Ask The Artist

I don't really get stage fright when I am doing a live painting.

I have painted hundreds of times, live.

In fact there are times when I was painting and I thought I was alone, but people have walked up to me to ask a question.

Photo by Heidi W.

With the dozen or so people watching and asking questions on Friday October 4th, I felt like God was cementing the value of my art.

Sure Bob Ross made millions off of his products and books, but he always painted for free. 

The one thing I am truly striving for is to find something that people value- A cross-section between the art I create and what people will pay for.

I really want more people to see my art and ask questions. 

I really want to serve with my gifts, so if you have some question that you would like to air on the art making process. Send it to me- mstudioartworks@gmail.com.

In the mean time: Check out my art show if you are in or going through Columbus, OH in October 2013- Cafe International Show.

If you can't get out to it, check it out online: Cafe International Art Show.

I'm In The Band

I took a brief respite last week to have some fun with Illustration Friday...which I always do! It is an aside, but it keeps things interesting for me as a blogger and artist.

On Labor Day I visited a local arts festival, The Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival. Long name, but fun festival. After I had finished my pulled pork sandwich, I sat under the tent in front of the main stage and sat down to draw. What was I interested in most at that time? The band.

All The Members In The Band.
James and the Jamerson's, a 60's Motown cover band had the chops. They had great musical harmony and rawness. They demonstrated musical authority in horns, vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, and a mix of black and white performers with shared male and female leads. What we don't see often in bands these days are the honest interpretation of the music live. That means that aside from radio formulated orchestration, most groups are too proud or maybe too poor to have the same expression live. Which is a shame. Both because it seems to be a let down for the audience and it dishonestly represents who they are.

I knew this first hand when I got out of college and moved twice in the same summer. I did not find the harmony with other artists when I first moved to Cincinnati, but I also did not find it at first when I moved to Columbus.

Credibility Gap.
We are individuals and we create as filters of the culture that we are surrounded by. Some artists will not admit that they are filters of culture. They think that if they claim there accomplishments as 100% their own that they will be more credible. This is a lie and it is also not necessary.

It is not necessary to claim your accomplishments as yours and only yours. No doubt we all have influences great and small. I often forget some of the minor influences in my life. Sometimes I discover them anew. But credibility comes after accomplishment not because of the rigorous journey done in isolation. I found this to be true time and again after I failed making quality projects on my own.

Dynamic Works.
The dynamic works like this: We conceive an idea from life experience. Which is always based in culture. Then, we begin to execute it if it is a passion. After that we must test it. When we test it, the project cannot be seen by our eyes only. Fellow artists we trust, close friends and relatives must speak in to it to make it great. Then, if the piece is deemed worthy, the culture receives it.

Conclusion.
In this process collaboration, insight, experience, and interactions of all kinds criss-cross the making of the art. In reality if the art sings, chances are that it was not done by just one person alone on an island. It was done in a band.

Puzzled

I have a weakness for good science fiction and fantasy illustration. You could say it is a driving force that keeps me creating. Seeing fantastic things that never existed or imagining things that may someday exist is very compelling.This blog entry is connected to IllustrationFriday.com.

This is your introduction into my love for illustration. Occasionally I have shown you my quick sketches or sketch book entries. This is actually the first time I have brought up my illustration background in this blog. It is really no different than a watercolor painting, a comic strip, or even a one panel humor bit. All employ my creativity, but engage me in different ways. I will share with you some brief insights into what illustration is about. Perhaps you can use this knowledge when you create as well.

Illustration Is Art.
Much to my dismay many people want to compare the proper fine art to that of commercial art. Both have the same agenda, to make money for the creator. The only difference is the way they are sold. Sometimes the "fine artist" has less freedom than the illustrator. It all depends on intent.

Illustration Is About The Story.
Illustration on its own may or may not communicate the message it is intended to share with the world. With the back story, illustration will thrive. It is about the narrative.

Illustration Is Found Outside of Commercial Art.
You could say that classic art, especially oil paintings and sculpture, are examples of illustration. They fit the narrative mold. Many folk artists who only created art because it was an itch they had to scratch also narrated stories through their art.

Illustration Has a Decipherable Message.
Unlike conceptual art of the modern and post-modern era, illustration has one purpose alone--the message. If it is not communicated clearly, it may still be art, but it is not an illustration.  

Illustration Has a Diversity of Styles.
There is no set style to illustration. It has changed and grown over the years. Materials have changed along with technology that allows you to make sleeker art, but the media was never the focus. The message was central.

Illustration Has a Diversity of Applications.
Illustration as I said above can be found outside of commercial art. It is also applied to everything from movie animatics to comic strips to how-to books and even toys. As an artform illustration is very flexible.

Conclusion.
Though far from exhaustive, this list above represents the major points on what illustration is about. Perhaps when you look at a book cover or Greek statue or any other message baring image you will think differently about what the story is behind it.

Reference Your Imagination

Creative ideas swirl all around us every day, all day. This is true, but sometimes we do not have a reference point for a preexisting idea. Sometimes our personal experience is so limited that we have to refer to other sources to drive our picture-making or creative endeavor or even to solve one of life's wealth of problems.

Violin And Violinist Sketch click: Here

This task of conceptualizing is often time-consuming. There are many rabbit trails and often we can be so enraptured in this task that it takes away from time to solve the actual problem.


The important thing is that at the end of this time you can come to a conclusion that is based on reality and not on your mental image of it.



The hard lessons learned by understanding this result in a spirited piece of art and a growing visual vocabulary. Practicing understanding the mundane will pay off in dividends when under a deadline. This practice is grown through drawing multiple versions of a subject from multiple angles and sources. This has been my primary drive for mastering the quick-sketch and has been the foundation upon which I am building my inking skill.

Consider your discipline. Are you taking every possible measure to understand your subject? What techniques do you use to learn for the sake of the end result?

Cartoonist In The City

Whenever possible I partake in community events. This past weekend I went to Columbus's Cultural Arts Center's Bicentennial Ball celebrating Columbus's 200 years of existence.

In new settings its a great joy to record and document what is going on. This is especially rewarding when there is cool architectural flourishes, unique angles, and a variety of people.

I, for one, do not discriminate in material usage. If it is in my sketchbook, all the more reason to experiment. Whether it's a green Crayola marker or a toothbrush with an odd pigment, I consider the challenge worth my time.

On top of it all, it was great to hang out with friends, see old friends, meet new people, see great art, and enjoy some of the best food you can find in Columbus, OH. This type of setting is in fact where life can be the most inspiring to create art.

Name Your Triumph

"When looking at any significant work of art, remember that a more significant one probably has had to be sacrificed." - Paul Klee

"The best artists make the most mistakes." -Andrew Kish, III Watercolorist

Thinking of physical failures as triumphs takes a lot of courage. It makes more sense to just call something a failure and laud it as that to everyone you meet. But, does it really help anyone? 

I am not talking about an honest acknowledgement that the pieces of art you are concerned with do not have flaws or lack the ability to communicate the message you want to get across. I am talking about a piece of art standing on its own as a piece of art. It is no less valid to laud a child's simplistic crayon drawing as art as the work created by a person with a PhD in oil painting. Communication is one thing, beauty is another. 

In my pursuit to create good art I have learned the value of sacrificing my longing for perfection for the greater good of communication. The truth is I have created some pretty amazing works that had to meet their death at the end of an eraser or a swab of a paint brush. I have to count on this to sustain me as I create. Mistakes are necessary. Mistakes, you could say are the life of art. The further I go into this process the more I see that it is vital to my growth and the easier it is to decide what to keep and what goes. 

We have to consider our "failures" as fodder for growth. We have to celebrate the whole of the process so that we can perpetuate our movement toward the creative end we pursue. It is well worth it. So, I share my triumph with you. I have accomplished 17 hours of work in the 5 day span from 1/23/12-1/27/12 in the midst of a part time job and other responsibilities, challenges, and events. Praise God! I will do much better this week. 

Granted not all of these pieces were a beginning to end process, but they are all part of the process and therefore qualify as art. In the mainstay pieces I will share with you the final products in the months to come. Hold tight to your work and consider every victory along the way.

 

 

 

The City Scene

Discovery is the best way to fuel your imagination. If you see something new or the same old things in a new light you propel yourself forward. Change happens in you and then innovation!

Daily I put this into practice in some aspect of my art. Sometimes its a process, a technique, an area of study, or a tool. 

The City Scene 3 represents a  still life practice that I use often. I need to learn perspective, so I set up a scenario that allows me to see it with my own eyes instead of guessing. When I set up these scenes I try to do something alien and unique with similar objects that  you could find around the house. I chose the China Marker because of its proximity to pastel and charcoal. It can bear some semblance to a black and white photo if used the right way. In particular, value was very important to this drawing. 

Be bold and try a different media, process, or subject matter. Be brazen and open to change. I guarantee you will see something new.

Negative Spaces

Mystery is negative space.

As an artist I thrive on mystery. I do not take for granted what I cannot see. What I can see, I understand that even at it's fundamental level I cannot perceive the substance or scene in its entirety. I am not God. The passage below reminds me of my limitations and always makes creating art into an awe-inspiring event:

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.- 2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV

As artists we exploit the principle of what is not seen defines what is seen as often as we possibly can. Follow the points below and you will understand how it works and how we think.

1. There is NO MYSTERY in virtual white space. A solid of any kind is not compelling. It has no weight or relevance by itself. This is something like walking through a pure whiteout after a snowstorm. Pure white, you would feel as if you were unable to go anywhere. A feeling of perpetual lack of direction.

2. There is NO MYSTERY in virtual black space. Have you ever been stuck in a dark room with no light available? It is as if you were paralyzed. You feel as if you were disconnected.Only the introduction light will move you toward mystery.

3. Two white boxes only show equality. There is NO CONFLICT. You need conflict in order create mystery. Mystery requires an unbalanced feeling. This is not possible without conflict.

4. CONFLICT alone is not enough to create mystery. Black against white definitely begins to create tension, but if it is balanced like stripes it does not finish the job.

5. SUSPENSE starts to get to mystery. Though it is clear that there is a struggle. Suspense can happen with equality still in mind. Therefore, artistically it is not that interesting. It lacks Power.

6. MYSTERY can be created in two different ways. When black dominates it is an overpowering type of mystery. Compelling like a pure dark room, but since one shard of light appears it can cause suspense and wonder. Wonder is probably the most essential ingredient in the recipe for Mystery. It captures our imaginations.

7. MYSTERY created where there is a shard of black in a sea of white causes us to think about resilience. A lone survivor or just loneliness can be derived. It is compelling with a sense of wonder that causes awe at the sight of  one lone element defying the system that surrounds it.




Now you see how we think about composition and what ramifications a sense of mystery carries. Perhaps it will cause you to view the greater picture when view art, nature, or humanity as a whole. Challenge yourself to push the limits of mystery. It will truly wrap others into the work you create.

I created these examples based on an ink piece that I did. Click on this link to see the full image: The Edge Of The Forest.

A Firmer Resolution And Other Base Facts

I look across my life and see many failed attempts at following through on resolutions and vows of various types. As an adult, I am no longer surprised by this. Each year that passes is a new understanding of my personal failures. I am sure that most people, like myself, come to this realization once they have left the comfort of their parent's home. I am sure that some realize much earlier than others.

The encouraging thing about failing at resolutions and goals in particular is that you learn to do them the right way. Each time you fail it is important to pick up and go at it again. I learned some very important tips concerning personal growth by using measurable goal-making from Chris Oatley's Artcast just this last week. You can click on this link to hear it: Artistic Growth Is Not A Goal...

The hard part about living your life, especially to be excellent in every area you can be, is that nothing really stays the same. The only exception is God and His goodness. We constantly have to be on our guard concerning everyday challenges. Is there a set way to do a task or requirement? Some times there is, but rarely. Life consists of improvisation in repition. You can do it well, if you have done something like it before. But do not count on it working exactly the same way. So, life feeds art. It gives us due inspiration, because like life, art is a continuous process of change and growth.

Don't give up on your goals! Firmly stand in the gap between your starting point and your goal. Be excellent in your career pursuits, your family life, and hold high the tenets of doing right by others in as many ways as you can! Stay the course, because none of us have it easy and from time to time we can learn from each other's failures.

7 Day Work Week

Hopefully, I won't have to do this again. It's easy to enter the week optimistically, but dreadful if you think about the fact that you have no weekend. I wouldn't recommend this lifestyle to anyone.

Inquire Within: Part 2, Life And Art

Not many times in my life do I remember other people approaching me and immediately engaging in conversation. Not unless I am actively doing something creative, that is.

The day after Thanksgiving I was still at my parents house struggling not to become too bored. So I borrowed my mom's digital camera and went for a walk to the park across the river in the town next to theirs. I went for the very specific reason of shooting pictures of the animals in the petting zoo. Because, I do not often get to go to the zoo anymore. This was a prime opportunity.

As I came around the fence I was trying hard to shoot through the fence, I encountered a woman feeding bread to the animals through the chain link fence. Her golf cart was full of cheap or reclaimed bread. She was popular with the animals. Then she started a conversation with me as if we were old friends. 

I admit, I was not too cordial to begin with. I just wanted to shoot pictures of the cantankerous animals that had very short attention spans. But she went on regardless of whether I acknowledged her too much. In the course of her conversation she mentioned how she had had a digital camera and that she wished she could post an up-to-date picture online. Regretably she didn't know how use her own camera. Not mention that a relative had borrowed it and never returned hers. I could only comment on how the camera I was using was not mine and I did not own one either. But, I missed something very important.

“Therefore, as we have the opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:10, NIV

This was the Exempla Vitae moment I referred to last week. This was the opportunity to do good by someone. A quick photo or 2 and some contact information to send her the photos could have been a blessing to her. A moment like this could create waves in someone else's life. This is where Life intersects Art. These are the times I live for.

My challenge to you is to think ahead about the gifts you have been given: time, talent, resources, knowledge, experience. Ask God what He wants you to do with these things. Imagine the possibilities of using them in unconventional ways. Write down and plan for such times as these. You will be surprised of the creativity utilized when you come to that time, nothing is ideal after all.

Watercolor: King Of Paints

There are in fact few media that compare to the versatility of watercolor. It is not just versatile because it is a water-based media. It is versatile because there is little to transport. With oil paints and acrylic usually an easel is necessary. With watercolor you can easily set your watercolor board on your lap or a table or desk.

If you like chunky paint you can go to acrylic (which is cheaper than oil paint), gouache (though, technically a variation of watercolor), or oil paint (which is the king of chunky). But they all have there set backs. Though, you may not be able to carve or sculpt the paint like oil, create density like gouache, or have the quick-dry, easy-cover ability of acrylic; you can have a little of all three with less mess and perhaps less frustration.

I am not necessarily expecting any converts here. Everybody is inclined to their own opinions on what media best suits them. Believe me, I have left out a lot of other media. I have left out, especially dry media-pencils, pastels, chalk, and many others. I enjoy them all. But watercolor does give a lot back. It is forgiving in the layering area, but unforgiving in subtraction. It works well when thrown in the mixed media pool, but it can stand alone. Though, it is easier to be more expressive, it also permits rigidness for portraiture and technical paintings. In fact, as a media it is embraced equally by commercial and fine artists. Though, I am sure neither party agrees on what the other truly is.

The challenge of the week is to try watercolor. If it is your first time, you can be bold and try something abstract. But there is no shame in picking up a book or magazine on the subject. From time to time, I still do and I have been at it for 10 years. It is a great way to learn new processes. When you take my challenge please post it on your blog, website, or portfolio site and send me a link. I would like to see it.

Come back next week for STORYTIME.

The High Knight

As the storyteller you have a great capacity to invent. Given a protagonist and a conflict a great deal of interesting topics can arise between the beginning and the end.

What fire sparks your imagination? What sort of peril would this knight save a fair damsel from? Would he fight dragons or does he just tell the narrator stories as he sits on the mantel on cold rainy nights?

Take a couple of minutes and view the full piece on my fine art site: "The High Knight". Fill your imagination with what if's. Let me know what you came up with.

Special Vanishing Point

Stiff lines, bare angles, and semi-technical math are my new friends. I have desperately wanted to achieve the technical perfection of the most skilled comic artists and draftsmen. A little bit of perspective will always do wonders for your piece. So I sat down for hours on end and studied the manuals I had on hand to figure how to best solve my creative problems. 

So, earlier this year that I had to get more serious about perspective drawing, if I was going to continue to be serious about creating comics. It has been a blessing. It has allowed me to see my art in a new way.

Alas, perspective drawing is not for the faint of heart. I am truly in awe of architects, technical illustrators, and engineers. To be accomplished in rendering for three dimensional production is a skill that takes time and patience. Translating from line to form or form to line is a broader way of thinking.

For the illustrator, cartoonist, or painter it is truly secondary. Some times perspective gets in the way of the image. Hours spent hashing out measurements are usually better spent on color or caricature or just creatively inventing.

In this preliminary drawing I first discovered the benefits of a special vanishing point and it did wonders for the finished drawing. I am not yet ready to share the finished page, but you can see here in my Sketches page that if a drawing requires proportional sides the task can be tedious. 

V Is For Verone: Part 2

Instead of giving up he strived one more time to make eye contact with someone, anyone. There huddled in the inner ring was the prettiest little girl he had ever seen. She looked up and in the darkness her eyes sparkled. A spot of passion reflected from the meager fire. Her eyes read him from toe to head.

“There is a place for you by the fire.” She murmured, and then she opened up a her blanket to reveal a vest.

Then the circle broke for him to come through. As the boy reached the far end where a path formed, he went to sit next to her.

“Who are you?” She asked.

“I-I am Verone, a Romani like you.”

“Well then, this vest was meant for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You see the 'V' stitched into the two portions in the front of the vest and the 'V's' making the Romani wheel on the back.”

“Yes.”

“I stitched this for my father last summer.”

“Why are you giving it to me? Where is he?”

“He died tragically a year ago, about this time.”Verone was dumbfounded. She smiled gingerly and gently handed it to him.

“His name was Viktor. And I am finished with my mourning just today at breakfast. I was told that I must find another man to fill his vest.”

“I am not a man. This vest is for a big man. Maybe better suited for a bear...I don't know.”

She giggled and then responded,“Do not worry Verone, you will one day grow into this.”

The fire died by early morning and the chill returned. Verone saw that the clan had already moved on and he was the only one left in the cave. The extra large vest was still around him. He was huddled into it. Today, the young thief had to reach his clan. He hastily jumped up with the vest still around him. He looked about the cave for anyone or any sign of the little girl, then Verone climbed back up through the crevice. He ran down the pass.

What would his future be, he thought? Then, he passed a small camp site. The hikers had their bag on mounted on a tree. Verone walked slowly up to the bag and grabbed some food out of it. The boy ate some of the bread and fruit and cold meat as he hurried to tell his family about his wonderful blessing.

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.

Man And Wife

As I work on redoing page 1 of The Course I have to take my steps forward delicately. Perhaps for the seasoned comic book artist they do not sweat the small stuff. However, there must be caution when using strictly black inks. If I were to color this my line quality, though it needs to be clean and pristine would not require the full volume of values that I am trying to accomplish. To see the level of value harmony I am referring to look up artists such as Franklin Booth, Bernie Wrightson, Bryan Bolland, Alex Raymond, and Howard Pyle. These men created art that shows the great range of possibility with just black ink. As I try to emulate their level of quality I have to do so with the mind that this will be a finished piece of art, not just a line drawing for a comic book page.


This week I am going to start showing you some of The Course's characters and talking about their motivations and roles in the story.

Feseleg the Hungarian word for wife is what Teleki refers to "Emily" as. She is as sweet as a strawberry on a Spring day and as graceful as a swan. To find out more about her attributes follow this link:  Teleki's Wife.

Value Composition

Part of the process of producing a comic page is laying it out. Almost all professional comic book artists use some method of figuring out where all of their dark and light areas go on the page before applying any ink or drawing it up.

After realizing that I had not planned my inking out very well a friend suggested this method of blocking in the dark and light values before going to ink. I have chosen the traditional inking method entailing brush and dip pens, because the blacks are much more potent, permanent, and versatile than using technical pens, ball point pens, and Adobe programs.

My method of blocking in value is to scan in the page in its penciled state, scale it down to the actual page size, print it on gray paper, then use black and white pastel to find the best possible scenario for the values of the page. I have to seriously consider the light source when I do this. Typically when you are working with just lines it is more difficult to consider some of these things ahead of time. Back tracking with this method has helped me think ahead on future pages.