Chico man!

Pardon the shadow.  Scanner's down...

Boo!

Zombie!

 

Rawr!

Snake Shaman

Still a bit rough, but I thought I should post something.

Brute

Model sheets!  Here's character number one.  Front - Side - Back.

Looking back...

I've always had a fascination with the ancients - Egypt being in my top five for obvious reasons of awesomeness (is that a word?).  So many great things to draw inspiration from (pardon the pun).  Anyway... I especially love the notion of taking bits from different creatures and melding them into new ones.  So, I present to you my sketch of a jackal-headed lion.  He's one of several creatures I'm making model sheets of. More on that later.

*In case you're sitting there thinking... 'Hey, I wish I knew how to read Egyptian hieroglyphs.'  then I would highly recommend this.  ;)

Author: Dr. Mark Collier & Dr. Bill Manley

Illustrator: Dr. Richard Parkinson

University of California Press

Temporarily Faceless

WARNING: Rant.

**The following rant is based on recent false and totally unfair claims made by an anonymous person regarding my artwork on Facebook, which subsequently resulted in said Facebook account being disabled.  Reader discretion is advised.

Apparently someone had an issue with some of the artwork I've posted on my Facebook account, and so... without checking the claims for validity, giving me fair warning, or any notification at all, they have disabled my account.  I only found out when I tried to log on.  Yeah... rude.  So... I am in the process of disputing this, and hope to have it back up asap.

*heavy sigh*

It seems that if someone/anyone makes a claim that artwork is obscene or offensive... which violates the 'Rules & Standards' of Facebook, it gets the chopping block without question and apparently, without even investigating the claim.  I would laugh at all this if I wasn't so frustrated and pissed off with them.  It doesn't seem right that any person could make such a claim as this, without Facebook at least first checking for themselves, but that's the way it is, I s'pose.  Anyone who has seen my work knows that this claim is complete bogus.  I just hope this headache will be resolved quickly.  Until then...  you can still follow my art posts here.

Sorry 'bout this.

Untitled

Just a touch up on a painting I did a while back... because I felt like it.  ;)

16" x 20" oil on masonite.

Whoa!

 Here's my finished painting for the Frazetta Tribute Exhibition being held at Gallery Provocateur scheduled for March in Chicago, IL.  Now I shall commence with the nail-biting wait to find out from a jury of awesome people in the world of fantasy art (of which I very much wish to be a part of) to see if I'm in.  Did I mention they are AWESOME?  hehehe 

Jury panel consists of:

Jon Schindehette, Creative Art Director of Wizards of the Coast

Simon Bisley, Master Artist

Paul Hellard, Editor CG Society & Assistant Editor Ballistic Publishing

Gerald Brom, Master Artist

Arnie & Cathy Fenner, Publishers of Spectrum Fantastic Art Books

Veronica Kotlajic, Curator of Gallery Provocateur & Art Muse

Art page now on Facebook!

Here's the linky dink!

The dragon is in the details...

Hello, my peeps!  So here's a close up of one of the head studies I made of a dragon I've been working on.  This version is a detailed sketch done in pencil.  The finished piece is being inked on hot press illustration board, and will be posted as soon as it's finished.

Frazetta Tribute submission piece - painting begins...

Phase 1 (approx. an hour's worth at this point) of my painting submission for the Frazetta Tribute Exhibition.  16" x 20" oil on masonite.  Actually, before I started sorta blocking things in, I primed my board with gesso (this seals the board), then I laid down a ground of burnt sienna, yellow ochre and some white over that.  (A ground color gives you a nice middle value to start with, and gets rid of all that daunting white space... an Old Master's technique.)  After the ground was down and semi-dry, I began laying things out... so I guess this is more like phase 3.  :P

Below is a pic of it next to the sketch.  I tried getting a decent photo, but you know.. when things are wet, tis a difficult thing to do.



Frazetta Tribute Exhibition submission - sketch

So this is what I'm working on for my submission for the Frank Frazetta Tribute Exhibition, held in December at the Gallery Provocateur in Chicago, IL.  This was just a quick snapshot to give a general peep at what I'm doing. I'll be sure to post more as it progresses. Anyhoo... any artists out there who are interested in participating, as well, should click on the link I've provided to get all the details on submitting.

Frank Frazetta was an amazing illustrator whose work captured my imagination as a young girl, and still inspires me to this day. Frazetta's talent set the bar for contemporary fantasy art. He passed away on May 10th of this year at the age of 82 after suffering a stroke the night before.

I got some art in Sci-Fi Magazine!

 

Today an issue of Sci-Fi Magazine came out with an article on the Museum of Mythical History featuring a drawing by yours truly!  Unfortunately, for some strange reason, Sci-Fi decided to purposely remove the names of the contributing artists... self included.  However, steps are being taken to rectify this situation, as the image is not public domain.  I'll keep ya posted as things progress.  In the mean time...  go see it for yourself!  Page 11  :)

Octopus sketch

Wowza!  Guess it's been longer than I realized since my last post.  Time sure flies when you have a lot going on in a short window of time, I s'pose.  Anywho... here's another sketch for your perusing pleasure.  Or not.

Summertime = water.  Water = octopus.  Right?  Right.

PS - Forgive the poor cropping job and small size.  I kinda posted this in a hurry.

Face sketcherdoodle

A quick late night sketch... or early morning sketch... depends on what you consider 4:30am.

Random doodle

A quick doodle I did today on the back of a scrap piece of paper (didn't have my sketchbook on me - gasp!).  Oh, well... it was only about 8-10 minutes worth of drawing so...  

This is one of those random moments when something just needed to come out and say hi, so I found the nearest piece of paper and started playing.  Capricorn is not my sign, but who cares... it was fun to sketch out.

Elf sketcheroo

Yeah, one eye is pale on purpose.  ;)

Horse thingy

Hey all, I've been keeping busy, but have been bad at posting lately.  Here's a WIP of a recent composite creature.  More as progress continues.  I'll get some color on here soon, as well.  ;)

As with all my posts... they can be enlarged with just a clicky-click of the mouse.

Birthdays are sweet!

For my great friend, Pete, Happy Birthday!!!!!

CHEERS!

My Mythical Magical Historical Minotaur

Here's a critter concept that will soon be used by the Museum of Mythical History to promote it's new online virtual museum.  Plans are in the works for an actual, physical museum in the future.  Special thanks to its creator, William Hammock, for the opportunity to have my art contribute towards promoting his vision.

Note:  Although the site is up now, at this time it is still undergoing construction.

Demon Assassin Girl - color

So, because I really wanted to participate in this weeks ArtOrder character challenge, but was incredibly limited in time, (boooo!) I decided to add a little color to my Demon Assassin girl with watercolor.  I'm leaving for LA tomorrow morning (provided I don't have to swim there due to the massive storm both LA and Tucson are experiencing right now) and won't be back until late Sunday night, so I've submitted her early.

Demon Assassin Girl

This is my sketch of a female Assassin Devil for the next challenge on ArtOrder.  There are a few minor adjustments I plan to make in order to have this character fit the description more accurately... (i.e. making the cloak more cloak-like and posing the face so that I can switch the mask to the other side of the face - oops!).  At the time I sketched this out I didn't have the description in front of me.  I initially just wanted to layout what was coming to me - sort of like artistic brainstorming.

Here's the actual art description:

• 6' tall
• Devilish humanoid
• Female
• Indigo skin
• Unappealing face w/ left half covered by frightening iron mask that looks like a demonic face
• 2 horns
• Lithe but muscular
• Wears dark leather armor w/ iron parts that resemble demonic body parts (iron pauldrom w/ iron horns sprouting from it)
• Wears a cloak made of shadows and darkness
• Wields a black longsword made of shadowstuff
• Has devil feet (reference provided on ArtOrder)
• Has a dour look on her face
• Holds sword at the ready
• Vignette image on white background

The finished piece is due this Sunday by noon, so check back to see it then.

Best of ArtOrder submission

Here he is, your friendly neighborhood Krampus critter... well, maybe not so friendly.  When he's finished, I'll be submitting him as a candidate for inclusion to the Best of ArtOrder book challenge.  The book is being organized and published via Senior Art Director, Jon Schindehette, of Dungeons and Dragons - Wizards of the Coast.  I hope Krampus makes a positive and lasting impression on the powers that be.  *crosses fingers*

This painting is also being submitted to the Spectrum fantasy art annual jury, which I hope will also bring good results.  Spectrum is an art annual that provides a showcase for contemporary fantasy artists.  I would be ever so happy if I could see Krampus on the pages of either of these books.  I have such a fire and drive for this stuff, and I LOVE coming up with creatures! I'm just hoping someone will give me that break I need to prove my mettle.  So for now, I'll be waiting with bated breath.  :)

Now it's on to my ArtOrder Assassin demon-girl and Beautiful Grim projects.

Beautiful Grim WIP

So here is the sketched pose I decided to go with for my Beautiful Grim contribution, as well as the WIP (graphite and charcoal on grey Canson paper).  And it's definitely still a WIP, as you can see.

To find out more about this wonderful fundraiser, please click on here.  The Beautiful Grim event is being organized by Mythic Entertainment concept artist/illustrator Daarken and Dreamworks animator Leif Jeffers.

I'll be posting more as the work progresses.  The deadline for this is February 1st, 2010.  This is one of several different pieces I'm working on right now (as mentioned in my previous post).  I tend to rotate between pieces when I'm working on several at a time.  This not only helps keep me from getting bored or frustrated with working on the same piece, but it also helps me to keep a fresh eye on the work in front of me.  When I work on the same piece continually, I seem to be more prone to get artist's block.  I've found that rotating helps me to avoid that.

Happy New Year!

I've sorta been on hiatus for the holidays, but as of today I've resumed working to finish up several projects I've got lined up, (which are all due this month).

1. Best of ArtOrder - Annual art book.

2. Spectrum - Fantasy art annual.

3. Beautiful Grim - Art fundraiser.

4. Museum of Mythical History

Keep an eye out for new work to be posted soon.  In the meantime, I'll do my best to put up sketches when I can.

Cheers!

=)

What a nice surprise!

Last Thursday, December 17th, I was invited out as a guest artist to speak at a local K-12 school called Kino here in Tucson, AZ.  I had a lot of fun talking about art, sharing what I've done, and answering questions about art, art school, and working as an artist... as well as doing a few quick demonstrations.  They were a great group of kids - all very attentive and inquisitive.  I felt very welcome there, and I think it's safe to say that we all had a good time together.

Today, I was happily surprised to find in my mailbox the best card ever!  Complete with drawings and notes of thanks.  It made me so happy that I felt I needed to share it with everyone, so here it is.

Awesome card, you guys!  Thank you!

Kelpie

So, I've been working on a painting that deals with a creature who punishes naughty children (Krampus), and it inspired me to do a sketch of another creature of consequence... the Kelpie.

For those unfamiliar, the Kelpie was a supernatural water horse from Celtic folklore that was believed to haunt the rivers and lochs of Scotland and Ireland.  The scenario would play out something like this: a child is lured onto the Kelpie's back, where once astride, the Kelpie's skin would become adhesive.  At that point the Kelpie would gallop full speed back into the murky depths of the water, where its victim would then be drown and devoured.

Moral of the story?  Things are not always as they seem...?  Or, maybe it was simply to say that kids should come in before dark and not play around bodies of water by themselves.  Seems like a scary story to tell children, but then again... most folk tales are a bit gruesome.  At any rate, they make for some fun sketch ideas.

Krampus - Somebody fetch me a switch!

Above is:

Krampus underpainting - 10" x 16" - oil on board.

Krampus with some PS color adjustments.

After putting my painting into PS, I made some digital color adjustments to give an idea of what it will look like once I start adding more color to the actual painting.  Since Krampus is known to arrive during the winter holiday season, my idea is to have this painting feel cool.  By adjusting and tweeking things digitally, I can quickly get an example of what's to come in my oil painting.  The only thing not shown here is the snow and suggestion of trees, which I plan to add later on.

I will post the finished painting by January 18th, as this is the deadline for the Best of ArtOrder 2009 book.  I also plan to submit this painting to the Spectrum XVII fantasy art annual competition, whose deadline is January 22nd.  Wish me luck!

Are you on the wrong list?! (Krampus sketch)

Meet Krampus... Santa's counterpart to the Christmas season.  If you've been a good boy or girl, then you're likely never to meet him.  However, if you've been bad, well... Santa may not have a gift for you, but Krampus sure will!  The gift of birching - ouch!

This is my sketch of Krampus for Jon's art challenge over on ArtOrder.  I'm hoping to get a painting done of this guy done by Sunday (Dec. 20th), but I'm not 100% sure I can, so I wanted to at least post my drawing of him.  Happy holidays!

Medusa WIP

Medusa WIP - Version 1

Medusa WIP - version 2

This image of Medusa is a personal project I started in oil about a year ago, and for whatever reason ended up putting her aside... likely for other paying projects.  I was clearing out some things recently and came across the unfinished painting.  I decided to scan her into PS and play around with it digitally.  This is what I've got so far.  There are still some things that I want to do to it, but I don't think I'll push it too much further due to the fact that I do not currently own a tablet, and trying to get details with a mouse is darn near impossible (let alone crazy making!).

Hurakan - Final book cover image

Well, here's the finished painting (for the Hurakan book cover challenge on ArtOrder), plus the image as it would appear in the book cover format.  This project was a whole lot of fun, not to mention the chance to create another portfolio piece and get some free promotion time with some top Art Directors in the industry.  Here's the list of AD's that will be judging the submissions:

Irene Gallo, Tor Publishing
Lou Anders, Pyr Publishing
Mari Kolkowsky, Wizards of the Coast (unconfirmed)
Sarah Robinson, Paizo Publishing
James Davis, Paizo Publishing
Kris Aubin, Privateer Press
Brian Glass, White Wolf CCP (unconfirmed)
Mike Vaillancort, Cthulhutech 

Centaur sketch

Thought I should post something I did between the several paintings I've been working on lately.

"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin"

11" x 14" Oil on board.

Here's the finished painting (Sorry, not the best photo...it's a bit fuzzy and dark.) for the "Buen Provecho: The Art of Food, The Art of Giving" charity group event, which opens this Saturday, Dec. 5th from 6 - 9pm at Lulubell's on 439 North 6th Avenue, Suite 187 in Tucson, AZ.  All are welcome to attend.  Entry into the opening is a suggested donation of $1 or a non-perishable food item.  All the artists will be in attendance during the opening night.  For those in the Tucson area, the show runs Dec. 5th through Dec. 31st.  Regular gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 12pm - 6pm.  Hope to see you there!

Calendar candidate

So here's my submission for a calendar that will be produced through ArtOrder.  It was a rough ride (pardon the pun) to get this done in time!  I only learned of this call for artists late last week, and have been frantically painting this in hopes of getting it in by the deadline (by noon on Dec. 2nd... today).  Scanning was a bit of an issue, as it was still a little wet, despite my use of Liquin and Japan dryer.  I also think that I lost some of my details due to the textures I had built up on the surface.  *sigh*  Murphy's law, I suppose.  I would like to give prop's to my awesome designer friend, Eva, who helped me figure out how to create a direct link to the large psd file.  Thank you, Eva!!!

Now I have to move on to finishing and framing another painting, which is due to be dropped off by 6pm (later today) for an art exhibit.  Whew!  I'll be posting that one later.