Journeys of the Mind

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Nextra-terrestrial's Galaxy

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Intergalactic World

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Inspiration

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Food for Thought

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Nextra-terrestrial Giraffe Party at Clacton Factory Outlet Shopping Centre!

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Nextra-terrestrial giraffe party at Clacton Outlet

Yesterday was Nextra-terrestrial the giraffe sculpture's last day at Clacton Outlet - and what a party the giraffes had last night! The giraffe characters painted on Nextra-terrestrial's sides came to life and danced, sang and feasted until dawn.

Not only were they making the most of their last night at Clacton, they were also celebrating Raph G. Neckmann's birthday - and they created a special Giraffe Hopscotch on the paving featuring Raph, complete with glasses!

Giraffe Hopscotch Raph G. Neckmann style!

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By morning all signs of the party had been cleared up, and the time came to say farewell to Centre Manager Allan Hassell, as Nextra-terrestrial set out on her journey back to Colchester Zoo for a week. She hid a few tears as she left, for it had been such a nexcellent summer with lovely people, lots of fun and SHOPPING!!! But she looked forward to seeing all her friends at the Zoo again ...

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Nextra-terrestrial thanks Centre Manager Allan Hassell, Clacton Outlet for a nexcellent stay over the summer!

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You can bid for Nextra-terrestrial the giraffe at auction on September 19th!

Nextra-terrestrial giraffe by Ingrid Sylvestre

On September 19th Nextra-terrestrial the giraffe, along with the other Stand Tall giraffes, will be auctioned by Reeman Dansie, for Colchester Zoo's charity Action for the Wild.

Nextra-terrestrial giraffe by Ingrid Sylvestre

I painted my design onto the giraffe sculpture in April this year in the Giraffe House at Colchester Zoo. The design is based on my giraffe characters the Neckmann family and their home Necky Knoll House on Giraffe World planet in Camelopardalis Constellation. Nextra-terrestrial acts as an intergalactic portal for the characters!

Ingrid with Nextra-terrestrial in the Giraffe House at Colchester Zoo.

Nextra-terrestrial is currently on location at Clacton Factory Outlet, as part of the Stand Tall giraffe tour. You can tell from her tweets that she is thoroughly enjoying it there - follow her on twitter @NextraTGiraffe and visit her blog Nextra-terrestrial

Nextra-terrestrial at Clacton Factory Outlet

You would not guess, from looking at her still serene pose that she and her painted characters come alive when there are no humans around and have adventures - read about them on her blog! You can even download and print pictures to colour in.

Nextra-terrestrial at Clacton Factory Outlet

If you would like to own her, you can bid for her at auction! Please visit auctioneer Reeman Dansie's site for information.

Midsummer Light

I thought it was about time I posted something about gardens again! Although this blog was originally intended to be on the themes of Trees, Woods & Gardens it seems to have been taken over by giraffes ...

This photo of Geranium and Alchemilla mollis was taken on the Midsummer Solstice when they were illuminated by wonderfully serene and mysterious light.

Necky Becky visits Mountain Warehouse! 'Written' by Ingrid's giraffe, Nextra-terrestrial ;)

Necky Becky and her neckshund dog Hals visit Mountain Warehouse

This post is written by the giraffe, Nextra-terrestrial who has giraffe characters painted on her, and is from Camelopardalis constellation! ;)

Many of you on planet Earth know that during the night, when no humans are around, the giraffe characters painted on my body come to life and we all have adventures, parties and midnight feasts!

Here I am at Clacton Factory Outlet

We have great fun here at Clacton Factory Outlet, nexploring everywhere, shopping and also riding through intergalactic space to and from our own planet in Camelopardalis Constellation ...

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The giraffe characters come alive as we travel through intergalactic space.

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This adventure features giraffe character Necky Becky, the middle child of the Neckmann family. You can see Necky Becky with her neckshund dog Hals on my left side. (Her mum and dad are dancing further along).

Necky Becky and Hals the neckshund painted on my left side

This week, Necky Becky decided she would like to buy some new walking clothes at Mountain Warehouse. She loves to take Hals for long walks, and wanted a jacket for when it rains, a warm top and some new boots!

Necky Becky admires clothing at Mountain Warehouse, Clacton Factory Outlet

Guess what colour is Necky Becky's favourite? (She likes it so much she even dyes her fur that colour!) Mountain Warehouse certainly has plenty of lovely bright clothes and she thoroughly enjoyed herself looking at all the choices and picking out the ones she wanted to buy.

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"Ooh, what nexcellent boots!"

"Oooh what a nexcellent range of boots, Hals!" she nexclaimed. "These are the ones for me - the colours are perfect and they are so comfy! We'll have some great walks ..."

Satisfied with her choices, Necky Becky left the money by the till and went to show her purchases to the rest of us. I took everyone for a ride to our Giraffe World planet, so Necky Becky could take Hals on his favourite walk wearing her lovely new Mountain Warehouse boots.

A picture for you to print off and colour in!

Here they are enjoying their walk. I wonder if Necky Becky's rucksack is also from Mountain Warehouse ....

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You can click on the picture, then right click on View Image, right click again to enlarge and save the image to print and colour it in!

This post was written by Ingrid's 'Stand Tall' giraffe, Nextra-terrestrial! You can visit her blog here.

'Ooh, where am I?' Nextra-terrestrial Giraffe tells her story!

'What an eventful few hours this has been! After spending many days in storage with all the other giraffes, passing the time chatting and playing games, we were suddenly all loaded onto transporters to go to our new homes for 12 weeks ...'

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'After what seemed like quite a long journey I was left standing in unknown surroundings. I felt very alone. Where were all my giraffe friends? Were there any humans here?'

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'"Stand Tall," I said to myself, feeling a tear roll down my neck.'

'Then suddenly I was surrounded by friendly, welcoming people! They smiled at me, put their arms round my neck and posed for photographs with me. There was a lovely feeling of celebration. "Welcome!" they said, "Welcome to Clacton Factory Outlet, we're so glad to have you here."'

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'Ooh, now I know this is going to be a nexciting, fun-filled summer!'
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Nextra-terrestrial, the giraffe painted by Ingrid, is one of 30 large 2.5 metre high giraffes that are part of Stand Tall for Giraffes at Colchester Zoo. These giraffes are now situated in different locations around Colchester and Essex for 12 weeks, prior to going to Colchester Zoo for a final week, followed by a week at More London. Then they will all be auctioned to raise money for wildlife charity. 

You can see more about Nextra-terrestrial  on her very own blog which even has downloadable pictures to colour in!

Stand Tall for Giraffes at Colchester Zoo!

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'Nextra-terrestrial' giraffe - finished before varnishing - in the giraffe house at Colchester Zoo

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I have just been working on one of my most exciting projects ever!

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This year is Colchester Zoo's 50th birthday and to celebrate the Zoo has launched Stand Tall for Giraffes, a mass appeal large scale public art event. For 12 weeks during the summer, Colchester's streets, parks and open spaces will be taken over by 2.5 metre high giraffes! Artists have been commissioned to create designs to go on each giraffe, and I was overjoyed when my design 'Nextra-terrestrial' was selected.

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The giraffe house - my  wonderful 'studio' at Colchester Zoo while working on Stand Tall giraffe sculpture 'Nextra-terrestrial'

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My stay in Colchester, which is over five hours train journey from Durham, was very pleasant indeed. I booked in at the Red Lion Hotel in the town centre - a marvellous historic building with the original wooden beams, great character and atmosphere, wonderful friendly staff and fabulous food.

My 'studio' was at the Zoo - in the giraffe house itself! Never would I have imagined I would be creating a work of art on a giraffe sculpture in the presence of real live giraffes!

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Giraffe artist Ingrid gazing in awe at the giraffes outside from the window of the giraffe house, Colchester Zoo!

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The giraffe sculptures are created from fibre glass and mine was waiting for me, ready primed in white.

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Primed with white and ready for Ingrid to paint with the design  - 'Nextra-terrestrial' giraffe sculpture Colchester Zoo

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The window beyond the sculpture looked out to where the giraffes were during the day.

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The back of the giraffe house, Colchester Zoo with one of the giraffes. Ingrid's workspace was just inside the window over the giraffe.

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My workspace was situated overlooking the giraffes when they came in at tea-time. I had step ladders to reach Nextra-terrestrial's high head, and a sign was positioned telling the public that I would be working there.

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Ready to be watched by visitors to Colchester Zoo - 'Nextra-terrestrial' giraffe sculpture with her first pink layer of painted design

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I couldn't wait to get started on my design! Time was at a premium as I only had from Tuesday to Friday to paint the sculpture, and my design was quite complex, featuring a scene from my Giraffe World in Camelopardalis constellation, with Necky Knoll House and its inhabitants and their friends!

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Ingrid has painted the first stage of her design in pink acrylic paint. You can see Necky Knoll House, the hedge and some of the giraffe characters emerging!

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First of all I painted the main components of the design in pale pink. I used artists' acrylic paint, which went very smoothly over the primed surface.

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Close up of Necky Knoll House and its steps in pink acrylic paint

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The familiar landmark of Necky Knoll House appeared, with its steeply curving front steps.

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Next Ingrid has added yellow to the design picking out the highlights on the knolls

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Next I added yellow to the designs, picking out the highlights on the knolls where the Camelopardalian sun shone! The lower part of the giraffe was painted in yellow ochre mixed with white, for the drive area of Necky Knoll House.

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Giraffe artist Ingrid Sylvestre working on her Stand Tall giraffe 'Nextra-terrestrial' at Colchester Zoo, with a giraffe in the background!

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Painting a coat of pink on the neck, I realised I was being watched by the giraffes! The giraffe house had a very distinctive smell, which permeated all my clothes. Pleasant - a little like riding stables, but much stronger.

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This giraffe seems intrigued by Ingrid's giraffe sculpture!

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Detail emerges on Nextra-terrestrial's back. A winding path curves between the knolls.

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Working on the details on Nextra-terrestrial's sloping back and neck, I stood on the ladder to shape the stars.

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Ingrid Sylvestre giraffe artist appropriately clad in giraffe patterned top and belt!

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The head received a coat of blue paint over the pink, which I gradually changed to magenta lower on the neck, delineating the stars.

The audience of the multitudes of visitors to the Zoo appreciated that I wore giraffe-patterned clothes! I love interacting with the public while I work, and everyone was so interested in seeing the characters and hearing about their lives and adventures. Talking to people does slow down the painting process, but it is such an important part of creating public art and so immensely enjoyable.

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The hedge around the garden at Necky Knoll House is added

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It was now time to add the hedge which runs around the perimeter of the garden of Necky Knoll House. Working on a three-dimensional 'canvas' shaped like a giraffe was challenging and needed to be planned so that each area had interest, and looked good from all angles.

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The shadows on the sides of the knolls appear

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Adding the shadow sides of the knolls gave a 3D effect and a sense of rhythm to the design. I used process blue for this, instead of the ultramarine blue which I had used on the head and upper neck. (To save carrying too much weight on the train, I purchased most of my acrylic paint in Colchester at Tindalls art shop, where the staff had kindly ordered the colours I needed).

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Giraffe character Necky Becky  and her neckshund dog become clearer as detail is added

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Ingrid adds giraffe pattern detail to the trees. Are those giraffes on the back of her jacket?!

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Highlights are added to the hedge, creating mysterious shapes and the knolls look swirlingly rounded

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I worked on creating the happy yet mysterious atmosphere of Giraffe World, with its ethereal light on the knolls. Visitors enjoyed looking at the hedge and imagining all kinds of shapes in it. The music playing in the giraffe house added to the atmosphere - so evocative, rhythmic and joyous.

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Ingrid has started to add giraffe pattern detail to the path that winds between the knolls on Nextra-terrestrial's back

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Designing the imagery for Nextra-terrestrial's back had to accommodate the curves and angles of her neck, and I was pleased with the result, with the path winding mysteriously into the distance between the knolls.

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The early stages of the giraffe characters outlines: from top left, Girth, Necky Becky and Hals the Neckshund, Raph G. Neckmann and Maureen Treeging, Neko and Nexi,  Nukkle and Sgruff of The Stiffnex band

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Here you can see the many giraffe characters I painted on Nextra-terrestrial. (If you click on any of the images on the blog, they enlarge.) These are all characters that feature on Raph G. Neckmann's blog which many of you are familiar with!

Further detail on Neko and Nexi at the front

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Close up of Raph G. Neckmann and Maureen Treeging, with Littl' Nicky brushing his teeth!

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Almost complete - The Stiffnex prepare to play a gig to celebrate!

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Working to a very tight deadline, one always wonders if one will finish on time! It was with a great sense of celebration that I put the final touches to Nextra-terrestrial knowing that I would be able to meet the deadline, completing the work to my satisfaction. I am a bit of a perfectionist and like to do a 'nexcellent' job!

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Stand Tall giraffe Nextra-terrestrial complete and varnished - left side

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The last part of the painting was to add the giraffodils around Nextra-terrestrial's feet. I remembered to add my signature too!

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Stand Tall Nextra-terrestrial giraffe complete and varnished - front

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The acrylic paint dried very quickly in the hot giraffe house, and I was able to varnish Nextra-terrestrial after a short break for food.

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Stand Tall giraffe Nextra-terrestrial complete and varnished  - right side

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I took these last 3 photos on the Saturday morning, while Nextra-terrestrial was being professionally photographed - I was standing to the side so the backdrop is not central, but I think this gives a kind of ethereal 'floating off in space' effect!

It was difficult to tear myself away, and I patted Nextra-terrestrial on her neck and wished her a fond farewell. I'm so looking forward to seeing her when she is on show in Colchester during the summer!

During the painting process I had been far too busy to see the rest of the Zoo, so job complete, I spent the few hours before my train journey home exploring. What a treat! Everything about Colchester Zoo, from the friendly enthusiastic staff and well-cared-for creatures to the interesting layout, the imaginative horticultural plantings and the scrumptious food, is a delight! But best of all is the giraffe house, with its lovely long-necked inhabitants, its atmospheric music and its giraffy smell that still clings to my jackets!

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North East artist Ingrid Sylvestre Giraffe Artist Durham UK

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