Blackbook

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Welcome to #artthursday! Now that I (Ainslie Rose) have editorial control over the blog (mwahaha!) I thought I would start a series which investigates the culture and practise of aerosol art. Each Thursday, I’ll talk about the different aspects of aerosol art and delve into the culture of graffiti. To start with, I’ll begin with the Blackbook.
The Blackbook in it’s simplest form is a sketchbook. It’s a dedicated book used by artists to mill over ideas and plan out designs. The exterior is usually plain black, hence the term Blackbook. They can be easily obtained from a newsagent or office supply store and usually have unlined white pages with a thicker GSM. Some aerosol paint brands associated with graffiti culture such as Montana/ MTN and Montana Colors  also carry a line of black books with their branding and some have the option of black pages for the use of metallic markers. The books are usually A4 in size, but larger versions are also available. As an artist, Sauce uses a standard A4 book, available from office supply stores and uses various pencil types for basic sketches and outlines in pen using Artline of Promarker for more complex and interesting designs. When Sauce is working on designs for clients, he prefers to keep the details simple and rarely uses colour. 
All very exciting facts, but it’s the little details which build the culture. The Blackbook (which I’ve written about before) is definitively more than a few doodles on a page and it’s more than vandals planning their next attack. Sketches are mindful mediations which are documented and journaled in the Blackbook  and it is this mindfulness which gives meaning to the graffiti piece. Now, through the mighty powers of social media, artists are sketching pieces and battling for supremacy with other artists all over the globe. When Sauce first stared dabbling and experimenting with Graff, he had a chance encounter with an old school writer, who gave him a quick sketch in Sauce’s Blackbook and it was this organic collaboration which sparked something inside Sauce and spurned him to improve his skills. It’s this type of sharing and creative process which forms the backbone of artist’s creative concepts and ideas.  

 

Ten One Twenty

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Last week, Sauce headed off to Cairns to take care of some family things and while he was up there, he scouted around to find a good wall. Which was perfect timing, as Ten One Twenty, a gelato and coffee shop was opening at Edge Hill, Cairns and they were on the look out for an aerosol artist. No gig is without challenges, and Sauce tells me it was so hot, his shirt was dripping with sweat (Gross!). It was also difficult to source enough paint with all the different colours, but Sauce, fuelled with coffee and gelato battled on and created a sunset themed 3D graffiti piece. Maybe next time, we’ll make a proper holiday out of it.  

Three Sixty Five

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Three Sixty Five explores the highs and lows of an aerosol artist over a one year period. During the Wet Season of 2012/13 Sauce and Ainslie Rose spent too many days cooped up inside and spent long mornings talking over coffee about ‘what would be really cool’. It was from these heartfelt conversations the pair decided they needed to be the change and not the problem, and thus, The Sauce Studio was created. The Sauce Studio was meant to be the catalyst Murwillumbah and the Northern Rivers needed in regards to aerosol and contemporary art.

 

Still Lifeless, oil on canvas, 122cm x 91.5cm. Sauce, 2014.


Since opening last March, Sauce and Ainslie Rose have used the workshop and showcase to meet new friends and create new artworks, but it hasn’t been all beer and skittles for the creative couple. A large part of the challenge has been navigating through the bureaucracy associated with public art and murals. Sauce has worked with over eighty schools and has over a decade of professional experience, but he is still dictated to by public servants who know little if anything about public art. The bureaucracy isn’t usually site specific, that is, most large scale organizations and councils have the same level of paperwork and inane demands, however recent experiences with councils have taken the bureaucracy and flagrant stupidity to a new level.

#exhibitionthreesixtyfive, aerosol on found object. Sauce 2014.

This paper-trail full of maintenance schedules, risk management plans, design briefs, and selection criteria may be a part of everyday life for the myriad of Cultural Development Officers, but it doesn’t denote high quality art, nor extrapolate cultural innovation; except when this is used as inspiration for an exhibition. It is these experiences of tribulation and encumbrance which has fueled this creative output. This exhibition serves as a metaphor for the challenges faced by a professional aerosol artist. The Sauce Studio arose out of dissatisfaction for the hegemonic demands of traditional gallery expectations and tokenistic public art projects and this celebration one year of operations in Murwillumbah exemplifies the positivity and success.  


Retrospective Self-portrait, acrylic on canvas, 76cm x 30cm. Sauce 2014.


From the Wreck, acrylic on canvas, 183cm x 91.5cm. Sauce, 2014.

Overcast Enlightenment, oil on canvas, 70cm x 50cm. Sauce 2014.

Koala Cafe

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Late last year, we were contacted by the P & C at Coolnwynpin State School as they had some ideas about how they wanted to update their tuck-shop area. The school also had a few sketches and ideas about the space as previously, they had run a design competition with the students to involve the students in the process. The P & C also wanted the sign to match the theme of the previous mural Sauce had created at the school.

Sauce spent more time in pre-production with this mural as it included reworking the design process, involving a young person, and a cut-out detail for the sign. He also had to work around the school schedule which can be a challenge when you’re working with several different schools at once.
An honourable mention goes to the Groundskeeper, who fixed and primed the wall, making it ready for Sauce to paint on, and Jodee the School Captain, who help with the mural.

Life and Death

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We’ve had some varied feedback about our A-frame today, and I would like to thank those who spoke to me about their feelings regarding the sign’s content. 

 


This link explores the same themes provides insight into the issue of popularity and death. 

At the studio, we’re not about sledging Margaret Olley or her legacy, but what we are advocating for is support for living artists, so their careers can flourish. And as an organisation which is living in the shadows of other well funded facilities it is a challenge to run a successful arts business. 

We’ve exhausted every other polite way to demonstrate these experiences to the ‘powers that be’, and this is one way of creating critical debate about this topic.

 

p.s. Sorry about the relfective selfie!

Elevation

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Positive Energy Activates Constant Elevation - Gravediggaz


 

In the current political climate it is challenging to find suitable walls for aerosol artists, so when the principal from Upper Mt Gravatt gave Sauce the all clear, he jumped at the chance to smash out some 3D work. This wall was completed over two days, as the first day was spent at the school rejuvinating some old work and looking at another site for a new mural. On the second day, Sauce worked on the details of the 3D elements. 
Sauce was pleased with his efforts, and when he made it home, we discussed the need to just paint. How sometimes, it is difficult to balance painting murals with koalas and painting a good solid graff piece. Sometimes, just finding a wall to paint is a mammoth task in itself! I really like the colour scheme in this one and Sauce is already itching for another paint. If you’ve got a wall that needs a good old fashioned graff piece, let us know!   

 

Beast Mode Unleashed

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Late last year, we were contacted in the studio by some keen young men from Iona College to create a ‘Seniors’ mural for their school as a leaving gift. The lads wanted something which represented them and their school and something that celebrated their passion for rugby. After some initial consultation with the lads and Father Mark Edwards, the Principal, Sauce smashed out a piece and beast over two days in the sweltering Brisbane humidity. 

 


Redland Museum

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Late last year, we received a phone call from Redlands Museum with a request for an interior mural with a horse ploughing a field. “Easy done!” I said. “No worries mate.” That was before I learnt it was a 14m x 6m wall. But, with Sauce being a professional I was confident the mural would be an interesting and suitable challenge. 

After some further consultation with the staff and volunteers, the theme and images were determined. The layout and design was relatively simple as the concept needed to be historically accurate since it was a part of the tractor display in the museum. The staff and volunteers at the museum were great to work with and it was refreshing to see such a professionally managed facility. With any luck, Sauce will be painting more backdrops and murals for the museum to help set the scene for their carefully curated displays.