Every once in awhile you come to a place where there are a lot of roads leading out from a single point. At times like these you have to decide what really matters and what direction you want to take.
Now this is not some inspirational post about making hard decisions, but I have recently found myself at one of these places.
I teach art because I love and appreciate art, and I think that I can offer something up to the students who work with me. I have to tell you that I am really lucky to have them, even the ones that could care less about art and only need a credit. Regardless of their reasons, they are there and they are looking to me for guidance. It is kind of humbling, and more than a little terrifying.
While reviewing my 2014 work for entry into Spectrum Fantastic Art I had a moment of doubt. How will my work measure against 6000+ other entries? What am I doing when I could use the entry money for something else? What makes me think I have a chance?
I don't have answers to these questions, but I do have hope.
All I can say is that every time I hit the submit button for entering one of my pieces, I felt accomplished. I may not make it into the publication. These are high ranking professionals and new up and comers alike, all of us vying for coveted space, each of us working hard to create something never before seen. For me, win, lose or draw, it was the act of submitting the pieces that mattered. I have only recently begun showing my work in a public forum. While entering a contest may not seem like much to some people, it is a big step for me.
Regardless of whether we succeed at our creative endeavors, remember that no one gets in without trying. Put yourself out there, and persevere against all odds. It is the only way to know whether you will succeed or not, and what you can do better the next time around.
As Tennyson says in Ulysses: "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
Words to live by.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Saturday, August 2, 2014
La Belle et La Bete (Process)
I have had a recent (okay, maybe not recent since this is a re-envisioning of a painting I did about three years ag0) fascination with faery tales and the messages that they contain. That, combined with the rich imagery, has had me scribbling, sketching and painting modern equivalents. Yeah, I know that Fables has already done this, along with about a dozen other artists and a television network, but hey..what can I say? I like what I like, and if it is interesting, I'll paint it.
So to kick things off I did a pencil sketch, which can't really be seen here, I know. I am not the best when it comes to taking process pictures since I tend to forget along the way. Most of these were actually taken on my not-so-smart phone, but the idea should be there. I wanted to try something different with this, so instead of taking the time to render everything with pencil, I went right in with marker and ink washes to establish a quick value structure.
What you are not seeing is the plethora of abstract sketches, false starts, discarded reference, and tear stains of frustration on my paper...which, for the record, is Bristol board. Anyway, markers and India ink. Great stuff.
This image looks like I added sepia tones to it, but it's an illusion. That is just my camera and an odd lighting trick. This was the final ink washed and marker image. Now I just had to decide on a color scheme.
I decided to have a classic cool/warm color scheme. I wanted the abandoned tunnel to recede into space even more so I figured this would be the best way to do it. This stage is just a number of acrylic washes thinned down to a watercolor consistency layered on for texture and color.
Now onto the main figures. While they were to be warmer I also wanted to play up the strong silhouette to draw the viewer in. The background columns helped lead the eye around too and back into the silhouette, so that was a plus. Actually, it was careful planning on my part, but its still nice when a plan comes together!
Now onto colored pencil. My secret is now out and everyone knows that my six year old is really the driving force behind my pictures. We hatched in texture and contrasting value on the background and main figures with colored pencil until we were happy.
Okay, remember when I said that I wasn't very good at photo documenting my process. Yeah..
Anyway, after the colored pencil layers were done, I added a few more acrylic washes, more pencil and finally sealed the whole thing down with an acrylic spray. After that it was adding in oil glazes followed by a few opaque paint overs in the face and hands which were probably two to three layers each. The final image here is a little yellowed since my Photoshop-Fu seems to be weak and my color adjustments may be a bit off. The actual image is a bit more desaturated.
That is it in a nutshell, the process that I find myself typically working in pared down to a few steps. I say "typically working in" but really I tend to do different things for each piece depending on what I am looking for in the final. This one has a lot of texture to it and the ink and pencil lent themselves to that task nicely.
Onward!
So to kick things off I did a pencil sketch, which can't really be seen here, I know. I am not the best when it comes to taking process pictures since I tend to forget along the way. Most of these were actually taken on my not-so-smart phone, but the idea should be there. I wanted to try something different with this, so instead of taking the time to render everything with pencil, I went right in with marker and ink washes to establish a quick value structure.
What you are not seeing is the plethora of abstract sketches, false starts, discarded reference, and tear stains of frustration on my paper...which, for the record, is Bristol board. Anyway, markers and India ink. Great stuff.
This image looks like I added sepia tones to it, but it's an illusion. That is just my camera and an odd lighting trick. This was the final ink washed and marker image. Now I just had to decide on a color scheme.
I decided to have a classic cool/warm color scheme. I wanted the abandoned tunnel to recede into space even more so I figured this would be the best way to do it. This stage is just a number of acrylic washes thinned down to a watercolor consistency layered on for texture and color.
Now onto the main figures. While they were to be warmer I also wanted to play up the strong silhouette to draw the viewer in. The background columns helped lead the eye around too and back into the silhouette, so that was a plus. Actually, it was careful planning on my part, but its still nice when a plan comes together!
Now onto colored pencil. My secret is now out and everyone knows that my six year old is really the driving force behind my pictures. We hatched in texture and contrasting value on the background and main figures with colored pencil until we were happy.
Okay, remember when I said that I wasn't very good at photo documenting my process. Yeah..
Anyway, after the colored pencil layers were done, I added a few more acrylic washes, more pencil and finally sealed the whole thing down with an acrylic spray. After that it was adding in oil glazes followed by a few opaque paint overs in the face and hands which were probably two to three layers each. The final image here is a little yellowed since my Photoshop-Fu seems to be weak and my color adjustments may be a bit off. The actual image is a bit more desaturated.
That is it in a nutshell, the process that I find myself typically working in pared down to a few steps. I say "typically working in" but really I tend to do different things for each piece depending on what I am looking for in the final. This one has a lot of texture to it and the ink and pencil lent themselves to that task nicely.
Onward!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
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