Final Essay

Flora Toulouse
Art 245
Professor Peter Whittenberger
April 28, 2014

                The two artists I chose for this paper are starkly different in their way of applying the same principals of art. Both of them are incredibly inspiring to me, and both have accomplished some amazing things. They both work with digital media and use photoshop to ‘paint’ their projects, but their works are still dramatically different from one another.

                My first artist, Liam Peters grew up in Brisbane, Australia, and always had a love for art, and subconsciously for digital art. He grew up drawing “dinosaurs and Ninja Turtles,” and came to think of himself as a “surrealist with a dark twist” (Peters 2012). He went into 3d animation and Multimedia. After college, he was unsurprisingly saddled with heavy debt, and went into the mines in Queensland for a full five years. Upon paying off his debt, he was “anxious to finally do what I always wanted and intended” (Peters, 2012). He moved to the US in 2008, and is currently doing freelance art. His style is incredibly similar to a painter’s in traditional media. However, his use of digital technology to create his pieces makes his art stand out and take on an eerily realistic quality to it. His eye for detail makes his paintings stand out, as there is always something new and different to see in them. He includes every detail possible, to paint a very realistic illusion of life, and indeed some of his paintings look like photomanipulations, rather than the paintings that they are. He is a good example of how artists are using new techniques of painting to accomplish great things, and to make people see things in a new light.

I chose this work, entitled ‘Bubble Gum’ as his representative piece. I feel that it clearly demonstrates not only his mastery of technology, but his eye for detail and fantasy, as well as possessing that dark twist that all of his works include. Going into the comments section of his Deviantart, I found that many people had thought the same thing I had at first glance—“Oh my God, is that a spider in that picture? How did he get a spider in the bubble gum?”—and their reactions upon discovering that his works were paintings were priceless. Each and every one of his pieces has something special that draws the eye to it and makes the viewer stick around to see what more there is to see. The gentle way the girl is holding her hands out, as if to catch the spider should it fall, and the way the evening light settles around her face and illuminates the air around her; all draw the eye. The use of light in all his paintings is amazing, of course, but in this one it serves to further illuminate the spider in the pink bubble, and add a sort of creepy light-heartedness to the scene. But beyond looking incredible, Peter’s works serve to set the viewer on edge, and make them uncomfortable. In this piece, the viewer can’t help but question; what happens when the bubble pops? The piece, much like a camera, seems to have captured an important moment—the calm before the storm. All of Peter’s works have a way of accomplishing this, and forcing the viewer to consider the paintings as if they were moments of action, rather than still, purposefully set images. Unfortunately, Liam Peters did not respond to my questions.  

                The second artist I chose to examine was Brian Kesinger. He has worked for Disney for sixteen years now, and he was hired straight out of his senior year as the second youngest artist at Disney Animation studios to work on Tarzan. Since then, he has worked on Treasure Planet, Winnie the Pooh, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Tangled, Chicken Little, Home on the Range, Bolt, and Meet the Robinsons. Aside from his work at Disney, he is famous for his owned characters, Otto and Victoria, whom he has portrayed in various situations. Victoria is a steampunk Victorian lady, and Otto is her—you guessed it—octopus pet. His works depict them having adventures all over the world, and he has even published a storybook about them. He is also quite renowned for his ‘Tea Girls,’ which are steampunk depictions of ladies painted with different kinds of tea and edited in Photoshop.

                One of my favorite things about Brian Kesinger, and one of the reasons that I chose him, is his way of boostering up young artists. He has done inspirational videos and helpful tutorials, as well as interviews where he helps to give out good advice about the industry. This is one of the amazing things about the digital age as well; the information is all out there, on the web, and learning it is just a matter of finding the right stuff. Mr. Kesinger is one valuable resource in a sea, and he knows the industry well enough to help young artists maneuver their way around it. In his words, I actually enjoy helping others. My parents are teachers and I think I may have inherited the gene that lets me feel good when I can help someone who might be struggling with a concept finally "get it". The only reason I am where I am in my career right now is because of other artists sharing their knowledge with me. It's one of the great things about the collaborative nature of animation. Having a group of artists that you trust to be able to share your work with is the only way to make your art the best it can be” (Kesinger, 2013). He embodies the mentorship mantle that many have taken up in this new age, and his way of inspiring other artists to follow his lead is a vital part of making the culture a welcome place of healthy competition, rather than a vicious one.

The work I chose to demonstrate his style is entitled ‘Bedtime for Otto.’ I chose it because I think it demonstrates perfectly his style. He begins the piece with a sketch traditionally, and then goes in and finishes the piece on Photoshop. He too has an eye for detail, in a different sense from Liam Peters. Rather than focusing on the detail of reality, and trying achieve reality in his pieces, he focuses on details that will tell a story in the cartoon-y style he has. For example, in the piece below, Victoria’s hand appears to have fallen from the book, which lays open in her lap, suggesting that they fell asleep reading it. Otto cuddles a submarine rather than a teddy bear, which also just happens to look exactly like the submarine in the film ‘20000 Leagues Under the Sea.’ His mobile is made of cute sea creatures, and the very fact that he has a mobile at all gives him a child-like quality, as if he is in fact a baby, rather than a pet. The whole work is very lighthearted, which makes sense, as Mr. Kesinger works for Disney. All of these details serve to tell a story, and to give the piece almost the same life as Liam Peter’s artworks. Brian Kesinger also was unable to return my contact with him.

                The reason I chose both of these artists was that they complement each other, in ways that are not apparent at first glance. Both use digital technology, and both are artists. Both think creatively and use inspiration from the world around them. Brian Kesnger grew up drawing what he saw around him everywhere from school to Disneyland, and Liam Peters grew up drawing the worlds he could not see. What is so amazing about these artists, and indeed all artists, is their ability to draw inspiration from the same earth, and yet to create entirely different things, with entirely different feelings to them. I also chose them because there are some who place different value on different styles of art; is realism better than a highly stylized method? I would argue no. Both are successful at telling the story, which is one of the most important aspects of art. Both manage to draw the viewer in, and both manage to make the viewer stay, and think about what they are looking at. Both are also pioneers of a relatively new method of storytelling, particularly in Brian Kesinger’s case. Many ignorant people like to spout that with 3d technology movies suddenly are just making themselves, and that the artists aren’t actually doing anything. By using social media like facebook, tumblr, etc. to put out everything from scraps to tutorials to finished pieces, Mr. Kesinger is helping to slowly dispel these rumors.

                Both of these artists are making their way in a fast-changing world of ‘sophisticated’ but uneducated audiences and new technology. One works for a major corporation, and the other is freelance, and both appear to be happy. They are an excellent example of how to stand out in a rapidly growing industry, and they are both incredibly inspiring.

Sources:

Works Cited

"About." Brian Kesinger. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://www.bkartonline.com/about/>.

"BrianKesinger's deviantART Gallery." BrianKesinger's deviantART Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://briankesinger.deviantart.com/gallery/>.

"Connect with friends and theworld around you on Facebook.." Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brian-Kesingers-Tea-Girls/212094505475204>.

"Liam Peters Veteran." Liam Peters. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://lpeters.cgsociety.org/about>.

"Liam Peters: Digital Illustration." Liam Peters: Digital Illustration. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://liampeters.blogspot.com/>.

"Otto and Victoria, Octovictorian Etiquette by techgnotic on deviantART." Otto and Victoria, Octovictorian Etiquette by techgnotic on deviantART. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://techgnotic.deviantart.com/journal/Otto-and-Victoria-Octovictorian-Etiquette-374751867>.

"Tea Girls and Cephalopods." Tea Girls and Cephalopods. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://briankesinger.tumblr.com/>.

"lpeters's deviantART gallery." lpeters's deviantART gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://lpeters.deviantart.com/gallery/?catpath=/>.