A Tiger Of A Different Stripe

First and foremost, I know that I have severely neglected this blog, and I sincerely apologize for that. This year has been a whirlwind of amazing changes and growth for me and I couldn't be more excited about it (although my head has felt like it was about to spin right off a few times!) If you are following me on any of my social networks then you've been right along for the ride and I hope you've enjoyed it! However, in all of the craziness, my poor blog was pushed to the back burner, but I'm pulling it up to the front and I will try to get better at keeping it up and sharing more in depth my processes and progresses with you guys because you are awesome and I wouldn't be who or where I am without you!

Lately I've been in experimental mode and trying a lot of new things with my artwork because I feel that is the best way for an artist to learn and improve! One such experiment is this painting I just finished that I'm calling, "A Tiger Of A Different Stripe."

I've always loved the idea of flat, graphic imagery mixed with fully rendered, three dimensional imagery so I wanted to create a piece that compared the two side by side. As always, I started with a sketch. I split it down the middle, shading one side and leaving the other side simple line work. Once I finished the face, I overlaid some tracing paper to design her hair and other elements.

After the general piece was figured out, I transferred the sketch to a surface to begin painting. (Please check out my earlier post about transferring a sketch to see how I do it.) I decided to work on gessobord for this piece instead of a wood panel to achieve a solid flat look without the the natural wood grain that usually flows through my work. I started with the side that I wanted to look more realistic with depth and shading.

I then moved on to the side that would have the graphic feeling to it. Just for some visual fun, I decided to swap some imagery, placing graphic over rendered and vice versa.

I loved the idea of using all things related to tigers for this piece because I felt like it all worked so well with what I was trying to visually create, so I used tiger lilies, tiger's eye beads, a tiger tattoo and of course little tiger striped hummingbirds. And thus, A Tiger Of A Different Stripe was born! The painting is 12"x12" acrylic on gessobord 2013.

Thanks for stopping by and I promise to post more and keep giving you guys a glimpse into my crazy little world. Enjoy! 

Transferring A Sketch

Hey guys...

I've been getting a lot of questions about how I turn my sketches into full paintings. So I decided to make a step by step tutorial on my process. I use a transfer rub method using tracing paper. It can get a little tedious but I prefer it to using a projector because I feel like the transfer is a little more precise. 

STEP 1.

First I make sure that I have all the tools that I need to make a transfer sheet. To transfer this piece I'll be using the original sketch, a lightbox, tracing paper, a soft lead mechanical pencil, a hard lead drawing pencil, a blending stump and the prepped wood panel that I will be transferring the sketch to. 

STEP 2. 

To make the transfer sheet I flip the original sketch (drawing side down) onto the light box, place a sheet of tracing paper over it and begin to trace. I like to use a mechanical pencil with a soft lead for this part for two reasons: a softer lead will transfer easier and a mechanical pencil will keep the line work consistent without having to sharpen it. When making the transfer sheet, I try to keep the lines as simple as possible to make the transfer clean and easy. When I'm done tracing I end up with a reversed, line drawing copy of the original sketch. 

STEP 3.

Once the tracing paper transfer sheet is made, I flip it back over (pencil side down) onto the wood panel. I secure it with masking tape to make sure that it doesn't slip or shift during the transfer. I use a blending stump to rub over the entire drawing to transfer the pencil lines onto the wood panel. When the transfer is finished, the lines left on the wood panel are usually somewhat faint and can wipe off fairly easy so I go over the entire drawing with a hard lead drawing pencil (I use a 4H) to secure the image.

STEP 4.

Now that the transfer is done, I clean up any lines or mistakes and then I'm ready to paint. I like to keep the original sketch nearby to use as a value study so I know where all of the shadows and highlights will be. 

And that's about it. Thanks for stopping by and I hope this answered some of your questions. Keep in mind though, there are many ways to transfer a sketch to another surface to get it ready for paint. This is just the method I prefer. Take care everyone! Until next time!

Glenn

  

Devoured - Signs of the Apocalypse

I was recently invited to do a show curated by my awesome friend, Lou Pimentel, to take place at the MyPlasticHeart gallery in New York City called Signs of the Apocalypse. Of course, in my mind, anything related to the apocalypse means ZOMBIES! I jumped on the chance to be a part of this show and immediately set to work on a zombie themed painting and here's what I came up with.

Devoured - 11x14 acrylic on wood 2012

I know, I know. Poor little birdie!

Here are a couple of progress shots 

And check out the lineup of phenomenal artist that will also be in the show!

The show opens Friday, August 3rd and runs through Sunday, September 2nd. If you're in the NYC area I highly recommend checking it out!

Thanks for stopping by!

The Queens

Hey friends!

It's time to share some more art! I was recently invited to be in a show at The Alternative Cafe with a fun little steampunk theme called "Parasols and Dirigibles" opening on June 8th, 2012. I took this as a perfect opportunity to change things up a bit within my own my art style, so I to decided to put together a mini series of four paintings based off of the queens from a deck of playing cards.

I didn't want them to look traditional so I threw my own twist on the ladies by painting their faces with the suit that each one represents. I adorned their heads in lilies with spade, heart, club, and diamond shaped stamen in place of crowns. I kept their hair and costumes in muted colors with designs, patches, my "G" key and of course hummingbirds to match their suits.

Each queen is an 11x14, acrylic on wood painting 2012.

And here are some sketches and progress shots of each queen...

Check out my Facebook page to see each queen individually.

Please contact The Alternative Cafe with any purchase inquiries. Prints of the queens will most likely be available once the show is closed through my website. Thanks for stopping by!

Pierced - Marvelous Humans

Hello everyone,

I just finished a new piece for an awesome group show curated by the super fantastic Josh Geiser of Creep Machine. The show is called "Marvelous Humans" and it will be on display at Articulated Gallery in San Francisco. Opening night is Saturday, April 7th 2012. I'm extra excited about this show as it is jam packed full of amazing artists and inspired by human oddities, body modification, sideshow freaks and all around human marvels!

This is my piece for the show which is inspired by human pincushions and is titled "Pierced." It's 9"x12" acrylic paint and ink on watercolor paper 2012.

And just for fun here are some progress shots of the piece...

San Francisco, here I come! Hope to see you guys there!

-Glenn

Creating A Wallpaper Pattern

Hello!

I know it’s been a while since my last post, and I apologize for being absent, but I have been in an all-consuming whirlwind of art projects and paintings lately that has been as exciting and fun as it has been exhausting! Yet somehow, in the midst of the madness, I’ve managed to start on some new stuff that I’m extremely excited about! I’ve been experimenting with going back to a more illustrative style, much like the ink and colored pencil style I worked in before I started painting, only this time I will be using paint!

For this new series of work I wanted to go back to the damask type background patterns that I used to use in my earlier work. Usually I would create a new pattern for each piece but I’ve decided that I want to have a more uniform feel to this series so each piece will adorn the same pattern just in different colors. People often ask me how I create my backgrounds so I snapped a couple pics during the process to show you.

First I start by creating a basic design. I wanted a laceier look for this pattern with something personal to my work so I decided on roses and hummingbirds.

Next I repeat the pattern by staggering the design using graph paper. I make sure to mark off points where the patterns need to line up so it will repeat properly.

After I get the pattern set and inked I trace it onto tracing paper. When that is done I flip the tracing paper (graphite side down) and rub the design onto the wood around the sketch. I like to use a softer lead when tracing because the graphite transfers easier. (I wanted this pattern to have a more stitched feel to it so I inked it with small lines before I started painting.)

Once the pattern is inked on the wood panel I start painting. With my backgrounds I always paint in light washes of color which helps to bring out the wood grain and also allows the inked design to show through.

And then of course I finish the rest. This piece is titled “Patched Hearts Never Heal” and is 8”x10” acrylic on wood 2011.

I hope you enjoyed my post. Thanks for stopping by! Until next time...

-Glenn Arthur

The Ever Changing Idea...

Hey guys!

So I just completed a painting titled "SheTakes Flight On A Loveless Zephyr" which I am extremely relieved to be done with. I'm absolutely thrilled with the way that it turned out, but this piece really tested my patience and challenged my creativity during the process.

She Takes Flight On A Loveless Zephyr - 20x20 acrylic on wood 2011

More often than not I plan out my paintings down to the last detail in sketch form before I even draw it on a wood panel. This helps me cut down on changes made and keeps the drawing nice and clean so it's ready for color. I started this piece the exact same way, however she had different plans in mind on how she would eventually end up.

Once I got her drawn out on the wood panel I felt like there was something missing. I wanted her to have more elements of flight and surrealism so I added the wings to her hair and gave the hummingbird a little military type jacket.

As I work on a drawing for a painting I usually have a color scheme in mind so that it takes out a lot of the guess work once I finally begin to paint. I originally had cooler tones in mind for this piece but once again she had different plans in mind as warmer tones took over.

I started having difficulty with the wings behind her neck. I wanted them to have a mechanical feel to them but also wanted them to be uniform with the colors of the wings in her hair. There was a dynamic that was not happening with this idea so I decided to make them black for a nice contrast.

I really liked this idea as I had originally planned the background on this piece to be solid white. Yet again, she had different plans for this too. The white just wasn't doing it for me, so I decided to go for the opposite effect and black it out. Of course this meant the wings would get lost in the background so I painted them gold and finally called the piece finished!

At the end of it all I'm in love with this piece. The struggles and changes only make me appreciate it that much more. It's all part of the learning and growing process. She really helped me to not be so rigid and to give in to the creative process a bit more. Sometimes an idea can be perfect from the start and other times in has to be given time to evolve. And with this lesson learned it's time to move on to the next painting!

Thanks for stopping by!

J3 Concepts (Bringing artists together)

My good friend, Jared Nickerson, recently invited me to be a part of an awesome project with his studio, Jthree Concepts. He created a character called “The Last Vampire Astronaut” and compiled a group of artists to recreate her in their own style. I was honored to be considered a part of this phenomenal group!

I have to say, working with Jared is a dream come true! Not only is he endlessly talented, but totally encouraging and completely supportive of the artists he works with!

This is Jared’s original character that we had to go by. His attention to detail is insanely inspiring!

This was my concept sketch of the character…

Here she is all cleaned up and inked…

And finally brought to life with colored pencil, watercolor and ink…

Huge thanks to Jared for including me on this project! I’m totally looking forward to the next one!

Check out the other artists and their versions here: The Last Vampire Astronaut

Enjoy!

Sketch Theatre

I was recently invited to join Sketch Theatre which was such a huge honor for me. In case you’re not familiar with them I implore you to check out their website. It’s full of incredibly inspiring time lapsed videos of some of the most amazing artists sketching, drawing, painting and just doing their thing!

I must admit I was a bit nervous about doing this. I tend to be my own worst critic, as I’m sure most of us are, but I couldn’t pass up this kind of opportunity! When I arrived at the studio I was greeted by the executive producer of Sketch Theatre, Lily, (who is as sweet and kind as she is gorgeous!) and she really made me feel welcome! I sat at a large desk with a huge camera hanging just overhead and a monitor to my right. I threw on my iPod and went to work.

I sketched from start to finish for one hour which was a little strange for me as I tend to work on multiple projects at the same time switching back and forth. But once I got in the zone it was easier than I had originally thought. Watching myself draw in the monitor was kind of fun but after a while I completely forgot it was there.

When the video was finished it was even cooler than I thought it would be. Lily set the video to an awesome track by the Crocodiles which went so well with my drawing and she had such wonderful things to say about my work! I can’t express enough gratitude to Lily and everyone at Sketch Theatre for including me in this amazing art experience and I can’t wait to do it again!

I hope you guys enjoy my sketch! Watch the video here: Glenn Arthur 01

Synergism (Collaborating Minds)

I recently embarked on an artistic adventure by collaborating my visions and styles with another artist’s work and I must say that it was one of the most engaging experiences I’ve had as an artist. It really forces you to step outside of your comfort zone and place complete trust in another individual that they will not only handle your work with love and care but add their own special brand of talent to help improve and expand the piece as a whole and vice versa.

My great friend, Roberto Morales, is a master of graphite and ink work in a beautifully twisted style that is all his own. His artwork is jam packed full of imagery that is not only macabre and bizarre but intricately detailed to perfection which is why I was so excited to combine our two artistic worlds! We agreed on an idea and set to work…

The piece is titled “Peeling Back The Nightmares” which I started with acrylic paint on a 12x16 wood panel.

I handed off the piece to Roberto and he took over by adding his amazing work with graphite and ink.

The piece then found its way back into my hands as I finished off the rest with more paint and viola… a piece of art was born!

Enjoy!