Thursday, July 1, 2010

GirLS! gIRLs! GRRrrlS!


Here are some sketches of the female form. I love drawing girls! I'll post a whole bunch soon, I have plenty O these! my favorite girl artists are of course Gil Elvgren, my late dear friend Dave Stevens, Chris Sanders, Shane Glines and Petty, just to name a few....so many I can go writing on forever...enjoy

Friday, June 25, 2010

Lioness

Here is a speedpaint  of a female lion checking out the menu. I love the predator and prey relationship in the animal kingdom. The "Circle of Life", as Disney puts it. That is one of the reasons I enjoy the sport of falconry so much. Its not just about the predators catching and killing the prey. Its about how everything in nature is balanced. Every "ying" has its "yang." The antelopes long distance constant speed versus the very fast short bursts of the cheetah. Being a hunter in the animal kingdom is tough. Predators miss more than they catch, you have to be a top athlete to hang with the rest of your competitors. Wolves use strategy to take on huge stronger prey, but that doesn't always work.
In the art world, one artist stands out to me to capture such great events. The late great Bob Khun. He was ,in my opinion, one of the best wildlife artists. He didn't paint photo real, but he captured so much in his pieces. I love how one can examine his brush strokes and almost look into the painting and see his thought process. As far as sketching....whew! Beautiful pencil work! Some of the best I have ever seen. The confidence and love for drawing is clearly visible.
This is piece was very inspired in his spirit.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

GReGory MANCheSS

I felt like doing a quick portrait today to release a bit of stress on some deadlines. I needed to get away from work a bit without letting it affect my work. Portraits are a good way and are fun to do. This one is pretty quick and I used one of Irene Gallos great pictures of Gregory Manchess. Greg has always been one of my favorite painters, I absolutely love his work. I love watching Greg paint, its like Zen to me. Very hypnotic, mesmerizing  and beautiful.  He has a wonderful download for those of you interested. He just recently fininshed participating in a illustration master class with James Gurney and several other incredible artists. Reading Jims blog led me to painting Greg. Now back to deadlines......sigh

Friday, April 30, 2010

VelociraptoR

I love dinoS! I wanted to be a paleontologist growing up. Dig dinosaurs for a living. I have found out that most cartoonist and artists also share the same love and interest  for these creatures. They capture the imagination and make us marvel at a world long gone but not forgotten. This fascination with prehistoric beasts has led to great friendships. Dr. Michael Ryan and Dr. Eric Snivley. Michael has a fantastic blog..Palaeoblog. I met Eric in Austin TX at a palaeontologist conference he was attending. He took time to come film my redtail hawk eating for a thesis on T Rex's eating habits. Apparently T Rex ate very similar to todays living raptors, eagles ,hawks and falcons. Both Mike and Eric are fantastic people both paleontologist. Mark Shultz, William Stout and James Gurney, all fantastic dinosuar and wildlife artists. Every time I talk to these fellows we enjoy talking dinos and raptors..all fun. I wonder how similar these guys hunted compared to my hawk. Sometimes I can see glimpses of prehistoric raptors as we hunt together. The stare and head movement. The stealth and attitude, all characteristics that Im sure were shared with predators of long ago.  Here is a paint I did of a long gone raptor....enjoy

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Sunday, March 14, 2010

GSP

Quick break from SteambotStudio work. Watched an interview with Georges St Pierre on his upcoming fight and did this speedpaint afterwards. GSP is one heck of a UFC champion and a fantastic person. He is the perfect example of passion and enthusiasm. Good Luck in your upcoming fight!