Monday, March 31, 2014

Graphite da Vinci Studies


    Hello! Lately, I've been working on a commission for a client who asked for my interpretation of a specific painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Obviously nothing I can do will ever come close to the work of such a master, but I'm still trying to capture a "da Vinci feel" in the piece while making it my own as well. Before I got started, I began studying up on his works.

    For many years I've found da Vinci and his work fascinating and inspiring. His paintings have been referenced in more than a few of my own (1,2,3.) But, it had been a while since I'd spent time with his work, so i felt reading about him, his creative approach and studying his art would be essential to getting this piece right. Above and below are snapshots of some of the sketches I did from his paintings and drawings.


    There are so many great resources out there about da Vinci, some a little more reliable than others. I enjoy reading his thoughts about painting and soaking in his sketches and unfinished works. 


    Completing my own "da Vinci" is, of course, no easy task, but hopefully I'll be able to share the finished piece with you all soon. (This one's taking a while haha!) I thought you all would enjoy seeing these sketches until then. Well, I've got to get back to work! God bless, and have a great week!

P.S. Many new products are available over at my Society6 store. Just click here or click the "Shop" button at the top of the page to check them out!

Monday, March 10, 2014

TRUE GRIT in Watercolor

Detail of the painting. Click images to see them larger.

    Howdy and hello! Lately I've been doing studies and preliminary work for a watercolor commission I'm working on. I needed to do a "test painting" or two in order to figure out exactly which way I wanted to approach the actual painting step of the process. I knew I was going to be using a lot of browns and earth tones. I figured I may as well paint something that, if it turned out well, I could give to my dad as a finished painting. My Pops likes westerns and he and I really enjoy watching the Coen Bros version of True Grit. It's one of our go-to movies for funny quotes. What better to paint, but the main characters from the film?!


    Above and below are two photos of the finished painting in full. The top photo shows the brownish colors which dominate the palette better than the one below.


    This photo shows some other elements, such as the details and tones, a bit better.

Weird snapshot of the painting framed.
    My dad was quite pleased with the surprise painting! He asked me to help him frame it and set it up in his office. Cool! :) It's fun to get to surprise people with a gift of artwork every now and then. Or as Rooster Cogburn would say, "You are not LaBeouf."
    God bless, guys! Have a great week!