Pipe Dreams - A Work in Progress

Hello all! So I thought I would post up the piece I am currently working on. I am currently in between commissions and conventions and so am doing a few personal pieces. Those of you going to Illuxcon next week will get to see them in person.

This piece is called Pipe Dreams and is about %20 finished. It is 24x36 and heralds my return to canvas for personal work. I am finding it very therapeutic to change surfaces depending on the subject matter. My illustrative work remains crisp and professional on Masonite or Illustration Board and my Canvas work retains the inherent texture and emotion of the fabric. It should be fun.

I don't know that I have a whole lot to say right now other than I will soon start posting the costuming I have been doing. My good friends at Aradani Studios have been nurturing and nudging me into this genre and it is fascinating. I have already learned soooo much and had such a great time. Plus, there is nothing like directing traffic while Breakdancing to Thriller in a full demonic minotaur costume.

As far as my life goes, I have made peace with the things I can't control and as such have opened myself to new ideas and new experiences. I will be doing more traveling, more painting, more cooking, more exercising; heck just more of everything. I have amazing people in my life, and through them I have found a whole world within myself to explore. I am the most blessed and fortunate person I know, and I look forward to sharing all of the joy, knowledge and abilities I develop along the way. I hope that you guys out there will be a part of it.

Sooooo, as Dr Scott the Palentologist on Dinosaur Train reminds us daily, "Get outside in Nature and make your own discoveries".

Oh, and before I forget I have a new favorite phrase. When someone repeatedly stuns you with commonality and synchronicity; almost paralyzing you with their presence : "Shut the Front Door". Slow, fast and with numerous inflection possibilities, this is the verbal handyman's go to response.

Beauty and the Beast or How I get through the day

Lesson for the Day:

Keep Painting

I feel like I post this every month or so, but it is never any less applicable. For those that know me, I wear my emotions on my sleeve, and often let my mouth outpace, if not lap, my thoughts. Both can be a boon and a curse. I feel that these things also manifest themselves in my art career. I produce something neat, or get a positive critique and generate this foolish notion that everything has to be at that level instantly. Then I look for praise where there will likely be none and feel diminished when attention is not forthcoming. Stupid hobbit...

But wait, what does this have to do with painting.

No matter your skill level or position in the art community, you have to keep working. Stopping for a day turns into two which rolls into five and pretty soon you haven't produced something new in a month or more. Now I am not talking about a brief siesta or vacations. We all know when we wuss out or get in the dumps. When you find yourself there like I do ...um...weekly, then draw or do studies. Instead of taking a day off, take an easy day. Do something comfortable to replenish your confidence and get back to rolling that boulder uphill.

I get so bogged down with where I want to go, that I lose sight of where I was. I look back to the work Sam (Flegal) and I were doing a year ago, and the work we have done in the interim and feel like an idiot. As long as you put one dogged foot in front of the other, you can baby step your way to whatever comes next. That said, I have tossed up my current WIP that has been a testament to this process. I got so frustrated early on that I did a Foster Robot study, and then 3 other studies before laying the first Robot rendering. I am very pleased with where this is at, and am excited to dive into the figure. I'll be playing Dan Dos Santos's DVD on loop while working and looking at the figure study he gave me to punch through and level up my figure painting. I guess you guys will be the judges.

Anyways, if you can't keep your chin up, then put your head down and bull forward.