Etch-a-Sketch Olympic rings

It’s Olympic year again, so here’s my contribution to the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad: an Etch-A-Sketch rendering of the iconic Olympic rings.

You’d never guess I was a self-taught artist, would you!

I feel that this piece represents the battered nature of an Olympic athlete at the end of a gruelling event such as the triathlon (just thinking about it is tiring enough), the marathon, or queueing up for tickets in the hope of seeing Usain Bolt in the 100 metres final. (Oops, hope I haven’t scuppered his chances there with one of those ‘commentators kiss of death’ remarks. Ah well, there’s always Rio, I guess.)

For the technophobes among you, take a deep breath, count to ten, and then click on that there diddy little image at the top of this post and hey preston! it will expand to around the dimensions of an Olympic-sized swimming pool, thus allowing you to study my Etch-A-Sketch technique in full horrifying detail. (Alternatively, don’t bother; miss the experience. Please yourself.)

Bacon Head

Warning: if you click on the image above you will see my latest Etch-A-Sketch effort — a rendering of Francis Bacon‘s Head VI in dramatic close-up. But it’s not for those of a nervous disposition.

Mind you, the original is much scarier.

Selection is one of the most important aspects of Etch-A-Sketching those old (and more modern) masters. Head VI is a good place to start if you’re not too hot when it comes to drawing faces. Somehow, I recognise myself in that description; so if you’re expecting me to tackle Raphael’s School of Athens any time in the foreseeable future, buddy you better think again.

The Persistence of Etch-A-Sketch

'The persistence of memory' on etch-a-sketch

I’ve gone all arty-farty again.

True culture vultures — and just about any student who bought cheap posters in the 1970s — will recognize this as a rendering (and that’s a polite way of putting it) of Dali’s classic surrealist work, The Persistence of Memory.

Although it contains several images of soft watches, neither Dali’s version (nor mine) is a wind-up. Dali was inspired by his experience of taking a watch to the mender’s and returning a week later to find the repair man had accidentally broken the precious timepiece. My reasons were far more mundane: I just wanted to pay homage to a great work of art; oh, and there was nothing worth watching on telly at the time.

Melancholy and mystery of an Etch A Sketch

Amazing what you can do on the Etch A Sketch, isn’t it? Here’s my attempt at recreating Giorgio de Chirico‘s 1914 classic, Melancholy and Mystery of a Street. Click on the image (go on, give that mouse a good old thump) to see it a bit biggerer.

chirico

And here’s a small version of the original painting. Look at all those arches and shadows; spooky, ain’t it?

melancholy

The Scream

Just in case you think we do nothing all day except twiddle about with bits of string, here’s my latest effort on the Etch A Sketch. In case you’re not familiar with the original, it’s a version of Edvard Munch‘s expressionist classic, ‘The Scream‘. Go on, admit it: you’re lost for words, aren’t you?

thescream

Ampersand

Shana got me an Etch A Sketch as an early Christmas present. It’s is fine for drawing straight lines, but curves and circles (especially if you want them to be at all regular in shape) present more of a challenge. After only a couple of days’ practice, though, I have now mastered the art of manipulating the aluminum powders hidden within the device and have produced the holy grail of Etch A Sketch users: an ampersand. I shall leave it to you to fathom exactly how I accomplished this feat. It could’ve been sheer artistic skill; or fantastic hand-eye coordination.

Or maybe it was all down to great knob control!

[Next week: the Mona Lisa. Er...maybe!]

ampersand