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.