Resolutions

It's that time when many make resolutions for themselves with the expectations that they'll follow them through. I hadn't really thought about it to much but after thinking, why not make a few this year and see how I go. At least one of these resolutions is to actually paint more even if they're a just studies. Time being a hard thing to find while working full time and studying part time(mainly at night and Saturdays) I can only try. I've been looking at watercolours more of late and would like to have a better understanding in using them besides my oils. Although watercolours are harder to master than oils I think it would be more profitable for me at this time to play around with them due to the ease of setup and cleaning…not to mention drying time too. I have three mock cover arts to do for my assignments so I'll more than likely do those in watercolours for a practice run. Anyway here is one I did for the beginning of the new year, it's one of the w/c postcard books you can buy that I've had lying around.

Nymph (Elsa Hosk Study)

G'day all, I hope everyone had a good new years day and that this year will be a much better one than the last. Unfortunately last year was not a very good one for our family, particularly for my wife, as her health had deteriorated very quickly. But there is a light on the horizon and she is now beginning to recover once again.

 Now that I am able to focus on the inconsequential things in life such as painting and drawing I thought I'd share a head study and its process. It has been soooo long since I've painted anything that I was afraid I might ruin it. Anyway here is the finished piece below 9"x12.5" it is of the model Elsa Hosk. I came across a b&w photo of her and something clicked in my brain that I had to paint it. Now unfortunately I couldn't find an actual colour photo of the same picture so all the colour you see is from scratch, so I took liberty of hair and eye colour etc.

Below is the initial graphite drawing on 300gsm watercolour paper mounted on tempered masonite.

Before I glued the paper to the masonite I very LIGHTLY dampened the masonite and brushed a very thin milky coat of PVA glue. Reason that I did this is that if your paper is TOO wet any residual dust of the masonite can stain though to the paper and that means acid gets into the paper. Once the masonite is dry(I left mine overnight) I then wet the paper and added a liberal amount of glue to the masonite and place the paper which I then use a roller to ease all the bubbles and wrinkles out, then I let that dry overnight. Just a tip, don't let your paper get too wet, just enough to stop the glue sucking up into the paper to much.

Below I'm ready for the first coat of acrylic matte medium. I just used a soft brush as I didn't want heavy brush strokes showing, I'm not a big fan of surface texture. Just keep a tin of water close by to wet the brush every now and then to help the medium cover easier. Here I used about 40ml overall for this painting, oh and don't forget to paint the edges of the masonite incase the oil paint gets on it and interferes with the masonite's integrity. 

Below I squeezed Burnt Sienna straight from the tube onto the surface and rubbed it down with a rag to get an even coat(you can also do this with a brush) for my underlay. I used the rag to pull out the paint for the lighter areas and for the really white areas such as the bubbles I use a rubber shaper, they are pretty good at lifting out paint.

Below I started to work the background and water which I did in one pass.

Here I began my first pass for the skin tone using yellow ochre, english red and raw umber. I basically plotted out my light and shadows. Looks more like zombie flesh at this stage.

Below is the second pass for my skin tones adding the yellow for the forehead, red for the cheeks and neutralising around the mouth. I thought I best add some colour for the hair to see how the darker value would go against the rest of the head. Around the eyes as I added the dark lashes and brows as the drawing underneath started to fade from the covering paint.

From the last step to this one below I worked the skin tones quite a bit as I wasn't happy how the left cheek was coming along regarding hue, it had turned a brown that just wasn't working at all. It's these times that I leave the painting dry and come back to it the next day so I can se with fresh eyes and decide how to tackle the problem.

It took me some time to get to the stage where I was happy with the skin tones. One of my goals in painting flesh is not to have it look like plastic as seen in many paintings these days. William Whitaker is one artist that is fantastic at achieving this effect, needless to say he's one of my favourite artist. By this stage of the painting it's time to hone in on the details and do all those fiddly bits that make it all gel together. 

Well here it is with all the details completed. I added a glaze of indian red over the cheeks as they just weren't rosy enough. I had some conflicting moments with my water bubbles as I couldn't get them to look right but I think I pulled it off well enough in the end. 

I also have to give a big HIP HAZZAR! to my dad who bought me proper lights to take pictures of my paintings, as you can see it turned out smicko! The previous wip shots where taken on the back veranda.

Here's a close up. I'm rather happy about how the water droplets came out, I had to do a little research on how to paint them. And I very much love my freckles on a woman's face, I guess it's because I'm an Aussie ;)

If you enjoyed reading this post, I encourage you to hit the follow button as it encourages me also to put up these works in progress shots. Or if you know someone that wants to paint in oils and think some of my tips might help them please let them know.  

Cheers, Rick.

HARP Loot Illustration Preview

Once again I have a few more illustrations to show you all. This is for an upcoming expansion book from the High Adventure Role Playing product line published by Guild Companion Publications. I was only able to do five this time round as other commitments and my wife's continued ill health has had my  family I somewhat stretched. Below is a sample from the set, you can view the rest at my blogfolio.

"Queen of Crows" 5x7"

High Adventure Role Playing Fantasy Illustration Preview

Well, I said I had some interesting news to share last month, and here it is. Guild Companion Publications(GCP) are replacing quite a number of the artworks in the original "High Adventure Role Playing"(HARP) core rules book. And within this new book there will be a total of nine new illos by yours truly. And just to give you a sneak preview of whats to come, Nicholas Caldwell(sole director of GCP) has graciously agreed to let me show some images in the upcoming book. I'm unaware of any release date for the book but I'll keep you posted when I know. Anyway, here they are for you viewing pleasure :D

Warrior Mage

 

Changing Ways

 

Last of 2011 Thumbs

 Well it's been awhile since I've posted here but it's not to say I've been slacking around. I've been rather busy doing a batch of illos that I will announce the details of next month. Anyway, here is a bunch of thumb concepts from last years sketchbook. I hope to start another painting soon, I've been itching to smear paint everywhere:D

Exhibition

From the 30th of November 2011 to the 15th of January 2012 my painting "Dragon Emperess" will be displayed in gallery 2 of the Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery. The theme for the exhibition is called "Cracked".

Paperface Thumb

And here's another from today.

Paperface Thumb

Capt. Hook Portrait

My wife had bought an old ornate oval picure frame which had been guilded in gold. She found it at the local op-shop for $4, What a bargin!!! Even though some of the gold has worn off, it is still a very nice frame. She reqested that I do a portrait painting with a victorian theme with curly hair. So in the end I decided to paint Jason Issacs in the character of Captain Hook from Peter Pan. I wanted to paint in a more painterly style this time round so it's a little different how I would normally paint. I enjoyed the challenge of this one and I hope you enjoy looking at the result.