Vikram Madan - Artist & Author
  • Art
    • Paintings
    • Public Art
    • Illustration
    • Cartoons
  • Books
    • A Hatful of Dragons
    • Lord of the Bubbles
    • The Bubble Collector
    • A Rupture of Robots
    • A Rumpus of Reapers
    • The Lost Tales of Ixi and Mup
    • Happiness Is... A Cup of Coffee
  • Buy
    • Catalog
  • About
    • Media Kit
    • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • School Visits
  • Blog
  • Search
[Art with a Sense of Humor, since 2014]

TOILET PAPER PANIC Art!!!

3/25/2020

0 Comments

 
When life gives you TOILET PAPER PANIC .... make ... TOILET PAPER PANIC Art! 

To commemorate the Great Toilet Paper Panic of 2020, I am making commemorative original art ON TOILET PAPER.
Picture
And let me assure you, drawing on TP is NOT EASY - the paper is soft, tears easily, moves under the pen, and absorbs the ink in unpredictable ways. I had to experiment to find the right pen and hand pressure to make this art happen. Here's a little video: 
The original TP art is available in two, uhm, flavots - regular (1-PLY) and deluxe (2-PLY). Comes mounted on an acid-free board with text.
Clck here to order from my etsy store.

Available only while supplies last (i.e. until I run out of TP).

Not waterproof or archival. In case of emergency, you can still 'use' this artwork.
0 Comments

Hatful of Dragons - Blog Tour

3/20/2020

0 Comments

 
I will be doing an online book tour via blogs introducing my new book and giving folks a behind-the-scenes peek into the book. I'll add links here as the blog posts go live:

* Suma Subramanian's Mixed-Up Files: 
https://fromthemixedupfiles.com/2020/02/writing-and-illustrating-funny-poetry-for-kids-author-interview-with-vikram-madan-and-giveaway/
​* Jane MacCulloch's DeoWriter Blog
https://deowriter.wordpress.com/2020/03/19/poetry-friday-a-hatful-of-dragons/
* Matt Forrest's Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme Blog
https://mattforrest.wordpress.com/2020/03/24/poetry-friday-celebrating-poetry-with-a-hatful-of-dragons/
* Sylvia Vardell's Poetry for Children Blog
http://poetryforchildren.blogspot.com/2020/03/tla-virtual-poetry-round-up-irene-latham.html
* Irene Latham's Live Your Poem Blog
https://irenelatham.blogspot.com/2020/04/a-hatful-of-dragons-and-dash-of-hope.html
* Sylvia Vardell's Poetry for Children Blog (2nd Appearance)
http://poetryforchildren.blogspot.com/2020/04/guest-post-vikram-madan.html
* Linda Mitchell's A Word Edgewise Blog
https://awordedgewiselindamitchell.blogspot.com/2020/04/a-hatful-of-dragons-review.html
* Mrs. Knotts Book Nook
http://mrsknottsbooknook.blogspot.com/2020/04/spotlight-friday-hatful-of-dragons-blog.html  
​
​Many thanks to my publisher, Boyds Mills Kane, and to Kerry McManus and Chelsea Abdullah for organizing this tour.
Picture
0 Comments

A Hatful of Dragons - Book Flipthrough

1/25/2020

0 Comments

 
My third book of self-illustrated funny poems, A Hatful of Dragons,  will be releasing April 21, 2020. I am very excited for this book - it's taken years of effort and is loads of fun, and suitable for poetry lovers of all ages. Here is a quick flipthrough of what the inside looks like:
You can already order the book via your favorite bookstore or online (Indiebound, Barnes & Nobles, Amazon).
​Learn more here.
0 Comments

Math and Art - Fun With The Golden Ratio

1/8/2020

0 Comments

 
Sometimes there can be a surprising amount of math where you least expect it - for example, in these paintings;
Golden Ratio Paintings
File Size: 569 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Picture
If you look closely at the background patterns in these paintings, you will note that each painting has the same 14 ‘tiles’ rearranged differently. What allows these tiles to be rearranged in an almost-endless number of ways is that they rely on unique mathematical properties of the Golden Ratio, ø.

---
Definition of Golden Ratio:
In Mathematics, two quantities are in the Golden Ratio if their Ratio is the same as the Ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities.
With two quantities, a and b, a > b > 0, the Golden Ratio, ø =  a/b when  a/b = (a+b)/a
The Golden Ratio is frequently found in patterns in nature, such as spiral arrangements in shells and plants.
ø is an irrational number with a value of   (1+SqRt(5))/2 = 1.6180339887....
Note that  a/b = (a+b)/a = a/a + b/a = 1 + b/a  In other words   ø  = 1 + 1/ ø 
---

While the Golden Ratio (see Wikipedia) itself is often mentioned in art (e.g. Leonardo Da Vinci used it to compose his paintings), architecture (the Greeks used it to design their buildings), and nature (mathematical basis for naturally occurring patterns), less well-known is the fact ø has some fascinating mathematical properties. 

For example starting with ø = 1+ 1/ø  (see above), we can derive:
  • (Multiply both sides by ø)  ø^2 = ø + 1
  • (Multiply both sides again by ø) ø^3 = ø^2 + ø
Using such derivations, we see that a Geometric Series based on ø, (that is, a series where every element is obtained by multiplying the previous element by ø)

        .....,  1/(ø^2), 1/ø, 1, ø, ø^2, ø^3,  ..... 

also happens to be a Fibonacci Series, in which the sum of any two consecutive terms generates the next term.
A property that then emerges from this Geometric Fibonacci series is that sums of many different terms in the series can equal the sums of many other terms in the series. E.g.:

       ø + ø^2 + ø^3  = 2ø^3 = 1/ø + 3ø^2 = 2ø + 2ø^2 =2 + 4ø etc.
 
The Swiss architect Le Corbusier, in a quest to design easily-reconfigurable modular buildings, realized that a set of ø-series based modules, i.e. modules whose dimensions were members of the ø series, might allow for building designs with large numbers of permutations and combinations for any given fixed space and fixed set of modules. While Le Corbusier did not succeed in actually creating such modular buildings, his research did bear one fruit: these paintings J.

These paintings incorporate, in their backgrounds, tiling patterns created using ‘tiles’ whose dimensions are based on two INTERLACED ø-series, one series of which is formed by taking the arithmetic mean of consecutive terms of the other series. That is, the elements of one series lie halfway between the elements of the other series, which increases the number of possible ways in which the elements may be combined to add up to other combinations of elements.

All the paintings have the exact same 14 tiles in the background. Every edge of every tile relates to other tile edges in the painting by multiples of golden ratios.

If the Golden Ratio is truly a natural number wired into nature, these tiling patterns should feel naturally aesthetic.
The juxtaposition of a whimsical, illogical form on top of the logical mathematical pattern hopefully creates an anachronism that draws the viewer in to look at the image again and again.

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

5th Annual Holiday Show

12/8/2019

0 Comments

 
You are invited to the 5th Annual Holiday Show at my studio in Seattle's Pioneer Square. This annual tradition is a great way to come see my art in person and pick up fun holiday gifts. There will be special discounts on prints and specially-priced original pieces. 

My studio is located in Pioneer Square in Seattle: 306 S. Washington St. Seattle WA 98104

​Holiday Show Dates and Times
: Dec 14, 15 weekend and Dec 21, 22 weekend  10 a.m. to 6.p.m. each day
Parking is on the street and in nearby parking lots. (If you have to pay for parking, please ask for parking credit with your purchases). Note that there is Seahawks game on the 22nd so if coming on that day, catch public transport as parking will be very expensive. 
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

South Renton Mini Murals

11/6/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Picture
I recently completed a public art installation commissioned by the City of Renton to create whimsical Mini-Murals behind Street Signs around the Burnett Linear Park in Renton WA. All artwork for this project is based on, or draws upon, Renton History.

Click here to see more photos of this project and (read the history behind the art).

Many thanks to the City of Renton, the Renton Arts Commission, and the South Renton Neighborhood Art Committee for making this project happen.
0 Comments

Fall 2019 Art Catalog

11/3/2019

0 Comments

 
Click here to see the Fall 2019 Catalog of Original Artwork.
0 Comments

'Lord of the Bubbles' Wins a BOOK AWARD

10/1/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture

I am super excited to share the news that my second poetry book, 'Lord of the Bubbles' has won the 2019 Moonbeam Bronze Award for Children's Poetry.

My first book, 'The Bubble Collector' previously won the 2013 Moonbeam Silver Award for Children's Poetry, so at least you know I'm consistent :)

The book is available from my studio and also directly from Amazon.

About the Moonbeam Awards:
The Moonbeam Children's Book Awards are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary children’s books and their creators, and to celebrate children’s books and life-long reading. The diversity of the winning publishers proves that promoting childhood literacy knows no boundaries, as medal-winners came not only from long-established publishers and university presses, but from small presses, foundations, and self-published entrepreneurs.

Picture
Picture
0 Comments

A Hatful of Dragons: Cover Variations

8/18/2019

0 Comments

 
For my humorous poetry book releasing in March 2020, 'A Hatful of Dragons: And More Than 13.8 Billion Other Funny Poems', I have been working on various iterations of the covers for the last year. Here is the current finalist for the front:
Picture
And here are some variations for the back. I made several different ones so we could accommodate varying amounts of back-cover text (such as blurbs and reviews). We won't actually know how much space we need for the text till very late in the game, so making lots of variations gives the book designer flexibility:
As you can see there is a ton of work that goes into the making of a book that is invisible to the reader.
0 Comments

Summer 2019 Art Catalog

7/7/2019

0 Comments

 
Click here to see the Summer 2019 Catalog of Original Art.
Picture
0 Comments
<<Previous
Forward>>

    Categories

    All
    Abstract
    Acrylics
    Art
    Art Exhibition
    Art Fairs
    Art For Wine Lovers
    ArtistHack
    Artist Hack
    Art Piano
    Award
    Awards
    Blog Tour
    Book
    Book Signing
    Bubble Collector
    Cards
    Catalog
    Coloring Book
    Commissions
    Funny Poems
    Gallery
    Golden Ratio
    Hatful Of Dragons
    Holiday Show
    Interview
    In The News
    Jigsaw Puzzles
    Kickstarter
    Landscape
    Lil' Reaper
    Math
    Mini Murals
    Murals
    Newsletter
    Notecards
    Oil Paintings
    Open House
    Paintings
    Poems
    Poetry
    Postcards
    Public Art
    Radio
    Residency
    School Visits
    Self-portrait
    Show
    Sketch Book
    Spaceworks
    Studio
    Tacoma
    Tips For Artists
    Toilet Paper Art
    Urban Sketching
    Videos
    Watercolor
    Wine

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    RSS Feed

Home

Art
Books
Paintings

 

About
Buy
Search

 

Contact
​School Visits
Blog

 
© COPYRIGHT 2020 VIKRAM MADAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.