The Devil is in the Details - last sneak peek

Here is the last sneak peek of the painting 'The Devil is in the Details' - all done!

Palettes and Gamuts

My latest painting ('The Devil is in the details') is all completed! Here's my palette I used along with the gamut. 

 I use a butcher try with Masterson sta-wet palette paper and a sponge to paint.

P = Subjective Primary
S = Secondary
dot in the center is Subjective Neutral



 I keep watching this video of modern day master James Gurney explaining color gamut mapping - how to select a limited color palette and keep it consistent. Well worth the watch!

Getting ideas and how to keep track of them

I was asked the infamous question again recently. What is the question?

"Where do you get your ideas?"

There is no 'one size fits all' answer, but for non-commissioned artwork, the best answer I have been able to give is by looking at things in different ways. My paintings (not unlike many other artists) are about presenting something familiar in an unfamiliar way.

If you look at the works of other representational artists, you will notice they have reoccurring subject matter. They work hard to present their interests in new ways while introducing topics or statements.

I am no different. Some of my personal influences are: cartoons (of course!), antonyms, humor, health, psychology, anthropomorphism, documentaries, puns & wordplay. All of these make appearances in my paintings. In particular, antonyms.

There is a book I bought many years ago called 'InstantSynonyms & Antonyms'. I look through it sometimes for ideas (you can also use thesaurus.com). An antonym is the exact opposite of another word. If you are familiar with something, it makes sense the exact opposite is probably something you're less familiar with. Or, you may have trouble remembering a time when you weren't familiar with it. Again, presenting something familiar in an unfamiliar way. Look for antonyms in your surroundings and routine. How can you exploit them? 

(Antonyms also makes a great road trip game I came up with. You and a friend can take turns reciting a word and the other person names the exact opposite of that word. It's not a game about keeping score, just about increasing your vocabulary and having fun. The ONLY RULE I came up with is you're not allowed to use prefixes. So, if someone says the word 'cooperative' you can't say 'UNcooperative'. Correct answers would be: hinder, impede, obstruct...)

What do you do to remember your ideas? Keep track of them somehow in the physical realm! Don't trust your memory.

Inside my 'painting' folder on my computer where I keep digital images of previous paintings organized by year (while we're at it: back up your files on a portable hard drive!), I keep one of my most important folders: 'NOT DONE'. This is a folder full of more folders with the working titles of paintings I have yet to complete. Inside those folders are reference images saved from the internet of key visual elements, objects, characters, even color schemes I want to borrow. When I'm ready to start a new painting (that's not part of a group show or commission) I will look through this folder and select the one I'm most excited about. Some ideas in that folder will NEVER be produced. And that's OK - because you want to pick the best ones. Every time I start a painting I usually get an idea for two more anyway because creating that painting generates a deeper interest in something.

 

Also, I strongly recommend keeping a note pad and pen by your bed side. Jot down all your ideas as you're going to bed, when you wake up early before you fall back asleep or if you wake up in the middle of the night with an idea - jot it down! I use a pad that was given to me with quotes by Andy Warhol. (I crossed out his name and wrote mine above. Why should I let him take credit for my ideas? haha.) If you're on the go - write down your ideas on your phone or carry a note pad with you. Find a system to keep track of your ideas that works for YOU.

A quote by him on the back of the pad is my favorite of his (and one I need to implement more). It appropriately relates back to presenting something familiar in an unfamiliar way:

The Devil is in the Details - color study

I've been working on a few things, but here is something new with 'The Devil is in the Details' painting still in progress: the final color study (digital).

Video from 12x12 group exhibition

Here is a short video shot during the opening of the 12x12 group show that happened last month at Galerie Abyss.

The Tattoo themed exhibition continues until October 2nd. You can see all the works from the show here.

Adobe Color Wheel

Discovered this really useful color scheme generating tool online from Adobe that I've been having fun with recently. Great way to understand the color wheel and discover combinations you may not have thought of. (I'm always trying to come up with more daring color combinations in my paintings.) You can even upload reference photos you find and it will show you the major keys at different values.

The Boastful Ghost - framed!

THIS SATURDAY EVENING at Galerie Abyss, a new group exhibition opens up called 'Tattoos'. It is a tribute to - you guessed it - tattoos and tattoo culture just in time for Montreal's Tattoo Festival happening next weekend (September 11th - 13th).

Click here for Galerie Abyss Tattoo art show facebook event info.

 

I will have a framed 'The Boastful Ghost' print available in the show. I figure, if you're going to buy a print, you're going to frame it at some point anyway - why not just buy it already framed? (The framed image also comes with a FREE Thoughts & Progress: The Boastful Ghost booklet!)
Dimensions of frame are 17.5"x17.5". Contact the gallery if you are interested.

If you would like to purchase an edition of the image, but will forgo framing for now: You can purchase one of the very few remaining prints here.

Matt Wagner: "This is My Day Job: The Bravery of the Artist"

"I sort of feel like 'artists are the cultural plumbers'. It's like: we need them, we just don't know we need them until we need them."

Great talk I saw recently by Matt Wagner, owner of Hellion Gallery (http://www.helliongallery.com/). Recommended watching for both artists and art enthusiasts on the lifestyle risks artists take, how the gallery system works and economic factors of the art world. (Points in particular worthy of note at: 4:36, 8:53, 26:30, 32:32 and 40:53)

Limited edition 'Stable Vices' print

Anyone love naughty My Little Ponies? Because I have just one - only one - of these limited edition giclee prints left from a special print request I did. It could be yours - I'll allow it.

The Devil is in the Details - tonal study preview

The tonal study for my latest painting, 'The Devil is in the Details' is all done! Here is a sneak-peek. Continuing on with wanting to make more original works at an affordable entry rate, it's not a large painting, just 8"x10". (The original tonal study is the same size and will also be for sale after I release the painting.) The image is of course inspired by the old proverb.

Art for Dummies

Two things:

 

1) You can never learn too much about your industry.

2) It's important to be able to explain what you do to people outside your industry in very comprehensible, digestible terms.

I've been flipping through this book (not necessarily reading it in order). If you're still intimidated by art, it is an accessible read from a credible source.

Click here to buy the book on Amazon.com

Using reference for hands

I started my next painting, 'The Devil is in the Details' - one of the paintings left on my list I want to complete before the end of the year.

Here is a tactic that might be helpful to some of you: when you need to draw hands at a tough angle or just need great reference, film yourself with your computer's webcam and try out some different hand positions. Pause it on a suitable frame and then draw from it.

Art & Intuition

Late June, I had finished the drawing for the painting that would become 'Fleeting Focus' (above). Then, early July my computer was temporarily being fixed and so I wasn't able to look at additional reference photos online or do color studies in Photoshop. Knowing of the approaching deadline for Galerie Abyss' 12x12 group exhibition and not wanting to wait, I decided to do something a little uncustomary and start the painting anyway with the color scheme I had in my head. Anyone who is familiar with my THOUGHTS & PROGRESS booklets can tell you this is not how I normally operate. (See below)

This is what the painting originally started to look like. (Kind of boring.) I received my computer back but then left for a needed break away and spent some time with my family. When I returned, I looked at the painting with a fresh pair of eyes and HATED IT. I sought to improve it and did some color studies. (See the final one below)

 

Now, I was getting somewhere. I had thought about the color, lighting and reflections enough that I allowed myself to start painting. Color studies (for me at least) give me a starting point - somewhere to go from and improve upon. I then completed the final painting (see below). 

You will notice the final image has some changes from the drawing and color study above. Because I gave myself more time to think about the outcome, I came up with more ways to improve it:

The last '6' of the slot has not yet come to a stop. This gave the painting more interest and a greater sense of movement. 

Red (the character from Red Hot Riding Hood, the wolf character in the painting is based off animation genius Tex Avery's wolf character of the same cartoon) was originally going to be reflected in his nose. I really liked the lighting choices I made in the color study and couldn't figure out a way to make it work because it would have meant adding another light source and altering the lighting. So I abandoned it. 

With slot machines, you see remnants of other icons above and below what the wheel eventually stops on. I dropped those elements because they were unnecessary and would have meant I would have needed to paint the numbers smaller to accommodate them.

  

All this leads me to my confession: art is not overly intuitive for me. 

 This is not an apology or an admittance of defeat, just an acknowledgement (and acceptance) of how I operate. My goal is always to make the best artwork I can, and can't successfully accomplish that by just 'winging it' and hoping it will magically work out. Some artists are (at least seemingly) more spontaneous with incredible results. I'm not one of them.

So - what have a learned from this experience?

I already have a process that works for me - that I can improve on and should not jettison.

My best effort will only come from me genuinely thinking and planning the quality of the outcome. Said another way: not being 'overly intuitive' is not a bad thing because it forces me to think about it and produce great work.

Taking a break (weather it be leaving for a week or just taking a long walk and returning) is something I shall implement more.   

Just because my computer is being fixed doesn't mean I can't do tonal and color studies the analogue way. (I just prefer digital in the planning phase because it's faster and doesn't waste materials.)

Can art become more intuitive for me over time? 

Yes. Every time I start a new work of art it's not like I have to relearn everything all over again. So there ARE things I don't have to actively think about each painting. Also, each new painting allows me to learn at least one new technique I can apply again to future paintings. (With 'Fleeting Focus', I studied then learned how to paint a convincing motion blur via the spinning '6'.)

'Fleeting Focus' - all done!

THANK YOU to all who attended the opening of last night's 12x12 group exhibition! Here is the entire painting:

'Fleeting Focus'
acrylic and aerosol on wood panel
12"x12"
available at Galerie Abyss http://tattooartmontreal.com/contact-us/

We live in a time that career & life coach, Robin Sharma, refers to as 'The age of dramatic distraction'. If the internet were a physical realm, I'm pretty sure it would be a casino. This painting was inspired by a conversation I had with a friend where I made a comparison between the two.

The objective of both are quite similar: to keep you spending your resources (time or money) and prevent you from realizing there is an outside world. (In fact, you can even visit online casinos!) Both can be fun and the internet is a practical tool - unfortunately, it's also a battlefield bombarded with time wasting links. Personally, I can not claim I always spend my time as productively there as I wish.The 666 slot machine eyes of the character in the painting (instead of 777) is the reference to the old adage 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop'.

'Fleeting Focus' preview

Here is a teaser preview of the final painting, 'Fleeting Focus' for Galerie Abyss'  12x12 group exhibition. See the entire painting - and many more works for sale - THIS Thursday night! 

 12x12, Opening: Thursday August 6th, 7:00 - 10:00pm

1520 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Montreal

click here for facebook event info