In Kansas City for an Artist As Brand Workshop and Spectrum Fantastic Art Live. This is a new 4′x6′ print I intend to show if my printer can get it to me in time. Jessica Lough is the model. It is called, Mystic Current. It is an addition of three prints. There will be a few 17″x22″ smaller prints available too.
Join me and Roxana Illuminated Perfume at the ARTISAN FRAGRANCE SALON and Chocolate show this Sunday, May 5th in Seattle!
Roxana will be showcasing her botanical essences and speaking at the event too. Stop on by! I helped with the banner design which is a spin off of a 1920′s Vogue cover.
You must purchase tickets online before the event at the ARTISAN FRAGRANCE SALON website. There are no onsite sales of tickets.
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I have been playing with cover designs with Jeff Burne for my book with Titan. These are comps of some of the designs so far (click on them to enlarge). Some are single page designs others are wrap around covers.
More designs with other art possibilities will be showcased but which of these do you like so far? If you do not like them or feel there is something better let me know. Please place your comments on this post or on my facebook page.
Thanks for being a part of the process!
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2. Front and Back
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Photo shoots are combination of chemistry, light, attitude and synergy. Start with a good idea, add models, costumes, props and a prayer that the perfect moment develops along with the shutter clicking. It is amazing how a nano second can change the quality of an image.
Generally I start with a solid idea for any art piece I am creating. However in this instance everything came together so quickly I did not have time to really flesh out a solid concept. Instead I relied on the feeling of what “Noir” the Roxana Illuminated Perfume evoked which was dark, earthy, animalic. By allowing the creative process to blossom in a serendipitous manner with model Jessica Lough who brought out her extensive wardrobe of exotic dresses, corsets and more, new ideas rose to the surface.
Tara Larsen Chang also had masks and other items we could play around with too. With limited resources we jumped into taking pictures. Much improvisation was used as can be seen with Andre (Jessica’s partner) acting as a light stand and human crane!
Thanks to Tara for documenting it all. There is more art to made from all of this. Stay tuned.
Noir
Noir represents a deep, dark, earthy sensuality and the spirit of our animal nature. This image was created for Roxana Illuminated Perfume and her Figure 1: Noir botanical perfume. It is available as an archival print here.
The beautiful Jessica Lough from Bellingham, WA. is the model.
Joan Jett, 1981, graphite, acrylic, oil on illustration boardMore early work in the form of portraits. While at Art Center I was experimenting with acrylics and oils and the lethal Krylon Crystal Clear layering technique where wet oils could be painted over quickly creating a dynamic transparency between the glazes.
Model, 1982, graphite, acrylic, oil on illustration boardThis technique worked well and after sanding the art down many times and painting again over it I built up a fine textured surface.
Philip Burke, 1983, graphite, acrylic, oil on illustration boardWhen I moved to New York I start creating portraits of up and coming illustrators. Philip Burke was one of them. He is still making awesome art. There will be some great close ups of this art in the book.
Winston Churchill, 1981, graphite, oil on illustration boardThis was a fun piece swishing that wet juicy paint around. Yummy!
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I worked on this CG animated film at Rainmaker Studios in Vancouver, Canada a while ago. It is a story about a group of wacky aliens who are incarcerated in Area 51, and attempt to escape it.
Production Designer Barry Jackson pulled together a team of artists to create visual development for it. As usual the script changed radically over the course of designing the film. The original director was fired, mayhem ensued. Such is the drama of the entertainment industry. Escape From Planet Earth is in theaters now and not with the best reviews but as Barry put it, “It’s a great film if you are ten years old.”
I don’t think anything I designed for the film ended up in it, but here are some of the concepts I worked on.
This fellow turned into the one eyed character you see on the poster.
Beep Beep was nixed from the script.
I worked with David Krentz on this guy.
Area 51 jail concept.
Area 51 concept.
Area 51 Alien Gun concept.
Bus station on the planet Baab.
Bus on the planet Baab.
Bungalow on the planet Baab.
Space station on the planet Baab. I worked with Fred Gambino on this.
One of my many wacky spacecraft designs. I was attempting to bring a retro/toy like quality to these ships.
More spaceships of a classic early sci-fi nature.
More retro, techno, flying space toys.
Roxana and I created a 94 page Lookbook called Love Essence. Click on the image to view. It celebrates a trilogy of love. May your heart open.
Victoria Allen (late 1980′s)I used the Polaroid camera for much of my art reference until the digital camera made it obsolete. In fact I used it for most of my photography, period. It was fun, maddening and expensive. Listening to the whir of the gears spit out the just taken picture after clicking the shutter, then watching the image come to life was always a thrill and full of apprehension. You never knew if you were going to get anything worth using or saving as the film was inconsistent in its developing process and the the shutter was on the slow side so anything in low light was difficult to keep in focus.
Paul and Tammy (late 1980′s)When I was using the camera for reference these issues were not so important as I only needed some down and dirty images to help me see what was necessary for creating an illustration, like the foreshortening of an arm for instance. When using the camera for personal shots I used the film sparingly because it was so expensive. Every so often the alchemy would align and a real gem would appear. I will be showcasing some of these in my book with Titan Publishing.
Brazil (late 1980′s)I love that the special grain inherent in Polaroid film is able to be appreciated in seeing these images larger than the normal 3″x 3.25″ picture. You can click on these to see them larger.
Beauty (late 1980′s)Some of the low light images have an ethereal quality that evoke the feeling of a dream or memory.
Eve (2000′s)
Suger Ray’s Fist (late 1980′s)
Polaroid Mishap (late 1980′s)Sometimes the mishaps could be interesting and beautiful unto themselves.
Every grain of sand is a jewel waiting to be discovered. That’s what Dr. Gary Greenberg found when he first turned his microscope on beach sand. Gemlike minerals, colorful coral fragments, and delicate microscopic shells reveal that sand comprises much more than tiny beige rocks. His website shows microscopic images of nature.
We are all unique this way too.
