"Rodney" painting update

For my latest trick, I'll post some magical paintings all in a row so it looks like it only took a tiny second of work between each one.

Ready?

Hold onto your butts...

Ta-da!

He isn't finished just yet. I'll post more of him a little later.

The Rots' Fifth-Year Anniversary

On June 29, The Rots will be celebrating their fifth-year anniversary (or should that be birthday?). Woo-hoo and all that sort of thing. It was on that date back in 2006 when I drew the very first Rot ever:

Rodney, the very first Rot ever

Seeing as how he's five years old now (and all grown up), I thought it would be a stellar idea to paint him for the occasion. The problem is, The Rots have grown up quite a bit since Rodney was born, and I decided to give him a bit of an update.

I'm painting him on a 24"x30" board (birch), and decided to try to step outside my comfort zone a little. I'm adding some collaging into the mix and also using colors that I normally don't. First up, I sketched something close to the old version of Rodney on the board, just for me. Except for this photo, nobody will even know he's there. I ended up covering that sketch up in the next step.

After that, I completely covered the board with comic strip pages from our local newspaper (the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Not only did that give me a texture of comics to paint over, but it also gave me a physical texture of wrinkles and gel medium-textured brush strokes to catch the paint, which worked out perfectly.

Next I worked on the background. My original plan was to paint the purple as an underpainting for an off-white sky, but I liked the color so much it pretty much stayed.

Then I sketched in the new idea I had with a little of the yellow I was using, fully intending to leave whatever yellow marks that didn't get covered up with further paint as-is (we'll see if I change my mind later).

After that I just started filling in the blanks. Tomorrow I'll finish his skin tones with some much darker shades before I move on to whatever part of the painting I decide to tackle next.

Ligonier Tavern

My place mat @ Ligonier Tavern, 137 W Main St, Ligonier PA.

Vincent in the sketch phase

To celebrate the upcoming 100th birthday of Vincent Price, I decided to Rot him. Here's the initial sketch, final color version in the works.

Happy Birthday, Vincent. Thank you for scaring the living bejesus out of me when I was young and vulnerable.

Alice & Ruthie (an oldie but a goodie)

Alice & Ruthie

I don't think I've ever posted this image here on the blog so, even though this one goes back a couple of years I'm gonna do it.

The illustration was based on a story my mom used to tell about riding on the handlebars of her sister's bicycle.

Oh, and what happens when you brake.

I guess it wasn't pretty.

This would be those few seconds before that dreadful bicycle-braking incident when life was still all smiles and "weeeeee" for everyone involved.

Desperately Seeking Tim Burton

Dear Mr. Burton,

I've found myself in a desperate rut, the likes of which you've managed to retrieve me from in the past, and I'm hoping you will be available again sometime soon.

January a year ago, I made a trek to the Museum of Modern Art, specifically to view your work on display there. I bought a membership just so I wouldn't have to stand in line with all the other saps who had to wait to get in.

The rooms that housed your exhibit were terribly crowded; I'm sure we were well beyond the building's fire code. Sardines, as it were. But I managed to see everything, just to make sure I didn't miss anything that might later turn out to be something I would have liked to have seen.

After I squeezed my way through all the rooms I took a breather. I bought some stuff. I ate some stuff and, in spite of the sardine thing, I decided I needed to get myself back in the middle of that exhibit.

So I did.

This time I knew exactly what I needed to see again, so I jumped out of the line that snaked around the rooms and headed straight for the drawings.

The drawings, as you know, were watercolor outlined in pen, so there was really nothing out of the ordinary there. Using the media in that way was nothing new, and had never been a source of inspiration for me. So that couldn't really have been the attraction.

Why was I still there? Why couldn't I take my eyes off these images? Why were these images so much better than what I conjured in my own sketchbooks?

I think what sucked me back into those rooms and set my sparks flying was that unrestrained childlike imagination. How does an artist allow himself to let everything fly out the window like that? The caricatures were well beyond caricatures. Arms and legs and tails and horns and whatever other body parts that could conceivably be conceived as a body part were attached to shapes that weren't really bodies until simulated body parts had been attached.

But you knew that.

Stripes and checkerboards and spirals and dipping horizons added to my acute sense of instability, and all I could do was stand in front of them and try to soak in as much as my little brain could soak in, in the hopes that some day that freedom would spew out in my own work.

On the train ride home I drew. Over the next few months I drew some more. I was inspired and ready to take on my own sketchbook demons and wrestle them into something I could proudly show the world.

Things seep away over time, however. It's been another year, and I seem to have lost that thing. That permission you had given me to create outrageousnous. Those weird images that had been crisscrossing around in my head. And, ultimately, the hope that somewhere down the line it would all be worth it.

Dear Tim (do you mind if I call you Tim?), please send me a sign. Something. Anything. Something to get me back on track. Something to help me find my monsters. I'm afraid right now they're lost, and I'm also afraid they're scared. And hungry. I know I am. I desperately need to bring them home.

Please help me bring them back home.

Signed,

Nora

P.S. Thank you kindly for allowing my family to give me your art book last Christmas and I'm eagerly awaiting your and Danny's CD box set, as my Alice in Wonderland soundtrack is quite possibly wearing thin.

One Last Goodbye

Well, my skateboard's gone. He was a good little dude, but we always knew he'd have to leave someday.

So it's up to you guys now, and here's what you need to do:

1. Check out the Montana Skatepark Association's site to see what they're about.
2. Read about last year's On Deck charity auction and exhibit.
3. Watch for this year's skateboards to be uploaded to their site in April.
4. If you're anywhere near Missoula, Montana on May 6, take a look at their First Friday Art Walk.
5. While you're at Missoula's First Friday Art Walk, take a peek inside The Brink gallery where you'll find all the skateboards on display.
6. Find The Rots' board and take lots of photos.
7. Send those photos to me: nora@the-rots.com.
8. On May 21, bid for your favorite skateboard at the live auction.
9. Pat yourself on the back for supporting free, public skateparks and the arts.

That's it! Great job

Skateboard Reg may (may) be finished

May have finished my skateboard painting up today, except for the varnish. I'll take a look at him again tomorrow and see what he says.

Reg grew himself a goatee

Another productive day in the studio.

I got some work done on Reg's shirt and then added his goatee. Still need to do some tweaking on both and then work more on his shoes, but he's getting there.

Skateboard painting update

Another day in the studio working on my deck for the Montana Skatepark Association's On Deck VI charity auction and exhibit.

Today I started with a little underpainting on Reg's pants.

And then I painting both his pants and hair (which turned out to be the same rusty color).

Here's a close-up of his hair.

On this next part you'll have to use your imagination until I can get back in the studio. The shirt and shoes are only underpainted at this point, and they just happen to be that same rusty color from his pants and hair. I know right now he looks B-O-R-I-N-G (like, "What were you thinking?" kind of boring), but I promise he'll be a little more colorful next time I post.

You can click on any of the images to see them biggie-sized.

Camul postcards good to go

I've finally broke down and worked on some Camul merchandise.

First up: Postcards

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. That I did it for Michelle. Well, I'll have you know, I totally did.

So, Michelle, here you go.

Reg got himself some skin

To-Do:
1. Run for three miles (36° outside-double bonus)
2. Eat brunch @ Ruthie's
3. Let Ruthie do the dishes
4. Work extra hard in the studio

5. Feel pretty good about myself

Another On Deck day

Worked a bit on my board for the Montana Skatepark Association's "On Deck" charity auction and exhibit.

First, I painted a rough outline of the image on the board (above) and did some paint mixing. He says his name is Reg by the way (and pleased to meet you, thanks). I used Alizarin Crimson for the sketch, if you're keeping score.

Next came the underpainting (Cadmium Red and Cadmium Yellow).

Then the background painting. Not sure yet how finished this part is, so I'll paint Reg first and then decide what else I need to do with the blue (Ultramarine Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Utrecht Unbleached Titanium, Payne's Gray and Titanium White).

Probably add some clouds in the mix later on.

Uh. Oh. I guess I'm not as original as I thought.

While I was online this morning, I did a little surfing around the gallery on the Montana Skatepark Association site from On Deck V (last year's), and I got an unexpected punch in the gut. One of the decks from last year was painted and doodled similarly to what I had planned on doing on mine.

Ouch.

This one isn't happening.

I sort of had to take a step back to square one, but not so much. I had an idea of what I wanted to do from the beginning, but then got sidetracked when I saw my sketchbook page with all the doodles. I get sidetracked easily. I could still use that very first idea as a backup, even though I hadn't done any sketches for it.

So I went back to the studio this afternoon, sanded the wood fill down from yesterday, and started coating the board with gesso. While the first coat was drying, I played with some new color mixtures for a background. When I first thought about this idea, I couldn't see it with any other background other than purple. Not sure why. I don't really use purple, but there you go.

The new mixtures are a combination of Ultramarine Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Payne's Gray (which is bluer and grayer than the swatch in the link shows), Utrecht Unbleached Titanium (different than Liquitex) and Titanium White.

I'll be painting the little guy on
the bottom left, with a replacement
foot from the sketch to the right.

While the second coat of gesso was drying I started playing with some sketches of that original idea. At first I was going to do the skeleton version (on the upper right), but I played around with the little guy on the bottom left, and now have decided to use him for my final painting.

Three coats of gesso, and
it's ready to paint.

One more coat of gesso, and I'm as far as I can go until it's dry.

On Deck skateboard progress report

I was invited to participate in On Deck VI, a charity auction for the Montana Skateboard Association.

The organization sends out rejected skateboards to artists around the country (and even Canada) to do with as we please. We'll have a month to finish our ideas and get the boards back to Montana where images of the boards will be uploaded and the auction process will begin. On May 6, and for two weeks after, the boards will be viewed (in person) at The Brink Gallery. And then on Saturday, May 21, they'll be auctioned off live, with the proceeds going toward building and maintaining free, public skateparks across Montana.

I'm honored and excited to say the least.

FedEx dropped off my board today, and I was psyched to get started. So I did.


(I'll be painting the back.)

The first thing I had to do was get this puppy sanded. Boring, sorry. It took about an hour to get the thin finish on the board removed.

The next thing was filling in some holes. Since the boards won't be used for skateboarding anymore, some of the holes won't be necessary. I'm using the existing holes on the opposite end for the hanging hardware, so those holes won't get filled in.

While the wood filler was drying, I tested out a combination of paint and markers to see what would look best. I'm settling on gesso first, then a base coat of Liquitex Unbleached Titanium and sponging a combination of Cerulean Blue, Unbleached Titanium and Titanium White. Once that dries, I'll use Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens to draw an all-over doodle design, something like this:

I'm not doing a sketch for this one; I'm just drawing whatever comes to mind and whatever wants to fit in the area I'm working on. That's the way I drew the doodle above, and it seemed to work out pretty well.

I Rotted Our Studio

You might have to click on the image to see it biggie-sized. (I was trying to be subtle.)

D's Six Pax & Dogz

My napkin @ D's Six Pax & Dogz, 1118 S Braddock Ave, Pittsburgh PA.

"Camul" painting finished

And there you go.

Camul may be on his last leg

I had a marathon painting session this afternoon (O.K., it was only a few hours), and Camul may (may) be finished. Except for the varnish, of course. I'll look at him again after I haven't for a while, and I'll post him post varnish.

Free Valentines for all you procrastinators

It's February 12. You do know that Valentine's Day is Monday, right? And you've already bought the card, right? And mailed it so it can get to where it's going on time, right?

Right?

Yeah. I didn't think so.

O.K. Fine.

I've uploaded some free Valentines for you to download and print. Here are four choices to pick from, all 4¼" wide x 5½" tall:

Download (313 KB)

Download (296 KB)

Download (243 KB)

Download (260 KB)

I've tested them, so they should be O.K., but if you have any problems with the download, just let me know.

As far as delivery goes, you're on your own. You'll probably have to hand deliver it now. Sorry about all that "face-to-face" stuff, but I can't do everything for you.

Another day of painting Camul

This should give a better idea of the direction the painting is headed (compared to the underpainting post). The underpainted background is overpainted (is that a word?), and now the sky is blue/purple and the sand is yellow/tan. Hopefully it makes more sense now.

I noticed as I was painting that I'm not all that satisfied with how I gessoed the board. I think I laid the gesso on too thick, and all that prickly texture that I had in my other animal rots paintings isn't there. So the underpainting doesn't show through as much as I would have liked and the way I would have liked.

Here's a close-up of the sky in Jeeraffe (on the left) compared with a close-up of the sky in Camul. The gesso texture is definitely thicker than I want it.

I hope the end result still works because it's too late to do anything about it now short of starting over. And I won't be doing that.

Oopsy again. Never posted Orangatang

This would be him.



Camul painting in progress

The progression of Camul: Report #1

I decided to scan Camul in as I go, and I'm trying to line up the images into one file in Photoshop so I'll be able to put an animation together of the progress. I'll post that animation here when he's finished.

This first image is just the original sketch transferred to the birch wood where I'll be doing the final painting.

Not much to see here.
Just move along.

This second image probably looks a little odd, but it's just at the underpainting stage. If I gessoed the board the way I hope I did (and I'm hoping I did), there will be enough texture so when I start painting subsequent layers, parts of this underpainting will still be visible in the valleys of the gesso texture. At least, that's the plan.

When I decide to use an underpainting, I try to underpaint the complimentary color of what the final color of the area will be, as in, the final sky will be purple with a yellow underpainting, and the final sand will be yellow with a purple underpainting.

In this case, the two colors I'm using for the final painting (purple and yellow) are also complimentary colors to each other. I'm a little worried it might get boring with too much of a lack of color, so I might have to interject colors that really shouldn't be there. I'll deal with that dilemma when it happens.

iPhone cases on sale

I've discounted both Valentine's Day iPhone cases in The Rots' store through Valentine's Day.

Cases for your iPhone 3

Cases for your iPhone 4



Both cases are the grungy, handwriting design.

And don't forget, free shipping on orders over $50. Use the code FREESHIPFORU when you check out.