VOTE FOR MARS

Voting for EMA is open. One of my favorite bands in the universe is a nominee. 30 SECONDS TO MARS.

Done purely type and shapes, using a font called "Birth of a Hero".

It's times like these I think Insomnia is my best friend. I decided to make some of these to kill time. I'll keep making these till one of my images gets chosen for the official 30 Seconds To Mars Newsletter. 

Vote for Mars (Arrows were the only addition to the font)

Vote for Mars, purely using type

If you wanna help the boys, give them a vote or three at the EMA website. 

I don't wanna see Lady Gaga winning, that's for sure!

Grab these two along with the one on my blog ~ Here.

Visualizing an Idea

Worship. My first painting.

I have a thing for tattoo designs, mostly resembling tribal tattoos, and occasionally they can be seen as objects, or can be interpreted in many different ways. It's all in the eye of the beholder. 

The day I finished this, I wrote in my journal:

"Worship - took me about a couple of weeks to finish, because I wanted this canvas to be special. 

The concept behind "Worship" is how the world below is a complete and utter mess, and how every body in the end worships or idolizes one thing. Religion taught us the worship of God. Other religions taught us to worship a certain power, such as love. In the end I believe people are worshiping one entity yet defined in various ways.

In modern society, idols can be anything or anyone. A singer, an actor, politician, or any successful figure. It can be fame, money, or even an addiction. Things or people idolized by the masses are lifted to a higher level, building a legion of blind followers. "

In the end this is just a personal view of what inspired me to paint this piece, and what was going on in my head while I completed it. It's an idea I wanted to visualize.

Monster

Sometimes you feel like a machine, designed to produce, slave away and die. When you work, that feeling is always there, like someone breathing down your neck.When pressure builds up, the feeling grows into a huge shadow of a monster, ready to consume your soul.

I don't know how to fight that monster. I'm not alone. In a world were living requires money, and money requires living, feeling consumed by what you do for a living is nothing new.

Trying to live life simply, without a job, and as cheap as possible is fun, but later, you get into trouble for being broke, or liability to other people around you.

I often wonder how I grew up too fast. how we all grew up too fast. If we don't stop to enjoy life every now and then, that monster becomes us. We become slaves of materials, of money, of wants and not needs. Unfortunately, in this age, there is a think line between the two, and they often collide, creating a sense stronger than a want or a need. And we can't have them unless we have funds.

Yes, I blame money for growing up too fast, and abandoning the simplicity of life as we knew it.
For everything, a price is paid.

The only thing in the end keeping me sane at this point is doing the things I love the most out side of work. If  i find a way to merge both, which I look forward to, I will never have to face my monster again.

"If you love your job, you won't have to work a day in your life."

Views

As a person, I've always believed in the "Organized Mess" ... unstable balance ... deliberate anarchy. Same goes for the art I make. Though there are fine lines drawing the boarders between design and art.
I do art for art's sake. I do design for career's sake. Passionate about both, and frankly, I really don't care if I ever make anything out of whatever I do.
Some people in Bahrain on the other hand, they care too much about the money, and sometimes that bothers me.

Few months ago, we were asked to submit our artwork for an interview in a local magazine. It was a feature on young artists in Bahrain. It was a good thing, and I'm not complaining about that, but artists are somewhat restricted here in Bahrain.

No nudity. No religiously offensive (or what might be interpreted as offensive) material. No inappropriate content culture -wise. Even when a piece contains violence, then have second thoughts before it goes public.
My friends and I were hovering around outside the National museum a few days back, and she was wondering:
Nad: "Why aren't there any nude sculptures here? Oh wait, then they'd all be covered with Abayas!"
Me: "Dude, then we'd have *Batmaaaaan* all over the place."
People should wake up and smell the coffee. People are becoming more and more open to ideas of violence and material that may or may not be appropriate to the culture surrounding them.

Society here also sees that religious pieces produced should only favor religion, and one religion in particular. Their religion, Islam. Not that  they're extremists or anything, but I guess this is where religion and culture mesh into one to create these boundaries that some artists choose to defy and rebel against.
Others are completely fine with anything, as long as it can really be considered art, and not just a piece that is half heartedly put together with no depth, meaning or purpose, or maybe just something done because the person enjoyed making, hence it looks really good.

One of the reasons I hated doing assignments for my design degree is the fact that I had to do it their way. I had to do it to get great grade, and be done with it. Some tasks I couldn't relate to on deeper, or emotional levels, and it bothered me. As much as I hated doing things just to get rid of them on a list, I had to do what I had to do. And that was that. Of course, working while studying design was a bit hard, considering 8 hours on Campus and another 8 in the office. It took its toll on my thinking skills for every assignment. Towards the end, I just did assignments because I wanted (NOT TO FAIL), as my passion faded. Design became a chore. A pain in the ass. Something I'd look at and go "OMG ... I have to DO this?!"
And then the semester ended. All was well.

Looking back at some things, I realized "Damn I became one of those people who do things half heartedly!". Becoming what you hate really shocks the living daylights out of you. I wish I could redo things, change my attitude a bit perhaps into a positive one and maybe I would have done things better.

I'll be back, hopefully in the Spring. Things beyond my control suddenly took over my life, a frail attempt to shatter dreams and a future that might have been. I guess I have a new future lying ahead now =P
Because of this series of unfortunate events that can only occur if you're somewhat cursed, I now have time for my art. Because of this, my mind is richer with ideas, rebellious determination, and will power to start over again if I have to. I will be a designer. I'll do this, not for the money, nor for fame. I'll use what I have to fight my battles in life.

Art is a weapon of mass destruction, or something beyond that. Art is a spark of hope when all hope fades.