Paintmonkey Studios

In Between...

2012-01-29T22:21:00.004-05:00

...a few other major projects, I only have time to squeeze out a few sketches. I had hoped to get some interesting ones yesterday whilst having the car serviced but alas the dealership lounge was full and I had to sit out in another waiting area which was much colder and therefore much less inhabited. So no sketches of strange people waiting on their oil change.

But...I still have pets!

New dog...

...and the cat...

I would have done one of my oldest puppy but she never sleeps out in the living room while we're watching tv.

Stay tuned! Hopefully in the next week or two I will have a fairly large unveiling for you!

Not Political, I SWEAR

2012-01-14T22:57:00.005-05:00

I have pretty much sworn off the political cartoons. Mostly, I just don't need my blood pressure getting that high.

But I heard a term that I have been ITCHING to put down on paper all week. "Vulture Capitalism". I just wanted to draw a vulture dressed up like the Monopoly man. So I did.

The cartoon just kind of fell into place around that one image.

Also, I love the idea of Romney's name being short for "Mittens". Which at least 2 percent of people in this poll actually thought...which I also love.

C.E.O. Mittens? Hilarious. PRESIDENT Mittens? Not so much.

(Okay, maybe I am being political, but it didn't start out that way. Honest.)

White People On Cell Phones...*

2012-01-07T20:16:00.007-05:00

So I went with a friend to Greensboro, NC yesterday to deliver a car. It was a simple up and down trip with us staying overnight at a Sheraton hotel. Simple enough. But just exhausting enough that we didn't REALLY feel like going out to explore last night. Fortunately for us, it was not just a Sheraton, but a Sheraton Convention Center. This means a plethora of people watching! Watch out, you little weirdos! We SEE you!

Sadly, it is apparently the slow season for convention-ing in Greensboro. Not even all the bars and restaurants in the place were open. Ah well...with sketch book in hand my friend and I headed for the lobby to do some people watching. I was loaded up on sweet tea caffeine and he was running on "coffee" and we took up our positions overlooking a ball room that was in and out with people in suits. Through the door we could see a giant screen with people screaming emphatically into microphones while disco lights flashed and techno beats filled the air. It was either a corporate Tony Robbins "pump up the sales-people" conference...or a Republican fundraiser. And judging by the amounts of white people...I have my own suspicions about what this was.

Which leads me to my series I did in the lobby:

White People On Cell Phones

Here is where the * in the title comes in...this was the only couple of the evening that were sitting still long enough for me to sketch that DIDN'T have cell phones. Mostly they had what can only be described as a "crushing amount of angry tension".

And these last two gentlemen whom I actually drew this morning who were going into a completely different lecture. And were black. And not talking on cell phones. (Although the first guy IS playing on an iPad. Does that count?)

An odd little weekend. See you next time!

Gonna Be a Good Year

2012-01-01T18:59:00.004-05:00

The power of positive thinking! I have a Bulldog cartoon ready to go and I finished it up just in time to have a post for the first day of the year. Also, it felt very natural to sign it with "2012". Yep...good year a'comin'.

So without further adieu...here is my first Bulldog of 2012.

I DO feel a little strange using a semi recent movie reference as a punchline. I usually try to keep the humor a little broader and therefore more universal. But it's been a LONG holiday season for numerous reasons, so Harry is gonna kick the Michigan State Spartan in a hole like Gerard Butler in 300. Done.

Hope everybody had a great new year's celebration! I look forward to sharing more art with you and hopefully a fun surprise or two. The resolution to post every week continues! Have a great 2012 everybody!

One More Before the End of the Year...

2011-12-31T16:06:00.004-05:00

I said I would get at least one more in and by gum, I will! Even if it is completely random and strange. So here (in not quite finished form) is an idea I had for a Genghis Khan bobblehead.

I will explain the reasoning for it later.

Have a great New Year's and I will see you all...well, probably tomorrow. I've got another Bulldog to post! Have fun tonight everybody!

Commission Work and Exercises

2011-12-27T18:24:00.006-05:00

Finally I am posting! I'm not kidding when I say I'm working. I really am! And I know I have not been a faithful blogging Paintmonkey this year, but I think I've done pretty well all things considered.

Here is the commission I did for a Christmas gift (thereby precluding me from posting it last week).

I had a lot of fun with this one. I did it the same way I did the gorilla this summer and I like the way it turned out. It was a gift for the client's mom and according to the client "she loved it!". So, mission accomplished!

And here is what I do when I'm watching the Falcons get beat on Monday Night Football while Drew Brees makes NFL history...

I imagine what Johnny Cash would look like as Wolverine...apparently.

I'm not done with 2011 though! More to come before the New Year!

UPDATE: I MADE IT!!! I just noticed the archive numbers and I have posted 52 updates for the year 2011! Okay so technically I didn't post one every single week but I'll take the average! Paintmonkey for the win!!! (And again, I still have one or two more so I will (again...technically) have more than met my New Year's Resolution! Woohoo!)

Just A Little Something

2011-12-16T00:43:00.002-05:00

I'm trying to post things every week but a lot of what I'm doing is not for public consumption just yet. So I guess I can fall back to my faithful sketchbook. Here's a happy fish mounted to the wall.

And yes, I find those singing fish hilarious...well, for about a minute and a half. Then they have to die.

It's Time...

2011-12-03T09:52:00.004-05:00

It's time for Georgia to play for SEC championship. It's time to shut up all those idiot sports pundits who keep harping on and on about Georgia's "easy" schedule. It's time to prove that Georgia is always a team to be feared.

Can UGA take down the unstoppable behemoth LSU? I think they can. I originally designed this week's cartoon with Harry holding the SEC championship trophy. But I realized that went against what I had drawn up all season. I never actually guaranteed a victory (which is what that would be doing in essence). I just promise that the other teams know they got hit in the mouth. THAT I guarantee...LSU will know they got hit in the mouth whether my beloved Bulldogs win or lose.

But I think they're gonna win.

Ending On A High Note

2011-11-27T12:22:00.003-05:00

The regular season came to an end yesterday and our Bulldogs ended it well with a win over Georgia Tech.

Bravo to Mark Richt and the boys for turning around their season in a fine manner. On to the SEC championship next week!

Sad Day to Be a Bulldog...

2011-11-21T21:18:00.003-05:00

...or a sports fan in general. We've lost another of the greats. Larry Munson, the voice of the Bulldogs for over four decades has passed away. No one in the Bulldog nation is unaware of this but I still felt like I had to put down a tribute to the man who meant so much to all of us.

There's nothing else to say except we'll all miss you a lot, Mr. Munson. Thank you.

Some Things Aren't Pretty...

2011-11-19T19:43:00.004-05:00

...like today's victory over Kentucky. Not pretty but it did cinch up the SEC East so we'll take it.

Something that I do think is pretty though is my continuing usage and mastery of the brush as my main instrument of inking. For many, many years I only used pens and made my own line variation. I love the control that gives me but it is time consuming and makes your hand cramp eventually. So here is this week's installment...

I also switched up the background to purple. Don't want to become stale with my toon-ing.

See you next week for Georgia Tech!

Homecoming and Old Friends

2011-11-13T10:19:00.004-05:00

This past weekend was Young Harris College's homecoming. I was not able to attend but one of the most favorable and positive changes that Young Harris has made in recent years was to move homecoming from the miserable and oppressive heat of summer to the fall. That is/was/always will be my favorite time to be in Young Harris. The leaves are changing, the air is cool and crisp, and there is just a feeling of joy that comes over me being there.

I wanted to take this time to let all of my friends from this time know that they are the most important and influential group in my life second only to actual family. My time with you continues to influence the way I look at the world and dictates how I react to same. There are those that are still among my closest friends on this planet. And even those that I was not that close with still gave me reason to think and look at things differently.

I don't agree with a lot of what they are doing at Young Harris these days. I think it is too developed and I think they are trying to do too much to change what made our little school special. But time marches on, I suppose. I have what made Young Harris special to me safe and sound. And I want to thank each and every one of you for that.

Go Mountain Lions!

Oldest Rivalry in the South

2011-11-12T14:54:00.003-05:00

Georgia vs. Auburn. Plain and simple. Big rewards and big risks. Lots of fun.

But COME ON! Pick a mascot! You can't call yourself the tigers and scream "War Eagle!" all the time. That's just greedy. And confusing. Figure out who you are, Auburn. On the inside. We'll wait.

Guest Writer

2011-11-05T14:55:00.005-04:00

So this week's Bulldog cartoon has a guest writer...Lady Paintmonkey! (Or to be exact: Sugarmonkey. Visit her facebook page or blog.) This week is UGA's homecoming so they are playing the WAC division powerhouse New Mexico State. And by "powerhouse" I mean, of course, "oh my god, Georgia is beating them 49-3 in THE FIRST HALF".

I found out who the NM State Aggies were and what their mascot was but I was having a devil of a time coming up with a gag. Enter the Sugarmonkey. She suggested the hog-tying of their mascot which is much cleaner and more socially acceptable than her usual suggestions.

So here is this week's offering.

Honestly, I quit watching the game. I've got the radio broadcast going in the background but I'm not paying too much attention. That was ugly.

Be sure to be here next week! Exciting fun stuff from the Paintmonkey!

Halloween Tidings

2011-10-31T14:11:00.004-04:00

Happy Halloween from the Paintmonkey! May everyone have a safe and sugar filled holiday!

More football fun this weekend! (And maybe a surprise or two in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned!)

Dares and Marching Bands

2011-10-29T10:43:00.003-04:00

This week's cartoon was done as bet/dare/challenge from a friend who didn't think I could work the Redcoat marching band into one of my cartoons. Challenge accepted! I also decided to do it on the most important one of the year since the Florida game (years ago) she had a scary experience and needed a boost in cartoon form.

So without further adieu:

My only concern is that Florida fans will think I'm being super insulting about their team by saying the marching band could beat them up. I am not. The Florida Gators are my beloved Bulldogs most hated rivals. And they are struggling this year. But that's what makes watching the SEC so darned entertaining. ANY given Saturday EVERY possibility is there. You do not look past a team like Florida. Ever.

Lawdy, I love football in the south!

Doodles and Bye Weeks

2011-10-26T21:55:00.005-04:00

Should have had this put up sooner, but alas the world is a busy place and I am but one procrastinating member of it.

Last week was a bye week for Georgia and I actually was "gone huntin'" as the sign proclaims...

I've touched on this before but I like seeing drawings. I like to see the way artists work out their assorted and sundry compositional problems. It's why I share some of my drawings. Drawings, I feel, represent the artist at their most vulnerable and exposed. Through trial and error it is where they try to compress their thoughts and feelings into that one image that will express the innermost workings of their brain.

So here's a doodle I did of a cartoon mammoth while on hold with a vendor at my day job.

Enjoy! (Coming up this weekend: Georgia/Florida!)

Quick One After the Game

2011-10-15T23:02:00.004-04:00

I'm working this weekend so I'm having to fit these updates in when I can. Georgia played Vanderbilt and won (barely) 33-28. Here's this week's cartoon.

I did make one little fix in the computer version. On the Georgia "G" on the swami hat (turban? I don't know. Tired and not looking it up.) I had accidentally painted the entire thing red. I just made it white with paint software. Sometimes technology is not horrible...

Sketches Are Almost ALWAYS Better...

2011-10-07T22:53:00.006-04:00

So my Bulldog tests continue. Seriously, these are mostly just a weekly test of new mediums, papers, and styles to see what works best for me and for other projects. But they are fun to do so we venture on, fearless illustration lovers!

This week UGA plays the University of Tennessee. Should be an excellent game. (Although I may not be able to watch it. The Paintmonkey has an informal class reunion to go to. Ah well...) But here is this week's entry:

Getting happier with them.

So here is where today's post title comes from. Almost every artist will tell you that the sketches done for almost any piece of art whether it be illustration, painting, or cartoon are almost always better than the final version. Whether it is the pose that you just can't get right again, or the composition is just a LITTLE off, or whatever other tiny little imperfection that does not allow you to get it just exactly the way you liked in that first impromptu sketch, it is just NEVER the same. It is...maddening, quite frankly. Compare the finished cartoon up above to the sketch here:

See? Looser, more dynamic, just a more fun representation. But I am not TOO upset at it this week. I had to fit the new Dawg into a drawing I had already started. I just wasn't happy with the way the legs looked in my first drafts. Then, while at work, and for entirely unknown reasons the way the legs SHOULD look just hit me. Out of nowhere. It happens that way sometimes.

So that is why finished drawings are almost never as good as the sketches which spawned them.

Mythology and Sports

2011-09-30T23:16:00.004-04:00

I'm feeling very literal tonight. Mostly because I spent most of the day with a splitting headache brought on by change in the barometric pressure. (Seriously, I woke up and felt like my head had been spiked to the pillow.)

Nope, I just have two things to put up today and they happen to be about...mythology and sports. Get it? First the mythology.

My comic book store is named Odin's in Lilburn. I first went in there about 5 years ago and reawakened my love of reading funny books. But this wasn't the comic book store of my youth. This one was well lit and the people in it were friendly and seemed to know what customer service was. I'm not saying I don't miss the ambiance of Wuxtry II on Baxter Street in Athens. There was a definite charm to the dank, musty air, the boxes of comics next to boxes and boxes of old LP's (ask your grandparents, kids) and the "will he or won't he speak to me today" tension of dealing with whatever burnout was behind the register reading some obscure French novelist. I'm just saying it was refreshing to walk into a brightly lit store and be warmly greeted almost as if you were welcome to be there.

On their website and now their Facebook page they had portraits of Odin done by guest artists. I am not in the same fame category as most of these guys but I always like to show my appreciation for the businesses I frequent so I did my take on Odin.

Next up is this week's installment of my Bulldog cartoons.

I got a set of markers this weeks and I'm trying them out. These are the first two experiments. Hope you like them.

UPDATE: I thought of a teensy little way to tweak the Bulldog cartoon. Can you spot the difference?

Addition To Last Week...

2011-09-25T13:55:00.003-04:00

Unfortunately I don't have a lot to put up this week but here is the latest in my Bulldog sports 'toon theme.

I liked this one. It worked out well from a compositional standpoint and I am improving on the coloring. Plus...I got to use the word "giblets" in a punchline.

I'm off this week so I am going to attempt to get a couple of new things put up before I have to go back to the grind of a regular job.

Cartoon Sports Mayhem

2011-09-18T12:21:00.006-04:00

One of my many and numerous idols in the world of art and illustration is the brilliant Jack Davis. His work on Mad magazine and EC comics and pretty much every other major magazine in the world that has used his work on a cover is recognized as nothing short of amazing. For me though, his best work came in the mail every game day Saturday in the fall in the form of his Harry Dawg cartoons in the Athens paper.

Mr. Davis was a UGA graduate and still to this day supports his alma mater with drawings of his beloved Bulldogs. I love Mr. Davis's work so much that as a teenager when I first became conscious of having to apply a signature to my work, there was only one man whose signature I wanted to steal...Jack Davis.

Which brings me to today's installment. I love doing these types of drawings. I mostly love them for college sports. Professional sports don't inspire the same passion in me as college athletics do. But here are a few examples...

This first one I did DURING last week's ill-fated meeting with the South Carolina Gamecocks...unfortunately it didn't make sense to post it afterwards. So here it is for the first time.

A little rough but it was done sitting on the couch, in a sketchbook. Next I did one for the Falcons. Again, I don't care for professional sports as much, but I still enjoyed the process.

So then I did the one for UGA's game THIS week. As I had never heard of the team they were facing I had to run to the old internet for some info. The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Don't know if I have ever heard of a university using a Canterbury Tales reference as a mascot before but, hey...whatever works for ya.

Still not where I would like to be coloring-wise but I am getting there. (And posting it on facebook with some very helpful friends and family re-posting it may have gotten me a freelance gig. So...bonus!)

And finally in keeping with my sports theme, I went with an old friend and his son to see an amateur boxing tournament in Doraville yesterday. Here are the first sketches with very likely some paintings or illustrations of some sort to follow. Enjoy!

More Story...Less Slice of Life

2011-09-09T07:30:00.002-04:00

I finished my latest Prehistoric Times submission last night. Two utahraptors attacking a gastonia. See what you think...

I'm starting to put a little more thought to the story behind the pictures. A lot of them were just pictures of the creature out in it's habitat just wandering around. Conflict is needed!

I think that is what was intended by Discovery Channel's new program, Dinosaur Revolution. Some of the people who posted on the Prehistoric Times facebook page were quite annoyed by it. (Mostly it was this one guy who seemed personally offended by it.) A lot of the people who have contributed to the magazine and been interviewed in it were involved in the making of this show. The main complaint was that it was too "cutesy" and "Disney-fied" (That is a paraphrase of that one guy who was so annoyed.) Was some of it unlikely? Sure. But overall it was an entertaining and informative show.

When Walking With Dinosaurs debuted nearly a decade ago (has it been that long? Geez, I'm getting old.) it was a breakthrough in dinosaur animation technology and was beautiful to look at. HOWEVER...it was also kind of slow. It was basically an all too real documentary...meaning that 95% of the time it was BORING. So then they made Walking With Prehistoric Beasts which was about prehistoric mammals. They learned from Dinosaurs and made it with more story involved. Much more engaging. Dinosaur Revolution is the next step. I give much praise to all those involved and hope we see more from them on this subject. I highly enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who wants to see a good show about these amazing prehistoric chickens.

The Paintmonkey Has Painted!

2011-08-22T19:25:00.003-04:00

I told you those wacky zoo animals had inspired me. I pulled out some old acrylic paints and started throwing it down on a piece of masonite and this is what happened. I am pleased with the result.

This is the big silverback at Zoo Atlanta (not Ivan). I don't remember what his name is. Taz, maybe? Big scary thing anyways. He did the "beat his chest" thing and I ducked like someone being shot at. (Mostly because I thought I WAS being shot at.)

And unfortunately I didn't have any natural light to take the photo of my painting. Hopefully my next one will be shot in natural light like I am supposed to.

Enjoy!

Back in the Saddle...Again

2011-08-13T10:38:00.011-04:00

Had a couple of bad weeks creatively. Due to complications and annoyances from a bureaucratic standpoint I did not feel like doing ANYTHING. I didn't work on any children's book pages, I didn't do any cartoons, I couldn't even draw in a sketchbook. Well, enough was enough. On Monday night I grabbed up the old sketchbook and some photos I took at Zoo Atlanta and started sketching again. Here are the results...

First I am putting up the original drawings I did...

Meerkat.

And now I am going to show what it looks like when I play with Photoshop and Illustrator.

Meerkat revised.

Tiger (Sumatran, I believe. If anyone knows for sure what tiger they have at Zoo Atlanta tell me in the comments.)

Tiger revised.

Kangaroo.

Kangaroo revised.

Turtle.

Turtle revised.

And my all time favorite...the warthog.

And warthog revised.

Now I am not a HUGE fan of the revised versions. They are certainly not the way I would have inked the drawings. But it is interesting to me in the way of seeing someone else finish a drawing I started. We had an exercise in college where we would work on a painting and halfway through switch with another student and let them finish it. It was interesting to see where they took it after you and to see where they started from.

Technology will never replace a good old fashioned brush though.

Hard At Work

2011-07-08T13:52:00.006-04:00

I really am! Unfortunately, it doesn't leave me with much time to put up stuff on ye olde blog. Again, everything I'm working on is top secret. (Actually, that's a lie. it's not top secret. I'm working on a children's book with an old friend. But I can't show you any of it because that would be cheating.)

I CAN show more sketchbook goodies though including one to be used in said children's book. And this is that sketch...

It's a happy trout. The reason I can show you that little guy is because he has nothing to do with the story! He is only ambient decoration!

And by all rules of sketchbook logic, he is on the same page as...

...Marvel comics Daredevil! Sure, why not?

I will keep trying my best to update but I am getting into the meat of this project so it may take me away from blogotorial duties. Apologies in advance!

Sketch Book Surprise

2011-06-25T22:41:00.003-04:00

I've actually gotten a lot of stuff done on my week o'vacation. A lot of character designs for one project and a few layouts on another. A lot of accomplishment for a week where I also napped quite a bit.

But this week marks the beginning of DC comics bringing back one of their more interesting characters, the Swamp Thing. I read the new comic tonight and I'm not sure if I like where they are heading or not. If you are not familiar with the story, Swamp Thing was created in the 1970's by the creative team of Len Wein (writer) and Berni Wrightson (genius artist). It was a tale of Gothic horror and was supremely unnerving for a child of the 70's (me). However I grew to adore the artwork of Mr. Wrightson and the horror genre in comics became one of my favorites (oddly enough I cannot STAND the horror movie genre).

Fast forward to the 80's. Sagging sales prompted DC (or rather their "adult" line Vertigo) to bring in comic god Alan Moore along with artists like Stephen Bissette and John Totlebein. Moore completely re-wrote the mythos of the Swamp Thing while keeping it exactly the same. Instead of being Dr. Alec Holland changed into the Swamp Thing it was actually a Swamp Thing that THINKS it is Dr. Alec Holland but is actually an earth elemental. (It's very complicated and strange but believe me, it is AMAZING.) It was one of my very first forays into "adult themed" comics and I loved it.

Full of nostalgia tonight, I whipped this up in the old sketchbook.

Now DC is bringing the two myths together in their new incarnation. Alec Holland is brought back to life during the "Brightest Day" aftermath. I think. It seems as if new management at DC is trying to systematically do away with anything Alan Moore did for them in the 80's. (In the Killing Joke, the Joker shoots Barbara Gordon in the spine leaving her in a wheelchair. They're apparently doing away with that as well, even though as her new character "Oracle" she became very much a part of the DC universe during the last twenty years.) Whatever. Moore only made it that your company put out some of the most iconic and brilliant and thought provoking books of the last three decades. Just brush them aside.

Idiots.

Tattoo Improvements

2011-06-19T19:08:00.007-04:00

It's been awhile and I HAVE been working. (Mostly on the "Giggy" cartoons so hopefully they will be up soon on the Giggy facebook account. Go and "like" it now for your updates!) But I wanted to give you a little something I have been working on lately.

I was waiting on a final okay from the client but she was waiting on the okay from her husband so I'm gonna go ahead and put up what I've gotten done.

A while back, an old friend emailed me wanting to know if I could update a tattoo for her. I said sure, I'd have a go and she should send me a picture of the tattoo. It was a blurry picture but I finally got photoshop software and I put it through that and cleaned it up to this image:

At the the time she got it, it was exactly what she wanted. A primitive rock art depiction of a horse. (She raises horses so it makes even more sense for her to have this.) As a huge fan of cave art myself I thought it was a neat idea. But people being people, everyone has apparently given her grief over it. "It doesn't have a full nose", and "Why is it missing legs?" and "I don't get it" in the best whiny malcontented voices you can think of. So I gave it the old college try to improve it for her.

This was the first version:

She wanted more of a "flame" look than before. (I believe one of her horses was named "Wildfire".) So I extended the mane and tail and tapered the lines as well as the legs and threw in a couple of extra little flourishes to help with the overall look.

The first verdict was "We like it but the ears kind of look like a tulip". Which I understand because I, too, thought the ears looked like a tulip. So back to the drawing board. Looking closer at the original I saw that there is actually two separate lines for the original ears. BUT...they were so close together it was going to be difficult to do anything without putting them together. So I came up with this:

It still put the original lines of the ears together but it stays more with the "flame" theme we were shooting for. I also couldn't go up TOO much because it would have ceased to be "flame horse" and become more of a "ride-able fire bunny".

I hope she likes it. If not, I'll have another update for everyone.

It's Time!!!

2011-06-09T21:33:00.005-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I teased at something coming from Paintmonkey Studios. Well, today is the day. Along with Fernbank Museum, Paintmonkey Studios is proud to present the new and improved (unofficial) mascot, Giggy the dinosaur.

This is, of course, Giggy in his superhero disguise for "Superhero Day" coming up soon. See Fernbank's website for details.

Giggy started as a simple and inexpensive way for the museum to show off parts of the museum and involve kids in the process. They took one of the stuffed dinos from the store and started dragging him all over the building. For some reason a couple of months ago, I was looking at these pictures and I thought "you know, I could make Giggy go anywhere in the universe if I wanted". So I worked out how I wanted him to look (in line with the plush) and did a couple of preview sketches and took them to the marketing folks.

Here is the first one that I did but we weren't able to get the page up soon enough. So this is my first "This Day in Science" starring Giggy.

To be perfectly honest...this is one of my better ideas. I hope it works out.

New Prehistoric Submission

2011-06-05T17:34:00.004-04:00

This is a brontotherium (or megacerops, or whatever else the thing has been named as it has been "discovered" numerous times). Anyways, this is the Paintmonkey's latest submission to the fine publication of Prehistoric Times magazine. The new issue will be out in July. Look for it in fine shops everywhere!

I will also have a neat little side project I did last week pending approval of the client's spouse!

Quickly...

2011-05-26T22:23:00.002-04:00

I know it's not much but there is big news coming from Paintmonkey Studios very soon. I can't divulge much but it does involve this little guy from the last post.

I've also figured out how to clean up a little in Photoshop and Illustrator. More to come soon!

It's A Planning Stages Kind of Month...

2011-05-15T23:18:00.005-04:00

So I've got LOTS of sketches but not much finished product. Here's a couple of practice pages I did from my trip tot he zoo in preparation for my upcoming children's book project...

And here's a little guy I designed for work...(even though I know I will not be paid for this one in any way)...

Sometimes you just have to keep giving YOURSELF work to keep the old art chops up.

Art Collecting

2011-05-07T18:33:00.007-04:00

Yet again, I did not get anything finished for my update. The distractions of a full time job...oh well. HOWEVER...I get to discuss one of my favorite things today which is collecting of the art.

Our lesson today is always be on the lookout for art. Keep an eye open just in case. You never know when something may pop up. On Friday, I had to go to Franklin, NC to attend a gem and mineral wholesale show for work. Most of the day is full of schlepping rocks and fossils from their tent to our van. The latter part of the day is the rest of our party going through all the jewelry vendors. This is NOT the part for me, so I kind of wandered from table to table looking for anything that caught my eye. Lo and behold, there WAS something.

At this one guy's table were a collection of old prints and lithographs. As I am sifting through them, he says "oh, those that are all stuck in that bag are 4 dollars apiece". I grabbed the bag and opened it and I came out with a handful of mostly uninspiring prints of the old book illustrating variety. Not really my cup of tea. But I found a few that I really did like. And for 4 bucks a pop, why not?

This one was my least favorite but I still found something intangibly appealing.

I liked how detailed the hair and the figure are contrasted with the slap-dash nature of the alms bowl.

Who WOULDN'T like an engraved musketeer? (Or whatever this next guy is.) He does have the only name I recognize readily though. At the bottom it states this is a Franz Hals print.

I enjoyed this next one because of the looseness of the engraving style but also because it is A) a really neat example of the artist starting with one idea and changing his mind mid-engraving or B) a haunted print. Look on the wall behind the figure and you can see ghostly images start to come out of the lines. Super creepy and I love it!

And finally here is my favorite one. I wonder why?

My main point today is this: go out and find yourself some art. Old or new. Prints, painting, sculptures. Don't buy something because you think it will be "valuable" one day. The only way art is valuable is if it speaks to your soul and sensibilities. Otherwise it's just crap on the wall. Enjoy!

Words and Pictures...

2011-04-30T20:39:00.005-04:00

Today's installment has two cartoons...there are things I like about each and things I do NOT like about each. Let's start with the first one I did this week.

This one is based on a flawed premise. It is from an article about President Obama wanting foods aimed at kids to stop using cartoons to market their wares if that food is considered "unhealthy". I made it into where he is altering the usage of the cartoons. I did like the art in this one more though. In particular, I liked the ink wash, which is the first time I've really used it in a cartoon (that I can remember anyways).

I get what the president is trying to do but leave it alone. Cartoon marketing is just a symptom of the problem. As usual the solution lies in education. In this case, education about healthy eating. Leave my Chester Cheetah alone!

So here's the next one I did this week which is NOT based on a flawed premise...

Now this one I like the premise more but I do NOT care for my art in it as much. I did it in color because that wedding just had to be drawn in color. It was too bright not to. However, I think I overthought the wording for the Donald AND the priest. I do still think that overbearing jackass would try and crash it if he thought he wouldn't be shot. Which I most certainly hope he would have been...*sigh* perchance to dream.

And this last thing is just for Mark...I like giving him little updates on our project and see what I've been up to periodically.

See you next time!

A Peek Behind the Curtain...

2011-04-24T17:28:00.005-04:00

I know this doesn't count as a true post since I didn't actually finish a piece for blogification. However, I DID get a lot done this week. It's just all preliminary sketch work and character design type stuff which I don't feel is worth showing or I am just keeping super hush hush.

So I thought I would go with my next favorite thing when I read other artists blogs. I like to see their work space. It is interesting to me because I like to see how they arrange for convenience and mostly I like to know they are just as messy as me.

You can see my beat up little easel in the corner here. Behind that is an old display unit for toys that I salvaged from work. It works darn well as a catch all art supply storage unit.

As you can see I am big into research. Reference books, National Geographics, art books, and a lot of comics everywhere. (Comics count as research materials, don't they?}

And then here's a better shot of where I do most of my work these days, my work desk. I traded a college buddy for this thing years and years ago and I thought about exchanging it for a newer model but I just can't bring myself to ditch it. It works too well for me.

I hope today's installment has been slightly interesting for you. Hopefully in the next few days I will be able to have something more post-worthy from an art perspective.

Westerns Are In My Blood...

2011-04-16T16:49:00.004-04:00

Really and truly. My grandfather used to go to the bookstore and buy as many as fifteen or twenty of the little cheap-o western paperbacks every couple of weeks. He would read through them and as I was really the only grandson who read as much as him, he would give them to me. I had an entire giant toy box filled to the brim with Louis L'Amour's, Zane Grey's, and any number of other lesser (and sometimes, although rarely MORE) talented writers. Combine this with a love of rodeo and well, you have the makings for a lifelong affair right there.

So fast forward to now. As a voracious consumer of westerns AND comic books it seems only logical that I should try to come up with a comic book western story. So I was talking with my good friend Cap'n Tony (a writer of soon to be renown) and we came upon the idea of doing a Jonah Hex short story and then submitting it to DC Comics. Even if we don't get in, it'll be really cool just to do one. So, while the good Cap'n bangs out the literary side and I await my duty of illustration, here's a quick drawing out of the old sketchbook that I did to get used to the character.

Maybe a little inspiration for the Cap'n, as well.

A Good Title Makes All the Difference...

2011-04-13T21:40:00.004-04:00

Two posts in one week! I'm on fire!

Anyway...so I finished the baseball ink/watercolor. I'm very excited about this piece. I really enjoyed working on it and I think it shows.

"Hitter's Count". Ink and watercolor, 9"x12" on watercolor paper. It can be yours for $125. Just get in touch with me if you are interested.

Truth In Advertising

2011-04-12T21:32:00.004-04:00

First of all, I am aware that I did miss yet another week. However, what I have coming up is well worth the wait! My baseball ink and watercolor is coming along MUCH better than expected and I am very excited. Hopefully in the next couple of days. Now on to today's business!

I have made no secret of the fact that I dislike politicians. But I have a real distrust of politicians that make a grab for power using extremist rhetoric and are usually trying to undo that which benefits us all. Like the EPA or the Clean Water Act. You know, those annoying little things that don't allow corporations to poison the living hell out of all of us to make a buck.

I think I have heard this joke before but a buddy and I were talking last night and this idea hit us. A special thanks to Cap'n Tony for the assist on this one! I know it would actually be hard for politicians to be MORE obvious with who they are truly beholden, but this would just make it simpler to plainly see it in written out in jacket form.

Peanuts and Cracker Jack...

2011-04-04T19:29:00.004-04:00

Spring has sprung and a young man's (okay, fine...MIDDLE AGED man's) fancy turns to baseball. For the first time in many years the Paintmonkey is excited about baseball again. Lady Paintmonkey is less than enthused about this turn of events but I have promised her I won't be forcing her to watch all that many games. This is largely because I prefer listening to them on the radio. This is what got started yesterday as I listened to my Braves whoop the tar out of the Nationals.

I was going to wax poetic about America's past-time but many more people with better vocabularies than I have already done so. I'll leave it with a a simple "Let's go get 'em Braves!"

This one's for the Cap'n...

2011-04-02T22:44:00.003-04:00

...and the millions of fans who are ready for Wrestlemania tomorrow night being held in Atlanta, Ga! And since I am one of those millions of fans, I felt the need to express this. (And it was a request from my buddy, the Cap'n.) So here you go, a preview of what should be the best match of the night. HHH vs. the Undertaker. Fun night for the Paintmonkey!

Baseball started this week as well but since Wrestlemania is only once a year, I figured I'd wait til next week for my homage to America's past-time.

Nearly Finished

2011-03-30T21:28:00.003-04:00

I swore I wouldn't do this again but I am mainly posting this so the client can take a look at the painting before I take it to her. I wanted to just post the finished painting (which this may very well be) but to be sure I need to let her see it, and if there are any changes I am hoping they are minute.

Fingers crossed!

Uncle Sam: World Beat Cop

2011-03-24T16:21:00.003-04:00

So this was my reaction when I saw the headlines that we were "engaged in a support effort" with the U.N. to enforce a No-Fly Zone...

Seriously, when do our fighting men and women get a break?

Victory in Defeat

2011-03-20T16:51:00.003-04:00

Yet again, I have gone a week without posting a drawing. Again, it had to do with a crazy week at Ye Olde Day Jobbe. However, I have the next week off so I am hoping to make up for lost time once again. I have some new toys to play with and a couple of ideas percolating so here's to a fruitful week.

And just to show you the creative IS still flowing in the household, here is a photo of what Lady Paintmonkey and I spent the evening last night doing...

SUPER MOON!!! Enjoy, everybody!

Dinosaur Slights

2011-03-12T23:03:00.003-05:00

I want to prove to people that not all of my cartoons are based on political rage. As any of my regular readers (Hi mom!) know, I am also a big fan of dinosaurs. My most recent submission to the wonderful publication of Prehistoric Times is this little cartoon about the recent discovery of a large sauropod in Utah.

I mean seriously, doesn't it seem a bit mean spirited?

More Behind The Scenes Action

2011-03-06T00:46:00.003-05:00

So a high-pressure system moved into the area today leaving the Paintmonkey feeling as if a railroad spike were being driven into his head and sinuses. I can’t get together enough energy to finish up a regular drawing but I can show what happens when I’m sitting on the couch watching wrestling and reading dinosaur books with no sketchbook within reach (EASY reach anyways. I haven’t felt like moving much the last two days.).

But well within reach are old bill envelopes and a pen. So here we have a couple of dinosaurs, the Undertaker, and some sort of long haired person who may or may not be covering up some math I was doing earlier. (I can’t really remember.) Again, this sinus thing is murder right now.

I know it’s not much but I really do doodle stuff all the time but most of it is silly little nonsense that I throw down just to keep the practice up, even when I am REALLY not in the mood for much of anything else. But every now and then good ideas pop up out of these little throwaways.

One More for Vacation Week

2011-02-27T18:51:00.004-05:00

I finished up one more cartoon for vacation week so I could feel better about missing last week's entry. Pretty good. I think I'm getting faster at these things anyways...

So the whole hullabaloo in Wisconsin has inspired this little one panel tale. Wisconsin governor, Scott Walker (R) has decided that the only way to balance the budget is by taking out some sort of personal vendetta against the unions (who apparently hurt his wittle feelings at some point in the past). Even though the unions have said they will give in to the financial demands he is making of them, that's not enough. Apparently the whole fiscal well being of Wisconsin lays on the shoulders of the unions right to use collective bargaining which Mr. Walker has decided needs to go. Which I feel will lead us full circle to this:

Who would ave thought that the GOP's call for a return to "good old fashioned values" meant a return to indentured servitude and possibly "prima nocta"? (That last bit is just an assumption on my part.)

PBS (and Facebook) Anger

2011-02-24T19:46:00.003-05:00

So the proposed government budget has passed the House of Representatives and is under consideration in the Senate. This bill completely cuts funding to Public Broadcasting as well as many other (woefully UNDERfunded, by the way) programs that are VERY important to all Americans educationally and culturally. The bill cuts funding for things that are actually a very small portion of the budget while ignoring the giant slice of the pie which goes to the defense budget. Now I’m not saying to cut our military but all this talk about “the system is broke” sure doesn’t seem to come into play when it gets down to fixing the “system” of military contractors milking the hell out of the government cow and spreading the profits around to Congress members who “see things their way”.

And the thought of Boehner running around like Christian Bale in American Psycho with an axe is pretty funny to me.

If you want to get involved, the website is www.170millionamericans.org or become a fan on Facebook.

That’s the good part of Facebook. The bad part is that the new photo viewer on the stupid thing cuts off the lower portion of your pictures! Apparently Zuckerberg had a traumatic experience with the bottom third of a photograph when he was a child and now he’s taking it out on all of us.

Birthday Giftings...

2011-02-23T19:58:00.004-05:00

So my best friend of many, MANY years has officially become the hardest person to shop for in my life. Whatever he wants, he goes and gets and I just can't think of anything he would want or need. But...I have one ace up my sleeve. He loves his Jack Russells more than...well, more than most people on this planet. And I can work with that.

So, I got his birthday. I still don't have anything for Christmas. Eh, I've got a little time.

Edward Gorey

2011-02-20T15:50:00.005-05:00

I have officially fallen down on my New Year's resolution. I have not posted a drawing every week. I would feel guilty but I was working WAY too hard last week to even give it a thought. My regular job sometimes has to come first so I was just exhausted and couldn't get to it. Oh well. Snow week had a couple of extra drawings in it and this week probably will as well. On to today's post!

A few years ago a friend told me about the Gashlycrumb Tinies, a book by the artist Edward Gorey. The book is an A-Z book about all the different ways these children meet their terrible ends.

It is...well, it's actually very funny and amazingly cute (No, really. It is.) Little Neville is my favorite.

A couple of years ago a friend gave me this Christmas card designed by Gorey...

Sorry for the small size of these. I couldn't find any bigger versions. At least in the three minutes I looked.

The reason for this post on Gorey is I found this article on NPR that interviews a friend of Gorey's and I just found it interesting. He was a fascinating man and I wish I had a chance to meet him.

Four Wheeler Poker!

2011-02-10T23:05:00.003-05:00

So I decided to do an ad for my parents fire department's upcoming fundraiser. I can't actually donate money to the volunteer fire department but I try to help out in other ways. Lady Paintmonkey has made cupcakes and the like for bake sale type things and I do this:

I participated in the first poker run last year and it was a lot of fun. You ride to different check points and pick up a sealed envelope with a card inside. After five checkpoints you head back to the fire station and they open up your envelopes and see what hand you've got. Best hand wins a percentage of the pot and the rest goes to the fire department. I don't even think I had a pair last year but it was a load of fun! If you would like to participate check the Paintmonkey facebook page and there will be more information about this little shin-dig.

I also cannot find the term "Shuffle Up and Ride!©" anywhere online so I am copyrighting it in the name of my parents fire department!

Open Season

2011-02-02T20:49:00.003-05:00

I am growing older and as such, celebrities are starting to all blend together for me. Red carpets are just a mish mash of bobble headed "celebrities" who I couldn't tell you who are to save my life.

Which brings me to today's offering.

A few weeks ago, the Foreign Press Association held the Golden Globes and for the second year Ricky Gervais hosted the affair. And he ripped the celebrities apart. And it was glorious. Honestly, how many awards shows for your profession do you need? When they start making such a large fuss out of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, maybe I'll change my mind about this silliness.

More process...

2011-01-23T17:04:00.004-05:00

Sorry, but I didn't have any new drawings to put up this week. I've DONE some, they just aren't anything special. Layouts for projects and random cartoon doodling but nothing I want seen.

So I figured I'd put up the work this week that I AM happy with. I am churning along on my latest commission and I took a couple of shots along the way to show progress.

This one's after the first day of painting when I put in the light tones and areas...

And this next one is after a couple more days of work, putting in some mid range tones and a few darker ones...

Terribly exciting, yes?

It is for me, anyways. I like where the little guy is going. I promise to try and have some cartoons or other drawings for next week. (Keyword: "try".)

Inside the Process...

2011-01-16T19:09:00.003-05:00

I didn't have any ideas for anything to finish this weekend so I thought I would give a glimpse inside my process of creating. (I told you I would have ways of cheating this "one a week" thing!)

First up is the beginnings of a commission I took on. The client wants a portrait of her nephew but the only photo she could get was one of the little guy riding a rocking horse and not even looking at the camera. At first I thought "Well, THAT'S gonna be difficult" but the more I looked at the picture, the more I thought it was perfect for the way I paint. I'm not a portrait painter per se, so this little "slice of life" photo absolutely fits my strengths.

I begin the painting by gessoing over a piece of sanded down masonite. Then I pencil in the composition that I like the best.

(I kind of liked the way the scanner makes it look like a chalk sketch but it's actually just pencil.)

But I thought that wasn't enough for a post so I figured I would give a little more. As a general rule I dislike people looking through my sketchbooks. I know some artists love it but to me it's a very personal intrusion. I have a LOT of crap in these things that I never intend to see the light of day. But every now and then there is a tidbit that I like enough to share.

Now I can't give any details about this sketchbook page as it is a super secret project I am working on with a friend. But if all goes well (and it seems to be falling into place the more I work on it) you should all be able to see it VERY publicly at some point in the future.

Neither of these images goes together exactly but that's the way it looks in sketchbook form. I'll be working on one thing, then just slip over to another part of the page and start doodling away at some other idea I had. Sometimes I end up with a page of completely indecipherable lines that all blend into one another and sometimes I have sense enough to stop while I'm ahead.

I hope you've enjoyed this little glimpse into the sketch life of the Paintmonkey and I'll try to have something completed for you to look at next time.

Cabin Fever (or the consequences thereby...)

2011-01-11T15:58:00.003-05:00

So this is what happens when the Paintmonkey gets snowed in for two days...

I'm getting some other Paintmonkey related things accomplished too (thinking of YOU, Mark!), but all this indoors starts getting to you and your mind starts to wander. Making me seem VERY productive blogistically(?) though.

Politically Speaking...Duh!

2011-01-09T10:29:00.003-05:00

For my first political cartoon of the year I decided to focus on what I find a ridiculous campaign promise. My mother always told me the only two sure things in life are death and taxes. So WHY do politicians (mostly Republicans) always promise to rid us of the shackles of taxation? And that whole "tax and spend" label they throw around is just a stupid thing to call your opponent. Government by its very nature is "tax and spend". If they didn't, there would be no government! There would just be a bunch of goofy folks sitting around making proclamations with no money to make any of it happen.

Although the idea of a bunch of windbags sitting around harrumphing their displeasure with no way to back it up IS a funny thought to me.

Super Doodling

2011-01-07T22:12:00.003-05:00

Every now and then I get bored and I doodle super heroes. It could be known guys like Batman or Spiderman but sometimes it's just generic super people. Like this guy:

I actually drew him a week or so ago but the color I added today. I was playing with some inks and concentrated watercolor a graphic designer friend gave when she was cleaning out her clutter. I enjoy the "long-john" feel of his tights.

Just wanted to put a little something to keep up with my "one-a-week" pledge. I'm working on a new cartoon but I'm still waiting for some input from a fellow grumpy political mind (Mel, you know this means YOU, right?)

It's a Paintmonkey kind of New Year!

2011-01-02T17:06:00.003-05:00

First order of business: Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone had a fun and safe ringing in of the holiday!

Now on to art business. I am not a fan of New Year's resolutions for all the normal reasons...too much pressure, setting yourself up to fail, yadda yadda. Change is inevitable anyways so why force it upon yourself? ANYHOO...so I don't normally make resolutions. Okay, we get it.

However, my wife asked me if I was making any this year and my first thought was the usual "Heck no! I'm perfect the way I am!" (HA!) But the more I thought about it the more I thought about applying it not so much to me as applying it to the Paintmonkey (can you tell I read a LOT of comics? I think I just gave myself a poorly guarded secret identity.). And in this pondering of ways to better my artistic side and budding career I came up with my first resolution (possibly EVER).

I am going to attempt to post a new artwork every week for the year of 2011.

Be it painting, drawing, cartoon, or just a sketch I'm happy with (yep, gave myself an easy out anyways.) I spent the better part of today coming up with the above self portrait and I think it is a fine way to kick off what is to be (hopefully) a BIG year for all of you and the Paintmonkey!

Paintmonkey Sale!

2010-11-15T13:40:00.005-05:00

Just in time for the holidays, Paintmonkey Studios is having a sale on pen & ink/watercolors! For a limited time, the prices on these originals are slashed! Starting at 4"x6" pieces for $35 and going up to 12"x16" pieces for only $100! (Full disclosure: the final painting will be a LITTLE smaller as I will give the piece a border for framing purposes.)

Here is a look at my latest effort, a rhino that goes along with the other smaller pieces of the elephant and giraffe I've done before. This one is slightly larger at 6"x9".

Commissions welcome! Take a look at past pieces to see if there's something that you particularly like and we'll get you one of your own. If you take a look at our Facebook page it might be a little quicker as all the work is a bit more organized and located. If you want to purchase anything just shoot us an email at paintmonkey@comcast.net and we'll see what we can can come up with for you!

More Previews!

2010-09-15T23:00:00.003-04:00

Okay, technically it's the SAME preview but I got the comic book inked and it is being lettered and colored as we speak. But I thought I would show how the first two pages look inked anyways.

I think they look a lot better now.

Previews and Perception

2010-09-01T14:19:00.005-04:00

I want to start today's entry with a sneak preview of two pages from the Paintmonkey's upcoming dinosaur comic book debut. Obviously the story hasn't been put in yet but these are the first two pages.

Just pencil roughs but they give the idea I want to convey.

Then the second part of my post is about reality versus perception. The Fox theater in Atlanta is currently undergoing a public relations nightmare because of the controversy involving the "Phantom of the Fox", Mr. Joe Patten. The reality is, well, I don't know the reality. The perception is they are giving the proverbial boot to an 83 year old man who helped save the Fox theater twice. It has been pointed out that the Paintmonkey (and MANY, MANY others based on comments on the Fox's facebook page) may be making an uninformed judgment based solely on media reports. That is true. HOWEVER, that is the only thing we have to make judgments with. The company that owns the Fox, Atlanta Landmarks, LLC, keeps re-stating the same vague press release and the biggest blow to their case came when they had a uniformed police officer escort Mr. Patten's lawyer from the meeting he had with the board.

In this particular case, the only reality IS the perception. And unfortunately for Atlanta Landmarks, LLC...that reality is that they are screwing over a little old man.

So I came up with this...

I hope it all gets worked out for everyone. Enjoy!

Edward Abbey Would Be Pissed!

2010-08-19T22:13:00.008-04:00

So I'm perusing my usual news outlets the other day, seeing what is going on in the world around me. One of my checkpoints is the GPB website. It usually gives me state goings on that you can't find in, well, really ANY other place.

The article states basically that the state of Georgia has formed a blue ribbon committee to decide the feasibility and implementation of CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP OF OUR STATE PARKS! Naturally, (after I picked myself up from the anger stroke I suffered) I reached for my pens and paper...

If anyone needs me, I'll be at my local state park with a chainsaw, a surly attitude, and a dog-eared copy of "The Monkeywrench Gang".

Buzzword: "Irritable"

2010-08-11T21:29:00.006-04:00

One of my biggest problems with the modern political machine is the usage of catchphrases and buzzwords. They do it to pound an image into the heads of the public but all it does to me is enrage and drive me to things like cartooning.

So Sarah Palin is at it again. Flying around the country endorsing GOP members in state races, she has taken to referring to all of them as "Momma Grizzlies" (oddly ALL of them are women. "Not sure about their politics but hey, you can't call a DUDE 'Momma'. Jeez! THINK, McFly!"). Say it once I'm okay with it, do it the second time and I think you're lazy with metaphors, and any more than that I want to shove your head into an industrial meat grinder. Yeah, she keeps doing it...

So I wondered what a REAL grizzly momma would think.

My favorite part went from the joke to the baby bears when I worked on it. They were just making me laugh as I drew them. They still do.

In the course of my daily consumption of news and information which will only anger me, I came across a story about Newt Gingrich visiting Iowa for the sixth time THIS YEAR. I bet Iowa is a beautiful state. I would LOVE to go see the Field of Dreams. But the only reason a politician goes to Iowa that much in one year is if he is gearing up for a run at the White House. And I think the one thing that Democrats and Republicans can both agree on...

...Newt Gingrich is a terrible person.

Of Camels and Dreams, and Dinosaur Things...

2010-07-31T23:30:00.004-04:00

I don't know why the title. I've got Alice in Wonderland on the brain or something. Anyhoo...

So I painted a camel this week. I like gangly creatures apparently. Maybe a moose next.

I also promised a look at the upcoming "Dinosaur Sideshow" that we are diligently putting together at Fernbank Museum in Atlanta. Unfortunately, I don't have the final artwork on the advertising yet, but they ARE going with my suggestions on it. Here is the preliminary sketch I showed them...

I have seen a version of the final and it is MUCH more involved than that but they did go with my ideas, such as the dinosaur on the ball and fonts used for the title. We are in the final stages of putting the whole thing together but the dates for the event are October 23rd and 24th, of 2010. It is a celebration of all things dinosaur, focusing more on the popular imagery that drew all of us into loving these prehistoric monsters in the first place. More details to come but make plans today!

The Paintmonkey is published!

2010-07-16T20:21:00.003-04:00

The new edition of Prehistoric Times magazine is out and the Paintmonkey made it in! That is the front cover so you know which issue to rush out and buy! And inside is even better!

Here is a bigger version better for viewing of my submission.

And even better still, the publisher posted in the "From the Editor" section a mention of a brand new event that we are coming up with at work called (tentatively) "The Fernbank Dinosaur Sideshow!" Right now we have Mr Fredericks (the publisher of my new favorite magazine) confirmed as a guest but we are working on many more guests and surprises! Stay tuned. Hopefully by Sunday I will have a working version of our advertisement poster ready for viewing! If not I may go ahead and post my rough sketches.

And remember, rush out NOW and buy this magazine as it will SURELY turn into a collector's item soon!

Geckos, Part Deux

2010-07-11T21:08:00.006-04:00

So I had so much fun doing the coloring pages for work, that I just HAD to try my hand at painting these cute little buggers. So I took my trusty camera and took some photos of the geckos in their enclosures at work. They really are photogenic little things. So here's the first of a few anyways...

And if you want to see these little guys live, go here for info.

The Taste of One's Own Foot

2010-07-11T00:27:00.003-04:00

There is a long history of blaming the president (past and present) for problems facing the country. It has become particularly nasty these days but it has also gotten EXTREMELY surreal and disjointed from reality. Michael Steele, the head of the Republican National Committee, the face of the party is a SUPERB example of this. I get that he has to oppose the current administration on, well, just about everything. It seems to be what they do these days. I would probably be less cynical about conservatism if every Republican advertisement for governor that I've seen recently (and good lord, there are a LOT of them these days) say that they are bound and determined to cut our taxes! With every teacher in the state either being furloughed or laid off, they are going to cut taxes. Okay, but quit wringing your dang hands when, for some reason, our schools are churning out woefully stupid kids. Just a thought...

Anyways, Michael Steele was caught on tape at some fundraiser, saying that the war in Afghanistan was a "war of Obama's choosing". Seriously. He didn't even giggle or smile when he said it. He may have actually been serious. The war in Afghanistan, the one that started in October of 2001, four years before Barack Obama was elected to the SENATE much less the presidency, is a war of his own choosing. Okay. Sure. Why not?

What led me to the cartoon was the fact that since this tape made it's way around, most Republicans have turned on their fearless leader and said he doesn't represent "their" Republican party. And seem like they would REALLY prefer it if he would, in fact, just shut up.

Weird. There ARE sometimes instances where politicians and I agree on something.

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T19:48:00.002-04:00

In honor of this great holiday, I give to you...a giraffe.

Nope, it has nothing to do with the holiday other than I finished it today.

But, my wife wanted a painting of a giraffe so I did one for her. This is a 4"x6" pen and ink and watercolor.

Have a happy and safe holiday weekend!

American Pride

2010-06-19T22:49:00.003-04:00

I have been a soccer fan for going on 16 years now. I (like many of my southern compatriots) didn't understand the sport and thought it was actually pretty slow and pointless. I mean come on, 0-0 is a FINAL score?!?! That can't possibly be right. But like most things in life, it becomes MUCH more interesting when you understand the rules and nuances of the sport. While in college I had the good fortune to be roommate's with a talented artist/musician/goalie who explained the rules of "the beautiful game" to me. Since then I have been a HUGE fan, particularly of the United States National Team.

However, this has not always been an easy job. While you consign yourself to the knowledge that soccer in the United States is an "up and coming" sport, you are always hoping for the team that breaks through the barrier. Well, this year's team could just be that team. Usually, the U.S. team plays well for part of a game or they play well for one game but not the next. Or they make their way into a tournament and just do horribly the entire tournament. But this team is different. They play like they know what they're doing. Every time. (Okay, they sometimes take a bit to warm up to the game but they get there.) I have not been disappointed in their play this World Cup. Not once.

Which brings us to Game 2 against Slovenia. Not enough that they finish up a masterful comeback from a 2-0 deficit. Not enough that they did not give up. They WON the game. On a brilliant cross from Landon Donovan, Maurice Edu jammed home the winning goal. Except they didn't.

Everyone who follows the game knows what happened (or more importantly, what DIDN'T happen). Here is my take on it...

Take what you will from this. Do I think that it was a referee who had placed a bet on the game AGAINST the U.S. taking a victory? Do I take it as a vast conspiracy of FIFA who dislike the idea of such a "non-futbol" country as the United States advancing in the tournament? Or do I take it as a simple mistake by a referee who might have been a little in over his head? (Okay, for the record I definitely do NOT take it to be the last one.)

I am so proud of our boys. If they were to be knocked out of the World Cup in the first round I will be just as proud of them. They have done everything in their power to win. And to them, I say "thank you" for helping to reignite the passions of a fan who sometimes has trouble keeping the fire going. But for everyone else in the world of soccer, I leave you with this message...

Watch out. Our boys are coming.

Iguanodon and Charlie Brown

2010-06-13T17:23:00.006-04:00

Just a couple of new things this week. I've been working on my submission for Prehistoric Times magazine for the fall issue. I had done one previously but I was never EXACTLY happy with it. So I decided to give it another go with a different attitude about the composition. I went with less of a central motif and had the old girl wandering off into the background as well as added a little iguanodon for a little more of a family touch. I decided the foreground needed a little something so I put one of those giant dragonflies that were very prevalent at the time. I liked this composition MUCH better.

And I really wanted to submit one in color this time so after a few days of horrifying myself about the color, I grabbed the old watercolors again. And then I got THIS...

I'm still not happy with my watercoloring skills but I AM really just starting out with them so I can't beat myself up TOO much (even though I will).

So while I'm working, I take little breaks here and there and usually sit in the studio listening to my music and I do different little things to distract myself while something dries. I will sketch out a new drawing, play solitaire, or usually read something. I surround myself with a lot of different reading materials. Right now my main reading book is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay but I also have a collection of Peanuts cartoons I've been picking up periodically. The man was, in the simplest terms, a genius. He could encapsulate inspiration and a way to live in a few simple ink lines and fewer words.

(Now obviously in this case I mean the inspiration of Schroeder's words NOT Lucy's but she also has her moments.) There is no anniversary today, no reason to be appreciative of a genius who left us ten years ago...other than the reason to always look on work that touches us and appreciate it again. We miss you, Sparky.

Geckos!

2010-06-08T19:15:00.005-04:00

So a couple of weeks ago, I was asked by the marketing department at work if I could do some drawings of geckos to turn into coloring sheets for he kiddies. No problem. But since I wasn't being paid I asked if I could put the address for this blog onto the drawings just for a little exposure. And they agreed so, if you're joining us from that advertisement, then welcome! I hope you enjoy looking around. But for those who don't manage to find their way to Fernbank museum this summer, here are the original drawings I did for the geckos coloring sheets. (I think the graphic design department added a border or something. Not really sure, I didn't get a good look at them and they never emailed me the finished copies.)

First up is this little fella...

Then there's this little guy...(I LOVE the jazz hands and how excited he is to be doing it.)

Then this one.

And finally this little critter.

I'm not sure if these are big enough for you to color if you print them out at home, but please feel free to try. (Just let me know how it turns out. I'd love the feedback.)

And if you get the chance come to Fernbank Museum this summer. These little guys are really a lot cuter than lizards have any right to be. They always look happy (even when they are most assuredly NOT happy) and it's really fun to find all of them in their enclosures.

As always, enjoy!

More Paleo Doodling

2010-05-30T20:20:00.003-04:00

I was looking at the submission dates for Prehistoric Times magazine and I realized that I DID have time to attempt to get in a drawing for the next issue. The submission date is June 10th and I wanted to at least TRY to get one done. (And not feeling like painting him helped, too.) So I spent most of last night and today working on this...

I kind of liked the way his head is cocked to one side like an iguana staring at you. These were flying reptiles after all, NOT dinosaurs. So they would have been a little more lizard like. And he seems to be a happy pterosaur. Maybe he knows something about being accepted for print that I don't. Here's hoping.

Idea Gifts

2010-05-26T19:43:00.004-04:00

Sometimes you just have an idea for a cartoon handed to you. Literally. I've been a little burned out on the cartoons lately but yesterday a co-worker stopped me on his way to the elevator and said "Hey, I've got an idea for a cartoon for you". And it was a GREAT idea. So I ran home, punched it out and here we go.

Many thanks to Mel Phistopholes for the toon inspiration!

Paleo-doodling

2010-05-24T19:26:00.003-04:00

I am a huge reader of comics. I read them for a long time as a kid and then I went to college, got broke and took a twenty year hiatus. About 3 years ago, I started back. Some of my tastes have changed but some have not. I still read the Spidermans and the Batmans but I definitely find myself drawn to just good storytelling these days. One of the better companies for this is Dark Horse Comics. They have the beat em up and the supernatural stories (most notably Hellboy) but they also produce some definitely non-traditional comic fare. One of the ones I am just now discovering is a writer/artist by the name of Ricardo Delgado and his Age of Reptiles comics. They are wonderful stories with no words, only the action of dinosaurs being dinosaurs. For a guy who spends his day job working in a natural history museum it's kind of a natural fit.

So in the back of one of the issues of Mr. Delgado's comic is a letter where he discusses dinosaurs and he mentions a magazine called Prehistoric Times. Their website is a little under-developed but the magazine is pure joy for a dinosaur nerd like me. The magazine is devoted to dinosaur news and collectibles and model making. And the entire thing is illustrated by the readers. They don't pay for submissions but it's just fun to draw dinosaurs. And any exposure is good for you, right?

So that brings me to today's entry in the studio...IGUANODON!

The magazine generally has two main creatures a month and the deadlines for submissions are listed on the website. I used the watercolor pen and ink method because another dino artist that I think is great is William Stout and he uses that technique on a lot of his paleo art. So, in an homage to Mr. Stout, I submit my first dino painting!

Legends and Inspiration

2010-05-10T19:08:00.000-04:00

The world lost a great artist today. Frank Frazetta passed away at the age of 82. I wrote about his wife Ellie last year when she passed away after a year long battle with cancer. They had the type of partnership that was much like Johnny and June Carter Cash. They worked well BECAUSE of each other. And unfortunately, the one would not last long without the other.

And apparently the children have been bickering over the estate, blahblahblah. I do not care about the children or their petty disputes and squabbles. They are not the ones who were an early inspiration to me. There is only Frank (and Ellie, even though for a long time I was not aware of her influence) as far as I am concerned.

I'll try not to bore you with a drawn out history of Frank (it's always "Frank" to us fans, although I'm sure had I ever met him it would have been a very reverential "Mr. Frazetta, sir"). There are many fine books on Frank, but I will let his work speak for him as he often did.

THIS is what most people think of when the name Frank Frazetta comes up. Even people who don't read science fiction and fantasy books were familiar on some level with his work. The above is one of his many "Death Dealer" series and was also used as a Molly Hatchet album cover.

This next one was used as a cover on one of the many Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. I'm pretty sure that Frank never read any of those books (at least not beforehand) because of all the ones I have read, I don't think the covers ever had ANYTHING to do with the story contained within. But here's the thing about it...those covers were so amazing, it didn't even matter! The art was THAT good!

He was not contained to just one genre either. He was equally fun at westerns as well. His treatment of horses was always oddly accurate to me. By that I mean, that even if he was exaggerating the figures it at least LOOKED as if it were in a plausible position.

Now let's look at another medium. Most of his commercial work was done in oils but his sketches and pencils are stunning. He was proficient in pencils, pen and ink, oils, watercolors, and probably whatever else he picked up.

And if there was another thing that Frank was known for at least as much as his barbarians and fantastic beasts, it was the women. Known simply as "Frazetta women", they were as much a part of his vision as any other. Voluptuous and usually as ready for violence as any other character inhabiting his paintings, Frazetta women were readily embraced by the community of fans. These were no scrawny supermodels. And for those of us who do not see the point of the emaciated forms of current "models", we always said a silent "thank you" to Frank.

And this pen and ink I have always adored not just for the fact that it's an attractive female, but for the sheer mastery of the art form. The textures and forms throughout this entire drawing are, to me, just awe inspiring.

But by and large, we know Frank for unbridled carnage.

And the unfiltered savagery of a warrior triumphant.

But he was also a hopelessly devoted romantic...

(His loving wife Ellie, as painted by Frank)

And most importantly, he was a man...

Thereby giving all of us who are just men something to strive for. Thank you Frank, for so many things. Thank you for serving as an artistic inspiration for so many. Thank you for pushing the boundaries of genres not normally associated with "fine art". And most importantly, thank you for opening up the imaginations of so many kids who wouldn't have had it any other way.

Revelation

2010-05-09T19:10:00.000-04:00

It's startling when something you have been doing almost literally your entire life suddenly clicks into place as something you could do for...well, almost literally your entire life. I have been drawing and painting for going on nearly 4 decades now. Since I was a wee lad in the Georgia countryside looking for my own way to escape what I saw as a boring existence (and have since learned to heartily embrace) I have used art as a means of expression and personal escape.

As a youth I did not have immediate access to oils and other fine art media and even when I did, I had no one to train me in their usage. I was extremely intimidated by these tools and it wasn't until college that I got my first true look at most of them. So what I was left with was pencil and pen. I never looked at color as much as I looked at the linear aspects of drawing. I have, of course, since learned to appreciate and even revel in my appreciation of color. But I still first look at those linear aspects that formed so much of my early views of drawing and composition.

Since I have started these pen and ink watercolors, it is as if some sort of mental barrier has been broken down for me. This method allows me the fine tuning I can achieve with pen and ink and the coloring that I later learned a love for. With the oils and other painting mediums I have to force myself to allow the details to not take over. I am not a "realism" painter. But with the pens I can achieve much more the look I am searching for.

First up, a cardinal.

Next up, an elephant. I have painted this big fella a few times now. On a trip to Africa many years ago, this was the first elephant we saw after MANY days of looking. I still like painting the old tusker's portrait...

I did both of these as tests for the new style. Both of them are only 4"x6" watercolor sheets. Let me know what you think!

Cowboy Up!

2010-05-04T20:04:00.000-04:00

One cowboy painting hot off the press...er...easel...okay fine, hot off the drafting table. Happy now?

I really do hate the title saying. "Cowboy up." It's a saying popularized by people who are not actually cowboys and wanted a new, nifty way to tell someone to toughen up. I use it as diner lingo. "One cowboy up, hold the pistols and heavy on the chaps!" See? I have now introduced a fun new oeuvre into the world of the restaurateur. I fully expect to be compensated when this new chain of Old West diners sweeps the nation by storm.

ANYHOO...back to the painting. I have painted this fellow before. And done pen and inks of him. And I'm pretty sure he's in a few sketchbooks now that I think about it. I just really liked that pose. Nothing but the confidence of the young and the swagger of a cowboy all condensed into one seated pose on a gate.

Checking Out the Competition ink and watercolor, 8x10 (on a 9x12 sheet of watercolor paper) $150

Hey everybody, it's the "Thank You Chicken"!

2010-04-25T21:52:00.000-04:00

I know it's a rooster. But yet again, I like the way "Thank You Chicken" sounds. Again, only because it makes me laugh. Anyways, I just finished my first official pen and ink/watercolor! Since my friend Denise (Font Queen) was ever so generous as to donate a set of Rapidographs to me, I felt that she should have a thank you gift for such a spectacular present to Paintmonkey Studios. She had told me of a liking she and her son had for chicken decor and she had liked the one that was the first ever prize for the Paintmonkey Studios Facebook challenge. (More on the second challenge coming soon!)

So I decided that I would combine the two things and create her a chicken with the new pen set and splash on some watercolor to finish the image. So here is my thank you gift for a brilliant new medium for me.

Angry little sucker, isn't he? Roosters just always look angry.

Some computer stuff isn't ALL bad...

2010-04-23T20:47:00.000-04:00

So I was trying to enter a contest where you design the next character for a movie/comic book sequel. I won't name names, but it's out now and it involves body parts and kicking. Anyways, I didn't read the fine print in time and realized too late that I was too late to enter the contest (I would have felt bad but the silly thing had ended even before I started working on the character).

But I felt I would share it SOMEWHERE and suddenly it occurred to me "hey dummy, you have an art blog". Ta-da!

I did the basics in my usual format, ink on bristol board. But I noticed everyone else had color entries (again, BEFORE I realized the contest was over). Granted, they had done theirs on the website and it only involved uploading photos and using basic tools to put costume features that already existed over the photos. So I figured I needed to do something to jazz mine up. Since I had done it on bristol board, I knew from my horse drawing that watercolor doesn't work great on bristol board. Warps it nicely. So I thought outside my normal realms...

My brother had just recently acquired some gigantic package of Photoshop and related software. So I emailed it to him to see what could be done. He was doing some coloring with it, but I knew what I wanted so I took the opportunity to go up there and see what these computers could do.

Here is the finished product:

My brother had gotten the basics out of the way for me and then gave me a slight tutorial on how this stuff works. I think for my first time with computer coloring, it's not TOO hideous. It may work for some things I do in the future but I think I'll stick with my antiquated methods for most of my work.

Oh and by the way...for those of you who think I have lost my mind as far as what constitutes a superhero, I have not. I based this character on Ignatius J. Reilly, the protagonist from John Kennedy Toole's masterpiece, A Confederacy of Dunces. I thought a superhero based on one of the most obnoxious characters in literature was just funny.

Blech! (Maybe...)

2010-03-29T18:26:00.000-04:00

I finished my test drawing of the horse. I LOVE my new pen set. I am in the mood to only use these right now. But I do still love color so I got it in my head to keep on experimenting on the horse. First the finished pen drawing...

Then I thought "why not add color to the horse". Why not, indeed? So what if you haven't used watercolor in close to twenty years? So what if you weren't that good with it to begin with? WHY NOT?

Okay, well it's probably not as bad as I first thought looking at it, but it's not great. And it's certainly nowhere NEAR the quality I want to have for these types of drawings. I think I like where this is going so I'll keep practicing and we'll see what happens. (On a professional note: watercolor does NOT work well on bristol board. Lots of warping going on. But I figured that would happen.)

Back to drawing board...literally.

A Couple of New Things

2010-03-24T21:52:00.000-04:00

Not too much today, but I wanted to put up SOMETHING. I've gotten a couple of new cartoons done. I'm not really in the mood to go all political blogg-ey, so I'll let them do the talking.

I dislike re-writing history...especially since there is no one conquered yet.

Next up, the obvious answer to everything in the United States today.

And now I just wanted to update on my Rapidograph testing...(outside of the work done on the cartoons, that is). I AM in fact, continuing to work on the horse drawing. It's just taking a bit longer since I've been trying to get the cartoons done. So, here is the next progression of horse pen and ink...

...seriously, I am LOVING my new scanner.

Irritation and Jubilation

2010-03-10T19:09:00.001-05:00

I have a lot going on this week. The cartoons are coming as fast as I can get them down. I am perpetually irritated though. One of the unfortunate side effects of paying attention. But the jubilation comes from having a lot of new tools that REALLY make this whole process a lot easier.

My friend Denise (heretofore referred to as the Font Queen or FQ for those in the know) had an extra set of Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph pens that she was gracious enough to allow me to have. These things absolutely rock! They make lettering a MUCH less ungainly task and that while I still don't LIKE it, at least I don't break out into a sweat thinking about it.

This one was done last night after talking to my cousin through Facebook. She is a teacher and had just found out that her county was making cuts to a reading program that she considers very important. And that was enough for me. Getting angry about these things is tricky though. Really the only thing you want to do is tie the people responsible to a chair and just scream at them and call them obscene names all night. And while funny to me, it doesn't really lend itself to a fun graphic joke (okay, again, funny to ME). So while as a person you may be HUGELY irritated by something you have to find a (hopefully) productive and (even more hopefully) humorous way to get your point across. Here's what I came up with last night:

A better way of expressing my displeasure about this topic than just screaming mindless insults. And just as a side note, the writing on the signs was REALLY hard to come up with. This is because I have awesome parents, and family, and teachers who TAUGHT ME TO READ! Unfortunately for me, this makes purposefully writing things wrong extremely difficult. Oh well. So thank you to everyone who ever encouraged or inspired me to read!

And just so people don't think I've gone completely fine art-free, I did get started on this before my dander got riled up.

The other tool that is making life easier is my new scanner. Taking photos of oil paintings works pretty well, but photographing pen and ink is a GIANT pain in the keister. All in all life is pretty good on the art front.

Tea Party

2010-02-07T12:58:00.000-05:00

I have semi kept up with the "Tea Party" national convention this weekend. Started as a backlash against what they see as wasteful government spending (oddly enough it only started AFTER Obama took over and continued Bush actions. Weird.), the "Tea Party" movement has since become a forum for the right. The FAR right. Former GOP House representative from Colorado Tom Tancredo delivered a "rousing" speech to kick off the convention. The first part of today's cartoon is an excerpt from that speech...

Yes, and in addition to this little he gem, he advocates a "civics literacy" test before being "allowed" to vote in this country. At best this speech was a horrifying echo of Strom Thurmond in the '40's and at worst (if he took a tiny little step to the right) it is a new rallying call for racists in this country. Perhaps the former representative needs a refresher course on civics himself.

(I know I've been a little 'toon heavy these days, but I've got another painting on the way. I promise.)

I Guess it's NOT So Obvious

2010-02-01T20:16:00.000-05:00

I was perusing my various news websites this weekend when I came across several articles about the same topic: texting while driving.

Now Lady Paintmonkey and I do not "text". (I put that in quotes because "text" first and foremost, IS NOT A VERB!) As a general rule, if we want to talk to you we will call you. Or email you. Or we just don't worry about it. Whichever. I am just now becoming semi proficient as a typist for emails and putting thoughts to this site (Thank you Mrs. Herndon. I really only took your class in high school because I thought it was an easy elective. Who knew back in the Dark Ages known as "the 80's" that typing would REALLY be useful one day?). So I certainly am not interested in learning to either type using a non-"QWERTY" keyboard on an overpriced Googlypod phone or the more archaic (by today's standards) typing using the numbered keypad of a phone. I consider it the death of language and I refuse to learn all of these ridiculous acronyms and shortenings of words. Don't even get me started on emoticons.

That being said, I move on to the topic of texting while driving. Being free of the constraints of endlessly waiting on my phone to jiggle and alert me that someone has sent me a message I get to watch people with their technology obsession. I really wish there were more open manholes in this country. I wonder if that would wise people up to paying attention to where they are going. And that is while they are walking. They do the exact same thing while they are driving. Ta-da! Seems a no-brainer to me. Don't do it. You will die and take people out with you.

So of course the articles I read this weekend are nothing like that. On CNN, it was reported that studies show that states who made it illegal to text and drive didn't show any difference in accidents. No mention of whether or not people were still doing it. Just that there is no real difference in statistics. And my favorite was that the Georgia legislature needed to see more studies done on this topic before they made a decision. Which is what led me to this:

At one point when I was laboring over the wording, I thought about just having the first kid say "I didn't get your last text...". I personally think this made for a funnier cartoon but it didn't get across my main point which was that the Georgia legislators are a bunch of indecisive weenies who ignore what seems to me to be a fairly obvious decision. DO NOT LET PEOPLE TEXT AND DRIVE! They are not paying attention and they will kill you! Or maybe we just need to leave more manhole covers open.

Two-fer Saturday!

2010-01-30T18:03:00.001-05:00

I feel good. I got the painting of the chapel done and I got another cartoon done. Since I've been promising the chapel for a while, let's start with it.

The Susan B. Harris Chapel in Young Harris, Ga. Many a convocation I sat through in that little chapel. A pair of my best friends from college got married in it. And it is one of the few structures that I don't think Young Harris College will demolish in the name of "progress". (I hope.) That being said, I'm glad I got pictures of it when I did.

Also today, I got another cartoon knocked out. The story of James O'Keefe is one that amuses me no end but also stops me in my tracks with a "REALLY?" kind of dumbfoundedness (Is that a word?). Mr. O'Keefe is the "investigative journalist" who broke the story about the non-profit ACORN providing tax evasion tips to a "pimp" (Mr. O'Keefe in hilarious '70's undercover pimp attire). Now I will give him credit for this story. If ANYONE is giving out tips about how to skirt the law, they should be punished. Period. After the election, I have not heard if there were any investigations into this or not, but I really do think of this as a problem.

Now for the opinion portion of this. I think Mr. O'Keefe fancies himself the right wing Michael Moore (although I bet he HATES that comparison). My opinion is, he seems like nothing but a spoiled little rich kid who decided very much like a child to try and bring down those who opposed daddy's interests (and eventually his inheritance). Barack Obama was connected to ACORN so why not try and find something embarrassing on them. Again, I think those who offered illegal advice should be punished. But I don't think he actually cared about the legality of the situation. Obama was connected with an organization offering advice to pimps and hookers! JACKPOT! Go straight to Fox News! Break out the champagne!

Now on to his current "situation". Mr. O'Keefe decided to "get to the bottom of why a United States senator wasn't answering her phones about healthcare". Okay. Fair enough. Why not take an investigative crew and find out what's going on? Oh, you say you're going to dress up like phone repair guys and enter a federal office building with a hidden camera and get the answers you want? GREAT IDEA!

For an "investigative journalist", you sure didn't look into consequences for certain actions, did you? ANYONE with half a brain should realize that this type of stupidity will get you neck deep in some Homeland Security. Aaah, to be young and really really dumb.

Artistically speaking, I really like the drawing part of this one. My big experiment was the lettering. I think all my characters always look like they are screaming in the word balloons so I thought I would try a smaller sizing this time. It seems to still be legible but just barely. oh well, back to the drawing board (literally). Thanks for listening!

Just A Little Filler

2010-01-28T21:13:00.001-05:00

I am ALMOST done with two paintings that I am really happy with (so far). However, I am at the point that seems to take the longest time for me, which is the tidying up at the end. But I feel pretty good when I actually get something up on this blogosphere, so I thought I would put up the quick project I did today.

One of my coworkers put something on Facebook about planning a Easter Egg hunt at the natural history museum I work at. That made me think immediately of this image:

It only took about 15 minutes to get the idea together and then down onto some bristol board. I almost forgot the bunny ears, which is weird because I thought they were the funniest part of the whole image. And this is only a quick drawing to get the idea across to the marketing department. I don't even care if they use it or not. They've never been interested in my ideas before but I do them because they make me laugh. (Actually why I do MOST things.)

So then Lady Paintmonkey gets home (I've had the end of this week off. Trying to get rid of rollover vacation days.). She shoots the usual photos and cleans it up in the computer for me. And then we think "why not see what a little color looks like on this thing?" Keep in mind, we're not doing this on a Mac, and this is just a basic paint program. But all in all I think it gets the idea across quite well.

Hopefully this will keep everyone satisfied until I can get the last little bits of these other projects squared away.

Let's keep an eye open...

2010-01-20T22:52:00.000-05:00

In the aftermath of Democrat Martha Coakley being defeated by Republican Scott Brown, I have watched as my right leaning friends on Facebook and the response of our "news" media go ballistic. Yet again, everyone seems to treat this as either the start of the decline of civilization, or the start of the decline of the Obama administration, BOTH of which I feel are a bit of an overstatement of what has happened. Yes, the Democrats lost a LONG held Senate seat, but watch the Daily Show. Apparently the geniuses of the Democratic party who nominated the oh so electable John Kerry in 2004 put the bug in Ms. Coakley's ear. I've seen more socially adept monkeys with a penchant for flinging feces.

So where does that leave me in the maelstrom of friends who are lauding the brilliance of Massachusetts voters and the talking heads on the news channels who are taking the outcome of one election to fill the term of a deceased senator as the inevitable failing of our president? Well, I'm glad you asked. (And if you didn't, too bad. I'm answering it anyways.) I am, as always, diving even more deeply into a democracy depression. More and more it looks to me like we are being set up. I do not understand where this venomous animosity that people on opposite sides have for each other is coming from. "If you don't agree with me, then to hell with you and enjoy the sulfur." Why is it that just in the last decade or so, everyone has gotten so nasty about these things? And then it occurred to me...

We're being set up! Divide and conquer! Get us angry at each other over meaningless ideological differences and then sit back and do what you please. It's so simple. (And yes, hopefully this is my only conspiracy theory. Thank you for humoring me.)

Moose Study

2010-01-15T20:51:00.000-05:00

Yet again, as I stepped back from working on a painting, I did another ink wash as a means to keep my hands busy in the interim. As I was looking around the studio for some bit of inspiration, I found some pictures I had gotten off of the internet for a painting I did a few years ago. I am speaking of course of my wife's favorite ungulate, Alces Alces. The great Canadian freeway menace. Moose.

So I grabbed the ink brushes and went at it.

It is obviously much looser than the previous work of the bull I did. But that was the point. I just wanted to chisel in the forms and work out the composition WITH the forms. I rather enjoyed it, and I think I've got my next painting ready to go.

Normally I try to only work from what I myself have seen in person and either sketched or photographed. I have taken to working from some of Lady Paintmonkey's photos but even that doesn't feel exactly right, as she and I have different art sensibilities. However, I sometimes make exceptions, particularly for large hoofed mammals that tend not to range around mid to northern Georgia. However if you do see a moose tottering around the southern Piedmont area or heck, even a camel, please feel free to let me know.

Filling in the Blanks

2010-01-10T14:09:00.000-05:00

When I'm working on an oil painting, it's very much a stop and go process for me. I work as much as possible on it while it's wet and get in all the shapes and forms I like and then I wait for it to dry to start the process all over. Some people are able to sit and do it all in one sitting but that's not how I work. So I end up with a lot of space in between sittings that needs to be filled. Now some of it is filled by reading, sometimes the much less productive watching of television, and then sometimes I feel the need to keep working on something art related. I've touched on this before. Recently after I did the ink wash of the Susan B. Harris Chapel for New Year's, I have been trying to explore more of this method. First I did one of the cowboys from the Fort Worth Stockyards.

And I enjoyed it so much I followed it up with one of my parent's big bull, Woody. I really enjoyed this one as he was standing in a stomped down patch of hay.

I am really enjoying working on this. It's very different from the method I use in oils. I don't get to just slam down patches of paint and form them as I go. I actually have to think ahead on this and use a MUCH more tentative approach. I start with light grays and build up on them more and more. A lot more contemplative than the "let's work out a little aggression" methodology of oil paints. And it helps me work out the specifics of composition I want on actual larger pieces. It is definitely a better way to spend breaks than watching television.

Ringing In The New Year!

2010-01-02T12:06:00.000-05:00

According to some old superstitions, what you do on New Year's day is what you will be doing all year long. I don't know where this idea came from (I tried to find it online but no luck) but I kind of like that thought. So I decided I was going to be finishing a piece of art on New Year's Day. And unlike so many of my brilliant ideas, this one actually worked! I got done with an ink wash of my alma mater's chapel. Okay, so it's not a 36"x48" oil painting but hey, I got it done! And it's just a quick study to prep me for a painting of the chapel to be done in the next few days.

So in the next few days keep an eye open for an oil painting of our favorite little chapel in the mountains.

Commission Work

2009-12-06T16:53:00.000-05:00

I've done a few commissions lately and I'm feeling the need to expand that feeling of working regularly. (Okay, and getting money for my work doesn't feel too bad either.) Here is my most recent endeavor...

A friend at work wanted to give a unique gift to a friend for her birthday. He had seen my pen and ink work on facebook and asked if I could do a portrait of his friend's dog. I said sure I'll give it a try. I had never really done anything like that but I thought it couldn't hurt to give it a shot. Here's the result...

I think it worked out pretty well and it was fun to do, as well! That's always a good feeling. So, if you want to commission me for paintings or pen and inks of, well, whatever, give me a shout. It's fun trying stuff outside of the comfort zone.

One Mermaid Down...

2009-11-28T19:13:00.000-05:00

...and NO more to go! (For now anyways.) I have finished the mermaid! Praise be to the muses who all but abandoned me for the last two months. This little underwater nymph has been KILLING me with the details. "Should I put in more fish? Should I change the color of her top? WHAT COLOR SHOULD HER HAIR BE?" That last one was KILLING me for the last month. I have changed it numerous times, the largest change being a deep dark brown to a more blondish brown (which I did to more match the birthday girl for whom this painting is intended). But none of them worked! Finally today, I got Lady Paintmonkey to put her movie on pause, and come give me her advice. She was a little hesitant to tell me what she really thought but she finally managed to get out that she liked it better darker and with red in it. Literally ten minutes later I got this:

It worked! It was perfect. Yes, it looks more like Disney's version but I don't care. That's what my niece likes anyways! I don't know why it wasn't more obvious to me. She's 4. She doesn't care what sort of artistic variation I put on the thing. Her uncle painted her a mermaid. Ta Daaaaa! Sometimes I make things much more difficult than they have to be. And I'm only a month late with it, so I've got THAT going for me...

Old West Style

2009-11-05T15:37:00.000-05:00

As promised here is another set from Lady Paintmonkey. These were taken on a trip to Fort Worth last year. She's tinkered with them a bit, but the end result is much neater than the reality. The reality was, at the Fort Worth Stockyards they have daily "cattle drives". These are done for the tourists (re: us) and are kind of fun but judging by the looks on the cowboys and livestock alike, there are many things they would rather be doing than entertaining the likes of us. But it's interesting in that there are cowboys and big dumb cows on the streets of Fort Worth.

Lady Paintmonkey took a ton of pictures and has been fiddling with our actual perception of the reality and formed in these images what they SHOULD be. The looks of boredom and simmering resentment towards anything in shorts and sandals pointing a camera at them magically become the looks of rugged tiredness and exhaustion from being weeks on the cattle trail. Cattle who are probably just lazy show animals become range hardened beasts who only stay put because they are worn out from hundreds of miles of eating dust on their way to the market.

Without further adieu, the next series...

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

At Long Last: Lady Paintmonkey!

2009-11-01T20:44:00.000-05:00

As promised, I am going to put up some of the works of the talented Lady Paintmonkey. I know these are from a series she's been working on of flowers. Some of them I recognize, most of them I don't. But without further adieu, here they are:

I know I recognize this one from Texas...

From here on out though, I don't know when she took them.

Aren't they great? Remember you can order copies from us! Just send us a message here or on facebook and one of these beautiful images can be yours!

2010 Goals and More Pen & Ink Goodness

2009-10-18T13:19:00.000-04:00

Our main goal at Paintmonkey Studios lately is trying to prepare for doing some art festivals in 2010. This takes a lot of work and preparation, both of which I am terrible at. Thankfully, the smarter half of Paintmonkey Studios is amazingly organized and really good at that sort of thing. But it is still a lot of work for both of us as we attempt to take this new step into the realm of traveling art show. A tent, display materials, and how to actually take money are just a few of the start up problems we are facing and that's not even getting into when we are to get our art done and ready to sell.

However, we have decided we are going to do it a little differently (don't we always?). We are going to do art festivals as well as some local rodeos. Our work seems to fit into that arena a little better than most art festivals and we just like going to them anyways. However, we don't feel like the average rodeo fan goes to the arena thinking they are going to purchase a higher end-costing piece of art. So we decided we will fill that gap by making prints and cards to sell as well. I have already posted on here before some of the pen and inks I am thinking of making into cards but I have been working diligently on making some more.

Here are some of the new ones:

This one came from an old picture I took at a rodeo in Athens, Ga. a long time ago. I promise you, I could not find anything that looked like a left arm in the picture. I did not realize that until I had started the drawing, but I liked the composition so much, I just left it as is.

I just felt like I needed to break up all of the bullriders I've got going in this series.

Another bullrider. I liked the dynamics of this one.

These guys were at the Fort Worth Stockyards doing demonstrations. I took artistic license and cut out any building skyline from the original.

And one more bullrider just for good measure.

So for right now that's our plan. Hopefully in the next few days I can get some samples of Lady Paintmonkey's photos up that she is planning on selling. (They're AWESOME! Don't tell her I told you.)

Anger=Funny...I hope

2009-09-14T20:14:00.000-04:00

More and more lately I am enjoying the mental ventilation of doing my little "political" cartoons. Anything that irritates me, I can think of a way to make it funny and get it down on paper and then it's gone. Voila. And I am no longer irritated by it. No fuss, no muss. Unfortunately, there is a LOT in the world that irritates me. So I continue to try and get it down.

This cartoon applies to all politicians. I don't really believe ANY of them when they make all those promises. I am sure they WANT to keep them. But for whatever reason, they don't. Usually even if they do somehow manage to keep those promises, they screw it up somehow. It's why I am not holding my breath on this whole healthcare cluster. Even if they manage to stop behaving like a bunch of cliquish middle school twerps, they won't really make it better. I HOPE they make it better, but keep in mind this is the same government who paid $600 for a toilet seat. And that was what was going on 30 years ago. I'm pretty sure they've done nothing but de-volve in that time period.

Which brings us to our current president. I like Obama. I truly think he wants to do what he thinks is best and by and large I think he's done okay. But good lord, he is one man up against the United States Congress. The most convoluted bunch of partisan, politics playing, pin heads that we could ever vote into a position of kind-of power. Even with a majority of seats, he will not be able to force things through. That was the whole point when the founding fathers put this little experiment into action. Checks and balances. If Republicans would take a breath, step back and look at a little historical facts they would see something. Jimmy Carter couldn't get through a bill if it promised kittens dipped in milk chocolate to every man, woman, and child. Was it because he faced a Congress full of abrasive and contrary Republicans intent on destroying his legacy and making fun of his rabid rabbit seeing, lust filled heart? Nope. It was controlled by Democrats. Granted, they may oppose him based on their own selfish little reasons, but they will oppose him.

But that's all a rant which I have been having with conservatives for a long time and moves away from the point of my cartoon. I thought this worked particularly well simply because Obama is SUCH a good public speaker. Everything he says DOES sound magical, and possible, and maybe even true. But it's not. Not because he won't try. He will (on most of it, I assume). Not because I think he's a starry eyed optimist. I believe he is a realist and will make concessions where necessary. It's not true simply because in the system we have created, it just isn't possible. (Man, I AM a cynic.)

Aaannnd...DONE!

2009-09-09T20:33:00.000-04:00

Finally. I am done with the first of my commission pieces. I say that like I've been dragging on with this for months. Almost a full month but not quite! Ha! Take that, procrastination. I think I probably COULD have gotten it done a little faster but with complete and utter exhaustion taking it's toll on me, I think I did pretty well. I hope the client likes what I've done. I know I have certainly enjoyed working on the piece.

It's not dead on portraiture but I think it captures the feel of the moment quite well. And I think I have come quite a ways from having actual terror at the thought of trying to paint people. It's why I really only worked on animals for so long. There is a familiarity that people have of faces that they apparently don't have for animals.

As far as confidence goes, mine is pretty high right now. There is always a certain amount of uncertainty and questioning that goes on when you attempt something new and this piece was definitely a step away from what I am used to. But it has helped me discover that you don't have to be completely comfortable with something to find out you can do okay at it. (Jeebus, I sound like an After School Special. Or South Park. "You know, I learned something today...") Oddly, I had already figured that out as far as my life goes but for some reason I had never applied this philosophy to my art. Well, now I am. Along with the mermaid, I have another commission. This one is a landscape of a hotel in Scotland. A coworker of my wife, a native Scot, has a favorite vacation spot back home and would like a painting of it. It's going to be an odd size (4"x10") but therein lies the next challenge. I don't have the odd size ready for the hotel so I may post about the mermaid next but we'll see. It is going to be an interesting month or two.

I did promise mermaids...

2009-09-06T19:39:00.000-04:00

...and I am delivering on them. Sarah, make sure sneaky little prying eyes aren't around. This will be a first look at the birthday present.

First of all though, I am still working on the Fisherman commission. I have gotten it 95% done, but what little bit I did to it today is not enough to worry with a new picture so I am just waiting on the final product before I post him one last time.

On to mermaids.

As I said before my sister in law asked for a painting of a mermaid for my niece's birthday in November. I have been thinking about it diligently for six months even if I haven't been WORKING on it. I did get some sketches in...

I took the idea for this one from the Disney version of Ariel on the rock with the waves crashing...(maybe a little "From Here To Eternity" thrown in).

This was one I thought of while at work. Just a quick sketch to denote the speed and grace of mer-folk.

But I kept thinking that it wasn't EXACTLY what I wanted. I wanted something that was kind of a snapshot of a mermaid. Something that seemed more suitable for a painting's composition. So I turned to the internet. I found several images that were sort of what I wanted so I combined a few of the better ones and came up with this...

I decided this was the one I wanted to do, so today after working a little more on my commission piece, I got started on a mermaid. Keep in mind, this is VERY rough but it's coming along. And my wife insisted I put it on here because she liked it. Enjoy!

Time to make the doughnuts...

2009-08-26T21:04:00.001-04:00

Okay, I am back at my easel working diligently(?) on my commission piece. I've got another one in the wings but it will not be documented nearly as much as this one has been.

For those of you who wondered what I was talking about when I said last time that "Coming soon: mermaids!", well, I still don't have a mermaid ready to display yet but I AM working on them. I have a request for a mermaid painting for my niece/flower girl/cutest thing in the world (right next to her little sister), that will be given to her for her birthday. Her birthday is in November which is a heck of a lot closer than it was 6 months ago when the idea was first put forth to me. So I am pulling out all of the preliminary sketches I've been playing with for six months and seeing which compositions work best, what kind of style I want to zzzzz.... What?!? You don't care about all of that technical artsy crap? Don't blame ya'. It's fun to do (for me anyway) but talking about it is for teachers and know-it-all art students. But I may get a few of the better ones and see if anyone has an opinion on the overall look of the mermaids.

Back to the now. Here is the latest work done on my fisherman. Hope you like it.

A Brief Respite...

2009-08-20T20:23:00.001-04:00

I am not stopping work on the painting out of laziness. (Maybe a little.) But mostly, I just need to let it sit for a day or two so I can finish it up. Some of the oil paints don't dry that quickly and if you don't let them dry a bit, you just end up pushing them around the canvas for no reason. So for right now, it might be a day or two before I can update with any significant changes. Sorry for any disappointment this may incur but don't worry. Coming soon: mermaids!

Coming up with titles for these is tedious...

2009-08-17T20:14:00.000-04:00

Seriously. This message is for anyone else who commissions a painting: I probably WON'T put up an update every day. This gets monotonous. Plus it takes away time I could be painting. I'm still new to the whole marketing myself bit, and according to those in the know it actually does take up quite a bit of your time, energy, and money to market yourself. I'm much more okay with that than I used to be but really I don't think I will post with daily advances on a painting. (Unless there is a mass protest to see my process in action. But I doubt it.)

So here is the next step in my Fisherman oil. The client had actually said something about doing away with the boats in the background to make the surroundings more natural, but I don't think I like that idea. The beauty of this photo is it is a family icon. The picture itself. Not even the moment really, because I'm pretty sure that none of the rest of the family was there. (Client was probably WAY too young.) So therefore the actual photograph is what is embedded in the families mind. A photo of dad youthfully basking in the pride of a giant honking lake fish. So enjoy the next evolution of a painting.