Toys for the New Year

The project 218 art collective that I am a part of is putting on another show in conjunction with D-Structure in San Francisco for the New Year! This year's show is centered around toys.


The mystery character below is a study for a mischievous little craftsman who shows up in my pieces. 

???

Who is this, and how did he manage to steal all my time? He seems to have a healthy disregard for the establishment. I've got to keep my eye on him...at least until Christmas.

Try Try Again

These are quick painting studies I did recently. They come after one of the worst art moments I have had since I failed my first charcoal rendering exercise waaaaay back in school. With this, I was red with anger, ready to throw my sketchbook down, kick my paints and snap my brush. Luckily, I simply tore out the page, and started again. Those moments are actually very great for me. They come when I am tackling something I don't understand. In the end, painting is always fun, and I love it!

Iran So Far Away

So, this guy has been all over the headlines, pretty much all the time. He's just your run of the mill Holocaust-denying, unfairly elected, America hating, open-collar-shirt-wearing guy...unless...

No Sleep Till...

So, I'm having a bout of insomnia which happens from time to time. I figure this is as good a time as any to rock some old Clash tunes and draw my (least) favorite blowhard, Glenn Beck. Death or Glory!

Final Digital Waterhouse Study

This was the last study I did while searching for secrets I can apply from Waterhouse's painting technique to my digital work. This was done in Photoshop, not Painter, and I saved it for last because it was the most complicated of the selections. It was a beast! There is so much to learn, it's staggering.

Next up is more for the Decrepit Power Station. I am going to do this one mostly traditional, so I will post up work for that soon.

Night Painting

I tried my hand at painting at night with Jesse in Downtown RWC last night. It was significantly more difficult than painting during the day. The biggest challenge was getting colors right because the lighting we were painting under was of a yellowish color-cast. I felt colorblind. Ultramarine blue looked just like burnt sienna and paynes grey under the night lights. Still, it was a lot of fun, and a homeless man came and told us stories about Vietnam and motorcycle gangs as we painted.

Decrepid Power Station HQ

This is a small thumbnail sketch I did in photoshop as I played around with the idea of an old power collection station way out in space. I read that Mercury has wild magnetic tornados that sweep across the planet, and I wondered if that could be the basis for something on a mercury-esque planet somewhere. I have a loose idea for a story that takes place here. I'm going to develop this particular piece in stages. I will post my progress as it comes together.

As I said earlier, I've been inspired by various tunes lately. The music creates loose images in my head, and some of my posts have emerged from the doodles I create from those moments. Currently on the plate is MSTRKRFT, The Dead Weather/The Kills, New Thom Yorke, Portishead, and Autolux.

The Neighbor

More from the same batch of ideas that formed the space station and the captain plus a little random mess-making in photoshop with new brushes. An otherworldly behemoth examines an energy collection compound in the middle of nowhere (somewhere...)

Future/Perfect

I've been listening to a lot of new music lately, and I was in the mood to revisit an old idea that a song reminded me of. This is based on a blurb I wrote once several years ago in one of my journals. The premise was that at some point in the future television would be so ingrained in human behavior that even after the airwaves go dead, the hypnotic glow of the tube provides comfort.

Owlbear!

Here is the ArtOrder challenge final painting for the Owlbear Reimagined. I picture this imposing beast gliding (not flying) down on hapless prey as night falls.

Owlbear?

There is a great art challenge blog for people interested in fantasy art called ArtOrder.This particular challenge I am working on is the "Owlbear Reimagined." The owlbear is both a loved and hated creature from the D&D universe, and the idea is to reinterpret the creature as something more than just a bear with an owl's head stuck on. These are the sketches I settled on as my idea for the challenge. I'll take the concept to finish with a male, female and infant version.

Awww Dammit.

You ever have a thing where you have an idea, then you see someone else also had the same idea, but better? Well, for some reason I FAILED to see the blatant similarities between my sketch and the new film District 9. I just saw it, and it was SOOOOO good! Everytime I saw the mothership floating over Johannesburg I thought, "aww dammit." They did such a good job. I don't know if I subconsciously pilfered it, or what, but that idea is a no go. All I can say is, I hope there's a District 10.

I'm still going to work on the story, but the visuals will need a major overhaul. Back to work!

A Bit New, and a Bit Not

Here is a sketch for a piece I'm working on. You may recognize a few of the elements. One is the space station I posted earlier, and the waterfront city is based on the random sketch I did in photoshop a while back working with brushes mixed with some of my painting studies of the port of Redwood City during lunch breaks. It all comes together for an illustration that goes along with some short stories I'm writing that are space/sci-fi related. I'll post more progress on this as it moves along.

Waterhouse Master Studies II

This is the second installment of my digital Waterhouse studies. (not thrilled about the extra compression and subsequent color and resolution mishaps blogger imposed on my file, blech!) I noticed that I'm learning the most in 2 hour studies instead of the quick "speedpaint" technique I've used in the past when studying master paintings. A teacher once said not to spend less than an hour and not more than three on a study, and I think that rings true, at least for these. My goal is not to copy, but to unlock some of Waterhouse's secrets by retracing his steps. One more painting to go!

Waterhouse Master Studies

I'm working on some new things with my painting technique, and this is one of three studies I am doing based on John William Waterhouse's paintings. This one was done in the program Painter, but I will mostly also use Photoshop on one of the studies.

Reunion Trees

This is a little study I did while taking a break in the shade at Toro Park near Salinas, CA. Kristel and her family had a reunion last weekend. After a little basketball in the heat, I sat down to do a painting and cool off. Kristel's mom mentioned that she didn't see anything particularly inspirational. She was right, but I felt like painting. Thankfully this little bit of grass between two trees presented itself.

Il Communication

So, I've wanted to do this portrait for a while. He pops in and out of the news often, but considering recent events I finally did a quick one. Part Jabba, part Max Headroom, and part Elvis?? One of my co-workers who spent time around the DMZ told me North Korea is the strangest place on earth, bar none. If their leader is any indicator, that may be true indeed.

The Roof is on Fire

This is how my brain felt this week.

Half Dome Trip

Two weekends ago, I took a trip to Yosemite to hike to the top of Half Dome from Glacier Point. It was a long and wonderful hike, with moments of peace, beauty, and even some potentially serious danger. It was a great experience, one that I hope I can repeat in the future.

I planned to do some painting up at the top, but the weather decided otherwise. Sometimes I find that it is better to simply observe and enjoy than to feel compelled to record my surroundings. The next time I go to Yosemite I will be sure to bring my paints again.