Metal

Ham-fisted gouache on mat board. Sketch out the cartoon. Slop on the paint. 997 more crappy gouache paintings to go before I 'get it.'
Dance, robot, dance!

Blue Mountain in Salmon Mist

I don't paint very well at all. YET! But I aim to remedy this with enthusiasm, practice, diligence, and patience.

Really, I just set up, sat down, and whipped this little jobby out without a sketch, a plan, or a clue. This was plain jumping in both feet! I simply wanted to see whatever I might be capable of doing to conquer my irrational fear of painting! I feel better...

I've been looking at ukiyo-e prints lately along with animation background artists like Mary Blair and some pieces from one of my favorite cartoons, Samurai Jack! There are some awesome artists that I link to on the side that I study (and envy) that I hope to glean their secrets from their works. I'm stoked!

My ambition to work up animation background style paintings will be spurring me on to experiment and make mistakes. Here are plenty of mistakes but among them is NOT quitting or being shy about my progress. Any constructive comments and critiques are welcome!

7" x 8" gouache on mat board

howdy, stranger...

Oh, it's been a while since I've blogged. I've been working my ass off at work and doodling a little when I'm on lunch breaks or at home or Beth's.

March 14th I started a new sketchbook, with better paper than the last piece of crap sketchbook, and I've filled about 28 pages with sketches, doodles, anatomy, and gestures.

So, I suppose the obligatory sketch dump is in order. Here goes...

I've been working on my main weakness as per usual: anatomy. One day I will be extra special good at it. This is from Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Stephen Rogers Peck. It's a pretty good paperback that I carry with me frequently.

These two are from different ukiyo-e prints from my Ukiyo-e book mentioned in a previous blog. I used the Pitt brush pen, Microns, and Prismacolor markers.

Here's a quick and dirty for my roomie's band The Black Times. Jim wanted an homage to the Ramones but with esoteric imagery a la Freemasonry, alchemy, etc. The triangle read '33' with the Freemason image but has been changed to a billiard rack with the 8, the cue, and the 4 balls for '804.' With time run out in the hourglass, a clutch of lightning and a scythe, the whole thing is roped off with an inverted ouroboros. Black times indeed...

Finished this one today on lunch break. Femur studies from the same anatomy book. Figured I'd mess around with some hatching too.

In an effort to improve my skills, I've been going to figure drawing sessions for about 3 weeks now. On Friday I go to the Visual Art Center on Main Street from 6:30-9pm. On Sunday I go to Ghostprint Gallery on Broad Street, just a few blocks from my apartment.

Actually I missed last weekend's session. Just plain forgot. But the first session yielded this drawing, inked with the Pitt brush pen and watercolored.

I see the glaring errors, and my old figure drawing teacher would probably bodyslam my ass, but I feel alright about it. Just alright. I feel better about the watercolors than the anatomy/figure drawing.

Let it go...