Latest Entries
“Wait” Color Study
I did this loose color study for a friend’s project. I’m planning on doing a couple more so stay tuned.
Also, I decided to lock up my Twitter account because I’ve finally had it with the spam. If you’d like to follow me, don’t be shy, just send me a request.
Giant
I wish I could be a giant, then I could lie with my head near the snows on one of the Alps, lie there among the goats, with my toes splashing below in the deep lake. So I would lie there and never get up again, between my fingers the bushes would grow, and the wild roses of the Alps in my hair, my knees would be alpine foothills, and vineyards would stand on my body, and houses, and chapels. And so for ten thousand years I lie there, and gaze into the heavens, and gaze into the lake. When I sneeze, there’s a thunderstorm. When I breathe the snow melts, and the waterfalls dance. When I die, the whole world dies. Then I journey across the world’s ocean, to bring back a new sun.
Where am I going to sleep tonight? Who cares! What is the world doing? Have new gods been discovered, new laws, new freedoms? Who cares! But up here a primrose is blossoming and bearing silver fuzz on its leaves, and the light sweet wind is singing below me in the poplars, and between my eyes and heaven a dark golden bee is hovering and humming–I care about that. It is humming the song of happiness, humming the song of eternity. Its song is my history of the world.
– Hermann Hesse
XIV Temperance
John Straun over at Super Punch is putting together a Tarot deck in celebration of the site’s 3rd Anniversary. He recruited an array of artists to illustrate their take on a particular card. I chose Temperance (XIV). I must be nostalgic for the Northwest, because bears and salmon are what materialized.
Plans are in the works to show all the art at the Bear and Bird Boutique in Lauderhill, Florida early next year. I’ll update here as that approaches and I know more. In the meantime, check out all the other cards over here: http://endlessdeck.blogspot.com/
The Roof
“He leaves the water running to cover the sound of him crawling out the window. He pushes his backpack through, then shimmies out head and arms first.”
The Lobby
I’m starting to tackle designs for some of the locations in the comic book. Trying to find the right amount of freehanded-ness in the line, too.
Greek
Here is some stuff that I’ve been up to lately. Taking a few cues from the Provensens with these, trying some different things out. I want to break away from some of the fussiness of my process.
It’s funny how scaling back in certain formal aspects of illustrating will shift the paradigm by which you see the remaining ones. A lot of people believe particular fundamentals–like composition, value, etc.–always rule over others in an hierarchy of importance. I tend to think it’s more of a balancing act, or a series of compromises. If you want to ignore one, another will, by nature, take prominence. But they can’t all be The Most Important Thing. I think images that are over-worked or under-worked result because of a breakdown in the prioritization of its formal aspects.
In a lot of ways, when I look at these images now, I think they work better next to one another. On their own, I’m not sure if they’re quite refined enough; they haven’t found that place of balance yet.
Today’s Warm-Up #7
I sort of hate this drawing. It was one of those things that I should have just scratched and started fresh with, but decided to keep fussing over until there was absolutely no life left in it. Well, on to other things…
Secret City
So I want to try something new around here. I take a good amount of pictures throughout the week. Sometimes it’s because certain colors or architecture catch my eye, maybe an interesting texture, or something ironic. And while I don’t have any sort of secret ambition to become a photography wiz, it would be nice to catalogue them somehow, somewhere.
I think it’s a valuable exercise to take photos. It offers a nearly instant process for experimenting with things like framing a composition, observing the principles of natural phenomena like light and physics, and manipulating the perception of those phenomena. Not to mention, capturing and expressing narrative.
I thought a little bit about starting an entirely separate blog to share the photos, but honestly, when I see other artists compartmentalize their work across various blogs, it makes me crazy. There is already too much to keep track of in life, people! This is why they invented tagging. And anyway, since this blog in large part is to record and share my process, I think the photos have a valid place here. I hope you all think so, too.
So I’ll be cataloging all my photo ventures under the ‘Secret City’ tag. Look out, San Francisco.
Today’s Warm-Up and an Interview
Here are some architectural thumbnails for today’s warm-up. I love doing these quick little studies, just playing with shape and proportion.
In other news, Chris and I were interviewed over on Pinball Publishing’s blog, CoinOp, regarding our collaborative project, Rigamaru. We talk about how the whole thing got started, our process and inspiration, and what’s on the horizon this year. Check it out, folks.
One last thing, Chris has a monoprint up for auction in the Brownstones to Red Dirt charity fundraiser. The auction will take place online, March 6th-13th. Check out their website for more details, and to see all the fantastic work being donated!
Today’s Warm-Up #4
There’s something about cartoons in traditional grayscale that I love. It’s just a timeless look for them. I seem to always come back to it.
For those of you who don’t know, I moved to the Bay Area this past week. I’m pretty excited to get out and explore and do some painting and sketching. I might even trade in my pasty-white Portland complexion for a tan.
Today’s Warm-Up #3
Another character from said Mystery Comic today. Is she good? Is she bad? What’s on that piece of paper she’s holding?! You’ll have to wait and pick up the book to find out… many, many months from now.
New Ink
Chris got the outlines of his new tattoo started yesterday: a circus themed sleeve of epic proportions, done by the talented and prolific Jason Kundell at Artwork Rebels in Portland. I brought my sketchbook along.
Today’s Warm-Up #2
So my pal Dennis has thrown down the gauntlet. He’s been doing this New Year’s schtick of posting daily warm-up sketches to his blog, and has trash-talked me into hopping on the bandwagon. Here is a first pass at another character from the Mystery Comic I’m working on with Sara. I haven’t decided if he looks homeless enough yet or not.
