Portrait Commission

Just dropped off my latest commission yesterday. Biggest painting I've done since college! It was an interesting challenge to paint, because the reference photo was a compilation of 2 photos...so I had to add some shadows, change the tone so both faces matched each other, and basically create a new eye ball on Charley (the lower face).

But in the end, it worked out :)

Click Gallery to see a better quality image, under the Commissions tab.
http://devonartgallery.blogspot.com/p/commissionsmurals.html

* The painting above the fireplace is an older original painting of mine that Michelle bought 2 years ago. The painting sitting below it is the new piece.

Lovely Hands...

I finished this piece last night, after much consternation over the background and the paint drips. But my obsessive nature paid off this time, because I am happy with the final result :)

This painting is based on several photographs that I took of my friend Dayna. She has the most lovely hands, and I got to have a grand ol' time playing with light during the photo shoot.

I must not have sealed the canvas well enough, because in the past when I've done paint drips (with oil paint thinned with mineral spirits) the paint drips nicely down the canvas. This time it seemed to just soak into the canvas. So it definitely created a different look than I had anticipated, but I just went with it.

Click on the Gallery link to see more deets about the painting.

WWII Charcoal Portrait

This piece was a struggle because of the low resolution, damaged, then scanned, reference photograph. But I used a little Photoshop magic to burn in the face so I could see some details; then I just drew it the best I could. And even though it is still somewhat blurry looking, I like it! It keeps the feel of an old photograph because of the smudgy details. And the charcoal texture adds even more to the old timey-ness. 

This is my first time drawing an airplane cockpit, and I'm pretty frickin proud of myself. It actually looks like a plane! Cheers :)

After dark

I finished this painting a couple months ago, but have struggled to take an accurate photograph of it due to the color scheme. Cameras are not a fan of black next to bright oranges, yellows and reds apparently... So this is the best I've got so far! I guess this is when seeing the painting in real life is the best thing :)

Click the "Gallery" tab to see more details about the painting. Cheers.

Monty Commission

Below is the finished commission piece of Monty.

This commission was especially fun because I took the photograph, so I was able to do exactly what I wanted in terms of lighting and angle. Because Monty is such a bright white I was worried that the photo would be either blown out, or lack contrast. So I had him sit half in the sunlight, and half in the shade. Although Monty was not very happy about it! Haha.

In the end, I think the painting turned out beautiful! And Monty looks very regal :)

Check out my other commissions...

http://devonartgallery.blogspot.com/p/murals.html

LGBT Weekly

Some photos from my show at the Art of Pride Office were printed in the LGBT Weekly magazine. And in sweet color!

Retro Wedding Portrait... in charcoal!

Did this charcoal commission over winter break. I included the original photograph underneath.