The Transformation of Daphne Painting Process

The first painting for 2014 is for an upcoming exhibition opening next week, it is available for purchase through my Etsy shop or during the week of the exhibition. The theme for the painting is based on the Greek myth of the transformation of Daphne. Daphne is a naiad who in order to escape the amorous attentions of the god Apollo cries out to the gods for help, the gods respond by changing her into a laurel tree. Here is a nice quote I found while researching for the painting;

...a heavy numbness seized her limbs, thin bark closed over her breasts, her hair turned into leaves, her arms into branches, her feet so swift a moment ago stuck fast in slow-growing roots, her face was lost in the canopy. Only her shining beauty was left.

And here's the process behind the painting - enjoy :)

Inks I used to make the darker sepia colour

Some of the paints I used

and while I was working I was visited by a little friend at the studio...

Minnie (a dingo cross) eats a rice cracker

The Rescue - New Watercolour Painting

Here's a painting I just recently completed, it's my interpretation of the moment of rescue where The Little Mermaid rescues her prince, whether or not she is bringing him up to the surface or dragging him down under is up to your own interpretation ;)

I was inspired by a great contemporary artist Arantza Martinez who also painted this beautiful moment with the Little Mermaid and her prince which is also called The Rescue. If you haven't heard of Arantza before I highly recommend following her work you can see the image that inspired me at the end of this post :)

Below are images depicting the process from thumbnails to completed painting. Materials used include; cartridge paper, kraft brown paper, Arches 300gsm medium watercolour paper, coloured pencil, graphite, masking fluid, gummed tape, various sized brushes, white gouache, white ink, watercolour paint; Art Spectrum, Windsor & Newton, Cotmans.

Enjoy.

Concept

Thumbnail Sketch

Finished Drawing

WIP 1

WIP 2

WIP 3

WIP 4

Finished Painting

Framed Print

Prints are available of this painting. They come in 2 sizes 8 x 10" $15 and 11 x 17" $25. The prints are on Epson Lustre paper and are of a very high quality. They can be purchased through my Etsy store here
The original can also be purchase for $200 and it's size is 27.5 x 37.5cm it can also be purchased through my Etsy store here 

The painting that inspired me.

Jarith and Brandi Portrait

As I explained in my last post (Creative Couple Portrait - Joni and Jethro) I missed out on having my work accepted for a commission due to it's style not quite matching the current style used by the client.

So in a last ditch attempt I tried to loosen up a bit hoping that the style would match up. Having now finished it I think that though it is good I think I have yet again failed to match their established style.

Below you will see the progress of the painting from drawing to finished painting. As the client required a key colour to be included into the painting I added the colour in Adobe Illustrator using a coloured pattern in the background. The pattern is not fixed however and depending on if the client chooses to go ahead with the commission the colour element may change.

I have also included a sample of the clients other covers so you can see the established style. Here's a link to the clients website Urban Walkabout.

Hopefully this time the response from the client will be positive - fingers crossed!

By the way the commission was to create a cover illustration for a city guide. This painting is to represent Fremantle in Western Australia. If you want to know more about Fremantle (a great place for fish and chips, coffee, art and the beach) click here.

Watercolour, gouache and Adobe Illustrator.

Here's the other covers from Urban Walkabout

 

 

Creative Couple Portrait - Joni and Jethro

I was recently given a commission to create an illustration for a local guide. They saw my painting of "Cody" and wanted me to do something similar. I had a week to come up with it, so with the sketch approved I worked on the painting over the weekend. I sent it off on Sunday night. Then today I got a call from the publisher... they decided the painting wasn't suitable for the style of the guide. Nevertheless I decided to share this painting and will be giving the couple the painting as a thank you. I hope you can enjoy it.

This was the initial sketch

I decided I wasn't happy with Jethro's pose (plus he looked like a dirty old man...) so I thought a cheeky look would be better

The Finished Painting

Asteria - Nymph Painting Process 3 of 3

Process 1 - The Thumbnails
Process 2 - Experiment 
Process 3 - Refinement of Ideas
Process 4 - Rough

These steps I skipped as I was painting this after having already painted 2 other nymph related paintings. You can see them here The Little Mermaid and The Water Thief.

Process 6 - Detailed Pencil Drawing

As you can see this image was not so tightly drawn as The Little Mermaid. I left the image simply drawn so that I could be a bit more free with the watercolour painting. Again I was deprived of a scanner so I had to use my digital camera to capture the various stages, please forgive me for the poor quality.

Process 7 - Painting Progress

Process 8 - The Finished Painting

Here's the finished painting as I submitted to the Artorder Nymph Challenge

I also did a more modest version of the above painting using my Wacom tablet and Photoshop (upon request from a viewer on facebook). It was pretty tricky trying to match the digital to the traditional, I think I did ok...

A few weeks later I decided to add some highlights in iridescent blue acrylic gouache, I was pretty happy with the result, but the only way to see the result is by angling the painting in the light. This brought back fond memories of my childhood when I used gold and glitter to paint unicorns, fairies and princesses.

Two New Marvel Paintings - Black Bolt and the Dazzler

So even though I have already inked these two characters I thought I would paint them using different styles, the Dazzler using ink wash and the other focusing on the black of the Black Bolts suit. Personally I prefer the wash as it's something that comes naturally to me but it's always good to try something new and attempt to get better at it.

Black Bolt

Dazzler