Blog Posts

Finn McCool themed sign for Sheila's of Portstewart

3/25/2014

Christine and i have been working on the design elements of a sign the past few weeks for Sheila's of Portstewart. John contacted me in early March with the idea of creating a Finn McCool themed sign for the side of his shop to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Sheila's being in business. With the sign being over 9 feet in height, it has been no small task in creating a very striking image for locals and tourists alike to have their photos taken beside. It has taken a little time to get all the pieces in place, but it's coming along nicely. Paying tribute to Portstewart we've got the black rocks and a red sailed boat
John came up with the idea of having the causeway stones transformed into various lengths of "Portstewart Rock" (think Blackpool Rock and etc, and you'll get the idea ).

Having recently coloured the image, we're pleased with how it looks so far. There may be a few slight changes before its final release but all being well it will be put in place before the tourist season hits the port

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I Will Come Back For You

3/25/2014

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Seeing Greenland reminded me
Of the artic distance that would
Soon strike at me
When I would leave for Boston
For the land of my birth
In fact I knew it on the way out
That I would feel that way
And I did, I just somehow knew

Why did God place you there and me here?
Your kind touch began to heal all the hurt
A hurt I had kept in for so long
You would teach me of Mao and
The Cultural Revolution,
Of Korea and the Kobe fire bombings

Nanking and John Rabe, GMOs, Bricsa and the NWA
And often times I didn’t really have that much to say
But I listened anyway
I loved your fire, your spirit and the way you'd whisper my name
Holding your hand in the winter wind with the snow piled high
I was selfish and wanted you by my side all the time
The time was never enough time

Under blankets of snow
And the windowsill covered in the mornings
Watching re-runs of the Christmas Story
And the Shawshank redemption
And dipping into the little cupboard we had
For a midnight snack
Still brings a smile to my face
The place was a dive, and the sink didn’t work
Room service was a foreign concept to the forgeiners
that ran the joint,
So we bought our own vaccum

Oh I miss you vaccuming between my feet
As I sketched your visions to life
The place had character
But would have been just another dive
If not for you and your tender touch
You looked every inch the Asian equivalent
Of Rosetti’s Beatrice or Morris’ Jane
John Cash’s June,
I’ll be out there again soon

I could never say enough
You are beautiful to me
When, without the surma
And the eye shadow
In morning’s light, you reminded me
Of an artisan’s will to fight
To fight all the depression
That possesses a soul of feeling
If only to be close to you in life

I had never heard of duck dynasty before
Or ghost to ghost with Art Bell
We would listen to radio shows
As the snowplows worked on through the night
And the partiers partied until sun up
In the other room

You made me laugh a lot
With your jokes in town
Your smile I could never get enough of
I failed a lot, but I wanted to make you happy
I’d been on my own for so long
I didn’t know how to handle a loving heart

I told you of the swindlers in Cairo
You told me of the Asian trends
My fingers told your feet to relax
And you comforted me when I was ill
Like two peas in a pod
I got under your skin
but even so, I searched Aldi for the perfect orange skins
To bring back home
To our shoddy little inn

The smell of years worth of burnt incense
Punched me in the face every time I stuck
The quarters in the coke machines at reception.

And Jesus knows that I love you
And knew it when I’d brave the blizzard
Just to bring you back a coffee
When the day was through
Even when i really didn't want to
I said I’d do anything for you within my grasp
And I meant it
I wanted to make you happy
I still do

By James Battersby

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Return to Bushmills Map

2/20/2014

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Now that I’m back home in Northern Ireland after leaving snowy Rhode Island/ Massachusetts, we are resuming work on the last few “tweaks” to our panel/map illustration and our brochure. I met up with Art Ward yesterday to discuss the book design (an element in the overall panel art) which will include black and white photographs and a little on the history of Bushmills.

We will then meet with Roy Bolton and Winston Boyce on Monday to catch up on what needs finished in regards to the tourist related work…presumably before spring hits. I’m really excited to see my artwork finally displayed in my hometown and all being well I will be bringing my Japanese-American lady over to live with me this spring/summer and she’ll see the work in person at any one of the panels throughout town. Most people don’t realize it but Christine actually played a big part in deciding what worked and what didn’t during the design process. The final design was of course the decision of the group, but in my view it didn’t hurt at all to have the design overseen by someone other than a local/resident of the town itself. My intent was always to appeal to an international audience and our work has made its rounds in parts of Massachusetts and elsewhere.

I really enjoy working on group projects and have a fondness for maps, as can be easily verified by my art/blogs/videos. So if you want one done for your own town, please get in touch with me. You’ll find I am a reasonable guy who loves to create powerful visual art. I’m eager to work with people who have a passion for sprucing their town up and want something that brightens the place up. If you like, come out Spring/Summer this year to Bushmills and see my illustrations for yourself, or pick up one of our new brochures at the Bushmills tourist office.

Drop me a line at [email protected]

Thanks for reading

James

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The Cultural Revolution Tarot

2/9/2014

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Spending Christmas with my partner Christine in Rhode Island, who just so happens to be the author of our tarot project The Cultural Revolution Tarot, was a lovely experience. I can't think of a better way to spend time being snowed in than to create a whole set of great artworks for the project, and that we did. It was a lot of fun bouncing ideas off each other and working on the images in the evenings. Now that I'm back home in Northern Ireland, we've already begun coloring the first set of images which we are uploading onto our Facebook Fan Page upon their completion (though of course as time passes, some changes may be made along the way before we can officially say they are ready for print).

The Cultural Revolution Tarot is based on the Mao propaganda posters of the 1960's - 1970's and include a whole range of scenes from military battles to farming. It's the first time I've drawn Asian figures extensively but i'm told they are convincing. While currently i am colouring the images myself, it's possible in the not too distant future Christine might lend a hand in this direction as her sense of colouring is outstanding, understanding depth and color moods.

Quite a lot of research goes into the making of each card, and this is where Christine comes in with her knowledge and interest in both the Tarot and Mao's Cultural Revolution, such as the varying military style uniforms, the space exploration themes, many of which include whimsical visions of children and pets, to the farmer's crops and their clothing. Christine incorporates these with the Tarot, matching up the themes of the traditional Waite/Smith deck with the corresponding theme in any given Mao era propaganda poster. I then take these ideas and bring them to life in my own style, trying to stay faithful to the spirit in which they were created...the spirit of Utopian community (regardless of how this utopia actually turned out or the negative aspects of the revolution that gain the most notoriety among those in the western world and those of an anti-communist persuasion in general).

The Cultural Revolution Tarot can therefore be seen as a sort of romanticized version of the Cultural Revolution, that is, the original idea of community and equality, without the class divides of the West, without the Bourgeois and their excessive lifestyles which were enjoyed on the backs of the lowly peasants. The Cultural Revolution Tarot aims to kind of champion the idea of community, not just the community of a 60's - 70's era China, but the community that we find ourselves in today, wherever you may happen to be.

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Refuge From The Cold

11/4/2013

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If you could see what I see
The woman that captures my heart
The one surrounded in beauty
Her soul speaks to me
From a tender place I call home

Her eyes filled with love’s light
Her smile welcomes me in from the cold
Of a life I used to know
Before I knew love
My place of refuge
My lighthouse that beckons to me
Warns me of the jagged rocks
These words of the careless
She guides me in troubled waters

And love if you could see what I see
The girl within the woman
And the woman within a prayer
That echoed across the Arab seas
To a father in the sky
You would see I’ve been waiting for so long
To find my way home to your healing heart
Your gentle shores
I would shipwreck on your shallows
If only to stay there forever

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Bushmills Town Panels Update

10/19/2013

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What the panel MAY look like.
This is just a mock-up sample.

Just a little sneak peak of what the Panels in Bushmills might look like next year, or at least the progress of the panels so far. Each panel, one situated at the Giant's Causeway Park and Ride at the top of the town, another in the Millennium park next to the river and the other at Hamill Park outside the Bushmills Whiskey Distillery all will feature the same map layout and heritage images (originally they were going to have different themes for each area...Salmon jumping in the Millenium Park design, a Finn McCool design and a Whiskey barrel design but most of these designs are now used as faded design elements in both panel and brochure)

The map will use a grid and the commercial section (the part that is left blank in the mock-up image to the left) will indicate what grid square each establishment falls under. The heritage images will all be number coded so that visitors will be able to find the location of each place of interest easily. I am very pleased to have been able to redesign the panels of the town with the help of the Brighter Bushmills group and hopefully, if or when they need me, when this project is over we will work on other projects in the near future.

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Bushmills To Receive New Logo

10/19/2013

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Another day’s meeting at the French Rooms brought us a little bit closer to designing the logo for the town of Bushmills. It’s been an ongoing task with varying opinions on what would best represent the town.

This time around I’ve decided (at least for now) to only illustrate what is given to me by the group as it seems they have a definite idea of what they want, and

Created from a Winston Boyce design. The logo
may have a look similar to this.
Rendered in Photoshop by myself

really yet another cook would only spoil the broth. Initially I thought that a town logo that would tie in with the same style of work that I did and which will be present on the 3 orientation panels, tourist info indoor panel, and the newly updated brochure would work best, but with the group wanting a more simplified streamlined logo I entrust it to the group. Logo design is not something i am very familiar with, with my work being more illustrative and detailed compared to the very sparse abstract design that the group foresees for the town.

As always, it's great to meet up with the group and progress further with the project. Both panel and brochure work are coming along nicely and are nearing completion, with a few minor additions included in the map. I am of the belief that this is some of my best work to date, and i am glad it will be displayed in my home town.

My original design for a Bushmills town logo
used Currie's Mill beside the old
bridge accompanied with a simplified
montage of both the river and the iconic Bushmills chimneys

I’ll be working on a Ballintoy map next for Art Ward through the Ballintoy Group (an official name will be included in my blogs as and when I get more info of course) but all in all a stretch of map that starts from Dunserverick Castle and runs across to Kenbane Castle will be underway soon. I feel this will be a really good follow-up to my Bushmills map, which, all being well, will be on display in Bushmills next year.

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John Clarke Potato Festival

10/10/2013

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Saturday the 5th of October saw the first John Clarke Potato Festival or “The Potato Festival” as it has been more commonly referred to. I first heard of it through Professional photographer Art Ward who also works along side me on the Brighter Bushmills Project’s new town map and brochure along with the rest of the group. The festival was held at Innisfree House, a National Trust owned property and one time home of potato grower John Clarke. With Art working with the National Trust it was great to meet up with him and chat about this, that and the other; the other being the possible map work for Ballintoy, which will be created in the same style of illustration as my Bushmills town map. To view the colouring of the Bushmills town map, click here

For being it's very first year, the festival had an impressive amount of stalls and cookery demonstrations, with Glens of Antrim Potatoes and Tayto Crisps in attendance. All in all a great day out.

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Did I Will You Here?

10/7/2013

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Eyes, like the eyes that I knew
From before a time I first saw them
A face it seems I’ve known
I’ve always known
From the beginning
So familiar
Did I dream you like I dreamed
Of the map?
Did I will you here?
Strange, now that I see my own self
In your dimples, kindness
The bangs in your eyes so sweet
I long to walk the road with you
And to kiss your feet along the journey

I’m so sorry I seem dormant
Devoid of feeling
When really I feel you drawn to me
Like the sun across the sunflowers
As they turn their heads

In truth I could never truly conceal
The fire inside
Even if I wanted to

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Chilli McCool's Was Just Not Cool At All!

10/5/2013

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I do not make a habit of complaining, but when i do i like to think it's important enough to be worth writing about. Originally i planned writing this a lot sooner but i was under a busy schedule with the Brighter Bushmills Project's Phase Two assignment (creating the panels, new brochure etc for the town).

So what rattled my cage? in a word....a burrito.

This was not just any old burrito though. This was an "up all night working, burning the midnight oil illustrating a map and finishing up the last remaining bits and pieces for the following day's meeting" burrito. I had not stopped for a midnight snack, not stopped for breakfast or any of that kind of thing. Now granted, my time keeping may not be the best in the world but this map has been occupying me pretty much around the clock. Yet, i enjoy it so i cannot complain.

I'd heard of Chilli McCool's on the North Coast, situated on the road between the Smuggler's Inn and the Giant's Causeway. I believe it is a new establishment. The last time i had had a burrito in a restaurant was Boojums in Belfast and so I was happy to see someone start up a Mexican style restaurant on the North Coast. I was fully in support of such a place and decided to see what they had to offer.

At eight british pounds for a burrito i half thought there must be some mistake. Was i getting a side order too and just hadn't been informed of it? Was the fact that with the guys behind the counter looking more Polish than Mexican or English it was causing some sort of menu and price malfunction? None of the above. Instead, it was eight pounds for a burrito. Fine, i thought to myself, i'm paying over the odds but chatting to the young man behind the counter and his explaining that they'd only set up a few months ago, i decided that IF the burrito was resonably decent, i would overlook the expensive price (It's a takeway style burrito for heaven's sake) in the hopes the business would find it's feet and establish itself better.

Now it has to be said that the set up is pretty decent, with the counters, the "subway" style picking and choosing what you want from a few containers and etc but the lack of choice left a little to be desired. Still, i thought to myself, give this wee burrito making business a chance because after all, they are still new it would seem, AND, they are trying to offer something a little different. I chose what i wanted from the rather paltry choice on offer, and had the young man load it onto my tortilla wrap. Could the young man be any more careless with the ladle, slapping the relish on and spilling it over the containers of sweetcorn and tomatoes? Did it ever occur to these "burrito making" employees that some members of the public might HATE salsa (hey you just never know) and wouldn't appreciate their lettuce covered in the stuff. I mean, that, after all, is why it is in separate containers is it not? to establish that there is CHOICE, however paltry it might be. Not that i cared that much personally. Things like that really are not that important to me. It seemed though that a little discretion couldn't go amiss.

The kicker came when i watched the guy starting to wrap my burrito in clingfilm. Oh i am not that worried about cling film either, i'm not a snob but bloody hell this was to be eaten at a table either in the establishment or outside. I took the burrito out and sat at an outdoor table as the weather was good, and as i began to eat it, i realized that the burrito was cold. The wrap was lukewarm but it's contents were cold. Screw it, i thought, I've not eaten since yesterday so we'll give it a shot, but i suppose by the grace of God my burrito started to come apart in my hands and was falling all over the table. Now dear reader, do not take that the wrong way. I am well accustomed to a tortilla wrap and i was not throwing it all over the place out of frustration at such a crappy service/burrito...i mean at 8 pounds i was not exactly eager for the burrito to fall apart all over the wooden picnic style table. Instead, i shoved it into the clingfilm and ate it later. That was the only way to salvage what was left. I then took myself off to the Smugglers Inn up the road and half wished I'd gone there in the first place. If the contents were warm and the tortilla wasn't paper thin (and thus the contents falling all over the bloody place) i would have overlooked the price and the sloppy service. IF a paper plate was provided the burrito could have been so much better because it would have been managable. In fact, At the price of the burrito, it's really the least they could do.

Hey, so sue me i feel sorry for the tourists in those tour buses that stop into this place because really the food is not THAT cheap, nor is it, in my own personal view, particularly healthy with half heated meat and whatever else. Mainly though a paper plate would have been a huge help. I'm not into the business of trying to badmouth small businesses but i remember walking away from that place feeling cheated.

In saying that however, others seem to have had better experiences on TripAdvisor. That's entirely possible. Also these reviewers may have had a different meal. If i had time on my hands I'd join TripAdvisor and give my opinions on the local areas around here but for now i'll just write about it if and when i see fit on my own website

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g209948-d4551300-r175737361-Chillie_mccools-Bushmills_County_Antrim_Northern_Ireland.html

As a respecter of the burrito I personally could not recommend the restaurant to anyone based on the service i received but it is entirely possible that they have repented of their ways and invested in some paper plates or at least a few napkins

Thanks for reading
James

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Forward>>

Finn McCool themed sign for Sheila's of Portstewart

I Will Come Back For You

Return to Bushmills Map

The Cultural Revolution Tarot

Refuge From The Cold

Bushmills Town Panels Update

Bushmills To Receive New Logo

John Clarke Potato Festival

Did I Will You Here?

Chilli McCool's Was Just Not Cool At All!

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