The Boss

Working on some mediums I need sharpening. The top image incorporates an old acetate method I used during University. Mixed feelings about these but I wanted to draw a line underneath them.

MCA

 A couple of portraits of Adam Yauch/ MCA who died recently. When I first got into Hip Hop when I was about 13 I think. I started with Run DMC, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and Beastie Boys mostly because I wanted to listen to the earlier stuff, that was good and didn't rely on bad language.

I was going to make the colour version, another addition of Rappers and the things they say, but I decided to leave it unfinished as I didn't want it to ruin it.

 I was looking through my deviant art gallery and I was looking at some of university course work. During the end of my second year and the beginning of my third year, before I discovered the joys of monotype printing and massive oil paintings, I was exploring the effects of acetate and tracing paper. I found an art shop near me that sells acetate, which was the main reason I stopped. I could find it, but not the right kind that held ink well. Treating tracing paper with fixative makes it less opaque and it interesting in terms of layers. The only issue I haven't really solved, is the warping aspect. The only way I have overcome this is limiting the amount of media I use and more water-based paints are no good.

Left is a portrait of Nick Cave and the other one is Ryan Gosling in Drive. Great film by the way.

Rappers and the things they say.

I had this idea a few years ago and did complete a few paintings for it. I have already done one of Pharoahe Monch too. I will pick it up again, though finding decent reference is a nightmare.

 These are a series of experimental drawings I tried. Basically, I think my pencil and line work is the strongest aspect of my art and illustration. However I don't think I've ever successfully translated that into a painting. Plus I haven't been drawing as much I should have as life does seem to get in the way.

All of these are created using the same process. A base colour is put down, and then a layer of Gesso primer. Then the pencil. No real planning on the image. The top one was a portrait of Cat Power, and the other two are from stock photo sites.

A better scan of my Gunslinger painting from t'other day.

Mother's Day Card

I forgot this one.

I thought I already posted this. I quite like how this turned out. It took just over an hour.

Roland Deschain from The Dark Tower

I haven't figured out how to scan MDF paintings in bits well yet without the joins. I apologise.

This painting has been a battle, and this is as finished at it is going to be. I will come back to it, to refine a couple of elements, when it no longer annoys me.

Justified

I love the US TV show, Justified starring Timothy Olyphant. It has a strange feeling to it, it is laconic and very involving. It also has Walton Goggins, who was the stand out performer in The Shield. Essentially it is about a US Marshall who embodies a Western hero in the vein of Clint Eastwood, who operates in Kentucky.

I needed to paint something and was rather lazy about coming up with a concept or pursuing something I already had in mind.

I was intending to do more to this before I posted it, make it a kind of poster with text and the like. Though I came down with a heavy cold this weekend, so did very little to it. I will do at a later date perhaps.

Wait until they get a load of me.

I've never painted the Joker. I've been reading Grant Morrison's Batman run recently and the Joker appears in that quite a bit. Visually he is an interesting character, though I do prefer the Cesar Romero look from the campy 60s TV series; the Clown Prince of Crime. I've added a bit of edge to that kind of thing, but more intense and less fun. I think the Joker should be really skinny, and have a face with sharp angles too, rather than chubby funster that Nicholson portrayed in Burton's film.

I prefer to paint on MDF, and this is me dripping my toes back on to painting on that surface. Trying to capture a sense of melancholy that I've always been after for some reason. Kind of like a Wong Kar Wai film I guess. Lots of bright colours and a sadness of sorts.

Gunslinger

I've been reading Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower' series for the last two months. I've been putting it off for a while because I've heard really mixed things about them.

They are more or less pretty good, but I still have to finish the sixth book and it is wobbly in my opinion.

This is a picture of Roland from those books.

Don't drink, kids.

After a couple of emotional turbulent months, I decided to let off some steam by going out with my brother and his friends to enter a quiz and a few drinks. I rarely drink, if ever. We won the quiz, so ventured into the town centre afterwards. I decided I'd had enough, and walked home by myself. On the way home I was jumped and beaten up. Typical. My face was a mess, so instead of inflicting photos of my face for all to see. I thought I'd do a quick painting of my profile.

This is a portrait I did over the course of a few hours on a Sunday two weeks ago. Minor tweaking the next day. Mostly happy with it, not so sure about the background, but that goes to show what happens when you don't plan these things. It is of Bob Schneider, singer-songwriter, artists and sometime wearer of a beard.

I like drawing Sharks, this one was a bit of a pain to do. The middle part of the body was difficult to get right. I think it turned it okay, seeing as I was trying to use a variety of colours rather the standard greys and blues consistent with a shark's skin tone. The small Goldfish is Louie, a Lion head with a bad attitude and surly nature, a bit less so than me. He would annoy the Shark.

Who are you calling a Chimp, Chump?

I drew this yesterday, while half watching the TV. I was tired and I really remember drawing it. The only bit I recall doing is the charcoal background, because I did that this morning.

Missing Shark.

I think I originally started this before Christmas 2010. I found it this morning, while looking for some cardboard to pack a parcel with. I did eventually use this to that do that. I don't like the tail, though it's alright.

Exploration of medium.

It seems like I spend more time trying to refine a workable style than doing any actual illustration. I'm trying to create something that I can work with, and more importantly be proud of and continue to improve on. Here are some recent attempts.

Basic attempt at a comic layout.

I've always loved reading comics, though I've never really took the time to draw one. This is a basic lay-out I completed over two days. It's OK I guess, though much harder work that n thought.