New Sculpture
For the last month of so I’ve been busy working away on some sculpture. This is my latest – The Trickster. I was inspired to make it after seeing Belgian sculptor Guillaume Geef’s Le génie du mal. My version mashes up a popular Tasmanian tourism icon with Geef’s Lucifer, and is modelled after the popular trickster in Japanese mythology the tanuki.
For more pics, stop by my instagram
Prosthetic Reality at UniSA
A little while back I was invited to join a group of international artists on a special little project called Prosthetic Reality. It’s an AR book that uses an app called Eyejack to bring the artworks on each page to life with animation and sound.
It’s now on display for the next few months at the University of South Australia MOD, so if you’re in the state drop in and see this and more exhibits that explore the intersection between art and science.
Mane Liquor
Australia’s number one craft beer bottle shop, Mane Liquor, asked whether I’d be keen to do a poster illustration for their upcoming party in the carpark, and having a soft spot – especially around the mid-section for craft beer (cue moan), I said yes.
The brief was really open and I had free reign to come up with something that suited the beer and wine ethos that the team are so passionate about. So a temple for beer popped in my head and out popped this illustration. Two versions – black and white and watercolour.
These will make their appearance on posters and fliers for the store’s annual party in the carpark this November. So get yourself to Mane Liquor and check out the beers and wines they’ll have on offer there – including something a little special from Dormilona. Stay tuned!
Dormilona 2018
The newest Clayface labels for Dormilona wines are in the wild, and it’s been great to work with Jo on these again. The latest piece mixes fruity flavours with coastal Western Australia. Wine X Life Aquatic. The only thing missing – Portuguese versions of my favourite Bowie songs.
Ello Ello
I’ve been branching out – And I think everyone else is on the hunt, too.
I know Ello has been around for a while, and I had an account but just let it slide for about a year. Anyway, I’m giving it another shot, and in kind, the very nice chaps at Ello have featured me on their homepage as one of their new artists. If you follow me on Instagram already, there may not be anything new to see (as yet), but I’ll be posting just completed work over there to see how it all goes. If you feel like taking it for a test drive visit www.ello.co, and you can link up with me at my account. They are 100% behind the arts community and transparent on how your personal and private data is used (i.e. it aint sold off) which good too. If you were worried. Or cared.
Peace.
In the Spirit of The Age, 8 Feb 2018
Scary Monsters
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 60cm
2017
SEAN EDWARD WHELAN
IN THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE
Big thanks to all those that could make it out to the opening and saw the work over the course of the show. Big warm fuzzy feels. Special thanks to Blackartprojects for their logistical expertise, Neospace for their hospitality and Dormilona for their awesome wines, that almost stole the show.
Check in with www.blackartprojects.com.au for work availability.
Winding down 2017… Welcoming 2018
A huge thanks to everybody out there for all the support over 2017. Lots of challenges over the course of this year, but your energy and encouragement have kept pushing me along – so that’s a big gushy thanks from me to you!
With everything winding down now, it’s also about time I shared a bit about next year’s plans.
2018 will be a year of change, and I’m really excited to announce that in Feb I’ll be having my first solo show of paintings in quite a while. If you’ve been following my instagram (@seanedwhelan) there’s been plenty of shots of sketches and work in progress over the course of some 2 years. If you haven’t, you now know exactly where to get a preview of what to expect. If you’re in Melbourne for the opening on the 8th, it’d be great to see you there, but in the meantime, visit Blackartprojects.com.au for more details.
Once that is all done and dusted, there will be some much overdue online spring cleaning. New site? I think so.
There will also be new illustration work with Dormilona, my friends over on the west coast of Oz, who consistently kick bottoms with their amazing wines, and an illustrated cover feature with a New York wine mag. So look out for all these updates in the first quarter.
Finally, hope you all have a great new year, happy holidays and I’ll see you in 2018.
Kamidana
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 60cm
2017
(From upcoming solo exhibition: In the Spirit of the Age)
London SketchBook Festival 2017
This year I’ll be joining the London Sketchbook Festival lineup, held at The Archivist – a beautiful space west of Hoxton – and showing some of my work on projectors over the 10 day event.
As well as the featured artists, there’ll be heaps of chances to join sketchbook workshops and meet up with designers and illustrators too, all based around drawing, architecture and moving image. For more info on this year’s event, check their site.
http://www.londonsketchbookfestival.com/
Sept 21 – 30. 2017.
The Archivist.
N1 5ET
LONDON
MiniComic.club Project Updates
After about a month of late nights – I’ve finally got the comic off to the printers for this year’s MiniComic.club.
Hungry Workshop in Melbourne are handling the production, and I’m looking forward to how it shapes up.
Printing starts really soon and right after that will be in the hands of everyone that subscribed this year. It’s been fun, but damn hard work putting it together – I’ve learned a heap about everything that goes into producing them and have a new appreciation – hats off to all the writers, pencilers, inkers and colourists out there. Truly amazing art form.
MiniComic.club Project
Later on this year, in September, I’ll be releasing a comic with MiniComic Club – an annual project that’s been running since 2013, and last year, I got the call to submit for 2017’s edition. To give you a bit of a background on it, here are words from the website.
“…bringing you and your mailbox a years worth of minicomics and zines from some of Australia’s most interesting cartoonists and comics-makers…. 12 comics over 12 months, one each from these beautiful people…“
Beautiful people artists and a new comic book every month. Nice! And all it takes is a little subscription fee and they come to your door in miniature format – A6 size to be precise.
From year to year the line-up has consisted of well established and emerging comic artists, and occasionally artists from other fields – and that’s where I fit in this year. So once I have the show I have been planning for years finally done, I’ll be working on a comic – which is pretty neat.
And if you want to learn more you can go here, where I have a short interview about my experience with the comic medium, on medium.
https://medium.com/@smallercomics/
(There are also interviews with other comic artists from past and present MiniComic Club projects to check out.)
If you are even more interested, you could also visit the MiniComic.Club page and get yourself a subscription for $38 AU. Very nice!