B2 — Finished

At long last (or 2 weeks since I started), B-Rock #2 is finished.

I recently had the opportunity to listen to a fantastic illustrator, Danny Gregory, speak about his process, his subjects, and his life as an artist. I think I could write an entire entry on how heartfelt his lecture was (and maybe will), but he inspired me to re-examine my own approach to creating. I've been tinkering with my process on this project as a whole, spending about 3x more time sketching and studying light and dark as they affect composition and subject. That's the same advice Dave Palumbo gave me 2 years ago, which I chose to ignore at the time, but I'm pretty pleased with the results so far.

On to the next! (cough, B3, cough)

p.s., Thanks to anybody who's been bothering to read my rantings and check out my paintings. I hope you like what you see.

B2 — Progress

I've been feeling full of energy lately. This is one of several value studies I worked out last evening for B2. Hope to get this ready to paint this weekend. Let the paint flow!

Stay tuned, folks.

B1

Happy Friday. As promised, I've got the first finished presidential portrait I mentioned a few weeks ago. As of now I'm planning on making a few more of these, so stay tuned.

-S.

Portrait Series: B-rock

I've been wanting to paint a tribute to our 44th president for quite awhile now, basically since he was elected the first time, but have been tied up with other projects. Hopefully those other projects will see the light of day soon, but in the mean time I've been doing some research and sketching. 

More to come soon.

Jerry Kalback

I found out this week that my illustration professor at Kent State is retiring after 30+ years of teaching. Jerry had an enormous influence on my painting style and inspired me to look beyond the contemporary crop of illustrators and artists into some of the great painters from the 70's and 80's (Bart Forbes, Bernie Fuchs, David Grove, Marshall Arisman, Alan Cober, etc.), and also to love the art that I make. A tip of the hat to one of the greatest teachers on earth, and I wish him a paint-filled and relaxing retirement. You can see some of Jerry's work here.

Shop smart, shop S.Mart

I'm pleased to announce that there are some new prints/paintings for sale in my shop, including giclée prints of this guy. As you can see above, each print is signed, numbered, and printed on high-quality watercolor paper.

Hipster + Sandwich

I painted this a couple months ago after watching a dirty hipster eating a sloppy sandwich. I felt it was just too funny not to post, so I present to you a quick painting that I simply call "Hot Mess".

Digital prints of this piece are available here. (Cheap!)

Nietzsche—finished

After messing around with this for about 3 months, I believe this portrait is finally finished. I chose Nietzsche as a subject for several reasons: 1.) I recently have read several of his books, 2.)I have yet to see anyone paint a portrait of him in a pose other than the few photos of him that are in existence, 3.) that moustache of his is badass, and 4.) agree with him or not, the man changed the way the world thought merely by writing the three words you see above. An influential character, no matter what your beliefs may be.

See previous posts for more information about the process involved in its creation.

Nietzsche update...

Nietzsche, thus far. Palette knives are the name of the game.

Its New Project Update Time

I have been working on a portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche. I decided to put up the sketch I've been working with since I haven't posted anything in a while, in case you the reader has been curious. Its a bit more abstract in terms of shape than most of the work I've done recently, but I think that perhaps a more abstracted figure will allow me a little more freedom to work with, as well as more freedom for the viewer to interpret what they are looking at. I welcome feedback, and will be posting more as the project progresses.

The Bad

After weeks, (7 to be exact, lots of breaks though) of painting this series, I am proud to present the final part: The Bad, (a.k.a. "Angel Eyes" or Lee van Cleef). Not to worry though, I will be hitting the ground running once again and getting some new paintings ready to hit the web. 

Lemme know what you think!

The Ugly...

After a week off, and about two weeks putting this guy together, I am pleased to announce my portrait series is 2/3 finished. Second up: The Ugly(also known as Tuco, or Eli Wallach to those who actually follow his career...)

The Good...

I have been planning/sketching/talking about doing a portrait series of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly for several weeks now. Yesterday the talk began to become a reality. First up: The Good (also known as Clint Eastwood to some). Keep an eye out for parts 2 and 3!