Humbug to getting any art done during the Holidays!!!

Holiday greeting card.... way less cheesy than a family photo eh!!! Merry Christmas, Now bugger off! Is the title too much???

Happy Halloween!!!

Here is a quick painting I did the last couple of nights to get into the holiday spirit. Its titled Preparing for the Witching Hour. Its not too big 8 x 11, acrylic on paper. I wanted it to look old and misty... anyway, Happy Halloween everyone.

Finished

Finished... feels nice!!!

Coming Along...

The plumber is almost done...

Back to Work...

So, I am the worst blogger in the world and have left the couple of you followers out of the loop. But seeing as my daughter has the swine flu and we are all quarantined for a while, it seems like a good time to update. I have been working off and on for the past few years with a local plumber Chris Dever on a plumbing book that he has been writing and it finally looks like its a go. So, I'll be doing around 20 illustrations plus the front and back cover for the book. I've included the initial sketch for the cover and the first steps of the painting....

When I think plumber, I think water and toilets... the water is obvious and the plunger is my suggestion of a toilet as I felt a toilet on the cover was a bit taboo. All I am after is catching the face of a typical plumber as he sees for the first time the job ahead of him...


I start with some tone. I also polled a few people and added a railing. It filled the negative space well and adds to the believability of a front door. The coloring of the face needs work but, I am off...

Lamenting the end of it all....

Well, the show has come to a close and with it, my schooling. I want to thank all of those who came and supported me at the open house (while simultaneously cursing all those who came up with something more important than me.... kidding). It went swimmingly and from it I was able to sell some work and get some commissions ... thanks Eric!!! Now comes the pitching and selling of myself (I sound like a prostitute) to get those important in the illustration world to notice me. Wish me luck.....
So, there is nothing left now but to listen to some Sarah Mclachlan song as we fade from memory to memory... I'm getting teary eyed just thinking about it.

Sneak peaks of the show

So, here comes the show... coming at me like that boulder at Indiana Jones in Raiders.... Scary!!! But just when my non-multitasking brain was about to hit overload, Aaron and his perfectly shiny head totally saved me!!!! You know, in the right light his head does shine like a halo. With his help I was able to get the work digitized and was able to get to the finishing touches for the show.... THANK YOU AARON!!!! You all should be receiving your invites soon but just to entice you to come and see, here are a couple of the paintings.

The July Show ......

Finally, the show is on the horizon!!! It has felt like an extremely long time since I set my sights on this goal and I am proud to offer a date and location ..... July 8th through July 31st on the 5th floor of the UVU library. The Artist Reception will be Friday night, July 10th from 7-9 and all are welcome to attend (I know that the poster says 7-10pm but we changed it on the final draft).

A More Painterly Piece

So, my last school assignment is to paint a figure doing something realistic and I decided I wanted to focus on the face and leave the rest a little obscure...

Crossing the Finish Line

Ok, ok, ok ... I admit that I've not been as up to date with this as I should be. In my defense, this is it, the last semester of school (oh, yeah... the home stretch). I have been getting steadily farther behind in my BFA show work and so the end of the semester is a welcome relief. I can focus on my show and do some catch up. Anyway, here is some of my in-class work. Every friday we paint live models for about 2 hours and these are a few of my favorites.

Illustration of a short story

So, our next assignment was to illustrate the concept of a short story. The story involved a small bird and a statue in a church. It was about isolation and self worth. I chose to capture a statue of a tortured soul.... however, I could not ever settle on the background. My first concept was to put other statuary in a group and the main character was in isolation. I never liked it much and by the time I painted it, I really hated it. So, Johanna and I came up with doing a church and that is the final. I've included both ideas and the final so you can make up your own mind on whether I chose right.

Old Woman

This is a quick painting I did for a student show that will be opening at UVU at the end of this month. I had this sketch of an old lady that I had done while not listening at church one Sunday. I liked the stiff, grumpy civil war picture look that she had, so when the opportunity to do something just for myself with no requirements came along, I thought it would be fun to try to capture the old picture look with my style. anyway, here is both the initial sketch and the finished painting.

Illustrating a Fortune from a fortune cookie...

The fortune is...
"Your ability to juggle many tasks will take you far"
So, here is the initial sketch.

...and the final painting.

Some Work From Last Year

Here We Go

Well world, I officially step into the world of blogging. It seemed inevitable that this day would come yet, I prolonged it for a long, long time (due to my lack of typing skill). I hope to place work as it progresses for all to see. Ideas, concepts and finished work that I have been working on throughout the year. Anyway, here we go......