All images and text supplied in this blog are the creative and intellectual property of Amelia 'Amz' Kelso, and are therefore copyright. Plagiarism, unauthorized use or inappropriate/offensive use of work will result in legal action under the Australian Copyright Act.

Sunday, November 6

Typography


Ahoy!
Totally just rediscovered some old typography exercises!
This was one of the first briefs I did in my course two years
ago... Hope you diggit. PS Shaun Of The Dead is (C) of it's
respective owners, not me (unfortunately).

PSS I love Simon Pegg.

Cheers,
Amz; x.

Sunday, October 2

Sept-Oct Update!



Ahoy!



I've been busy, here's a quick update...



These two were unused art for a CCV brief. Cancer Council Vic was looking for a promotional
illustration for the awareness of Cervical Cancer and the Gardasil vaccine. I didn't get the gig, but
I'm still damn proud of what I did.


I've also done this:


A Black-Moor tattoo commission. Cute! I love goldfish.

Also, just completed another piece just an hour ago, first major
illustration in a while...


Mm, Salty!... Tangled in pretzels, just how babes should be.

In the last month I also attended a Dr. Sketchy event and drew the gorgeous Lux St Sin!
Whew, I've been busy! No time to caption all of this in detail, just enjoy the images.

Cheers,

Amz; x


Sunday, August 28

Sunday, August 14

For The Love Of Goldfish


Ahoy!


T-shirt design. Available HERE for purchase.
I've been so busy, I moved into a studio, bought some amazing
boots and ran a couple competitions since my last post!
I'm busy busy busy so I don't have much time, but stayed tuned
for more goldfish art & some more wicked tees!

Cheers,
Amz; x

Friday, July 22

Show me the MUNNY!


Ahoy!

Quickly updating (I'm at work, oops...) on my project/completed piece
for the Villain munny comp!

Munny Catfish


Munny Catfish


Munny Catfish

That's all for now. Back to work!

Cheers.

Amz; x

Wednesday, July 6

Lazy Days.


Ahoy!

I've been super busy as of late (darn) as I'm now working full time in the CBD,
so there hasn't been much time for personal art. No fretting though, I've started to
paint a whole new piece and a large fashion collage, as well as three new tee designs!
It's all going quite slowly, but it is happening.

(I'm not dead!)

Speaking of the tee designs~ I am running a facebook competition to win
a RedBubble tee, of a theme of your choosing! Check out my page for more
details... Anywho, I've got to get to bed (Nana? Yes, yes I am) as I'm getting up
at six for work. u_____u'

Love~
Amz; x

Thursday, June 9

I have a website!

I have a website! by Amz Kelso
I have a website!, a photo by Amz Kelso on Flickr.

Ahoy!

That's right, last night I launched www.amzkelso.com and frankly... I love it! I'm super pleased with the way it turned out, and now I don't have to stress about it anymore.

Here's a shot of my home page. I have neat little rollovers and links etc.

Hope you take a look and tell me what you think of it! I need feedback. :) Also tell me what you think of my portfolio arrangement & selection. Something missing that should've been there...?

Anyway, I'm off to do some work. Tc.
Cheers, Amz.

Monday, June 6

Monsteraca!

Hopefully showing this in a future show. Monsteracas by Amz!
This one is called 'Maracatfish of the Pink Lagoon'. I know I'm lame,
but at least I'm good at crafts. ;)

Cheers, Amz.

Sunday, June 5

Candy Cattle

Candy Cattle by Amz Kelso
Candy Cattle, a photo by Amz Kelso on Flickr.

Ahoy!

Here's the latest piece, 'Candy Cattle', little darker than my usual work but I enjoy it. :)
It's also up on RedBubble for sale, so if you've been hankering for any of my prints (new or old) you'll be able to find them on my RB account here- http://www.redbubble.com/people/amzkelso

:D I've kind of dropped off the radar a little the last month, but everything's been a little crazy after All Aboard finished. We're planning our next exhibition and I've got a design client looking for a whole suite of work on a short deadline- crazy fun! So sorry about the dead blog. I swear I'm resurrecting it!

I've recently taken the time to photograph all my 3 dimensional art, so prepare for a flood of skateboards and musical instruments (by which I mean four, not a flood) haha. Stay tuned.

Lots of love, Amz; x

Tuesday, May 31

Latest and Greatest:


Ahoy!

Here's what I've been up to lately...


That was just a scribble.

This is, 'I Could Be Yours':


And I've also been painting that maraca, as shown in
my last post. He's going to look a little like this:

I fashioned his fins from Polymer clay, and am already hunting ebay
for spare maracas! 23cm long wooden ones. If you find some let me know,
I have about 5 planned for my next exhibition! Anyway, that's about all.

Love,
Amz; x.

Sunday, May 29

Maracatfish of the Pink Lagoon WIP

Ahoy!

I’m painting a maraca monster-style!
I call him ‘Maracatfish of the Pink Lagoon’.
This is just a work in progress shot,
next I’ll be adding scales and eventually fins.
Q. Should I make a whole series
of monster maracas? I’m thinking yes.

Cheers,
Amz; x

Tuesday, May 24

Leo

Leo by Amz Kelso
Leo, a photo by Amz Kelso on Flickr.

Ahoy!

'Leo', photoshop/Wacom. Made the texture myself. Dig? This is the latest illustration I've created, and I'm doing another one right now...

I was going to put it in an astrology competition on RedBubble, but I feel it's not directly... 'astrology-y' enough, if that makes sense. They want the entires to be plastered with the Leo star symbol but that's not my style! :(

In other news I feel like my personal life is a burning wreck, so excuse me if the next few posts are of angry pictures. Well, less angry more sad. You get the gist.

Oh well. Feedback on Leo?

Lions and Lies,
Amz; x

Wednesday, May 18

Shwimpia & Saints

Saintly Sinner Sketch

Saintly Sinner Sketch- just a scan. Lead, acrylic.

Shwimpi- Silver jewelry set

Shwimpi Silver Jewelry set- Pure silver & gemstone.
Earrings on sterling silver hooks. It looks a little tarnished here
but it’s just the lime sulfur I hadn’t wiped off yet- this was taken
minutes after finishing them! I’ve also done little cloud
earrings to match the Melbourne Rainy Clouds fimo pieces I did.

That's all! Just a quick update.

- Amz; x

Saturday, May 7

Tuesday, May 3

I'm in the Loop!


Are you?

To view my credz as an illustrator hit this link. If you've on The Loop
come follow me! If not, you should be.

Cheers,
Amz; x

Sunday, May 1

Tumblr!

Ahoy!




I feel like I'm slowly infecting the internet

one site at a time. I am yet to have my own

website/domain name which I should really

get on... I just don't have any money or web

design skills. :)



So, for now:






I am too tired to type anything more than this.



Cheers, Amz. x

Friday, April 22

Amz on Amitty!


Ahoy Crew,

Excited for Easter? You better be! I'm excited for yummy
breskva, (Slovenian peach-style biscuits... hard to explain), yay! I'm also
excited for my birthday just next week. In fact, I've already
got a present... a fancy new Canon camera! I love it. It's second hand
but it's in great nick. I am going to take photos all across the
Easter weekend... as soon as I get a CF card for him. That's
all I need to start shooting. Unfortunately when I went to
Ted's Camera house at highpoint, the guy at the counter had no
idea what he was doing and gave me the wrong card. Note to self,
next time go to the one in the city. They're better informed in the CBD.

Speaking of CBD- If you're in Melbourne, don't forget to pick up a copy
of Nubile Zine to read a classy interview with myself
and Kitty on our current show, All Aboard! It touches
on how this whole kerfuffle started, and how it's going
to continue. Quite an interesting read, if I do say so myself...
If you can't pick it up, you can hit it up online at some point
in May (I wish I knew, but Nubile is pretty chill and will
release it in their own time) at aprocessionofnubile.com,
just check on the zines link and find issue no.03! It's a pretty
neat publication, so beware as you'll probably get sidetracked
on their blog and spend your day going through their images...
I know I did.

In other news, Kitty and I have had a sit down and planned out
our next attack on the arts scene. All Aboard hasn't even been pulled
down yet and we're already beginning to organise the next one...
I swear, I'm such a lazy person when it comes to anything but illustration
and Amitty. I will work consistently and relentlessly to make sure I
have the perfect piece for a client or show, but when it comes to
tidying my room I am just godawful. I blame Kitty. Her work
ethic has rubbed off on me...

Don't forget to check out Amitty on Facebook, and
Amz Kelso on Facebook, I am holding another competition soon,
this time you will be able to win some custom jewellery I think!

(Make sure you're logged in to fb otherwise
you won't be able to check out the pages!)

The winner of the last comp, Dennis Ward, is having his Loveasaurus
print shipped on Tuesday/Wednesday. I am going to send it express...
that's right, regardless of cost, I ALWAYS POST EXPRESS! For some
reason I have never been able to send normal mail. It just never gets
to where it needs to be, it's ridiculous. I don't want my print crumpled
and discarded after travelling to the wrong home! The horror! I think I'm mail-lexic.

Anyway, I have fish to feed and a load of washing to put out.
Happy Easter by the way! Load up on lots of chocolate, and remember
to dance on Easter because you're not allowed to dance for four
days afterwards. It's Slovenian tradition.

Cheers;
Amz x

Tuesday, April 5

WIN! A hand-signed LOVEASAURUS print!


Ahoy!

I've started up a new competition, to win an 8"x 12" print
of my piece 'LOVEASAURUS' piece. Here's all you have to do to
go into the running...

and comment on any competition-related status to go into the
running to win an 12" x 8" Gloss Print of LOVEASAURUS
signed by myself and sent straight to you.... express baby!


Alternately, if you don't have a facebook, you can just buy one of the
prints from my Etsy, here. I post express, so you don't have to fret- it
will show up within three days in perfect condition.

So, the link to my official facebook page is just there, and
it's also on the sidebar. Have fun in the competition, I hope you
take part in it. If not, have a lovely day anyway!

Good luck!

Amz; x

Friday, April 1

Like my art on FACEBOOK!


Ahoy!

Quick one, I have done some printing today and will be getting
more tomorrow- Tom Wilson's edited beautiful photo prints
for the All Aboard show in fact! I was the editor, he was the photographer
and together we made magical clay things happen.

(Yeahh, I still have stuffed toys. Ones Tom made me and
some Japanese UFO catcher toys. I'm addicted to them!)


On a more professional and important note, I
finally updated my ancient deviantart, it's now current:
http://caustic-stars.deviantart.com/
AND I have made myself an official facebook. Like the
page & follow my art. There is also an official facebook
page for Amitty Studios as well! Check out the sidebar, you'll
find a like button. Hit it and away we go!

That's all.

dA and digital prints~
Amz; x.

Monday, March 28

Busy Bees... or Fish.


Ahoy,

There hasn't been much time for my own work because I've
been editing my boyfriend's photography for the upcoming
ALL ABOARD show! Wheew! It's all looking fantastic
so far, you can check out his ideas and subject matter up on
the Amitty Studios Blog. I'm on my second board, and loving it.
Nothing better than a killer icecream. Also, here's a snap of my
new fish, Baby Fugu. He is a Panda Moor and is very happy in
his new tank... He lives with Hugo the Black Moor. Also, for the
hell of it, here's a cute snap of Hugo (pronounced Hoo-Go)
being... well, cute!


See? He's a little Panda!


"I LOOOVE YOUUU!"

I adore my goldfish. I know that's a funny thing to say, as they
don't really do much other than swim around and eat food. But,
I love watching them and making them happy with nibbles and
toys in their tank.

See you all in two weeks for ALL ABOARD!

Lots of love and bubbles;
Amz, Baby Fugu & Hugo. x

Saturday, March 26

Super Quick Post!

WIP Shot 2: Board 2 by Amz Kelso
WIP Shot 2: Board 2, a photo by Amz Kelso on Flickr.

Homicidal Mr. Whippy. Acrylic on wood... a skateboard in fact! My second piece for the ALL ABOARD exhibition in Melbourne this April.

More info @ amittystudios.blogspot.com

Lovelovelove!

Amz.

Friday, March 18

Sketches #1


Ahoy!

I am finally putting up a few sketches I've
been threatening to... well, since I started this
blog last yet. Eep! They're super old, I still have
all the originals... don't judge me.









Yep. Just a few of the oldies. The style is quite different
to a lot of my newer pieces, but it's not too bad.

ANYWAY, I need to go paint my front door. Long story.

Sketches and Scaffolds.

Amz; x


Wednesday, March 16

BITCH




I had a few titles for this. First it was 'electricity', then 'spark',
and then when genius struck me and I added the lips it turned into 'BITCH'...
Alternately titled, 'Lazer Nipples from Shiny Town'.

I'm not SUPER happy with the lineart but I enjoy the colouring & the
pink body's textures to upload it. Textures from Mayang's again.

Photoshop CS3, Wacom Intuos 4.


... I just tried uploading another piece I recently finished but it won't
let meee! T____T so instead, here is a scribbly, comic exert of my character Chester:


In other news, I was just attacked by a chess piece.

Chess pieces & Chesters,

Amz; x


Tuesday, March 15

WIP Skateboard:

WIP board 2 by Amz Kelso
WIP board 2 a photo by Amz Kelso on Flickr.

Heyo!

Here's a shot of my skateboard so far. If you haven't read already, I am creating and appearing in a brand new exhibition at Grumpy's Green (125 Smith Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne)! It's called 'ALL ABOARD' and is featuring a range of hand-painted skateboards from local artists and some wicked work also from local photographers. So yeah, here's my board so far. This is after six hours of painting in the sunshine on my veranda, being over seen by a small Maltese x Shitzu. My dog likes to feel involved and vicariously live through my jointed thumbs. I'll be posting more photos up soon, but if you'd like to see my process you can check me out painting on amittystudios.blogspot.com. For someone who hates painting because she ain't good at it, I did alright. Hahaha!

Until next time,

Brushes & Boards,

Amz. x

Saturday, March 12

My alarm clock is broken.


Ahoy!

That's right, the clock broke.

Now usually that would mean more sleep time, unfortunately for me it's
broken in a way where even if you switch it off it'll continue to go off. I
fixed it up after bashing it a few times and fiddling with the switch. Haha.
Now I'm listening to Miami by Taking Back Sunday, after spending way
too much time pouring through old sketch books and finding the abandoned
comics that were so well formed, poingant and ridiculously worked-up...

I feel bad. Bad parent! All those ideas were never completed, regardless of
the fact I remember spending weeks and weeks completing character rotations,
redrawing them to perfection, putting them through panels and panels of
fully-formed work. My GOODNESS! I should go back to them.

On another note, I've finished one of the most incredible books I've
ever read. A change from my German crime fiction and classic Golding novels.
That's right, it has to be 'Things the Grandchildren Should Know'
an autobiographical novel by Mark Oliver Everett ('E' of the Eels).

(Photo found in the Flickr, from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benedikte/)


Regardless of the fact that E doesn't have any Grandkids, let alone Children,
(and makes a point of it) it's a very good read both my Dad and I were hooked on.

Now I already knew details of his life- very tragic and full of death,
but the depth of which you delve and the accounts of his life,
the way he survived being him, and became happy and succesful... Wow.
I know I'ev made it sound like some sort of garish book now, but it's not one
of those 'I DID THIS AND SURVIVED WOW LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME'
stories. It's just his life. Quietly inspirational, raw and beautiful.
He doesn't complain, he doesn't whine and talk about giving
up every thirty seconds. He takes you through his life as both a
musician and a child, growing up in a very disfunctional family with
a troubled-genius Father, depressed Mother
and suicidal alcoholic-drug-abusing Sister whom he loved dearly.

Here's an exert from the novel:

“To me, it wasn’t a record [Electro-Shock Blues] about death. That was missing the point.
It was about life. And death was a big part of life that tended to be ignored,
or denied. No one wanted to think there would be an end to themselves,
but I couldn’t ignore it, and I realized that if you treat it like the everyday
fact of life that it is, it becomes less scary. And also, by being more aware of death,
you gain a perspective on living and how you’d better
make it count, whatever that may mean to you.”

It's an incredibly easy read and is very touching. I think everyone can
benefit from reading it. Really, I do. DO IT. Go borrow it, and read it.
Trust me, you will not regret it's wit, intellect and poignancy.

As for the art side of things, a while back I drew this but never posted
it, so here's something I worked on recently. It's not done, but you know...
Thought you might enjoy having a squiz.


It was based on the back of a card, you dig?
Yup. Anyway, I've run out of things to say and a handsome blonde will
fast appear on my doorstep. So, off I go! Perhaps next post I'll show off
some of my old comic sketches? I feel like reviving them...

Cheers,
Amz.