College and Superheroes

I found this comic I wrote and drew for my final design project, eons ago. The narrative is basically the old "comic" going head to head with the new "graphic novel." Obviously the graphic novel thinks it so much better than the comic — it thinks it's so much more sleek, more cutting edge etc. The comic, of course, has a very long history, and the graphic novel is of course derived from the comic. The info is presented as superheroes that battle each other, and the "mediator" is a regular guy that has to spell out the problems and resolutions to the superheroes.

Nude girl on carpet

Bombarded with work so I wasn't able to get any updates in. I'm working on this piece, and trying to get it done within a civilized time frame. I photographed this particular piece through each stage, as I was working on it. I don't usually do that. 
This stage is the second to last stage. This stage is where I painted out a portion of the painting with white house paint. It's a kind of deconstructing, I guess. I'll be putting graphics on top of that. 

As I was working on this series, I started to feel really comfortable with my new style. I used to use projectors to do my drawing, a kind of amateurish approach. Now I just draw straight onto the canvas with a 2B pencil, and go through 2 to 3 layers of oils, instead of my normal 4 or 5. I haven't been glazing either. Styles evolve, so I guess every series will have inconsistencies.

Luis Caballero

I first saw the work of this artist in Bogota a few years ago. They were huge canvases, oils overlaying charcoal. Washes in oil. Amazing stuff. He's Colombian, but studied in Paris. 

New Series

Ok, so here's one of the paintings in the new series I'm working on. It's an oil on canvas, 80" x 48". It's fun to revisit my passion for comics, that I've had ever since I was a kid. The comic work for this is from The Treasure of Tranicos, an original story by Robert E. Howard. Pencilled by John Buscema, inked by Klaus Janson. 

I sold this piece, and when I started, it was really just an experimental painting. I loved the way the mediums looked so I did a series. I'll have 6 paintings when I'm done.

Michelangelo

You really don't have an idea of the enormous power of this guy until you see his sculptures face to face. He has that great quality of creating figures based on a keen insight of human anatomy. It's not just a learned process. It's something great figurative artists have. It's a total immersion into the way the body works, the way each joint involves the total articulation of tendons, bones, muscles and skin. And as if that wasn't enough, the fact that he was working in marble, using hand crafted tools. Just pure vision and hard work, and indelible talent. The prodigious amount of work he put out doesn't seem possible.

Nudies

Couple more sketches for possible new paintings. I watched a doc on Michelangelo last night. Obviously he will be my next post.

Nude modeling runs in the family

My wife's really been a great model. Well, what do I look for in a model?? First, she's gotta have patience. It's not just a camera shot. I get in there with a sketch pad and make my own notes. Subtle colors, reflected light, soft shadows don't transfer that well through the lens. Then there's the details, like the light reflected in the eyes, or the mirror images, etc. Anatomy's a strange thing. You really need to know it; how the bones and muscles articulate and how each causes stress on the other. I love it. So these pics are some random model shots of my wife, and the painting is titled "Ethereal." Oil on canvas.