Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Landscapes

Watercolor studies from 2009.


Road trip to Nova Scotia. Fall 2009.  Gouache on Strathmore cold press. 3x7





St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia. Fall 2009.  Gouache on Strathmore cold press. 5x7





Overlooking St. Margaret's Bay through some trees. Fall 2009.  Gouache on Strathmore cold press. 3x7





Night driving.  2009.  Gouache on Strathmore cold press. 5x7


This next group is from the last few days.  Now that it has finally warmed up here in the North Country, I am determined to take fewer photos and make more of these when I see something I like. 





Bridge over the Oswegatchie over the Maple City trail in Ogdensburg, NY. Watercolor and gouache on Crescent watercolor board. 3x7  
I spent the most time on this one.  I actually went back once or twice in the hopes of finding some better lighting.  




A tree alongside the Oswegatchie River.  Watercolor and gouache on Strathmore cold press. 5x7.





On the banks of The Oswegatchie River.  Watercolor and white gouache on Strathmore cold press. 5x7





Oswegatchie River dam at sunset.  Black watercolor with white gouache on Strathmore cold press. 3x5





Baxter relaxing after a morning run and swim swims in the St. Lawrence river. Watercolor and gouache on Strathmore cold press. 5x7

Thanks for stopping by!

Dave  



Monday, May 2, 2011

Phat Cat

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As an animal advocate and lover of pets, I am always happy to design a one of a kind piece of art featuring someone's fuzzy best friends.  Whether it's a straightforward watercolor portrait like Kasey on the left, or something a little more design oriented to suit a particular taste like the piece on the right; I am determined to create something anyone could see was the work of a true animal lover.







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A recent design features Gordie and Kenny. Brothers. The client I was working with knew a thing or two about design and offered up plenty of good ideas for inspiration.  I requested photos and backstories for each.






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Gordie, Gordie Gooze, or simply, The Gooze.  Ex-football player that could have gone pro if not for an unfortunate injury that took him out of the game way too early. He is now a software developer for Microsoft and has done alright for himself.




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Kenny, or Kenneth Fuzzbums III, as he insists upon being called, has himself firmly established in society's upper-crust.  He owns a yacht, reads The Economist, and spends his vacations sunning in the Riviera.


Now that I had my subjects, it was time to consider the design.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus


The client mentioned Eames and Bauhaus among her favorite design influences.  Bauhaus was an art & design school in Germany from 1919-1933.  The Bauhaus School taught that art must serve a function as well as decoration.  I am familiar with the impact it had on western art and design long after it was closed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_and_Ray_Eames

Charles and Ray Eames were a husband and wife design team whose work in architecture, furniture and film influenced post-modern design throughout the latter half of the twentieth century.  I didn't know a lot about them, but some research suggested that their work was also about combining form and function.







Among the design styles influenced by The Bauhaus School was the hugely popular Art Deco style from the 1920's-40's.  I have always had a fondness for Art Deco.  Mostly because of the 1927 Fritz Lang film Metropolis and its obvious connection to Superman. Also, the superior Superman and Batman animated series from the 90's were designed around Art Deco.  If you are a total nerd, you know what I am talking about. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_(film)
The linear symmetry and geometric shapes of the Bauhaus style can be seen all over Art Deco, but where Bauhaus and the Eames' strived to combine form and function, Art Deco just has to look pretty. 




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With these things in mind with respect to that design period, I produced a variety of sketches and marker roughs ranging from silly to sophisticated to start generating ideas. I posted a few.

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We both liked the direction of the red one agreeing it was perhaps way too much red and 'BWOTHERS WINEWY' was perhaps a 'little' tacky.


It was meant to be
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tongue-in-cheek,  but nobody really talks to their pets that way.
Do they!?!?

After some discussion I had a pretty good idea of where to go next.  I made two more roughs to be sure.




The client had suggested 'Fat Cat Wine Bar' as a possible title.  I was hesitant to label either cat in such a way. I'm sure Kenneth would have been more than a little offended and Gordie is always asking where the weight room is.  I thought it was best to play it cool.



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One design; two distinctly different looks.  I was delighted when the client said we had a winner with the black and white one with the subtle accents of color.  The one on the right felt a little too "Fancy Feast" for my taste.

The Art Deco font combined with the almost Art Nouveau quality of the linework of the one on the left seemed to fit most with this design period.




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For the finished piece, I used a 3/4" oak plywood. The client chose 12"x18" for the size.

To prepare the surface, I hand-sanded the front and back smooth and gave the edges a nice 3-dimensional bevel with a sanding block.  I primed it with BIN, used black acrylic for the back and the edges and white acrylic for the surface.

I cut the stencils out of adhesive vinyl and masked the edges for the black and red accents.

Gordie and Kenny were hand-painted with a brush utilizing varying line weights for added depth.

After all that, I sealed it with many many coats of a durable water-based poly-urethane.  I knew traditional oil-based urethane would have caused the white surface to 'yellow' considerably.



That gives an idea of the process from start to finish.  They're fun to make.  I almost prefer them to traditional framed portraits.  It is a lot more work, but it's nice not to have to mess with frames and glass. Having great input from the client makes the process a lot more fun.

Thanks for stopping by and I will see you again soon.

Dave

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Flatiron District

Hello Everybody!


Thank you for visiting my first post for The Scribble Files.  Be sure to follow me as I continue to post my own work, along with the work of colleagues, friends, students, and anything and everything related to creativity and the creative process.
   
This first piece was from a design that was originally planned as a large scale public mural that ended up being scrapped.  I liked the idea so much that I decided to do a smaller installed version.


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This painting was ultimately inspired by and created for my lady.  The Flatiron is her favorite building in all of New York.  It is compiled from photos she took of the surrounding area over three separate visits on her DSLR.  The brushwork is a loose interpretation of details that produces a gestalt effect. I exaggerated the perspective to simulate the looming effect these buildings can have on the senses; especially when you're not used to it, within the confines of the limited 2-dimensional space.  My colors are inspired by the comics, and I focused much of my attention on the dramatic play of light and shadow throughout the buildings.  I will always associate The Flatiron with the offices of The Daily Bugle in Sam Raimi's Spider-man films; but my personal favorite is The Chrysler Building.  That's for a later post. ;)


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Over the years I have had the opportunity to visit Manhattan for a few days every now and then.  When I was a kid, my only truly profound experience with 'the big apple' was within the pages of Marvel Comics.  To me, and I'm sure many others, it was quite literally a fantasy world.  Even though it was only a few hundred miles away from me, it seemed impossibly out of reach.  I used to imagine what it would be like to see skyscrapers rising above the rural farmlands and hilly horizons of Lander, Pennsylvania.  All the other kids laughed at me. The first time I experienced it (not including when I was nine with my parents, two sisters and a German exchange student, vowing never to return) it did not disappoint.

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If you like camping, a great way to experience New York is to get a campsite at:  Ward Pound Ridge.
It's a wildlife preserve about an hour drive north of Manhattan (google maps helps a lot)  $35/night for a lean-to, $25/night for tent camping.  It's pretty hardcore camping, so there's no bathrooms, showers, or Wi-Fi.  The hiking is excellent, and you can bring your dog.  Wake up early to the sounds of nature, maybe watch a deer run through the woods, hop in your car and an hour later you're in one of the biggest cities in the world. Spend hours just walking around and take it all in.  With the money you save camping, don't think twice about spoiling yourself with a night in a hotel. At least for the shower.

See you again soon!

Dave