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!

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!

Let Me Show You My Secrets

Hello out there in art land!

I just finished my latest painting for my next show. I'm really loving the solid black backgrounds on these with the bits of gold trim. This piece is titled "Let Me Show You My Secrets" and is 18x24inches acrylic on wood 2011.

I love to see how other artists work so I posted a couple of close up detail shots and progress pics in case you do too. Enjoy!

"Let Me Show You My Secrets"

Details of her face and makeup...

Details of her lace edge, flowers and "G" key...

Progress pic of the first couple layers...

My new skeleton Domo with some more progress behind him...

And a little more progress before I finished her up...

Well that about wraps it up for this painting. On to the next. Thanks for the love a support guys. Making art would mean nothing without you! 

Her Fatal Fascination

Well hello there!

I just finished my latest painting for my next solo show (info coming soon). The painting is titled “Her Fatal Fascination” and it is 16"x20" acrylic paint on a birch wood panel.

I’m really excited about this piece as I feel like it was sort of a breakthrough painting in a new direction that I’m taking my work in. Here is the full piece and some up close detail images. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

“Her Fatal Fascination” 16x20 acrylic on wood 2011

Detail of the skull in her hair and her hummingbird in steampunk goggles

Detail of her heart patch and “G” skeleton key

Detail of her face and makeup

Well now that she is done it’s time to get started on the next painting. Many more to come soon!  Thanks for all the love and support! You guys rock!

-Glenn-

Professional Procrastinator or Procrastinating Professional?

Ever hear that timeless saying, “Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?” or even go so far as to say it out loud to yourself? Yeah, me too.

And thus opens the door to the dangerous world of procrastination!

Upon starting a career as a visual artist I would draw and paint at the speed of light meeting deadlines long before they were due only because I wasn’t sure just how long each project would take to finish. My drive was extremely strong, and still is, however I’ve now become more comfortable in my craft and understand my limits and capabilities within certain time restraints. I also find myself taking on a much heavier work load as I realize how much work I can complete faster than before. I’m a bit of a workaholic so multitasking projects is how I thrive. The only problem is the more skilled I become in a certain area the more I tend to procrastinate.

Now I can tell you from experience that procrastination is the type of practice that gives with one hand and takes away with the other. You get the instant gratification of relaxing, hanging out with friends, or watching just one more episode of your favorite show yet you have to deal with the consequences of stressing out, sacrificing sleep and rushing to complete a project on time.

But this brings up the question, “Is procrastination really a bad thing if I’m still able to meet my deadlines?”

The answer is YES! It’s a known fact that stress is the cause of many physical and mental ailments and sleep deprivation, well we all know how messed up that can make you! Not to mention the fact that finishing projects at the last minute leaves no room for errors or revisions which can make or break you as a professional.

So how does one keep from procrastinating?

As for me the answer lies in keeping myself constantly challenged. The more I try my hand at new techniques or using new products I’m unfamiliar with the more I retain that original drive to get things done right away. If I’m not sure how long a project will take to finish I will generally get it done sooner than later in case I might hit an obstacle along the way. So if you’re having a problem with procrastinating then I challenge you to challenge yourself. Wade into uncharted territory and attack it at full force. You might be surprised at how ahead of the game you can get and you’ll be able to carve another notch in the old skill belt!

(This piece posed a few new challenges for me, but now that it's complete I can take what I've learned and move onto the next!)