Masks

I have recently added two tabs near the top of the page that are linked to galleries with my "paintings" (or non-design related artwork) and my designs. I don't know why I did not think of this before. It was by way of inspiration from another blog, Muddy Colors, that I came to realize the full capabilities of Blogger.

Speaking of Muddy Colors, I would like to talk about my favorite blogs. The first blog that I ever came to visit with any degree of regularity was Muddy Colors. It was there that I also discovered a spectacular pool of mostly traditional-media illustrators, which to me, seemed like an anomaly as digital art is sweeping the internet. Don't get me wrong, digital art is a beautiful thing, but for a while, it seemed to me that working with traditional mediums was a dying art form. What keeps me coming back to the blog is the helpful advice shared by seasoned artists about how they make a living and the passion so evident in the artwork they share and their process in making it.

Another blog that has proven worthwhile to visit is James Gurney's Gurney Journey. This blog is chock-full of oil painting tips that have inspired two five-star books: Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist and Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter, authored by Mr. Gurney himself. There is a good balance of fun facts and science interspersed between masterful tips on painting that will entice you I am sure.

A third blog that I look at occasionally is The Featured Creature. It is an endless source of inspiration and would be an invaluable reference for creature designers. Just look at this Scaly-foot Gastropod:

And now for a little update on the senior project. I did a little study of masks, which will help me create something believable for the masked man in my concept sketches.

 

These are all Indonesian masks. The top one is a monkey mask, and the two bug-eyed masks are lions. I did my best to create an "original" mask on the bottom right and while it does resemble an Indonesian mask, it looks more like the face of a mandril than a lion. I may end up scaling back the detail quite a bit and do something more sleek and akin to the Japanese Kitsune mask.

Thumbnail Sketches

Here is the first round of thumbnail sketches for a painting somewhat based on Psalm 10. I say somewhat because I am really focusing on a small portion of the psalm. Key elements that I wanted to include were an unwary person and a villain with feline qualities. I did not think I could make even five variations of my concept, but after the fifth of many diverse concepts, I figured that I could take my favorite and make a couple more nuanced versions. I went with the fifth for a number of reasons: the story was immediately graspable, the form was pleasing, and I felt the play of light and dark worked well was a cool way of progressing the story-line. I like to think that this is what "foreshadowing" looks like in a drawing.

One element to the fifth drawing that remains unresolved was the long shadows streaking across the park. Where do they come from? Does it matter? I did my best to hint at the origins of the long shadows in the final concept, but I am concerned with cluttering of the image. If you have any suggestions on how I can achieve the same openness of the fifth concept, but still hint at the source of the shadows, I would love to hear them.

And now...BEHOLD! The renowned Nyan cat in the flesh--or paper, rather. This past week I made many a paper craft for my senior friends. The instructions for creating this beautiful work of art can be found here. How does this relate to my senior art project? As an artist, one must remain flexible and be open to experimenting with a variety of mediums. This flexibility will open new doors of possibility for one's artwork, especially if mixed-media is the medium of choice. Also, it is nice to take a break from 2-dimensions every now and then to play with sculptural mediums.

Welcome!

Welcome to Beyond the Vanishing Point art blog! For my first post, I present to you sketches that have absolutely nothing to do with my senior art project. The first two pages were drawn while I was on a retreat with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship on Catalina Island. The third page features some of my (temporarily) unsuspecting friends at school.

What do you have to look forward from this blog? You have the unique opportunity to watch me scramble to put together my senior project starting from my beginning sketches to the end product, that is, the senior art show at the University of Redlands. Aside from completing this series of art (and getting a summer job), my goals also include sending my art to the Spectrum art jury and entering the Society of Illustrators Student Scholarship Competition. The Spectrum jury selects outstanding art to be compiled into an annual book called Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art. The work in this book is one used by art directors looking to hire because it simply is an up-to-date window into the best that the world of contemporary illustration has to offer.

What are my chances of placing in either event? Slim. Very, very slim. But, this will give me no choice but to grow as an artist and gain valuable experience. I'll settle for that any day.