airports

airport

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Page one of four of endless airport drawing from this. Which is fun because of the amount of characters you encounter. Not fun because I am cursed with delays. Fun again as a way to strike up conversations with random travelers.

painting with acrylic

In Philly today, leaving for NY tonight, then Boston tomorrow. Did a lot of sketches at the airport, as well as some painting for fun and relaxation.

Happy clients

I like how small the dog is in comparison to his portrait. :)

Nighthawks

nighthawks

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This came out well, I think.

Grant writinnnnggggg.

Necrophiliac’s ballad

Sorry for the lack of updates, I’m trying to finish a piece tonight, but uncertain if I have the time. I have a grant application due tomorrow morning, as well as a draft of my play due Sunday, so when I haven’t been at work, I’ve been writing like a crazy person. I’ve been trying to get as much work done before this weekend, when I’m going on a trip to Philadelphia, then New York, then Boston. Crazy, Crazy. I seem to have no time.

Here’s a little tidbit of the song I wrote last night, titled the Necrophiliac’s ballad. I’m very excited about it.

Rigor mortis really gets me hot
I yearn for necrotic tissue and cellular rot
It’s why I became a doctor, don’t you see
So I could spend time with human debris…
I’m a necrophiliac.

Who said I had no taste?

Nancy SMASH

I couldn’t really resist. I’m still 100% rooting for the public option in the future, and I’m interested to see how the bill fares in reconcilation, but I love me some Pelosi right now. Hoping the Senate doesn’t fuck it all up.

cat pictures

When I have too much work on my plate, I usually get my “Me Art Time” by doodling my cat. This drawing conveys a lot of my fear that my cat secretly wants to end me.

He also enjoys being a hindrance by sitting directly in front of my screen when I’m trying to get things done.

But gosh, he’s so cute.

Portrait of a Crying Child

Print

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I needed something that was hyper realistic for my portfolio for general Wow Factor, as well as to showcase my technique. It’s all I’ve worked on all weekend, basically. I wound up pulling an all-nighter last night to work on it since I kept having really vivid zombie-infested nightmares whenever I tried to sleep, which has never happened before. Now I feel tired enough that I might be able to sleep.

It is based off this stunning, stunning photograph, which is a work of art in itself. I am going to work a little bit more on it and send it to the photographer, I think, since the image was really inspiring.

Hey, I’m going to be one of those millions of people helped by that healthcare bill. Thanks, Congress!

Crisis The Musical Game Show

The next play that I’ll be working on, I am SUPER excited about. It will be done by the Neofuturists and is, as you can see from the title, a musical game show.

The conceit is a game show based on the economic crisis. Three wacky hosts, eight contestants, and the potential for one audience member to walk out with 1/3 of the earning for the night (a few hundred dollars, hey, that’s pretty cool).

More info to be found on the Crisis blog. It’s gonna be fun :)

Jane Austen: the comic book (portrait of Hannah)

hannah3
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hannah5
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When I was approached about this portrait, the client was really uncertain what he wanted. This isn’t unusual, especially for non-commercial work. People know that they want a special piece of art for a loved one, but they’re not sure what that would result in. One of the aspects of my job as a portrait artist is to help figure out what that art should look like, which means getting to know the subject. In this case, Hannah, the girl in the portrait is really obsessed with Jane Austen and all things British. But Philip, who commissioned the portrait, also told me about her personality… that she was a strong woman from a military family, athletic, but really loved literature. This is all great information, and helped me develop this piece (which is huge: 21″ by 31″). The idea was to feature the things that Hannah likes best by creating an image that could be the cover of a novel with a romantic English setting, and a  beautiful outfit, but to convey in her pose and expression her strong personality. I also picked a vibrant shade of red for her dress, so that she would stand out against the complicated background.

I come from a background as a set designer, so when I try to draw architecture, I often go too far into detail. Here I tried to create this very elegant house (the design is based on a certain chateau in France), without getting swept up in the details. Rather than go into the specific line details of every window and arch, I went more for the feel of the place, trying to capture the dramatic shadows. I’m really pleased with the end result.

I’m in the process of redesigning my website to escape the constraints of this wordpress set-up, which has served me well, but… there might be some tinkerings going on soon.