Illuxcon 5 2012

It's been over a month since I returned back to Ohio from Illuxcon. Enough time for myself to process all the amazing artwork along with the busy holiday season. Being inspired, I began preparing wood panels right away and sketching out ideas for pieces I plan on painting this year. I'll also be doing a small contribution piece for the Illuxcon Scholarship which I'll bring to light on a separate post.

I spent the last two years in the Main Show which is a four day event. This year I displayed my work in the Showcase that's about four hours long and held on one night. I still managed to sell a couple prints and paintings in that time period. I also sang and jammed the last couple years in the Illuxcon Jam but decided to not take part in it this year. I regret not playing but it took a little pressure off my shoulders. I'm definitely going to make up for it next year. Having so much extra time allowed me to attend more lectures, painting demos and gave me more conversation time with all of the exhibiting artists. I'm sad that it was the last year in Altoona, PA. for the entire event but excited that I've been accepted to display my art in the Weekend Salon which will take place in Allentown, PA. The Weekend Salon will be an addition to the Main Show and the Showcase in 2013.

I got spoiled the past couple years riding over from Ohio with Joe Kovach and Eric Fortune. This year I drove alone since they couldn't attend. I ended up rooming with another friend/artist, Mr. Steven Bachan. It was a blast hanging out plus Steven was a big help with aiding me in setting up and tearing down so Big Thanks to you Steven! Thanks to everyone there especially Pat and Jeannie Wilshire for making it all possible. Unfortunately, I forgot to take more photos in the excitement. I had the camera with me the entire time! I'll try to snap more pics next year at Illuxcon 6!

E.M. Gist giving a lecture.

Petar Meseldzija's painting demo.

Donato Giancola painting by his display area.

Peacock Prophecy 24" x 30" Oil

Here's the final. I had to have this reshot the night before I left for Illuxcon. The matte varnish produced a glare which usually isn't the case. I always have it photographed with matte varnish then apply gloss afterwards. I've discovered over a couple years that spray varnish isn't that great at times. I'll most likely be painting on varnish from now on. Luckily my brother was able to get a good shot without any massive reflections so big thanks to him for the help. This is as close as I can get to the original with my limited photoshop skills. For more background info click here.

Peacock Prophecy close up

A quick close up shot of a painting I finished a couple days ago in oil. This is just a small section of the piece. It will be photographed later today and I plan on getting it framed by Nov. 5th. I'll also be posting the entire image soon. My apologies to anyone visiting the blog in August and September. I failed to post anything but will do my best to post at least once a month from now on for those interested. For some background info and to view the full drawing click here.

Peacock Prophecy in progress

          Here's the final drawing I finished earlier this month - 24" x 30". It will be completed in oil. Last year at Illuxcon 4, I met a talented artist, Alla Bartoshchuk. She's one of the Illuxcon 4 scholarship recipients. I thought she'd be a great model for a future painting. At the time I didn't have any sketches or ideas so I just took a quick photo of her face with her permission of course :) Thanks Alla!
          After returning home I did several different thumbnails. I was pretty set on an idea inspired by Art Nouveau but months later I developed this concept which works better for me. The women interacting with peacocks surrounded by transforming mist - houses and trees in the distance about to be consumed by a dust storm - birds fleeing from the rising destruction.
          This is the result after researching and gathering all of the reference material. I may build a couple tiny, rough models of the peacock bodies to use as reference before I paint them? I messed around with a color study but after drawing the first peacock I started having visions of old Japanese paintings so that's the look I'm going to attempt to achieve in areas of the painting.
          I've never done a painting on masonite so a big thanks to E.M. Gist for sending me a link to his blog on how to prepare the surface! You can see his art here and Alla's here. For more info. on Illuxcon 5 click here. I'm aiming to be finished with this piece in September.

"Kii & the Vrocks" 18" x 24" Acrylic/Oil

I finished this commission up a couple weeks ago. After a couple years of thinking about this piece, I finally tackled it. It took me a lot of time because of all the photo reference, sketches, models, etc. I was able to paint the frame while gathering everything else I needed. I think all of my work paid off in the end. Now it's just a matter of getting the piece framed before handing it off.

Vrock commission in progress pt. 2

I'm around 90-95% finished with this piece. I took some rough photos to share. Above the stalagmites are pretty much done. I just have to adjust one or two areas. Same with the photo below. I'm looking forward to completing this and getting a photo taken of the entire piece to post in the near future.

Spectrum 19 & The Art of Happiness

After a few years of having pieces rejected, it was nice to find out for the first time that this piece was accepted into Spectrum 19 this year. It will be published in November and I'm looking forward to it. Thanks to Cathy & Arnie Fenner, the spectrum jury and congratulations to everyone who got in this year!

For those who did not make the list, stay positive, keep submitting and continue creating. See it as a stepping stone to something brighter. Just because your work wasn't accepted doesn't mean you're not good enough but remember to work hard at being better. Oak trees don't grow in a day. The most important thing is to be happy with what you're doing. I play the guitar, sing and write songs because it makes me happy, it feels right. When I have the time, I carve bows, make arrows and shoot at targets because I enjoy it. I practice my marksmanship skills with guns because it's an art form I love! I cook and drink because it's an art form I respect and enjoy. Those who know me know that I like to take photos of food and drinks :)

I draw and paint because.....I'm happy doing it. Might as well be doing something else if you're not happy creating artwork. We all have our off days but you get my point. Ahhh.....The Art of Happiness, something everyone should practice.

Vrock commission in progress pt. 1

Quick photo of the final drawing ready for paint. Still have to finish painting the stone on the frame. I've been thinking about this piece for the last couple years and finally came up with a decent sketch a couple months back. It took some time to get all my reference together so I painted the boarder and worked on the drawing in stages. The archer will eventually have tattoos on his face at the end of the painting process.

The swift and deadly warrior armed with a bow and arrow is defending himself from vicious Vrocks. With an unbelievable rate of fire the Vrocks are no match. In the dark cavern, a blue stone mounted to his bow illuminates his way through orange, jagged terrain.

Stay tuned for the final painting.

Vrock maquette reference

My Vrock reference maquette out of the oven and ready for paint. Finally getting around to posting some photos and info.
A close up shot of a section of my current commission in progress on canvas.
After the acrylic paint, I varnished some areas and took some photos for reference and for the blog.
The Vrock body. It is picture hanging wire twisted together and foil underneath the clay. I came up with the idea of leaving the joints exposed so I could maneuver the limbs. It's around a foot tall. There's more than one Vrock in the painting so instead of constructing a few small models, I built one that could move into different positions. I also made separate hands and claws. Crude but it'll serve its purpose. The scene takes place in a small cavern so I built extremely small stalactites and stalagmites out of clay as well. I'm finishing up the drawing and plan to post a photo early next week. Long process but it'll help the painting in the end.

frame in progress

This is my next commission and I've been working on painting a frame around the drawing. It has been a spontaneous process. I was going to paint the bottom corners silver but after painting the aged stone, I decided a copper look would be better. I still have to work out the center stone and tweak it all out when the piece is more complete. Since the drawing is unfinished due to absent reference material, I attacked the frame. I'll post an image of the entire drawing in the future!

"Midnight's Mist" 15" x 20" Acrylic/Oil

My finished commission. I tried a different approach with the acrylic under painting. Usually I'm pretty loose and aggressive but I took a more patient path blending out the acrylic with a stiff brush creating smoother transitions in some areas. Something I've never tried but I'm happy with the outcome.

Spectrum 19 submissions

Here are my entries for Spectrum 19 that I sent out in December. I'm hoping at least one will be accepted this year. You can see these images in better detail on my website.