EricFortune

Art Update

2012-01-21T13:59:00.001-08:00

Here are shots of some of the paintings I'm currently working on. As I sometimes forget one needs the right tool, or brush, for the right job. I try to hold off on noodling any details too early in the painting as they often get lost in the following washes. This can be hard because it seems all the cool washy wet on wet goodness happens in the beginning. I immediately want to jump in and refine the nuanced transitions and granulations with a number 4 round brush. Having a little confidence that cooler washes will present themselves later takes some experience and trust in the medium. Even now this is something I'm still working on.

A lesson I learned from a painting teacher back in college was to paint the entire piece with one large brush and put off the smaller brushes completely. Of course I compromise a bit but holding off on the smaller brushes does seem to help in the long run...when I can resist.

Update 2, Still in NYC

2012-01-06T03:12:00.000-08:00

This is a continuation from my recent posts. I've added in the previous images for easy viewing and comparisons. There's some interesting/nice things starting to happen. Hopefully, I can maintain some of these. And there are some ugly things that aren't where I would like them to be. This is going to be a short read with mostly images. Of course any and all questions are welcome.

Painting

2011-12-27T01:08:00.000-08:00

Here you can see a few different levels of finish in the chair. At the top there's basically just one ugly wash. Some cool things going on there. Bottom right some refinement. And on the left getting much closer to looking finished.

Progress

2011-12-26T02:44:00.000-08:00

I think both of the pieces are pretty much done as far as drawing is concerned. Tomorrow, I'm going to start throwing some paint down.

Random Progress shot.

2011-12-24T15:16:00.000-08:00

I was thinking I rarely put up a pic half through refining a drawing. So here's a random pic. I'm currently working on the wrinkle's in the shirt. I tend to transfer my sketches onto the watercolor paper very loosely. Takes about three minutes to loosely transfer. Using a 3B or 4B pencil is nice because you can get a fairly dark line without pressing too hard. It's quite easy to erase as well. 2B is nice for continuing my refinement. With these two pieces I'm working on I'll try to post up more frequent progress shots as I feel I haven't been posting as much.

Happy Holidays :)
Eric

The Traveling Artist

2011-12-22T23:58:00.001-08:00

One great thing about being an artist is that one can work while on the move. We can enjoy a bit of sight seeing, be inspired by fresh scenery, and not feel too lazy or neglectful with our art. Win.

When I'm traveling about I try to consolidate as much as possible. Depending on where/who I'm visiting I may or may not have to bring certain things. For example, if I'm visiting another illustrator, there's probably a lot of things I wouldn't have to worry about. Especially an art desk and lighting.

For long term travel I do have a fold up art desk that barely meets the baggage size requirements. The original desk top had to be replaced with a tiny piece of plywood. I've also tucked my art lamp into my luggage before. To be quite honest it can be somewhat of a pain in and around my rear side. So if possible I try to work around the desk and art lamp. If I'm on a long term road trip room isn't much of an issue. A lot of art stuff can fit into a car. I've even packed up my printer before. Quite helpful.

I recently landed in New York and here's what I fit into my luggage:

-art, sandwiched between two pieces of gator board. I also brought scrape pieces of watercolor paper to test my colors on. After unpacking, I adhere my paintings onto the gator board and use it as an art board.

-paint tubes, I put these in ziplock bags. I've had some leak out before. My theory is the change in pressure while in flight affects the tubes...or gremlins. Or both.

-brushes,, I usually tape these to some thick stock paper and roll it up forming a tube to help prevent bending of the tips.

-small tupperware container, for holding and keeping my paints moisturized.

-water container, you can obviously use just about anything. But some are better than others.

-spray bottle, to mist my paints and to wet the surface of my paper. And spray people in the face.

-pencils, small sharpener, kneaded eraser, I actually brought my electric sharpener with me because I'm in the beginning stages of two pieces and figured it would save a lot of time and trouble.

-tape

-watercolor palettes

-lighting, I didn't want to pack my lamp on top of all my other supplies esp if I didn't have a desk to attach it to. What I ended up doing is bringing a pack of neutral temperature light bulbs. I was basically hoping I could be resourceful enough to figure out something that works. I think I did alright.

-and lastly a ladder.

This list will be a bit different for everyone. I'm sure I'm missing some things and there are probably some other things I could've done without. I ended up buying an extension cord for the lamps because there wasn't one available and I didn't think I'd need to bring my own. Perhaps next time I'll remember. If not that will be my ninth extension cord. There's usually one thing or another that I have to purchase after landing.

I've also heard a certain fellow illustrator has a technique down pat for transforming a hotel bathroom into a studio. Makes a lot of sense if you think about it. Next time on Muddy Colors "Muddier Colors- Unlocking Hidden Secrets of the Lavatory.....and then relocking it and throwing away the key forever". Stay tuned.

For anyone interested here are the two sketches I'll be fleshing out while here.

I decided to upload a progress shot before hitting the sack. Hopefully, there aren't too many that have already checked the post. Apologies for the late addition.

More Progress

2011-12-09T05:18:00.000-08:00

I have a few different pieces I'm currently working on. Here's what I've been spending my time on the passed few days. As you can see I have my photo ref posted up. If you're not into using photo reference or find yourself struggling with figurative issues, drapery issues, any other issues go get some reference. I highly recommend taking your own reference. This is consistently my most offered advice to art students besides "do art as often as possible".

One thing I've been doing lately which I find helpful is making a very low res version of my color comp that breaks down the image into large blocks of color. It makes for a nice palette guide.

I focused a lot of my initial time doing wet on wet washes on the background. I knew I wanted the background to be fairly dark and chromatic. Having these large dark areas blocked in early helps give me some relative sense of value for the figure and the rest of the piece. Painting on an all white surface can be rather misleading. Context is important and can often make things look dark enough when they should probably be darker. As you can see I've started in on the figure though she has a long way to go.

In progress...

2011-12-05T01:34:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've posted something new. I'm working on a few different pieces right now and staying quite busy for my next show in March. In this piece I've been focusing on the hair today. It's coming along well but will probably have to be adjusted after I put more work into the coat. There is always some back and forth at the end of a painting as things change. Hoping to finish this one soon and get on to the next one.

Something New

2011-11-11T14:26:00.001-08:00

I came home from Illux Con feeling extremely inspired and ready to jump onto some new work. I actually brought this piece freshly transferred with my photo reference hoping to finish the final drawing at the con. However, my brain was a bit too excitable to do any real problem solving. Here are some new vids and some close ups of the new work after returning from the convention.

First hour of drawing.

Second hour of drawing.

Here are a few details of where the piece is at now. It's ready for some paint but I'm working to transfer another piece first so I can have multiple paintings going at the same time. This should help to give me a break on one painting while I work on another. Staring at something for long hours isn't always good for objectivity. Because I work so transparently I try to envision where I might want edges to fade out so that I don't have a dark pencil line there. There are also places that may be a good spot for spontaneous artsy happenings to occur. I try not to tighten up my drawing too much in these areas. However, when it comes to the main figure I normally try to realize it as much as possible and really nail the drawing before laying any paint down. Once I put a wash of acrylic over the drawing it's fairly sealed and is hard to adjust the drawing while maintaining a consistently transparent surface. This is another reason working out problematic compositions in the early stages is vital. And being completely satisfied with your drawing prior to laying down paint. It can be a lot of trouble if one skips too many steps leading up to the final.

Teaser

2011-11-09T19:54:00.001-08:00

A little something I'm working on. I meant to work on it at Illux Con but my brain was a bit overwhelmed by all the amazing artwork. Just about ready for paint.

New Vid

2011-10-28T00:04:00.001-07:00

Today I thought I'd share a new video. I meant it to be a ten minute video. But it went into a little overtime. Sorry for all the "ums". I'm um gonna work on that. Below is a recent scan of the area I was working on.

Hope you find this helpful. As always, if you would like any clarification on anything I'm doing please ask and I'll do my best to answer for you.

The guy behind the Guy behind the Mask

2011-10-28T00:01:00.001-07:00

Fawkes that is. You may recognize this infamous visage. Recent events have led me to re-watch the movie "V for Vendetta". And to my surprise I had completely forgotten it was based on a graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd (pictured below). Lloyd, who illustrated in cinematic chiaroscuro, devised V's Guy Fawkes-inspired appearance.

It appears Guy Fawkes, also known as Guido Fawkes (did not know that), was part of a failed attempt at blowing up The House of Lords in 1605. Fawkes is shown here, third from the right, in this engraving by Crispijn van de Passe. Truly, the mask design could easily be anyone one of the conspirators.

I would like to offer a big "Thank You, Mr. Lloyd", it is quite the bad ass design. And to Mr. Moore as well for the amazingly insightful story. I went out and bought the graphic novel today. Hoping to be inspired. One could only wish to invigorate the masses with his/her creativity in such a way.

A Beautiful Day in the Studio

2011-09-29T23:49:00.001-07:00

Hello Neighbor. Today, I would like to give you a tour of my studio. Prepare yourself. This is where the Magic happens. Welcome….to My World.

Ok, so if we could all look past the raw wood beams, exposed drywall, and plaster you can see my work place. A bedroom turned studio.

As you can see I’ve altered my art desk a bit to allow it to hold multiple desk lamps at a further distance from the table’s surface. This gives me more consistent lighting as opposed to hot spots and shadows from a lamp that is too close to the painting. It does make the desk a little top heavy so I’ve placed small weights on the bottom to help keep it grounded. Was it worth it? Perhaps.

I have another portable art desk in front of my main desk. It comes in handy when I need to lay out ref, other paintings, the cutting board etc. But it’s also great for when art friends stop by to paint and hang out i.e. mostly just hang out.

The rest of the room is mostly for my computer, printer, etc. and hanging files for organizing invoices, clients and the like. I hope it’s not too weird that I have a bunch of my own paintings on the wall. I really just don’t have a lot of room for them and thought they would be even more weird scattered all over my house. Plus I’m obsessed with my own work and spend most of my days staring at old paintings wondering where it all went wrong…

These are a few photos of my basic set up while working. I’m right handed so I keep most of the supplies on the right side of my desk for easy access. I like my light shining in at a slight angle from the left. The windows to the room are also on my left side so that during the day shadows from my hands aren’t being cast onto the area I’m working on. There’s a small Tupperware container which I store my paints in. I lay a paper towel at the bottom and then set my paints onto the towel. Every now and then the paints need to be sprayed with water to prevent them from drying out. In this way I can keep my paints usable for quite some time. I prefer a basic round water color palette for mixing. Fairly simple. Some things that you may not notice that are very helpful when painting: my hair dryer on the left of my desk, and my eye dropper for adding water to paint mixtures. I love my eyedropper. Perhaps someday I’ll do a “What if I won the Lottery Dream Studio Edition”. Or I can sand down the compound and just finish the walls that are already there. Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed the visit.

Detail Update

2011-09-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

Here's a little detail of what I've been working on lately. The figure is close to finish. I plan on working a lot on the background and hopefully finishing soon.

Questions and an Update

2011-09-16T01:11:00.000-07:00

"Just a few questions regarding how you got your start after school? and what route you took to get the publicity you have obtained this far. I am mainly a graphic style artist but I really don't know how to live the life of an illustrator. I have been out of school for about 3 months now and I have not been getting much work. I would just like to know what you did and how you occupied your time from day to day, for example how strict was your schedule? and how often do you abide to that schedule? to be more specific: how much time did you give your self to drawing personal work, how much time did you devote to freelance work, and was there a "normal" job in between?

I know this is a lot. But I just don't know how much time I should be devoting to what. I feel that I am drawing too much sometimes and it's mostly for myself. I dont know much about the life style of an illustrator/ artist other than its tough haha. I know I want to live the life of an illustrator I just haven't figured out how to live it yet. thanks for hearing me out. Hope to hear from you soon!"

Okay, so I'll give a little insight into my own personal experience directly after graduating art school. Apologies for those who are hearing this yet again. Drum roll.................. Not a whole lot. I got a few local freelance jobs right out of school and thought "okay, so far so good" and then absolutely nothing. But what did I expect? No one knew my work and I wasn't busy promoting myself. And the work I did get around to showing people was still college level work.

A year out of school a friend informed me of an opening at a local catalog company that used water color illustrations instead of photography. I surrounded myself with their catalogs and did some very specific art samples based on the type of art they used. Now this was not the type of work I wanted to be doing in the long run and it resembled absolutely nothing in my portfolio. However, getting paid to do any kind of artwork out of school is kind of nice. And it was for a full time position. Not to mention they had the most amazing potlucks! I never have potlucks in my current work place.

Thankfully, I got the position and did rather well at the company. My ruggedly handsome physique and witty humor allowed me to rise through the ranks to a Senior Illustrator position. When not at my 9 to 5 I tried to spend as much time as I could tolerate working on personal pieces to slowly replace the work in my portfolio or look up art directors to send samples to. I would also send jpgs of new work to former school mates and teachers I knew. At one point a group of my art friends and myself developed an art collaborative to split time, energy, and funds on promotion. It started off ok and some of us got some new clients to work for. Unfortunately, the work was inconsistent and some of the participants didn't always have new work for promotion. Promoting the same images only goes so far and eventually we disbanded.

A few years later one of the friends I had been sending new art updates to had forwarded some of those samples to his art rep. I was contacted by the rep and started to take on more steady freelance. I worked full time and freelanced for as long as I could and saved as much as possible for what I knew was to eventually happen. The jump into freelancing full time. This all happened over several years and a lot of effort. So try not to be too discouraged and work as hard as you can on your art and on promoting yourself. These things can take a very long time and obviously a lot of energy and persistence. Hope that helps or at the very least gives some of you realistic expectations for life as an artist after college.

Now for a little work in progress update.

Here as you can see is actually a halfway decent sketch. If you've seen some of my other sketches you know what I'm talking about.

After having a friend of mine get dressed up and levitate for photo reference you can see my final drawing here. I'm doing some shading where I feel it's necessary and sometimes a little more just because. I want my drawing to be as close to what I want prior to putting down paint as the first wash of paint will seal the graphite and make drastic changes almost impossible.

Here I've laid down a few thin washes of acrylic. While wet I took a paper towel and dabbed out the paint where the undershirt is because I know I want that to be a lighter area in the painting. At this point I also laid down some solid black where I knew it was going to get very dark. This black will be a great reference point for me to judge other dark areas of the work as I go. I also took a thinner version of the wash and reinforced some of my pencil work so that the information doesn't get lost in the following washes that will continue to darken the suit.

These last two shots are basically me laying down some thin flat washes. I then start to add a gradation by applying a mid tone wash and slowly diluting it by adding water to my brush as I pull the paint across the figure. On top of this I'm also using a dry brush technique to slowly build value as well. For a short painting demo you can view this video http://youtu.be/U9FJFOLBIjQ

A Feature in Musetouch

2011-09-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

I'm currently featured in the 13th edition of Musetouch Magazine. I found the juxtaposition of some of my imagery quite interesting as I haven't actually held them all next to each other. Especially seeing "The Escapist" next to "Apart From Falling". There's some other very cool imagery including the work of Nate Frizzell. Thanks to Maia for putting this all together! You can see the issue here.

New Start

2011-08-26T14:19:00.001-07:00

I'm off on some new work. As usual I'm excited and ready for the challenge. Best to enjoy that while I can:) This is the first of a series I plan on doing that will incorporate figures with more interior elements. As always I'm going to try and stay a little looser in the beginning of my painting and try not to get too fussy too early.

I've been thinking about where I want this work to go. For reference I think I'll be revisiting a piece I did a few years back for The National Labor Foundation. I thought the piece was fairly successful and I rather enjoyed working on it.

Here I scanned and blew up my thumbnail with is actually about 1.5 x 2" so that I would have a larger image to look at when posing my model and shooting reference.

I normally like to save time and loosely transfer my thumbnail onto the paper and proceed with the final drawing. However, there were enough anatomical things that were bugging me that I felt the need to work out my refined drawing separately prior to transferring. I actually made even more adjustments in photoshop after scanning in the final. Was it worth it? I hope so.

This piece is in it's infancy and I'm just beginning to refine the face. Stay tuned for more.

Last Embrace

2011-08-05T12:14:00.001-07:00

by Eric Fortune

Here are some of the last work in progress shots leading up to the final. When starting a new piece of art we try to work out most of our problems in the preliminary stages. However, after taking reference, finalizing our drawings and adding some paint in things do change. I'm constantly stepping back and reevaluating the work as I go.

One thing that bothered me after I had got pretty far into the painting is that my eyes kept sliding off the left side of the piece. I think this was because of some strong directional elements, the arrow shape the legs make with the knees pointing left, and the opening on the left side of the figure. After having some time to rest my eyes it seems that the line work in the original sketch is probably what helped to keep my eyes from drifting off so much. Because my line work in the final is much less apparent it didn't have the same effect.

While consumed by a work of art being objective can be difficult. Yet it's needed to solve problems that arise. We look at the work in the mirror, on screen, upside down etc. Sometimes we send it to peers for some feedback. Eventually, I pulled this piece into photoshop and tried a few things that seemed to keep my eyes from sliding of the page. I started by darkening the area of the background behind where the figures knees are. I wanted to have the effect of a warm spot light so instead of just using black I used a warmer reddish gray which darkens and adds some chroma at the same time. I added in an extra branch on the left and extended a more obscured branch on the far left of the paper up and out as well. Hopefully, this will help to keep the viewers eyes more contained within the piece.

If you'd like to see the original, this piece and one other of mine will be at the Jonathan LeVine Summer Invitational Show opening next Wednesday.

Almost Done

2011-07-22T07:32:00.001-07:00

I have two pieces in the upcoming group show at Jonathan LeVine Gallery next month. And surprise surprise I'm still scrambling to wrap up my second piece. I've been making good progress and for the last week or so I've been telling myself "ok, should be able to wrap this up in the next day or two". But this time, seriously, I think in the next day or two I should have this done.

Below are some details of where I'm at with the piece. I need to add a little more value and depth to the drapery around the figure. The shaping of the drapery from the neck up was vaguely meandering a bit and didn't quite flow right. So I've been deciding where the fabric should fold, flap, open up, or fade into the background etc. Can be a little tricky when painting transparently. I think it's pretty much nailed down at this point. I've been making a lot of lateral changes. That is to say, depending on who you ask it may be better or not or just different. Of course I feel the changes are worthy but sometimes I wonder if it's worth the time being so nit picky. Drifting from my reference too much can be a challenge to maintain a sense of realism and cohesiveness. However, it's probably some of the more enjoyable(What!? Painting isn't always enjoyable???) parts of painting as well. Not knowing exactly what's going to happen and then finding your way...most of the time.

I also plan on adding some gray aqua greenish algae on the branches which should make for nice accents of color. That application will have to be a little more opaque. Perhaps I could soften the edges of some of the outermost branches to provide more of a focal point in the center, darken the edge of the fabric where it meets the background, detail the hands, a subtle shift in color as the figure moves from shadow to light, add a little more cow bell... Yeah, definitely one or two more days.

Questions

2011-07-07T21:19:00.001-07:00

I was wondering if I could ask you some questions regarding technique. I have no experience with watercolor (I use mostly graphite), and I was wondering how exactly you get such smooth gradations on faces and skin. I notice this prominently in your work, and also the work of James Jean and Sam Weber. Every time I try to render in acrylics or watercolor, the layers do not remain smooth - the edges can be seen, and my edge control leaves something to be desired. Do you use wet-into wet, or just noodle endlessly at an edge until it is a smooth transition?

I think most of us are comfortable with graphite as we use it almost everyday. As you can see I try to figure out most of the tricky value structure in pencil prior to laying paint down. It can help smooth out transitions. At the same time it can be a crutch of sorts if you spend a ridiculous amount of time rendering everything in graphite instead of letting the paint do some of the work for you. For example I know the branches are going to be rather dark. Using graphite on them in the beginning for value would not be necessary as it would get completely lost under the paint.

When it comes to a finished painting keep in mind that what one doesn't see in a final is all the time it took to get to that point. Even when one becomes a proficient painter things take a lot of time. Practice Practice Practice. Take however long it takes to finish the piece as best you can. Technically, I do whatever it takes to finish a painting or to try and get the look I want. That's includes wet on wet, dry brushing, more opaque subtle cross hatching, large wet washes and pulling out highlights with a paper towel etc. Remember to always experiment and try to learn new techniques to add to your arsenal. Sometimes mixing your mediums will also give great results.

Concerning painterly edges. If we look at Sam, James and many other artists out there, within the work there is a certain amount of embracing the medium and what it does naturally whether it's a wet dripping to paint dragged across the paper. I like to show some some of this as well. The balance depends on the artist's own sensibilities. So I'm not sure I would necessarily see this as a bad thing. Creating art and solving problems will always have it's challenges. Here are a few shots of what I'm currently struggling with.

I've also posted a new time lapse video of this piece for you viewing pleasure

It's for the articles....

2011-06-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I probably should've posted this earlier as June is almost over. My contribution to the current issue of Playboy. And guess who else in in there..... Donato! How cool is that:) What? I'm still allowed to nerd out every now and then. I mean, I'm surrounded by beautiful, young, naked women all the time. ALL..THE...TIME. I rarely have the opportunity to be featured in the same magazine with Donato. Admit it. It's kinda cool.

La Planete Sauvage

2011-06-24T00:45:00.000-07:00

"La Planete Sauvage" is a french animated film also known as "Fantastic Planet" in english. This animated feature has been around since 1973. I've seen this cover on vhs tapes at the local video rental store for years and yet I never took the time to watch the film. On a recent visit to my parents house my brother randomly brought up the film and we sat down and watched it.

At first I noted the very dated look and primitive style of animation. However, the film's strangely surreal imagery and odd portrayal of humans had such a profound affect on me I knew I'd most likely make a post about it. I probably relate to the film more now than I would've ten years ago. However, the content seems as relevant and disturbing as ever. If you haven't had the chance or haven't heard of the film til now I figured I would share it HERE

As a bonus the sound track is also quite good and I thought complimented the imagery perfectly. For anyone into hip hop you may very well notice some samples used from the film on some classic hip hop trizacks.

ps I always say "expectations" can kill a good film. So to prep myself prior to any movie I feel myself getting my hopes up for I repeat these three phrases. "Worst plot ever. Worst special effects ever. And Worst acting EVER." This usually sets me straight. You may hate this film ;)

New Work in Progress

2011-06-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a piece I'm hoping to wrap up within the next week. I thought I would go through my process a bit here. I may seem redundant at this point. However, even I finding myself unknowingly cutting corners sometimes and wondering why something isn't quite working out the way I wanted or why I can't seem to move forward.

Of course here's my initial sketch followed by a color comp.

After spending a lot of time looking up different types of trees, taking pictures of some trees around town, and taking photo reference of my figure I was ready to do the final drawing. After a loose transfer of the sketch I use my reference to create and refine my final drawing right onto the watercolor paper. Doing a final drawing and then trying to transfer all of that detail is a bit tiresome to me and it also tends to loose some freshness which needs to be recreated. There are usually areas in the drawing that I don't want too finished as it can restrict some spontaneity later while I'm painting. When it comes to the figures however, I try to make them as tight as possible.

Now it's ready for some paint. I usually start off with some large washes to fix the drawing and tone the paper overall. Knowing I wanted the center of the figure to be highlighted I lifted out the paint while it was still wet with a paper towel. From here on I'm slowly building up the value and color and beginning to refine some shapes within the piece. If you compare the figure's skin tone in image 5 with image 6 you'll notice it appears to have warmed up. Most likely, this is due to all the cool tones I've added to the background. I actually like the more muted skin tone so at some point I'll have to adjust it. There's always some back and forth, push and pull of this nature the further you get into a painting. I actually think that's the fun part.

Atmosphere is also important here. Besides the focal point of the piece I don't want my edges to be too sharp or contrasting. In the last image presented here I'm just starting to have a little fun refining the branch above her head. And that's where I'm at with this piece. I'll be sure to post more when it's finished and I get a good reproduction.

Final Drawing ...Live Painting at Rivet Gallery

2011-06-04T06:34:00.000-07:00

This piece is ready for some paint. This is a bit last minute but if you live in the Columbus area and are out and about at Gallery Hop stop by Rivet Gallery for their 4th year anniversary. I'll be working on this piece and another for the evening.

"Rivet’s turning 4 and we want to celebrate it with you! Come out for an evening of live artist demonstrations as you have the opportunity to glance into the window of an artist studio.

Meet some of these artists who have worked with Rivet throughout the years and see their techniques at work.

Reception will be held Saturday, June 4th from 7pm to 10pm

Live Artist sessions presented by: Amanda L. Spayd, Andy B. Clarkson, Angela Matteson, Clinton Reno, Eric Fortune, Jason Tharp, Maxe Smith, Sharon Dorsey and Troy Stith."

Pricing Your Work...Some things to consider

2011-05-26T23:06:00.000-07:00

Prior to having my work on the walls I discussed pricing with the gallery owner. It was suggested that the work be under priced. That hurt. Now, as some may know it's fairly standard for the gallery to take 50% of any sold work. Double whammy. Starving artist took on a whole new meaning. I had to keep in mind my long term goals; produce art that I like, and make a living by doing so. Now there is actually a good reason for what was suggested. Under pricing is a strategy used to move work. In the gallery scene there's nothing quite like a "SOLD OUT" show to peak interest and build momentum. It creates a vacuum or demand for the work as it becomes scarce.

Under pricing makes it easier for a collector to invest in a new person on the scene. Someone who has not yet shown they can consistently produce quality and engaging work. I knew that many of the artists I was looking at in the Low Brow/Pop Surreal scene were also former illustrators. I assumed that collectors were probably familiar with illustrators because of this. I also assumed that because I had been accepted into The Society of Illustrators and Spectrum and had started to make a name for myself there would be some cross over. This may be true for some artists. However, it seemed I really was the new kid on the block and the bottom rung is where I was starting.

Because prices were lowered it did help the work to sell. And thank goodness I've sold most of my work as I don't have time for much illustration on the side these days. Because it's my only source of income every time I have a show it's the most stressful, nerve wracking experience. A few works may sell prior to the opening but things rarely fly off the wall. As good as it looks to have a "sold out" sign it's obviously not a good thing to have unsold work or even worse to have priced work too high and have to back peddle the prices on your next show. My goal, other than to make good art, is to consistently sell work, and to slowly raise prices appropriate to the demand of my work. No one wants to be a flash in the pan. Yet, it happens. There are many pitfalls one must be aware of. Pricing too high too fast can be one of them. It helps me to think in the long term about the sacrifices I make today that will hopefully pay off tomorrow. This is the route I'm taking and it may evolve.

There are obviously different dynamics and other factors that may come into play. For example if you already make a really good living on the side, selling art at the gallery may not have the same urgency. And pricing the work closer to what you think it's worth vs. what someone is willing to pay for it may not be a major concern. Some would rather hold on to their work rather than sell it for lower than what they would consider it's worth. However, if your in the business of selling original art for a living hording your own stuff and being your own biggest collector won't get you where you want to be. The truth is galleries like artists who are in demand and who can sell. Like anything else it's a business. I should also mention that not all galleries are worth your time and money and you should always research as much as possible prior to working with a gallery. The relationship between gallery and artist should be a mutually beneficial one.

For anyone interested, I'm currently reading a book that offers some more insight into the gallery scene. Check out "The $12 Million Stuffed Shark" The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art" by Don Thompson. I probably sound like a broken record at this point. But the less debt one has the easier it is to take a risky decision concerning your career. Things to consider.

"The Vanishing" Print now Available

2011-05-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

The new limited edition print is available through Gallery Nucleus. It's a signed and numbered edition of 15. For more on the print go HERE

Jonathan LeVine Gallery Group Show...

2011-05-22T21:54:00.000-07:00

Here's some work in progress of my contribution to Jonathan LeVine's Annual Summer Invitational. I started off with a lot of large, bluish washes over the entire paper. I used a paper towel to lift out the wet paint from the center of the image where I wanted to keep it lighter. The past few days have been focused on the figure which is starting to come together nicely.

Final Drawing

2011-05-09T01:29:00.000-07:00

Got my reference and just wrapping up the final drawing. Here's a close up.

New Sketch

2011-05-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

Currently working on the color comp. Should be taking photo reference tomorrow. Will post more later.

Featured in issue 11 of Default Magazine

2011-04-19T16:30:00.000-07:00

There are some larger images here for anyone interested in a little more detail.

http://www.diagonal.com.tr/default/eng/issues/11/index.html?pageNumber=144

Eowyn and the Nazgul... The Art Order Challenge!

2011-04-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

"Eowyn and the Nazgul... Updates
A few updates regarding the Art Order Challenge:

Firstly, we decided the deadline was too short to reap quality results, so we extended it to the 15th. That gives everyone precisely one month to create their masterpieces. The original post has been ammended.

Secondly, a partial list of the judges has been announced. Thus far, it consists of all the Muddies, as well as Matt Stewart and Petar Meseldzija! Yes, Jon has been breaking some knees, and managed to get most of the artists featured in the original post to contribute.

Lastly, some of the prizes have been announced as well. Donato Giancola has offered a large print of his 'Eowyn fighting the Nazgul'. Petar Meseldzija has offer a limited giclee of his 'Steel Bagshaw'. Eric Fortune has also offered a limited A/P print (image to be announced), and Dan dos Santos has offered a limited giclee on stretched canvas (image to be announced).

So get started, guys!
Don't forget to submit sketches for review on The Art Order site. We'll be dishing out criticism early."

For the original post and more info check out MuddyColors

and The Art Order blog by Jon Schindehette

"Saying Goodnight" Print

2011-04-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

A new limited edition print of "Saying Goodnight" just became available. This a signed and numbered edition of 10. If interested in this or other prints check out
http://www.papertigerstore.com/

Fun collection of Elvgreen pin-ups with their reference shots

2011-04-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

"Use reference. Don't be a slave to it." Thanks to Art Director of Tor Books Irene Gallo and Cyril Van Der Haegen for posting this up. These are so good and I had to repost. There are plenty more examples on the link. Enjoy!

http://ulkacurl.livejournal.com/212899.html

FAIL

2011-03-31T23:04:00.000-07:00

Most of you have probably been through this, I'm in the process of pulling an all nighter( if you're a vampire like John Palencar it's called an "all dayer";). Hooray! I've been eating small meals throughout the day as well as a short power nap here and there for the long haul. If I eat too much the "itis" kicks in and I'm no good. It also helps to balance out the coffee intake I have set up in an IV. The IV is nice cause I don't have to waste time actually drinking. The diaper frees up....well, I'll leave that one alone.

I don't feel too horribly stressed out because I spent most of the time painting the important areas first, the figure. I'm at a stage now where I'm painting a lot of drapery and plan to try and loosen up a bit and enjoy the process. I'll most likely take it as far as I can within the next several hours and tweak it in photoshop. It's also printing quite small so the piece should tighten up nicely.

Here's a progress shot...yeah, defitely some photoshop. When time allows I'll be sure to go back into the original painting to do a lot of tweaking.

Final Drawing

2011-03-21T15:03:00.000-07:00

Wrapping up the final drawing here. I actually used my photo ref on this one to do a rough final drawing on a small scale just to make sure the proportions were to my liking prior to transferring(Normally I just transfer my sketch and do all the adjustments on the watercolor paper). After a loose and quick transfer onto watercolor paper I again use my photo ref to refine my drawing and add in some details. I'm doing a little shading to establish the form of the figure. Although it's mostly planned out I want leave some of the drawing a little loose to allow for some random things to happen. I'm doing this piece larger than I originally planned but I think I can still get it done within a decent amount of time...a few weeks is what I'm planning for.

New Sketch

2011-03-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

Something I'm workin on...

Hi Fructose Show Friday(today)

2011-03-10T21:38:00.000-08:00

Today, March 11th, Roq la Rue Gallery in Seattle Washington will be hosting the 2011 Hi-Fructose Invitational art show. The show is open to the public and goes from 6-9pm. Here is my contribution. It looks like it's gonna be an awesome show.

What Makes an Artistic Genius?

2011-03-05T11:21:00.001-08:00

By Eric Fortune.

If you've read enough artist's bios you may notice a pattern. Many include the statement "I've been drawing since I can remember". Years of practice and drive to master our craft definitely plays a part. It also reminds me of a saying I heard back in art school which is "Everyone has a 1000 bad drawings inside. The sooner we get those out the sooner we can start making better drawings". But is that enough?

I've had people approach me with their portfolio and show me work that was definitely not at a professional level. When asked how much time was spent on the work I've heard "about 10 hours". It makes you wonder why someone is trying to be in the field if 10 hours is the limit they've devoted to a "final" piece of art. Are people interested enough on a personal level to put in extra hours and to refine their work beyond what is necessary even when not asked or to pour themselves into a personal piece they aren't getting paid for? But perhaps this is a different issue.

So what are the factors that make a great artist? Why is anyone good at anything? This gets into the old nature vs nurture concept. A friend of mine shared this three part documentary series with me entitled "My Brilliant Brain ~The programmes look at a group of remarkable people and poses questions about the origins of genius: are these extraordinary abilities genetic, developed or acquired by accident?" This documentary isn't about art alone but does shed some light on these questions. It also makes me question my own upbringing and influences(my step father was actually a pretty good artist who would draw and paint with us as children sometimes. I think the bigger influence for me is probably cartoons in the 80's and video games which had me obsessively drawing robots for about 10 years. I actually made cut out paper robots that could transform into different vehicles with just a few folds. I later upgraded to comics and anime and my art upgraded to muscles, breasts, and a lot of sliced up body parts.....things haven't changed much since). This film was produced in 2007. I wonder what new things they may have learned since then. It also makes me wonder where I can get one of those magnetic brain pulsey thingies? FYI Small speaker magnets have no affect even after wearing them for days...so my friend told me. If you haven't seen this before it makes for a great listen while drawing, painting, and getting your art on in general.

View the video here: "My Brilliant Brain"

Great Crit on Muddy Colors

2011-03-03T13:32:00.000-08:00

Dan Dos Santos did an awesome crit and paint over of this piece submitted to the MuddyColors Blog. I would highly recommend reading and observing the changes that the piece went through to get that "finished" look. To see how it turned out go here

Word of the Day & New Painting Demo

2011-02-22T02:58:00.000-08:00

What is the word of the day? Progress(be it slow and arduous) Here's a close up of what I've been working on. I'm also showing you the ref of the hand I'm using. Thank you all my friend/models. Again, I'm a big photo ref/ref in general advocate. At least until you've gained a better understanding of anatomy, light, form color etc where you can start to manipulate it more successfully. Something I constantly try to improve on.

And I also have a new video of here with a close up and explanation of my process and technique. If something is not clear feel free to ask questions. And for a small fee I'll answer them;) I jest.

Prooooooggggrrrreeeeesssssssss...

2011-02-17T14:38:00.001-08:00

Progress is slowing down the more I start refining. So the changes are going to be more subtle. I took another photo today to do some digital adjustments to see where exactly I want to take this piece. Should the hair remain light or should I go a little darker with more saturation?...

Progress

2011-02-16T02:50:00.000-08:00

This deadline is fast approaching so I'll try and post more of these as I go. Hopefully, at the end of each day I'll make some decent progress. I'm trying not to get too caught up in details but it's a bit of a back and forth game at this point. Almost no avoiding it. A very annoying aspect about painting large watery washes on wc paper is the curling of the paper. Other than that I love it.

As you can see here I'm just starting to pull out shapes from vague darker masses to refine. Esp around the face and shoulders. There's some interesting translucent, layery things happening here that I'm liking. I plan on introducing more color within the lighted area of the torso but I want to be careful not to overdo it.

Progress

2011-02-15T12:02:00.000-08:00

So far so good.

Final Drawing

2011-02-13T19:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry guys, I ended up going with parts of each and made a new composition. I do like some of the previous sketches and may end up taking them to final in the future. Here's what we have so far.

Some new sketches

2011-02-12T19:05:00.001-08:00

Some recent stuff that I'm working on. Decisions decisions...

A Teaser

2011-02-03T15:37:00.000-08:00

I thought this was definitely worth reposting. From Arnie Fenner one of the Founders of "Spectrum"

A Teaser

by Arnie Fenner

I try not to talk about Spectrum too much here on Muddy Colors—though sincerely appreciate it that others have and really want to deeply thank everyone that recently participated in #18—simply because we have an official website already (maintained by our capable son, Arlo Burnett, and administrative assistant, Jackie Miles).

But there are a couple of Spectrum-related things in the offing that are part-and-parcel with what we've been trying to do all along and which I think will be of interest to many visitors here. Honestly, I'm pretty excited about them. Though the second bit of news will have to hold for at least a few days until some of the niggling details are ironed out (it's worth waiting for, trust me), the first...well, the first is something we want everyone to start talking about. It's sort of a "preview" announcement, I guess, but with these sorts of things it's never too early to set the wheels turning—and part of that process is in reaching out. We want opinions. We want in-put. We want suggestions. Because Spectrum has always been about community, about all of the artists joining together to call attention to our profession, to what we do. And what is this great and mysterious something we want people to start talking about?

We've reserved the Grand Ballroom in the Kansas City Convention Center—46,000+ square feet of first-class exhibition space. We're also looking to rent either the adjacent Folly Theater or the nearby Midland Theater for a special event one night—the live presentation of that year's (#19's) Spectrum Award winners. Hotels and restaurants (cheap or expensive) and bars and theaters are all within short walking distance of the convention center. Our goal is to create an art faire for fantastic creators of all stripes and all sensibilities—a gathering of the tribes, so to speak—where they can sell their work to the public without competing with movie studios and Playboy bunnies and actors for attention. A central locale that won't break the bank to get to, show at, stay or eat at. A venue where artists can socialize with their contemporaries and peers, workshop, share, and promote. A place where fans and collectors of all manner of fantastic art—for comics and books and films and the gallery market—can meet their favorites and buy originals and prints. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students to meet and be inspired by some of the legends in our field. A, once again, community...coming together to celebrate our field and our craft, to help tell people first-hand what the fantastic arts are all about. Details—the hows, the whys, the wheres, and, yes, the cost—will be released in the weeks ahead. But in the meantime, a question:

What do you think a "fantastic art convergence" should include?

Discuss. Please.
For Comments I would recommend posting them at the original post so that Arnie is more likely to see them and take note. Comment Here on MuddyColors

Thank You! New Vids

2011-02-02T20:49:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Rhona for making a music video of my work. "Blush" See vid here

Also here's another time-lapse video update on for my current painting Here

Objectivity

2011-01-29T23:19:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I stare at a piece so long that it becomes hard to be objective. So I do the traditional things to get a different perspective: flip it upside down, take it to the mirror. Sometimes it helps to take it a little further. Here I took an in progress photo of my painting to compare to the color comp I've worked up. Now I can do a side by side comparison to see more clearly the changes that need to happen. I've also have swatches of color to compare the two. The left column is the color comp sampled from top to middle of the piece. The second column is the same from the painting as is. This is helping me while painting a little more opaquely.

Progress Shot

2011-01-13T00:57:00.000-08:00

Taking my time and having some pretty good results so far. I picked up the small brush to start adding detail to the hand. However, it's still early in the piece and I don't want to get too caught up in details too quick. Tomorrow I'm going to try and use a larger brush to get back into the background and bring the entire piece up to par.

I'm basically using the same technique of thinning out my oil paints and glazing in layers of paint. Every now and then I'll take a large soft brush to smooth out the brush strokes a bit. Part of me likes the strokes and doesn't want it to look too blended.

Hi Fructose Interview

2011-01-11T12:55:00.001-08:00

Last year I had the honor of being interviewed by Annie Owens over at Hi Fructose. In case you didn't see that interview I thought I'd share it here. It's the 13th volume of the magazine.

• What kinds of things are you exploring right now in your work conceptually? I know you said the four new paintings in your “Daughter’s” show was decidedly feminine – what brought you there?

My work is definitely narrative. But I'm playing with how much of a narrative some of the paintings are. I think some have more of a story and some are more iconic imagery. A few things lead me to doing feminine pieces for my recent show at Roq La Rue. Artists have been inspired by the female form for a very long time. I'm no different in this respect. Another factor was the theme of the show I was going for. In some respect I wanted something related to the idea of Mother Nature. Also, and I feel strange admitting it, but one of the things I sometimes struggle with is the unseen pressure from what I think collectors and people in general like or want to see. I think people like imagery of beautiful women. And that's great because I love painting them. However, I don't want to pigeon hole myself into being an artist that paints only one thing for the sake of making money. So I try to stay true to what I like to work on and experiment with. However, I also realize I need to sell work and pay bills so I can continue painting. Having a show is nerve wracking. Having work not sell can mess with your head and you start asking yourself "why isnt' this selling". Even if you're quite pleased with how the work turned out there's that unseen pressure that may lead one to second guessing their self and their direction. One good thing I’ve noticed is that with every piece I finish I gain a little more confidence in myself. And that allows the evolution of my work to progress a little more freely.

• What are some of the things you’ve learned transitioning into galleries from work as an illustrator?
Right now I’m still really enjoying the artistic freedom I have. With illustration one often gets a deadline that’s two or three weeks away. It’s easy to get started and stay busy because the deadline is right around the corner. External deadlines are major motivators. I’m still learning how to deal with a different and distant deadline. I experimented with working on several pieces simultaneously. I think this is great for learning and growing from your work. Anything I learn from painting “A” I can can instantly apply to “B,C”, and “D”. It helps to do all the research and prep work for all the pieces at the same time. This way I don’t lose my momentum as previously I would finish a piece and then start over with all the prep work again. It’s also been helpful to switch up on paintings every few days to keep from getting burned out on a single piece. Previously I would finish a piece, scan it, email it, and be done. Now I’m also adjusting to the extra time I need to get reproductions, framing, packaging, and shipping. Unlike many illustration deadlines there isn’t normally any flexibility to a gallery opening. Another difference is the amount of work you do. In the gallery scene I’ve learned it’s possible to over saturate the market. That can devalue your work. Especially if you still have a lot of unsold work. In illustration I’m not sure that would be a bad thing.

• Your work appears to be more psychological and emotional in nature rather than say, political or social commentary. What are some things, interests, hobbies, thoughts outside painting that wind up feeding the content of you work?
It could be anything really. Random things will trigger an idea that I’ll have to scratch out quickly before I forget. Though my work tends to be cathartic and my relationships tend to filter into the work subconsciously. I think that’s fine. I don’t always know what something means as I’m doing it. I’m not sure it has to mean anything. I also don’t want to over do a painting conceptually, as it tends to come off too contrived. I have an artist buddy who will comment on my paintings as I’m working on them. He’ll give me his unsolicited interpretation that goes something like “this is you. That is a projection of so and so..” etc. And I’ll nod and say “maybe, I dunno”. A few days later I’ll look at the work and it’ll hit me “Damn, I think he nailed it. I am a robot.” These are always personal paintings never commissioned jobs. It can be difficult to be objective about your own work especially as you’re working on it. But I’m learning to trust my gut and intuition a little more.
As far as other influences. Perhaps the fleeting moments in our daily lives. Someone waiting or seemingly lost in thought. Sometimes these moments can be quiet and yet dynamic and revealing. This is a little different than the work I’ve just completed but it pertains to ideas on the back burner I plan on revisiting.

What else do you like to do there in Columbus besides paint?
I think I’m a pretty average guy. When I have free time I like to go out and have a drink with friends, sketching at coffee shops or bars. I have a lot of plants at my house that I like to take care of and I also love bon fires in the backyard. That may be a small town mid-west thing. I think like many other artists I can sometimes get caught up in the studio for weeks. It’s not until I’m out having a drink and relaxing that I realize I really needed to get out of the house. This may also strike people who only know me from my work as unexpected. I grew up surrounded by hip-hop. I used to break dance not so long ago. I think it’s a great form of expression. I was never into battling however. And I love a good MC battle. Clever word play right off the top is great. Plus who doesn’t like a little shit talking and some mama jokes? So I guess after a major deadline if I could have a sketch pad at a bar where people where breaking and battle rapping I’d probably have a pretty good night. Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of venues for said activities here in Columbus. So most of the time you can find me in my studio.

Not again...

2011-01-06T23:17:00.001-08:00

Yessir, I'm trying my hand at oils again. I apologize to all the oil painters in advance. For warm up I watched Dan Dos Santos' dvd tutorial. I'm currently finishing up Donato's dvd. Thanks guys! Some problems I had with my first experimentation several months ago was the consistency of the paint. I think I was starting out way too thick and it was rather difficult to control. I started with some quick acrylic washes to do a little shading and to fix the drawing so that it wouldn't smudge. I'm not painting as thick and I'm also using a second soft yet firm(oxymoron? it's basically your average house painting brush) brush to spread the paint thin while blending out unwanted brush strokes or not quite blending them out if I like them. It's moving fairly quick and is remarkably.....fun. Actually, it's quite fun. Who knew? All the oil painters I assume.

Painting more thin in this manner and gradually adding in darks and colors is not too different than how I normally paint. It feels familiar. The extended blending time is awesome. I do however, wish I could flash dry the paint as I finish blending. I'm sure I'll run into some problems but currently feel good about the progress and process. I plan on documenting this piece a little more than previous paintings. To see the first vid click here. I'm currently uploading the 4th vid. Hopefully, it will be done by the time you read this. Tips? crits? I'm wide open.

Is Art School Worth it?

2010-12-28T04:25:00.001-08:00

In case you haven't seen my post over on Muddy Colors. I think this is an important issue to consider. There are also some great comments to read. Would love to hear your thoughts.

First off, I'm not downing formal education. I'm just asking if it's worth getting into $120 thousand dollars worth of debt not to mention the interest for four to six years of college. Especially in our current economic state.

So what does school offer us? Hopefully, teachers and peers who can assist in pushing us to be better than we are(ultimately we have to be our hardest critic). There's also access to facilities and opportunities to produce and experiment in. But these are really just opportunities the student can take advantage of not. You can't force someone to get better. It's a choice to pursue, a decision to push ourselves, to be on time with assignments, to stay after class to finish the still life or do extra reading etc. There's an intrinsic incentive for us to master the craft of our choice. We all know of self trained painters, illustrators, and musicians who are amazing at what they do.

Today we have more access to information than ever before. Let's list some:

- illustration tutorials on dvd that deal with technique process, business aspects etc
- illustration workshops like "Illustration Masters Class" where you may pay a fee for a professional ass kicking and intensely constructive experience.
- art books, the library is free
- video demos online( learned a lot about Photoshop from CMYKilla)
- all types of online art forums where one can get critical feedback from the art community of the world(take everything with a grain of salt}
- art blogs, personal and collective... I'd list some but I'm blanking out right now.
- attending conventions, lectures, and demos to observe, ask questions, and get feed back from professionals
- taking advantage of museums and galleries to view original works
- online classes such as "Schoolism"
- private internships
- You can also find the contact information of your favorite artist and ask some specific questions. I try to answer as many as I can fit into my schedule as well as email others for advice.

Thankfully, there are scholarships to help kids with paying for school. I could be wrong but I would assume the kids who get the scholarships are the same kids who are drawing and producing art even when they don't have to because they want to get better.

Even if you were interested in a Masters Program you could look up the list of professors that you would be learning from and read up on literature written by said professors.

My point is there is an abundance of information out there. You have the same options you have in art school. You can take it or leave it. The choice is yours. We all know people in school who didn't take the time to do the work. School is only as good as you make it. Going to the best art school doesn't make the best artist.

Is staying at home or even with some of your art buddies and learning/practicing via these alternative methods(the same methods artists use even after graduating college)as good as going to an art school? Maybe not. Maybe so and it's just a different learning experience minus the debt. Again, it depends on how much the individual is putting into mastering their craft. The art school environment is great and if art school wasn't so expensive I wouldn't be writing this blog post. Can you get educated for a lot less than it cost to attend art school? What are your personal school experiences/regrets? Would you do it differently if you could?

A Question About Rates...X Rated

2010-12-14T12:41:00.000-08:00

Hi Eric,

My name is X and I'm a recent XXX grad working in X. We've met a couple times before and I was wondering if you might be able to answer a question for me. Since graduating I've mostly been doing work for various collectible card games and board games which tend to dictate up front just how much they're going to pay you. But I have a sci-fi publisher (XXX Books) asking how much I charge for cover work, and the question has thrown me off a bit. If you don't mind my asking, what do you charge for cover work? I'm certainly not looking to compare my work to yours, but I don't want to lowball myself or undercut the market either. In any case, any light you could shed on the subject would be extremely helpful. Thanks in advance and have a great day!

Sincerely,

X
--
X X
Professional Artist and Illustrator
123 X St., Apt X
X, X 43202

Hi X,

Publishers usually pay somewhere between $1500-4000 for a cover. Depending on how interested you are in the job, how much artistic freedom you get, how quick the turn around is, or how much exposure you'll get(is this a well known publisher?), you may feel inclined to charge more or be willing to do it for less. I'm usually willing to work with a lower budget if I get the opportunity to have some freedom and do a really strong piece for myself. Hopefully, you can do the good work and get paid top dollar.

An art director will usually give you the info when they inquire about your availability ie budget, deadline, size etc. If they don't give you any of the info don't be afraid to ask.

"Hi Art Dir X,
Thanks for contacting me. I'm looking forward to working with you on this project. Could you please provide the synopsis, deadline, size, and budget for this job?"

Something simple like that or however you want to address it. But getting the information is a must before signing on to a job. That way you can make the most informed decision.
Also, I would take the "Professional" out of your title. It is assumed that you are already a professional. You don't want it to look as if you're overcompensating for lack of work. I'm not sure you need to give your addy or phone # either unless asked. I like it nice and simple. Just my opinion. You should also make your website a live link so it's easy for anyone to just click on it as opposed to copying and pasting.

Hope that helps,

Eric

Any other tips? please post them:)

Beginnings & Endings

2010-11-25T22:28:00.001-08:00

Leading up to my recent show at LeBasse Projects I had been working around the clock to finish up the paintings. After coming back from LA it was straight to Altoona, Pa for Illux Con. And currently, I'm house/dog sitting in NY for a cousin of mine. I have been doing nothing for the passed few weeks but absorbing other peoples art; galleries in LA and NY, amazing work at Illux Con. Taking a lot of it in and letting it marinate.

Normally when I travel I bring all my supplies: fold up art desk, desk lamp, paints, palettes etc., and I work. These recent travels have been interesting, because I only brought pencil and paper. I wasn't even worried about art making really, mostly trying to get inspired for my next body of work. Exposing myself to as much as possible(in an artistic context). About two days ago I woke up thinking about my work and busted out ten sketches almost effortlessly. That never happens. I'm kind of excited about these so I thought I'd post a few of my early morning chicken scratches. The beginnings of what you may see fleshed out in the months to come. I'm also posting another beginning and the detail of an ending to recent previous months of work.

The next step from here. refine sketches, value/color studies, photo ref, transfer, paint. We'll see what happens.

"Descent" Detail

2010-11-20T12:54:00.000-08:00

This one is acrylic on canvas. Some pros to working on canvas. I don't have to worry about the surface buckling or flattening the piece when I'm finished. And I don't really have any size limitations. Attributes that take time to deal with. The surface of the paper(I'm thinking more gesso to tone down the surface) and painting more opaquely with acrylic is strange. It's lighter when it's wet and dries darker. So I'm constantly testing colors, letting it dry, readjusting my colors, testing it, letting it dry. Getting the perfect color can be a....not fun. I think the more I work on it the more proficient I'll become. I also still plan on playing with oils.

"The Vanishing" detail

2010-11-16T12:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a detail from a recent painting. I'll post up some more details from the others works soon. I'm trying to keep my blog posts here and on Muddy Colors separate so that they are both relevant and perhaps supplemental. If you haven't seen my Nov 12th post on MC yet it's a start to final process of this very image.

Wrapping Up

2010-10-31T16:30:00.000-07:00

I'm putting the final touches on my last painting for the LeBasse Show next Sat Nov 6th. The most enjoyable part of the painting:) I'm really looking forward to having a little r&r while visiting Cali for the show. For once I'm not packing up all of my art supplies. Just my sketch book to work on new ideas.

First Post

2010-10-29T15:16:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone. I just wanted to redirect you to my first post on MuddyColors hope you enjoy... or at the very least don't hate it;)

Muddy Colors Blog

2010-10-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

I'm participating in a artists collective blog called, you guessed it, Muddy Colors. It was Dan Dos Santos' idea to gather up an eclectic group of professionals in the field to give info, feedback, share progress shots, new work etc. It's a killer line up that I'm honored to be a part of. So check it out. Some cool posts are already up.

What Motivates you to be an Artist?

2010-10-20T21:43:00.000-07:00

Fame? Money?(ha!) Or maybe you just can't help yourself? The lecture addresses motivation in general. Being a successful artist, or doing anything well is touched on towards the end. A great listen while working on your art ...well, I liked it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j2aTwNor5k

A Question about paint

2010-10-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

"Hey Eric,

I am a huge fan of your work! Your work is very inspirational and has
changed the way I look at illustration all together. I was wondering
if you could advise me in what certain brands of acrylic paint to use?
I've tried a lot of different kinds and I keep seeming to pick brands
that lose a lot of pigment and just look really flat when dry.
Anyways, if I could get your advice on the ordeal, that would be
fantastic!"

Honestly, I haven't done a lot of experimenting comparing various brands of paints. I mostly use "Liquitex, Soft Body" acrylics. I think it started when I found out a favorite illustrator of mine ,JJP , used them. I've had success with "Golden" brand as well. I've even had success with student grade acrylics that I didn't want to waste. So to an extent I'm not sure how much of a difference they make. I doubt it would make or brake a painting. I have had friends buy and use pre-gessoed canvas boards and paint that should've been on permanently would be wiped off due to more brushwork. That may have been a cheap gesso problem. Not sure.

Back in the day when I was at CCAD I heard people tell of some "secret" pencil that Pete DeSeve would use to draw with. I just didn't get it. I doubt a secret pencil is the reason for the skill and creativity behind such an artist. I'm sure Pete would draw circles around most with a burnt stick.

I'm not sure if you mean "flat" as in the rendering of the piece or the surface of the paint. Painting thin leaves a piece with a matte finish similar to watercolors. A thicker application, as I've been painting recently gives a more glossy sheen. If surface is the problem, using a satin or glossy varnish at the end of your painting will unify the surface and give it the desired sheen.

It's hard to give advice on your problems without seeing the work. Color being relative, perhaps using more muted colors adjacent to your chromatic areas will be a way to help accentuate your color more. If you think of some of Chuck Close's paintings they are realistic at a distance. But up close they are blocks of color. Not unlike a monitor or tv screen. So placing the perfect color in the perfect spot is a major factor in a successful painting. Hope this helps.

A little process

2010-10-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

I just posted a new painting video. So I thought I would go through and kinda breakdown what exactly is happening. Watch video here.

Materials- Acrylic, water, gessoed canvas, good lighting

Before we get started let's revisit the basic steps from start to finish.
-thumbnails(if working on a commissioned job this is where you would want to do your research for ideas)
-refined sketch
-value study, color study
-photo reference for some reason people always fight this.
-final drawing using ref
-paint, paint, paint

Goals in this vid:

The drawing is down and I just started applying some paint before recording. Right now I'm trying to stick with larger brushes so that I don't get sucked into doing detailed work too early which, as fun as that can be, really slows things down and then sometimes gets covered up when it's all said and done.

Using water I mix my paint to a "melted ice cream" consistency. This is thicker than when I work on paper and to be honest I'm still trying to adjust to it. I'm started out with lighter colors and slowly darkening as I go. I have two brushes. One I use to apply paint to a section and another to brush and feather out any streaks or inconsistencies. I try not to cover too large of a section because I don't want parts starting to dry before I can feather it out. So I brush feather brush feather and work around the canvas. You can do this in larger sections or using smaller brushes do more detailed feathering. Right now I'm doing general coloring and suggesting some contours but everything is pretty soft and feathered. I plan on tightening up closer to the end.

I started with a small bowl of warm parchment colored mix. After going over the surface where needed I mixed in some reddish and yellowish colors to slightly warm up and darken the mix and continued painting. Added some more reddish colors and repeat, slowly working in darker and darker. Dark is relative since the piece in it's essence will be a mid/high key piece. That's basically where I'm at with this painting.

I'm usually worried I'll losing my drawing. I'm trying to let go of that a bit and I think it's helping. I can still see suggestions of most of the line work through the paint. At the same time losing some edges give the piece a more spontaneousness that is appealing. At one point I did take the darkened mixture and reinforced some of the line work to ensure that I didn't lose it completely. So far so good.

tips- the right brush for the right job. If your painting a large area it helps to have a large ass brush. Size does matter...or at least can be very useful at times.

Also, the concept, composition, drawing are the foundation of your work. So to have great technique and a weak concept, composition etc will only go so far. So don't neglect these important factors when creating. Hope this is helpful.

Final peek

2010-10-04T12:47:00.000-07:00

Actually finished this piece and shipped it and few others out to the gallery. Moved on to new work and trying speed things up. Gallery show about a month away...

Reproductions...

2010-10-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

"Hi mate, I love this.
I have a technical question if you don't mind. What scanner do you use to scan the your artwork to computer? Coz I notice the you paint things in big format.Thx"

Previously I would use my 8x11" scanner which worked fine for most jobs. Piecing a few scans together started to be troublesome with the larger works. Eventually I knew I needed to upgrade to a large format scanner or a nice digital slr camera. I decided to get the new camera. I"m not the best photographer(understatement)so of course I had to do a little research on lighting art and what lens are good for what. After asking a few friends who used cameras to shoot reproductions of their artwork I went for the Canon 50D 15.1mp. I also had to invest in proper lighting equipment which can add up in cost. However, I don't feel limited by size and in the long run I know I'm saving tons of money by doing the repros myself. It's also nice to be able to help friends out with their own repros:)

I usually shoot work in two pieces and a quick photomerge in photoshop to piece it together gives a pretty flawless image.

Also, don't forget any equipment you buy for your art is a tax write off!

Progress shot for my upcoming LeBasse Show

2010-09-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

Putting in a lot of hours lately and it feels good. Progress is still slow but the results I think are worth it. Liking this piece so far.

Questions...

2010-09-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

I have some email questions that are starting to stack up. I'm going to try and take some time here and there to answer some on my blog. Hopefully, I can provide a little insight for anyone else dealing with these issues. Feel free to add your own tips that may have helped you in your journal to being a successful artist.

"I have a couple questions about the interesting life of being a freelance illustrator. I feel like I'm running like a chicken with it's head cut off, and not sure were to find work. I'm kind of grounded in the city right now, so commuting out of state for work is out the question. I figured you could give me a few pointers. Like what to look for when doing a freelance job search, and how to bypass a lot of BS and bogus jobs. I guess what I'm asking is what do I need to work on, who do I need to reach out to, and what are some of the key things in helping you find work. I mean besides an actual BOMB portfolio. Anything you can tell me I would greatly appreciate it."

What to look for when doing a freelance job search, and how to bypass a lot of BS and bogus jobs.
I would be wary of doing any work for a person who is hiring artists for their personal project ie children's book, graphic novels etc. They don't have a company’s budget to use as payment. Often it's their own personal savings and they expect a lot of work for a little money. A client should have a contract set up for freelance artists. If they don't it's a red flag. If you ask what their budget for a job is or what the deadline is and they don't know it's a red flag. A person who hires artists regularly should, at the very least know these things and have a contract to offer.

What I'm asking is what do I need to work on, who do I need to reach out to, and what are some of the key things in helping you find work. I mean besides an actual BOMB portfolio. Anything you can tell me I would greatly appreciate it.

What to work on: The number one thing that I notice about student level work is people are not taking their own good(“good” is the operative word here) photo reference and applying that to your sketches. This applies to just about everyone that was in my class and most aspiring artists that I meet. And for some reason everyone seems to fight it. Not sure why that is.

Finding work: Ugh, Welcome to the world of being a professional artist. There are no guarantees for work. A few things to consider. Not in any particular order
1. Networking. Staying in touch with people from school; teachers, classmates, artists from conventions etc. You emailed me so....check.
2. If you’re not working on freelance jobs you should be working on your portfolio. Even if you get to a point where freelance is pouring in they were never quite as fulfilling as personal work. This has helped me to grow as an artist and also get the work that I enjoy and resonates with my artistic needs.
3. It may help to pick out the top ten places you would like to work. Provide each with a nice customized portfolio package geared to reflect what you think they are looking for. You should also follow up with potential clients. If you only have 15 quality pieces in your portfolio think about sending eight now and seven or eight in a month or so. So you don’t give out all your goods at the same time. AD’s get flooded with work so it’s good to remind them you’re still around as often as possible.
4. Promote yourself consistently. This helps if you have new work to promote with. See #2
5. Competitions, Conventions. Gallery shows, Meeting local art directors etc.
6. If you have a group of talented friends consider forming an art collective where work and money is divided to make promoting the group as a whole a bit easier.
7. Note, all the promoting in the world will do little if the work is subpar, mediocre, or just good. Good isn’t good enough. This probably should've been #1.

Here’s what I came up with off the top of my head. Hope this helps.

Nov Show LeBasse Projects

2010-08-30T16:33:00.001-07:00

Wrapping up one piece and on to the next one. Feels great to have one down. But I think I'm going to do a little more jumping around from piece to piece to try and keep work fresh...not always an easy task.

Choose a painting

2010-08-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

I'm considering putting out a new limited edition print. But I first want to try and get some feedback on which image you would like to see printed. So here I've listed some recent and older works. And I've numbered them to make things easier, just comment with a number.

Thanks for your time and help
Eric

Moving forward

2010-08-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

Here's what I've been painting on for the last several days. I always want to skip out on the color comp but it really does help to move things faster if I know exactly how dark or saturated an area of the painting is going to be. It also allows you to preview and adjust the juxtaposition of colors and get all the mistakes out of the way without compromising your final panting. Plus the digital comp moves fairly quickly and definitely saves time in the long run. Esp. since a friend of mine gave me his old wacom tablet. It's a nice improvement from the mouse:)

Some people feel that there's no room for spontaneity when you use photo ref or have all your color/value comps. However, I always seem to have plenty of opportunities for spontaneous goodness:) My name is Eric....and I use color comps.

more wip

2010-07-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

Put the painting down to flatten the piece. It helps to do this every now and then if the paper starts to buckle from the washes. It's just nicer to work on a flat surface. So I switched it up today and spent time fixing up this final drawing for another piece. Feels good to take a break from the other piece for a day and to work on something new. But tomorrow I paint.

wip

2010-07-27T11:30:00.001-07:00

Here's a detail work in progress of one of my new works on paper.

Fantasy+ 3 Best Hand Painted Illustrations Feature

2010-07-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

Got a nice surprise in the mail the other day. This is a beautiful looking book with great interviews and tons of cool art. For more info on this book go to http://www.cypi.net/

Great News! Chesley Nominations

2010-07-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

I've been nominated for 2 Chesley Awards. ”Best Color Work: Unpublished” & ”Best Monochrome Work: Unpublished” As you may know, the Chesley, named in honor of Chesley Bonestell, is the only science fiction/fantasy art award voted on by the artists themselves. I don't want to count my eggs before they hatch but I will keep my fingers crossed. Regardless this is quite an honor. Thank You and Congrats to all.

LeBass Projects in Oct

2010-07-18T20:54:00.001-07:00

Busting anus on some new works for my next show at LeBasse Projects. Once I get that cleaned up I'll start working on some art....BadaBoom. On a more serious note. I am working on several new paintings. Since that last canvas turned out half way decent( I liked it) I'll be revisiting that as well as some new works on paper. Scaling up a bit on the newer paintings and I'm excited to get started.

However, getting all the preliminary stuff out of the way has been tedious. But all the work is just about ready for some color. All the little things are just about taken care of and I'm feeling a little momentum. I also discovered 5hour Energy Drink....not sure if that's good or bad. Everything in moderation right?

Columbus College of Art & Design

2010-07-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

Last semester I taught my first class. I was anxious and awkward and one can always improve. However, I hope the students were able to take something beneficial from the class to help them along their way to a career in art. Overall, it was a great learning experience(at least for me;) If I had to break it down I would say work really hard at your art and promote yourself. There's a saying I heard when I was in school that went something like "We all have a thousand shitty drawings inside each one of us. The sooner we get those shitty drawings out of the way the sooner we can make drawings that are the shit" I may have switched it up a bit but hopefully you get the point.

Here are some finals from a few of my students
http://www.dmarciniak.com/
http://www.bernadettecarstensen.com/
http://www.alexlyonillustration.com/

Opening this Friday, July 9th at Roq La Rue

2010-07-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

I'll be showing next to Glenn Barr this Friday at Roq La Rue in Seattle.

Fun with Spontaneity..

2010-07-03T16:51:00.000-07:00

Applying the information from my photo ref to my sketched out figures can be difficult at times. However, there are certain areas where I can just make things up as shown here. Ultimately, I want develop a cohesive blend of realism with my natural sense of stylization in the finish.

In the works

2010-06-30T23:46:00.001-07:00

"Exquisite Departure" Progression

2010-06-23T16:16:00.001-07:00

This painting is different from most of my others in a few ways. It's rather large compared to earlier pieces. And it's on canvas. While experimenting with acrylic on canvas I discovered that I rather like it. There's a granulation effect that is similar to working on paper. Another nice thing is that the acrylic doesn't soak into the canvas as quickly and I can move it around a bit more before it starts to dry. And at the end I don't have to worry about flattening the painting. On the downside I'm not sure I'd want to do a small painting on canvas because the texture may become too distracting. Also, stretching and gessoing a canvas are a real pain in the ass(hands). However, I'll continue experimenting with canvas and we'll see what happens.

Another note. I did my final drawing with photo reference on paper at a small scale. Then transferred that with a projector. It seemed to make sense that I would want to work out my details before hand and prevent large mistakes on a large scale. Who knows, perhaps transferring a rough sketch like I normally do and doing the final drawing on canvas would've been fine. Maybe next time.

"Exquisite Departure"

2010-06-10T15:54:00.000-07:00

Roq La Rue Opening with Glenn Barr is now July 9th in Seattle. Here's one of the three pieces that will be showcased. This one has been a difficult piece for me to finish. But I think I did my best and it feels good to have it finished and shipped out.

Detail

2010-06-02T22:05:00.001-07:00

wrapping things up...

2010-05-31T17:07:00.000-07:00

My last painting for Roq La Rue

2010-05-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

Starting to have some fun with this one:)

Bliss Mag

2010-05-17T18:33:00.000-07:00

Received a nice surprise in the mail today. Interviewed in the current issue of Bliss Mag Thanks Liz!

Progress

2010-05-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

Raining today. Something nice about staying in and painting while it rains:)

Getting Started

2010-05-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

Sketch, value/color study, reference, and working on final drawing.

2010-05-06T23:06:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hih-vqvanHI

A Want to Believe

2010-05-04T21:28:00.001-07:00

Thanks to everyone who purchased a print!

Detail

2010-05-03T14:16:00.000-07:00

Just posted this piece on my site finally. It needed a little touching up(legal in Ohio with consent) before taking final reproductions. Currently working on paintings for Roq La Rue's mini show in June..paintpaintpaint

Working in progress Video

2010-04-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

Watch Vid here

progress

2010-04-14T00:16:00.000-07:00

Another piece on canvas. I was going to do this in oil so I started an acrylic under painting but I'm liking the way it's going I think I'm going to continue with this in acrylic and maybe save oils for more towards the end of the painting. This is a difficult piece for me to work on but I've had a good day painting over all.

in the works...

2010-04-09T09:37:00.001-07:00

New Video

2010-04-02T16:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a new piece I'm Working on. Just getting started but I'm going to try and stay on top of it. Lots to do...

See vid here

In Passing Detail

2010-03-30T14:29:00.001-07:00

Moon Rising Detail

2010-03-22T17:09:00.001-07:00

I just put the finished piece in it's entirety on my site here.

"Moon Rising" Progress Pix

2010-03-21T18:48:00.001-07:00

Buckling Paper?

2010-03-14T22:18:00.000-07:00

"Hi Eric!

First up I absolutely love your work and I'm having one hell of a
great time painting with gouache and acrylics on watercolour paper
thanks to your example. I was wondering how ever how you dealt/prevent
the paper from buckling? I know the whole chore of stretching paper
but I was wondering what you specifically do.

Thank you for the inspiration!

ps you're also the most handsomest, nicest guy ever. Seriously, extremely handsome"

Ahhh, he knows me so well. It's almost as if I tacked that last part on myself ;)

Some people stretch their wc paper. I don't. The main reason I don't stretch mine is because when I have it framed I like to show the natural deckled edge of the paper. And stretching the paper eats into the workable area which wouldn't allow me to use the entire surface of a full sheet of wc paper.

Things to try:
- try a heavier stock. The 300lb paper buckles a lot less than the 140lb. Esp on a smaller scale. ie 8x11" vs 22x30"

- It's inevitable that the paper will warp and buckle a bit with aquious mediums. If my paper is buckling enough that it's affecting my application in an undesirable manner I'll usually spray the piece with some water until it starts to relax a bit. Sometimes on the front and the back if it's being very stubborn. Afterwards, I sandwich the painting between two pieces of matte board. Then I sandwich that between two pieces of plywood. Put on a few of the 75lb dumbbells that I normally do curls with and let that flatten for a day or so. When I take the painting out I immediately hang it by a bullclip to let the piece dry out completely from both sides. If you don't do this the paper will curl up on the side facing up. I assume that's because the top is drying faster than the back(facing down and not getting any air) therefore curling forward. I hope this makes sense. I could totally be wrong. But I let it hang in the air for at least twenty min or so. It should be pretty flat. Then it's ready to work on. This is the same process I do at the end of every painting to flatten the work before framing.

-Keep in mind I'm using acrylic. And once it dries it's permanent. So I don't have to worry about it bleeding or getting muddy. If I were using just watercolor or guache. Something that isn't permanent I'd probably do the same process except that I'd only wet the back of the painting before flattening.

Hope that helps. If I missed something let me know and I'll try my best to address it.

Thanks for the great question!

Cali

2010-03-09T04:59:00.001-08:00

Here's another shot of an oil painting I'm working on. I leave today for CA. Yay! But I have bring my paints to finish this up for the show. Booooo!;) All good, I had a breakthrough today with the piece and I look forward to the show. If you're in the LA Area shoot through and give me a holla:) Copro Nason Gallery this Sat

Copro Nason Gallery Mar 13th

2010-03-03T17:12:00.000-08:00

Corp Nason Gallery

Spectrum Gold Medal :)

2010-02-28T11:41:00.000-08:00

I just found out that.....Kanye, let go of my award!!! Huge Thanks to everyone at Spectrum for all the hard work they do every year. This is such an honor.

Watch Vid Here