Friday, February 27, 2009

One Must Wonder


Today I attended the comic book convention WonderCon here in downtown SF. The place was full of vendors selling everything from original artwork, art books, comics old and new, t-shirts, and pirate clothing as well as large selection of comic book artists (old and new.) Directly below are a few highlights from the latter which included Jim Lee, who penned his name on my event badge, and J. Scott Campbell who autographed a collection of his sketches, both of which I enthusiastically got to meet for all of fifteen seconds before a quick handshake and a "thank you for the great work."









Monday, February 23, 2009

Oh Simpleton, Ye Jest...


Above is the most recent in-class drawing from my Head Drawing class, and below is the first in several illustrations to be completed for my Watercolor class, which consist of interpreting various scenes from Oscar Wilde's "The Selfish Giant."

Monday, February 16, 2009

Head Case


Having only two studio classes this semester puts added pressure on the works produced from said classes to attain "blog-worthy" status, in which they may exhibit the qualities necessary for visual judgment and comparison to previous works and the potential to be labeled successful, therefore acting as evidence of my artistic advancement. Thus, I present for consideration two pieces from my Head Drawing class, 18"x24" charcoal drawings from life, as well as three 9"x12" watercolor studies of interiors for my Watercolor class, two from life and one from reference respectively, emphasizing the various colors found in natural and artificial light and shadow (please subdue any urge for hysterical outburst.)




Monday, February 9, 2009

Color Me Bad(ly)


So, against my better judgment, I have decided to post even more of my amateur attempts at a decent watercolor painting by way of my latest homework assignment for Watercolor class, three self portraits from life: one as photo-realistic as possible, one using loose, broad strokes with no under-drawing, and one emphasizing the various colors found in the skin tones, respectively. Before you cringe and find an awful taste in your mouth, I direct you attention to the pictures below, which are more easily digested; a photo of yet another Frans Hals master copy for my Head Drawing class, as well as a shot of my new studio, of which I have all to myself (you may remember my previous studio was shared.)


Sunday, February 1, 2009

So It Goes


One week in the trenches and a handful of homework assignments to show for it, all of which prove the requirement of a five week interim between semesters to be unsound. Sure, the original painting from which I derived the charcoal master copy below was a bit strange in its execution which led to me skewing a few facial features in my finished piece, but several weeks of exposure to fresh Virginia air are enough to cloud anyone's sense of focus, particularly mine when it comes to catching such obvious mistakes (i.e. the "F-ed" up eye). This semester also finds me trying my hand at watercolor, for a class of the same name, in which our first assignment was three objects from life. As enjoyable as this medium is, it is very tedious, and my lack of experience shows with these pieces. However, my undying determination, brute strength and cat-like agility shall ensure that these remain amateur studies compared to the riveting, technically sound work I will be producing a mere fifteen weeks from now.





This past week did prove to be unfortunate, though, in that I saw the passing of a dear friend of ten years. Tyke, the handsome gentleman pictured below, fell ill to pneumonia and passed away in his sleep; only a transfer, no doubt, to a VIP suite in the sky filled with plush couches, T-Bone steaks, and H-D television.