Herculoids anyone?

A little trip down memory lane if you are over 40....it's one of those nights!!This was my FAVORITE animated show from the 1960's. Truly unique...The Herculoids told the story of this alien family on another planet, that had all these really incredible, alien-beast helpers. I did this for a "parody" of an imagined "fantasy" movie poster in 2005 for a magazine. Bruce Campbell was suggested to play Zandor so I was asked to make him like him-the chin does it. Ironically, I wound up working on the same film as Bruce, in 2006, THE ANT BULLY where he played the voice of Fugax. And like THE ANT BULLY, The Herculoids had a character named Zoc! So almost 40 years later, I had to do this in acrylics and color pencil, quite large.... and I really liked how it worked out. I used an "animation painted" style that really worked out, for this and, I *really* liked painting Zoc, the huge dragon. Igoo, Gloop,Gleep and Tundro were also cool! The monsters were designed by comics legend Alex Toth. They just don't make 'em like that anymore!! That's a series I wish would come onto DVD with all the Hanna Barbera stuff coming out. I once displayed this at a Sci Fi Con and no one knew who it was!! Sad... Anyway, enjoy! If anyone wants to buy this, contact me for price.

The Shape of Things to Come!

It's been amazingly busy and a bit tiring. So nothing new yet. However I'm doing some outdoor painting later, so I'll have that up...

In the meantime...I have some shows and fun stuff coming up. After the RoqLaRue Gallery Sci Fi show, which was an AMAZING success, I am pursuing even more venues for my work. In my wish to help support the community in an artsy way, if you're in Cranston,Rhode Island in June, I'll have 15 paintings of landscapes(many from the blog) on display and on sale at Little Falls Cafe-a cool little coffee shop to hang out at, run by some really fun people-in historic Pawtuxet Village( http://providence.citysearch.com/profile/35734084/?brand=smx_yp-nc ). In July I'll have some work in the "Oil On Water" show at Springbull Gallery in Newport, RI.

In August, I'll be headed to Japan for the World Science Fiction Convention in Yokohama, but first with visits to Mt Fuji and, Tokyo. And studio visits with Japanese artists such as Yoshitaka Amano, a legend. I'll also be displaying some work in the Worldcon's artshow...and having some fun at the convention! In Sept, I'll have some work in the Toy Karma art show ( http://toykarma.blogspot.com/ ), at Rotofugi (www.rotofugi.com ) curated by my friend Mark Nagata as a group show of artists, toy makers and collectors who are inspired by Japanese pop culture, kaiju, etc.

So it's going to be a busy time coming up! Stay tuned for all the cool stuff to come....

Heating things up!!!

I did this, a second dragon for the gallery in France. I call it "Firestorm Dragon". You'll recall some months ago, I did a sketch and decided to go ahead with a full oil painting. I liked alot how the castle was just disappearing into the flames. Lots of fun to paint! Enjoy!!

A Note 6/2/07-I redid a few things had a decent transparency shot of the art, and here it's presented a little better. The size is 24 inches long by 16 and 3/4 wide. You can see it's alot brighter than before!

Reflecting again....

Upon Reflection(8x10 oils $100) This was done by a pond down in Connecticut. Again, an attempt at getting that reflective yet transparent quality of water and, where one ends and the other begins. There were also fish and geese in this pond. The geese were rather shy, an entire family to be honest. I gave us a few ripples to see that it's some kind of movement in the water. Otherwise it was quite still.

Ah....Summer!

The Reflective Cove(8x10, oils, $130-includes frame) This rather nice cove on Beavertail, Jamestown RI, is one of my favorite places. You can look down through relatively clear water and see the bottom recede away. I really like painting that shimmery surface of a distorted reflection, while at the same time trying to paint the translucent water as it gets deeper. It's harder than it looks. I've actually gone swimming here(though you are not supposed to, at the time I didn't know that) The rocks are full of these strange "caves" that don't go in very far but look forboding just the same.

Techniques here-LOTS of texture, as is evident. Palette knife to create the rocks and I scraped off some paint and left the underpainting showing. The water was a series of dibs and dabs of paint...just hoping with each one it would look better. I think it worked. The trick is not to mess around TOO much. When it looks good, time to leave it...don't fuss.

It really feels like summer now and thus, thoughts of water are near. I plan on painting alot of things like this scene coming up over the summer months. I am a summer person!

Castle in The Sun Redux!

Castle in The Sun with Rainbow(8x10,oils, $SOLD!) I don't usually go back and rework something, but this one kind of begged for it when I saw some cool rainbow pictures recently. I think it looks lots nicer now, and I love painting rainbows...

More West Coast....

Fog off of Monterrey(8x10, oils, $100)Another piece with some of that beautiful Pacific blue water. This time, a fog is rolling in as they often do there, kind of like a wave of clouds on top of the ocean waves...fun little piece with alot of foam present.

More Sea...but Go West!!!

Carmel-West Coast(8x10, oils $SOLD)
Okay so I've been in a "sea" mode. This is all going somewhere, trust me. The Pacific has an entirely different coloration than the Atlantic. The Pacific has this "Pacific Blue"(color of my car!) that's beautiful and turquoise and deep. Almost surreal.The Atlantic has an almost Navy blue, green/brown shade to it. Anyway, this is based on some pics we took in Monterrey a few years ago. I like alot how the rocks all came out, that was a little miracle of accidents when you work with oils. Again, quick little piece that just kind of painted itself in many ways.

Back to paintings.....

Jamestown Cliffs-East Coast(8x10,oils,SOLD!)
Well, finally, I get back to some smaller paintings, some nice seascapes. This is a place not far from where I live. The ocean is amazing, and just meets the cliffs with a real drama. So I painted it. I did it in about an hour, or so. Lots of brushwork, using large brushes, and a palette knife to get the foam "natural" looking. Expect a few days of some oceanscapes coming up. What a better way to cool down from the last few "fiery" paintings I have done. Enjoy!

Invasion of The Poddycasters!!

So I wanted to give you all a heads up to this very COOL Podcast(All I can ever think of when I hear "Podcast" is something to do with a large seed pod-there's an image there) done by pals Stuart Jaffe and his wife Gloria. She's a scientist and he's a science fiction writer, so they do their show which is a fun mix of science, writing,deep thinking, social commentary and art... on this new show they go into a talk about Wal-Mart, a review of the very cool film CHILDREN OF MEN and...a chat about this very blog you are reading!! So have a listen, they're good people!

http://www.eclectic.libsyn.com/

Here's the finished Flinx...

Here's the finished cover, as seen in the sketch from before. I really liked the glazing effect on this, inparticular, how the sky came out. The sunset was painted from memory. I wanted the whole thing to have an organic feel to it, that would offset the Krang structure. Some liberties were taken, of course, because this is a book cover, and type considerations were a must. But here you have it, so enjoy as much as I enjoyed painting it.

B FOR BOHEMIA...1974

I had no intentions of putting film reviews on here. I'd been thinking about France alot. First, I did some dragons for a French gallery, and then my friend Leslee returned from a week in Paris with some amazing pictures. (I'm deep into a work project, so no paintings yet, but I figured you'd like to read something fun that I liked.) The film F FOR FAKE(1974) was an exception simply because it's a film *about* art, or, what we are led to believe is "art" sometimes, directed and hosted by Orson Welles. I caught this film on Turner Classic Movies(the only reason to watch TV these days) and promptly bought the DVD. Welles did F FOR FAKE and had to literally go to foreign backers to get it done. And this is the guy who directed CITIZEN KANE. It's basically a mockumentary within a documentary and it's utterly engrossing. Orson Welles, other than being a great film director, fooled the country in 1938 with his Mercury Theater reading of WAR OF THE WORLDS which some people took waaay too seriously and believed an invasion was under way by Martians. In this film, Welles explores the lines between reality and illusion and, art and lies. Welles is a charlatan and admits this from the get-go so keep that in mind. The art forger Elmyr de Hory is explored as his his equally elusive biographer, Clifford Irving(who did a fake biography of the even more elusive Howard Hughes). Elmyr creates fakes and forgeries before our eyes, and it's pondered how many experts he's fooled to the point that many of his works could cost the careers of museum curators if it was ever revealed what they acquired was not real, but a forgery. As Elmyr says "If the painting is in a collection for so long, it becomes real". And does that make us enjoy it any less, if we don't know? Filmed in France, and Ibiza mostly, the movie positively drips this atmosphere of 1970's bohemia-Welles at tables with unknown yet interesting people, drinking wine and having fine food and intense conversation about art, while we're treated to sequences of Ibiza's color and life, circa 1974. You feel like you are there. The best part of the film is that it sucks the audience right into it- remember that bit about Welles being a "charlatan"-for one hour he promises to tell us the truth, but the film is over an hour long. Keep that in mind. It kind of thumbs it's nose at the "art establishment" and the pretentiousness of those who think they know- and see- all as "real" on sight. As Picasso said, and is quoted in the film "Art itself a lie. But a lie that makes us realize the truth" And let's face it, Orson Welles could have read the phone book and it would have sounded cool. As Welles re-counts his 1938 War of The Worlds broadcast we're treated to some footage from EARTH VS THE FLYING SAUCERS(1956). F FOR FAKE is a must-have documentary. It's going to be on TCM/Turner Classic Movies May 15th at 3:30 Am EST or, June 5th at 6:30pm EST, I highly recommend it, so record it, or get the DVD. If you like art in any way, and like freeform documentaries...check it out.

Been Busy....

In the middle of something else, due next week. The French gallery LOVED the dragon painting, so that's a conquest won. I really need to get back to some smaller works paintings. I'll see what I can do, in the next few days, I promise. Maybe even some progress shots of what is on the easel at the moment.

The Final Dragon vs Kraken Dragon...

Here's the final Dragon piece from earlier that was in progress. Pretty cool. The image is 15x30 inches and, I really like the way it occupies the size of the canvas. I have also figured out I like painting on stretched canvases. Enjoy!

Starting a new cover...

As I said...busy is the operative word these days! And rather than be just totally M.I.A....I figured you'd enjoy seeing something in progress. So, here's a sketch for a cover I am working on that will feature Alan Dean Foster's popular "Pip and Flinx" series. Pip is of course, the winged dragon on Flinx's shoulder. ( May is a month for dragons, let me tell you.) Anyway, despite not being asked to, I wanted to do a wrap cover, because I wanted a big expansive planetscape. In this case, an alien world with a dead city on it. At it's center is a angular object called The Krang. To set off this object, I wanted to show it very hard edged, vs the curvy, organic shapes of the outer city. The sun rising symbolizes Flinx' coming of age. And I love painting suns-on-horizons with clouds and such setting them off. This promises to be fun. In the meantime, I hope to get some smaller works up, as I miss painting them, but again, business calls so I'll take it! I can almost say with certainty, a new dragon will appear on this blog by week's end as well....

So I've been working on something...

In case you are wondering where I went to, well...I got a little busy. Actually ALOT busy! Here's some photos of me, in the studio working on a painting for a French publisher. The subject is Dragons. In this case they wanted a "Dragon vs a Dragon Kraken". It seemed like alot of fun...so I took it on.

I am working in oils. I tend to use a rubber glove for oil work for two reasons. In case I lean my hand on the painting, it keeps my skin oils off. Conversely, it keeps oil paint off of ME and hence, a quicker clean up, esp for washing brushes. Also, in the picture at top, I am using an old pool stick for what is called a Mahlstick. This is placed at an angle at the top of the piece using the edge for balance, and it makes it so I can get into tight areas of detail without leaning on the painting or getting in my own way.

The below picture is largely the finished result. You can see the sketch I did from Friday, April 1st, in the archives. I also made the painting tall and long, tho only the middle section will be used in the book. But I wanted to fill a canvas like this odd size.

New Art for May

A word from the sponsor...some paintings and prices are up at: http://bobsartforsale.blogspot.com/2007/05/may-2007-sales-list.html

Some scaly stuff to enjoy, or take home. My fun one was painting The Creature....so have a look.

Been insanely busy with some paintings this week, so mostly updates will follow in the next days...