Adorned In Seduction

Hey guys!

Remember doodling tattoos all over girls in magazine ads when you were a kid? Well I'm not sure about you, but I still love to do this! My amazing photographer friend, Amy Kaplan, shares the same love of decorating lovely ladies with tattoos so we've decided to take it to the next level. She brought me a gorgeous photo from a recent shoot she did and asked me to paint on top of it. Naturally the inner magazine doodling child in me loved the idea and this is what we came up with!

Adorned In Seduction - 8x10 acrylic on photograph 2012

Glenn Arthur and Amy Kaplan

Here are some process shots so you can see how I set about painting the tattoos on the actual photograph.

When I received the photo from Amy, I threw a piece of tracing paper on top of it to design the tattoos and map out where I wanted to place them on the model.

After I got that all figured out, I inked the design on the tracing paper to make sure the lines were crisp and clean. Then I broke out my trusty light box, layered the photo over the tracing paper design and began to paint directly on to the photograph.

I used acrylic paint mixed with a small amount of acrylic ink to help the paint glide a little easier over the photograph. Ink alone did not give enough solid coverage and smeared too easy on the photo paper so the paint was a definite necessity! I also had to use a very tiny brush as the photo was only an 8x10 so some of the tattoo designs ended up being super little!

Amy and I are both so excited about the way the final piece turned out! And to make it even better, the piece will be on display at the Rothick Art Haus 3 year anniversary show opening Saturday, July 14th!

Hope to you guys there!

Color Washed!

Hey kids!

It's time for more art! Allow me to introduce Color Washed! This is a new mixed media series that I've been experimenting with. Each image is done with acrylic paint, ink and colored pencil on bristol paper. I plan on adding more and more images to this series with different designs in the near future. In the meantime, here are the first four images. Enjoy! 

Brilliantly Blue

11x17 acrylic, ink & colored pencil on bristol paper 2012

Gorgeously Green

11x17 acrylic, ink & colored pencil on bristol paper 2012

Perilously Purple

11x17 acrylic, ink & colored pencil on bristol paper 2012

Playfully Pink

11x17 acrylic, ink & colored pencil on bristol paper 2012

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!

I Like Soup

Hey kiddos!

I was recently invited by my super amazing friend, Jason Levesque, (a.k.a. The Stuntkid) to be a part of an awesome group exhibition at the Virginia Museum Of Contemporary Art. The exhibit is called I Like Soup and will be on display from May 26th - August 19th, 2012 during the museum's Andy Warhol: Portraits exhibit as an artistic tribute to Mr. Warhol's famous Campbell's Soup Cans. And to top it all off, all proceeds from sales will help benefit MOCA's educational programs and the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia!

I was extra excited to receive this invite, not only because I'd be showing along aside some of my favorite artist friends but I love any opportunity to have my work in a museum! This project was also super fun (and a little scary) because it meant working on a three dimensional object which is way outside of my comfort zone! Basically each artist received a blank soup can and had complete artistic freedom to decorate it. I decided to give my can a hand painted label with some pretty flowers and one of my hummingbirds bursting through the top and I labeled it "Hummingbird Nectar"

Here are some progress shots of my can in production. First I measured out and designed the label and then began to paint.

I constructed my bird from a styrofoam body that I glued feathers to and then painted. I dyed white silk flowers trying to keep the colors similar to those that Andy Warhol used to use in his portraits.
  

I hadn't realized how small a soup can label is until it was laid out in front of me. It was definitely a challenge hand painting those letters especially since typography is something I almost never do!

After everything was varnished, it was so cool to get it glued on to the can as it really started to look like a legit Campbell's Soup label!

Finally I glued in all of the flowers and the hummingbird and fixed the lid on the can to make it look as though the everything was bursting out of it.

So, if you guys are going to be in the Virginia Beach area between May 26th and August 19th, 2012 then I strongly urge that you check out this exhibit. I got to see some of the other artists cans in the show and they are AMAZING! Don't miss it!

Until next time!

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

Her Secrets Are Sweeter Than Honey

Hello!

It's time for some new art! I’m extremely excited to share my latest painting with you as it will be in a show with Thinkspace Gallery in Los Angeles called “Picks of the Harvest” opening on Saturday, March 3^rd 2012! My piece for the show is titled “Her Secrets Are Sweeter Than Honey” and is 18”x24” acrylic on wood.

I’m completely honored and thrilled to have my painting displayed along side all of the other amazing works of art in this show. Check out the list of brilliantly talented artists involved. This is definitely a show you will not want to miss!

And here are some photos of my painting in progress…

Thanks for stopping by and make sure to say hello if you’re coming to opening night!  See you 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