The mutation of species...

I decided to make a leap with the plumpie. Instead of just having a solo figure in space I decided to see what would happen if I created these amalgamations. One reason was that I really enjoy doing the line work. The more complicated the object the more lines I got to paint. What follows is a lot of experimentation. 

Here is my first attempt. For some reason whenever I am timid or unsure of an image I go with a mostly yellow based pallet. I'm pretty pleased with this first try. 

In image two I wanted to try a more symmetrical image. Again this one kind of harps back to the idea of the double eagle. Really pleased with the look. I started noticing I used the same few visual elements and combining them in different ways. 

This image represents a giant leap and risk for me. I decided to go back into the image once the paint had dried and attack it with colored pencil. Again I started with a more blended and smooth approach which I later kind of get away from. I also decided I didn't like the pencil on the eye. 

This next one gets a bit more complicated and with a wider variety of colored pencils thrown in. Again I moved away from this later on but I really like the feel of this one.  It's got a lot of good modeling going on. 

The next three are kind of based around the same idea of the eye placed in the center of the form and not just on the edges. This one is very simple. 

A bit more complicated with a brown toned pallet and really simple application. 

Again pretty simple. But this is one of my favorite color pallets. Very firey and warm with a big gradient change from red to orange. I also brought back the hard highlight lines. 

That wraps it up for this post. In the next post things go back and forth and experimentation continues and get more and more complex. 

As always thanks for looking. Comments and critiques are always welcome. 

Things start to take a turn.

So I started to change things up a bit in these images. I decided to try out some new forms, still keeping in line with the plumpie feel, but adding a little more to them. I also got looser with my color application.  Here's the start of the evolution. 

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I came up with this design. Maybe a kind of side view of two plumpies looking at each other. The umbilical was a last minute addition to the piece, but I wanted to show there was a more physical connection going on.  I feel like you can feel the intamacy between them. 

This was the first time I came up with this kind of free floating eye unit thing. Again I wanted them to connect in some way and I really enjoy the back and forth squiggle looking things, so that was my approach.  I had a lot of fun painting this one as well, because Jessica painted on it with me.  It has some real nice translucent qualities. 

I don't even know with this one. Not the most successful thing I have ever made but it did lead to some pretty good ideas later on. Note the complimentary color scheme, so original. 

I have long been fascinated by the idea of the two headed eagle. First used by the Romans and now the Russians. It symbolizes watching both side of an empire that is expansive. The piece above is my nod to that. I also kind of saw it as a coat of arms or a ornamental piece. I was also a bit looser with the color kind of a color stipple type feel, not as blended as the previous images. 

Being looser with the water color led to this piece where I decided to just let it go and see what would happen.  Kind of came out looking like some sort of weird camouflage. Again over all I wouldn't consider this one a huge success, but it allowed me to understand the medium a little better, which led me to how I am painting now. Some great lessons come out of failures. 

All of that leads to the final image of the post. Where I kind of combined what I liked and made something I really am happy with. This is still one of my favorite images. Partially because the color is kind of ghostly and haunting, partially because I think the composition is really nice. This is also the first image where I decided to take out the extra highlights in the eyes and just go with the two ellipses.  I also gained some knowledge about applying shadows with complimentary colors instead of just darkening main image color.  Overall not to bad.  

These pieces led to some major breakthroughs for me. In the next post things start to really break out an expand, but for now I'll leave you with this thought. One of my biggest beliefs about making art is to make as much as you possibly can. The chances are that 1 out of every 5 pieces you make will really be pleasing to you and be really good. If you make 100 image than you have 20 quality works. If you make 10 then you'll only be left with two. 

Thanks for looking. As always comments and critiques are welcome. 

Cast of characters.

One of my favorite things growing up was reading Calvin and Hobbs. I always dreamed of being able to write a witty comic strip. Anytime I get on a kick I always like to make characters and even if their interactions don't exist on paper I have stories about them and their interactions in my head.  For this post I think I'll tell their stories instead of talking about technique. Enter "The Cast of Characters"

The muscle:  Grunt came from a hard background. His childhood was spent on the street. He got into peddling drugs at first, but once he hit puberty he quickly outgrew the other boys. Since he was nearly double their size it wasn't long before he began doing the collections and "inspiring" people to pay what they owed. Grunt didn't mind the work, after all he was making more money than his friends.  He did feel sorry for some of the people he came across. Many of them had families they were trying to provide for and had next to nothing after he took his cut. Deep down he always wondered if there was more to life, but felt that he wasn't smart enough to go to school. So he kept quiet and did what he was told. 

The Lackee: Gary never believed in himself even from a young age. He never had any direction, any goals any dreams. While he was in college (as was expected by his family) he met Randal.  Randal was never kind nor caring towards Gary, but he put up with him. He let him tag along and in exchange Gary boosted his ego. Always praising and reassuring him of his choices. For Gary, Randal was everything. 

The Savior:  Hans was a quiet child. He kept to himself mostly, but always believed he was meant for something bigger. His parents encouraged to be his best in hopes that one day he would come out of his shell. Hans didn't know it but he was meant for something bigger and better.  He didn't know it, but he would change the world. 

The Villian: Randal. Sour, mean, scheming.  Randal. He was always the smallest kid in his class, but knew how to manipulate his peers to accomplish whatever he wanted, no matter how devious. Randal had the tools and the will power to devistate the world as we know it, there was only one thing in his way. 

The Mother: Umaya as the people call her is the creator of all things. She oversees and observes, but never interferes. She gives life, and welcomes the dead. She is the beginning and she is the end. She is a part of all of us. 

Sorry this one took me a while to get out. I hope you enjoy them all. I don't thin they'll ever be anymore than dreams and images in my head, but dreaming is fun. 

As always comments and critiques are welcome. Thanks for looking!!