Sunday, February 5, 2012

Encounter among the Melons

Sometime last year, while buying Melons, I had an encounter with a man wearing many colourful rings.
The story of the encounter can be found in an older post by clicking here>> 
I'd always wanted to redraw the Ring man with his glorious rings and finally managed to do so only yesterday. Here he is in improved Black and White - dark, shiny and magnificently South Indian, buying melons and wearing his rings.




16 comments:

Gwen Buchanan said...

his vibrant rings are the perfect balance to his charcoal persona... and the story to match.. beautiful shades and tones.. I love this.

Rod MacGregor said...

I like this...nice idea colouring the rings..probably not far from real perception.

Priya Sebastian said...

Thank you Gwen and Rod :-)

Prabha said...

Brilliant portrait!
High time illustrators get respect for their work, minimalistic design or otherwise. If there is a rate-card (its there in UK i think...Lynne Chapman had done a blogpost on that few months ago) by a reputed body for Indian environment, it would help matters considerably.

Anonymous said...

Totally hear you on this subject, Priya! Well said and hopefully, heard all over!

aneri_masi said...

This post makes me sad :( Why is it so hard to appreciate art?

I think you will like this blog:
http://www.artbizblog.com/

Rod MacGregor said...

I was absorbed by your image and didn't read the text...I have read it now. Well said..I don't like working for small fees either but they have been pushed down by different economies prepared to work for next to nothing. It's a big problem living in Europe when the payment for artwork is small.I have also found myself working speculatively through the internet as the prize for getting picked is usually higher..the only problem is the majority of the time you don't get paid...(crowdsourcing)

Anonymous said...

Good for you, you need to take a stand.
People are willing to Hundreds of thousands of Dollars for a good piece of art, atleast they can pay you a decent amount.
This is the reason why arts is so discouraged in India.The constant push to be an engineer/Doctor.
you do good work and ask your price, for crying out loud, even if you charged $50 an hour for your work and you spend 4-5 hours each illustration. Let them do the math. how come these magazines have no qualms paying bimbos/actresses for photo cover?
. Look at the amount the software developer charge for each hour of thier work.Stick to your ground and you will see a change. Shame on the publishers for exploiting a "starving" artist

Vineeta said...

I love the way you call a spade a spade. And I love your honesty and courage. I have always said this. I *LOVED* the illustration.

Anonymous said...

Hi Priya

I admire your art very much and its sad to know that people treat your art like vegetable mandi.

You own a pretty home, place a cup of chai and throw some random flowers and have sunlight streaming in make a picture with a digital camera! Viola you have an art and an artist. And your investment are a few good looking cups...Today, This is considered as ART and people who make these pictures are called artists. In such times real artists have to struggle. SAD!

A Sunny Yellow Window said...

Strongly put, I hope the relevant folks get this message loud and clear.

pRiyA said...

Thank you all for your comments and your support. I hope the awareness goes some way in improving payements to illustrators.

Unknown said...

Ring Man - fantastic drawing, Priya.

What you have written about illustration did need to be said. Artists should be paid a living wage for their work. In art, as in all things, you really do get what you pay for. Don't ever put your self or your work on sale. (I will try to do the same.)

pRiyA said...

Thanks again Karine, for dropping by and for all your comments. I think when artists stand up for something they inspire each other to do the same. Your life as an artist has always been inspiring to me.

Alicia Souza said...

Hello there,
I am a shiny new freelancing illustrator and I completely get what you're saying. There should be an unwritten rule about freelance illustration pricing. Infact I just got a mailer yesterday from a not-so-possible-now- client who said that he could go to an 'established firm' with my quote and thought freelancers are supposed to be affordable. I din't reply too positively.
Your illustrations are lovely by the way:)

Priya Sebastian said...

Uff! Affordable or just plain cheap?? Makes me so pissed to read that! Let him go to his 'established firm', he will never get the enthusiasm or the personalized care, skill and attention that a freelancer will give to a project.