"Goddess of Anitiquity": Process Breakdown

It's been awhile since I've posted a breakdown of one of my paintings.  So hopefully this will be of use to anyone new to Muddy Colors or to my work and process.  As quick overview I'm basically using watered down acrylics on watercolor paper with fairly traditional watercolor technique like wet on wet, scumbling, and dry brushing to produce my finished paintings.

Here's my original concept sketch which is overlapping a few other thumbnails.  In the beginning ideas for the new piece were very elusive.  I feel like I spent four or five fairly stressful days pulling my hair out(beard hairs obviously) trying to come with a decent concept.  This isn't always an easy task and sometimes made worse with looming deadlines.  But obviously concept is one of the most important aspects for a piece of art in my opinion.  The drawing on the right was done with the help of photo reference for the figure and as much of the background as possible in order to come up with a cohesive look and a certain amount of realism.  Cue photo reference.

Ideally, I would've liked to take photo reference of my model actually in the environment

that I'll be using in order to have information like reflective light, edge relationships, cast shadows, and other interactions between figure and the surroundings.  Of course when working on surreal or fantasy based imagery this is rarely an option.

Here's is the final drawing transferred onto the watercolor paper.  I have to make sure the drawing is just how I want it before laying my first wash of paint down as it seals the painting permanently.  Throughout the process I also try to be flexible  enough to allow for spontaneous things to happen while working.  Here some ruffly accent appeared on the dress.  I did a little research on flapper dresses from the 1920's and refined the dress a bit more as well as adding an additional accent in the figures hair.

Here I begin laying down some paint in thin washes.  While the paint was still wet I used a paper towel to lift out some of the pigment in areas that I plan on keeping bright, for instance the windows.  I'm also trying to establish some darks right off the bat for value reference.  What seems dark enough in the beginning of a painting usually requires even more darkening before it's finished.

Paint

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Paint

Paint

Here you can see a shift in temperature on the background walls.  For the most part I work transparently, constantly building up value and color.  In a case like this I have to mix some semi-opaque washes and slowly work the areas in the direction of color and value that I want to go.  I also decided to add a veil at this point which I had been on the line about using or not.

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And here's the final.  As always, if I was unclear about anything or skipped over something you are interested in, let me know and I'll try to address it for you.

Lush Life Show at Roq La Rue

I'm scrambling to wrap this piece up.  But I thought I'd post a quick progress shot here.  Now back to painting!

Another Quick Reminder!

"As a special Muddy Colors incentive, any student who signs up prior to August 1st will receive $250 off their tuition!"  That means Tomorrow is the last day!

For more information on this check out Muddy Colors Blog.

"Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt" Graphic Novel

Journalist Chris Hedges collaborated with comics artist and journalist Joe Sacco on "Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt", an illustrated book dealing with what Hedges describes as "sacrifice zones".  You can listen as Chris Hedges discusses these issues with Bill Moyers here.   It ends with commentary from Joe Sacco and showcases some of his illustrated comic panels.

You can also see more of the artwork in an audio slide show of "Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt" here.

If you find these types of issues interesting and relevant I would also suggest checking out the graphic novel "A People's History of American Empire" by Howard Zinn.  Here's a short audio, visual presentation of the novel, narrated by Viggo Mortensen.  Artwork by Mike Konopacki.

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New Work in Progress

Here's the final drawing and a wip of a piece I'm scrambling on.

If you missed it...

Well, the show is actually still up at LeBasse Projects.  So go and check it out :)  However, if like myself, you aren't able to see the show in person here's some shots of the art on the gallery walls via Juxtapoz  Always cool to see the work framed and on the wall.

SmART SCHOOL Update!

Hey! That's me.  As some of you may know I'll be teaching a limited class of online students with Donato Giancola, Gregory Manchess, and Rebecca Guay at SmART School.  I just found out my guest contributor will be David Saylor, Senior Art Director who has worked on such notable books Harry Potter and Hugo Cabret.  Super excited and honored to be working with such a high caliber of professionals to say the least.  For anyone interested in more info and availability for the classes click Here

One another note.  My next gallery opening is this Sat 14th at LeBasse Projects in Culver City.  Super excited about that as well.  If you're in the neighborhood pop in the check out the work and let me know what you think.