plein Air workshop.

We had Leela Corman and Tom Hart from Florida come to be our master-comic-artists. Go to the Comic Art Workshop link for the full line-up of the amazing attendees.

Here’s some random pics!

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Il Globo article for Swallows

30 Oct

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26 Mar

 

Swallows Part One is a comic that will be published in August of 2015.

These are the pages 5-8 of it, set in Germany in the village that Hobart-based book designer Nadine Kessler grew up in, but most of the book is set in Melbourne. I’ll chuck up the next pages in a week or so when the PREORDER Pozible campaign commences on April 1 – when this website page will be up and running (not before April 1). The preorder campaign runs for the entirety of APRIL, which will help me out greatly with the money to print the books – some info at the bottom.

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Swallows pages 1-4

19 Mar

Crowd funding campaign for Swallows is in all April! Go here! 

Swallows Part One is a comic that will be published in August of 2015.

These are the first four pages of it, set in France, but most of the book is set in Melbourne. I’ll chuck up the next pages in a week or so.

I will be setting up a preorder campaign for the entirety of APRIL – you can jump on a crowd-funding website during that month and preorder a copy, which will help me out greatly with the money to print the books – some info at the bottom.

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Neil Gaiman

28 Jan

At MONA FOMA in January I found Neil Gaiman with a little help from festival curator Brian Ritchie – it gave me the opportunity to hand Mr Gaiman a copy of my book The Long Weekend in Alice Springs. Now Hobart is a small town, and all my friends were at that amazing festival (you should come – MONA FOMA is a freak of a good time): and I had a bit of intel that Neil Gaiman had been sighted coming out the jumping castle, and down at the cafe reading it … so it was nice to hear he’d had a look.

A week or two later – he tweets this ->

Neil Gaiman Twitter

Drums drums drums

22 Nov


I’ve been smashing away for a while now – coming up with some themes that I’d like to run together into a solo-drumming performance artpiece in the not-too-distant-future. This was just me jamming, recorded it so I could hear where it was at – thought I’d share with ya’ll.

Long Weekend short-films

10 Nov

We have recently managed to find time to record Craig’s narrations (much thanks to Ross Muir at Reddirt Records in Alice Springs for taking the time to do this) and put them to animations of some of the art from the graphic novel. Have a looksee at what we got down here!!

Pt 1 – The Long Weekend in Alice Springs: Manka Maru

 

Pt 2 – The Long Weekend in Alice Springs: Around the campfire

 

Pt 3 – The Long Weekend in Alice Springs: The Hospital

 

 

Pt 4 – The Long Weekend in Alice Springs: Sunday

 

Pt 5 – The Long Weekend in Alice Springs: the weekend is over

Program flier

17 May

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Nadine Kessler did the design, Tom O’Hern the image, Josh Santospirito the words.

Festival Program – #HerMAJhobart

16 May

Her Majesty’s Favourite Really Great Graphical Festival
The Southernmost Tasmanian graphic celebration in the NATION!
2014, June 5–8

Join us or die – on Farceybuuk & Twotter

Hobart is filled with artists – we know… we all read the census report. We went to the museum and it was very nice (it was very lovely thankyou Lord Berriedale). But frankly, I think we’d all like to bloody well see more cartoons. More kids books! MORE COMICS! Where have the illustrators all been hiding?

Her Majesty has decreed that it is high time that her favourite Australian state, Van Diemen’s Land, celebrated its own zines, illustrators and comic-makers. She has has graciously allowed these festivities to be the fanfare to her own birthday celebrations in the state capital of HobART.

The festival is filled with fun events that showcase some mighty Hobartian artists that don’t often get to see the light of day. Artist talks, performances that combine visual graphics and sound, comic-launches and events that let you all have a crack at drawing things yourself and making your own publications! Jump over the program page to have a look.

Her Majesty’s Artist in Residence for 2014 will be Sir Tony Thorne of Dynnyrne. In honour and recognition for his patriotic fighting in the trenches of artistic endeavour. He’ll be performing, talking and presenting at three of Her Favourite events and sharing his wise wisdom with all. “Hail, Sir Thorne”

FULL PROGRAM

Friday May the 23rd – pre-festival event
Arts Forum at UTAS College of the Arts – Josh Santospirito (festival creator/organiser) gives a talk on his award-winning graphic novel The Long Weekend in Alice Springs. He’ll talk about the adaption process and other elements to do with long-form comics. Dechaineux Lecture Theatre, Tas College of the Arts, 12:30-1:30pm. Free, open to the public.  FACEBOOK EVENT

Wednesday May the 28th – Pre-festival special event
Rachel Tribout launches her first picture book
CAPTAIN BLUEBERRY’S – MONSTERS OF TASMANIA
to be launched by Jon Kudelka

@ Fullers Bookshop, 5:30pm – free event. FACEBOOK EVENT
Basically, all you need to know is that this is a very special book. 

Thurs June 5
A Thousand Words– 6pm
Illustrators talk night – great projects and graphics, a great opportunity to have a look at the illustrating process with the artists themselves doing the show and tell. Short animated films will also knock ya socks off.
Featuring Sir Tony Thorne, Sam Lyne, Gay McKinnon, Christopher Downes, Hiiragi, Rex Smeal, Paul Peart-Smith, Tom O’Hern and Sarah Catherine Firth.
Constance ARI, 100 Goulburn Street, enter with a single gold coin donation.
Bar open on the night, proceeds to Constance gallery.

Friday June 6
Drink & Draw – 5:30pm
Graphics … Performances … drinking … drawing … !!
Performances from Tony Thorne & Joshua Santospirito.
Come down to TMAG for a drink and have a crack at some drawing with some of the artists. The TMAGgots will be manning the bar. A TMAGgots event at TMAG, Dunn Place, free entry

Saturday June 7
Blood and Bone by Tom O’Hern – 6pm
Tom O’Hern made a bloody comic. He did it as part of Sankessto Publication’s Down There series of Tasmanian Comics. There’ll be speechies from Tricky Walsh. There’ll be booze, there might be cheese, there’ll be all of youse, and there’ll be meeze. 
Hobart Bookshop, Salamanca Place, free
FACEBOOK EVENT

An Extraordinary Sequence of Events  – 8pm
In a paper theatre, pages come to LIFE. From the heartbreaking illustrations of Tasmania’s favourite masterpiece Last Days of the Mill, to the ecstatic whimsy of Captain Blueberry – you’ll love this night. It’ll be filled with extraordinary events! One might be particularly interested in the matching of fine, popular, fine artist Robert O’Connor with the chaos of Danielle Page’s Noise outfit – Kovacs. The night will be finished off with a macabre and heartwrenchingly bloody tale of murder on the banks of the River Derwent – Downes/Santospirito present a MONA FOMA favourite – The Shipwright & the Banshee!!
* The Shipwright and the Banshee by Christopher Downes & Joshua Santospirito (MONA FOMA 2013)
* The Last Days of The Mill by Tony Thorne & Pete Hay
* Captain Blueberry’s Monsters of Tasmania by Rachel Tribout
* Rob OConnor & Kovacs
at The Grand Poobah, 142 Liverpool St. Entry $8-
FACEBOOK EVENT

Sunday June 8
The Small Press Zine Fair
Bands, zines, comics, workshops, zines, creativity, zines
Imagine a world where everyone made their own publications … imagine it – right NOW! … crikey, I think we’ve DONE IT – All the zine-makers of the Southern Hemisphere are descending upon the Poobah for this afternoon of swap/buy/give/show-off all their zines and publications. They make awesome presents for yourself and for your Mum, and for you brother, and his girlfriends. 
A WALLOPPINGLY fun afternoon, 1-5pm, at The Grand Poobah, 142 Liverpool St. free entry. FACEBOOK EVENT

Information for Zine stall-holders: No registration required, BYO card-table, crate, table-cloths etc. Set up on the day, jump on a table with someone you’ve never clapped eyes on before – AUTOMATIC BFFs!

Captain Blueberry

21 Jan

This project is bloody great … bloody great – you must have a look at the Crowd-funding campaign TODAY!!
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