Sunday, December 14, 2008

Sunday, November 30, 2008

DUBAI LIVE!

Not everything about Dubai is glitz and glamour. In fact..there is a very real side to Dubai is far more interesting and valuable. Last Thursday morning I met up with fellow caricaturist, Danesh Mohuiddin and photographer,Kalil Pio and we hit the streets! Our mission, to draw the people of Dubai from street sweepers to business financiers and every type in between. And to spread some joy by giving away our caricatures. Our small way of countering the sad happenings on that day in Mumbai.

We made our start at Karama, the place for the best and worst in fake designer gear. We were soon surrounded by a group of trendy Iranian lads.
After an hour of fun drawing high hair and tight jeans we headed to Satwa.

At first glance slum-like but when you really look, full of unexpected treasures. We drew cobblers from Pakistan, barbers from Kerala and bread makers from Iran. Everyone treated us with smiles and recieved their caricatures with grace..and surprise! Then for a change of pace we went to DIFC..the finance district of Dubai next to Emirates Towers. As I expected, this was a harder nut to crack. Eventually we persuaded people that we wanted to draw them WITHOUT being paid and without any obligation on their part and to recieve the artwork for free! Quite a shocking idea to people mired in the global financial crisis.

The most fun was drawing some bored employees at a communications shop who had been stuck in groundhog day and loved having us beak the routine with a bit of fun.

Finally we arived at Jumeirah beach Residences. The new "Happening Place" for trendies, locals, yuppys, families and general walk wanderers. As it is still being constructed a good place for us. We bee-lined for the workers finishing off their day. Again, a crowd gathered and after drawing several weary but happy fellows in overalls and scarves, we called it a day. It was clear we could do nothi g but draw passing people at The Walk but that was just a bit too much like work by that time!

Our energy levels petered out by nine pm making it twelve hours of solid drawing. We decided that next week we would do it all again! This time taking in the fishing village, camel farm, labourers compounds and finishing htis time at the good old Barasti bar. We are determined to cover as big a demographic as Dubai has to offer..but I suspect , there is a LOT of drawing left to do!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Life in Dubai...the Stretch HUMMER!


One lovely day spent in a stretch Hummer with the charming and sweet Kerzner children, Savannah and Charlie. We had a great day for Charlies 13th birthday. The next day, Daddy held a rather large party at his hotel , Atlantis.....

Atlantis Hotel Palm Jumeirah OPening!







The FABULOUS opening party Fireworks on Palm Jumeirah.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Dubai Drawing




Dubai Drawing




I recently had the pleasure of running two six hour Caricature Workshops at the American Academy for Girls. It was great fun teaching a charming and energetic class of girls. With their talent and entusiasum, Dubai has a great future!

Monday, October 27, 2008











More pics from a big gig day! Started with a Managers Training Day at Etscon then an evenings fun caricature entertainment at a KIA car unveiling. Fabulous people, great fun!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

GITEX Samsung Computer Caricature














Here is some pics from my recent gig at GITEX. I worked on a graphic tablet to create on the spot Computer caricatures in colour! A real challange but a great success. Now I am hooked and want to best graphic tablet I can get!

Jam Jar Boomerang Workshops




Some of the brilliant kids at my Boomerang Cartoon Workshops at Jam Jar Gallery. It is such a treat to teach happy cheerful naturally talented children! Dubai Kids ROCK!


Teh Indian School Dubai

Here is my lovely class at The Indian School in Dubai. We has great fun learning about caricature and cartooning over three weekends.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Time Out Kids Story

Dubai Update

Dubai HOTS up as the weather cools! Just like Queensland...Dubai...lovely one day, perfect the next. Everyone is slowly coming out of the summer stupor and reving up for the cooler ( by that I mean...25-35 degrees) weather. Time to get party hats on, get the trade shows jumping and entice people into the newest biggest whatever they are opening next!
And as a Caricature Entertainer and Commissioned Artist I am ready to help out. I already have an Iftah Dinner Caricature Entertaiment Gig under my belt. A great bunch of fun locals who had me drawing until 2am. Many event bookings already for October and November, print work coming in, teaching all over the place. Speaking of which...get your booking in for Dubai Ladies Club Art packages ladies! Time is passing fast!
Watch out for news on the 35 US million dollar Atlantis opening party November 20..I will be watching it from my apartment window while they chuck 3 million dollars of fireworks into the air! (Maybe my invite got lost in the post???) Our Kylie will be there making us Aussie proud.
Then the worlds biggest Mall opening...phew..MORE shopping!
My series of workshops with the Indian School is finishing up this weekend. Pity, as they are great fun and I feel I am just starting to teach them the fun of cartooning! But then I am a bit fanatic about the subject! Then the Jam Jar has a set of workshops for Boomerang Cartoons for me to run. How to Draw Captain Caveman!! Big Kids welcome.
So...off to the drawing board to get moving on a heap of new work!

Monday, September 29, 2008

The Indian School Cartoon Workshop



Everything about CARTOONING

Dubai Ladies Club are running my Art Package! Five workshops covering Caricature, Cartoon Character creation Gags, Comics and basic Animation. Starting October 26/29 November 2/5/9 three hours each from 6pm until 9pm. Contact me for details and bookings
Dubai Ladies Club Jumeirah Beach Road

info@thebrookerstudio.com

Dont forget..LADIES ONLY!!

Sunday, August 31, 2008

New Art Work






I have had these sketches sitting around the studio for a while. I have finally got motivated and painted them up. I want to share my new work with you.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

New Artwork




People have been telling me to get more artwork up on here..so OK!! Here is some! Enjoy.

Friday, August 1, 2008

http://www.whohub.com/jobrooker#

What do you do? How do you define yourself as an artist?
For myself, I define myself as a contemporary extreme portrait artist. As a professional I can call myself a cartoonist, an illustrator, a painter, a writer and a teacher. As a freelance artist I have to have many titles and skills and adapt myself to fit my clients needs.

What is your message?
I show that faces are the most primal, emotional and defining areas in their lives. I use my art as a powerful tool to make my opinions and to effect an emotional response. I consider that laughter is as legitimate emotion in art as any.

Your biography in four lines.
Taught myself caricature drawing teachers in class. Decided that art would be the one area that I would use to make a living. Worked my way up the hard way to a be taken seriously in mdia art. Determined to work on my art for the rest of my life.

Do you upload your work to the web? If so, where could we see it?
www.thebrookerstudio.com http://brookerstudio.blogspot.com http://www.artistswithoutfrontiers.com/jbrooker/index.html http://www.cartoonists.co.uk/jobrooker/index.html http://www.the-nose.com/artists/joanneab/joanneab.html http://www.caricatura.ro/joanne_brooker.htm http://purplespiderstudio.artsblogs.com/blog/blog.asp?blogId=8406 www.purple-spider-studio.blogspot.com Want more? google Joanne brooker

How is an idea born? For you, what is inspiration?
Observation. Even a cafe can give me all I need to see human nature at its best and worst. People are fascinating and I have the skills to pass on my observations.

What is art?
Communication at its most pure

When do you get your best ideas?
All around me. The news, popular culture, malls, streets, travel...anywhere , any time.
How do you evaluate whether an idea is good or not?
If I am working for a client I am trying to fit their brief as well as create artwork that I can be satisfied with. If I am creating for myself I am working for my most difficult client who is never satisfied. If at the end my client pays me then I know the idea has worked. If I put my own artwork on display then I must be satisfied that my idea has been properly realised.
Three creative ideas that you would have liked to have created?
Artwork that comments on war. Artwork that comments on media. Artwork that comments on poverty. Maybe one day I will create these to the standard I imagine in my mind.

When and how did you begin to see yourself as an artist?
When I was five years old. I worked out how to draw a rose by scribbling a tangle and adding a line for a stem. Another little girl said it looked like a rose and I was so pleased I kept finding visuals answers to communicate ideas from then on.
Why do so many artists and creators have such volatile personalities?
FEAR. Art makes you vulnerable. You can do your best work and someone only has to say they dont like it without reason. This is so frustrating as there is no argument to defend. Artists have to develop a thick skin and a facade of bravado to continue.

Do you consider yourself postmodern?
All my work is contemporary comment

How should a work of art be evaluated?
Tecnically and emotionally. If my art makes you laugh then think WHY! What do you recognise to create that reaction. Stop and really look at what I am saying about a person or situation. Do not pass over a cartoon as something minor and unimportant..it is the most powerful art.
Must an artist reinvent him/herself everyday?
Always. An artist must never be complacent.There is always something new to create and challenges must be set.

Which artists do you admire and how do they influence your work?
Sebastian Krueger has taken caricature to a magnificent standard. His work is powerful dramatic portraiture of the highest standard and his technique is superb. I also love the purity and class of Hiershfields linework.

What do you think about public funding for the arts?
I think artists need to prove to other artists what they need the money for, not to beaurcrats and accountants. Public funding for bad art hurts the industry and reduces the public appreciation towards art.

Does art has to be necessary in order to be authentic?
As a freelance artist I have to be pragmatic about art. A client needs a visual for a reason and I provide that. I make MONEY from my art skills. I dont feel any emotional attachment to this art so maybe it is necessary and not authentic. My own art is necessary for myself so maybe that is authentic.

Does it pain you to let go of a piece you have sold?
Not a commissioned piece created to a clients brief. Some of my art has been stolen over the years and that is upsetting as they were personal pieces that I will never repeat. I prefer to give artwork I care about to my daughters.

Is a work of art purchased, or is it better said, that it is the artist who is bought?
Art to a brief is commissioned and owned by the client. Artwork that has the artists soul within it, is only borrowed. Money does not buy art, it only moves it about.

In art, there is no guide. How do you know what the next step is?
An artist looks st his/her work and decides the next step.

How do you feel about the fact that the pieces exhibited in contemporary art museums are often of artists already deceased?
People believe that art captures something of the artist soul. Therefore there is a fascination in viewing this art. They know that this is all that is left to hold. A live artist cannot be controlled in the same way, they might disappoint.

What role have the figures of art dealer, gallery owners, representatives, and intermediaries in general played in your career?
I was employed by newspaper editors. I worked to create art to fit editorial stories. A good editor and journalist trusts the instincts of the artists. Some of my best awarded work has been created witht he trust of a good editor.

What types of jobs do you usually do?
Artwork for the print media and personal commissions.

Which of your jobs or tasks do you most enjoy?
I am creating cartoon social comment on Dubai. I am loving having a forum to make my observations public in a city as dynamic as this. I am working on a new series of caricatures of public figures I admire or dispise.

Do you personally collect any items?
I exchange artwork with other professional cartoonists that I admire. I also collect old cartoon art books and referance material for my workshops.

Which websites do you frequently visit?
National Cartoonists Network and the Australian Cartoonists Association . Various artists whose work I admire and want to watch develop and be inspired by.

What advice would you give to those just beginning?
Be professional in your attitude. Perfect your technique. Do not demand that others appreciate your efforts.. learn from experts in your area. Never be satisfied. Grow a thick skin and never give up.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

7_Days Ed Art!




Very pleased and excited to announce that I will be running a social comment cartoon in Dubai 7-Days! I have been having a ball putting together a bank of cartoons on everything I see happening about me. Dubai is SUCH an amazing place. Those in the know will understand my comments on weather, traffic, clubs, fashion and shopping! I am sure as time goes on I will learn more and more about Dubai, and it will all be reflected in my cartoons.


Oh OK then..heres a sample.
enjoy and I will see you in the funny pages!

Dubai Ladies Club ROCKS!

The beautiful and exclusive Dubai Ladies Club ( thats right..just for us ladies) is running a series of Cartoon and Caricature workshops in their Art and Talent Centre. I am repeating my Introduction to Caricature Workshop...fun and easy, followed straight after by my Intermediate Caricature Workship, for those who want to go further.

In September we will be running four great fun Childrens workshops.
Package of 4 classes
Duration: 1.30hrs each
Total: 275 AED non members

Contact Pam.p@dubailadiesclub.com
Tel: 043499922 ext 302

Advertised on Dubai One, Dubai TV and Sama TV, Gulf Today, 7Days, Time Out,

THEN...coming along in October, we are running my Art Package of eight workshops covering cartoon strips, comics, animation, gags, caricature and folio presentation and the nitty gritty of the business of cartooning! A great series for those always wondering if they have an inner cartoonist and for those who want to advance themselves professionally.

BOOK NOW!

Adults Caricature Workshops

Art and Talent Center in collaboration with Joanne Brooker, Australia's Top Media artists is organizing its second Caricature Workshop. The participants will be able to analyze characters they want to draw, extract salient features and capture the essence of their personalities, in order to come up with creative caricatures.

Workshop 1
Introduction to Caricature Drawing
August 17th and 18th 2008
10:30am to 1:30pm
650 AED (Materials Included)
No drawing skills required

Workshop 2
Intermediate Caricature
August 19th and 20th 2008
650 AED (Materials Included)
Basic Knowledge in Drawing and graphic design

For registration please contact the Art Centre on 04-3499922 ext. 300 or email
artcentre@dubailadiesclub.com

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Jam Jar Cartoon Day

Has Dubai been waiting for a cartoonist or what! As soon as I arrive back from my Summer Break to Australia, I am jumping in, feet first into so many great events!

The Jam Jar has organised with Boomerang Childrens television, a great fun day of cartooning! I will be taking workshops for the kids all day July 26. We will be having fun with your favourite cartoon characters ( and mine) If you want to get down and get cartoony with your kids then come along for a great day at the cool (in all ways) Jam Jar.
Date: July 26
Venue: The Jam Jar
St. 17a, exit 39 (White Warehouse )
Behind Dubai Garden Center on Sheikh Zayed Road
Booking: Rachael Brown
Gallery and Special Projects Co-ordinator
T 04 341 7303
F 04 341 7304
M 050 941 5584
E rachael@thejamjardubai.com

www.thejamjardubai.com

Intermediate Caricature Workshop

Exciting news!
After the success of the Introductory Caricature Workshops, the Dubai Ladies Club has decided to run my Intermediate Caricature workshop! This is a perfect workshop for animation students to leave the keyboard and reintroduce themselves to the pencil, for fine artists to rest from technique and add some fun to their art, for Doodlers to leave the phone pad and work on a bigger scale and for anyone with a love for drawing to come along and reconnect with their inner child.
Date: August 6/7
Venue: Dubai Ladies Club, Jumeirah Beach Road.
Booking: Maryam Al Ghurair, Art Centre Executive
04 3499922

www.dubailadiesclub.com

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Dubai Ladies Club Workshops




I am very pleased to say that my FIRST Dubai caricature workshop was not only a success but great fun for us all. The setting is gorgeous,as us ladies will appreciate, and the studios comfortable well appointed. Many thanks to the ladies for their support.


I am excited to announce that due to demand I will be running another workshop..my very special Intermediate Caricature Workshop! If you have some background in art or drawing please come along and try a new skill. This course is especially good for Animation students. These will begin in August, date to be confirmed. If you are interested in joining in this new exciting art for Dubai, please contact Maryam Al Ghurair,


Art Centre Executive .


0097 14 3499922 ext 301