The Light Dream : Alex Storer's digital art

A new painting and a bit of a rant

2012-02-23T06:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a new piece – Togetherness. This painting took a few forms, from being a view over clouds to a parallel world, to a victorious fly-past of heroic fighter ships. Yet nothing worked better than the scene in it's most simple form; the near embrace of our two figures set against a vibrant sunset.

I'm yet to add Togetherness to my website, as I've been re-arranging the portfolio page a little, with a better sequence and more interesting thumbnails. You might want to take a look. It may also be due to feature in a future issue of Digital Artist magazine – more details on that as, when and if.

OK, the rant bit...

So far 2012 has been relatively quiet. The art scene here in Sheffield has suffered recently, when the city lost out to much-needed arts funding. The city's bigger galleries have had a hard enough time in recent years and although there are plenty of smaller independent galleries (which often cater for a limited audience), it's a worry for the arts scene overall, which simply cannot compete with places like Leeds or York. That said, when it comes to city centers, poor old Sheffield simply can't compare on any scale, as beyond having a facelift, the city has descended into pretty much a void of nothingness in recent years. The shiny, new new office and apartment blocks stand half-full and the nearby Meadowhall retail park has sucked the life (and shops) out of the heart of the city – unless all you want are clothes shops, mobile phone shops, sandwich shops, coffee shops and more mobile phone shops. Did I mention coffee shops? Back in the 90s, the place may have seriously needed a makeover, but at least it had variety in its retailers (which even included four music shops alone, compared to a sorry one as of today), and this extended to the kind of independent places where a local artist can sell their works. These days any such craft shop either no longer exists, are quite out of the way or can only re-sell your wares at a price when you'll lose money by doing so. A frustrating shame.

On the other hand, it's times like this when despite being over the worst of the recession, finances are hard for many people and creativity is a common outlet. The thriving Sheffield music scene in the late 1970s and early 80s is a classic example of bursting creativity during hard times. Part of me feels we need something like that again, for a kind of cultural boost.

Happy Birthday, Mr Bowie.

2012-01-09T03:17:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe David Bowie is suddenly 65. For the last 8 years, he's remained quiet and elusive, with no media interviews, just a couple of guest performances and only CD and DVD reissues, yet his profile remains as high as it has ever been, and his influence on today's music is ever-present. In short, David Bowie is just as relevant today as he was back at the height of Bowiemania in the 70s.

Bowie's music has influenced generations. His creativity and integrity is unrivalled and his back catalogue is vast and diverse – yet the majority of his music cannot be pigeonholed and doesn't sound it's age nor of its time.

For a long time, Bowie's flame-haired, lycra-wearing Ziggy Stardust persona was regarded as his pinnacle, but over the last decade, Ziggy's been ousted a little in favour of Bowie's "Berlin Trilogy" of albums in the late 70s – Low, Heroes and Lodger. These albums, Low and Heroes in particular, have had a significant influence on today's music scene, perhaps moreso than Ziggy (and indeed on acts over the last 20 years, such as Suede and Nine Inch Nails). There is still something curious about this trio of albums; fascinating and unusual music to explore, made at quite a troublesome period in his life. Yet in the decade that followed Bowie would surprise himself by being propelled to a level of superstardom he never anticipated. His classic 80s hits, "Ashes to Ashes", "China Girl" and "Let's Dance" are still regularly heard on a day to day basis, and while they are at the more commercial end of his musical spectrum, there's no denying their lasting brilliance.

In recent years, Bowie's work in the 1990s has finally started to receive the praise and acknowledgement it was denied at the time. 1993's 'comeback' Black Tie White Noise spawned the top ten hit "Jump They Say", arguably one of his strongest singles. It's follow-up, the under-appreciated Buddha of Suburbia is an absolutely essential piece of work, and sits well alongside the aforementioned Berlin albums. Mis-marketed as a soundtrack to the series at the time of release in late 1993, Buddha was in fact a fully fledged Bowie album, but was overshadowed by the retrospective Singles Collection . But as with Low, Buddha of Suburbia recently received long overdue praise, largely thanks to it's repackaged reissue in 2007.

Bowie hit another creative peak in 1995 with the release of 1.Outside, Bowie's last concept-driven album, which a surprising 17 years later, still sounds as fresh, exciting and innovative as it did upon its release . Yet again, the album received mixed reviews at the time but today it is rightfully regarded in much higher esteem. It's fair to say that after a rough ride in the late 80s and a brief hiatus, Bowie's creativity flourished in the 1990s and beyond, with a work rate comparable to his late 70s output and each new release being hailed by critics as "his best since 1980's Scary Monsters"). Bowie's exploration with electronic music (which even included a hint of drum & bass) culminated in 1997's Earthling, before returning to his guitar-based roots for his last trio of albums, starting with 1999's Hours.

Bowie's career peaked yet again in 2002 with the release of Heathen (his best album since Scary Monsters…), which reconfirmed Bowie's status and relevancy, drawing its inspiration from his own back catalogue and various phases of his career. Rather than the short European tours he had become accustomed to doing, Bowie was once again performing all over the world, in what seemed to be one long, relentless tour between 2002–2004, with his last new studio album, Reality, released in 2003 (also his best album since Scary Monsters).

Sadly the tour took its toll on poor David, ending prematurely following a heart scare in the summer of 2004. Fans all over the world have since been waiting with baited breath for news of a new album or live performance, but with no news of any, may have to unwillingly accept that their Starman has gone into semi-retirement, choosing only to act occasionally. If David has taken a step back, then he's certainly earned it – who can deny him a leisurely lifestyle with his wife and daughter, after a lifetime of non-stop writing, recording and performing? And what's to say in this time he hasn't written or recorded new music? It's in his blood after all. David Bowie thrives on creativity; when he's not making music, he's painting. A multi-faceted artist of sorts, there's always something to be done, whether it be for his own enjoyment or general release.

In one sense, it isn't possible for Bowie to "stop". For even if a new David Bowie album never hits the shelves, his legacy will continue indefinitely. Few artists can claim such diversity and longevity with their work, and nobody else has changed and adapted to fashions, trends and styles quite like Bowie. Although David has always remained humble about his success, he can take pride in the impact his work has had, and I'm sure that if Bowie has something new to say, he won't say it until the right moment.

Having known his music from an early age, it feels like an integral part of my make up, and certainly a constant inspiration on my own creativity. It's become a soundtrack to life, with so many memories attached to so many songs. The ultimate high of being a fan of any musician is the life experience, and I've been lucky enough to see David live twice, on the Outside tour in 1995 and again on 2003's Reality tour. Two very special events and amazing shows which I'll never forget.

Happy Birthday, Mr Bowie.

Hipgnotised

2011-12-14T02:27:00.000-08:00

Although a plethora of artists influence my work, ranging from classic sci-fi and fantasy artists to the old masters of surrealism, one of the biggest artistic influences for me has been that of musician Peter Gabriel.

Not only does Gabriel's music inspire me artistically, but it was the accompanying visuals to his work that originally caught my eye. The images are always a perfect match for the music. His groundbreaking videos to tracks such as "Steam" and "Digging in the Dirt" absolutely blew me away, but it was really his early album covers by design company Hipgnosis which really inspired me to become a graphic designer. The raindrops on the car bonnet of his debut album; the torn away scratch marks on the second release and the iconic melted face of his third album all made a significant and lasting impression on me.

I remember at the age of 15, when I first discovered his music and started buying up his back catalogue with what little spending money I had – back then, CDs cost no less than £15 a piece, so I'd find myself doing odd jobs for my grandmother and babysitting for the family across the street, in order to save up enough to buy these sacred albums! The first Gabriel album I bought was 1992's Us, just after it's release, followed by his best-of compilation, Shaking the Tree (on cassette – remember those?!), and in the fold-out inlay card, there was a series of tiny thumbnails of his album covers, and these absolutely fascinated me. I'd walk into HMV and find the albums and stare longingly at the full-size covers, quite often earmarking the next album on my purchase list by cover preference!

During my GCSE year at school, I drew an A2-size version of Gabriel's classic So album cover in my art class – my art teacher went on to tell me how he had seen him performing with Genesis at Sheffield City Hall in the early 70s. That same piece of artwork was presented as part of my portfolio when I was interviewed for art college, and to my delight, the lecturer interviewing me, instantly recognised it.

If I ever get the chance to meet Gabriel (it's high on my list of ambitions!), I'd want to thank him not only for providing a soundtrack to my life, but for inspiring my entire career in design and art. Even his work ethic (decade-long gaps between albums aside) is an inspiration, and I would just love to visit his Real World Studios and feel the creative buzz in the atmosphere. I've always been a believer that places, rooms or buildings can have certain creative vibes, and that place must be bursting with them!

ArtWeb interview

2011-12-12T02:17:00.001-08:00

Here's an interview I gave to ArtWeb recently:
Enter-the-sci-fi-fantasy-world-of-artist-alex-storer

A year of hope and awakening...

2011-12-08T08:55:00.000-08:00

Well, December already. This time last year, I was working on my painting Hope, and thinking it was the best thing I'd done to date, which at the time, it was. Every new painting often feels like your best to date, and with each one, you also learn something new, whether it be a painting technique or the discovery of a Photoshop brush – something more often than not, you wish you'd used on your previous work!

Since early 2010, it's safe to say I've been "unbottling" - picking up where I'd left off in fine art over a decade earlier, with a relentless artistic outpouring which I'm now proud to call my portfolio. I've learned a lot in a short space of time, and I have produced well over 20 digital paintings; over half of which this year alone, including Awakening, which is the one piece I'm the most proud of, being my first to go on public display at the Brave New Worlds exhibition in Richmond Upon Thames in September. Awakening is now safely back with me, and I'm looking forward to finding more opportunities to showcase it, among others.

I'm also looking forward to producing more art and hopefully experimenting with some new subject matters, as well as continuing my current series of Hibernus paintings.

Onwards and upwards...

New artwork - "Hibernus" series

2011-11-23T04:25:00.000-08:00

I'm currently working on a series of pieces which I have given the seasonal title of Hibernus.

What started out initially as an exercise in painting snow and ice has evolved into this suite of artworks exploring the snow-covered planet of Hibernus, with your subtle hints of other-worldliness along the way. Three pieces are currently in production, with two of them possibly completed with a fourth to follow. Maybe even a fifth. In the meantime, here's a preview...

Why the BBC are killing Doctor Who (again).

2011-11-22T23:48:00.001-08:00

So it's Doctor Who's 48th anniversary today. Which is great. Happy Birthday, Doctor! So no better way to celebrate than with a big, long, grumpy old fan rant. I might ask myself why I'm taking the time to slate my all-time favourite TV show. The same programme that I have been obsessed with for over 30 years, invested a fortune in, and that has fascinated and inspired me from day one.

But for me, the thing they call Doctor Who on TV now, no longer fits my interest, love, vision and expectation of the show. It's become something different with the producers putting more importance into how slick, glossy, modern and trendy it looks, rather than getting good, strong, original storylines. And when the odd bit of excellent and innovative writing does come along, it's crammed into 45 fast minutes and effectively diluted. In addition, the series has become predictable and repetitive, almost like it has to stick to the formula which the BBC feel safe with (and ultimately make the most money).

Which leads me on to how the entire series has been vastly cheapened by all the marketing, branding, spin-offs and merchandising. While it's been great to have toy Daleks back on the shelves, it's gotten so big that Doctor Who is literally everywhere. You name it, you can get a Doctor Who branded version of it. And not every product is necessarily of a decent quality. Sometimes it's actually got to the point where I'm sick of the sight of Matt Smith's crazed visage and Karen Gillan's soulless gawp looking at me everywhere I go.

It might be good TV, but is it good Doctor Who? I don't know any more - it feels like a different show entirely. Fiction has become fairytale fantasy and any science has been replaced by gobbeldygook, in order to make sure you don't actually need to use your brain to watch the show. It's become a children's show in a family timeslot. For me, it's no longer the Doctor Who I loved (instances of randomly landing on an alien world and getting entangled in the goings on are so few and far between to begin with), the (un-necessary and over complicated) story arcs take too much importance and all of these overly-marketed add-ons don't do it any favours. It's become a marketable product and a brand rather than a series. An example of the mass-consumer and media-driven (sad) times we now live in.

Then there's all the spin-offs. The worst being your "exclusive" little episodes whenever a charity opportunity calls (no, it's not 'canon'), and the tired, un-necessary Christmas specials. Sorry, Christmas Episodes, as there's never anything special about them. Every year, the same old festive romp, which almost goes against the very ethos of the show and usually blatantly ripping off some other classic tale in the process.

The Doctor Who Magazine has become as boring and predictable as the show itself, with covers and content so similar each time, they might as well be sending me the same issue every month. The days when people could write or email letters to the magazine seem to have gone, with the "editors" simply now opting to choose comments posted on bloody Facebook, usually by the same people. It's become groundhog day while ever the season is on air; every article and feature being the same old load of relentless backslapping and 'we know more than you and are not telling' sort of attitude that goes with it. It seems nowadays the only time anything interesting happens on the magazine pages is when one of the classic series actors passes away. This isn't right for a series with 48 years of legcay!

The recent articles on a possible film – with a reboot – made me think. On the one hand there simply does not need to be a Doctor Who film (it's a series! And look what happened last time!), but it does need a reboot. It's become tired and predictable. The mystery of the Doctor has long since gone, him having become some universally infamous character, rather than somebody who 'was never there'. And with only two episodes from the last series that I would even consider watching again, I really think the series is in dire need of a reboot too. Matt Smith may have found his feet in the role and is doing a fine job, but that's about where it ends. For me, the first two series of "new" Who have been the best, the first standing out as most original and creative and true to the spirit of the original.

And the fans seem to be more divided than ever, ranging from those who are overly pleased with everything to the ones who are pleased with nothing and are prepared to stamp their feet about it. I've no idea where I fall, but it's the sheer sense of disappointment and frustration with the way the series has gone, that lead to this rather unfortunate rambling. Part of me wonders if the show has run its course again and needs resting for a while, in order to regenerate.

And the BBC worry me. They cull Confidential. Likewise with Hustle and now Shooting Stars. They no longer know what's good. Sooner or later, all that'll be left to watch on the BBC will be the never-ending diarrhea of Eastenders and Holby City.

I just hope, before tuning out completely that there are some radical changes afoot in order to keep the show on our screens for a while longer, and a chance for Steven Moffat to prove he isn't just a two-story wonder.

Postcard prints now available

2011-10-04T01:40:00.001-07:00

Our limited edition pack of 4 art print postcards is now available to buy via the new online shop page:

Buy prints!

What makes somebody buy a painting? (Poll results)

2011-10-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

What makes somebody buy a painting? (Poll results)

Last Patrol

2011-10-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd go into a little more detail into the making of my most recent painting, Last Patrol. I began with a digital sketch, under the working title "Grounded", continuing the theme of space exploration and the fear of being stranded on alien worlds.

This was the first sketch, which I did using the Intuos tablet (my initial sketches are usually pencil on paper):

Happy with the general composition, I opened a new canvas with the sketch as a layer which I could work over and continually refer to. I started off by blocking in the snowy background.

The next step was to create the half-submerged crashed spaceship. I wanted to give the impression that the viewer could only see a portion of what was clearly a bigger ship, so it's mainly the booster section that is on show, but with a conveniently located escape hatch!

Following this, I worked on some of the atmosphere; snow and cloud, and began to paint in the main astronaut's figure.

The final stage was the addition of the silhouetted opening which frames the image – this could be a nearby cave. I wanted to create a tension and feeling of apprehension as the figure gazes into the unknown.

Finally, details like astronaut's reflective visor, the planet's outer rings and various shadows and ice are added, and here is the end result!

Postcard prints and PKD

2011-09-28T11:08:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce a limited edition set of four postcards featuring my works, Awakening, Prophecy, Big Dog and Hope. These will be available to buy via the website very soon, and I'm also hoping to have them on sale at a couple of local craft shops here in Sheffield too. Watch this space!

I'm getting towards the end of Second Variety, the second collection of early short stories by Philip K Dick. Some fantastic stories in here, and of a very different writing style for Dick. Small Town is haunting in its Twilight Zone-esque way, Second Variety is crying out to be a film, Planet for Transients might just inspire a future painting and the short I originally bought the book for, The Adjustment team, is radically different to the recent film adaptation, The Adjustment Bureau. In fact it's safe to say that the film is loosely based on Dick's original concept, and that's about it. Still good reading though - a talking dog on the first page - what more could you want?!

Brave New Worlds: 25 artists chosen for Utopias and Dystopias at Richmond's Riverside | Culture24

2011-09-19T15:51:00.000-07:00

Brave New Worlds: 25 artists chosen for Utopias and Dystopias at Richmond's Riverside | Culture24

Prints for sale... soon... hopefully!

2011-09-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

Currently in the process of getting a small selection of artworks produced as postcard-style prints. All being well, these will be available via the website.

Walter Tevis - Mockingbird

2011-09-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

With its eyecatching cover illustration, Mockingbird is a novel which has been tempting me on and off for a few years. I finally bought it, and have been absorbed in it for the last week, right until turning that final page just an hour ago.

Mockingbird is one of the most engaging and thought-provoking dystopian books I have read to date. The quirky blurb on the back cover doesn't properly prepare you for the story you're about to follow. Mockingbird falls somewhere in between Farenheit 451, Brave New World and Tevis' own The Man Who Fell to Earth.

Written in 1980, Mockingbird tells the classic tale of how man created robots to help then, ultimately becoming reliant on the robots and technology, resulting in the downfall of society – and it's some time after this that the book begins. The story is set in New York, in an initially undetermined future, where humanoid robots make up a large part of society and the government. Buildings lie abandoned and overgrown and the population is sterile. There are no children. People cannot read. What remains of the human race spend their days doped up and high, dependent on freely-dispensed Sopor pills, avoiding eye-contact and 'privacy invasion', not learning to love or make love, with 'quick sex' being merely a pastime.

Mockingbird brings together a trio of protagonists, starting with Robert Spofforth, a Black, towering youthful Make Nine robot. The last Make Nine ever made, with a brain fuelled by real human memories from a long-dead creator. Spofforth is troubled by his fragmented dreams and memories and has only one thing on his mind - his own death. However his inhibitor circuits prevent him from self-destruction. Spofforth continues his duties as University Dean and oversees maintenance of the other worker robots throughout the city and the psychic Thought Buses.

One day Spofforth meets Bentley – a man who can read. The chapters which follow cleverly alternate between Spofforth and Bentley, and follow Bentley's discovery of reading, writing journal entries and watching archive films. Bentley feels that something isn't right. Something under the surface; something about his upbringing and conditioning. He starts to question things. Why are the children in the streets robots? Why are there no young people? Why can't people read? Why do people immolate themselves in public? Why are the animals in the Zoo robots? And it was whilst at the Zoo that he meets Mary Lou – a woman who somehow escaped the conditioning in her youth.

We follow Bentley and his relationship with Mary Lou. Together they break every rule in the book. She moves in with him, he teaches her to read, and together they explore fragments of the forgotten world that went before the age of robots and sterility – until Spofforth intervenes.

Mockingbird almost reads like a film. It depicts a troubled society in a near future, in a very assertable way. It is sad, haunting, unsettling and exciting. The storytelling perhaps follows a more commonplace style from the midpoint of the book, but never drifts too far away from the main story to become tiresome. Tevis' characters are solidly developed and believable. I found myself feeling for them - even Spofforth - and desperate to read on at the end of every chapter.

The themes may not be anything radical or revolutionary; we've seen and read it all before in various forms, but they're done so well in Mockingbird. I don't doubt that a well-read copy of this book sits on many a film director's bookshelf, and deservedly so. Yet Mockingbird feels undervalued and seldom mentioned, which is a great shame.

Brave New Worlds exhibition - private viewing 05.09.11

2011-09-07T17:06:00.000-07:00

It was good to get down to Richmond Upon Thames this week, for the private viewing of Brave New Worlds. Twenty-five works of art make up the exhibition - all of which had been painstakingly selected from over 500 submissions.

My painting, Awakening greets you by the door as you go in, which is nice. What struck me about the exhibition was the wide variety of styles, mediums and interpretations on offer, although the majority of the work depicted dystopias, which perhaps reflects the mental state of the nation at this present time!

It was a good turn out - the two small exhibition rooms in Richmond's Old Town hall were literally jam packed with people at one point during the evening. I had the pleasure of talking to fellow artists Martin Kerrison and Freeda Sangra, whose painting No-One Looks Evil in the Eye and Wants It was my personal favourite work on show and simply dominated the wall it adorned.

What with the Out of this World... exhibition of sci-fi art currently running at the British Library and now Brave New Worlds just a few miles away in Richmond, it does feel like a healthy and exciting time once again for science-fiction artwork. Let's hope it's just an indication of the shape of things to come!

Talk in Pictures gallery

2011-09-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

I finally got round to adding my gallery of synaesthesia artwork to the website:

Talk In Pictures gallery

Brave New Worlds - now open!

2011-09-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

The Brave New Worlds exhibition opened today. There is an official opening night/private viewing on Monday evening, which I'm heading down to Richmond for. Exciting times!

BRAVE NEW WORLDS Press Release

2011-08-30T06:43:00.001-07:00

Brave New Worlds, Riverside Gallery, Richmond

3^rd September-5^th November 2011

Utopias and dystopias are the themes of the forthcoming exhibition at the Riverside Gallery in Richmond. Encompassing a wide range of media such as painting, drawing, photomontage, fused and painted glass, digital art and sculpture, Brave New Worlds brings together a collection of 25 works by local and national artists.

For centuries, artists and writers such as Hieronymus Bosch, Sir Thomas More and Aldous Huxley have explored ideas of utopianism and its dark, antithesis. As we move forward, widespread technological advancement, industrial expansion, and increased consumerism continue to affect our daily lives and change our environments both in positive and destructive ways. Fantastical Utopias are often upheld as idyllic retreats from the dystopian realities we face domestically and globally.

This exhibition offers varied perspectives on the theme of Utopias and Dystopias: the unchartered territories of dreams and reverie, imagined Orwellian societies and otherworldly, alien realms. Alongside the imaginary and spiritual, inspiration has been drawn from everyday life - the news, popular culture, films, and novels. Reactions to war and violence, the destruction of natural environments, the power of politics, media, and propaganda, and the adverse effects of materialism also feature as important themes in many of the works.

Exhibiting artists include: Lulu Allison, Gareth Barnett, Samuel Capps, Raquel Helena Louro Felgueiras, Gareth Gardener, Catherine Hargreaves, Martin Kerrison, Neil Metzner, Tutte Newall, Patrick O’Donnell, Charles Pearson, Nick Pollen, Paul Richards, and Alex Storer.

Brave New Worlds continues the successful run of open exhibitions organised by Orleans House Gallery in Twickenham. Each year, this open exhibition opportunity helps over 200 national and international artists to showcase their work in group exhibitions across three galleries: the Orleans and Stables Galleries in Twickenham and the Riverside Gallery in Richmond. Recent open exhibitions include the acclaimed Making It/ Faking It: Copies, Homages, pastiches and Picturing Science.

Curator of Exhibitions and Collections Mark De Novellis states: “This potent theme has captured the imagination of artists for centuries. Where formerly, western artists would depict visions of Arcadian Edens and cataclysmic scenes of Judgment Day, contemporary artists have translated these concepts to reflect the here and now, while revealing our hopes and fears of possible worlds and potential futures.”

The exhibition runs until 5^th November 2011 and admission is free.

Riverside Gallery

Old Town Hall

Whittaker Avenue

Richmond

TW1JP

Opening Times:

Monday: 10.00-6.00pm

Tuesday: 10.00-5.00pm

Wednesday: 10.00-6.00pm

Thursday: 10.00-5.00pm

Friday: 10.00-5.00pm

Saturday: 10.00-1.30pm

Sunday: CLOSED

Too much choice?

2011-08-26T08:23:00.000-07:00

I'm a grumpy old man. I'll admit that. Except I'm not old. OK, so just grumpy! Anyway. Sometimes the internet feels too big. Too much out there. In the past, you had to use that funny thing called a phone (note the absence of the word 'mobile'), and when push came to shove, you had to go and meet somebody in person! Proofs had to be sent by post and things generally took a long time to happen. There's a whole generation growing up for whom the speed and accessibility of the internet is perfectly normal – and they look at their parents gone out when they tell them about the world before the internet and smartphones.

But I digress. Sometimes it just feels like there's so much – too much – to try and get involved in. Have a Facebook page, get a Twitter account, join forums, get a website, join DeviantArt, get a Flickr account – it's almost endless! And do we need all of it? And if you try and participate in all of it, do you simply end up doing a halfhearted job? With so many people doing the same thing at the same time, it makes you wonder how on earth and even if you're going to get noticed. Although in theory it's quite simple – so long as your work stands out – but it comes back to my previous point of feeling swamped by technology. Now there are websites where you can go and sketch online, you can paint by finger on your iPad or iPhone. Let's not forget there's those great things called "Pencils" though, which you use on that paper stuff!

Although I love technology and the convenience and speed it presents, not to mention the digital art medium (i wouldn't be the same without it!), I do sometimes miss the simplicity of days gone by - or lack of so many outlets, to put it a different way. Yet at the same time we're in an age where your work can reach other parts of the world within seconds and be seen by thousands of people who would previously never see what you're doing. It's a funny old time. I wonder where we're going.

Prophecy

2011-08-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

I posted a half-finished version of this painting a few weeks ago. Here's the almost finished thing.

Sci-fi art on the rise

2011-08-18T02:15:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or does sci-fi art feel like it's on the rise at the moment? A couple of weeks ago there was an article on the BBC News website publicising the lovely new Chris Foss book. When was the last time we saw an article on space art on the BBC?! Magazines such as ImagineFX stand out in the shelves on newsagents, and the internet is bursting with great artwork – in fact it feels a bit like too much at times, which is part of the reason I haven't yet become a regular poster on forums – it's easy to feel lost or swamped. But on the other hand, these are great places to get honest feedback and discuss arty things with other arty people.

In fact, it's not just sci-fi art that's growing, but digital art. And by that I mean painting. About ten years ago computer art – especially sci-fi art – basically meant rendered 3D stuff. It was everywhere, with artists like Steve Stone taking centre stage. Even books on fantasy or sci-fi art were full of epic CGI. But for me, I always felt that it lacked soul and emotion. Where was the touch of the artist's hand and where was their personality? All absent. The imagery may have been pixel perfect and lifelike, but to me it no longer felt like artwork. I find that when it comes to digital painting, the atmosphere and personality of a piece are key to its success.

Either way it feels like the tables have turned a little, and while CGI has found its vocation in movies and is now capable of producing stunning, lifelike visuals such as those seen in Avatar or Tron Legacy, hand-painted artwork is clearly back to stay. Maybe people have realised what they had been missing in artwork and maybe Photoshop had been used to make montages for far too long – another article on the BBC recently hinted at the return to the sadly forgotten trend of hand-drawn film posters. No matter how good a 3D piece is, you still can't beat a good painting.

We are in an age where we're engulfed with technology, sometimes to the point of insanity, as there are very few things you can do that don't have to be done via some sort of screen, whether it's on your phone, at the bank and of course, on the computer. But with that in mind, it's a good time to be a digital artist. Looking back to my days pushing pixels around on an Amiga and my first Photoshop work on Apple Macs in the mid-90s, the software and hardware is finally at just the right place for digital painting, and it's encouraging to see so much talent out there on the world wide web.

Sunday afternoon speedpainting

2011-08-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

I've had this image of two waterfalls in my mind for a while now, so I thought I'd try and get something down. Created in about 3 hours. Now it just needs a title.

Awakening - framed!

2011-08-13T11:21:00.000-07:00

Facebook page

2011-08-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

I've just made a page about myself on Facebook, which seems a bit ridiculous. But everybody's got one, so why shouldn't I?!

Alex Storer on Facebook

The science-fiction artwork of Alex Storer

2011-08-13T04:52:00.000-07:00

The science-fiction artwork of Alex Storer

My latest piece, The Water's Edge is now finished and up on the site along with various stages of the painting process.

Site updates

2011-08-06T06:08:00.000-07:00

I've added the new trendy 'Share' buttons to my site, which appear to be all the rage at the moment. So please help spread the word, by posting to your Facebook pages, Twitter feeds etc!

I have also added a new links page. Not much on there at the moment, as I'm pretty selective, but it'll develop over time.

And I've been working on a new piece of space art. It's not finished yet, but currently looks like this:

Brave New Worlds exhibition

2011-07-30T05:49:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that my work, Awakening, has been selected for part of an upcoming exhibition of utopian and dystopian artwork, "Brave New Worlds", at the Riverside Gallery in Richmond, near London from September 3rd.

Work in progress

2011-07-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

"Prophecy"...another piece depicting doom and gloom! It's almost there I think, I just need to add a bit more detail to the buildings and work on some of the textures a little. Not my most polished piece, but quite spontaneous, with more of an illustrated/sketchy kind of feel. Inspired my the recent exhibition of John Martin paintings, I mentioned earlier.

Painting songs

2011-07-12T01:51:00.000-07:00

In a previous entry I talked about the fusion of art and music. For years I thought it was perfectly normal to associate colours and textures with sounds and music. Then one day I read about synasthesia, and realised that this was not something everybody experienced, and a few years ago, I decided to put it to the test.

Peter Gabriel's music remains closest to me, as he was the first artist I seriously got into at the impressionable age of 15. His use of music and imagery, from his album sleeves to song videos simply blew me away, and in fact probably inspired me to become a graphic designer. However, a few years ago, I decided to try and 'illustrate' several Gabriel songs, based on the colours, forms and textures that came to mind whilst playing the music.

I produced about 6 pieces in total, all of a similar abstract style – which wasn't at all planned. I did send copies of the finished pieces to Peter's fanmail address. I wonder if he ever got to see them. I haven't looked them for a while, but upon doing so this morning, I'm thinking it's time they went back online, maybe in a new section of my main website. In the meantime, shown above is one of them, and my personal favourite, which was created to Gabriel's track, "Come Talk To Me".

Boy, have we got a vacation for you... for you... for you... for you...

2011-07-11T04:32:00.000-07:00

Westworld.

The classic 1973 sci-fi thriller written by Michael Crichton, remains my all-time favourite SF movie. It's got everything - an unsettling ambience, a haunting soundtrack, the future, the past, Yul Brynner's finest performance, technology gone wrong (surely Crichton's favourite subject!), a gunslinging robot on the rampage and moustache-ridden 1970s style sex with androids. Well, I'm not sure of the latter is a prerequisite of a great movie, but it's one of the may facets of Westworld.

Flares and facial hair aside, it's one of those movies which still stands up strong today. Any big budget remake would never recapture the tense atmosphere and suspense of the original, not to mention Fred Karlin's grating, nightmarish soundtrack. The bulk of the movie sees the manic gunslinger robot pursuing Richard Benjamin's character through the inanimate theme-park worlds of Medieval World, Roman world and West World, in a superbly directed sequence of events - the nightmare robot who refuses to die, which Terminator used so well was started here.

I was probably around 7 or 8 years old when I first saw Westworld, and it was one of the few movies which utterly terrified me, and is one of the few movies of it's kind that I can still enjoy over again today with the same sense of thrill and excitement.

What a shame they had to go and make Futureworld!

Music for painting

2011-07-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

I find it very difficult to work without music. I've always felt there's a certain artistic inspiration to be had from music, particularly when it's the more textured, atmospheric kind. How I got through all my art classes at school and college without music, I'll never know! OK, so maybe I can work just fine without it - but much better with it, where I can enclose myself in a musical bubble of concentration.

My taste generally consists of iconic and influential artists of the last 40 years. I'm talking people such as Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, Gary Numan, John Foxx, Kraftwerk and Mike Oldfield etc. However
a lot of the time, I may choose instrumental music, as somehow it often feels more suited to the kind of paintings I produce. I
n particular I'm a big fan of Jean Michel Jarre, and have been since an early age. When I was little, every time I heard my dad listening to Jarre's classic Oxygène album, it would send me to some place else. I still have associations of that album with a superb book of SF and fantasy art called Space Wars, Worlds and Weapons, published in the late 70s.

Oxygene 7-13,
Jarre's 1997 follow-up to his 1976 masterpiece, was the first thing I bought with my first ever paycheck. I remember the thrill of getting home and putting that album on and being swept away across epic dreamscapes. Much of Jarre's work, in particular the two Oxygène albums – as their titles and album covers suggest – deal with environmental issues. You only need look at Michel Granger's striking artwork on Oxygène to know that under the famous melody, it's a suite of music centered around our own destruction of the Earth.

But themes aside, this kind of music for me is just perfect for painting environments and landscapes; no lyrics to dictate otherwise, and, being a synaesthete, the music affects my mood and the colours of the piece I'm working on. It's with that in mind, that I often find whatever music I'm listening to, integral to the creative process. But it has to be the right music!

John Martin - Painting the Apocalypse

2011-07-01T06:51:00.000-07:00

Sheffield's Millennium Gallery heralded a surprise for me today - a free (and impressively big) exhibition of paintings by British Romantic painter, John Martin. Entitled "Painting the Apocalypse", it showcases Martin's work which depicts the end of days, often with strong Biblical undertones.

I had never heard of John Martin, but it sounded interesting, so in I went. I was simply astounded by the magnificence of his paintings and sketches, not to mention the scale of some of them. The light, the colout. Epic proportions. I never associated the Romantic movement with apocalyptic imagery – paintings well out of their time! Absolutely wonderful - I'm going back for a second, more in-depth look.

John Martin: "The Great Day of His Wrath" (1851-3)

Big Dog

2011-06-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a speed painting I did last night, inspired by a scene from Brian Aldiss' Non-Stop. I suppose this is a bit of a spoiler for anybody who hasn't read it, but I'll say no more, other than it's an absolutely amazing book.

That profound effect…

2011-06-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

My artwork takes a great deal of inspiration from what I'm reading. Up until my early twenties, I'd never been much of a reader of novels. One day (in the poignant year of 2001 I might add!), all that changed. I don't even remember what possessed me to decide to walk into Waterstones that day and go straight for the sci-fi section – the Arthur C. Clarke shelf in particular. The stunning array of cover artwork which adorned the SF Masterworks range of books from Orion was utterly compelling, and it was one painting in particular, by Chris Moore, which instantly grabbed my attention and sucked me in. The book was Clarke's The City and the Stars. And thus began my obsession…

Since then, I've been slowly working my way through the SF Masterworks range of books (and a few others). On many occasions upon finishing a book, it's easy to think "that's the best thing I've ever read!", only to think the same thing about the next one. But from a visionary and inspirational point of view, I thought I'd start to list the books that have had a profound effect on me; novels which broadened my SF horizons and really changed the game. Of course this list will go on expanding and evolving, but here it stands, as of today...

THE CITY AND THE STARS by Arthur C. Clarke

Nothing will ever knock this off the number one spot for me. When you consider this was written in the mid-1950s, Clarke's vision of future technology and civilisation is absolutely astounding. Granted, there is perhaps a bit more fiction than science here, yet it is still believable, which is what is endearing about all of Clarke's work. One of my favourite themes is that of escape and discovery of an unknown outside world, and that's exactly what The City and the Stars presents us with, as we follow Alvin, in his lone quest to go beyond the domed city of Diaspar. The timeline may be a little far-fetched, but the technology of the self-sustaining, regenerating city and it's populous, generated by a central computer, is absolutely fantastic. Not only did this book fuel my own inspiration, but it introduced me to Clarke's work and turned me overnight into an avid reader. And I loved Chris Moore's cover artwork so much, I bought a signed print from him, which hangs on my wall with pride.

WHEN THE SLEEPER AWAKES by H.G. Wells

This book is something of a hidden gem; underrated, and seldom referred to. As with the above, When the Sleeper Awakes deals with a vision of the future, in this case a future version of London. The story follows Graham, an insomniac with suicidal tendencies. When on the brink of throwing himself off some cliffs in 18th Century Cornwall, a friend comes to his aid, and he suddenly falls into a trance-like slumber – for over 200 years. He awakens in a very different world, of chaos and disorder, only to find that he is not only the richest man alive, but the apparent owner of everything. This was one novel I simply could not put down, ultimately prompting me to paint a pivotal scene from the story, of Graham's awakening in the new world. For me this is Wells' best work, undoubtedly inspiring many literary brave new worlds for years to come.

RENDEZ-VOUS WITH RAMA by Arthur C.Clarke

The second of three Arthur C. Clarke books in this list, the story tells of a vast spinning cylindrical object heading towards Earth. A specialist team is sent to investigate and once inside this vast, mysterious object, they find a whole other world, though seemingly uninhabited. Clarke's vision is again, huge and awe-inspiring. It may well be his best writing in terms of vision and science, but it is his knack of writing and describing things with such mystery and intrigue which really makes Rama work. This book blew me away, although I've deliberately avoided any of the later follow-ups.

NON-STOP by Brian Aldiss

I write this as, I'm about to finish the last few pages of this novel, so although the final outcome is yet to be determined, it can't go without mention. A very character-based story, Non-Stop is one of the most exciting books I've read, full of twists and surprises, with enough subtle hints throughout to keep you guessing, but without giving too much away. The story follows Roy Complain, of the Greene tribe, who live in a metal complex overgrown with hydroponic plantlife. Complain decides to investigate the various rumours of worlds and races beyond the enclosure and the ponics, and is in for a rather alarming journey of discovery…

CHILDHOOD'S END by Arthur C. Clarke

The mysterious Overlords arrive in huge saucers over the world's major cities and bring order and peace… Yet another Clarke classic, and certainly the most epic novel I've ever experienced. I say 'experienced', as Childhood's End is more than just a damn good read. It spans generations, raises eyebrows and poses mind-blowing questions. Possibly Clarke's most clever writing, and a book to be enjoyed over again.

FLOW MY TEARS, THE POLICEMAN SAID by Philip K. Dick

I've come to realise that once you've read one PKD novel, you pretty much know what you'll be in for in many of the others. Although I'm yet to read his acclaimed Valis or Ubik, from what I have read to date, Flow My Tears… was the one that struck me the most. Cinematic in approach, almost comic book-like, the story takes place in a dystopian 1988, and follows the theft of TV star Jason Taverner's identity. As with many of Dick's other novels, such as The Penultimate Truth or The Simulacra, Government conspiracy forms a central theme, as do character crossover sub-stories and the overall subject of identity.

Okay, so my planned 'top five' became six, and that was without mentioning Joe Haldeman's The Forever War or numerous other Arthur C. Clarke novels such as The Songs of Distant Earth or Fountains of Paradise!

First blog

2011-06-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

Well, technically, it isn't my first blog. I've been blogging for years in one form or another, across various sites and subjects. This blog however, will be dedicated to my artwork and it's influences - which means I'll be talking a lot about whatever I'm reading at the moment.

Speaking of which, I recently read H.G. Wells' classic The War of the Worlds. I've no idea why it took me so long to get around to reading it, perhaps always having been content with the movie versions or the more accurate musical version. However, as with everything of Wells that I've read to date, the book blew me away - so epic, so visionary. And a thousand times better than any interpretation thus far!

This led to my attempt at creating some artwork, depicting one of the climactic scenes in the book. However, it looks unfortunately like it'll be one of those pieces which is left unfinished for a few months, if at all. Maybe I need a break from it, having got so far, but here is the early stages of the piece, raw and rough, and lacking most of the planned detail. But you start to get the idea...