Hard at Work

Layering my new painting is taking longer than I thought, but it'll be worth it

Like Clockwork

Well robot fans, it's Christmas eve, and I seem to have slipped a disc or something and am currently lying flat on the floor.

This year has seen some big changes and something of a coming of age for the robot takeover, and a rejuvenation of this blog, moving beyond purely robots and into photography too. 

I just wanna say a big thank you for every view, every positive comment and every Facebook like, it's what keeps this hobby going. Art's not about making money, it's about making your mark. If I wanted to make money I'd be doing observational landscapes or pretentious portraits. But I'm not, I'm painting robots, and trying to share with you what I see in my minds eye.

I leave you with this pic I took last night, Merry Christmas and goodnight

A Very Robot Takeover Christmas

Continuing my last post, this was my Christmas card effort. I wanted it to be really old skool. It's a homage to the old Bing Crosby Christmas specials (even though I'm nowhere near that old). I was going for a 50's feel, and attempting to highlight that Christmas is all about looking dapper and drinking spirits

McNeices Christmas Card Effort

This year, long time helper of the Takeover, McNeice and myself decided we would do eachother Christmas cards. This is her effort, modelled on the necklace she sent me a while ago, and it makes excellent use of textures I must say, she gets a big dinosaur stamp for her efforts

Darkest Night

If a tree falls in the forest, do the other trees cry?

Frozen Forest

I went to the forest yesterday, everything was frozen. This was a nice change because I didn't get as muddy as I usually do. I did still get wet feet though, I was cracking frozen puddles and I got a bit ambitious...

The Good Fight

I'm bored in class in uni, so I sketched this wee gem, I don't usually put up crappy file pad sketches, but this homage to World War 2 propaganda's probably not going to get developed any further

Mystic River

A rare pic without any filters or any of that guff, cos I didn't wanna lose the effect of the mist, if it ain't broke... Haven't actually gone for a woodswards dander in a while, cos it's pretty damn cold.

Happy Bhuddas

I collect Bhuddas, every time I go away I get one. I like fat happy ones. I figure it's good luck. It can't be bad luck. Can it?

Empathy

This particular sketch was done a long while ago, in a different place, both physically and in my state of mind. A lot of things have changed since then. I don't know if this particular illustration has sufficient depth to carry into a painting, what with being based on a Crystal Castles song and everything.

 

In other news, I assure you there WILL be at least one (large) brand new robot takeover painting very soon. Oh yes. And it will be dark. Preliminary sketches were started last night, updates as and when stuff happens

Debras Present

My very good friend and robot lover and source of many a commission (and subject of a few robots herself) Debra is going away to Oz, so I bought her this ring, which I'm told will appear in some pictures of her travels, which I will regurgitate here

Winters Cold Grasp

And so autumn ends, all the leaves that will fall have fallen, and lie on the ground to become soil again. Winter clenches the forest in it's cold grasp, which will surely become an icy clench, and not a soul is to be found

Lief Errikson

Did this a long while ago, tried to paint this out properly but the result was so bad I might actually burn the canvas, I basically made a mud pie and scratched it with a stick, not my finest hour

2808 Doomsday

Been playing about with some flashes and filters and my new toy robot. If I get bored enough I might do something more film based soon. I might not though. Really, at the end of the day, no-one cares.

Alone in the Desert

I was watching a documentary about a really obese woman, and I drew this picture. Your mind drifts more easily when you're not just staring at a blank page. What does it mean? You decide

Amsterdamned

I'm just back from Amsterdam, which was something of a revelation. It's a damn (no pun intended) good place to take some photos, it's seriously stunning

Robots Round Your Neck

Another McNeice pic here from her travels, looks awesome, I dig any girl who rocks a robot

Flo and the Misty Puddle

Twilight's a mystical time. When the suns still out but the moon might shine

Close Up Robot

This is a robot. But like, really up close

Reflections in the Sand

Just a wee watercolour picture I did the other week, with just paint, no planning, no sketching, same brush, just let it flow...

The End of Autumn

Huffing and Puffin

I went to Rathlin Island last week. It was distinctly meh.
Didn't even see any puffins, it wasn't puffin season.

Canvas Revisited

Just found some much better pictures of the robots I did for Canvas Galleries in Stranmillis a long while ago

These pics are much better than the ones I pilfered off facebook ages ago. Neither of these are great to be honest, this really isn't my style of painting these days. What is my style? Hard to pin down, that's what.

Ghost Town

Jordanstown is doomed.

Before Machines- Stalagmites

Good band, good tune, good lads, awesome video

 

Reflections of My Former Self

Took this yonks ago when I just got Hipstamatic, and before I bought everything on it, lol. I like trying to take pictures of other things in reflections. That probably means something deep, ask a psychologist.

Random Robot Arrangement #1

Time for an actual picture that I did, albeit a while ago. I'm a busy boy these days and I'm not getting anywhere near a paintbrush soon. Boo hoo. This is just a wee ink and pen drawing, with a random motif I used to use a lot. Might paint it some time in the future, or do a print maybe. Might not.

Autobot Cans, Cos Autobots Can!

Got new cans, opened them up, tried them out, ten minutes later, robot'd them, albeit subtley. I just can't help myself. I'm addicted. Still, it's hardly crack.
Full geek points for you if you make the transformers noise when you put these on

Robot In A Glass Coffin

Here's a wee pic sent to me by McNeice, who's always on the lookout for robot-themed things for me, which I always appreciate, so full credit goes to her. I quite like this, I have one of these somewhere, but I broke it :s

Lights Out, Words Gone

Paisley Print Lecture Daydream

My lectures on Friday are really, really boring.

If I Should Die Before I Wake

Package from Japan

Robots for Kids

This is a water-colour I did a while ago, I was kinda going for a Hundred Acre Woods vibe and I think I hit that pretty well. Expect more watercolours, they're easy.

Belfast Streets, 4am

There's something romantic about being on empty streets. What it is, I don't know.

The Real Deal

Ok, so I put up a water-colour of this idea a while back, but here's the real deal, switched up the colours a bit for this one too for that post-nuclear apocalypse vibe everyone's after. Didn't know I could write Chinese? There's a lot you don't know about me.

Down In The Woods

Autumns a lovely time of year. When it's not raining.