Creatures.... 'In The Works'

The Panther, herself, is actually done...  I just need to finish the background. 

She took me far too many hours to count, but she was so georgeous

I had to capture her.  This is good ol' pencil crayon on paper.

K.  So if you have never seen Blue Planet, check it out!!!!  That's where I found

out about these amazing creatures.  There're called Leafy Water Dragons, and

are freakin cool.  They basically float around the coral reefs off the coast of

New Zealand.  I was compelled to capture an image of one of these babies.

So here it is...  This is done with pencil crayon, oil pastel, and ink on paper.

Again, background not done, but you get the idea.

If you're noticing a trend with my 'In The Works' stuff, I promise, I do complete

my pieces.  I just have to walk away from a piece sometimes, until I can work

up the nerve to complete it.  It's my equivalent to writers block.  I hit a point

where I become petrified of destroying the work I've already done. 

But I always get back to it, eventually.  I'm also pretty sure I'm not the only artist

who suffers from this, lol.  I don't think any artist ever feels

that a piece is exactly what they had in mind, even when 'complete'.

The Character Development Process

These are two of the fairies for the graphic novel I'm working on with my friend. 

Bear in mind they are very much in the developmental phase, but this is the look I'm playing with...

Her hands messed up, but aside from that I'm pretty happy with her.  She's supposed to be quite young though, essentially a new fairie, so I think I may need to work on that a bit...?

Art markers on paper for both.

This guy's my warrior fairie.  His hat's an acorn topper,

and spear head is a rose thorn. 

He's also Canadian, eh!  

Based on our outline thus far, we have different fairies/deities that

represent different phases in life and time of year.... 

i.e. Winter would be the final years of ones life.  He'll be Autumn. 

I still feel like there's more work to come on him though, 

but he's getting there.  He may look quite different by the time I'm done. 

You know what's awesome? Robots! =)

Just me messing around today...  Don't ask why that one is on the wall....

Green-bot's solar powered BTW, lol

I may be biased as his creator, but I think he's cute.

An Oldie, But A Goodie....

I did this one back in highschool.... Grade 12, I think (2004)?  Acrylic on wood panel.  

It's supposed to represent the connection between Nature and Man.

K... So I know I haven't exactly been consistent with my posting, but there's more comming... I promise.  I just haven't taken pic's yet of some of the stuff I've been working on.  And, some of the stuff I've been working on is too much 'in the works' to post.  However, in my honest effort to focus more on my art, I will start posting on a regular basis.  I am determined not to become complacent.  This blog is titled 'Art Is My Life' for a reason.  So more to come soon....

That being said, until I get some more pic's up, I'll update you on what I've been working on...  A friend of mine has asked me to colaborate with her on two stories/graphic novels she's creating.  And as she is a very talented artist/writer herself, I couldn't say no (though I never really can to art =) ).... At any rate, without giving too much away, the one we're focused on right now is going to be an adult oriented fantasy with fairies.  Thats right, fairies..... We're working on character design and development right now.  I'll post some of what we've come up with soon!

I've also developed an interest in mermaids of late... As guardians of our oceans perhaps?  I'll have some of those up for you soon too. One peice is already in the works.  Almost done actually (yay!)... The other will be a more definate commentary than the first, but it's still at the kicking around my head stage.  At any rate, less talk more art...  Gonna go work on some now ;)

Scenery

An experiment with found objects, with the help of my friends nieces... 

I should have painted a background first, but like I said, it was an experiment. =)

What nature has to offer on wood panel...

Reproduction I did in grade 9 art...

India Ink on Paper

View of the skyline from my balcony.

Ink and Pencil Crayon on paper

Started as a sketch of the view across the lake at my friends cottage... Turned into something more.

Ink, pencil crayon, pencil on paper

'Vast Expanse/Northern Lights'

Oil Pastel on paper.

'Calm Serenity'

Oil Pastel on paper

More Fantasy...

Not the best photo, but this is 'The Sun & The Moon's Dance'

Acrylic on canvas

'Nighttime Reveries'

Pastel and ink on paper

'Face Of A Pheonix'

Ink and Metallic marker on paper

'Drecko'

Ink on paper

I love Drecko... Dunno why, but don't need a reason... :)

Doodle of a Fairy

Ink on paper

Some of my work...

Some of my fantasy stuff:

This was me just messing around in my sketchbook...  Pencil and ink on paper...

I then took it to photoshop, where I did the coloring, and most of the shading.  This is basically a mixture of using the smudge tool, the colour replacement tool, and a mozaic filter for the scales...

 

For this piece, I used a wide range of mediums, including conte, oil pastel, pencil crayon and ink... There's even some metallic marker in this one.

Some Trek fan art I did:

Ambassador Soval

An Andorian Woman

Bear With Me

Alright.... So this is my first blog.  Ever... And I also happen to be some-what tecnologically challenged.  Therefore, I respectfully request that you bear with me.

I am attepting to get some semblence of an art career off the ground, and a web page was on my to do list.  However, I do not know how to build my own web page, or how to maintain it. And I like anything free.  So here I am. Blogging....

I guess the best place for me to start is with a little background on who I am, and what I am currently working on. (Seperate from me babbling in my profile, of course! =P ).

I have been into art forever.  And when I say forever, I mean since I discovered the wondrous technique of drawing potato people... =) ... I still have sketch books, full of drawings from when I was a kid.  They got more detailed, I promise. But it was definately love at first sight...

Then came art class in highschool.  This is when I realized that art was more than a passing fancy.  I slowly came to realize that I wasn't that bad at it, and I could actually do something with it.  The more I experimented with different mediums, the more I loved it.  And the messier the better! =D

I sold my first painting in highschool, and I have to admit, as hard as it was for me to let it go, it was kindof a rush.  And an eye opener.  One of the teachers had seen the piece while talking to my art teacher, who was in the process of marking it.  My art teacher approached me about selling it, and I agreed.  Now here comes the part I suck at.  Putting a price on my work.  Seriously, I have a lot of trouble with this.  So she suggested a price, and I went with it.  It was my first sale, after-all, and I would have been happy with $2. She, however, marked it up, and I let her lead on this one.  I was in grade ten, only hoping for an A, and got cash on top of it.  No complaints...

After high-school, I didn't go on to secondary studies.  It was too costly, to begin with, and my job at Tim Hortons was not going to pay for it.  I was also petrified of the whole presenting a portfolio, to get into school thing.  Still am...  So I started working full time, while continuing with art, on my own time.  And here I landed in a place that most artists are familiar with.  Working an office job (call center for me) while dreaming of the fairy-tale where you somehow get "discovered", and become the next Big Thing.  Unfortunately, the art world does not work like this, and I eventually realized I was going to have to find the way in myself. 

But where to begin?  For one thing, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my art.  Just that I wanted to be able to do only art, all the time, and scratch out a living on it.  I came to realize that Fine Arts, in this day and age, are rediculously tough to live off of.  One minute you're cashing a cheque for a couple hundred, the next, you're living off of Mr.Noodles.  I definately didn't want to be filling orders for people who wanted a painting to match their couch.  I also came to realize I wasn't going to get my stuff into a gallery until I had a larger, stronger body of work, and had made a bit of a name for myself... To boot, I'm very shy about my work.  I know you are thinking that's ludicrous, considering you are currently reading my blog, which is plastered with my work, but trust me, this has been quite the journey, and I'm nervous as hell about it.  However, I'm also determined.

Eventually, I landed up at Industrial Alliance, in call center, for group health and dental. I'm still working there now, and it's a great company.  My co-workers soon discovered I was into art, due to my doodling habits,  and I suddenly found myself getting requests to employ my skills for them.  My manger commissioned  a painting of her grandson, my first real portrait, and it was a blast to work on.  So a huge thanks to her, and all my friends from I.A for cheering me on, from the side-lines.

That being said, I don't want to spend the rest of my career painting only portraits.  So I began checking out other options.  I happen to be a huge nerd - into Comics, Sci-fi, Fantasy, and the like (as noted in my profile).  So here's where the next  revelation comes in... I attend a convention every year, that a lot of you are probably familiar with.  That would be the Fan Expo, ( AKA - The Geek Fest =) ).  One of my favourite features of this event would be what I call 'Artisan's Alley'.  It's where you find a wild and wonderful mix of local and international artists, peddling their trade, in search of their own artistic goals.  To say the least, it features A LOT of talent. 

At last years (2009's) event, I met Caanan, bringer of Celadore.  Which, by the way, I am very upset is finished.  But more on that later...  Caanan was promoting his comic Celadore (It's awesome, and well worth checking out!) As a result I realized that comic art was a plausible solution to my quandry.  Through comics I can tell a story with my art, have creative control, and who knows, maybe change someones perspective on life (for the better, of course!).
So a huge thanks to Caanan for both your awesome contributions to the art world, and for inadvertantly pointing me in the right direction...  The drawing of Sam and Evie you did for me at The Geek Fest has a prominent position on my Wall Of Inspiratue, in my art studio. =P

Now that I have a sense of direction, and am working on more than just doodles for my own entertainment, I have suddenly found myself with a full plate.  On top of working on my graphic novel, I have been commissioned to do more portraits, and other art pieces.  I've been taking comic book courses through The Toronto Cartoonist Workshop, with plans to take more with them in the near future.  And am generally excited about art in a way I havn't been for years.  So thank you to all my friends and family for your support, and I'll do my best to keep it comming.