Stages
Death Rite
This was the first incarnation of Death Rite. As you can see, my first vision was very different from what I ended up with. It goes to show that even though you may have a clear idea of what you want in your mind, doesn't mean it's meant to be.
After I admitted to myself that the previous sketch had no flow, not enough heart, I sat down, erased, and tried again. This time I remembered to breath. That's always a good idea.
Quan Glee
I don't usually do full color work on paper. But since I was trading this for another work of art on paper, I decided it would be fitting. The fun part was not knowing how the hell I'd accomplish it. You'll never know until you put your hands to it.
After sketching, I went in with colored pencil. It has a wax element, so I knew that by using oil paint with linseed oil, I could overlay vibrant colors with out losing all the detail pencil work. What I didn't predict, is the paper warping.
The Brave
Geeesh! how many times is it gonna take to get it right? A: As many as it takes! It's a hard rule to live by, but if you want to excel, never settle for less than what you know you can improve on.
Finally! after sacrificing hours of work I get there. It's ready for November of 2009.
Visceral Waves
I had a child hood photo as reference for this one but I had no clue what to do with the back ground. I toyed with some Mayan symbolism but it competed to much with the figures. I decided to approach it from a whole different angle.
Inspired by Dali, I went with an expansive dream scape. It gave me the opportunity to place a larger than life and strong looming storm cloud that overall helped the composition without competing for the spot light of the main characters.
The First Mexica
Usually, I start painting from the very farthest layer. This allows me to stack my images so that they have a natural edge. This helps them come forward. By all means, not all images have this luxury.
I've also found that if lay down a like color as a base before I get to painting (mostly in the direct method) I have better success the first time rendering an object and spend less time coming back to touch it up.
Big Top Nightmare
'Big Top Nightmare' I must have had sympathy pains for these women because I just had the hardest time getting to feel how they should look. This one really keep me up at night- just thinking.
Finally, the meaning behind the women helped solve my dilemma. Govt lobbyist say 'War is profitable' So in the governments eyes they value women for the purpose of creating the armies of the world. Thus, the women became gold.
Enter a brief description of this pair of images here to help your visitor understand how they're related. If you're showing before and after photos, for example, you might point out some of the improvements from one to the other.
