I've decided to completely redo the background on my Fear Agent painting. I've seen some artists that draw everything out and then start at the top left corner (if they are right handed) and meticulously paint everything from top to bottom like coloring in a coloring book. Other artists just start putting colors on the support and let the images create themselves as they refine the details. I tend to work somewhere in the middle.
Most of my paintings have started with me dripping and splattering paint on a background of various layers then adding an image on top of it. For these illustrated pieces I have been doing I have started with a drawing then transferred it to a board, covering everything in flat colors and then building up the forms.
Everything I have painted lately seems a little too solid and complete. I want to start working more like my previous paintings and try to be a little more impressionistic with them. I feel as though I need to practice this technique a bit before I attempt an actual piece. That is next on my agenda.
I was recently doing some research on mythology and rediscovered one of my favorite artists, Bouguereau. He was at the cusp of the Impressionistic era and a lot of the impressionists laughed at him, saying his paintings lacked the life or emotion you would find in their paintings. I can see their point to an extent. This is one of the reasons I want to try a more impressionistic approach. But damn, Bouguereau created some beautiful pieces of art!! I will always consider him one of the best painters ever. Here are a couple of his pieces which I think are amazing.
I like how she is floating above the water, barely touching the surface.
This is one of my favorite paintings ever. I love how the nymphs have caught the satyr spying on them and are going to toss him in the water. It amazes me that these painters could capture people so realistically without any kind of photo references. Those models must have been phenomenal at holding long poses.
I've been working on my Fear Agent painting most of the day. Sometimes I like the idea of having a solid image in your mind and transferring that image directly to a support. But my mind doesn't work that way and I am OK with that. I tend to start with an idea, sketch it out, start painting and then change things as I go along with the end product blossoming into something quite different than my original idea. I like the give and take, the ebb and flow of painting.
Right now, I am reworking the background. You would think a background would be the easy part, but I don't like to cop out. I like for the background to recede in the background and the main image to be the focus of a piece, but I also like for there to be a ton of little details hidden in the back that people can get caught up exploring.
Tomorrow I am going to focus on character sketches for my next comic project. In the meantime, here are some more sketches I have done at the day job during my break.
I'm still drawing all the time. It's just that most of it can't be shown yet. But here's a sketch I did when I was trying to come up with something for the Mythology issue of Stumptown Underground. Yeah, I know. Another mermaid. What can I say? Not only do I like them, but I think they are pertinent to my life. 8)
Making some progress on my Fear Agent painting. I have finally gotten color on the entire piece. Much like laying down flats when coloring digitally, my first priority is making sure everything has color on it. This helps give me an idea of how each color works with the colors around it. I then go in and change colors and darken and lighten it up by adding highlights and shadows to make everything pop out.
This has a long way to go before I am done. I'm glad I have a few days to focus on it. This painting has been SLOW going. I'm hoping to be done within the next few days.
I'm sad to see the series coming to an end. I love Rick Remender's writing. Not only do the time travel and sci-fi elements make for an exciting story, but his dialogue is great. I love his characters. And Tony Moore does a great job of capturing all the emotion and action. I have learned a lot by studying his art. He is great at creating a sense of solidarity to each scene. Check It Out!! 
Well, I have finished my first official comic gig. It was a fun experience and I am pretty happy with the outcome. I'll say it again, I got lucky to get such a fun story right out of the gate. I'm all about some Anti-War action and with a horror twist to boot!! I can't wait until I can post some images and give out a link so everyone can get a copy. Soon... Soon.In the meantime I did this lil piece as a submission to Stumptown Underground. I spent an entire month thinking of what all mythology means to me and in the end I just whipped this out at the last minute. I decided to keep it simple and just go with it. If anyone is interested in creating and getting something published then I suggest you check out SU's next theme and get to work!!!
I'm starting the character sketches for my next project and finishing up my Fear Agent painting this week before I dive in full tilt on the next comic. So many projects and such little time. 8)
I may not be able to post my comic pages, but I can post the leftovers from a day of drawing. My studio smells like wood shavings when I walk in the door.
Oh, and here's principle Figgins giving Joss Whedon a lil smooch.
I like how she is floating above the water, barely touching the surface.
This is one of my favorite paintings ever. I love how the nymphs have caught the satyr spying on them and are going to toss him in the water. It amazes me that these painters could capture people so realistically without any kind of photo references. Those models must have been phenomenal at holding long poses.
