It’s not often that I get the chance to talk with such a brilliant and gifted artist such as Mark Holland-Hicken. He is based out of a small village in Cambridgeshire, England. I first came across his work on Spraygraffic.com. I joined a group that he had started that had to do with “The Female Form.” I browsed hi s work and immediately fell in love with it. What does he do. He paints the most beautiful figure that this world has to offer, the female body.
The United States has a very awkward approach to the nude human form. The UK on the other hand has embraced it as an object of beauty and displays it with a less discretion than the United States. Nude art is almost automatically thought of as pornography to the uneducated mind. Mark has found a medium to display some of the most beautiful figures to walk this Earth. His women are some of the most seductive and entrancing you will ever lay your eyes on.
Mark’s approach to the art world was an approach of “mistaken identity.” His younger years were spent coloring like most of us do when we are young lads, but then when it came time for school, his parents had other plans for him. He went to college and was on the engineering track and called it quits after one year realizing it just wasn’t for him. Saddened by the failure to himself he found his guiding light. A Car Design degree exhibition that would ultimately bring him to this very moment today. Mark battled for his spot in the program and 5 years after finding that flyer would graduate as a product designer. The next 15 years was spent mastering all the mediums this planet had to offer. Pencils, pens, marker pens, screening inks, acrylics, water colors, airbrush, and all things digital became his sword and shield, conquering any project thrown at him.
Mark’s life took a drastic turn when his daughter was born prematurely and he desired more than photographs to document this event. He painted a few images of her and showed them off to critics and from there the ball was rolling.
His work is done from photographs that is taken from a very close colleague and friend, Gabrielle Rigon.
“His work is so sensitive towards women that he has become the world’s premier for all genders. I inspire him and he inspires me.”
It is very rare that you find such a bond between people these days. People feeding off of each other’s work can be a rare thing these days.
“To me the female form can be described with three words beautiful, elegant, and sensual.” I couldn’t agree more with him. He then goes on to say that, “I think you need a photographic painting technique to capture all three of those.” From this we get the style that IS Mark Holland-Hicken.
The photo to the right is my favorite work by Mark. It is entitled “Temptation.” It was set to be a set of three, Temptation, Seduction, and Perdition. This photo depicts Mark’s favorite model, Pamela, from just below her breasts to just below her hips. While so little is shown in the picture so much is gathered. You feel such a warm attraction to her and want to know where the rest of her is, and want to feel the softness of her skin. I have to admit that while Pamela has a beautiful stomach, in my talk with Mark I asked him about the belt she was wearing. This is what he had to say about a conversation that Pamela and he had recently: “the belts hint at erotica without being overtly obvious. We think it gives the subject a sense of her own strength, desirability and sexuality - but you would still feel comfortable introducing her to your mother.”
I am going to leave you all with the a question I asked Mark, but only wanted to put it in his words because it was so well said and with so much character. So please check out Mark’s work at the links below as well as Gabriele Rigon!
Who is one person that you want to paint? nude or not? why?
In many ways I have already found that person. The lady I have painted most is Pamela, in fact I must have painted her 200 times so far. She is one of Gabriele’s models. Like Gabriele I find that Mediterranean girls have so much soul, passion, elegance and of course sensuality that they can’t be bettered. I once said to Gabriele that I could paint Pamela until I’m 90 but I can’t paint Pamela when she’s 90! So, to tie in with another project we took 1000’s of photographs of her - I will still be painting her in my 90’s!
A few more famous names on my list would be Kate Moss (So cheeky, so British!). Sometimes Madonna has a certain look I’d like to capture. An older favorite would be Sophia Loren.
But top of the famous list at the moment would have to be - wait for it, sorry for being cheesy…
Kylie Minogue! Forget the music for moment, forget the accent - in fact forget all of her past. But just look at her. I know she’s only tiny but she is without a doubt perfectly proportioned and her facial features are to die for…
We here at The Daily Shag would like to wish everyone a happy and safe Fourth of July weekend. Hopefully everyone gets a chance to get out and have some fun this weekend (I know I’ve got a 30 rack of Miller High Life with my name on it.) There are so many ways to celebrate our nation on this great day but I figured I’d post a song that has a special place in my heart when it comes to patriotic jingles. So enjoy this diddy as you grill some burgers, drink some beers and do your best not to blow your hands off with fireworks. Enjoy.
Hello from the great city of Cleveland, Ohio! Brian here letting you know that we’re alive and kickin’ it and have a new webisode for your pleasure and amusement. Things have been going well (keeping fingers crossed) and we’re having a great time at the shows. It’s been cool having kids come out in new places and the other bands have been really cool to play and hang with. We play Peabody’s Rockstar Stage tonight and then we’re off to the Bronx for a 4th of July bash. Thanks for checking in and enjoy the webisode.
From the deepest depths of West Wales comes a promising young band call Winch House! A group of four young guys with a passion for music. From the first ear-shredding vocals to the final crash of the symbols one can only feel the passion flowing through your ears. After talking with AltSounds and Winch House, I cannot endorse these guys enough. They are every you want to see from a group of musicians. Passion and persistance. After 2 years of hard work and relentless touring they are will jump on board with AltSounds Records. You can catch a preview of their upcoming video for their new single, “Sweet Taste of Summer,” below, or in the featured video section.
Winch House consists of Alex (Vocals/Guitar), Aaron (Vocals/Drums), Jack (Bass), and Ginge (Lead Guitar). Currently they are preparing to release a new single and are also gearing up for a massive amount of UK tour dates in an all or nothing attempt to take peoples ears by storm!
Their new single, “Sweet Taste of Summer,” sounds phenomenal! This one song tells me a lot about them as musicians and people in general. For those who like the intense sounds of Taking Back Sunday will be sure to love these guys. Take a look below at my interview with Winch House and learn a little more about them and be sure to check out the preview of the video for, “Sweet Taste of Summer.”
No doubt most of the regular readers have wondered where we have been the past few days.The simplest answer is, we’ve been preparing.Preparing for some new interviews, tour updates to keep you all informed with what is new in the art world.
As I type this I am laying in the back of a van on my way to Cleveland, Ohio and then to Chicago for the start of the last leg of the Therefore I Am; Lone Rangers Tour 2008.We will be keeping all the fans updated with a new webisode as well as some tour blogs so please stayed tuned for those.The guys of Therefore I Am are really excited that they were able to play the last week of their tour and see some old friends out in the Midwest.
For those of you who would like an update.So far day one has been like the beginning of most road trips.Full of traffic delays, laughs, video cameras, and road games, and the poop breaks.The sun has nearly set and we are not half way to Cleveland.People continue to cut us off and we toss the finger out the window.The present music selection is Minus the Bear, which, I thought, was pretty appropriate for the scenery.The beautiful rolling hills and sunset mixed with the beautiful experimental sounds of Minus the Bear made the experience that much more real.
Tomorrow will feature a brand new webisode with updates on tonights show at Reggie’s Rock Club in Chicago. Stay tuned for all the rock and roll goodness that is Therefore I Am!
So as fate would have it, our van broke down on the first day of tour before even leaving Massachusetts. We made it to our NY show thanks to my dad (http://www.myspace.com/kmarquis) who picked us all up in his pickup truck and drove us to the show (and did an impromptu performance with us) and back to my house in CT to wait to hear what’s up with the van from the mechanic we left it with in Pittsfield, MA. We hung out at my parent’s house for the past two days and waited for the call from the mechanic and what they had to say was not good. They wanted to get us back on the road as quickly as possible but the engine and various other problems needed a few days fixing so he got it running enough to get home to Boston but not further until we had it thoroughly worked on for a length of time.
So, after $300 in towing and $700 in partial repairs we had spent $1000 missed 2 shows and still couldn’t continue on. We picked up the van and trailer and crawled back to Boston and cancelled the southern dates for sure until we could figure out what to do.
We apologize to all our friends, fans, bands, promoters, venues and people that helped us with dates in the south we weren’t able to make - we’ll make it up to you when we have a healthy van and bank account!
GOONIES NEVER SAY DIE!!!
I’m not one for calling it quits easily and neither are the rest of the guys so as soon as I woke up this morning I was busy trying to find a way to make this work, get us back on the road. We’re pretty much broke as far as band funds and personal funds go so we found a friend who would rent us his van for the July 1-July 5 dates and we have just enough money in gas to get out there. We hate cancelling shows and we haven’t had the best luck with tours the past couple months but FUCK all the signs nothing is gonna stop the TIA train. This is how much this means to us…and we’re all slightly retarded and insane but we’re coming midwest - we’re coming to getcha! Spread the word but reposting the fliers on our page www.myspace.com/thereforeiam and come hang out with us. We need all the help we can get right now and we appreciate any help you can provide or just coming out to support us and buy merch to help fill our gas tank and fix our van.
We love you. - Brian and the Snaggle Crock Boyz
July 1 - Reggie’s Rock Club - Chicago, IL w/Haywood Yards, A Modern Love Story
July 2 - Modern Exchange - Southgate, MI w/Built For Burning, Let Lions, We Are Scouts
July 3 - Rockstar Stage @ Peabody’s - Cleveland, OH w/Burning Down Broadway
July 4 - The Nest Studio - Bronx, NY w/Mercury in the Summer
July 5 - Living Room - Providence, RI w/Foredoes Me Quite, Penrose, The Parting Gift, Us Against the Archers
I’ll be perfectly honest. It wasn’t until a few days ago that I heard of these guys, but they immediately caught my ear. For those of you who enjoy the sweet sounds of The Dillinger Escape Plan will immediately be captivated by their amazingly hard-hitting vocals and dream-like electronic melodies. Mookie Singerman (Vocals, Keyboards), Hamilton Jordan (Guitar, Programming), and Michael Sochynsky (Keyboards, Programming) are Genghis Tron.
This three-piece experimental band is signed to Relapse Records and, in February of this year, released their latest album, Board Up the House. Originally they hailed from Poughkeepsie, NY in 2004, but have since based their efforts out of Philadelphia, PA. Whether we like it or not, we all have our favorite techno/electronica song that we keep secret from our friends, Genghis Tron, has unleashed fury on that guilty pleasure. Mixing it with some of the most devastating lyrics and metal-core styles, they have turned their own music into an amazingly ear catching style yet to be challenged by any other group.
Genghis Tron is currently on tour in Europe. You can check out the dates on their myspace page along with several other updates. Enjoy the video below which is incredible, not to mention that the song is downright AMAZING.
Unfortunately, the members of Therefore I Am have some very bad news. Due to problems with their van they are unable to finish out the rest of their tour. The Lone Rangers Tour, sponsored by The Daily Shag, has come to quick hault. Small problems quickly became big problems and only allowed them enough power to return to Boston to figure out further solutions. If you have not seen Webisode #1 from the Tour, be sure to check it out, here, and you’ll understand what happened on the first and last day.
The send their apologies and will be posting later with all the official info. Of course, T.I.A sends their sincerest apologies to all the cities that they were unable to make it to, but between gas prices on the constant rise and not knowing the full extent of the van damage, they could not risk any further damage to their van or wallet.
Hey guys and girls…welcome to the first installment of our tour blog brought to you by our buddy Mr. Thomas Shaggy of thedailyshag.com who has been kind enough to sponsor and help promote our tour by giving us a place to write our thoughts and feelings as we embark on The Lone Rangers Tour 08 June 21-July 5. Stay tuned for more installments…this one starts with this first Webisode entitled “Water to Wine, Lemons to Limes”. I’ll just let the video speak for itself…
The ICC in Boston, MA was under new management last night as “The Almighty” took a vacation and mayhem ensued. Therefore I Am kicked off their Lone Rangers Tour with good friends Vallon, Snakes in Suits, Energy, and A Loss for Words last night. It was a night to remember. The temperature inside the small community church probably approached 90 degrees, the fans moshed, and the bands played on. Friends stood on the side of the stage with water bottles and squirt guns to keep the fans cool as they charged the stage singing along with their favorite songs.
They guys from Therefore I Am really appreciated everyone who came out and supported them and all the bands that played before them and are extremely excited about the two week tour ahead. Pictures from last night are up, on Future Breed, of all five bands that played. Be sure to check those out and keep an eye out for Therefore I Am if they are coming to a city near you!
06/22 – 1130 Third Ave Hall / Schenectady, NY
06/23 – House Show / Saint Georges, DE
06/24 – Livin’ Lattes / Pilot Mountain, NC
06/25 – Club Remix / Greensboro, NC
06/26 – The Masquerade / Atlanta, GA
06/27 – Java Moon Café / Bradenton, FL
06/28 – The Beta Bar / Tallahassee, FL
06/29 – The Art Center / Demopolis, AL
06/30 – HELP BOOK US! MO/IL/IN/KY/TN
07/01 – Reggies Rock Club / Chicago, IL
07/02 – HELP BOOK US! IN/MI/OH
07/03 – Peabody’s / Cleveland, OH
07/04 – The Nest Studio / Bronx, NY
07/05 – The Living Room / Providence, RI
It’s not often that I get the chance to talk with such a brilliant and gifted artist such as Mark Holland-Hicken. He is based out of a small village in Cambridgeshire, England. I first came across his work on Spraygraffic.com. I joined a group that he had started that had to do with “The Female Form.” I browsed hi s work and immediately fell in love with it. What does he do. He paints the most beautiful figure that this world has to offer, the female body.
from there the ball was rolling.Thomas Shaggy
Jason Driscoll
brian
