Charge - Underpainting Day Eight

I started on the color!!!

Clouds are fun. I used the reference very loosely and amped up on the blues, lavenders and pinks. I had so much fun working on the rim light on the profile of the horse I almost want to give the whole painting a blueish sheen. We will see. I didn't want to leave class...just wanted to paint into the night. One day, I will.

Below, is Steffen's progress on his Bougereau under paitning.

Memory and Art

Wowsie Wow!

They call him "The Living Camera." An autistic savant, Steve Wilcher from London has an astounding talent you have to see to believe.

In incredible detail, Steve recreates an aerial view of Rome after a 45-minute helicopter ride over the city he has never before seen. He is given three days to draw a giant panorama replicating Rome and its famous landmarks, from a bird's eye perspective.

Charge - Underpainting Day Seven

Got my tiny studio all ready to paint.

I have a lot of work to do to get the under painting completed for next week.
Basically, the bottom third and top third all have to be cleaned up...
especially that nostril area and the bridle.

Stick a fork in me - I am done.
I think I made the nostril too small now.
I will probably touch that some tomorrow night if it's dry enough.

My little helper is hungry and wants his dinner now...more to come as always.

Charge - Underpainting Day Six

I missed class last week. The past two weeks have truly been the roughest of my life. But, May 12 is supposed to bring Pluto and the full moon into alignment where all will right itself, or something like this...so time will tell. I made up for lost time tonight and finished the wipe out and some of the under painting of the clouds for the other side of this piece tonight. Above and below are the first pass at the wipe out.

Then I started to ease in some white using the raw umber
to create half tones as the brush runs out of paint.

Finally, Cheryl brought me a smaller brush that was
still a medium size regular paint brush to continue
painting air into the clouds and soften them.

I was in a foul mood today due to all the craziness in my life right now and almost didn't come to class, but I am so glad I did! Painting does your mind some good. I was given homework to finish the rest of the horse's under painting for next week so I can get into color next class. I must have looked like a female version of the godfather driving home in my convertible with a GIANT horse stick out of the back seat!

Here are some detail shots...it's amazing how much work it
takes to make clouds, but it was also a lot of fun because
the scale is so large I felt like I was INSIDE the clouds.
18 hours into this painting and it's finally forming.

Below, is my buddy Steffen's wipe out copy of his Bougereau.
It's going to be pretty!

So, on to color next week - I can't wait!
I will post what I do at home too this week.

Valerie Hammond

I dig her work!

Valerie Hammond has always been drawn to places and objects that are full of mystery. The expressive and devotional qualities of church shrines, ex-votos, and Asian art ranging from Tibetan medical drawings to Buddhist sculptures serve as inspiration for the artist. As spiritual objects, they possess the ability to impart on the viewer a sense of enchantment grounded by human connectivity, and this offering of transformation echoes Hammond's desire to record both the tangible and elusive aspects of the human condition in her work.

On view at CUE, Hammond's over 30 current works on paper and site-specific installation explore the emotional, physical, and psychological properties of gesture as essential qualities of portraiture. In Hammond's grouping of portraits of close friends, the artist conveys her subject's essence by focusing exclusively on heads and hands -- the most expressive parts of the body. She initially renders onto paper either the actual gesture of the sitter or the subject's recorded imprint, then submerges the drawing in wax, and continues applying further layers of imagery derived from organic materials such as ferns, vines, and twigs. In her highly tactile visual translations, textures and properties of chosen materials often take on human, physical attributes and at times, threads and beads directly sewn onto the surface heighten the corporeal effect of her patterning. The delicate pencil and gouache renderings of flowers drawn on tissue-thin, gampi paper that comprise the series,

Through Hammond's layering process, moments, memories, dreams, and references to the power of touch become profound psychological markers with which to convey both the physical and emotional connections she shares with her subjects.

About the artist

Valerie Hammond was born in Santa Maria, California. She received her MFA from the University of California at Berkeley, where she was awarded the Eisner Award. Upon graduation she moved to New York City and subsequently, was appointed to her first teaching position through the Cleveland Institute of Art in Lacoste, France. She lived in France on and off for the next three years. Upon returning to New York, she began teaching inner city school children art part time through the Studio in a School program. Hammond has taught printmaking at Columbia University, New York University, the Yale Norfolk Program; drawing at Cooper Union School of Art, and has been a visiting art critic at RISD. Most recently, she has had exhibitions in Madrid, New Zealand, New Delhi, as well as the M Gallery in Cleveland, OH, The Lisa Sette Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ, and Weber State University, in Ogden, UT. Hammond lives and works in the Lower East Side of New York City with her husband and two children.

Shelly Wankenobi

Shelly Wankenobi, a look-dev artist for film and visual effects who is also studying under Jeremy Lipking. This is just a sampling of her personal and professional work. I think she is awesome.

For more...check out here blog.

Charge - Underpainting Day Five

The scale of this thinkg is really overwhelming now. I imagine it's going to take at least 2-3 more classes (6-9 more hours) to nail this side of the painting. Then, I still have to do the clouds on the other canvas.

Still trying to polish, clean-up and get the under painting right. The veins are getting easier. Not sure if it's because I am learning through the exercise or if the layers of paint are helping me create more subtle nuances...it's probably both. I figure once I get all of the lighting, form, tone and basic idea of what needs to be there with the raw umber...the rest should be a breeze and quite fun. Time will tell.


Steffen finished his mandala tonight! I worked with Steffen in VFX/Animation on a commercial a year or so ago...and he joined me in this classical painting class. He is pretty excited to have completed the Mandala exercise, since he will be doing the Biblis By Bourgereau, next. I will post his progress "here and there," as he works.

Charlotte Marie Website

I just finished a website for my friend Charlotte.
Check it out!

charlottemarie.org

Charge - Underpainting Day Four

Now you can see the scale on this sucker. That's me...and man-o-man I didn't know what I was getting into. I take less pictures - mostly just after I am done. The progress is slower than Girl With A Pearl Earring, since it is so large, but I am already pleased with the form its taking (especially only 12 hours into it). I painted over the previous work to get more form and tone going. Now that it's all blocked out, I can concentrate on getting my mid tones right and working out from there creating more subtle blends. So tired. More to come next time.

Amp Upgrades Logo

Staying Busy. This is a new logo I designed for my friend Nial's new business. He already creates these high end cables for guitars and now he is venturing into taking vintage guitar amps and punking them out for that harmonic brown tone everyone is after. He wanted a steam punk vibe to it. He chose the font. Not too crazy about it but its growing on me. Below was one of my earlier versions that I thought would make a great t-shirt. Nial wanted something much more simple though.
The ideas twirling in my head while creating the logo were a combination of - harmony, makeover, singing amps, more efficient, organic mythical sound, small sound making it larger, the swan, steam punk, even order harmonics, etc.etc.

The couple represents harmony, love, the "even order harmonics" and symmetry. Indirectly, I wanted the couple to represent my friend and his wife building the business together.

The swan scroll work on the amp actually mimics something I took note of during the initial meeting with Nial. I wrote in my sketchbook - "makeover - the swan, ugly duckling." By upgrading the amp - Nial is taking the ugly duckling and turning it into the swan.

The "singing amp" idea is illustrated through scroll work coming out of the phonographs. Also how the amp seems to get bigger and bigger with the Victorian scroll work above - this represents the small sound made larger through the upgrade.

It holds with both the Victorian and "steam punk" styles that Nial and I had discussed, but I tried to give it modern flair with the levels of grey and overlays. So, it would give the brand mass appeal to the young and old.

I like the simplified version, but I really love the more complicated on for t-shirts and posters. I think it has more of a presence. That is the way these things go when you are creating for someone else.