Wednesday, March 9, 2016

mo' boards

2015    THE 'DANGER' BOARD


the only request was for a lion or a tiger roaring .... so i gave him both with growls.  this one was made for the younger gboy whose middle name really is 'danger'.   the fun thing is being able to share the boards progress and get approval as well as input along the way. 

the original plan was to do a traditional danger logo on the front.  but then big brothers board has skulls ... so a lion skull became danger's monster skull.  

but the need to share that middle name played a big part in the design .... i designed a multitude of fonts .... sent two sets of 5 different fonts .... he happened to pick the same font both times.

clear grip tape was added to each letter and black to the black ... mom says he needs it !!!  danger picked a dark red truck and deep coal black wheels .... pretty styling !!!



2016    THE 'DOODLE SKULL' BOARD


this was in the back of the brain while the littlest g was in utero. this board should make the rounds of a few shows before passing it on because it should be another year before the little g-girl is ready to get on board. for fi i wanted to do something a little more girlie but still skulls so i came up with a skull bird based on a hummingbird skeleton.

the use of ballpoint pen, acrylic and color pencils brought this board to life.  in the beginning it looked more polished and like the work of many black and white artist/illustrators i like but this is a mo' board so layering become the key.

the flowers are were where my oval doodles ended up this past winter so to make it a different type of floral they were used.  lots of hours and love went into this board.  in the process of layering and giving it the worn look there were actually a few times i took sand paper to the work i had already spent lots of time on .... and a few time i even poured rubbing alcohol on it but wiped it off fairly quickly as not to lose everything.



this was the early stages of bringing my doodles to life


i'm baaack

so during the time of hiatus from art ... so to speak ... i joined the huntington beach art council to stay connected, to meet those in the art community of the oc and have some kind of creative outlet.  upon my return i begun several projects and a couple new collections ...

first the return to creating art on skateboards ....



THE NEWEST SKATEBOARDs :


left to right ..... 2015, 2015 and just completed 2016


2015   the 'morilla skull' board



so first the name .... maybe a little obvious
once you know this board was created for me !! the artiste !!!!  'mo' for mo and the 'rilla' for the gorillas.  

this board main medium is charcoal with acrylics (and not pure white though it does photograph that way) .... and glazes of umber .... and pebeo paints.  first the whites are a mixture of white, parchment and naples yellow.  of course there are some blues and alizarin in the shadows with traces of the umber glazes.  

on the top side there is a grip-tape type texture it almost looks burnt ... since the board was designed for me to commute on and do a little PR of my talent i made this texture instead of hiding the art behind tape.  it is an ultra matte gel acrylic stucco and charcoal.

after attending a demo at the art supply warehouse and winning a few samples of pebeo mixed media paints ... they found their way to the board. why not?  so the silvers are pebeo which are to be used and moved around on smooth surfaces but we broke that rule with pleasing results !!!

the back side or bottom of the board which i do not see myself doing any rails with... are two gorillas with attitude.  both are charcoal with a few umber glazes on top.  the face details were pulled off with q-tips, brushes and rags ... some when still when then others with water, rubbing alcohol or scratching. oh and the skull on front is like on jax's board (late 2013) ... my adaption of a gorilla monster skull.

the font was fun .... wanting to design my own i mixed the points of horns and my drips .... after all drips can be found on the majority of current works.  the outline is a mix of three layers (there i go layering again ... well it is my board) ... umber, charcoal and alizarin.


close ups of the stucco texture and the pebeo paints



NOTE:   the next two boards will be covered in the next post ... i rewrote this twice already .. having trouble with my internet communication i guess !!!

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

a painting remount

before my little hiatus a few works had been accepted to the first annual zoonitas show in encinitas, california.  a great wildlife exhibit featuring local artists and aiding a local animal rescue.  

the exhibit hung for a couple months in the library at the civic center. all works were requested to be framed or a gallery-wrap canvas.  'ocd gorilla' was a favorite so the search begun for a frame.  not one frame was found to suite my gorilla not even ones close to 1000.00. my solution was to mount the work on canvas and if i failed and damaged the work .... a bit unnerving.   i used pastels and stucco trying to match color and feel to surround the paper work on a 1/2" thick wrapped canvas.  a tricky thing to do since it was 2014 and ocd gorilla was created in 2011 during the oceanside days of art festival.  

well ... i ended up loving the results. 'ocd gorilla' is still on the mosart studios wall and with each passing ... she is still loved.






'mangabey' from the works collection was also mounted on a wood panel.  but to date photos have not turned out right with the glare.  hope to post the remount on dark umber wood with layers of alizarin and sap green as well as stucco which adds to the original observation of him hiding with in the shrubs. hopefully a good pic of the wood panel can be posted soon .... until then ... here is... and he can be seen in the back on the wall in the gallery pic from the previous post ! (ok scavenger hunt !!!)



original pastel and acrylic glazes on watercolor paper
'mangabey'

Sunday, March 6, 2016

'elle study'

CENTERPIECE OF  'oh .... you do animals' show



                             

'elle study' was/is a charcoal study glazed with acrylics.  since the featured artist show i added more yellow light behind the trunk ... creating more movement. when i observed her she was playing with another elephant and the original sketch had two trunks dancing but this is where i ended up !!            

below are 3 pics showing close-ups of the texture.  the tusks pic is a little dark ... it was the only way i could capture the textures and colors in the white.  





hanging at the huntington beach art center 2015 centered on the center show



hanging in huntington beach at the rainwater gallery with 'lion jovi'
the way i imagined both as room dividers so to speak.


'lion jovi'

THE TRANSFORMATION OF ROCK STAR INTO ...


lion jovi
the usual:  charcoal, acrylic, stucco

so in the beginning there was 'lion study' which was renamed 'rock star' by some of it's admirers.  that name along with 'lion jovi' variations were being thrown around.  it was a simple charcoal drawing with acrylic glazes on top.  he was mostly created from the imagination but from having done so many lions ... i was not a fan of this pic but it was well received.  and upon hanging it in the corner it impressed me more.                                                                                                                                 
'rock star' is visible in the featured artist show pic (and current blog background) off in the corner.  i was in love with the oranges and the mix of charcoal/graphite showing through but in the process of bringing the pic home and temporary storage in high heat (it was hitting the 100s F) the glossy finish was still too sticky and tore part of the muzzle area.  being the center of the drawing and glazed there was a small problem keeping that initial drawing look.  especially since with each layer of glaze the darker the work gets.                                                                                                                                   so first tried whites and drawing on top of the nose ... but with the initial drawing having it's own flare there was no way to keep it honest ... pure ... ? ... at least to me.  so i went to town with white ... layering and textures came in to play.  but loving the playfulness and curls of the charcoal lines in the mane was the one element i did not want to lose so my brain found a solution with sewing thread.  all added by hand with matte medium and at different times during the glazing process since with each layer the thicker the thread would get. the bravest step is throwing white on top of hours of work.  though this was not the first time i have done it ...


stages of 'the fix' .... and the thread


pleased with the end product ... and it ended up hanging in a gallery with elle study in downtown huntington beach ... never expected that.