Been a long time

This year has been a whirlwind, a crazy ass levy breaking flood of activity.  Plenty of animation work coupled with going to Grad School has left me dizzy at best.  I have worked on so many project that it is hard to keep them apart in the thickness between my ears.  I am about to leave for Savannah for the SCAD limited residency painting extravaganza part II.  It seems like a welcome break in the action although I know I may be busier than ever.  I do plan on accomplishing a lot and this blog will become very active again.  Stay tuned.

A tad more but still unfinished.

Two paintings (incomplete)

Leslie Ortiz

http://montoyaortizsculpture.blogspot.com

Leslie and I went to Boston University together and have remained good friends.  She, along with Luis Montoya, creates of some fantastic images and sculpture.  Check it out.

Art takes a long walk off my short pier.

It is a remarkable moment in my life.  I have seen traditional 2d animation change into a form I hardly recognize.  It is no longer a film, cell, paint, and pencil that produces it, it is now designated to a tablet, computer and program.  The art form that I had become so in love was no longer, dead, swept away by a wave of technology.  I now am on several paths, still animating, but also studying feverishly for my Masters Degree in Painting.

What I have found is that while I was busy creating funny drawings in motion, inking, painting and filming the cells on a down shooter, the art world has changed enormously.  I have been studying History, Theory, Process, Concept, and  Critical thought and am about to take my overfilled brain and finally begin to paint in earnest again after 30 some years.  YIKES.

Combat Jane

Just a painting I started over the summer.  I have a ways to go on it but since I had this photograph from my painting "crit" at SCAD,  I thought I would share.

Change of Pace

Well, I am winding down the whole painting thing, although I will still tweak a few that are close to completion and I have to start an Elvgren copy for my daughter. She's just got to have one (a great endorsement of my art, wait, I mean Gil Elvgren's art. Oh well, so much for impressing my daughter with what I personally do.) At any rate, I do have some web stuff to design and that includes a replacing a couple of "construction" pages on my website. I will be posting some new images over the weekend. Cartoony and fun, hopefully.

Progress

Here is some of the recent painting progress. It was a great process for a month and a half, finished seven paintings and started a bunch as well. I am on to other things for a while but I look forward to getting back.

Painting Progress

Here is my progress on "Contractor_1". Trying some different things, think I am going to push the color, but that is today. See what happens when I pick up the brush tomorrow.

New Paintings

In progress, regress, however you see it. Except for "Bikini" all of these are underpaintings or starts. I probably will be taking a break from the painting for a week or so, tax time. Yuck. It's always good to step back, to go forward.

More Paintings

Just painting away. Coming close to finishing a couple canvases. It feels good to see these half finished paintings lying around my studio get some attention.

Gav (Film Noir)

I do enjoy old film noir posters. I thought it might be fun to paint "Gav and the Animation Disc of Death." Needs another session or two, but it's getting there.

Bang Bang

Another pass on a painting. Again, pretty close to completion. I am enjoying the process of painting again. Be nice if I had a consistent vision, but that will take painting consistently. The good news is that I am exploring many creative methods and techniques in a variety of images.

Monsters

I started this painting about a year ago and thought I might just finish it. Still has a session left but it's pretty much there. It is always a little difficult to pick up a painting after a year. It is so easy to think you are beyond it, that you are somehow better, more informed, that this is the kind of art you used to do. All I knew when I picked it up is that it wasn't finished. It has always been my philosophy that if you want to get "beyond" it, you have to complete it first. Otherwise, it just hangs there in art limbo, not good or bad, just undecided.

Painting like a fiend

Here is a new painting. Almost finished. Needs a couple glazes and then I can wrap it. Trying a couple techniques, but mostly working wet in wet.

Paintings

Working on my painting portfolio for many reasons, one of which is that I love to paint especially in oil. Will eventually get my Gallery Page up on my Horrendous Fiasco Cartoons website and you will probably see some of these samples.

Elvgren study

Completed a study of a Gil Elvgren painting for my daughter, Niki. I will probably do more. It has been a long time since I have copied someone's technique; very interesting exercise as always. Will be painting it up in the coming weeks, building my painting portfolio.

Painted Today

Took a break from the animation grind and did some painting. Here is a quick study of a monster with a human nose. Just a part of trying to finish up some canvases for the website.

When George is away.

Jane and Rosie will play. Right now it's just a twisted underpainting.

Medusa

Here's a guy who thinks turning into stone is not necessarily a bad thing. Another underpainting. Will post the progress so stay tuned.