Barcelona...

... in December - looks a bit like this.

(when seen through the view finder of a Canon G10 - if anyone's even the slightest bit interested)

Warming up to the New Year...

Having not posted in quite a while - this is just a quickie to get back in the saddle! I'm currently ploughing through an MA, and this has swallowed up a whole bunch of time recently. Well - that and Modern Warfare 2, which I'm currently in the process of weening myself from (I find that I now no longer blink between my optimal gaming hours of 10pm - midnight). Seriously - I'm like Pavlov's Dog. As soon as I hear the swishy swish noise of the (games makers) Infinity Ward's logo ident... my eyes start to gush in anticipation of being 'only open' - in pure adrenal fixation - for the subsequent two hours.

You blink - you die.

So - I'm revving up for a new painting over the next couple of weeks, and this focus will provide just the distraction I need. As long as I resist the urge welling up inside to buy Mass Effect 2.

mUst Ressissst - urge........!!! .

ANYWAY!

This post features a couple of recently published pieces.... which is nice. Artists and Illustrators Magazine have published a 'how to' type article, written by yours truly in their Feb Issue (now off the shelf I think). It was a four page spread, and focused on producing a portrait. Many thanks to Steve Pill for the invite to do something. Next - a piece accepted by Spectrum 16. Run as a competition, the annual features the best in fantastic art from around the world. I'm stoked to have a piece accepted for this book - and kinda thrilled to have it on a page sandwiched between two images by the amazing Carlos Huante. Wow. Given the quality of Carlos's work, mine looks all the worse for it... but hey.... Carlos Huante everyone!!!!!!!

WOYE?

Q. What's On Your Easel?
A. Two little oils!


Both unfinished tiddlers (oil on board) at 20x40cm.

Just for fun.

Jus Sketch'n

A quick post with a couple of recent sketchbook pages. Above is a little spread from my moleskine notebook. On the left, a combined effort drawn early Sunday morning when it was my turn to get up with Lola (aged 3.75). We took it in turns to add elements - and I think Lola delivered the masterstroke with the un prompted red boarder outline. Wasn't sure what to draw next - so flicked back to a page given over to Lola where (she claimed) she drew (amongst other things {Santa, a rocket and Daddy}) a Ghost Holding A Snail. Good idea I thought.

This is a page in the medium mole. Warming up for some painting exercises. FIGHT!!!!

Digital Silo-Bot

A recent digital piece showing process and development.

Prep sketches showing initial idea and variations on a theme. One looked kind of child friendly - the other looked like a Wellsian nightmare. Uncharacteristically - I went for the first option.

Planning in more detail - some quick value and composition studies and some vector art.

Final production drawing in (A3). Black pencil crayon on marker paper.

Flats for digital work.

Final. I'm big into Arther Rackham at the moment. Thats obvious huh?

Big/Little

An A2 drawing of Chris from the Newton Solney Life Group. Quite a complex pose this one - particularly with Chris's totally LOTR staff and generally Magus looks. It occurs to me how much work I need to do on hands and feet - so I'm mentally tagging this for working on. This was about 1hr 45mins work (I was on tea duty).

.... And a rare spread from my mini moleskine (9 x 14 cm [closed]). I usually just use this as a notebook - but have started super quick doodles during any rare moments I'm not doing anything (other than watching telly - which is becomming an increasingly boring option). It's a nice way of pinning down the fleeting little ideas and absurdidies, which would otherwise flutter into the ether never to be seen again.

I'm reading a few books on keeping sketchbooks at the moment and one contributors opinion was that if you keep a nice place for ideas to stay - then they will come.

I like that.

Inside-a-head-a-scope...a-thon.

Have been hammering the sketchbook in the evenings now the nights are drawing in (no pun intended). Most of these are drawn from an initial arrangement of loose lines as I try to eark something from my imagination (with no pre-conception of what I'm about to draw). It's nice to go with the flow and see where it takes me. These are all either (or some combination of..) pencil, gouache, pencil crayon, fineliner, dipping pen, fountain pen and biro.






They're not supposed to be super finished or anything - just a nice way of spending the dwindling hours of the day after Generation Kill and before bed. All in a 21 x 13cm moleskine.