For the First time in forever…

 

Now, that we’re over half-way through January 2015, it seems like a good time to recap what I did in 2014. I didn’t accomplish everything I’d planned in my January 2014 post, but I did manage quite a bit. I created 13 new works, by far my greatest output so far,  participated in a local arts & crafts fair and sold eight pieces (included in that total were three commission pieces – two for family/friends and one for someone who saw my work at the craft fair.) I also submitted my  piece “The Hatbox Ghost” (coming a future post) for consideration in a group show, but, unfortunately, wasn’t chosen.

2015 looks to be an exciting year. I’m currently working on another commission piece that will grace the walls  the soon-to-open “Game Tavern” – my good friends Raithe and Barry have been renovating half their basement into a Medieval-themed tavern for our Dungeons &Dragons role playing group (best mid-life crisis ever!) The piece is  based on Dave Trampier’s cover for the 1979 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook, probably one of the most famous/recognizable pictures in fantasy art. We decided to put a bit of a person twist on the project and replace the adventurers in Trampier’s original with five of the legendary characters from Barry’s over thirty-year-old campaign world Ultanya (he started this world when we were in elementary school!) For this project, I’m departing from my general practice of using commercially available craft paper and, instead, I’m going to hand paint each and every piece to capture the feel of the original. I’m working to bring my acrylic painting skills up to the level of the task ahead.

Skill building is actually a lot of what the first part of this year will be about. Besides painting, I’m also working on my drawing skills so that when my younger daughter starts Kindergarten in the Fall, I can really start seriously producing pieces. Look for posts about my progress along the way as well as reviews of the books I’m using – I’m currently working my way through Andrew Loomis’ Drawing the Head and Hands, a 1956 classic that inspired many modern illustrators (including the phenomenal Alex Ross) and has only come back into print in the last few years. Beyond that, I’ve also recently reorganized a spare room into a studio space so that I will no longer have to work at the dining room table – a big relief for our whole family.

Over the next few weeks I will post pictures of my 2014 work (  as well as some older pieces I never posted) and some reviews and later this Spring possibly even a tutorial so you can see how I work. Happy 2015!