V Is For Verone: Part 1

Who is Verone and where did he come from? And why does he have that "V" on his vest? In this two part story I present a little back story to "The Course".

As the cold winter wind broke through the mountains in some unnamed highlands of Eastern Europe a young gypsy thief ran and took refuge under the cliff. His clan had moved on a day ahead and he was seeking to survive.  Little did he know, there was a gypsy clan who had already taken refuge in the cave. He could smell the cooking stew, probably made from a mountain goat or some poor farmers stray cow.

The boy entered the narrow passage way under the overhang. There before him were several small families hunched together around several fires. They barely acknowledged him as he came down the crevice through an awkward rock path. The boy circled the first fire and no one made eye contact. They were concentrating too much on being warm or they just didn't care. He circled the second one and no one even moved. At the third fire the the boy was desperate. If he could not find solace here he would likely freeze to death if he tried to go on. Though, the stew smelled heavenly, he could endure the hunger. He had done that before. It was warmth and rest he longed for.

Chunky Paint

Chunky paint is the medium that bridges the gap between india ink and regular water media such as acrylic, gouache, and water color. If you paint with these media with any regularity you would understand the commonality and therefore the benefits of bouncing from one to the other from time to time. The learning curve is immense and there is almost always something new to learn.

In Little Tree I tested illustration board for its ability to hold watercolor. This is in fact a value study in burnt sienna, but it is also a finished piece. I will boldly proclaim that because it can handle no more detail and it is unnecessary because everything will get lost. Follow the Little Tree link to my Deviant Art page to see the full painting.

On a cloudy day I sought out nature to inspire me to spring board me into my comic drawing stage of the day I came up with this painting and three blind drawings before it. The first 2 of the Painted Flowers series are held in my Experimental Art page.

Blind drawing is an interesting process. It is not blind in the sense that you use only your hearing and feeling senses to detect shape and form. But for the artist it is the opposite. You see with your eyes, but feel the paper/board with your pencil or brush. In effect, you let media feel the contours of the physical object without actually seeing the the page. It always has surprising results and pushes the artist to the next level.