Monday 19 October 2009

Ben's Workstation


Mick Phillips and I are on opposite ends of the neat'n'tidy spectrum. He being a Matron with a bee in his bonnet about hospital corners, where as my workspace often infringes health and safety laws. The photo shown is not an accurate representation. More likely scenario is the desk is piled high with stuff with no fixed abode / work in progress. BP
1) Apple iMac G5. This thing was as fresh as the Audi TT when it came out, but it's as reliable / fast / quiet, as a 5th-hand MZ. It had a total seizure during the completion of SB#2 and had a minor stroke during SB#4. I'll be glad when I can afford something else.
2) Wacom tablet. I couldn't live without this. It's a digital scribble pad and makes Photoshop more intimate - but you still can't beat drawing hand fonts (or any illustrations) with a real crayon on real paper.
3) Lacie hard drive. this baby saved my life a few times, but my fancy Porsche Lacie died so I should copy all the files; preferably to granite slabs, in case this one keels over. It has SB#1, #2, #3, #4, and #5 work in progress on it, plus a ton of other irreplaceable stuff.
4) Breakfast is around 10 o'clock, after the kids have woken me at 7 and I've taken them off to school.
5) Speedway bibs (see page 59 SB#1) bought these last week from the wonderful Alan Bellham shop which I shot for SB#5.
6) MO magazine Germany have used my Wrench Monkee portraits to go with a story on their fabdabulous Gorilla Punch Honda.
7) old Kodak Ultra III photo paper box. Have another 30 of these from when I used to work as a printer in an Amsterdam lab, full of prints, sketches, magazine cuttings, and assorted inspiration flotsam and jetsam.
8) Samsung NV40. My snapshot camera, bought in Luton airport. It's shite. My wife has a Leica C-Lux 2 it's amazing.
9) The Last magazine. It's about the demise of general magazines in the digital age, versus the staying power of quality niche titles.
10) SB#1, #2, #3, #4 as reference for the next one.
11) Drawing of me by my 12 year old nephew (none too flattering).
12) Hand font try-out for the SB#4 Wrench Monkees Husquarly story.
13) George Formby and the Shuttleworth Speed Demon bike - there was a great replica at Goodwood this year
14) Ortleib rubberized courier bag. totally waterproof man-bag. So airtight, can act as a buoyancy aid if you capsize you canoe.
15) Blue Room speakers, these need to be hung up in the front room. Amazing sound for midgets.
16) Bosozoku by Masayuki Yoshinaga. If there's a fire and I've only got time to grab one book from my library, this is the one.
17) Not intending to go for a 1940 Officers' mess look here, but the first time my wife opened this 'original feature' cupboard, a whole pane of glass fell out and nearly guillotined her toes off.
18) Sherman tank.
19) Suomy MX lid I painted in the style of Van Gogh's Japanese Garden, but then day-glo
20) Not a child entertainer by trade, this was my first attempt at bendy balloons, and acted as a sign post for my daughters birthday party.
21) ex Peter Jones department store glove compartments. My Mum rescued these from the rubbish and paid a mechanic £5 (in 1973) to drag them into our flat in London. Ikea furniture does not last more than 36 years and survive moving house 5 times
22) Evel Knievel by Ideal™. No big boys office is complete without this made in Hong Kong 'gyro-mechanism stunt cycle' classic.
23) Herman Miller Aeron office chair with added pure wool padding.

4 comments:

Dan said...

I love stuff like this, thanks for the insight. Just remember to back-up the back-ups!

Austin said...

what the hell is going on with the baby in the arseless rabbit suit??? Please tell me this isn't a prototype of Gary's leathers for next season?

Chris said...

I like your nephew's style, get him onto some stickers pronto

AadmanZ said...

You inspired me, I ordered the Bozo book straight away.. together with my long overdue order for the last three Sideburns.