Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Recent Commissioned Painting


40"x16" Acrylic and oil on canvas. This piece was commissioned as an anniversary present. I met the intended recipient to get to know her a little bit before I started this piece. Her profession is in science, specifically geology and environmental science. I began to think of rock formations, tectonics and bringing vibrant colors into the mix. I also, as usual, wanted this piece to have plenty of texture. This is the result.
I've been told this present went over very well.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

The King - Selected to 3x3 Magazine's 6th Annual


My illustration, "The King" has been accepted into 3x3 Magazine's sixth annual 3x3 ProShow.

From 3x3 Magazine: To be accepted into the show an entry must receive the majority of the nine judge's votes, 5 out of 9. Only 14% of our nearly 2,000 entries made it into the show.

This year's judges included art directors Alexandre Lagoet, Saatchi & Saatchi, The Netherlands; Raban Ruddigkeit, Friestil, Germany; SooJin Buzelli, Planadvisor, US and Darlene Simidian, former art director ALA and illustrators Roman Klonek and Monica Aichele, Germany; Marco Ventura, Italy; Nate Williams, Argentina and Yuko Shimizu, US.

All winners will be included in the 3x3 Illustration Annual No. 6 due out later this year.

About 3x3 Magazine:
Introducing 3x3, the first magazine devoted entirely to the art of contemporary illustration. Three times a year we take an in-depth look at art and environment of three illustrators. We explore their influences. How they work with clients. How they got their first big break. Each article is written by a fellow illustrator who knows exactly what our audience wants to hear. From the U.S. to Europe, Asia, or wherever, we’ll stay tuned to what’s going on the world of illustration.We’ll feature four or more new talents in every issue, they might be right out of school or are just now beginning to make a name for themselves or illustrators we find that have a truly unique take on the art of illustration. Plus we’ll showcase the recent work of as many as sixteen of the best illustrators in every issue. Selection will be by invitation only. And we’ll even offer signed original artwork or prints for sale. All in all it’ll be eighty pages of the best illustration has to offer, including guest articles by artist reps Vicki Morgan and Gail Gaynin, a feature on a living artist who has made and impact on the industry, an in-depth look at a recent advertising campaign that has successfully used illustration and an ongoing feature where we ask our featured artists the same twenty questions. 3x3 will be published three times each year: Fall/Winter, Spring and Summer.

Our Mission
Our mission is to spotlight the best international artists working today and encourage a new focus on the use of illustration by the advertising and design communities.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

BUILDUP - Art of Nature Series

BUILDUP - 27"X40" Acrylic and oil on canvas. Continuing my series of Art Of Nature. My inspiration here being round forms found in nature: stones, cells, etc.Detail

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Reaching - Art of Nature Series


Diptych. 32"x12.25"(each panel is 16"x12.25") Oil, acrylic, graphite on stretched canvas.
Detail:

Photo of REACH in process

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Mimic - Art of Nature series


24"x24" Acrylic, oil, graphite on panel.
This piece is titled, "Mimic" is a reference to forms in nature that are similar. My inspiration for this was a leaf of an oak tree. Not sure which variety but it was one that I picked up on a walk last fall. It had a great shape like a puzzle piece. I was also thinking of the leaves of the Dusty Miller plant. These shapes are similar to the form of a mammals vertebrae.
I was also experimenting a bit with getting back into oil paints here. The underpainting is done in acrylics and then I use oil on top. I'm using Alkyd oils as they dry faster than regular oils. I can add on top of them after a few hours. I add a little Galkyd to speed up drying time even more.

Detail

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Art in Nature - "Lichen"


LICHEN
24"x24"
Acrylic, Oil, colored pencil and graphite
I am starting a new painting series based on shapes, textures and colors that I observe in nature. My intent with this series is to create abstract paintings that will, if all goes well elicit in the viewer an emotional reaction.
I am getting back to some basics with this work. I want to get away from any representational imagery and focus on the act of painting; building up textures and colors. My process has evolved over the years and I have done this building of colors and textures as a background in all my paintings. In some cases, I have liked how the background came out more than the final painting.
I have many ideas sketched out on how to proceed but I find that each painting finds it's own path once I start it.
I enjoyed making this piece which I've titled "Lichen". The circular pattern and texture reminded me of lichen on rocks. I found out something about lichen; it is pollution intolerant meaning that if it's growing, there is no pollution present. Kind of a, "canary in a coalmine" sort of thing for above ground. I like that.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Making plans, art plans


The current state of my art desk/area.
I find that I think about making art far more than actually making art.