Todays drawing. Another Griffin I’m afraid. This particular creature gave me somewhat of a hard time trying to work out a suitable design for the stamp set (although (and maybe for that reason) it turned out to be my favourite)). I’m still having a hard time working out proportions and the way they move etc, but enjoying the challenge as always.
Today’s sketchings… Still very much enjoying the ‘mythical creatures’ theme.
I’ve been scratching away at new work for my portfolio lately but still want to keep my eye and hand co-ordinated. Here are a couple of doodles from the last couple of days…
The first drawing is the lovely Freyia, (singer-songwriter from London) she has the most incredible facial features and those eyes….
Here’s another newspaper article, this one was to promote the art and books I have available for sale in the regional art gallery (the Logan Art Gallery)….
Cassius Croc was a lazy, indulgent wastrel who always ate far too much for his own good and (to his poor long-suffering wife’s dismay) constantly forgot to replenish his supply of Enos…
Last week I was interviewed by the local newspaper, the Logan West Leader, the paper came out today and I was absolutely floored to see that (somehow) the Gods of journalism had deemed me worthy of a slot on the front page…. Here’s the mugshot and the article….
I don’t know why, but I had the overwhelming urge to put a ‘dance’ tune together, hopefully managing to put a little of my own spin on it…
New music, very much in a ‘world music’ style. My (musical) reaction to events currently taking place in the world…
Doodling in front of the telly last night. It was good to get some sketching done after a hectic week, (continuing the ‘Mythical Creature’ theme)….
Re: mermaids… check out the new ‘Mermaids and Mythology’ magazine (from all good newsagents). Issue one has just surfaced (ahem, please pardon the pun)… here’s the link to their website, my art has been/will be featured regularly, the magazine is packed full of art, interesting articles, beautiful mermaids, facts and fiction…
Recently completed this one… Still playing with the watercolours and getting a little more confidence together slowly…
I just found this image on Australia Post’s website, the items are called ‘Maxicards’ and they come as a set of six postcard sized images (complete with said stamp) housing my original artwork in (almost) it’s entirety. Here’s a link to the products page:
http://shop.auspost.com.au/stamps/stamps-issues/mythical-creatures
Hi guys, just a quickie to remind you that the ‘Mythical Creatures’ stamps are available from the Australia Post online shop, here’s the link:
http://shop.auspost.com.au/stamps/stamps-issues/mythical-creatures
I’m currently working on a Narnia painting of Lucy and Mr. Tumnus. I’ve met a few challenges along t way with this one and thought I’d post it as it’s not always plain sailing and sometimes it’s necessary to change track…
One of many rough thumbnails I made to sort out the scene I wanted to go with.
I popped the thumbnail into photoshop and layed a quick colour layer over it to give me some idea as to where I was going colour-wise. This part of the process took approx. 15 mins.
Just refining the drawing a little here. As you can see, little changes here and there creep in as I have more ideas along the way…
Along the way, I showed my wife, who (in no uncertain terms (as is her style)) suggested I should make the scene more intimate. I must have been thinking as a cinematographer with that early version… I set about redrawing the scene with a closer view. (much better) Next, I traced the drawing then laid it onto the watercolour paper (Arches hot Press 300gsm)…
The next step was to strengthen the lines. I used sepia gouache with a small-ish brush to acieve this (probably a 0 or 5/0). When the line work was complete, I added some tonal washes to show areas of light and shade. Taking care not to go too strong with the colour as the whole scene will be painted with predominantly cool hues.
So, this is where it stands at the moment. I’ve laid in some washes with both cerulean and pthalo blue. The highlights were made with white gouache. Not being too fussy at this point, keeping it loose, but controlled. I’ll work on the figures next and have a look at how it all sits together before I proceed. I’ll post the completed art as soon as it’s ready.
There won’t be many chances to see the stamps in their entirety, and this’ll be about the closest you’ll get. I’ve chosen my personal favourite (The Griffin). This comes from a set of six postcards complete with a stamp on the front of the card called ‘maxicards’. Available from the Australia Post online shop (or in stores). Here’s the link to the products page:
illustration (c) Australia Post 2011
Australia Post have put out a new set commemorating ‘Stamp Collecting Month’. I was fortunate enough to be chosen as the featured illustrator for this set which was right up my alley. The challenge was to work at a size that would allow for detail without being too overwhelming, not an easy feat, but the guys at the philatelic were happy with them and it’s great to see them out there at last. I’m a very happy boy. The stamps are available in many formats, including first day covers,minisheets, maxi cards, and for the first time ever in the country a set in 3D, Australia Post have also put out a prestige format booklet containing the immense amount of preliminary work I put into the creation of the images… (available from Australia Post outlets across Australia). here are the designs…. (c) Australia Post 2011
A couple of quick drawings from yesterday…
Here’s what I did with the lion drawing….
