The Rainbow Salesman

I was thinking about all the opportunistic umbrella salesman who appear - seemingly out of nowhere - to dispense their inventory at the sight of rain. But what about the rainbows? You didn't think they got there by themselves, did you? Enter 'The Rainbow Co.' who deploy their salespeople to rain swept communities desiring post rain atmospheric aesthetics. LOOK at that smug smile, double bounce strut and go-get-em attitude! Where some people see rain drops, HE SEES dollar signs! Now get out there 'an sell!

'The Rainbow Salesman'
acrylic on wood panel
8"x10"
$ for sale

Goofy painting

A-huk! It's a GOOFY painting! Another painting study I did, this time of a small Goofy sculpture observing overcast lighting conditions (indoors). Note that there are minimal highlights and no deep shadows.   

Seriously, who doesn't love Goofy? I wouldn't trust the person who says they dislike Goofy. If I was conducting a job interview and it came up they didn't like Goofy, I would dismiss them and shred their resume. And since we've established all mentally balanced people love Goofy, the next logical step is for you to add this painting to yourGoofy-loving-shrine-goodness! (Did I mention FREE shipping on the painting studies to US and Canada? A-huk!)  

Darth Maul painting study

Do I like Star Wars? Sure, as much as the next guy. You're the next guy, like Star Wars? ‪

Another painting study I did recently. This time of a Darth Maul action figure. (Among my favorite character designs and one of the coolest villains ever.) I took some photos of him standing on top of a square color changing LED alarm clock. It is the only light source. 

Dinosaur toy painting study

Here's a small painting study I did recently of a T-Rex toy I had painted from life. My goal since the Spring has been to do more of these studies. I've been using a Golden Artist Colors OPEN acrylics starter kit to do these small studies. I'm really loving the blending abilities without compromising the fast drying time. ‪

Daily Painting

I've been very inspired by this book 'Daily Painting' (http://carolmarine.blogspot.ca/p/my-books.html) to wake up and do some painting studies. I would like to do more of them. Great way to observe light and color without having to commit to a large piece. This was painted from a small Bart Simpson toy maquette I had. Painted from life with acrylic. Light source is sunlight.

storing paint with baby food jars

Here's a pro tip that was passed on to me years ago: if you have a young child or have friends/family who do, save those baby food jars. They are excellent for storing premixed paint because of their air lock lids and convenient size. I've got a bunch of jars my sister donated to me when she gave birth to my niece and nephew. The blue in the jar I'm holding was mixed 7 months ago - and it's still active!

Timing Charts - all done!

'Timing Charts' - one of the new paintings I created for the upcoming The Artist Project Toronto next month is now complete and will be for sale. (Acrylic on wood panel, 20"x16".) Animation friends and fans will likely get the reference of the painting's title and iconography in the right hand corner.

                                                            "What are timing charts??"

Here's a great video I found by Echo Bridge that explains them and their use.

 See you in Toronto in 4 short weeks!

Timing Charts - progression

Here is some progress from my latest ‬painting 'Timing Charts':

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!

Fleeting Focus - palette

My palette for the painting 'Fleeting Focus' all done now (for the 12"x12" show at Galerie Abyss, August 6). James Gurney in his book 'Color and Light' (which I recommend highly) discusses color strings: premixing separate values of the same color to save time. (Note the separate mixes of blues and pinks. The Gray in the corner is the subjective neutral color used for mixing.)

NERDCORE III - only one week left!

NERDCORE III, a pop culture themed show at Slushbox Gallery is only up for one more week! You can see the other works from the show and see photos from the opening here.

'Bride of Boopenstein'

acrylic on masonite

10"x12" (image) 18"x20" (including frame)

available here

Painting with acrylics: the stay-wet palette method

Here's what you want to invest in if you're having difficulty with the speedy drying time of acrylic paints:

Pick up some stay-wet palette paper and companion sponge, then a stay-wet container (I like using a 13"x17" butcher tray with an impromptu lid. Locally, the art store HACHEM sells them). The wet sponge overlayed by the palette paper keeps everything moist. I just uncovered the tray from paints I put out about 3 weeks ago - still wet!

 
This is the palette (all the colors) I used to make my latest painting 'Gift of Folly'. All my painting have been created this way since one year ago. It's made a big difference!

 

Palette paper and sponge.

Bride of Boopenstein

Here is the whole painting I created for Slushbox Gallery's NERDCORE III group show that opened on Saturday. It was a fun challenge to create a painting with just black and white. It is a tribute to two of my favorite things to paint: cartoons and monsters. The cartoons are all from the era before color, some of the characters are rather obscure. The frame is custom as well

'Bride of Boopenstein'
acrylic on masonite, custom frame
10"x12" (image) 18"x20" (including frame)

 You can see all the works from the show here.

sneek peak with color

Cat painting is all done! Here is a sneak peek at the color. You can see the original in person next month in the Low Brow group exhibition at Cinema du Parc (to compliment the screening of New Brow on August 2):  http://www.cinemaduparc.com/english/prochainemente.php?id=newbrow#top

I'll post the entire painting after the opening.

Blocking it in

The block-in stage. (Large masses and tones)

Monster Painting

Here is sneak peek #2 of the upcoming monster painting:

(Any idea what it is yet?)