New Work

We're a month into the new year and things are moving forward. Lately I've been working on some children's illustrations aside from my wildlife art. My first piece is titled "Captain Blackbeard Chickadee". It's 8" x 8" and was partially painted digitally, I then printed it out onto a cold pressed watercolor paper, sealed it and painted with acrylics. I have to admit that it turned out beautifully and was so much fun from beginning to end.

The second piece is not as far along but is a much more complex piece. It's 13" x 19" and I did virtually the same method as with the Blackbeard piece. I completed the original drawing, took it into Photoshop and adjusted the line art to a nice reddish brown then set it as a multiply layer. On another layer I added in all of my values in the same brown tone. Once I was satisfied with it I took a high quality Strathmore drawing paper (can't remember just what kind) and I cut it to size. Then I printed my layout at about 55% onto the paper. After it dried it was then ready to adhere to a sheet of masonite with acrylic matte medium. So now that stage is done and the whole thing is drying. Tomorrow I'll trim the bit of excess paper and begin painting! Right now the working title is "Little Satyr and the Spirit Fish" but I'm not sure that's a keeper.

Sweaty Creatives

As an artist and someone who spends a lot of time alone I've discovered a few things about myself. One of these things is that I have an incredible imagination. You might be thinking, well that's awesome you're an artist. But what I mean is that my mind can take me on journeys that I didn't even want to go on and they have nothing to do with creating art and yet they have everything to do with being an artist.

Creatives are some of the most self deprecating people and as Brené Brown puts it, we're constantly putting ourselves in the arena. It's difficult to put your work that you spend so many hours, days and weeks on out in front of others. You want people to like/love what you do but sometimes they don't respond as well as you'd like. Sometimes there are critics. Sometimes you want certain people that you know and respect to respond to your work and all you hear are crickets. For me, this is when my imagination goes into overdrive and can lead me into the darkest of places. But realizing you have absolutely no control over whether or not they like what you have created is a great starting point to letting go of the need for their approval. Just do your work. Period. Whatever it is, do the best you can and don't worry about what anyone thinks, good or bad. The people who need what you do will find you. So work from your heart, put it out there and leave it. Now go back and do it again. This is all that you are required to do. So get your butt in the arena and create something!




99UCONF 01A BROWN v05-720p from 99U on Vimeo.

Clouded Leopard

Yesterday I finished this small 8" x 10" commission of a clouded leopard. This was a really fun piece to do and I can see another clouded leopard in my future. More than likely at a much larger size. These leopards like far too many animals, are on the verge of extinction and this painting will be auctioned to raise funds for these amazing cats.

Kings

Well yesterday we had a fabulous Thanksgiving with family and friends, wonderful food and a nice sunny day. It was just one of those perfect holidays, the only thing that could have made it better would have been to see family from out of state. Maybe next year! One thing that I'm extremely thankful for is the amount of support that I've been blessed with in pursuing my art career. I really couldn't ask for more in that area. One of my most recent paintings is titled "Kings of the Mountain" and it is 12" x 24" on canvas. I chose to create this one from a little bit different of a focus than my last few paintings. The changes in this piece were the inclusion of gold leaf and oil paints on top of my original acrylics. I think these two additions made a wonderful difference that added a lot of depth to the piece. Some people have asked what the crown above the bluebird means so I'll tell you what my meaning is, but you can definitely come up with your own.

The mountains in the background are the Tetons of Wyoming. The big horned sheep is definitely a natural "king" of the mountain so in turn he should have a golden crown. I applied gold leaf to his horns and then painted over areas in oils. I wanted there to be another focus for the viewer and so added the bluebird and perched him on the sheep. Partly because it is a nice design element, but also because birds are the only animals who can naturally go higher than the mountain sheep. So he should get a crown too! Also, I love fantasy and imaginary surrealism. Adding little bits of those elements no matter how small just adds to the fun and interest of a painting.

New Painting!

I took the past few days off to work on a new personal piece and the result is this cheetah painting. I had so much fun painting this piece and I love how the reds and yellows compliment each other so well. This piece is 24" x 24" acrylic on stretched canvas.

White Stag

This painting was actually finished about a month ago but it was on the easel and out the door heading to Wisconsin so fast that I almost forgot about it! The initial idea was to paint a white stag, technically it didn't turn out white but I think it did turn out with a great feel. A lucky guy is getting this painting as a gift from his girl this Christmas. She's sure that he'll love it and I'm always tickled to hear that! The painting is 12" x 24" acrylics and collage on gallery edged canvas.

New Work

Well it's been a while since I've posted here, I wish that I was better about it. BUT, I do have a just finished piece to show so that's a plus. Most people who follow my work know that I'm an avid animal lover and primarily my paintings are of wildlife, dogs and cats. But I also love people and am working on how to best paint them in my style. I've only painted a couple of people this way and this past weekend I got inspired to paint my favorite character from the Game of Thrones series. This is Tyrion, 12" x 12" acrylics on illustration board. There are several people who I plan on painting like Georgia O'keefe (my first huge artistic influence), Jane Goodall, Diane Fossey, Native Americans (my ancestors), and I'm sure many others. Lots of wonderful and colorful ideas to come!