New work and a show

I'll be having a solo show at The Levy Gallery of the Buckman Performing Arts Center and the opening is this Friday, September 14.  I made 6 new pieces for the show, and they will be displayed along with a whole mess of older work (all of them wood paintings).
Here's the new ones:

The Firebird

Arrival

Among the Cypress

Phoenix

Never Had Everything, but Always Had Something

We Were So Small

Horn Island 28

I went camping on Horn Island for the fourth time. Everything went really smoothly this year, once again the weather was merciful, and we had a great group of people.
The opening reception for the show will be on September 8, 6-9 pm, at Memphis College of Art (1930 Poplar Ave).
You can see my work form last year's trip here.

(Click for larger images)

Nesting Grounds

Housewarming

Digital doodles

These are just some experiments I've been messing around with. Some are ink drawings that were scanned and colored in Photoshop, some were done entirely in Photoshop.

These are pencil sketchbook drawings that I added a little color to digitally.

Project Sketchbook 2012

My submission for this year's Project Sketchbook. I participated back in 2010 also, see that book here.

I was using ink, cheap craft paint, and colored pencils. The paper didn't take wet media very well, so I coated the pages with matte medium first.

Click for larger images!

Illo for This Land Press

Recent illustration for This Land Press, to accompany Matt Bondurant's story Stillwater.

New Year, New-ish commissions

Happy belated New Year! I'm finally getting around to posting some commissions from the latter half of 2011.

The commissioner's (I like to say "commissioner" rather than "client" because it makes me feel like Batman) specifications for this piece were that it involve rabbits and have a fairytale-ish tone. I decided to take inspiration from the many rabbit/moon folktales.

The "S+D" couple used the color version on their wedding invitations and such.

Intended as a companion piece to another of mine  (Butcher Boy, first plaque pictured) that they already own.

I enjoy doing personal commissions. If any of you folks out there want something special, drop me a line!

2011 was a fairly busy and productive year for me, with lots of new experiences gained along the way. I'm still bummed that I fell off the Housing Project  wagon in September after making it all the way to 257. I'm wondering if I should just keep going to 365 anyhow, even though that violates the original "house a day" concept. Hmm. 

Cheers to a happy, healthy, and creative 2012! My resolution is to be less like this, and more like an artistic powerhouse. 

Good luck with your own resolutions, everyone!

A Tale of Two Cities

 I have some paintings on display this month at Clarksville's Roxy Regional Theatre. There is a gallery attached which features art shows related to the play running at the time. I was asked to create some pieces to accompany a stage adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities.
(click images to enlarge) 

"Power in Numbers"
24x24"

 

Rather than strictly illustrating scenes from the story, I decided to play around with some of the  themes and motifs. Here (below) I was thinking of the frequent use of contrast and doubles. I'm using rats as a symbol for the peasantry in part because they are often thought of as filthy vermin, but are really very intelligent and adaptable animals. A friend of mine once had a pet rat, it was adorable. Also, they fit well with a portrayal of "the masses". You may not think much of a rat, until you see that they are everywhere.

"We had everything before us"
8.5x11"

"We had nothing before us"
8.5x11"

Here I was thinking about the way Dickens portrays the Revolution, with each side capable of innocence and atrocity. There is no strict dualism, though the opposing parties may perceive it as such.

"Each the Other 1"
8.5x11"

"Each the Other 2"
8.5x11"

Here I was mostly thinking of drawing some frilly clothes.

"Best and Worst of Times"
24x24"

Don't let the door behead you on the way out.

"Chateau"
24x24"

Update of Wonders

I recently finished this project for the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. The illustrations are being used  in the children's activities room, "The Room of Wonders, which is part of the current "From Houdini to Hugo" exhibit featuring the work of Brian Selznick. The exhibit is awesome, I encourage anyone interested in illustration to go check it out.

 I was asked to create three 3'x6' illustrations centered around the theme of "Wonder"(and the hand lettered title image). They basically left the content up to me, so it was really fun to work on these. The areas where the faces would be were cut out so the kids could look through the holes and see themselves in the picture.

I only had about a week and a half to do everything, which forced me to decide on the subject matter quickly. I was kind of glad for that, otherwise I probably would have spent an absurd amount of time second guessing whether whatever I drew sufficiently embodied "wonder".

I did the line drawings with physical ink and brush, then colored them digitally.

Here is Shane, experiencing the Wonder.

Blurry photo of the title on the wall. Signs and Designs did the printing, everything turned out looking great.

  They were set up inside a box, with the viewer facing a mirror and the illustration with cut-outs opposite that. Bad photo, but hopefully you get the idea.