Image Addicted

The Dream Hunters

2011-06-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

Limited edition prints of my entry are available for $20 and all proceeds go to the American Red Cross Japanese Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami relief fund.

Please support Japan and get a piece of art in the process!

BUY A PRINT

This illustration is based on Neil Gaiman's "The Dream Hunters" in which a clever Fox and a sly Badger make a wager to steal a Buddhist Monk's temple home from him. Which ever one chases the Monk away gets to keep his home as their own. In the process of this wager, the Fox takes human form and falls in love with the Monk. If you want to know the rest, you'll need to read the story ^^

I decided to set my illustration in the dream world where the Monk and the Fox spend some time together and consummate their love for each other. I also attempted to incorporate some classic Japanese-esque elements into my composition such as the symmetrical layout of the clouds and figures. The graphic swirls in the clouds and the color palette were inspired from many Ukiyo-E prints from ancient Japan, specifically Hokusai and Hiroshige. Although these elements are taken from the Japanese masters, the illustrative style remains my own.

The Dream Hunters - WIP - Finished Line Art

2011-05-27T08:59:00.001-07:00

The final lines are completed. I added another layer of clouds in the background as it felt a bit undefined. Though it is a dreamscape and space has no meaning, I did want to further develop the idea and felt that this really helped to solidify my initial idea. The next phase is the painting. I probably won't take any photos during this phase. My next upload will most likely be the finished painting.

The Dream Hunters - WIP

2011-05-25T18:20:00.001-07:00

This is my initial layout and concept for my entry in an art exhibition for Japan relief being held on June 11th in Chicago. The show is themed around Japan's influence on us as individual artists and how it has played a roll in shaping us.

My concept is based upon Neil Gaiman's "The Dream Hunters" which is a tale steeped in Japanese folklore. I don't want to give too much about the image away at this juncture, but suffice it to say I will be posting at least one more stage before the final painting is don. I'll give you a bit more in the next installment....

Caffeinated Distortion

2011-05-23T12:41:00.001-07:00

Painting 12/20 for my series "The Devil's Cup". The ellipses in this image are a bit pinched and out of concentric alignment to symbolize my desperate need for caffeine to re-align my head, vision and mind each morning.

I'm such an addict....

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse

2011-05-17T09:45:00.001-07:00

This painting was done from a detailed plein air sketch and painting at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse in Bristol, Maine. After getting all essential information down in my sketchbook I did this painting on a piece of Clayboard back at "Bold Colorful Life" which was the gigantic farmhouse where I was staying with my fellow painters, the Sons of Turner.

Sons of Turner 2011: Booth Bay, Maine - Day 5

2011-05-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

Day 5: Rockland, ME

We took a trip to Rockland which is another port town. This place was a more middle of the road town in terms of population and class of people. The sky was gloomy but the rain held off the entire time we were there.

The Strand is a theatre where they offer HD operas and fine art performances via projection screens. Basically it's a movie theatre for people into the fine arts. MBK sat in Rock Town Coffee and Books and drew the building. He's got an incredible way of free hand drawing object in perspective and nailing it. So jealous...

This sign is not for a diner... it's for the Freeport Museum of Art. This piece is an installation at the top of the museum. It fooled me...

While wandering around Rockland I wandered down near the docks and noticed this at shrine at the bottom of a tree. It was not only creepy, but obviously the home of a worshiper of Dagon, the Philistine fish god.

After Rockland, MBK and a few others went out to procure lobsters for our dinner. Gabriella texted me with "The lobsters are staring at me from the back seat with puppy-dog eyes..." If the lobsters only knew what we had in mind for them back at the house...

Bob went to town on the little guys. At first he was a bit sad to throw the little guys into a boiling pot but he quickly grew accustomed to his role and killed the remaining 8 lobsters.

We did have an opportunity to paint one of our lobster friends before we sent him to his death. We named him "Nom-Nom" since we knew he was gonna be yummy... Morbid?

Little Nom-Nom never stood a chance...

Sons of Turner 2011: Booth Bay, Maine - Day 4

2011-05-14T17:16:00.000-07:00

Day 4: Pemaquid Point Lighthouse

The south eastern coast of Maine is divided into little finger-like peninsulas. Boothbay Harbor is at the southern tip of the peninsula that we are staying on, Pemaquid Point Lighthouse is on the tip of the next peninsula to the north-east.

After paying the $2 admission for the day, we wandered the premises and looked inside a few of the buildings available to the public. Inside the first one we saw this winch-like mechanism and an old anchor. This building had an awesome view of the immense, rocky shore.

The winch and the anchor...

Bob sat and worked on a really nice painting. You should see it...

The rocky outcropping looked like a titan had clawed it's way up to the surface and this shore was what remained of it's efforts. No matter how hard I tried to capture the immensity of the area and the long drops off the side of the cliff, these images do not evoke the immensity of the shore.

We had an awesome lunch at the little shop next door and I even got to see a gigantic moose come out of the woods and cross the road in front of my car... alas... no pictures...

Sons of Turner 2011: Booth Bay, Maine - Day 3

2011-05-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

Day 3: Popham Beach, Maine

Popham beach is an hour or so drive south of Boothbay Harbor. It was here that we noticed that just about everything we wanted to is an hour or so away.

We arrived at the beach and noted that we would not be able to do what we intended to do until low tide.... We left the beach in search of food and found the oddest/coolest little farm that was basically a hippie compound. they served organic sandwiches and were in the process of making an earthen kiln for baking bread. Did I mention the loose chickens running amok...?

After our luncheon adventure we headed back out to the beach. At low tide (approx. 1pm) the beach forms a land bridge to an island a short walk off the coast. We walked out to the island and even had to carry a few SoTs across the water - specifically MBK and Diana Terry...

We had the island to ourselves and went to work painting and sketching in the most majestic display of the might of the ocean I've ever seen.

The waves were breaking against the edge of the island shooting foam and spray into the air...

Andrew Day was inspired to paint a lovely view of the ocean and a lighthouse on a distant island...

Diana kicking back on a piece of driftwood...

MBK working hard on capturing each and every wave...

We got so swept up in the moment that we nearly lost our land bridge back to the main land. We did have to walk through waist high ocean water as it came back in. Frigid....

We made it back, but we made MBK and Diana cross the water themselves. We had a glorious day. Probably my favorite day of the week.

Sons of Turner 2011: Booth Bay, Maine - Day 2

2011-05-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! I am writing this from the cafe inside Rock City Books and Coffee in Rockport, Maine. The place we're staying that I mentioned in my past email "Bold Colorful Life" (yes, that is actually it's name...) boasts a wi-fi signal throughout the home, but the reality is that it is completely unreliable at best. That said, I have not been able to do daily updates as I was hoping, so these next few entries are all being done at once and will serve as truncated versions of the last four or so days...

Day 2: Camden, Maine

Camden is about an hour or so drive north up Highway 1 from Boothbay where we are staying. the town is very affluent and has a beautiful harbor area. I was able to get a nice painting out of the afternoon spent there on the waterfront as well as a nice sunburn... boo for me ><

Sons of Turner 2011: Booth Bay, Maine - Day One

2011-05-10T12:10:00.000-07:00

Hey guys - coming to you from the dining room of Booth Bay, Maine where the SoT are spending the week. Things are cold and grey here so hopefully it'll brighten up a bit, but so far the experience is quite unlike the previous trips to Santa Fe or Savannah. Maine is totally unique in that regard.

The Dining Room. This is the main area we're hanging around in. The table top is a repurposed barn door that is over 200 years old. Wow....

The kitchen is an open room that is part of the dining room. It's a great place to prep the food for the evening meals since there are two sinks and a gigantic island in the middle of the room.

The Great Room. It contains not only the telescope and the baby grand piano, but also an entire wall of books varying from Stephen King to Voltaire and Neruda - a completely eclectic collection.

It also has this lovely double-bass. It needs tuning, but perhaps I could figure out how to play it a bit...

The town is very touristy and thus the shops are open at odd times. Since it's not summer yet, the shops are sparsely populated. There is a lovely dock to walk along which offers a great view of this section of the bay.

The town is built on a ridge that slouches out to the bay and thus curves and twists in unexpected ways. The roads do not always lead you where you'd think they would and so you end up walking over and around buildings that seemingly pop up out of nowhere at the end of a small road.

The dock area was brutally windy today. Every time I attempted to find a place to sit and draw or paint the wind would make it impossible to do so. I was able to take a few photos of some things I'd like to work on in the future so it was not a total loss for today.

The tide here can rise and fall dramatically. As you can see in this photo taken at low tide that the water level can rise nearly as high as the walkway above.

This is basically day one out and about in Booth Bay. Tomorrow may take us to another location around the area. I'll keep you posted...

Caleb

Hollow

2011-04-30T12:39:00.000-07:00

"Hollow" by Daniel's Window

www.danielswindow.com

www.thehollowproject.com

I'm finally finished with this project. It's been sitting here on my hard drive waiting for the final few song mixes to be finished before I bothered finishing up the artwork. The duplication company Disc Makers requires both the audio and the artwork to be submitted simultaneously, so I had to sit on it for a while. Suffice it to say I am really pleased with the final product.

Each of the images is a single panel out of the complete booklet for the project. Since most people are buying .MP3's these days, the CD booklet is streamlined to show only the most important info and the rest is available online. This is also designed to be an eco friendly Digi-Pack which is packaging that has no plastic tray or booklet sleeve and instead is an all in one type package. It's pretty cool.

This artwork will also be published in the upcoming Hollow Project art book (title yet unknown) to be released in September/October. Details to come...

The CD will be available on iTunes, the band's website, amazon and more.

Wither

2011-04-16T11:29:00.000-07:00

*6"x18"

*Watercolor, Gouache, Ink

*Rives BFK paper

This is the completed version of my earlier WIP (several posts ago). I started this image nearly a year ago and set it aside after about 2 hours of work. It wasn't until recently I decided to finish it. I was struggling with completely conceptualizing it when I began and wanted to sit with it before jumping full force into it. Suffice it to say that after many more paintings and drawings I was inspired to complete this one and I am very glad I did. It is one of my favorite paintings I've ever done and am thrilled with how it turned out.

Conceptually, my purpose for painting this one was to show that physical beauty is temporary at best. Our culture is constantly telling us how to look and often at the expense of our character. We are so focused on looking "right" that we begin to judge others based on our own insecurities. This painting is all about the eventual death of our physical beauty. We all grow old. We all get wrinkly. We all sag and most of us will get fat.

And that is perfectly ok.

If we spend all of our time obsessing about our physical appearance and forsake our inner being, the one we will never lose no matter how old we get, we are truly and unavoidably ugly. Hopefully you can see that in this work of mine.

Bill the Dog

2011-04-14T14:15:00.000-07:00

A dog named Bill.

This is a commission for a friend's fiance of her dog Bill. I used a limited palette of Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre and Payne's Grey. I wanted to retain a painterly feel for this one so I kept the lines light (2h pencil) and put the ink away.

Desire Sketch Card

2011-04-05T12:39:00.000-07:00

My finished version of the WIP from yesterday's entry.

WIP - "Desire" Sketch Card

2011-04-04T14:42:00.001-07:00

My newest sketch card - Desire. "She" is the embodiment of anything we desire, and as such appears differently to each and every one of us, including being either male or female. Here's a depiction of her in the female form with a large tattoo of a heart on her back, symbolic of one's heart's desire....

Haydenari of the Sin'Dorei

2011-04-01T15:29:00.001-07:00

A World of Warcraft fan image. I wanted to do something "Mucha-esque" but without all the Nouveaux borders and what-not. I was also interested in using Naples Yellow for the hair as I had never used the paint before. I was pleased with the hair which I wanted to be a flat wash and only need the single application of the color to get the saturation I wanted. I also learned that it is an opaque watercolor (I'm glad I tested it on a scrap first....)

This image was also done on Arches new landscape watercolor block - a 4"x10" horizontal block designed with the outdoor painter in mind. Since I don't typically paint landscapes, I did my own thing with it.

Delirium and the Violet Fishy

2011-04-01T15:27:00.001-07:00

Delirium has found a new friend... or perhaps a new pest...

Watercolor done on what I originally thought was watercolor paper, but turned out to be pastel paper. I really need to start paying closer attention to my materials...

WIP - 3.24.11

2011-03-24T13:29:00.001-07:00

This is my current work in progress. The concept is about fading beauty and how no matter what we do to our outsides they will always wither and fade... unless you're Joan Rivers and pay for plastic surgery after plastic surgery. What is true beauty if it is not found on the inside?

Goddess

2011-03-21T14:38:00.000-07:00

Colored pencil on Bee bogus recycled rough sketch paper.

Palette and Chisel Life Drawing - 3.18.11

2011-03-19T13:17:00.001-07:00

A compilation of some of the more interesting sketches done at a life drawing session at the Palette and Chisel, Chicago.

Razored Hair

2011-03-11T15:44:00.001-08:00

Quick sketch on Bee rough recycled paper. Fun to work on, but a bit thin... erasers don't like this paper.

Hollow

2011-02-15T10:02:00.001-08:00

This is the cover for the band Daniel's Window's newest CD titled "Hollow". The image of the girl is an acrylic painting on gesso board I did back in 2009. The type is hand scratched on bristol board with a quill pen. There is a bit of spatter surrounding the type. but it's barely visible.

This is the original painting I titled "Cecilia". 5"x7" Acrylic on gessoboard.

Reborn

2011-02-14T17:43:00.000-08:00

This image is more of a sketch of an idea, but I worked it up properly nonetheless. All elements here are intentional (white BG, expression, hair color and design, etc.). I am severely disappointed in the ear - why didn't I just use a friggin' reference. D'oh! Anyhow - it's not all that bad. I am excited to get cracking on some more traditional paintings. Hopefully they're ears are better executed than this one...

Chloe - Final Line Art

2011-01-31T18:08:00.000-08:00

This is the final line art for my girl Chloe. It took me an agonizingly long time to get the hands to look right.I wanted them to be fairly expressive. Hands and faces carry so much weight in terms of the emotional expression of the work, so I wanted to make sure they were conveying energy and life. I wanted her to be lost in the music she's hearing - eyes closed and moving to the rhythm - her left arm swung back and her right hand imitating a guitar riff. Granted - I know that the left hand frets the notes on the guitar, but in this image (and in reality) things aren't always proper and correct. I am excited to work on the colors and BG in this image now. Whew... the tough part is over!

Chloe - WIP 2.0

2011-01-25T09:16:00.000-08:00

Most of the drawing is completed at this juncture. I am just about done with her arms and hands (they're still in pencil) and anticipate they'll be done in a matter of a half hour or so from the time of this post. Sorry for the yellow pic - took the image with my camera as opposed to scanning it. I was feeling lazy today.

Chloe - WIP

2011-01-05T12:50:00.001-08:00

Chloe is the main supporting character of my upcoming web-comic "Surreality." Chloe is a DJ and this image depicts her dancing away in some imaginary environment. This particular sketch is a scan from my sketchbook. I have since taken it to a printer and had an 11"x17" print out of it done for me. I have already used my light table and transferred it to the final piece of Bristol board and am tightening up the pencils and finishing off some details like the hands and accessories.

Watercolor Life Drawings - 12.17.10

2010-12-18T13:48:00.001-08:00

Visited the Palette and Chisel again and got some more little life drawings done. I was not attempting to get a likeness by any means, as the poses are far too quick to do so, but these are more studies in light, tone and shadow. It's always good to work from a model.

Life Drawing at the Palette and Chisel - 12.10.10

2010-12-13T09:08:00.000-08:00

These are a few of the recent life drawings I have done at the Palette and Chisel in Chicago during their open life drawing sessions. I have been wanting to do some more watercolor and pencil work like this since my sophomore year in college where my wonderful instructor Mat Barber-Kennedy exposed me for the first time to this technique and way of working with the figure. I hope I can get up there more often and really improve this.

TaTa Gala Final Image: "Firemane"

2010-10-13T20:32:00.000-07:00

This is my final painting for the 2011 TaTa Gala exhibition. All proceeds from the gala go to benefit various breast cancer charities. October is breast cancer awareness month and I was very glad to do my part for the cause...

Save the tatas!

TaTa Gala - Inks

2010-10-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

This is the inked version of my pervious post. The original work is done in Copic sepia pens so that when I paint it the line is less distracting than the dark black mark of a traditional ink line. I've done this in the past and the results are fantastic. When I scan these sepia lines I opt to make them as black as I can so if I decide to digitally paint this one as well, I have a crisp black line to work from.

Next step is the watercolor flats. I'll try to take photos of the painting process as I go along.

TaTa Gala - Pencil Stage

2010-10-05T12:48:00.000-07:00

This is going to become my entry for the Ta Ta Gala exhibition. The Ta Ta Gala is an artistic event geared at raising money for breast cancer research and support.

This stage is my pencil work on Arches 140 lb. watercolor paper. Next step is to ink it using my Copic sepia pens.

"Little Devils" Companion Series

2010-09-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

These paintings are the complete companion set to my twenty painting series titled "The Devil's Cup."

Each painting was done on a 6"x6" aquaboard panel. Once completed, each panel was triple coated with Lascaux Fixative and then triple coated with water-based spray polyurethane for a glossy finish and ultra-permanent protective cover.

The Hollow Project

2010-09-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

This is a postcard I was hired to design for a new event coming in 2011 called The Hollow Project. It's basically an event that focuses on women's issues of self-esteem and eating disorders and creates a night of inspiring music and real, honest conversations about the issues women face today.

Death.Death.Death

2010-09-07T08:57:00.001-07:00

I've been into these sketch cards since my WWC booth and want to have a whole bunch to sell next con. Here's one of my current favs. Death is one of the Endless, Neil Gaiman's characters from the Sandman series.

Zombie Hulk

2010-08-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a crop of my Zombie Hulk I did at the Chicago Comic Con. I wish I had a better photo of it, but this'll work. The anatomy of the arm on the left is off, but I like it either way. The drawing had the anatomy nailed down, but when I started painting it it went south a bit - not that it bothers me at all. I enjoyed doing it and my client totally loved it. At the end of the day, that's all that matters!

Post-Comic Con Sketches and Debrief

2010-08-23T10:13:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Comic Con was a blast. As I write this I am recovering from an exhausting weekend of meeting, greeting, sketching and painting. Whew....

I was attempting to take photos of all the random assortment of things I was doing throughout the weekend but only got a small spattering of things. I did tons of sketch cards for people - some of which I did some Copic marker work on and some that were just pencils. I did a few paintings, one of which was a Zombie Hulk for an awesome guy who actually was working for Marvel Zombies cover artist Arthur Suydam. Wow. Talk about intimidating - painting a zombie for the assistant to THE zombie artist. I got to meet Arthur and everything in the process. He's a fantastic guy.

Thanks to everyone who came out and made year 2 for me at the Con a fantastic and killer experience. I will be seeing you there again next year as well as a few more cons across the country! Look out NY - here I come!

Here are an assortment of sketch cards I had drawn in between commissions and sketches for people. I had them sitting on the table and people would see these and want me to make one for them....

A Batman sketch card I did for the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Organization - they auction off artist cards and the proceeds benefit children with Cancer.

Ichigo from Bleach. I had no idea who this guy was but did a quick google search for the kid who requested him and did up a quick pencil and marker sketch card for him. He loved it. Yippie ^^

Potential Re-Working

2010-08-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

As my mind was reeling from the day's events at WW/CCC I was thinking about my older image of Death here. It, much like my image of Dream, felt elusively unfinished. I decided to add some text like I did with Dream and came up with this re-working of the original. Let me know what you think - I am curious to see if you like it. The original is the exact same image just without the text....

Wizard World / Chicago Comic-Con: Day 1 Report

2010-08-20T20:01:00.000-07:00

Today started out on a bad note.

I don't want you to think it was anyone's fault but my own. I was the idiot in this situation who forgot to check out the actual opening time for the convention. In past years, it always opened at 10am on Friday morning - advance ticket holders got in at 9:30am as a perk. I assumed that his was still the case. The Con has a policy of releasing your table to anyone who wants to have a booth should you not be fully set-up a full 30 minuted before doors open - so I arrive in plenty of time. In fact, I made sure i overkilled the time I needed. I arrived promptly at 7:45am. I was amazed at the lack of traffic and people attending the convention. Even as I paid for my parking and made my way down that loooooooooooooong corridor from the garage to the convention center and arrived in the main exhibition hall that there was really no one but a few volunteers and some staff members. No attendees. No people in costume. No one. Ok.... no one except a rather friendly group of Muslims attending their convention just upstairs from the comic book convention in the main hall. Someone even mentioned that there was a Dianetics convention in another wing of the building, but I cannot confirm or deny that....

I went to the artist alley registration line and asked the person there if I could get my packet and begin my setup. The doughy man looked blankly at me and informed me that I could not - not until 9am.

D'oh.

I looked at my watch and contemplated exactly what I would be doing for the next hour and fifteen minutes as I impatiently awaited the arrival of 9am. Eventually, my partner in crime Andy Evans (www.andyevansillustration.com) arrived and we passed the time talking to a pleasant guy from Iowa. 9am rolled around and we got the packet and meandered our way off to find our booth and claim our rightful place as almighty artists - or at least a few guys hoping someone would just buy our stuff.... At this point we set up all of our stuff and I have a moment to breathe (as if I didn't have all the time in the world to do this while waiting earlier...) and looked at the program to see what time this party was getting kicked off.... my watch was reading 9:15 am.....

The convention started at 12-noon.

@#*$#@!

After sobbing openly for a few humiliating moments, Mr. Evans and I took a (very) leisurely tour around the nearly silent convention center looking at artists' booths and commenting on the work we liked and also didn't care for - you know, typical artist crap. After killing enough time, we headed back to our booth and settled in for the grueling 12-8 convention day.

We met all kinds of cool people and some you would more likely consider douche-bags. Andy sold some prints and I did some drawings for people. One guy had me draw him a picture of Hellboy all zombie-fied and another guy had me draw him a picture of Jedi Quinlin Voss from the Star Wars comics. I must say, drawing Voss was fun and it turned out really cool. The fellow who I drew it for was super cool. He said he'd stop back on Sunday when he returned for that day.

All in all it was a fun day - really inspiring, but really draining. Tomorrow Andy and I are going to see what kind of mischief we can get ourselves int0 (and hopefully out of too...) and go on a photo scavenger hunt. We might even have an "out-geek the other" competition.

I can't wait!

2010-08-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

This is the final version with text. It'll be available at Wizard World 2010 (otherwise known as the Chicago Comic Con) at my booth.

After the long battle, I like the way it turned out but I would probably do things completely different next time around. Coloring the line art rather than keeping it black (as I usually do) is new for me and took a long and hard learning curve to get it right. It's not all there, but it's satisfactory for me. My next image I will start out that much farther ahead of where I am now.

"Africana"

2010-08-14T12:43:00.001-07:00

Africana marks the beginning of the second half of my series titled "The Devil's Cup." This painting as well as the following nine paintings will each contain coffee in their paint as to further tie in the symbolism of each piece and to make it that much more unique.

I made a pot of french-pressed coffee and upon finishing the pot I poured the dregs into a small bowl and allowed it to reduce a bit (allowing the water to evaporate naturally.) After it reduced, the concentration of the remaining coffee was darker and more syrup-like which was perfect for painting. I then tried directly painting into the painting with the coffee as well as mixing it into the other colors to enhance their color and texture.

Emma Print - WiP 2

2010-07-21T11:44:00.001-07:00

My next step up from my last image is the addition of some hard edged shapes to Emma's costume and turning the black ink lines to a blue hue. I also re-touched the hair from the last version, completely deleting the old stuff and re-creating something else. I'm still not all that happy with it. Something is really bugging me about it but I don't know what...

Emma Print - WiP

2010-07-20T10:36:00.001-07:00

This is the stage my 3rd print for Wizard World Chicago is at. I am trying a few new techniques out on this, so it may not succeed the way I want it to, but you don't get an omelette without breaking a few eggs, or so they say....

I'll try to post the stages as they progress. If I forget somehow, please forgive me!

Wizard World Chicago 2010 Print - 2 of 4

2010-07-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

Here's my second print for Wizard World Chicago. Thanks to all those that voted for this one on my Facebook page. I really appreciate all the help. It was an obvious victory for this one.

I've adjusted the size and played with the hue and saturation of the text to get it to be a bit more red in the halftone dots - they were a bit too dark brown for me an wanted to bring out their red hues. This is much much better for me.

Sydney - Three Variations

2010-07-03T06:30:00.000-07:00

I am trying to finalize this image as my second print for Wizard World Chicago, yet I cannot decide which one I like. Each one has it's merits, yet I am undecided as to which one to make the final version. Please help me and tell me if you like 1, 2 or 3 best.

Thanks in advance!

Wizard World Chicago 2010 Print - 1 of 4

2010-06-29T11:17:00.001-07:00

I did this illustration a while back, but left the top open for typography; something I never did add. I wanted to re-visit this image for my upcoming appearance at Wizard World Chicago. I added the text and I quite like it. This will be one of four available prints all selling for $5 - hopefully someone will buy it....

"She's Asking Nicely"

2010-06-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Initially, I was boycotting BP for the Gulf disaster, but then a friend of mine passed this article along to me from the Daily Finance website (www.dailyfinance.com/story/media/boycott-bp-that-hurts-station-owners-not-the-company/19499350/) and I decided to take another course of action. This might be a bit more than anyone wants to take, but it is really the only reasonable option out there for voicing our outrage with BP.

"Gold Coast" - 6.22.10

2010-06-22T16:23:00.001-07:00

Gold Coast is not a specific region where coffee is grown, but a sophisticated blend of coffees into a superbly bold brew named for the wealthy areas in our cities - the Gold Coast.

"Espresso" - 6.21.10

2010-06-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

While espresso has more caffeine per unit volume than most beverages, compared on the basis of usual serving sizes, a 30 mL (1 fluid ounce) shot of espresso has about half the caffeine of a standard 180 mL (6 fluid ounce) cup of drip brewed coffee, which varies from 80 to 130 mg,^[1] and hence a 60 mL (2 oz) double shot of espresso has about the same caffeine as a 180 ml (6 oz) cup of drip brewed coffee. In coffee brewing terms, espresso and brewed coffee should have the same extraction (about 20% of the coffee grounds are extracted into the coffee liquid), but espresso has a higher brew strength (concentration, in terms of dissolved coffee solids per unit volume), due to having less water.

"Peaberry" - 6.19.10

2010-06-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

This coffee is distinctive in both its shape and flavor. As the name implies, peaberries are small, pea-shaped beans. While the unusual rounded shape of the beans gives New Guinea Peaberry its name, the unique flavor comes from its origin country. This is a medium-bodied coffee with a pleasing tanginess and distinctive herbal flavor.

"Sanani" 6.16.10

2010-06-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

Called qahwah in Arabic, the beverage became known as qahvay in Turkish, and as its popularity mounted around the rest of Europe, terms like café and coffee caught on.

Seeking the treasures of the East, like spices and fine coffee, Dutch traders set up exporting enterprises on the Red Sea in the 1600s. Bags labeled “Mocha” were soon making their way to Amsterdam and eventually to Parisian coffee shops, where mocha coffee became a sensation in the mid 1700s. This exceptional coffee became the drink of choice for French Enlightenment writers like Rousseau and Voltaire as well as royals like Napoleon Bonaparte and his fashionable and sophisticated wife, Josephine.

Columbian - 6.9.10

2010-06-10T06:51:00.000-07:00

Columbian - as in the coffee from Columbia. I have a friend who is Columbian, and she was telling me that her mother used to put coffee in her bottle as a baby when she fed here along with the milk. She said her mother told her that it was a cultural norm for mothers to do that. No wonder the Columbians are so jittery!

I finished this yesterday (6.9) even though I didn't post it until today. Sorry for the lack of update!

Sidamo - 6.8.10

2010-06-08T13:49:00.001-07:00

Sidamo. Named after the wonderful Ethiopia Sidamo coffee. Ethiopia is also the birthplace of coffee. Just FYI.

Open Your Eyes - Final Image

2010-06-06T12:10:00.000-07:00

This is the final version of the image complete with text. I am sorry about the lack of updating the various stages with this piece, but there were many different alternate color choices and at one point I had various recognizable icons representing various media outlets and brands connected to the tendrils coming out of the young lady's head. The concept as you can read in the image is the breakdown of community due to spending excessive time in media devices. The original article I read was from Adbusters a month or so ago - more likely 2+ months ago now - and it detailed in much more sophistication this issue. It also posited some ways in which one could start reversing these breakdowns such as reading books, going outside and spending time in nature, talking face to face with another individual in meaningful way, making eye contact while talking, etc. Basically, acting like a human being. Electronic devices are deceitful and rob us of our humanity when we spend several hours a day in them. I think it's time to unplug.

"Sumatra" - 6.1.10

2010-06-01T17:08:00.001-07:00

Sumatra: a large island in Indonesia, southwest of the Malay Peninsula. Also a type of coffee that is earthy and very bold. Pairs well with toffee or caramel. Please, only drink it black.

WIP - 5.31.10

2010-05-31T19:45:00.001-07:00

WIP of a current project on the concept of "community." Mine deals with the breakdown of community when people spend most of their time dwelling in electronic devices like computers, phones, texting, internet, etc. The girl in the image who is partially drawn is plugged into several devices via the tendril-like cables plugged into her head.

Coffee Painting 5.31.10

2010-05-31T19:41:00.001-07:00

Today's offering is titled "Leaded" - a reference to the way Patrick Swayze took his coffee in the movie Road House. Since I'm planning on painting a ton of these, I need to get really creative with names.

Cups

2010-05-28T14:13:00.000-07:00

Coffee. I drink a lot of it. I mean a LOT of it. Since I'm usually drawing, painting or thinking about doing that whilst holding a cup of the wicked brew, I thought I'd paint them. Everyday (or nearly so) as my warm up time in the morning I'll paint another one. Hopefully I'll have enough someday to have a friggin' show of all my coffee time warm-up paintings. Original idea? No. Fun? Yup!

2010-05-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

I've been looking at the works of Erik Jones a lot recently and was inspired by his piece called "Hair." This little piece was fun and is one of the rare times I really use mixed media. This on was done in Golden's fluid acrylics, watercolor, ink and a little matte medium to seal it all up. I'm working on a series of these girls and hair images.

Naneko of Undercity - Final

2009-12-11T14:53:00.000-08:00

Final version of the colors. There are probably a million little things to fix, but I'm going to leave them alone. It's time to begin another project. I hope you like this one!

2009-12-11T10:19:00.000-08:00

Initial colors done in photoshop with detailing and color adjustments still to come.

2009-12-07T12:52:00.000-08:00

Tweaked the inks on the hair tails as I though the ones in the previous version were a bit thin in comparison to the rest of the hair. This version makes me happier.

Naneko, the Loremaster

2009-12-03T10:35:00.001-08:00

Inked and tweaked. Now on to the colors.

Naneko Draft - Phase 3

2009-12-01T08:10:00.000-08:00

Final pencil drawing of Naneko. Finally got the right hand to look right (at least to me...) and added more hair for drama.

Naneko Draft - Phase 2

2009-11-23T17:42:00.001-08:00

I am nearly finished with the pencil phase - that stupid left hand is driving me crazy. I've re-drawn the thing half a million times already. I just need to grab a reference. Let this serve as a reminder to me to just do that right off instead of trying to do it from my head....

Naneko Draft

2009-11-18T12:32:00.001-08:00

Work in progress of the Foresaken Mage Naneko from World of Warcraft. Armor and trinkets and what-not are coming along. I want to really spend some time detailing the armor and accessories.

2009-11-17T12:37:00.001-08:00

This is from my sketchbook. I wanted to try playing around with open ended phrases and leave the meaning up to the viewer to interpret. This was my first attempt and I have a few others planned. It was fun to experiment with the acrylic mediums and see how the fluid paint reacted.