Artboy's Artblog

Jungle Rebel GWG (Girls With Guns)

2012-02-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

Tiffany was back, this time as an Angelina Jolie type jungle action hero in camo with machine gun sorta thing. It was great, just add explosions to taste. Just had time at the end for a 10 minute portrait.

More workshop sketches

2012-01-26T11:47:00.000-08:00

Here are a few assorted drawings from recent workshops.

Road Trip!

2012-01-10T19:47:00.000-08:00

Where's the best place to head when the nukes fly? Why, the wide open spaces of the Mojave desert, of course. Load up on fuel and ammo, grab your best friend and hit that Road to Nowhere.

Ah, Paris!

2011-11-17T11:40:00.000-08:00

A lovely Parisian gal, fun to draw. The Amelie soundtrack provided inspiration.

Demon Stroll

2011-10-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

When this little guy is out for a walk, lock the doors and windows and hide under the bed. And whatever you do, don't try to pat him on the head. Halloween greetings in a less serious vein!

Gothic

2011-09-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

"Lady Westerly,riding out to the old cemetery at the edge of Dunsden Moor, discovers an open, empty grave under the ancient oak tree as the crows begin to gather..." I don't really have a solid story for this one, I just thought I'd get in the Halloween mood. Boo.

Super Heroine

2011-09-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

When the asteroids are about to destroy the Earth, you'd better hope this super gal is there to protect us with her plasma balls! Or something to that effect. I was trying to think of a name for her but most of the good ones are taken. Plasma Girl?.... I dunno. Nope, it's taken.

Shaken, Not Stirred...

2011-09-08T11:13:00.000-07:00

Tiffany was back last night as a fantastic Bond girl, sadly no gun. I suppose I could cheat and add one, but whatever. The soundtracks supplied by Bob Kato kept us all inspired. It's funny to compare the drawings as the night went on, she looks innocent in one and exotic in another. All 25 minute poses except the one at the top, that was 45.

Art Show

2011-09-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

I have a few pieces going into an annual show in a few weeks, 2 paintings from a couple years back and a couple of drawings. The show is for Ryman Arts, a program for young artists in the L.A. area. I thought I'd post the paintings, both from life and both in acrylics. The drawings are already posted a few weeks back.

Practice, practice, practice!

2011-08-12T13:04:00.000-07:00

Just for fun, I collect old studio shots of actors and actresses to do practice paintings. It's a good challenge to try to get the likeness as well as keep it kind of loose and fresh when working from a photo. The old studio portraits had such great lighting, it helps hone those skills. Remember, kids, NO TRACING!

Stop In The Name Of Love!

2011-07-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

We had the lovely Karole Foreman pose for us last night, the theme was a girl group singer. Great work, Karole! Appropriate music was enjoyed by all.

Film Noir Floozie

2011-07-21T17:13:00.000-07:00

I love film noir lighting, I figured a dangerous dame with a 45 would be a good subject. Don't double cross her or it's curtains fer ya.

Fire Bug

2011-07-19T14:24:00.000-07:00

I like the darker nursery rhymes, so I thought maybe I'd write and illustrate a few of my own. Little Lizzy is first. Dad the lighthouse keeper should have hid the matches better!

Satan's Little Helper

2011-07-06T16:16:00.000-07:00

When Lucifer want's to add a few more souls to his list, he sends out little Satania to lure 'em in! If you bump into her at the single's bar, run the other way fellas. Clues to her true nature are little horns, a sharp tongue and the the smell of Brimstone by Yves Satan-Laurent.

Be sure to click the image to see it bigger than a postage stamp!
Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I broke my arm and I'm a slow healer.

Prince of the Desert

2011-05-19T14:18:00.000-07:00

John as an Arab Sheik, in full regalia (so of course I did a close up) Even with the paste on beard, he was very convincing. He was the model for the cowboy drawings a number of posts back, you'd never know it.

Hard Boiled

2011-05-05T13:47:00.000-07:00

"It was raining cats and dogs here on the seedy side of the City of Angels, and I have the scratches to prove it...the smell of wet fur, all that meowing and barking. It was enough to make a guy want to leave Detective work and get into something simple, something pure....like soda jerking...or theme park design..."

And so our story of one hard boiled detective begins. He was a great model, I wish I had better drawings to show for it.

The Gypsy Dancer

2011-04-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

We had the lovely and talented Sara Streeter last night as a Gypsy girl. Great poses all evening. We're lucky to get such great models on a regular basis.

Lambretta Love

2011-03-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

I love old scooters, they're such great art pieces in themselves (my old '66 Lambretta Li150 is the model in this illustration- not running for many years now) I thought I'd do a piece that was a little '60s, a little Brit fashion-y. I think it would make a nice poster.

Boxing Day

2011-03-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

We had a "Gentleman Jim" boxer as our model the other night with the appropriate old teens-twenties music.

Dinosaurs and Jennifer Connelly

2011-02-17T14:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, maybe they don't really go together but I did them within a few days of each other. The dinosaur one started as "Hey, I should do a piece with a warm toned background!" and of course it turned into a Frazetta type dino-babe thing. But it was fun. Then, I thought a celeb portrait would be a good exercise (again on a warm toned background- ah, the thread!) so I found a photo of Jennifer Connelly. I like seeing how loose I can keep it in Photoshop. I think it's time to drag out the real paint again.

Exotic

2011-02-10T09:39:00.000-08:00

Russia was our model last night, I don't know how she kept her arms elevated and her back bent for so long. We have great models here for sure!

A Mod, Mod World

2011-01-27T09:06:00.000-08:00

Daniella was our model last night, great poses, great '60s outfit. Music was heavy on the Dionne Warwick / Burt Bacharach end, with some Kinks thrown in. Thanks to Bob Kato, our intrepid coach and organizer .

Brunhilda Rides!

2010-12-22T11:22:00.000-08:00

Valkyrie Viking Vixen V-Twin Vehicle. Voom. Happy Holidays!

Warrior Princess

2010-12-13T17:15:00.000-08:00

In class again- Stacy as the Warrior Princess. Wings are of course imaginary. Or ARE they?(Now that I look at them, these 2 poses are almost identical.Hey!.....)

Jungle Queen a-go-go

2010-11-29T17:31:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have no idea where this one came from. I saw a picture of a warthog, and it grew from there. Some paintings have minds of their own.

That Sucking Sound

2010-11-11T09:29:00.000-08:00

Your mother warned you about going down dark alleys, but did you listen? Nooooo.....you can't go anywhere these days without running into vampires.

Dancer

2010-11-04T17:18:00.000-07:00

Another great model last night, Tiffany. My drawing was not up to snuff, only a couple of decent ones. Sometimes you're just too dang tired!

Gangsta Girl

2010-10-21T11:53:00.000-07:00

We had another great model the other night doing her version of Bonnie (Bonnie and Clyde). I want longer poses.

Cowpokes

2010-10-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

The Bullwhip

The Getaway

Right here in the bag, mister!

He got me...

The Gunslinger

Drawing workshop featured excellent work by John as Black Bart.

Art workshop begins again!

2010-09-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

Our after work drawing group has finally restarted. I really missed drawing from live models. Our first model is the amazing Sarah Streeter as a flamenco dancer.

W.O.W.!

2010-07-21T11:18:00.000-07:00

80's flashback! I saw a picture of Plasmatics frontwoman Wendy O. Williams a while back and thought she deserved a tribute piece. She definitely had a style all her own and I wanted to try and get her stage energy across. Plus, you can't beat the electrical- tape- over-the-nipples thing. "Master Plan!!"

Victory!

2010-07-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

A little WWII nostalgia. (No, I wasn't there) I've always liked the old "Nose Art" from military planes and thought I'd do one myself, without the "Miss Victory" type tagline.

No Mercy

2010-04-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

Sure, they LOOK cute and innocent, but when the robots wig out and take over the ship, a hot laser pistol is all that stands between you and a fiery re-entry!

Classical-ish

2010-02-12T09:54:00.000-08:00

I wanted to do a fun take on the formal poses of classical allegorical figures (Of course they have to be sort of weird to make ME happy) The first two are "Goddess of Le Grande Boom Boom" and "She of the Orb-Thingies".I think this would be a cool series hanging in a group in really ornate frames. Maybe with a fountain! I have to tighten them up more than usual so they will print well at a large size, but I think I can manage that. Boom Boom is done, Orby still needs some clean up.

Scout Rider

2010-01-21T11:59:00.000-08:00

Here's a new one. What better way to do RECON than aboard some of the local fauna? Not easily tamed but loyal to the end, the Purple Throated Glort is a bit dim but fast and agile when moving across alien landscapes.

All Hail King Toad!

2009-12-24T10:59:00.000-08:00

Our hero receives an audience with His Bloatedness KING TOAD in his desert fortress. Hopefully Toad won't employ his CROAK O' DEATH or the OTHER DEFENSE that toads are known for...yuck!

Scribblets and Doodles

2009-11-04T11:59:00.000-08:00

I didn't have anything new so it's into the sketchbook pile. Occasionally these turn into finished pieces, so I save all my doodles in a file. Sometimes they live again!

Get Real!

2009-10-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

Digging into the archive I thought I'd post some pastels (real pastels!) from workshop sessions a couple years ago. I'm trying to shame myself into life drawing again!

Character Inspiration

2009-09-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

When I can't think of anything in particular to paint, (which is often) I like to make up characters. They can be anything, here for example are a western robot gunslinger, a sad princess, and an aging knight. I just give them any attitude that comes to mind and have fun with them. A lot of times they suggest a story idea which I bank for later or they're just for fun. Whatever! Keeps the old brain and wrist moving.

Winged Warrior

2009-08-18T17:27:00.000-07:00

Here's another new one. I thought about a retro/Steampunk styled Aerial Combat suit. The wings are backpack powered and she can steer using the "blades" on her helmet and wrists. Just 'cause it's cool.

More Spaceage Mayhem

2009-08-03T18:04:00.000-07:00

A couple more from my endless Sci-Fi saga that has no story yet.

Saucer Trouble

2009-06-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

"You're in a HEAPA trouble, boy!" Billy Bob is going to regret the speeding ticket when the "probing" begins!

The Tiny Warrior

2009-06-10T14:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the kind comments, gang, I really appreciate it. I've been very bad about posting lately, so here's something new. I thought I'd go into classic storybook mode and make up a moment between a giant and a brave little warrior. The giant can't help but be amused at the spunk of this little guy. No more story to it than that (Not yet, at least) I was looking at some of the classic illustrators like N.C.Wyeth and Co. and got inspired!

Vampires!

2009-04-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, so boredom drives us to art sometimes. Someone asked me how I start a piece so I thought I'd show the initial sketch and what it turns into. Here's my take on the classic Vampirella character (from memory, I was winging it) that was SO inspirational to young boys in the late sixties (second only to Mrs. Peel, of course!) I thought I'd paint it in B&W like it was gouache.

Search party

2009-04-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

The team is on the lookout for bad guys...and I think they've found 'em! I HAD to use my old Lambretta scooter in a piece of art....the .50 cal mounted on it would have come in handy many a time..heh heh..

Some storyboards from the archives

2009-03-28T15:51:00.000-07:00

Here are a few frames from around (yipes!) 1988-1990. One was for some sparking water ad, the girl waking up was probably for some clothes company like Ross, I honestly don't remember, and of course Sharon Stone! For some studio promotional film.Okay, that one I had photo reference for but the others I made up out of my head. The finals of these were probably in color but that was pre-computer so they were xeroxed and colored with markers, so I usually ended up with just some b&w copies to take home. We would usually bang out 10-16 of these frames in an 8 hour day, usually in color. I get tired just thinking about it!

Cheri DeSade

2009-03-23T14:45:00.000-07:00

A solo warrior gal sketch for this week.I spent a long time on the background! Heh.

Falling!

2009-03-17T15:14:00.000-07:00

Here's a new piece from my saga where the heroine falls into an abandoned well. A bit more action than usual. I wanted to capture that "Oh crap!" moment that we've all had the split second everything goes wrong!

St. Vincent

2009-01-08T09:30:00.000-08:00

I just finished a tribute portrait of Annie Clark, singer/composer/guitarist extraordinaire. It's a nod to the 60s sad eyed kid portraits by Margaret Keane. Funsville!

Finally, some new stuff.

2008-12-01T14:53:00.000-08:00

Here are a few samples of things I'm doing lately outside of work. My series is called "Women of Mass Destruction"

Commercial Stuff

2008-03-03T11:47:00.000-08:00

Here are some concept sketches, storyboard frames and a couple of finished pieces for the REAL world (For money). I'll be adding more as I scan stuff.

Landscapes CAN Be Fun (Sometimes)

2008-02-25T16:05:00.000-08:00

Here are a few landscapes (OK, more buildings than pure landscapes!) A couple were done Plein Aire (See if you can guess which!)

Life Drawing Is Good Too

2008-01-23T14:56:00.000-08:00

These are some drawn and painted examples from live models. The drawings are pastel and average 20-30 minutes, the paintings are anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours.

More Digital Darlin's

2008-01-23T14:48:00.000-08:00

This is my current series of wild women. All are sketched in pencil then colored digitally.

Emma Peel!

2008-01-23T14:00:00.001-08:00

Mrs. Peel, we're needed!