Figure Drawing Session

Oh, yeah, and I drew the model too...

Travel Sketches

Here is entertainment industry sculptor, Jordu Schell, giving a monster sculpting demonstration at IlluXcon.


And this is the guy that modeled for Donato Giancola during his portrait painting demonstration, also at IlluXcon in Pennsylvania.

Two weeks later, I delightfully happened to run into Donato again in Montreal while visiting the John William Waterhouse exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art! It was a really excellent display of one of my favorite artists.
Also while in Montreal, it was cold waiting for the museum to open, so I got a cup of tea and sketched the back side of this sculpture of Norman Bethune from inside a Tim Horton's there.
I didn't know anything about him at the time, but Wikipedia tells me he was a medical innovator and Surgeon-in-Chief of Montreal's Royal Victoria Hospital in the 1930's

Martin

Wearing a damaged straw hat, he makes a surprisingly convincing rancher.

Oil, 16 x 20 inches
(click to enlarge)

Coffee Shop Sketches

Ryan or Blond Streak

As usual, painted from a live sitting.

Oil, 16 x 20 inches

In other news, this weekend I will be taking a pilgrimage to Montreal Museum of Fine Arts to see the John William Waterhouse exhibit! (on display there until February 7th) Waterhouse is a major influence on me and I have yet to see any of his paintings in person, so I'm excited. Check out these videos of curator, Peter Trippi, speaking about some of the paintings on display.

Etsy Store

Back from Illuxcon and a very inspiring weekend! Thanks to everyone who made it great.

Now that I'm back I thought it might be a good time to announce that I've set up and Etsy store for prints! Take a look.
Here is a recent sketch and the digitally colored version that is available as a print in the store.

Grandfather's Brass Bowls

I will be participating in a five person gallery show April 3rd - 18th, 2010, with the Bristol Art Museum in Bristol, Rhode Island, for which I will be painting mostly still lives. More news on that as it develops, here is the first painting.

Oil, 16 x 20 inches
(click to enlarge)

My grandfather was a shop teacher and he made these shallow hammered brass bowls with his students. In this painting you can see hints of the star chart that is etched into the largest one.

In other news, I will be traveling to Altoona, Pennsylvania this week for Illuxcon 2009! It's a great fantasy art convention on an intimate scale with many, many big names from the field attending. There may still be tickets if you hurry!

Crissy

A Monday night portrait.

Oil, 16 x 20 inches
(click to enlarge)

Gray Paper Sketches

I've been back at it with the gray paper lately. I've been trying out a white colored pencil for the lights instead of the white conte that I had been using. I like that I don't have to worry about it smearing and that I can sharpen it to a nice point more easily, even though it's not quite a bright as the conte.




For anyone looking for gray paper sketchbooks, as far as I know no one is making them right now. Mine is a thick stack of gray cardstock from Staples that I got wire bound at the Staples print and copy center.

Siren and The Council

Two more new illustrations! The first will sing your flesh away so that she may eat your bones and the second is a proud tribe of great blue and gold predatory birds. Both are oil on board, about 14 x 18 inches.

(Click to enlarge!)

Salsa Dancer

Kind of reminds me of a vintage produce label. I like that.

Oil, 16 x 20 inches
(click to enlarge)

Pretty Ladies

Sketches from the coffee shop.

Stormy Weather and Great Balls of Fire

Two more new illustrations. An amphibiously traveling tortoise character leads some humans to shelter, and a mysterious shape shifting fire creature makes a rare appearance. Click to enlarge, as usual.

Bruce

An experiment in the style of J.C. Leyendecker. One of my favorite artists for inspiration.

Oil, 14 x 18 inches

Woodland Folk

Forest fairy tricksters!

Figures Decoratives and Color

I've been thinking about borders lately. I would like to do more of them.


Also, I've been toying with the idea of opening an Etsy shop with little prints of sketches and such. This has led me to more experiments in digital color with my sketches.

(original sketch here)

What do you think? Let me know in the comments section.
Is an Etsy store a good idea or just a time sink? Do you like the color or would you rather have the simplicity of the black and white line?

Fire and Snakes!

Two more new illustrations, painted in oil as usual.

Long Awaited

Thanks to everyone who watches my blog and sits through all of my practice work and sketches waiting to see illustrations. I know, it's been a while, but I have a bunch of new images to show you! Images which I will divulge over several posts. (We can't have too much fun all at once)
So here are two creature illustrations, painted for an upcoming table top role playing game. Both are painted in oil and finished with a few color tweaks in photoshop.

Cafe People

Some more somewhat tonal sketches. I think the girl in this set is starting to look overworked, a danger when working this way.

Tom

A Monday night portrait.

Oil, 16 x 20 inches

Tone Continued

I've been trying to keep up the somewhat higher level of finish that I've had in my sketches lately. Just for a change. Maybe it will stick, maybe not.

A Little More Finished

I was sketching this guy at the coffee shop the other day while he was working on his computer. He didn't move much for about an hour, so I just kept going with the sketch.

Sketching Along

Continued

Sketches