Test Drive with Acrylics...

Hi folks,

Below is my first attempt with acrylic paints.  I'm using the Golden Acrylics "Open" series, which allows for longer drying times and more workability.  The work currently in my portfolio is nearly entirely digitally colored images, which is a medium and process I've really enjoyed working in.  However, I think that many of the ideas I have could translate just as well to canvas, not to mention I enjoy new challenges and the change in direction they often bring.  So more and more, I'll be adding new paintings to this blog.  And while many of them may not be advanced enough yet to be put into the portfolio, I still think I'd enjoy sharing this process with all of you...

Mostly this is me just dropping in a portrait on top of a canvas I had been using to get a feel for how the paint moves.  And I have to say, that the longer drying time of the Open series offers a good deal of freedom.

Cheers!

Gallows Humor No.1

Here's a new piece for you all, Gallow's Humor No. 1.

This piece was brought on by a quip I made to my fiancee recently, that in the face of this recession, the only thing that can't be taken away, is a sense of humor.  There are a lot of people in America right now who feel that they're being dissected and gutted by corporations, lending institutions, the government, utility providers, etc., etc.  It's difficult to not feel vulnerable, exposed, and entirely at the mercy of "the larger machine" that is steamrolling so many hard working folk that have already given so much.  I don't mean to get all preachy and what not.  I just wanted to voice the sentiment, and shed a little light.

From Timbuktu to Kathmandu,

Rory

Britta and the Wolf

Thought I'd share this piece for the previously mentioned show at Thinkspace Gallery this weekend.  They had asked that all participating artists offer work that in some way expressed the fragility of endangered species from around the world.  I ended up choosing the elusive white wolf as my subject, for it's deadly beauty.  They are soft, graceful, lithe, and incredible predators.  The woman in the painting, coincidentally, is a good friend of mine, and I had promised her more than once that I would drop her into a painting.  I think it proves too challenging to paint from the mind, or with reference from tear sheets, etc.  So I usually work with the people around me as models and subjects.  I'd like to think it adds a little more humanity to the figures in the pieces.

Below is the rough sketch, which is done pretty rapidly to feel out the composition and tones. 

Below are the final pencils that will be painted over.  Sometimes the pencils are long and involved, and provide answers to questions I'll run into while painting.  In this case, however, they're kept pretty simple and left sparse.  For a piece like this, I wanted the naturalness of the fogged over woodland to be looser and more textural, so I didn't want to pencil the thing to death and get stuck painting in the lines.

And here's the finished piece, which measures roughly 13"x19".

 

THINKSPACE GALLERY "A Cry for Help"

Hi Folks,

I'll be hanging in a group show with Thinkspace Gallery this weekend out in LA this weekend.  The show "A Cry for Help" will be benefiting Born Free USA which is a non-profit organization supporting endangered species of the world.  Opening reception this Friday, and exhibited through February 5th.

This is my first time showing with Thinkspace, or in LA for that matter.  So if you're near by, come check it out.  I'll be there, myself, and hopefully so will many of the hundred participating artists.

Ah the first post...

Well, I've opened up a blog page.  My hope is to share a little bit of my process and behind the scenes work with those of you who may be interested.  Likewise, my New Year's resolution (er...one of them, at least) is to post once a week, if not more.  As well as my own work, I'll be dropping info on the work of other stellar talents, both new and classic.  I also see this as an opportunity to share inspirations from all different media that manage to influence my individual works, etc.  And, of course, I'll be doing a bit of shameless self-promotion regarding soon to be released projects, coming gallery shows, and the like.

So stay tuned, and visit often.

Happy Holidays,

Rory