Portrait and Figure Studies (2006-2007)

I am going away to NYC for about a week, as is part of my classes graduation, so I thought I would put a few old pieces into one post this time as I will not be able to post while I am away.I'm trying to stay somewhat regimented in my posting habits, guess I feel that the more that I post the more active my painting habits will be as well.So far it has actually worked out pretty good.These are just a few portrait studies that I did in my first year of college(again).The first one is in oil, the second acrylic and the third is in watercolour.Well, that;s all I got for now...

Self Portriat, Rembrandt style (2007)

Another class assignment in which we had to paint a self portrait in the style of another artist.The catch was that we also had to dress ourselves as the artist that we chose.I went with Rembrandt for his use of puffy shirts, frilly coats, and classic lighting.This one was done in egg tempera.

Spider Study (2006)

Thought I would take a break from all the holiday cheer and do a quick blog post. Man, I think I've had too much turkey and Riesling. Anyway, this was another assignment I did back during first year of college. It's one of those layering studies again using a wide range of mediums including: ink, watercolour, pencil crayon and gauche.Subtle glazes of pencil crayon help add dimension and colour richness to any webslinger.

Uma, Kill Bill (2007)

This portrait of Uma Thurman from Kill Bill was a class assignment where we were exploring with portraiture using watercolours.I think this was one of the first times that I'd ever used masking fluid.It is interesting to utilise this method with watercolours as it requires a certain amount of planning in where you want to retain whites and highlights before even laying a wash down.I missed the likeness a little bit with this one. but I like the sweaty glow that comes after fighting the crazy 88.

an ancient strength (2007)

This one was a commissioned piece that I did for a friend of mine who has a thing for elephants(yeah she's weird).I used acrylics once again but tried to emphasize more of a traditional impressionistic brush stroke.I found that the key to making this painting work was to not get lost in the details of the background: use enough detail so that the sticks are readable but not so much that the subject is fighting for attention.Keeping detail in the face and using high lighting contrast around the head adds that extra pop off of the background, solidifying a focal point.

around back (2006)

This was one of my first attempts at painting a landscape in acrylics after getting into illustration/design school. I am a fairly inaccurate painter as I feel it keeps things from getting to tight and regimented.This alley scene from downtown Vancouver shows some of the little tilts and happy imperfections that this approach brings.Acrylics are arguably the best medium to learn with when you are first starting out due to their forgiving nature: you can always fix a mistake with acrylics(k, 99% of the time).They are also great for layering your paint to achieve full ranges of tone and colour.Some say that they fall short to oils in terms of blending ability, which is true, but nothing that a good gel or blending medium cannot remedy.

Eyes of Africa (2006)

Another "hope this one gets me into my art program" piece. I gave this one to a buddy of mine as he supplied all of the reference for it from one of his trips to Africa.Most of the difficulty in this one came in the work up sketches: creating a strong composition which showcased all of the animals clearly but still retained a strong focal point.I regard this one as more of an illustration rather than a painting for the conceptual development alone. I find that when I paint in a more traditional sense I do it more with instinct rather than a plan and the inverse is true for illustration.I still like this one conceptually to this day but the more I look at it the more I want to repaint it.

awakening (2006)

Here's another one in which I'm exploring with styles long deceased. I think I did this one back in 06. I was mostly playing with layering acrylics and building up layers of texture at the time. This is one of the few examples of works that I have done in which I built up texture pieces that actually break off of the mainframe of the canvas. I chalk it up to an arrogant young artist who couldn't confine himself to the conventional rectalinear format of the canvas; one who had to chart his own path outside the restrictive grid and forge new territories in aesthet......(ouch)Sorry someone just punched me.

adaptation (2005)

I did this piece back in 2005/2006 -ish, it was one of the pieces that I put in my portfolio the second time around when I was applying for the program that I am currently in at Capilano University.It is one of the few pieces that I still like from my pool of work at that time.Back then I took a few painting classes that focused on layering acrylics and texture work. I was really into trees as subject matter back then as well.It adorned my wall for several years and stood as my favourite for some time (likely due to my foolish tree infatuation) before I gave it away to a friend who I knew would appreciate it.I still like it for its composition, colour and sense of movement - but mostly because I don't paint in this style anymore.

my first ever art blog post ever.com

So, I have actually been biding my time before actually beginning this hefty endeavour of having a blog of my artwork. I have been stewing over what works to put in it and what to write about - as there are a lot of crappy blogs out there I wanted to post material relevant to other artists and art enthusiasts alike. I came to the conclusion that I would start by posting some of my older works (which is hard for artists because anything older than a week tends to suck). Hopefully I have chosen pieces that aren't too embarrassing and in doing so they will show some of the steps that I have taken to get where I am in terms of style, subject and technique.