The limited palette

A few years ago I started experimenting with very limited color palettes. The use of a single dominant color in an image will have a tremendous influence on the mood and atmosphere of any given work. Here are a few examples of pieces that use different limited palettes. These are oil on canvas with minimal digital touch ups.

Mountain Trolls

Mountain trolls are a territorial bunch. They stake out passes, bridges and other avenues of travel and will ask for a toll to pass through their territory. If sufficient payments are not made, then there is no passage. Sometimes it's worth it to take the longer route.  Mountain trolls will protect their territory against other mountain trolls as well. They notch their clubs to indicate the number of times they have been challenged. The constant exposure to glaring snow white conditions can lead to cataracts and other vision problems making for some very grumpy trolls.

Here be dragons.

 Dragons have a unique presence in the mythology of countless cultures. They have been depicted throughout history as both creatures of malevolent, destructive power and as protective, spiritual beings of great wisdom. Here are a few close ups from some of my dragon paintings. It's important to try to give them all some sort of unique personality. Last year I had the pleasure of attending a lecture by the artist Lars Grant West who had some very interesting thoughts on depicting dragons from the point of view of a naturalist. He encouraged looking closely at the wide variety of scales, horns, wings, and claws found in nature and to consider ways to incorporate them when drawing or painting these mythic creatures.  It's nice to have a few new things to think about when painting my next dragon.

The great unknown

 There are few thing I enjoy more than starting something new. I believe in the importance of planning, preparation and discipline in painting but also love the process and results of  a more spontaneous kind of creativity. There are times when it seems wise to let go of the structure of creating a well crafted vision and to let your instincts lead you. The results can be quite energizing. These are 18" x 24" oils, no sketches, just having some fun.

Methods and madness

My work has evolved into two very different approaches.  The first consists of going through the rigorous, important and demanding process of beginning with thumbnails, developing sketches, informal photo shoots , and finally,  executing the final piece either digitally or with oil paints on a smooth surface like illustration board or masonite.
 The second approach is far less formal. I am a sucker for having a few blank, stretched canvases on hand, picking up a 3” brush and attacking it with  no preconceived vision, letting it evolve day by day.
 Both methods have advantages and disadvantages.  Here are a few examples of the first, more disciplined process. Friday I will be posting some of the spontaneous oil paintings.

Here is a digital work done for a portfolio review at Illuxcon 2010.  Attending Illuxcon is a highly entertaining and motivating experience. I recommend it to any artist or fan of the genre of science fiction and fantasy illustration.

Something old, something new

It occurs to me on my first day of this endeavor it might be wise to post a newer image i'm working on as well as the older piece in the first post. This is a digital work in progress. I hope to post the finished version soon.

The beginning

Welcome to my blog! This is my first post so I thought I’d introduce myself and explain a little bit about how this started and what I intend to do here.
  I have wanted to be an artist since my childhood in upstate New York, when a friend of my parents entertained my brother and I by doing magic marker drawings of classic movie monsters like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Dracula and Godzilla. We were mesmerized as  blank pieces of paper  transformed into recognizable,  almost living images of my favorite imaginary creatures. I put them up on my walls and got out my crayons and so it began.
  After receiving my MFA in drawing and painting from the University of Arizona I spent  years trying to figure out just what kind of artist I wanted to be. Doing what most young artists do,
I tried to get pieces in gallery exhibitions. My work was usually in the figurative narrative genre and I always included elements of the fantastic in it. But not too much. For some reason I've never really allowed myself to emphasize those aspects of my work. I've been told many times that there is a great distinction between fine art and illustration and I'd better be careful about which side my work fell into. I struggled with this for many years. I’m sure most artists have experienced periods of frustration with their work and what they should do with it.
Not long after my 40th  birthday,  I was poking around on the internet and stumbled onto a post about a science fiction/fantasy convention taking place in Saratoga Springs,  NY, not far from where I grew up,  and where my parents still live.  What really got my attention was that it also included an art show of science fiction and fantasy art with a special exhibition of the art of Jeffery Catherine Jones.  Flashing back to some of my favorite Jones book covers  I decided this would be a great opportunity to see some of them in person. Boy, was I right. I took my wife, Kari and my mother, who is a retired elementary school librarian and a huge fan of science fiction and fantasy books along.
   When we walked into the main area of the convention it felt almost like being struck by lightning. There, on the walls, were the things that attracted me to art in the first place.  Strange worlds, terrifying monsters, seductive warrior maidens.. .It was all there. I spent most of the weekend star struck as well.
  Later in the day I noticed a group of people sitting around
 a table with what looked like sketchbooks.  Taking a closer look,  I realized that some of them were artists I'd admired for years. I summoned enough nerve to sheepishly ask a few questions and collected a few autographs as well. It was also interesting to note that while many artists can be somewhat distant or aloof,  this group seemed to be extremely open  and approachable. Something I was not used to in the art community.
  As the weekend went on I began to ask myself  “why aren’t you doing this?” When I returned  home to Virginia, I immediately ran out to the local art supply store and picked up about five  18” x 24” canvases, (small for me at the time) and started painting. Within three days,  I had the beginnings of  five new paintings and a vision for many years of future work.
 This is the first of those paintings.  I worked on it for at most a day and a half and it probably shows, but I like its spontaneous energy. For the first time I didn’t really care “what are people going to think about this” and found it liberating.  Looking back,  I realize that painting “The Dark Horde” was like exorcising the internal demons that had been holding me back from what I instinctively felt was right.  It’s been a few years now and I'm still convinced
that this is the artistic world that I have to be involved with.
 My hope is this blog will help me to refine my work, to promote it, and hopefully,  entertain readers with  my new work and  topics of interest to the fantasy art community. My plan is to update the blog on a regular basis, at least once a week.  Comments are always welcome and I hope you will check back from time to time!