Today in the United States we have a little known and even lesser celebrated holiday called Arbor Day. It usually is superseded by the more popular Earth Day that came earlier in the week this year.
Arbor Day is all about trees, and folks are encouraged to plant a tree to mark the occasion. There are so many holidays on which people celebrate with a greeting card, but never for Arbor Day. This is strange to me, because cards most often come from trees giving up their lives to become greeting cards. So it is high time that there is a greeting card celebrating the trees that cards come from!
So, this year I sent these out to close friends, family, and business contacts. While more trees probably wanted to get in on the deal, they are too late. You now get to enjoy the card digitally!
A little something created with traditional watercolors and colored pencils.
So, all that to say, a very happy Arbor Day to you and yours. I hope you get lots of great Arbor Day presents, and enjoy the many Arbor Day parties you no doubt have lots of invitations to tonight! Stay safe!
A number of years ago before I got into the world of animation, I was a very busy illustrator. I illustrated many books whether of my own design, or sometimes with a team of other illustrators. Much of my color work back then was created with gouache – an opaque water based paint I would apply with both regular brushes and airbrushes. I absolutely LOVED this work.
After having worked for a number of years in the world of animation, and not having illustrated much anymore, the urge to paint more came bubbling up inside of me. While some of my colleagues who spend their days with cartoons want to create fine art, I wanted to create illustrations, even if they were just for me and not part of a greater project. But, I didn’t want to use gouache anymore. The erratic, organic quality of watercolors looked mighty attractive.
So, I bought some tubes of watercolors – Winsor & Newton – the same brand as my gouache paints, and decided to take a crack at ’em. The first serious attempt at using this medium resulted in the piece down below. Watercolors make up the bulk of the piece, finished with the sketchy lines that colored pencils provided.
The name “Slots Landing” was suggested by my brother.
I was hooked, and never looked back. At least 80% of my paintings since then have been with watercolors. Gouache still creeps in now and then, as does purely digital painting in Photoshop, but I absolutely love watercolors, and try to learn more with each new piece that comes across my desk.
Even though this was my first serious attempt at the medium, it remains one of the more popular pieces with viewers, likely due to the subject matter. There’s just something about the loss of innocence when tempted by something bigger and meaner that we all can relate to. The alligator seemed like a natural tempter to the sweet, innocent rabbit who he is coaxing down to the riverboat casino with his luring words and the push of his tail. It seems like the key moment of a book, doesn’t it?
The image was inspired by a verse in the Bible found at I Corinthians 10:13 where it promises to those who have given their lives to Christ that, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
Last week I had cause to look up my friend Paul Dooley on the internet, and was shocked to discover that he turned 90 on February 22! He has always seemed so much more youthful than that – well, he IS so much more youthful than that! So, I made him this card in celebration!
Paul Dooley – nonagenarian. (And yes, there are at least 90 flames on there – quite possibly 91 for good measure.)
Now, Paul happens to be an actor – one you may know. He played Dennis Christopher’s dad in Breaking Away, he played Molly Ringwald’s dad in Sixteen Candles, he played Julia Roberts’ dad in The Runaway Bride. He’s played a lot of dads.
Paul also has been in a lot of movies directed by the late Robert Altman, namely the part of Wimpy alongside Robin Williams in Popeye. And if you have kids, you know him as the voice of Sarge in Pixar’s Cars movies! (A little known item on my own rèsumè is a music video I worked on with Paul that is on FunnyOrDie.com.)
Last week I mentioned the Tim Curry Tribute art show that the Creature Features gallery in Burbank, California, was hosting. I even teased a small portion of my painting that is in the show. Well, the show opened this past Saturday and was a SMASH!
Before I continue about the details of the show, let’s just reveal the full image of my painting called Tim Curry – A Portrait of Villainy. Seems like all the best roles we’ve come to love from this actor are those of villains. He has just been so good at chewing up the scenery with his parts. No one can deliver his lines with more panache and conviction, be over the top about it, and still be so believable as those characters. So, I chose not to focus on a character he played, so much as just portraying him as being a character of himself.
This is the full final piece created in watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil measuring 18×24″. The gallery has the original and prints for sale.I did choose to represent a few of his more memorable characters in the wallpaper – characters from It, Legend,Rocky Horror, Annie, Clue, and Muppet Treasure Island.
Word got out a day or two before the show that LA Weekly, a local newspaper that talks about all the hip events going on around Los Angeles, named the Tim Curry show as their “Event of the Week.” The show didn’t open until 6pm, but as I drove past the gallery a little after 4, there were already two lines forming. One line to the left of all the pre-paid customers (it was $10 to get in on opening night), and a line to the right of stand-by. The gallery changed their hours for the show from 6-9pm to be from 6-11pm to try to accommodate everyone. By the time I arrived for the artists’ entrance at 5, there must have been 500-600 people waiting in line. It was crazy insane!
This is the pre-sale ticket line from behind the gallery. It wrapped around from the front on the right, and went down the alley. there was another long line out front going down the street just of stand-bys.
Of course, the biggest reason folks came to the show was to hopefully get to say hello to Tim Curry who was in the house! Tim had come earlier before the gallery was open to see all the art, which was a good thing. It allowed him freedom to move around, and not be disturbed by everyone wanting a picture with him. He went to dinner, then later came back when everyone was there, and was willing to sit in a roped off area where folks could walk by and greet him.
What a treat to get to meet Tim Curry and express appreciation. (Thanks to my pal Kevin MacLean for thinking to snap this shot.)
Inside the actual gallery rooms, it wasn’t too crowded. They allowed in enough people to make the show navigable, and as folks left, more could come in. A lot of originals were being sold, as well as lots of prints of some of the art. I didn’t stay the whole night, so I assume that my painting is still available for sale, and if you aren’t into having a huge piece of art hanging in your home, they are selling modestly sized prints that I hand-signed. Feel free to contact the gallery if you are interested in getting one. CLICK HERE to access Creature Features’ website.
The gallery at Creature Features.
So, without further ado, below are some photos I took of the show to give you a little taste. The show will be on display until March 11, and it is free to attend now after the opening, so if you are local to Burbank, stop on in and check it out!
Former Disney and Dreamworks animator Kathy Zielinski, former Dreamworks and current Disney animator Kevin MacLean, and then yours truly.The pencil drawings are by Kathy Zielinski from her time working on Ferngully: The Last Rainforest for which Tim Curry performed a voice.A terrific entry celebrating the movie Clue (based on the board game).I forget which film this is from, but what a great textile piece by Lori Herbst!Not only was this a felt It sculpture, It animated! So clever.This is not entirely unrealistic. I did pose my hands for reference when painting the piece.This Pennywise sculpture actually had light-up eyes!Long John Silver from Muppet Treasure Island by my friend Frank Dietz.A parting shot of the gallery with a piece celebrating Rooster Hannigan, Tim’s character from the movie Annie.Many thanks to Tim Curry for all the inspiration!
I am pleased to announce that I am participating in a group art show at the Creature Features gallery in Burbank, California, that opens this coming Saturday, February 24. It is not often I have the time to participate in such shows, so I was grateful that there was an opening in my schedule in which to create a piece.
Click on the image to see details about the show.
Since the show has not opened yet, I thought I would just give a tease as to what my piece looks like. It is okay to reveal that it is a caricature portrait created in watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil (100% real traditional art), and not only will the original be for sale, I just dropped off 15 hand-signed modestly priced prints of the piece at the gallery today.
I call it Tim Curry – A Portrait of Villainy.
The wallpaper hints at some of the memorable characters he has portrayed in movies.
Below is further information about the show prepared by Creature Features. While the show runs until March 11, Mr. Curry will only be appearing in person at the opening this Saturday.
For more than forty years, Tim Curry has been the actor’s model of diversity with a career covering everything from stage to film to television to voice acting.
His roles have defined iconic, from his breakout performance as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW to the villainy of the horned Darkness in Ridley Scott’s LEGEND and Pennywise in the original miniseries of Stephen King’s IT.
Beyond these genre icons, Curry has been unforgettable in films such as ANNIE, HOME ALONE 2, MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND, and CLUE, not to mention voice work for cult hits like DUCKMAN and GARGOYLES.
With well over 200 credits to his name, Curry has been an indelible presence on the entertainment landscape for decades.
This February, Creature Features summons a talented band of artists from all fields of art and culture to pay tribute to this beloved actor.
Our group art show will feature our blazing group of talented artists from every corner of the pop culture universe — comics, animation, visual FX, make-up FX, production design, fine art, and more.
Artists include:
• Darkness designer Miles Teves •
AlohaJenn • Nathan Anderson • Blake Armstrong • Tom Baxa • Jonathan Marks Barravecchia • Ryan Bartlett • Alexandra Beguez • Steven Russell Black • Robert Bowen • William Bronson • Sean Cahill • Tim Cahill • Brenda Chi • Emily Connell • Guy Davis • Amanda Dempsey • Erika Deoudes • Frank Dietz • Tabitha Dietz • Archer Dougherty • Xan Dunn • John Eaves • Robert Elrod • Thom Foolery • Chad Frye • Matthew Gallagher • Enzo Garza • Joy Grierson • Sam Grinberg • Kimber Grobman • Dærick Gross • Luke Harrington • Dori Hartley • Lori Herbst • Josh Hickman • Mary J. Hoffman • Phil Joyce • Megan Kelly • Erik Kling • Serhiy Krykun • Abigail Larson • Ama Lea • Jesse Ledina • Hilary Lile • Dan Litzinger • Ashley Long • Dani Manning • Jordan Monsell • Mr. Mauro • Nick Napolitano • Nesshead • Kaity O’Shea • Eric October • Jeff Rebner • Aleksey Rico • Mireya Romo-Bowen • Mikel Samson • Scott Saslow • Chris Shary • Amber Skowronski • John Sloboda • Todd Spence • Michael Stiles • Eric Swartz • Mark Tavares • Matthew Truex • Tom Valente • Zack Wallenfang • Chad Waters • Woody Welch • Curran Wedner • Bryan E. West • Ryan Wilkins • Trevor Zammit and more!
Artist roster subject to change.
The opening reception will be held on Saturday, February 24th.
Admission is $10 and includes refreshments. Mr. Curry is planning to attend.
Here we are a week away from Christmas. I usually make my own Christmas card every year, but the past three months have had my head spinning, which resulted in a lack of a new card for this year. If you saw my last post, you know what has been occupying my drawing time. So, I thought I’d reach into the ol’ archives to share with you one that I like that was created for 2010.
This is a special one. It’s not often that I illustrate tons of people into a piece, but I was able to include a special couple that mean a lot to me. Kind of in the middle top area, you’ll see a portrayal of Evelyn and Carl Boone. They are not related to me by blood, but have been surrogate grandparents to me since I was born. They are Grandma & Grandpa Boone to me. Grandma passed away a few years ago now, and Grandpa is still a blessing to those who know him at the age of 92. He has always been a wonderful purveyor of biblical advice when one needs it most – a man who has put Christ first through many days both joyful and difficult. While I’m sure he had his days, I never once heard him complain over many years of looking after Grandma. He is the very definition of one who has been faithful both to his Lord, and to his wife and family. There are many generations of Boones and Fryes who love and appreciate him.
So, this piece of art has a bit of a personal story to it. Oh, and yes, that’s a self-portrait in the upper right side, too. 🙂
May you and yours have a blessed Christmas, and I pray that if you have not made Christ the focus of your life (John 3:16), that you will do so and join those who can be truly counted as the faithful.
And just in case you were wondering, it is drawn with colored pencil, watercolored with a non-permanent ink, and color tinted in Photoshop.
I came across this piece in my digital files this past weekend and thought I’d share it with you. It has a little bit of sweetness to it, and a lot of sentiment, because I created it for my parents nine years ago for their 40th wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe that next July will be their 50th, should God allow them to make it to that milestone. Time and health are not always kind to those we love.
I admire my folks for the love and faithfulness they’ve shown each other over the years, and only hope that one day I could be so blessed to have such a relationship.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogantor rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” – I Corinthians 13:4-7
Dragons are often misunderstood. They rant and roar, and breathe fire all over the place, but this is really because they are lonely. If only more people like Adelade here would take them in and give them some love, the world would truly be a safer place.
The tricky part is finding enough villagers to feed the dragon.
