Colors of Spring!!!

Magnolia(6x8 inches, oils)So you never know what I'm going to do next. I like being unpredictable and since it's Spring, I wanted to paint some natural colors. I could not resist flowers!!! We saw this amazing magnolia tree in Newport last week. Magnolias are only out for a very short time. Miss them and you have to wait another year. Magnolias were also flowers around in the time of the dinosaurs(See? There is always a method to my madness). I made this one deliberately like the color palette(the background specifically) of Martin Johnson Heade, an American artist who painted some amazing sea coast scenes, of New England, as well as South American flowers in almost surrealistic enviroments, in the 1900's http://www.artchive.com/artchive/H/heade.html.

I also took a flower that had fallen on the ground for up close studio study.

I am also taking things back abit. The previous rocket scenes, while fun(and more to come) took alot of out me, and took me off the course of what I wanted to do with this blog, which was to paint simple objects and scenes. So you might be seeing some more flowers, spring landscapes and such, soon!

This little painting will be part of the "Spring Art" show at The Art Corner(see my links) in Salem. If you want to buy it, please inquire with them, as of this coming Friday when the show is opened.

Al Feldstein x Me

Feldstein's Rocket(8x10, oils) Done as Commission
A collector asked me to do a painting that would be based, more or less on a sketch by legendary EC Comics artist Al Feldstein. Feldstein did a line art sketch and I was asked to take that, and do my take on it. Usually I resist such commissions, but given this was Al Feldstein I saw it as a way of "working with"a legend, like a collaboration. Anyway, this is the result. You can see the original sketch here- http://cafurl.com?i=3903

Earth Bleeds...

Here's how I go from a sketch-which you may have already seen-to a finished cover. The book was EARTHBLOOD by Keith Laumer. A very very cool classic SF book that could easily have been a movie. There was so much visual info! I wanted somehow to depict the earth "bleeding" as at one point it's attacked by aliens. So I made the ships, symbolically look like big ominous knives, one piercing the comfortable circular image of the earth. And a nebula in space looking like blood. I like giving space character. I did this in acrylics on board. Below is my original sketch that came to me in a coffee shop while doodling around. It's going to be a Baen trade paperback out later this year. A book really worth picking up. They just don't write 'em like this much anymore. This piece is 18x24 inches and the price(and this would really be in my "art for sale" blog) is $1300.
A note here. I've gotten AMAZINGLY busy, which is a good thing, but as such, the "painting of the day" will get really sporadic-once or twice a week if I can. Otherwise I'll be blogging and talking about art, life, etc. Feel free to comment. I'll be up and back to smaller works as we get into later May.

The Problem with Martians...

The Angrier Red Planet(8x10,oils SOLD) One of my fun rocket paintings, this time with a Martian who likes shiny objects and, two unwary travellers. I always liked the film THE ANGRY RED PLANET(1960) so this is a step further. I wound up spending a alot of time of this piece especially getting the rock forms right(which are really textured). It's also framed in a black frame.

"Auntie Em! Uncle Henry! It's a Twister!"

The Tornado(oils, 6x8", SOLD!)As dangerous as a tornado can be, I'm completely fascinated by them. Just amazing displays of nature gone mad. They're fun to paint too. A long time ago, in 1985 I experienced a tornado myself. I had no idea what was happening but the sky was this weird green, and dark, and I saw things being lifted upward, the funnel passed overhead but it was on it's last seconds. Later I found it had taken the roof off a Burger King and done some other damage. This was a quick little painting, done with thin oil and it just seemed to come together fast. Very enjoyable to do.

Storm Surge...

The Surge(8x10, oils, SOLD!) The bad Nor'easter inspired more "weather" and sea art. I love how this came out. I find some of my best seascapes are imagined ones. Homer tended to work this way, as did Aivazovsky. Aivazovsky was just awe-inspiring.A friend sent me this link and you can see more of his work : http://www.abcgallery.com/A/aivazovsky/aivazovsky.html . I kind of like dark, moody, threatening oceans. They lend a sense of mystery and lore to them. This painting came together in about an hour or less. It almost painted itself....lots of medium, lots of palette knife for the rocks. I am using this as a guide to do something bigger someday. Next up? Still more rough weather, this time...LOOK UP and run!!!

Rockets again...

Rocket Too(5x7,oils, SOLD)
Here's a small rocket painting! I do enjoy these alot. Obviously lots of people do because I can't seem to keep them around! This one is 5x7, and comes in a *frame* as well, ready to launch...I mean, hang....

Frank Frazetta and Two Guys...

Looking through some old pix, of models for a job I'm doing I ran into this photo of the time the Late Ron Walotsky and I met Frank Frazetta. I think of Ron alot and miss him terribly, as he died very suddenly in 2002. However, during a happier time, in 1996, or thereabouts, he and I got to meet Frank Frazetta-the Man. What a total surprise and humbling moment. Either of us did not know what to say except we called him "Sir"(we were told then with a smile "Ahhh.Just Frank"). He'd been recovering from some health issues at that time but he was just great to meet!! He's someone who really defined a generation of SF and Fantasy art to many of us. Both Ron and I were just almost shaking and giddy at the moment(the next time I felt anything like it was going to Toho Studios). Ron was just laughing afterward in his trademarked way. It was like a full circle for both of us. Anyway, here's a photo of that moment and Ron so aptly named it "Frank Frazetta & Two Guys". Enjoy.

The Ocean of Wrath...

The Nor'easter(8x10, oils SOLD!)
We have had some of the WORST weather in awhile. Literally, the coast of the state was hit with massive, rolling seas. The greatest painter of the sea who ever lived was Ivan Aivazovsky, a Russian artist of the 1800's who did magnificent paintings of the ocean in it's wild. I have to say he'd be my first pick, with Winslow Homer a second, and some of Thomas Moran's paintings of the ocean, in third. The idea is to make the ocean like some kind of personality, rather than a "photo" of what it really looks like. Romanticization is what makes paintings work so well, the ones I enjoy.

The above painting was done rather quickly, and from feeling of listening to the howling wind(it was, really!) and rain on the windows. I worked it in brushes, and palette knife. I also did the lightning, the same way that the "Mad" John Martin painted in some of his Biblical and Apocalyptic visions he did so long ago that are jaw dropping to this day. The tiny ship on the right gives us some connection here.

Camelot...late afternoon, about tea time..

Castle in The Sun(8x10,oils $SOLD)
This had a tad more time spent on it than some of the previous, so hence the bit higher price. This was fun to do the clouds. I started off with the cloudscape which was finished in about 10 minutes, then I went about the landscape. Fun little painting. I also just found out, researching this stuff, that the "mounts" castles appear to be on are called "pogs". You find out something new every day in this business.

The weather was so nasty that clouds and storms have been on my mind lately. I watched the 1956 version of MOBY DICK and it got me in the mood to do some rough seas paintings, storms etc. So that's all to come!

I'm still here!

It's been a bit of a busy time, and stormy. A major storm is moving up the east coast as I write this, fortunately no snow is involved...however it's still nasty and alot cooler and winterier than it should really be by this time. I completed a new painting to be posted, with all luck, tommorrow.
And next it's going to get very busy! The Roq La Rue show was very successful-sold 7 of the 8 pieces I gave them for the show. I'm tired as all get out, so it's slowed me up abit. Moving into some assigned work in the next two weeks, good stuff but as such, posts will be sporadic in nature. So, I'm still here, just busy so hang tight...

This One is for Kurt...

Far Out(8x10,oils SOLD) I learned this morning that a great voice in literature, a free-thinker and overall funny guy, Kurt Vonnegut had passed away. Very sad. We need more voices like his in times like we have. But I read an article where even this was too much for him of late. He wrote a few "SFnal" books, though he denied being an SF writer. But it was his thinking that made the difference to many. Kurt, I never knew you but somehow I felt like I did. You will be missed, but rest well, you deserve it. Onto the art...

Once again, this one was sold via Roq La Rue Gallery. A fun piece but getting the rocket's sheen right was tough and it took several sessions because the paint needed to "tack up" that being-making it able to work with and work on. Usually I paint totally alla prima, or, in one sitting. Can't do that here. The landscape was a bit of palette knife work where I had to let the paint set up for a few hours and then kind of burnished it down-it's still very textural. I love these rockets, but my next thoughts are to include some weird aliens in these wild landscapes. That's coming.

Outta This World...again!

Shootin' The Rings(8x10, oils SOLD)
I did this also for Roq La Rue Gallery in Seattle. It was sold by them,on the spot, before it even got out there! These rockets take a bit of time for me to make. The biggest problem is the creation of the straight lines-I usually have to get alot of reference, or a model to get the lighting on the rocket correct. It is not as easy as it looks. Then there is the touching up, making the stars and background. In this case the rings were a tough thing to make work in the perspective that I used. And in oils! All in all, a good chunk of the day-as opposed to my looser, sketchy work. But the results are often really nice, and people seem to like them, which for me, is pretty gratifying.
I kind of like the "old space toy" box style of art they reflect.

A Quick Wave...

The Double Wave(8x10, oils, SOLD!)
A quick painting of some high surf in Jamestown, RI. I did this in about maybe 20-30 minutes, working fast with a palette knife. The color of the Atlantic and Pacific are entirely different colors of blue. The Atlantic is more viridian green and a "deep" almost scary color. I always have to remember this when painting. Paintings like this almost take no planning...they just kind of happen-a quick snapshot of nature. Others however take a great deal of planning.

Sunlight in the forest...

The Darkling Forest(8x10, oils, SOLD)This is from some photos I took up around Seattle in the rainforests that are so abundant and wonderful. I loved the sudden lighting that was hitting the base of the tree, yet keeping the top in the shadow. Very "prehistoric" forests one would expect dinosaurs to be roaming around in. I did this in about an hour, with palette knife and alot of paint that was put on very thick. The moss that grew on the lower branches of the trees was especially nice to see. I even took some samples of it to bring back so I could see it and feel it. I think I have a real good technique going here, it's very pleasing to step back from it and see that as well as somewhat photographic, it's abstract too. Finding these reference photos, I realized how many photos I have on file from the years of travel.

The High Path...

The Path to The Tower(8x10,oils, $SOLD)
Japanese animation god Hayao Miyazaki was the inspiration here and Thomas Cole's brushwork. I was playing with sunset colors and clouds, which I can paint more or less by memory. This is what is important about taking the time to view a sunset-memorize the colors and how the shadows are. It's also relaxing and makes you feel very "in the moment, one with the universe" kind of thing as overly philosophical as it sounds. Cole handled plants and clouds with this almost patterned way of repeating brushstrokes. Thomas Cole can teach alot; Fredric Church would attest. I'm also a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki and his amazing films such as SPIRITED AWAY and LAPUTA-CASTLE IN THE SKY. I tend to lose myself in them and, come away with a ton of ideas of my own.

A Note from Our Sponsor...

Before I forget, check out http://bobsartforsale.blogspot.com/ for April's selection of some paintings for sale. One has already gone, but I try to put some works up that need homes. So take a look and email me if you have any questions...

Dragons of France!

Project Day Show and Tell!!!

I've been working with a French publisher contributing dragons to a massive, be-all-end-all-Last-Word-In-Dragons type of book. Anyway, my friend there suggested a painting idea of a dragon battling some kind of "Dragon Kraken". I found the idea too much fun to walk past, so I did this sketch of it since, of course, I love dragons! Who doesn't? I have not done many commissioned dragons for awhile and now it seems like I am just exploding with them. I like drawing out a good pretty finished drawing rough, before beginning a painting like this. Solves alot of problems!

I also completed an article for IMAGINE FX, a British publication, on how to build the perfect dragon-kind of suggestions and a step-by-step.

Anyway, more small blog paintings quite soon. Recovery from the last week or so has been harder than expected. Got all the pictures off to Roq La Rue so that's all set. Ah...the weekend....maybe?

Dinosaurs in New York City!!!

And I don't mean the fact we're all over 45...

I needed a few days off break, after producing those images in one hit for Roq La Rue, and taking a trip with friends is the best way to do this.

An adventure in New York City, at the American Museum of Natural History. Pictured is me with friends Lewis Morley and Maralyn Pride, of Australia. Lewis has worked on something like 16 movies, as a model maker, prop and make-up designer-his credits include Star Wars ep 2 and 3, The Matrix series, Dark City, Superman Returns, Crocodile Dundee 2, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Razorback and many more. Maralyn is his partner and they have often worked on the same films together, and she's a renowned Dinosaur artist in Australia. The AMNH is really incredible to visit and you can't do all of it in just a few hours which is what we wound up having. This was compounded by the fact that it was SWARMING with kids/families as the schools are off. But the collection of prehistoric skeletons and, original Charles Knight paintings is worth all that!

Artists-I often have sketched skeletons and items in museums. It's the best way to learn about something as you never know when you'll need that memory for reference.

The EYE has it!!!

Attack of The Eye Creature(8x10,oils SOLD*) I was going to title this "Outta This World #4 only because it was painted in that series for Roq La Rue Gallery's new show coming up. Again, if interested, contact Roq La Rue (http://www.roqlarue.com/) and their most excellent staff, for price and whatnot, as the show opens April 13th. As anyone knows who knows me, I love old B Sci Fi and monster pix. The title is partly taken from this really awful Larry Buchanan 1966 film THE EYE CREATURES- a "TV remake" of the old American International Pictures film INVASION OF THE SAUCERMEN from the 1950's. And more than a tip of the hat to the old 1969 film THE GREEN SLIME. I really love how the "eye" came out and the overall style of working here. It's very textural, and alot of paint was used on the rocks and the body of the creature, applied with brushes and finally, a palette knife.

I told you-this blog is going any and everywhere. Next up are some more "earthly" paintings, and I just got some new fossils when I was down in NYC the past day or so, so you'll see some pix of that too!!!!

Roq-uets-la-Rue!!!

Outta This World#3(8x10, oils SOLD!)
Outta This World #2(8x10,oils, SOLD!)
*Roq La Rue Gallery(www.roqlarue.com) in Seattle, WA is doing a fantastic show from mid-April on called "Amazing Visions". The show is a group show of sci-fi and fantasy art, many by big names of the genre. To add to two of my larger pieces, I did these smaller ones-there will be four in all, all 8x10 and framed. They'll be on display at the gallery when the show opens so please contact them for price and availability!

They'll be one more up here soon so you can see the four. The idea was to do some kind of light-hearted, pulpy style paintings, in oils, that kind of cross the sci-fi bridge with popular culture and old rocket toys. I mean, isn't that what it's all about?? This is what I got into it because of, so the feel of these being retro is very deliberate. Just a joy to paint! I collect toys and they primarily consist of cool space ships and giant monsters.

A note here, I'm taking a few days off for some Australian friends who are passing through, so this week will be sporadic in posts, but you're getting a two-fer here today, so have fun and enjoy!