Marc Johns

July 18th, 2008

Marc Johns @ Flickr

I just discovered this fellow through a bookmark over at vi.sualize.us. Interesting and nonsensical watercolors that work well enough by themselves, but when you add the captions he comes up for them, you can’t help but chortle.

Artwork by Marc Johns.

Short Arms

From his profile:

Marc Johns creates whimsical drawings filled with dry wit and humour. Whether it’s a man with branches growing out of his head that need pruning, or a pipe that’s trying to quit smoking, his characters are simply, sparsely drawn, yet speak volumes with just a few strokes of the pen. He’s been drawing since he was tiny. He’s not tiny anymore, but he’s not exactly big either. Marc is not sure why he’s talking about himself in the third person…

I generally aim to say as much as possible with as few elements as possible. My work often leans toward humour. Finding the humour in things often leads to finding the truth.

I like to create absurd situations, by combining things together that don’t belong, or imagine what inanimate objects would say if they could speak. For instance, the pen I am using to write this draft would probably say: “I’m tired. Can we stop for a bit?” Or perhaps it would say: “I can’t believe you’re making me write this. This is rubbish. Signing cheques would be more inspiring than this.” These are the things I think about. I think about alot of things. I think about thinking. Don’t try it though, it’s not worth it.

I use watercolours in ways you shouldn’t. I make my own sketchbooks. If I smoked, I’d roll my own. I’d rather draw than rent a movie. Don’t try to start a conversation with me about recent films. I haven’t seen any. I play the guitar. If I was a hobo, I’d learn to play the ukulele, because you could fit one in your duffle bag. My artwork and the materials I use are quite compact. You could fit my studio in a large suitcase. I hope you like my drawings, or at least some of them.

 

Orange Boat

May 8th, 2007

Oia Boat

 

Boats

May 5th, 2007

Boats

 

Bay Water

April 16th, 2007

Waste Water

 

Trees

April 14th, 2001

Trees

India Ink

Trees

India Ink

Trees

Colored Pencil

Tree studies done with different media and surfaces.

 

Abstract

August 3rd, 1992

Abstract

Watercolors, Crayon

Something that I did in an art class a long, long time ago. I may have been 8 or 9 at the time. For some reason I really like it though.