In The Courts Of The Crimson Kings, by S. M. Stirling

Gregory Manchess

This is the companion book to The Sky People that I showed earlier on Muddy Colors. Irene Gallo at Tor Books art directed. We had established a format with the first book, so we kept to the same banding across the bottom of the hardback cover.

Both books offered a chance to paint nostalgic realism. Counter to a very steamy, pulp-like image of Venus for the other book, In The Courts Of The Crimson Kings takes place on Mars. After discussing what was needed, with Irene, I started as always, with a load of thumbnails, freely sketching from my head.

Thumbnails seem to be the bane of many artist’s process, mine included. Early on in my career, I hated the way mine looked so I focused on becoming better at it. I spent many years working on them for each job.

A better thumbnail can drive a much clearer painting to finish. I discovered that the answers are always in the prep time, and the thumbnails are key. Once I know where the image is going, the painting becomes just a necessary step to complete.

I was torn between the very first sketch above and this last one. The last one seemed lonely and desperate, and just right for a shadowed foreground with a hot background.

The landscape was made up from a bunch of rock reference and shots I’ve taken over the years. I followed the thumbnail to the letter on this one. In fact, I projected the drawing directly to my canvas and went from there.

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Illustration Process: Digital Trickery

By Justin Gerard

In the last post, I focused on the traditional aspects of my process for watercolor and digital. This week, we focus on digital hocus pocus used to complete these pieces.

My digital process is mainly derived from the Dutch-Flemish indirect manner of working.

If I travelled back in time and gave the Dutch-Flemish painters an Imac with Adobe Photoshop CS5 on it and a Intuos 4, they might have promptly thrown it all in the lake and then painted an unflattering picture of me as a fruit basket. But then again, they might decide that their methods work well regardless of what medium they are executed in and they would go on to make some awesome work with the new tools.

The process I follow mainly involves first laying in the shadows transparently, and then working in the highlights opaquely on top of them. This is then followed by adjusting the colors and details.

Color Adjustment

I have an ancient Epson flatbed scanner, one that primitive man invented sometime after fire, but before the wheel. Like most stone-age equipment, it is quite reliable, but it does tend to get its colors off just slightly. The image always seems lifeless and dead to me after it has been scanned.

This first stage is just to get the image back to what it looks like to the naked eye in soft light.

Shadows

I work purely in multiply layers to establish the dark areas and shadow details. I work this up to slowly to kind of explore the nuances of the lighting in the image. This chance to explore the lighting is one of my favorite aspects of working digitally.

I use multiply (set to zero black) to add the color. You can use any of the other modes to achieve color, (color, soft light, hard light etc.) I just prefer multiply because it behaves a little more predictably and because it tends to look a little more natural over a traditionally painted image.

Highlights

After working up the shadows to a satisfactory level of darkness, I work highlights in to slowly refine the shapes and give them more dimension. As in the Dutch-Flemish manner, I tend to work opaquely at this point, and generally stick to the areas that are being lit.

Color Adjustments & Final Details

For the final details I work with normal layers to sharpen up details and focal points. I try not to overwork the whole image at this point though. This is both a blessing and a curse with digital. Since you can essentially zoom in forever, you could feasibly spend the rest of your existence refining every little hair. At some point you need to make decisions about what needs to be refined and what can be left a little vague.

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“Art on a Grand Scale”

By John Jude Palencar

“Art on a Grand Scale” (AOAGS) is the brainchild of artist representative Richard Solomon. In essence the concept is to install custom art on a large scale. Fellow “Muddie” Greg Manchess and myself are among thirty or so members of Richard’s AOAGS group.

With today's technology any piece of art can be enlarged and printed digitally on a variety of surfaces. "Art on a Grand Scale" is the go to solution for clients wanting to enhance their corporate image or just simply wanting to make a visual statement in a location devoid of any visual character. The artist has to create a painting at the normal size that they are accustomed to working at and in the format/ size of the particular commissioned space.

Greg Manchess has had great success with Richard Solomon in this endeavor.

Below are a number of links for “Art on a Grand Scale”. A short promotional film directed by Bryan Beus (http://www.bryanbeus.com) including three quick time lapse demos and final installation applications (simulated) Art from Mark Wiener, Gregory Manchess and myself. The music is “Claire de Lune” by Claude Debussy.

On the right side of the Vimeo link are additional clips from Richard Solomon regarding advice for illustrators and another clip of AOAGS member Brad Holland.

For my part, this was the 2nd rendition of the original commission. The Madam Butterfly painting was created for the Philadelphia Opera Company's production of "Madama Butterfly". My AOAGS demo in acrylic took approximately five hours and still needed additional rendering. Thanks to Richard Solomon for flying Bryan Beus out to my studio in Ohio for filming this demo.

1.) Art on a Grand Scale website: Here
2.) Vimeo movie link: Here
3.) R. Solomon explains AOAGS: Here

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McQueen Retrospective

-By Dan dos Santos



A while ago, we spoke of the amazing fashion designs of the late Alexander McQueen (See the post HERE).



It just came to my attention that the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC will be home to a exhibition of his work in a few months, entitled 'Savage Beauty'. The show will run from May 4th, all the way through July 31, 2011. Plenty of time to for you out-of-towners to make a special trip for it!



One of the most amazing things about McQueens work, in my opinion, was his runway shows. They were like watching theatre. Dramatic themes, lighting, and some amazing interactive sets made them true pieces of performance art. You can see some of that performance in the clip below. I really hope the retrospective plays up this important aspect of McQueens work, rather than just vapidly spotlighting a few pieces behind glass.









From the Met's website:

The exhibition, organized by The Costume Institute, will celebrate the late Alexander McQueen's extraordinary contributions to fashion. From his postgraduate collection of 1992 to his final runway presentation which took place after his death in February 2010, Mr. McQueen challenged and expanded the understanding of fashion beyond utility to a conceptual expression of culture, politics, and identity. His iconic designs constitute the work of an artist whose medium of expression was fashion. Approximately one hundred examples will be on view, including signature designs such as the bumster trouser, the kimono jacket, and the Origami frock coat, as well as pieces reflecting the exaggerated silhouettes of the 1860s, 1880s, 1890s, and 1950s that he crafted into contemporary silhouettes transmitting romantic narratives. Technical ingenuity imbued his designs with an innovative sensibility that kept him at fashion's vanguard.

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What Makes an Artistic Genius?

By Eric Fortune.



If you've read enough artist's bios you may notice a pattern. Many include the statement "I've been drawing since I can remember". Years of practice and drive to master our craft definitely plays a part. It also reminds me of a saying I heard back in art school which is "Everyone has a 1000 bad drawings inside. The sooner we get those out the sooner we can start making better drawings". But is that enough?



I've had people approach me with their portfolio and show me work that was definitely not at a professional level. When asked how much time was spent on the work I've heard "about 10 hours". It makes you wonder why someone is trying to be in the field if 10 hours is the limit they've devoted to a "final" piece of art. Are people interested enough on a personal level to put in extra hours and to refine their work beyond what is necessary even when not asked or to pour themselves into a personal piece they aren't getting paid for? But perhaps this is a different issue.



So what are the factors that make a great artist? Why is anyone good at anything? This gets into the old nature vs nurture concept. A friend of mine shared this three part documentary series with me entitled "My Brilliant Brain ~The programmes look at a group of remarkable people and poses questions about the origins of genius: are these extraordinary abilities genetic, developed or acquired by accident?" This documentary isn't about art alone but does shed some light on these questions. It also makes me question my own upbringing and influences(my step father was actually a pretty good artist who would draw and paint with us as children sometimes. I think the bigger influence for me is probably cartoons in the 80's and video games which had me obsessively drawing robots for about 10 years. I actually made cut out paper robots that could transform into different vehicles with just a few folds. I later upgraded to comics and anime and my art upgraded to muscles, breasts, and a lot of sliced up body parts.....things haven't changed much since). This film was produced in 2007. I wonder what new things they may have learned since then. It also makes me wonder where I can get one of those magnetic brain pulsey thingies? FYI Small speaker magnets have no affect even after wearing them for days...so my friend told me. If you haven't seen this before it makes for a great listen while drawing, painting, and getting your art on in general.



View the video here: "My Brilliant Brain"

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Doing it for free

by Donato

Some times you just have to do it for free.

Prophets
1995
Oil on panel







And while this in no way condones exploitative, speculative work, I find the desire to paint some images so compelling that other work needs to take a trip to the back burner while I exorcise my creative demons. While I have rarely created work on speculation (get paid later---maybe) I look at a break from any aspect of my commissioned work schedule as having to work for free. For as soon as I stop painting for any client, I stop getting paid. The awareness of the value of my time has helped build confidence and provide leverage in negotiating with clients.

Over the years as a commercial artist, you get hired to create images which are a reflection of what is in your portfolio. Do you have fish in your work, then you will receive fishy jobs! Do you paint sublime robots engaged in cool narratives? Guess that horse battle scene is not for you! Do you like starships taking off from spaceports? Well that is what the art directors would like to see you tackle again, again and...again. This is not a criticism on an art director's ability to think out of the box, quite the contrary, but rather of the thousands of artists out there, the AD was thinking of your particular problem solving skills for this particular job. A profound compliment! You are getting hired to do what you love and are excellent at. And thus you can become 'pidgeoned-holed' by your own success.

So why do I do work for free? Mostly to break the mold. I approach these creative interruptions from the work schedule as necessary to help round out my portfolio and redirect my creative energies. Some times I am able to satisfy these needs by working with a highly challenging and creative art director like Irene Gallo who has given me the space to grow my art like none other inside the boundaries of her commercial commissions. At other times, I need to push myself in a new direction for which no client could subsidize, and at that point I need to go 'off the clock'.

Each of us will have different reasons for pursuing a new goal or direction. Sometimes it is a change of content, others times it may be a change of technique or style. Yet for what ever the reason, I have always found these experiments to be highly fruitful in the long run when the initiative comes from the heart of the artist. It is troubling to spend a week, a month, or even more on a project where there is no immediate reward in sight- financial or creative. But given the deep truth of the concept, the burning desire to see it through completion is what makes that time invested so valuable. For when you are truly challenging yourself, you are learning, and that knowledge will help form the identity and dream we have of ourselves as an artist.

Below are a few examples of work created for free and raised the bar on what I could achieve in my art.

Peter Paul Rubens copy
1999
oil on panel
20 x 28"


The portrait above was created as a copy of an original Peter Paul Rubens portrait at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. I went there to learn how he painted so I could work on a larger scale in my illustrations. This exercise with the Rubens gave the the confidence and knowledge to tackle The Hobbit:Expulsion image below.

37" x 68"
Oil on Panel
2001



Prometheus was created as a speculative gallery painting for a science fiction show in Chelsea New York. It was never shown in the gallery, but went on to win a Gold medal from Spectrum 13, land me the front cover of that annual, and helped secure my first USPS postage stamp of Alan Shepard due out this May.
13 is indeed a lucky number!

Prometheus
Oil on Canvas
95" x 77"
2005












As with all the drawings appearing in my recent book, Middle-Earth: Visions of a Modern Myth, Eowyn was created purely from my love of Tolkien's writings, straight from the heart of a 13 year old who fell in love with the world of Hobbits and Elves 30 years ago.

11 x 14"
watercolor pencil and chalk on toned paper
2010




























Eowyn: Defender of Rohan
24" x 30"
Oil on Panel
2011

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inspiration- by Jesper Ejsing

I am always envious of the skills of other artsists. I often enough get a feeling of beeing inadequete when I see a painting well done or even greatly executed by one of my collegues. I think my most common thought is something like: Ohhh; what I wouldn´t do if I had his or her skills but my own mind” I want the patience of Paul Bonner, the reclessnes of Jim Murray and the clearness of Kevin Walker all done with Dan Santos brushstrokes in the Brother Hildebrandst colours...then I can finally produce the images tight up in my own head. ”Dear God or Satan, do not care which one of you gets to it first, but can you fix it if I ask nicely...please...anyone there?”

”Argh shit!. I have to learn it the hard way then”.

Most times I see other painters an recognize in them skills I think I lack and therefore I envie them even more. But in time I have spoken with a lot of my idols and have to my reasurance found out, that they are for the most part having the exactly same experiences I have, and the same kind of inadequette feeling about thier own work.

When seeing my own limitations clearly in others paintings it often keep me from acknowledge the things I am good at.

We all have our strengths and lacking parts. Knowing your strengths and playing by them is a key to victory. It is just hard work, nothing else, to make the lacking parts less lacking.

What brought me out of this string of semi.self taught wizdom was the feeling I get when looking at other artsits work. I enjoy looking at others work, it keeps me inspireded. Often I get 2 different feelings. One is ”Fuck, Shit I will never be that good. I am to old to borring I will never reach that level: might as well give up” ( needless to say this is a very unproductive thought ) The other one is: Holy shit this is great. I will do everything I can to top that. I will show this bastard. One way or another. ( this is ofcause a very productive feeling )

When I saw the painting I am showing today by an artist called Reynan Sanchez I was mostly blown away with only one thought in my mind:”What the f...!?”

To me this picture is so wild, young, fresh and unrestrained that I barely understand it. Even less I understand how the hell he did it or got there. I love it! Everything about it and I want to change all my own work from now on to get that kind of energy and wildness.

That is inspiration for ya!

All Hail Reynan.

Thanks for getting me out of my seat and ripping me away from my comfort zone. Thanks and damn you! I was happy until now.

Check him out here: http://artizako.cgsociety.org/gallery/

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