Creeping back into paint again...

Okay, so I DID finish this little study! Just in time for the show (drop-off is tomorrow, and the weather is suitably frigid. Thanks, Mother Nature...) Here's a brief evolution of getting my 'sea legs' back. I was never great with oils, but surprisingly, painting digitally has helped some. Not that this is a masterpiece, but it'll do. The colors are much sweeter, in person. I swear. Honest... (The first three are digital photos, the last is a scan. My scanner is better than our old camera.) 8"x10", oil on masonite panel.

Fear the Brush!

There's this little gallery on the other side of town that hosts periodic open-submission shows...you bring it, they'll hang it! So I'm painting a little portrait for it, in the hopes of shaking off my fear of failure (in the traditional medium.) I've started SO many paintings, only to abandon the poor things in a fit of insecurity and lack of direction. Gotta stop that sh*t. So here's a peek, to hopefully keep me on task. If I say it out loud, it makes it real, right?

The theme of the show is "Pretty or Funny or Both". Not sure which end of the spectrum this will wind up in, though. Hrmmm.

Fickle, they name is Quickreaver...

There are so many sketch/inspiration groups around, I could do a different one every day. A new one is the Crimson Daggers, spearheaded (HAR!) by Dave Rapoza, digital wunderkind. It's nice to get the art blood pumping in the morning. Oh, yeah, linkage: http://cghub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1704

(Photoshop7, 2-ish hours)

Oh, since 'Twilight' is released today...

...how about another vampire? He is one, trust me. Or so says his creator. Call him 'Flynn', but speak quietly. He might have to kill you, otherwise. ;) (private commission for a wonderful author; happy Friday!)

I'm such a lemming...

This got viral over at ConceptArt.org, and I just had to be like all the cool kids. Some guy posted a character sketch on notebook paper, asked for other people's take on the critter, and it was just cheesy enough to tease folks into doing their own Nibrus. Now, part of me thought it was rather cheeky of him to ask for free work, but the other part of me got into the spirit of pimping and community. Sometimes, you've just gotta loosen up. It's not the fanciest piece I've ever done, but practice is practice! Check out all the versions here: http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=171264 But only if you're not afraid of floating bagels...

Flying is falling...with style!

I saw this beautiful photo of a woman, swimming. It was so mysterious, so soft. Then the subject of Illustration Friday came up "Flying", and I thought...okay, that'll fly! *HAR* So I opened up my much ingnored and equally mysterious Painter program, and struggled once again with its brushes and color application. Fly...be free...

I see a red door and I want it to turn black...

It's a beautiful day. Autumn is in the air, the kids' trip to the dentist went better than planned, and I don't feel like doing a darned anything before dinner! So I played with Painter. So there.

PS...the seething, retro reference in the post's title really has nothing to do with anything! I just like the song. More so there. :D

PPS...does a "come hither" glance count as some sort of welcome? I'm saying so! For the sake of Illustration Friday.