Next Season

I feel this is an appropriate entry for the icy weather we Philadelphians have been having.  Above was created for the 2011 Winter cover of GreenPrints gardening magazine.  I added a few more embellishements for my own amusement so it varies a bit from the original image.  It's tough to come up with a concept for gardening during a season when next to nothing grows.  When the end of winter comes around I get antsy and start fantasizing about what is going to adorn my window boxes, flower pots and herb beds.  I decided to take this base concept and run with it....and add lace of course.

R is for Redneck Bear

Thanks to all who took the time to vote for me on (no name) art group's site.  I was fortunate enough to take first place and will be receiving funds to assist in my trip to Kansas City's Spectrum Live.  Thank you again!

The above is a continuation of my alphabet series which I started many months ago.  My new year's resolution is to finish the series by the end of this year.  We'll see if I can keep true to it.  Declaring this goal publically out there in cyberspace may be the drive I need.

Anyway, this little guy is a WIP of a redneck bear.  You have Pat at GreenPrints magazine to thank for this idea!

Vote Here!

Tomorrow, December 28th, is the last day to vote for the No Name Art Group Grant.  Take a minute and hop on by.  It won't take long at all, I promise.  You'll see that the image above is a bit different than my original entry.  Comment if you like one better than the other.

Thanks!

NoName Art Group Grant Competition

 (No Name) Art Group Grant Competition

Click Here to Vote!

(No Name) Art Group Wine Labels from October's fundraiser for Philabundance.

(No Name) Art Group has been mentioned before but it is well worth mentioning again.  This is an organization that was put together by designer/artist extrodinare, Sherry Berger.  Sherry puts a lot of time and effort in helping those who are most unfortunate.  She has traveled the world to assist in building orphanages in Africa to raising awareness in her own backyard for Philabundance.  She pulls from local artists willing to give some time and skill to help her raise money for those who need it most.

Currently she is sponsoring a grant for some of those artists.  There are currently six of us up for the grant however a little more money is needed to satisfy the grant requirement.  If you have an extra minute and extra $10 stop on by and chip in.

If you don't have the $10 but have the minute stop on by anyway and place a vote.  Although I want you to click my name...please click who you really want to win.

In addition, if you do come into some money No Name Art Group is always accepting donations as well as selling beautiful artworks from local artists.  Check out this link for more information on buying and donating.

Thanks for your time and please vote.

Whoopie Pies and Illuxcon

Acrylic on Masonite

Illuxcon was a great experience.  It was my first time exhibiting at a convention and I received very positive feedback.  I sold a few original drawings which was a plus and I got to reconnect with some amazing fellow artists as well as meet a few new people.  A wonderful time to say the least.  I have some "scores" from some fellow artists but my studio is in disarray and I must post those finds at a later time.

The above piece has nothing to do with Illuxcon but I thought I'd post it anyway.  I have some new pieces to share but I want to take another few hours to tweak them so they're perfect.  Unfortunately, those few hours are really hard to come by.  Instead I am showing you a demo I did for one of my many classes.  This is a 15 minute study in acrylics.  You'll see by the upper left hand corner that there is a little crackling.  My study gladly became the guinea pig for a student's crackle medium experiment.

Illuxcon 2011

My Illuxcon Showcase Sign

This weekend the Willshire's will be hosting Illuxcon4 in Altoona PA.  The event has workshops, demos, traditional art, digital art and so much more.  I'm excited to be part of the showcase this year.  It will be my first time taking part in a convention.  I will be underprepared and overwhelmed but that's what it's about.  Learning as you go!

Grandma's Story

I know.  I haven't been updating my blog.  A lot has been going on and once I have time I'll fill you in.  But for now here are some interiors I just finished up for GreenPrints mag.  All in Corel Painter with the exception of the last drawing which is a plain old graphite comp.

Spider!

I was always terrified of spiders.

When I was a kid my uncle owned a tarantula. My dad and his siblings thought it would be funny to pass around the molted skin of that tarantula in order to scare the daylights out of all the kids. So one day I walk to the sink to get some water and I see this thing sitting by the drain. That didn't help me get over my fear.

Parents can be so cruel.

That story has nothing to do with this painting. I just wanted to share some of my trials and tribulations of childhood with you. This is a cropped version of a wine label I created for No Name Art Group's charity drive for Philabundance. I used reference of a grape for the body and branches for the legs. Can you see it?

S is for Spider

It's been a long time since I have done a drawing for my alphabet series. This is based off of the idea of organic gardening. We visited Ravenswood winery a few years ago and they told us that instead of using pesticides they introduce bugs, birds and other animals to assist in protecting the harvest. Spiders are just one of the beneficial residents of a vineyard.

If I take this to color I plan on rendering the body as a dusty looking black grape.

Watercolor Pencils

Watercolor Pencil

We were visiting Dom's parents farm in the mountains of New Jersey and I saw these cool funky flowers. It gave me an excuse to try out a watercolor pencil that was given to me. They are pretty awesome. I'm looking forward to working on them some more.

Goddess Aurora

The Goddess Aurora

This is a project I just finished up for "Blue Moon Aurora". The instructions were to make the goddess Aurora pointing toward an overgrown cave/tree structure with her rainbow scimitar. The knight is holding a torch and entering the cave with trepidation but gaining strength from the goddess. There were some requirements with her coloring and attire as well.

I imagined this scene very vibrant and colorful. With her red hair, blue twilight and rainbow scimitar it chanced being too vibrant. I was afraid with all the color the viewer's eyes would be bouncing around and not landing on anything in particular. I researched a piece by Arthur Rackham that was soft in color while depicting a rainbow. I used that painting as a palette based inspiration to direct the viewer's eyes to the knight while trying to keep true to the goddess's illuminating presence.

I believe the book will be out as a pdf and then hard copy at some point soon so keep your eyes peeled.

Jamie of the Jungle and Big Cat Rescue

Jamie of the Jungle

This was a private commission I finished in July. I was contacted by the owner of Big Cat Rescue to illustrate a fantasy portrait of her daughter. It was a dream job involving a beautiful young woman, wild cats and a whole lot of creative freedom. The client gave me a lot of information and photos to use as inspiration and reference. The main goal was to create a fantasy portrait of Jamie accompanied by icons of her life. She is surrounded by wild cats that she has rescued, nursed and raised, orchids which she grows in her backyard and a swan staff which is her totem animal.

If you like wild cats, rescue stories and wine visit their site.....they now have bottles of wine for sale!

Lily Study

I had a crazy summer and am only now getting back onto my blog. My schedule is still filled but I at least have a few weeks of catch up before the fall starts. This is a study of lilies for a GreenPrints piece I did.

Phillustration! 2011

From left to right: Dave Palumbo, Christina Hess, Eric Braddock

Phillustration was a great time this year and it was a pleasure to talk to some fantastic illustrators! It was a mixture of seasoned professionals to fresh graduates entering the field and I had the great opportunity to speak with a lot of folks. If you haven't gotten a chance to walk this gallery make sure to stop by before July 17. You can see originals by Charles Santore, Joe Devito, Julie Bell, Boris Vallejo, Matt Stewart, Dominick Saponaro, Dave Palumbo who was this year's juror and so many more.

In addition to the fun, my Cat Queen was awarded first place in the self promo category!

Phillustration is located in center city Philadelphia at the Sketch Club on Camac Street between Locust and Spruce. Thanks to Rich Harrington for making it all happen.

Teaser - Details

Serval Detail

Swan Staff Detail

Orchid Detail

These are some details of a painting I am working on. It's almost complete. After it is sent off to the client I'll post the full image for your review. I'll talk a bit about my process as well.