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!!

To the next level

At this point I kind of new which direction I wanted to go. I had the plumpie form kind of in my head and with a few minor adjustments I would be in my way. In comes image one. I wanted to take some notes from my old drawings and give the plumpie hole nipples. I don't know why, but in my head I thought, "it will help the milk come out easier."  I was still playing with color and still think that I hit a home run with this one. I like the way it looks like a sunset. The image here doesn't do it justice. I was also looking at a water color Chris Ryniak had done and though I'd give it some speckles. I like the way they recede into the shape and give some dimension. 

In image two I thought well maybe I should make the belly button a hole as well. I balanced that by giving it an extra eye. I don't think the holey bell button has shown back up in my work again. This one also kinda turned out veiny. Weird...

Image 3 I was trying to figure out how two plumpies would interact if they met. I am not sure if they are having sex. If they are conjoined twins, or if one is spawning off of the other. Either way it was fun to blend the colors and kind of get a different feel for what the plumpies were. 

Here again I am playing with the idea of just a head.  This one also plays off the old Momoe kind of shape. I got into a green phase for a few pieces here. 

We'll finish up here with image number five. Exploring the plumpie kind of in motion, turning and getting some form going.  I haven't made any more like this, but I really like it. I also really like his little antenna.  And of course, GREEN!!!

That about wraps it up for this post.  Keep yours eyes open for the next one where the cast of characters enters the scene.

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

So SQUISHY!!!

I think as humans most of us are constantly searching for the next best thing. What's newer, what's bigger, what's better. I had made the plumpie, but it was almost to easy. It just couldn't be possible that after a few small paintings I had found the next path for me to run down. The first two images are examples of me seeing if the plumpie could be improved upon.  I thought maybe it needed little limbs or more lumps. The second I referred back to some old shapes to see where the plumpie wanted to be.

I was also trying out some different color combinations. I still was using very few layers. Trying to achieve a finished look with just a pass or two. Notice the colors are still very blended. 

I am always back and forth with the idea of whether or not my creations need bodies or not.  The third image here here is a plumpie head type thing. I got a little smudge on the cheek, and I tried out some more action lines, but the real fun is the texture. I like the technique of using salt on a heavily pigmented wet surface.   Gives this real nice spotted type texture.  If you try this be sure to use kosher or sea salt, iodized salt just doesn't work as well. 

Image 4 is one of my favorites I've ever made. I keep meaning to return to this style, but I haven't yet.  Something I really like about the separation of the parts and the black line connecting them.   I like painting with green also.   So  many wonderful shades. 

Images 5 and 6 here were the two pieces I made during Christmas. I wanted to make them abominations of the plumpie to see how far I could push it.  They both opened some ideas that i worked out in later pieces.   I like the green one especially.  I found out with the red one that red is a really powerful pigment, and that just a little is more than enough.  I tried this weird texture thing with it also, that didn't wuite work out as planned. These two were also the first ones where I started putting bold outlines on the plumpies, more like my older drawings.  In my head I see every picture as a potential sticker that would be wheat pasted somewhere, the bold outline kind of plays into that culture. 

That wraps it up for this one. I think the progression is pretty evident, and in the next post you'll be able to see where things really start to take off. The plumpies start to change and take on their new form and the colors start to get real serious. 

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

Let's start at the very beginning, A very good place to start

 It all started when it came time to think of Christmas gifts.  Being a true New Yorker means I am dirt poor. I say this not to say that I still don't have plenty, but instead to say that there was no money for gifts.  I still wanted to show people that they are in my thoughts so I decided to make them small little art things.  I asked one friend what she wanted, and probably more as a joke she said a booger.  Well I like to turn the joke around, so I set out to make a booger.  I like plump, squish, organic things, so I made him in a similar fashion to the way I used to draw The Momoe.  I was and still am learning how to use water color to enhance the drawings that I make, so I looked to some of my favorite artists for inspiration: Buff Monster, Chris Ryniak, Andrew Bell, and Leontine Greenberg to name a few.  Also during this time I challenged myself to learn to use a brush to do my line work.  I am a huge fan of pens and the control they offer, but many of my idols use the brush, so I also needed to use the brush, or at least know how.  I started with Speedball Super Black India ink and a #0 Series 7 Sable brush (Unanimously the best inking brush known to man).  Most of these pieces are about 6-8 inches and in the early stages here were done on Fluid Easy-Block Cold Pressed water color pads.  You can see how the first one turned out.  I thought to try a back ground on the second, which I didn't really like.  There has been a lot of experimenting with the highlights and accent lines within the shape to get the idea across without it being to much.  I think I have finally arrived at a place with the newest pieces that I am happy with.  

  The third image here was trying and seeing if I liked the eyes to have pupils.  It ended up looking like a fetus or a piece of chewing gum.  Kinda creepy.  I don't know what I was thinking with the splatter stuff on the bottom.  Not a failure, because I learned a lot, but definitely not the route I wanted to take things.  

Images 4 and 5 here show me moving into a more abstract amalgamation of form with some extra little shapes poking out of the booger.  From the beginning and even now I really enjoy using yellows and oranges, partially because they are some of my favorite colours, partially because they are forgiving.  While I was in this early stage, I was painting with the paper really wet and blendy.  The colors transition smoothly from one to the other, a good technique, but something I have moved away from somewhat.  You can see on 5 that I used some other colors to create shadows and see what that would do.  These two were also heavily focused on the eyes and head with very little body.  My brush work started to clean up a little bit as well.

I'll end here with number 6 here which was kind of a break through, and pushed the direction and still does.  I move away from the shape at times, but come back to it in some form frequently.  I have always liked the way plump things look.  Almost like they have filled to the brim and are about to burst.  I like the idea of poking them and my finger sinking.  I used a lot of yellow pigment on this one as well giving it a glowing feel.  I also wanted to see what the figure would look like without adding pure white highlights to the body.  I have always liked the two light spots on the eyes, but I was trying out other highlights in addition.  It took me another 20 or pieces to realize I like the two light spots just fine.

Keep your eyes open for the next post where the style of the plumpies starts to change a little bit.  It also includes the two that I made on Christmas.

Thanks for looking and as always thoughts and critiques are welcome.  

Looking back to Move forward

The Momoe

This is mostly meant to a pic heavy post.  I was reminiscing with a friend earlier about some of my old sculptures, and it made me think of what I have accomplished in my art over the past 10 years.  I decided to look back through some old images and see what has carried through and what has fallen away.  Also to see how many pieces I have poor images of or no record of at all.   Its been quite a journey so far, and I look forward to seeing what else comes.  This first image is Momoe.  I still think this is one of the my favorite things I have ever created and that I still look to all the time.  Momoe represents how many of us experience life, constantly torn between emotions.  I chose to show him as the sad face here, but if you flip your head upside down you can see hes also quite happy.  Originally he was meant to be a sticker that you put up in the orientation of how you feel that day.

The next image is of a splat thing I used to draw.  I had completely forgotten about them, but they have a strong relevance in the work that I am currently making.  Looking back at this one gives me new ideas of how to approach my new pieces.    

Sculpture has always been one of my true passions.  The ability to physically create something with my hands that exists in three dimensions has always excited me.  The two sculptures here are both made with yarn.  The first was a site specific piece done for a group show.  The second is yarn that has been wrapped around found objects and then coated in beeswax.  Being in New York has limited my ability to make large pieces like these, but I feel like the aesthetic and shapes still show up in my work. 

After school I moved towards pen and ink drawing more and more.  I started a project called "If and When" where I challenged myself to make 365 drawings in 365 days.  I made close to 400 during that time, and built the habit of make drawings on a daily basis in an almost obsessive way.  A habit which I have continued.  Since I began that project nearly 3 years ago I estimate I have made close to 700 finished drawings/paintings and countless sketches.  40 of those have been make since the beginning of 2014.

Wanting to keep my hands active I decided to make some small sculptures last year.  A friend and artist Marty Henley gave me one of the greatest gifts I possess, the knowledge of mold making and casting.  I set up a small wooden desk in our tiny apartment and went at it.  I have created three "toys" so far including the boxes.  I hope to make some more of these in the near future.      

 That brings me to where I currently am.  I was given the task of drawing a booger for a friend and have run with it.  My roommate Jake Ingram encouraged me to use the water color we had laying around to see if it would make my work any better, and it has been so fun playing and learning how to paint.  Below is the first booger I made followed by my most current painting of what I am now referring to as plumpies.  Over the next week or so I will post the images and talk about the transition from the former to the later.       

 I also have to give a big shout out to my best friend and partner Jessica Augier who has stood beside me and been my biggest supporter for the past 8 years.

With this post I hope to get back into a routine of posting more frequenlty.  So keep your eyes and internets open for new and exciting things.

As always thanks for looking, comments and critiques are always welcome.