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

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.

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.

Swan monoprint

Monoprint I did as prep for a painting. I like the line quality that you can get in a monoprint and the unintended bits of texture around the image. I use waterbased blockprinting ink, roll out an area on a sheet of glass, place a sheet of paper down on it and draw on what will be the back. Keep in mind that your image will be backwards. I also experiment by wetting and blotting the paper before printing-it gives the monoprint more of a watercolor effect as the ink bleeds into the wet paper.

My Illustrations Receive Recognition from American Illustration

3 illustrations that I submitted to American Illustration 28(from left: "Boo!", "The King", and "Off The Grid") have been CHOSEN to appear on TRIBUTE; American Illustration's web gallery at ai-ap.com. The images will be on the site in November. They will be on the site permanently with my illustration that was selected in last year's competition-AI27.

This year’s distinguished jury included Luis Blanco, INTERspectacular; Max Bode, The New Yorker; Ken DeLago, Golf Digest; Kelly Doe, The New York Times; Matthew Lenning, Bon Appetite; Mitch Nash, Blue Q; Justine Strasberg, Nickelodeon; Michael Uman, INTERspectacular.

My images were 3 of only 583 images from a record-breaking 8,100 submitted to receive at least 2 votes and is therefore eligible to appear permanently on AI's website.

Woot!

Children's Book Illustration?

Potential here for a children's book. The story would be about a boy that likes to scare people by putting on a fake bear head or other animal masks. This could lead to some consequences where the little boy learns a valuable lesson. Plus, I like to create animal illustrations and bear illustrations specifically.

Simple Line Art Illustration of a Man, His Wandering Thoughts and His Plaid Jacket

Experimenting a bit with my illustration style. Keeping it simple. I think this look could be good for clothing catalog illustration, editorial illustration, conceptual illustration, music industry illustration and portrait illustration. I like the antiqued paper background, black line done with pencil and the white shirt detail. I can see this style being expressive yet simple. Nice plaid jacket too on our model.
I have often liked my initial sketches more than the final illustrations. Here I've blown up a small sketch. I like that initial energy of the small sketch. It lives.
More to come...