Ain't Afraid of No Ghost

Sometimes its worth bustin' some old ghosts. Just don't cross the streams.

This is an old assignment from the Illustration Academy that I just re-created (new and improved!). The assignment was to illustrate "blue" and was directed by Gary Kelley. I never felt too hot about my first attempt at it and I'm glad I took the time to re-create this one though I'm not sure it comes through that only the texture was done digitally.

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During World War I the Pour le Mérite, more commonly known as the Blue Max, was used as a propaganda device by the German Empire for recruiting purposes. It is primarily associated with the aviators (such as the Red Baron) though it was awarded throughout the German military. So, to illustrate the point, I wanted to create a propaganda poster image using the symbols of the Blue Max and the fighter pilot. Since this was the German Empire, the colors of the flag in the background are black, white, and red (gold replaced the white section once the empire disintegrated and the republic formed).

more sketchbook

One Friday - Then Saturday

Ok. I spent some time coloring digitally for the first time. I quite enjoyed it. Now I want to learn how to change all the line work from black (or brown) to a color of my choice with a few clicks of the mouse button.

houdini - updated

I sort of lost my drawing (and thus a bit of the likeness) in this version above but it I want to share a direction I'm exploring with the medium (acrylic and inks).


In one of Houdini's feats of underwater escape, it's believed that his wife passed him a key through a kiss. The final product isn't exactly where I imagined it would be. I may try this again over the weekend sans the key and lipstick idea. I'm still playing with acrylics. And whenever I lose my way and try to save it, I tend to go for the oil wash and pick out the highlights. I need some more tools in my arsenal for those sticky situations.

EDIT: I've painted over the key and lipstick idea...and painted some more. Still working on this acrylic thing. I think I'm losing my drawing in the painting process. Time to move on to the next project.

rework

A while ago I got a good critique on this from a friend. I've since followed through on that feedback and made some changes. This is the new version.

I've also been working on salvaging abandoned works...many of which have since been "re-abandoned."

I am in awe of illustrators who can paint opaquely in acrylic and blend successfully. Someday I'll figure it out.

Latest Project

Well, over the summer we bought a house.... Huzzah! But it needed a whole lot of work. ...Boooooo! I went from "not handy" to "handy" in pretty quick fashion. And although it set me back in my illustration and other artistic endeavors, we have a house! ...and all that time spent at Home Depot and trying to fix things with the house was a great exercise in creative problem solving and got me really familiar with an assortment of materials. Drywall, tiling, carpentry, and light electrical and plumbing... I took it on. And I'm glad to be back! I hope to post more frequently.

vote day

Today I voted! ...just the once.

June

June nearly went by without a single post!

Well, the IC14 show is over... I picked up my artwork as well as this way cool banner for the show that used my Jay-Z illustration. I thought this banner was just the coolest thing ever! . . . except that I could see all the "warts" in that piece on a huge scale. I'll need your help in convincing Megan that we should put it up in the foyer. Big thanks to my friend Jeff for taking this photo.

news

I just got word that two of my pieces were accepted into the Richmond Illustrators Club Annual Juried Show. Those pieces were the Javier Bardem portrait shown in the previous post and my still life of a jelly donut, which, at the moment, can be seen in the "paintings" section of my website. The jurors were Anita Kunz, Josh George, and Greg Swearingen. The show will run from June 6th through June 28th at the Ghostprint Gallery in Richmond, VA.

I was just about to re-work a bit of that Javier Bardem portrait. I guess that will have to wait until after the show.

javier bardem

I started working on this after I saw Goya's Ghosts and before I saw No Country for Old Men. I didn't think anyone would recognize Javier Bardem unless it was as Anton Chigurh, his character in the latter film.

Any comments, critiques, and suggestions are welcome and encouraged.

Thanks.