Still life set up

 

still life

 Instead of painting from photograph I am beginning to use still life.  This is bringing me back to my days in college.   A pretty backdrop.  A bright lamp and a box.     I just cut the top and front off a box.   I draped a table cloth over it,   And bam, perfect still life.  

I dislike drawing and painting from photos.  You will not get the color and lighting as well with photo, photos are flat,  Boring and inconsistent.  But, sometimes it’s your only option.  
Oil paints are something I love, but there are still some challenges that I face through the painting process. Solving these puzzles and pressing through the challenges is one of my favorite things about painting in the studio. Creating a still life gives me an advantage, it puts me in control of my painting and composition. The lighting and color is beautiful and natural. 3 dimensional in a way that photos are not.   I hope you enjoy these glimpses into my studio.  I enjoy sharing them. 🙂 

  

Apple oil painting

“Apple,” Oils 4″x6″

This painting was a quick sketch style painting.  I’m experimenting a lot with lighting and creating and using still life.  One of my favorite styles of painting is the impressionistic style.  This is something I am working on.  

Conditioning my paint brushes

  Am I the only one that does this?  I never really researched it.  And I know there are products for conditioning your brushes.    I tend to avoid overspending in the art stores.  I have this cheap hair wax that I bought.  It feels waxy and oily.  I think it’s the perfect stuff for reshaping my brushes and keeping them fresh.  

 After cleaning them I occasionally give the bristles a light coating of this stuff. 

I would love to hear from you!  Let me know if you have painting or art advice, or if you have any questions.  

Butterflies

“Butterflies” Oil on canvas 16″x25″

This piece is just about done, It has to dry, and I think I’m going to apply a varnish of some sort.  

This painting, “butterflies,” is part of a 10 painting series I plan on having finished by August. 

I will be producing some limited edition prints of the artwork which will be released in August.     In the meantime please let me know what you think. 

Mother Earth

I am starting a new painting series this summer.   Here is the finished first piece in the series.

“Mother Earth” oil on canvas 16×25

Batman! Ink sketch

these little 4×6 drawings have been so much fun.  Another convention coming up this weekend.

    

Wondercon: exhibiting and visiting.

“Wow!”         ….I can’t think of any other way to start this post and describe this convention.   First I’d like to point out that we really didn’t get the warmest of welcomes. Actually, compared to some of the cons in AZ, it was a terrible welcome.   But as an exhibitor I was, in no way, prepared for the massiveness of this convention.  After realizing how massive and important this convention is, I suddenly felt very small over in the corner at my little “Artist Alley” table.  Once I got a hold of myself I realized that this weekend was going to be amazing.   Wondercon kicks ass,  and also kicked my ass

At first I was a little offended when I heard one con employee refer to the crowd as the “sheeple.”  Once I saw the size of the crowd I understood where he was coming from.

The massive crowd began roaring when the announcer came on the PA and said (the convention floor is now open). It shook the walls.   if I had to compare it to something, I would say it was like the first time you heard the dinosaur roar in Jurassic park.  Frightening.

Well.  Three amazing days go by.  I take a ton of pictures.  I did really well exhibiting in artist alley.  But even more importantly, I learned so much and I got tons of information and experience about being successful in the future.

Upcoming conventions where you ca find me:

small one in tucson April 18th.

Phoenix comic-con may 28th.

For now, please enjoy these following pictures I took at wondercon. 🙂

this was a small portion of the crowd an hour before it opens

striking a pose at the booth

sketching at the con, i actually ended up giving this away.

commission i did for a fan. this is one of my favorite characters from my all time favorite game. cloud strife

a batman drawing i did for the con. sold it for $20 🙂

these were some amazing figure sculptures

my boys having a light saber battle

i freaking loved these two. they were absolutely perfect.

arent these two cosplayers cute

the absolute best cosplay ever. i fell in love with this person. absolutely epic. this costume made the whole convention for me

Figure drawing – 40 minute pose

I’m back in figure drawing class and had a blast drawing the model last night.  

Hungry Deadpool



Deadpool with tacos.   

Pencil on Bristol paper. 

A tribute to Leonard Nimoy

well, I suppose I’ll start out by confessing the fact that I am not the biggest fan of the original Star Trek series.  However, I love Star Trek The Next Generation.  I really think it’s similar to the dynamic of some Doctor Who fans who never really watched the original doctors, but still love the series.

That being said I want to point out that I think Spock is awesome. The Vulcan character is a great, iconic character.  An amazing role model and the hero of many.  

So when I heard that Leonard Nimoy had passed my heart broke a little.   I learned a little more about the man, and he really is a legend.  

I sometimes spend days trying to come up with an awesome concept, something I know I’m going to love to draw, but also something that I know people will love to see.   But I didn’t struggle with this concept.   I jumped right into this drawing.   I hope you all like it.