GPCP AUCTION PIECE: DOG

This is going to be a large-ish canvas that I am planning for the GPCP auction benefit. Of course, it's a play on the whole Obama/Shepard Fairey image that was so ubiquitous during the campaign. Iam thinking a bigger canvas--nothing too huge. I basically found a stock image of a dog and did my own little paint-over in Photoshop. It doesn't make me Duchamp or anything but I thought it made for some pretty nice satire.

Anyway, what I plan on doing is to basically create a pasted collage background and then paint over that on canvas... We'll see. Not really sure how it will come out. You never know with these things, you know? They kind of take on a life of their own. Stay tuned!!

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: INSTINCT

I love to eat them birdies. Birdies what I love to eat. Bite they little heads off. Nibble on they tiny feet.

SKETCHBOOK DROPPINGS: NEW STYLE

I have been adapting a style lately that more accurately reflects my personality and how I work. In the past, I have tried so hard to polish my style--to create works that are "gleaming" in their finished appearance. The ironic thing is that those pieces generate nowhere near the positive reaction that my looser, less polished pieces generate. I have shown my portfolio to people, watched them flip past all of the pieces that I was so proud of because of their polished finish only to have them stop at gaze at some sketch. I don't know what that says about me but I think I am going to explore this for awhile.
Here is another piece from my sketchbook...

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: CELEBRATE

Pretty much all I have had time to blog about these days are Illustration Friday topics... I have been busy with work and taking on other projects... It's been hard to stray too far from the work stuff. But I was able to knock together a fun sketch for this topic...

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: TIME

This is another loose color sketch for the Illustration Friday peeps. I don't know what I'm really trying to say here. Maybe nothing. Honestly, some of my sketches lately have seemed a little out there. They're not really anchored in anything except nonsense--which, oddly, I kind of love. I love the organic nature of sketching for fun... I think I need to embrace the nonsense more.

MORE SKETCHES

Some more deposits from the sketchbook. I thought this was a funny sketch. Not really sure why. I just think it's funny...

The other one is a sketch depicting a scene from Rumplestitzken for a series I was planning a year ago on Grimm's Fairy Tales. I never finished it because I don't really think I am saying anything "new" with this image. It's sort of too familiar. I kind of abandoned the whole project due to my inability to stretch... Time permitting, I like the composition though. I might noodle around with it some later...

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: FLAWED

This is my latest entry in Illustration Friday. I noodled this out last night. It's a "flawed" snapping turtle/dog. Of course, the inspiration is definitely Michael Gagne's Insanely Twisted Rabbits.. His character designs are truly twisted and beautiful and look like nothing I've ever seen. Check out his site for more examples of his wonderfully insane art and designs.

I truly need to spend more time sketching. It's so hard when I am staring down the barrel at daily deadlines and other projects, but it's so important to keep those muscles honed and fit. I can really tell when I have been too long away from the sketchbook... My draftsmanship gets very flabby.