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While Lewis Carroll’s original tale included its fair share of obscurity, in true Tim Burton style, with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, Alice in Wonderland is tipped to be full of darkness and fantasy.

Artway Gallery artist Ellie Williams is embracing the moment by updating her collection with Tim Burton inspired Alice paintings. She has already a complete collection of Alice paintings inspired by the original illustrations (see main image) but as a fan of Tim’s films, she’s adding the modern to her mix of classics.

Classic literature to modern Twitterature

This is something that we see again and again. Take Twitterature (Alexander Aciman and Emmett Rensin, 2009), for example, a book committed to the world’s greatest books retold through Twitter; all be it rather tongue in cheek .

I picked this book up and couldn’t put it down as I saw the likes of Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Romeo and Juliet summarised and modernised Twitter style. Macbeth was revealed to me in 19 paragraphs of just 140 characters or less and contained the text-speak abbreviation LOL- remarkable, and just how Will intended it I’m sure. Here’s what they did with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland:

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll @AliceInTheSkyWithDiamonds

Like many book characters, I’m pretty bored. Oh! A white rabbit! Just like in The Matrix. That movie was pretty dope, if you’re on drugs.

Down into the rabbit hole I go! Ohh, that’s rich, I feel like Neo.

Is it OK to drink from a mysterious bottle that’s been opened? What if there are Ruffies in it?

I don’t know what’s going on, but in a typically feminine manner I’ll allow confusion and being flustered to make me cry up a storm.

Am I still the same little girl that I was before? I feel like my ‘self’ is being deconstructed. And in HD, to boot.

I asked a mouse how to get dry from all my tears. He gave me a dry history lesson. People are purposefully confusing my words.

I’m still in the rabbit’s house. Here’s more mysterious juice. Should I drink it again? Oh what the hell. Hope I won’t be sore afterward.

Whay are people throwing rocks at me like I’m Mary Magdalene? I’m a little girl, not a biblical prostitute…er, Christ’s wife.

I found a stoner Arab caterpillar. He made fun of me. Oh yeah? At least I’m not three inches tall with a case of the munchies.

At a tea party with a crack-head hat man. He’s a schizoid. Insanity is part of his public image. After all, he put ‘mad’ in his name.

Sound has become distorted.

This land is terrorized by the Queen of Hearts. She’s a card. Wouldn’t it be funny if I destroyed her army by shuffling them?

I’m in trouble. I’m not sure what I did. This is the worst day ever. I need a drink. Not from an unmarked bottle, though, no more of that.

Now I’m on trial. Another worst day ever. The queen stole my integrity and made me a felon. If I knew magic, I’d make her disappear.

If only I could grow large and crush them beneath me. Wait. I feel so strangely powerful, I’m huge. This courthouse is going down.

Oh, my sister is here. She’s waking me for tea-time. Good, I’m home again.

A grinning cat, a tweeked-out hatter? A sadistic queen and terrifying baby? This is the kinda shit that send people to years of therapy.

God that was just insane. I need another adventure like that like I need a hole in the head.

(Please note that none of the words expressed in this excerpt are the views of opinions of Chichester Design 2010).

Marketing- combining old classics with new digital

But this same concept can be applied to anything and Chichester Design are actually looking into the possibilities of communicating one of the classic arts through Twitter – more of that to come later!

You can extend this to marketing techniques, with so many stuck in the old routine of print flyers and email marketing. Why not think about applying a modern twist and using a bit of social media to mix up those stale marketing strategies?

I think that it’s healthy to shake things up a bit; it keeps life interesting. I love modern art and in the digital era there’s so much crossing over with technology that everything just moulds into one, in a pleasant and comforting way. Classic and modern can go hand-in-hand. Modern technology can represent art, just as it can represent marketing through the likes of social media. Have a think about that when you’re planning your next marketing venture and feel free to contact our Digital Marketing Consultant for a new and effective marketing strategy today.

Simon’s fiancée Ellie Williams is entering the BP Portrait Award 2010 and after careful contemplation of which face inspires her most, husband-to-be Simon was the perfect subject choice.

The Portrait Award is now in its thirty-first year at the National Portrait Gallery, is open to everyone aged 18 and over and is aimed at encouraging artists to focus upon and develop the theme of portraiture in their work.

Last year over 1,900 artists submitted their work and the exhibition, which featured sixty paintings, was seen by a record 298,000 people in London alone. Many artists who have had their work exhibited have gained commissions as a result of the considerable interest in the Portrait Award and the resulting exhibition and let’s hope that such successes follow for Ellie.

The portrait process

After settling on her subject, and with the competition’s submission deadline of 14^th February fast approaching, Ellie went ahead with the preparations. She commissioned Ben’s lovely Lucy to take some portraiture photography of Simon looking moody and thoughtful as a starting point.

You can see more of Lucy Hackett’s fabulous photography, featuring the original shots of Simon at: http://www.lucyhackett.co.uk.

Ellie, who showcases her artworks at the Artway Gallery and via various social media platforms such as Facebook has recorded each stage of the long process to perfection.

The stages show how Ellie started with a simple sketch and then gradually built up both detail and colour with the greatest care and precision. I think you’ll agree that’s Ellie has captured Simon beautifully, even if his multitude of freckles were giving her painter’s cramp

Stay tuned to find out about Ellie’s progress in the competition…