Illustration

This illustration was done for a client that wanted to portray its company and its industrial partners as loyal, trustworthy dogs holding their territory against their competitors who are portrayed as flea bitten hyenas, jackals and wild dogs. To create this illustration, I drew the dogs and the map of the US, then scanned them into my computer which allowed me to shift them around and change their values without having to redo the entire drawing every time. This method of illustration also allows changes to be made at the client's request without a major undertaking.

Still Life

Painting and drawing still life is also a very important exercise for artists. They are compact, can be set up just about anywhere in the studio and can linger for as long as the artist needs them. The still life helps the artist keep his arm and eye in shape. Just like a dancer or musician, without constant practice over time you get very rusty. These are a sampling of still life drawings and paintings.

Sketching

It goes wihtout saying that a sketchbook is an artist's main resource. It documents places, emotional response to events and builds a library of images that can be tapped for future use. It acts as a visual journal and data source. These are from a small collection of sketches.

Art Brut

This piece titled "Archons" was from my MFA Thesis show. It depicts my older brother and myself holding our father's military swords while standing in front of our mother's home in her village in Greece. Like my other thesis oil paintings, this was done in an Art Brut fashion. I would build up the layers of paint, scrape them back down, build up, scrape down, etc. until I reached a certain level. The process is very time consuming, wastes quite a bit of paint and is physically demanding (because of the scraping). It is a cathartic way of painting though, and very expressive as you destroy and rebuild.

Painting Texture

It is always difficult to represent texture in oil, especially when painting ala prima. This study is composed of objects with distinct textures. Trying to make the painted object "feel" like its real life counterpart is the challenge. Having to simultaneously paint leather, faux fur, metal clips and a painted wooden wall forces the artist to constantly change not only the paint but the handling of the brush.

Etching

These two prints were made with the zinc plate etching method. Aquatint, an acid resistant etching ground is melted on the zinc plate. (There is also a brushable version available) Then using dry point tools, the artist begins to draw into the ground, exposing the metal. The plate is immersed into an acid bath that will react with the exposed zinc and eat away at it leaving a cavity behind that can accept ink. Immersion lasts anywere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on how dark of a line the artist wants. The process is repeated for hatching or for tinting. To tint areas the artist uses the mezzotint method, sprinkling a powder (or using spray paint) over an area which will leave behing hundreds of little pockets or dots that after an acid bath make an area tinted. After the plate is cleaned off, etching ink is applied and rubbed in, wiping away all excess with paper from a yellow pages. The paper is prepared by soaking it in lukewarm water. Different types of paper require different soaking times. The plate is placed face up on the press with the paper over it and then passed through (electric presses are easier to use than hand presses and have a consistant result). The ink is tranfered to the paper and viola your etching has been printed! A zinc plate can probbably produce 100-150 prints before warping. Copper plates will last much longer, up to 300 prints.

Acrylic Painting

Unlike oil based paint, which takes time to dry therefore allowing the artist to manipulate over a period of hours or days, acrylic paint dries fast. Painting with acrylic has to be immediate. The advantage with acrylics is that you can get transparant effects by simply watering down the pigment and the colors have a high intensity. Mixing acylics is difficult because of its drying time, which can be extended with water. Like guache, watercolor or tempera, acrylic will layer well but will not have visible brushstrokes like oil.

Multiple Color Woodblock

This piece was made with 3 woodblocks. Aligning the blocks perfectly is the most important step as just a few millimeter deviation of one of the colors can destroy the entire composition.

Pastel Painting

Painting with pastel can be much more difficult than with oil. The artists has to be careful not to make any mistakes, because they are harder to correct. The choice of paper is crucial, because the amount of "tooth" determines just how much pigment is applied. An artist with skill in pastel can create amazing textures and trasparancies by layering. This is a pastel study with its initial charcoal value study. Patience is paramount to the execution of a successful pastel painting, and it is difficult for me to spend much time on it. For pastel (and watercolor) master work, go see the art of Brian Busch at:

http://www.brianbuschstudio.com/

Value Study

These two studies show just two different methods in approaching the understanding of value. The salt and pepper shakers were painted in oil ala prima, and the studio was drawn in charcoal and pastel. Value is based on a 10 step scale with 1 being the lightest and 9 being the darkest (10 is reserved for pure black). It is important for an artist to understand the subtle nuisances of value shift, especially because color can confuse the eye into misreading the intensity of the object.

The Dead Palette

These figure paintings were done with the dead palette which was used by the dutch masters. It is the most ideal palette for the human form as is permits a wide range of values and flesh tones from just a few basic paints. A 10 value scale string is mixed for black&white, reds and yellows. Each string is lined up parellel to each other and the artist can mix only within a vertical range, i.e. yellow 1 cannot be mixed with red 2 or black 3, etc. The two most prominent paints used will be Yellow Ochre and English Red. There is quite a bit of intitial setup to mix the palette properly, but once the artist has it done, remixing at the proper value and color becomes second nature.

Drawing the Human Figure 2

For this method the artist begins by layering the paper with the charcoal powder saved from working with vine charcoal. Using a shamy cloth the powder is gently rubbed into the paper to about a 5-7 on the gray scale. Then using the shamy or kneeded gum, the powder is lifted off the page to create the figure. When the values and forms start taking shape, vine charcoal can then be used sparingly to help define the various masses and outlines. This is more of a subtractive method of drawing and helps the artist use value to create form. As with all drawing, fingers should never be used as the natural oils on the skin affect the surface.

Drawing the Human Figure 1

This nude figure study was drawn using hard vine charcoal. The charcoal stick is sanded with a fine grit paper to a very fine point (the powder is saved for method #2 which I will describe tomorrow). Each mark is applied very lightly and in a consistant direction with build up and some contour hatching to darken areas. The figure is drawn at the 6 head scale and a sight sizing tool is used. The model must be in a relatively comfortable and recreatable position as it takes several hours to complete. Jerry here was sitting on a sturdy cushion. The artist must take care to not press hard or draw past a certain thickness of the point. Erasure is done by lifting with kneeded gum. There is no smearing in this method.

Surreal Still Life Pencil Drawing

This drawing was an excercise to create a surreal landscape using a handfull of elements from a still life. This gives the artist the opportunity to engaged objects from multiple points of view and understand light and composition better. It is rather difficult to come up with a composition that looks "natural," from a surreal perspective, of course, but it is very fun.

Woodblock Print

This piece is a single color woodblock print from a series of 5. Printmaking is an very enjoyable method both woodblock (single or multi color) and zinc or copper plate etching. The artist has to conceptualize the composition in reverse or mirrored and be precisce with the cuts as once you cut out a chunk of wood, you can't replace it.

Ink Line Drawing

These two studies are examples of quick line drawings done in ink. With no pencil underdrawing or the ability to erase the ink marks, the artist is forced to make bold decisions when commiting each line to paper. Unlike the ala prima painting or the silverpoint drawing, which both allow room for some correction, this method is a one shot deal.