MEL.d.T

2011-11-07T00:34:00.002-05:00

Pamcake Drawing Dump

Newest are towards the top :)!

Day of the Dead related drawings from drawing group.

The theme for this week was an illustration of a song. We each drew a few and tried to guess what each others were. Was pretty fun. Realized I need to listen to more music.

Swamp thing, taking a moment to smell the flowers.

The chef requested we draw retro game characters. I did epic Princess Peach :D

Theme was working animals. I took it literally.

Liz Sherman.

Abe Sapien

I updated both my Tumblr and Website today. Website got a face-lift and Tumblr some new(old) photos. I'll re-post this stuff to Tumblr tomorrow, but I think i will leave photos on Tumblr. It's faster :)!

Stay tuned, more to come.

2011-10-08T00:56:00.000-04:00

Just a few reposts.

Those updated previously were terrible quality. Also, got a little obsessed with re-editing my portfolio using colour balance layers in photoshop. To think, a few more tweeks years ago and i might have been a tad more happy with the outcome then.

Also a pamcake cover. Before most cons, comic retailers sell blank covers so you can bring them to conventions and get artists to do covers. We just bought a bunch and drew on them ourselves.

What can I say. I like drawing pinups. :)

----->>>>>> Stay tuned for a website update and upgrade.

2011-09-18T18:42:00.000-04:00

I am alive. I have had no Internet for a month, thus no updates.

I should have internet soon, so stay tuned.

Apparently when Internet is not around, one is more productive.
Also expect to see a new, simpler website layout!

-Mel

A photo or a few...

2011-08-21T01:58:00.001-04:00

A few pictures from my trip to Edmonton.

More to come.

Notes on blogging...

2011-08-13T23:45:00.001-04:00

The more blogs I read, the more I think that art blogs can be a great source of inspiration for others as well as showcasing your work. I spent a good day or two gaining over Charlie bowater's blog.
She is a fairly frequent poster (and extremely awesome artist) and manages to post not only progress and experiments of her own work, but also photography, inspiration snippets and talks about others blogs. While this isn't an uncommon thing, it sometimes one person that for some reason kind of takes it to a level that makes you think "that makes sense!" Most posts are short and sweet, with just an image and some text, or just text, but it gets straight to the point. She's also really cool about answering people's questions about anything, which is pretty cool.

Those who know me, know i can't do the talking/typing that well. I've been known to write in a way that either makes brains explode or lul even an insomniac to sleep. Look at my first posts on experimenting to know what I mean :p. I think that's what probably the reason I haven't updated the past few months. It was more about documenting the journey (which involved alot of writing) and less about the final product or post. It's ok sometimes, but I got a little caught up with details and it bored even me. I'm sorry. It happens! ><

Also, website updates are irritating....especially when you need to seriously redesign it. So for now it stays the way it is, and I'll be sticking to blogging for now.

'm going to attempt to try to be one of fewer words and more art. I'll probably post more photos as well....I heart my DSLR very much and feel it needs some more love.

Enough talking, without further ado....DRAWRINGS!

A bunch of art from my Tuesday drawing group from the last month and a bit.

Hovershoes with pump-it tech....you know you want em! :)

KP as the punisher. He's so bad, he don't need guns! Done on one of the blank con-cover punisher comics.

She-punisher....Enough said.

Random lady.

She-DD!

Peggy Carter from the Captain America movie.

Captain America as the face of Levis....

Think the theme for this was super villians and fast food....

Cozy, MadMax'd!

Play on move titles....Superbad....I had nothing that night.

Doc Doom was the theme. He's emotional when he reads Pretty Women.

Future posts will probably be shorter as Im all caught up with art updates.

Expect photos from the west coast over the next week!

drawing group drawings....

2011-08-07T19:36:00.001-04:00

Drawings from my drawing group.....waiting for the drawings from the last month and a bit though.

I'm alive.....

2011-08-07T19:15:00.001-04:00

So heres a small update. I've been painting and drawing fairly regularly lately and will probably be posting more in the near future.

Epic Sailor Moon- Cobra water mixable oils on terra-skin paper (mounted on Masonite)

Originally I started this in order to have something to auction off for Japan relief earlier this year. I got busy with work, and didn't have any time until recently to finish it. My dehumidifier which, turns out if left on, makes water mixable oils not set properly. The end result is a tacky surface which took a month to dry (normally takes a little over a week). Overall I'm happy with it...she looks a little to North american though.

Creepy skull....guy. Kama oils and Kama alkyd butter on Masonite panel.

sugar skull beauties - 1
Tri-art acrylics on arches rough 140lb watercolor paper

1 of 3 paintings I've wanted to do since February of this year. This wad my attempt to get something similar in effect to Eric Fortunes work. He waters down acrylics to the constancy of watercolors and does endless layers to get some really beautiful effects. He does his work on large sheets of arches watercolor paper...probably 300lb cold press or higher as I was getting a lot of rippling with the 140lb rough paper. It took me about a week to finish.

I realized that I used to paint in a slightly similar fashion ( watering down the acrylic to do glazing vs using mediums to do layers), but never that many layers. Allows you to get some really interesting colours when you glaze this way though.

2 more of these to-go. I really love painting sugar skulls....something about them are beautiful to me....more so on pinups. It seems like every tattoo parlor I walk by now has at least a sugar skull tattoo image or painting in the window ( i noticed a few in a shop on queen in the fashion district).

Also, planning a weekly project to get this newish obsession out of my system. I plan on doing a tarot card deck with sugar skulls as the theme.
It's a bought time I started a weekly project. It'll keep me busy and out of trouble....and posting more often here of course. Probably start in a week, so stay tuned!

Well thats something for now....I hope to get some of my more comic-e and marker stuff up soon....waiting for scans.

Until then, TTFN

2011-04-06T02:30:00.002-04:00

Still alive.

Been side tracked by a fee new projects. Hope to post a few by the end of the week!

Stay tuned!

:)

2011-03-18T00:32:00.002-04:00

Progress - Aria (oils) - shelved *

Decided to take out the horns and change the background colour. Softened up

the jaw line. Was getting a bit annoyed with this sitting though...I wanted to work

wet on wet, but as I tend to work on it over  several sittings, it's a bit harder

without repainting the entire thing again.
 
I will probably call it quits on this as it was just a practice piece gone to far.

Plus way to many other projects to work on. 
 
I may try to instead bring the painting into corel painter to finish it off, for the sake of

mixing it up.
 
We shall see.

Progress - Parisian buildings (oils)*

Second sitting went well. Only ended up working on the statue image however.

I like painting the figure so it seems. Was going to work on the actual buildings,

but as I left my make shift mahl stick ( a wooden dowel with tape on the end) at

my old work.  Also picked up a small wooden table easel to make it easer to paint

said building as well. It seems it's hard to paint on a flat surface with oils, and

much easier to on an easel with a mahl stick to steady the hand!
 
Will probably work on the buildings on Friday or Sunday evening, thus ensuring

that the statue painting is completely dry.


Progress - Cleopatra - halted and shelved
 
while I know where my errors on this are, again to many projects, although I do

want to finish it. I want to refresh myself with some more colour theory before I

continue, to insure no more paint is wasted :p.

Progress - Sugar Skull Beauties*

Reworked the sketches a bit. Trying to be a bit more professional. Trying to

focus more on composition and having a finished/finalized sketch before I start.

I'm realizing it saves alot more time then figuring out composition and colour

before starting a piece.
 
Btw, sta-wet pallete is still wet. Best investment ever if you want to do acrylics.

Been a few weeks and it's still good.
 
Anyhow, hope to at least paint in the bg by tomorrow and possibly transfer the

sketch...probably will lay in with chalk.

Progress - sketchbook*

After many sketchbooks, new and old, I've realized that paper makes or break

a book. Some are better for inks and others, just pencil. Thing is, i like to do it

all and have had a hard time finding the best one(s) for the job.
 
I like moleskine plain paper for just jotting things down. Great for pencil...well,

light pencil. Sucks for erasing though. Ok with pen, but kinda shows through.

Generally though, I like the smoothness and ivory coloured paper.
 
I really like ivory colored paper. 
 
Alot.
 
So, I dropped more money then normal ( although pretty close to the moleskine

price-point) and got an ivory paper sketchbook by Simon and Burke. 
 
Best book ever.
 
The paper is pretty durable despite it being thinner then the thicker mixed

media pad. Handles washes pretty well, as well as thick/layered pencil crayon

drawings. Great for colour doughs and more finished drawings.
 
Want to do a bit more with it, before I show more sketches.

*Will post pics asap

Note: been more busy then normal lately so I'm going to be posting only one

day a week, rather the twice. More content to post that way :)

2011-03-01T20:11:00.001-05:00

Onto project progress.....

Progress for Aria
Cobra and Winsor Newton Artisan
water-mixable oils on watercolour paper

Added some more white, and fixed the jawline. Still a bit of work to go!

"Sugar" - Pet portrait

Turner watercolours on grey Stonehenge paper.

Progress on belated Christmas Gifts.....still 5/6 to go >_>.

The paper is a bit better with gouache then watercolour. Takes light washes well. Not so good for heavy ones though.

Progress for Parisan buildings and sights.
On Ampersand Gessobord

Transfered images to Ampersand Gessobord. I really like the surface texture...smooth, but not as smooth as Ampersands Claybord. I'm going to be using Cobra Water-soluble oils, and will probably start on Wednesday.

I used 3 different methods of transferring the image.

1. Drawing directly on the panel with pencil, using a photo as reference.

2. I re-drew the image on a seperate piece of paper, and traced it with tracing paper. I then took a piece of chalk pastel and coloured the back of the tracing paper. I then redrew over the tracing paper (with the Ampersand Gessobord behind it), thus transferring the image. Essential I used the chalked-back image as transfer-paper or carbon paper. Its nice if you want to draw the image in advance and don't have any carbon paper around.

3.The grid method. I made a to scale grid on a piece of tracing paper, which I laid over the original photo. I then drew in the grid on the Ampersand panel, and used it as a guide to lay in the image correctly.

Progress (FAIL)
Pelikan Gouache and Faber- Castell Polychromos
Pencils on Ampersand Claybord!

After transferring the image over with chalk (lost quite a bit in the transfer!), I started painting with the gouache. It seemed to sit on the top, which got frustrating. Every time I put down another stroke, it would pick up the one before. This lead to the paint caking, and occasionally being lifted away. Was annoying as this was mostly in the face area. After about an hour of annoyance, I sanded it down a bit, and went over it with Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencil crayons. They are oil based pencil crayons that are really rich and creamy, as well as extremely soft. The seemed to fix it a bit, but not that much.
I think I'm going to scrap this piece and redo it using Bombay Indian inks instead. A co-worker said that it looks amazing, so I'll try it. I'll redo the transfer as this one didn't go that well. I have 2 boards left...so there is some room for error and experimentation yet.

Progress for SugarSkull Beauties (1 of 3)
Tri-Art Acrylics, Golden Mediums on Ampersand Hardbord.

Hoping to also start this tomorrow. I have my new Sta-Wet palette ready to go (best invention since acrylics ><), and am extremely exited to start painting. I got really into acrylics a few months back and was trying to avoid oils....but I love oils and acrylics to much to give either more time over the other.
The Sta-wet palette I purchased (mostly for this painting session), was to try to keep the paint wet longer so I could do a several sitting painting....so to stretch it in the same way as oils. I think it might actually work a bit better then the water-mixable, as they dry within a few days of being out in the open, while the Sta-wet palette is still wet after days (closed of course!).

I may update again in the next few days. Will probably have some better shots to as I have a better camera which is over 2mps now -_-!

Till next time....

2011-03-01T09:32:00.000-05:00

So, I'm going to be a little bit longer with the next post.

Over the weekend I started a ton of projects, which required more sketching then actual painting. I'll post this weekends sketchings tonight.

I did however (almost) finish a small piece that was meant to be gouache on Ampersand Claybord, that became sanded down gouache, with pencil crayon on top....it looks better then the first atempt, but not happy with it. I should have stuck to inks and watercolours on the board....its just a tad to absorbent for pelikin gouache.

I also started drawing out the 3 paintings based on buildings and sights in Paris.
I transferred them to Ampersand Gessobord using three different methods, which I will post this evening.

On top of that I should have progress pictures for the previous projects I started.

I haven't really worked on the oil study, but have done some work on the portrait of Aria (better cheekbones).

I'll try to post as much as I can this evening, and might even have the Hardbord paintings ready to start!

2011-02-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

NEW PROJECT: Studies based on old painters. Featuring Lawrence Alma-Tadema.

After revisiting Art renewal center , I decided to do a few oil studies using some of there high res images so I could test out my water-mixable oils with different solvents. I did this hoping to learn a few more techniques and just to get back to "painting what you see, not what you think you see." Painting from classical painting is a great way to learn so I've heard, and thus wanted to give it a shot.

I have a lot of work to go on this one. I realized after making this comparison shot, that the proportions are majorly off. I did fix some areas by my second sitting, but the paint was still wet. Not only are the colours off (the original is more pink, not blue), but the safflower oil I was using dulled the paint down considerably. It didnt help I was using the paint on a clear-primed linen canvas, with safflower oil (meant for paler colours)for glazing and laying in the underpainting, which went on much thinner the expected. What should have happened is that I should have done a flat colour (without any safflower oil) for the background, and then go in with the figure. Working this way, might have meant better colours earlier on. Also, this would have meant that the painting would be less shiny at this stage, as safflower oil goes on and drys a bit glossy. The shine makes it difficult to apply colour under certain lighting, which might have also contributed to the more blue vs pink tones.

>>>Next step: Glazing with some pink to get rid of the blue tones....magenta might work.

PROGRESS: Practice portrait of "Aria"

Still working on it. Fixed a few areas around the chin...made her look a bit thinner. Her face looks like its in proportion now!

NEW PROJECT: Painting on Ampersand Hardbord and Masonite...which is better (and the difference)?

So, being a fan of higher quality materials, I decided to tryout Ampersand Hardbord. Ampersand hardbord is an archival sort of Masonite (also known as hardboard, but to avoid confusion will be referred to as Masonite), which is supposed to be better then the cheaper hardboard's on the market. Masonite (according to ampersand) apparently an old brand name, with its common name being hardboard. Ampersand Hardbord is apparently formed in such a way, that it resists warping, can be framed without glass (the thinnest panels they sell) and can support both oil and acrylic grounds.

My first thought was that it looked a lot nicer then the good old Masonite I used in high-school, but never really thought past how long it would last, not that you really care about that when your 18! Even recently, after watching some tutorials by Donato Giancola, I didn't really think of its archival qualities, and he uses the stuff to do full illustrations on. He does however mount the image to the piece of Masonite hes working on, with matte medium, which probably acts as a barrier similar to the sizing ( a co-worker said that matte or gloss mediums can act as sizing agents as well). Apparently though, if painting on just a gesso'd surface on Masonite, the paint could disintegrate and change colour over time.

So, after going to the ampersand website, I learnt that to make their hardbords completely archival (there could still be issues if not properly treated). You first need to apply a sizing agent to the board to help prevent warping as well as seal the wood. I decided to do this to both the Ampersand Hardbord as well as regular old Masonite. Ampersand Hardboard is labeled H and Masonite is labelled M.

The site recommended using Golden Gac-100 or Gamblin pva size. So, I took the advice of the website and bought Golden Gac-100, and followed the directions on the site (add 2 coats, and leave to set for 1-3 days).I decided to go with the Golden Gac-100 mostly because I'm a fan of their mediums, and as I'm paying for archival boards, might as well as follow the directions to get the most out of them.

After the sizing, I did notice that there was some more warping on the regular Masonite board. I used to treat this by painting a giant X with Gesso (warping usually happened while gessoed side was drying) and it usually helped to reverse it.

I will say, I do like the colour of the Ampersand board more. The texture is also smoother. The back doesn't even have the rough, chip board texture of the regular Masonite boards. Generally, it just looks better. It also costs more then Masonite, but not as much as canvas. The major point, is that its archival, so long as you sized it and applied the ground right. Ampersand claims that the process which its produced is different from typical Masonite, to insure that it does stand the test of time.

After 3days of letting the sizing sink into the boards, I gessoed them with Liquitex Clear Gesso.
I started with one horizontal layer, and once dried, a second in random directions in order to create texture.I only did this to one board of each, and gessoed the others normally.

I did however, forget to water down the gesso for the first coat, as suggested by Ampersand. Oh well...it seems to be sticking fine now. Hopefully it won't effect the outcome.

>>>NEXT POST:

Painting on Masonite (acrylic), Ampersand Hardbord (acrylic) and Ampersand Gessobord (oils).

PROGRESS: Aria and "Finding of Moses"

2011-02-25T19:28:00.001-05:00

To insure that I update on a regular basis (is kind of scatter-brained :p), I'll be posting a minimum of two posts a week, with updates happening every Monday and Friday.

Yay for new deadline!

That being said, tonight's post will still happen....just getting a few things laid out :)!

2011-02-23T10:05:00.001-05:00

Hey!

So, in the past week I've been working on a few different projects (including the one that will be the major content of the next blog post!) and figure I might as well lest them off.
I'll try to keep them listed to the side panel and labelled for easy browsing later!

The one of the projects consist of studys of old paintings in oils (on clear gesso'd linen) and the other some small paints (based on building photos from paris) on masonite (hardboard is the common name) and Ampersand Hardbord (archival hardboard).

The other projects will be listed, and I hope to have some pictures and such posted by friday evening.

2011-02-14T18:15:00.000-05:00

Hey some good news!

Starting today I will be posting my numerous experiments and trials (complete with results and reviews of materials) of projects I'm working on! In the last six months I've used so many different materials, and have learned so much about different mediums, that I really need to put down what I've come across!

For the first time in about 5 years, I've been working on multiple on going projects (not school related), and in different mediums. Each has its pros and cons, but with research, and some trial and error (and some fun along the way), I've discovered some pretty cool stuff.

I'm really exited to start sharing what I've come across, and hope that it might help someone in there own artist endeavors!

For the first project, I decided to do some small water-mixable oils on watercolour paper.
This was a practice round. I hadn't worked with oils in some time, and really wanted to paint again.

After much reading into oils a little more and reading more about the existing materials I already had already owned Demco Linseed oil and both Winsor Newton Artisan oils (water soluble) and Winsor Newton Alkyd oils (fast drying and soy-based). The last time I used Linseed oil in my apartment, it smelt for days, not to mention I got a pretty bad headache from the smell. At least I thought it was the linseed oil. After some reading, I found that the alkyd oils where actually the thing that caused it. Water-mixable seemed the way to go. Water-mixable oils are modified so that the paint molecules can stick to water, rather then repel it as regular oils do. They look, and move the same as regular oils , with solvent-less clean up. I hate solvents with a passion and always try to go the least toxic/flammable route.

I had used the Artisan oils before, and found the colours pretty dull unless you used oil. A teacher told me once that you can mix water-mixable oil paints with your regular oil paints, as well as regular linseed oil. After reading more into linseed oil, I was hesitant. Painting rags with linseed oil (both regular oil and the water-mixable linseed oil ) on them, if not properly deposed of can spontaneously combust. I had used it before, and DIDN'T KNOW THIS! So, I decided to go with walnut oil (as recommended by a health conscious co-worker) instead. Walnut oil is a vegetable oil that can be used instead of linseed oil, and even yellows less with time then its flammable counterpart. It can also be used to clean your brushes! A plus = it smells delicious >Although, watch out! It goes rancid fast when opened unless you put it in the fridge. If id does go rancid, it can still be used...it just wont be pleasant.

Since I did decide to go with water-mixable oils, I thought I should stick to water-mixable mediums for easy clean up. A customer from my work, recommended safflower oil. Its also less toxic and smelly then linseed oil, and closer to walnut. Its supposed to be better with lighter colours.

After looking at the colours I had already in Artisan oils, I realized they were all pretty dark. Ok, so it was partly an excuse to try something new, but it was valid. I decided to go with COBRA water-mixable oils for magenta, cyan, Indian yellow, and burnt umber (later I also picked up some ivory black and titanium white). When something says artist quailty it usually means there is more pigment in the paint, and less filler. You can really see the difference when it comes to colour. Colours are duller in student quality paints, and much more vivid when it comes to artist quality.

Being curious I decided to see how much so. I decided to use both COBRA and ARTISAN paints by first just using water instead of oils. I like the result so far, but the non-COBRA colours are less vibrant!The brighter colours that really show through (magenta/cyan/Indian yellow) are COBRA, and the duller ones are the Artisan oils. The Titanium white would never go white enough when mixed with water. Haven't tried the COBRA Titanium white yet. That will be the third sitting I think.

Aria (based on an old character design of mine)

Artisan Colours: Cad yellow pale, French Ultramarine, Yellow ochre, Premanent Allizarin Crimson, Phathalo Green (Blue Shade), Titanium white.
COBRA Colours: Indian Yellow, Primary Cyan, Primary Magenta, Burnt Umber
Oil: None. Used water.

I did this painting on a piece of 300lb watercolour paper taped to a piece of Masonite. After taping the paper down with blue painters tape, I did a rough sketch of a face. Over this I did two layers of matte medium (in opposite directions to make sure it was even) to not only secure the drawing in place, but also to act as a ground between the paint and the paper. Gesso is typically used, but after watching an oil painting tutorial by illustrator Donato Giancola, I thought this would be a good way to still have the sketch to show through while working. He usually mounts his work on Masonite, and then proceeds to do about four layers over the drawing. He does this to protect it and act as a good ground to work on. This simple method blew my mind! It means you can do a tonal drawing, print it, mount it, and paint over it, without having to redraw the thing your going to paint. A less painful way then redrawing from a sketch or using the grid method!

So far I like the result, but have yet to test the better white, black and water mixable safflower oil.

Next time...

I will have an update on the portrait of Aria, and the beginning of 3 new paintings on Masonite panel. I will go through the first few steps of treating the panels as well as comparing regular Masonite to Ampersand Hardbord ( a specially treated form of Masonite that is artist quality as well as archival!)

2010-11-13T08:41:00.000-05:00

Just a few things Im working on at the moment.

2010-11-01T22:35:00.000-04:00

Just a few sketchbook doodles/drawings/paintings from the last few months.

2010-10-23T20:09:00.000-04:00

Long overdue update. From the last few months of sketchgroup.
More to come...

2010-05-22T02:24:00.000-04:00

Joined a scketchgroup and these are the last few weeks sketches...

Theme: Viking version of one of the groups members, lord of the rings V.S. Star Wars and another portrait of one of the groups members.

Theme: Homage to Frank Frazetta

Theme: StarWars and Bunnys.

I'm going to try to post these weekly, so stay tuned!

2010-01-03T18:37:00.000-05:00

Wow, almost forgot to post this....back from when I was really into digital portraits ;p.

2009-12-29T20:47:00.000-05:00

So i'm alive...and have a bit of new art to share.

I have been extremely busy lately with work and live lately, but I have had time to do some sketches with my new wacom intous 4....so pretty. :)

Just testing out photoshop again...I forgot how much fun it is to paint in something other then Corel Painter!
My shiny new toys! Done over a few hours. Trying to get good at digital life painting.
A weird sketch that I did while watching the Dark Knight...I intended to draw Poison Ivy in an old west style...I think i need ref though....man I need to get into life drawing again >
I should also have some sketches to post (as soon as I scan them) from visiting my sick dad.

Stay tuned!

2009-08-12T23:57:00.000-04:00

Deven

Ok...so three posts in one day. On a roll! :)

This is Nef's twin brother Deven. They are fraternal twins, but you you wouldn't think so based on their skin tone and hair. There basic facial features are the same though.
I basically just flipped and drew over the image of Nef. It helped keep the basic features of both the same.
Corel Painter 9.5
1 hour and a bit

2009-08-12T21:22:00.000-04:00

Nef

After all the Batman doodles, I wanted to try a character portrait. This is one of 13 I plan to do over the upcoming weeks.
Corel Painter 9.5
1.5 hours

Oh my...second image in a day!

2009-08-12T18:16:00.000-04:00

Batman...Cowboy Style!

Done while watching Batman Begins, and Dark Knight!
Yeah...went a little to far with the character re-designs though.
My Fav is Harle-quin. You will see more of this in the future :)!
Oh...and the Joker was alot of fun to draw.

Corel painter 9.5
4ish hours

Oh and I think I'm gonna try and aim for a drawing a day.
Really!

2009-08-07T21:24:00.000-04:00

An old character of mine from forever-ago.

Had the colour and lighting idea for about 2 years now.
Nice to get it out on the canvas...even if its digital.
6 hours in Corel painter 9.5.
Textures from cgtextures.com.

2009-07-30T16:27:00.000-04:00

Updates much!
Been a busy few days.

Here is the character design I've been working on-and-off on for the last month...A demon that at first glance looks human. He has a few eyes incorporated into his tattoos, which is actually his skin (well his nails are black and he doesn't seem the type to paint them ;p).

Corel Painter 9.5
15ish hours or so...not really sure though.
Textures from CGtextures.com

2009-07-29T23:38:00.000-04:00

Bouguereau's painting Tricoteuse

After seeing Yumedust's coloured colouring book page on her DA, I decided to do one of my own. I settled on Esmerelda, of which I coloured using the colour pallete from Bouguereau's (yes the same artist as Yume, but hes one of my fav's so i figured it was ok ;p) painting Tricoteuse (the first image). Intially I wanted to use his painting "Rest" for the colours (I have it on my wall) but decided to go with a more restricted colouring scheme.

Oh and for the record...digitally painting stone is freaking hard without using existing textures. I did use a combination of dry brushes and pastels in Corel Painter 9.5 which did help, but got tiring after a while. No photo textures used and only reference used was the Bouguereau painting.

5ish hours
Corel Painter 9.5
Esmerelda Colouring book page is copyright Disney.

Ryan Wood and Sam Nielson have also done the same with Belle and Jasmine pages!

2009-07-14T15:38:00.000-04:00

current desktop

The weird guy is based off a character brief a friend gave me! :) Its still a work in progress!

oh...and that the credits to Harry Potter and the Prisioner of Azkaban. Getting ready for the new movie coming out on Wednesday!

2009-06-01T21:57:00.000-04:00

Tasha in her youth, adolescent and adult.

Mek being a model.

Alcarin being...scary?
These are a result of cheap 10$ commissions to get me into the habit of drawing again.

If your interested go here!

2009-05-09T10:17:00.001-04:00

Gallery Showing!!!

OCAD+

Ontario College of Art and Design

100 McCaul Street

Thursday, May 7, 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. (remarks at 7:30 p.m.)
Friday, May 8, 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 9 and Sunday, May 10, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

My work is now on display in room 656!

2009-05-01T23:04:00.000-04:00

Lions and Tigers and Bears, OH MY!

Work from my graduating class.

ocadillustration.com

Check these talented ladies and gents out!

2009-04-19T23:34:00.000-04:00

Just some fooling around in Corel Painter.
Trying to get used to the idea of using a tablet again!

2009-04-18T22:38:00.000-04:00

So, the term is done! You know what that means....UPDATES!
Over the next few weeks I plan on updating my new website (and blog) with work throughout the year as well as new images.

Stay tuned!

2008-12-23T17:45:00.001-05:00

I'm not dead! Just a little busy with thesis. I will however be updating over the holidays so stay tuned...I have a terms worth of work to show as well as progress on my Thesis : Snakes and Apples!

Oh...and a secret project that will hopefully be announced soon!

2008-07-10T02:46:00.000-04:00

This was supposed to be a two week oil painting (6rs) with a model...but i only showed up to the second class ;p. This is about 2.5hrs.

A painting of my grandfather as a belated Christmas/b-day gift for my stepmother. Needs a few things added/changed. 6hr+

Still life of my old room for class. Needed to depict coloured lighting with its opposite colour as shadow.3hr

watercolour painting of an old co-workers nephew.3hrs

Still life painting from my drawing and painting class. 6hrs

Painted in the style of Alan Lee (known for his LOTR illustraions).1.5hrs

2008-05-04T23:19:00.000-04:00

K....so I haven't been dead...just extremely busy/preoccupied.

There should be a big art update by Wednesday though, so stay tuned!

Btw...going to be doing this!

The Themes:

1. Introduction
2. Love
3. Light
4. Dark
5. Seeking Solace
6. Break Away
7. Heaven
8. Innocence
9. Drive
10. Breathe Again
11. Memory
12. Insanity
13. Misfortune
14. Smile
15. Silence
16. Questioning
17. Blood
18. Rainbow
19. Gray
20. Fortitude
21. Vacation
22. Mother Nature
23. Cat
24. No Time
25. Trouble Lurking

26. Tears
27. Foreign
28. Sorrow
29. Happiness
30. Under the Rain
31. Flowers
32. Night
33. Expectations
34. Stars
35. Hold My Hand
36. Precious Treasure
37. Eyes
38. Abandoned
39. Dreams
40. Rated
41. Teamwork
42. Standing Still
43. Dying
44. Two Roads
45. Illusion
46. Family
47. Creation
48. Childhood
49. Stripes
50. Breaking the Rules

51. Sport
52. Deep in Thought
53. Keeping a Secret
54. Tower
55. Waiting
56. Danger Ahead
57. Sacrifice
58. Kick in the Head
59. No Way Out
60. Rejection
61. Fairy Tale
62. Magic
63. Do Not Disturb
64. Multitasking
65. Horror
66. Traps
67. Playing the Melody
68. Hero
69. Annoyance
70. 67%
71. Obsession
72. Mischief Managed
73. I Can't
74. Are You Challenging Me?
75. Mirror

76. Broken Pieces
77. Test
78. Drink
79. Starvation
80. Words
81. Pen and Paper
82. Can You Hear Me?
83. Heal
84. Out Cold
85. Spiral
86. Seeing Red
87. Food
88. Pain
89. Through the Fire
90. Triangle
91. Drowning
92. All That I Have
93. Give Up
94. Last Hope
95. Advertisement
96. In the Storm
97. Safety First
98. Puzzle
99. Solitude
100. Relaxation

Please be sure that after you copy the list and paste it, separate 25 and 26, 50 and 51, 75 and 76 for they will be in the same line.

2008-03-05T19:09:00.000-05:00

For starman on TDAF

In class doodles

a 9 month late gift to a girl on Gaia...i dont think she is ever on tho ;p.

more mixed doodles...Tyler Durden guest stars...

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a ton o life drawings up!

2008-02-25T03:25:00.001-05:00

Another core illustration assignment. This time a review image of Stallones new Rambo movie of which he wrote,directed and stared.

2008-02-21T03:11:00.001-05:00

This is for this weeks quick exchange on DA. This is for the talented Hoboriss!

On a side note i've been having run attempting to make bjd jewelary and i ended up with this...its a fancy emblem thing for ares. Its artsy so i thought it would be ok here.

2008-02-19T20:06:00.001-05:00

for a friend for the comment sketch thing.

2008-02-18T03:09:00.001-05:00

Almost for got about my DA sketch thing...tis a friends character...35min

2008-02-18T03:05:00.001-05:00

part of a commission for a friend. I told her i would compile about 3 or more sketches for her as i was paid for a commission that kinda fell through...however she said i could do this instead.
Her WOW character and pet, and her doll bad hank!

2008-02-12T17:05:00.001-05:00

done for a girl on the doll boards...her doll Athos.
The scan was done for me by her friend...the eyes are supposed to be purple but the red i had to mix sucked wind!

2008-02-07T20:25:00.001-05:00

the two guy paintings were from today's class (acrylic on watercolour paper), and the women last week (acrylics on kraft paper). The second guy painting has a nice body but i hate is face...tried to focus on body opposed to face for most of these...i usually ALWAYs paint the face and leave the body till the end.

2008-02-04T22:24:00.001-05:00

Project for school...tis an LP cover for a song called Millhaven by Nice Cave and the Bad Seeds.
The girl,gas can and oil river were rendered in acrylics. The background consists of several textures.

2008-02-03T17:33:00.001-05:00

A painting of a friends doll for her B-day.

I really need a scanner...then i can actually upload more...

one day ;p.

2008-01-28T01:57:00.001-05:00

Bull Mode!

Core illustration hw...20hours of painting and im freaking done....sweeeeet...

2008-01-27T18:26:00.001-05:00

Working on some stuff...hopefully i will have pictures available by tomorrow afternoon/evening...