That was the sudden sharp turn in my thinking when I sat down to script out a game plan for my next series of drawings. It also happened to be closing in on Nat’s b’day, which was the main decision to pick up the ol’ paintbrushes, look ‘em over, toss ‘em in the trash and go buy new ones. The celtic Tree of Life is a design that I’d been wanting to play with for a few years now, but never did actually come up with any solid ideas. This design, however, came from a t-shirt of mine that’s fast becoming worn out.
This painting ended up taking just over 4 weeks to complete; twice what I’d anticipated. That’s the trouble with using oil paints… they can and most likely will take forever to dry when you’re counting down the days. And while the last 2 weeks felt more like a chore and actual work, I’m really happy to have it finished and looking quite nice. Now, I’m all jazzed up and thinking about the next project. I have several unfinished pieces in the works, but I’ve been thinking about finishing my kitchen table next. It just looks so naked!
Anyway, I just wanted to share this new work with everyone. Stay tuned for more updates on my table! There will be more pics!
more as it comes…
A while back I saw a program on APT discussing a massive undertaking by renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson to redesign the St. John’s Bible into the first handwritten, illuminated bible commisioned since the invention of the printing press. Jackson approached the Benedictine monks of Saint John’s University and Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, who advised him on the interpretations of the text to which Jackson himself would illustrate. A small team of professional calligraphers under Jackson would aid in transcriptions. The completed volume was commisioned by Mary and Eugene Frey as a gift to Archbishop Harry Flynn to celebrate his 11 years of pastoral service to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The presentation took place back on April 24, 2008. Continue »
I stumbled upon this awesome video tutorial while studying up on web design. It’s a perfect demonstration on the process of taking a sketch and turning it into a digital piece of art; ya know, like what I do from time to time. But, while I don’t do a lot of the comic stuff like this video demonstrates, it does show you all the manipulation involved with such a process. Continue »
I stumbled upon this artist a few months ago while rifling through the many, many works at Deviant Art. It’s all done in the Jackson Pollock technique and is incorporated into a multi-panel display. I tried my hands at a multi-panel piece back in school, but never finished it. Continue »
So, last weekend we had the Magic City Art Festival (formerly Art in the Park) downtown. I hadn’t been to this since my first year in the ‘ham (2000) and I don’t know why i don’t go to it more often; I enjoyed it very much then and enjoyed it even more this time ’round. I even bought my very first piece of artwork this year. Traditionally, I refused to buy artwork from other artists simply on the premise that I could do it myself and hold it in more regard. Granted, that’s speaking of all the drawings, paintings and digital pieces. Ceramics and pottery, which I haven’t tried, still draw my eye but they’re usually over-priced. Continue »