Pencil Dust

A bit of drawing. Even when I'm just messing around I like to try and come up with names or designations for the odd balls that appear on the paper. Giving them names gets them one step closer to being in a story.

A few ideas for some possible Gwelf locations and the scenarios that could unfold in these environments. I've been playing around with the idea of a pine cone shaped cottage. Or perhaps several pine cones pushed together. That's what we have below, and a short cottage with a tall roof. Oh, and some squat little gnome birds that travel those paths and live behind those windows.

I'm also seeing if I can get something going with the idea of an apothecary who has set up shop in a tree. She sleeps in the little cabin built into the upper story of her tree. Since she is a raven witch, she feels at home up there. Her human customers recognize her capabilities and respect her expertise but are nevertheless nervous and intimidated.

Thanks again for stopping by. More soon.

Inspiration

I have been feeling somewhat guilty because I have not been able to share anything with you for a while. I was sick over the Christmas break and lost a couple of weeks there and then I'm right back into a project which is NDA protected - meaning it's all hush hush until it gets published.

So I think what I will do instead is share some of the art that really inspires me. The first piece is by Alan Lee. This illustration is for me the very essence of Middle Earth. For my money there is more Tolkien in this one painting than all five of the movies - the moody sky, the endless landscape, the old bridge and the feeling that you are in a charming yet dangerous wilderness, all pure Tolkien.

The next piece is by Alan Lee's old room mate Brian Froud. I love this picture for so many reasons, but mostly because it just says Faerie Tale. It has the gloom and the grit and the spookiness of the very best Faerie Tales. I love the girls hair and the patches on her dress - fabulous !

The next piece is my all time favourite John Bauer piece. This is another spectacular example of creating a Faerie Tale world or "secondary world" as Tolkien called it. The seemingly perfect nature of the symmetrical composition is beautifully enhanced by the writhing snake like roots that are leading toward the girl from both sides of the picture. And the two birds at the upper right are lovely little touch.

This next picture is from a Russian illustrator named Pavel Tatarnikov. This one is such a brilliant display of character rendering, not to mention the nearly impossible task of painting chain mail. I don't know how he gets his watercolour to do that but it is just stunning. I'm pretty sure he is using gouache to get some of those textures. The metal work and armour is fabulous too.

Here's another one by Tatarnikov - just for fun. And just look at all the work in those trees. I had a couple more I wanted to add to this post but it looks like Blogger wants me to stop here. More soon.

Faun with Roses

8 x 10 - Acrylic on board.

The Cottage Thief - Recent Sketchbook

I've had this idea for a while now, where a giant is making off with someone's house. In the past I would have gone with whatever I came up with first and dove right into the painting. However these days I like to ruminate on things a little more and mess around with the idea. There are always variations to consider - expression, costume, posture etc. So for now, here is some of that thinking, or horsing around, take your pick.

More soon and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers.

Nana and Goliath

He came down out of the hills in full armour. He stomped through her garden, wrecked her front door, ruined her table cloth and even broke her favourite window. When he finally woke up he wandered off and never came back.

Thanks for stopping by.

More soon.

Recent Sketchbook

As usual I am up to my knees in client work that I cannot share because of contracts and NDA's and that sort of thing. However, I have set October aside to take care of a few small commissions and perhaps even paint one for myself.

In the meantime I have some recent sketchbook work. This is all random doodle stuff that I do to warm up or just have fun and possibly spark an idea for a picture. It is all very spontaneous and executed without any plan or forethought, which I'm sure is quite obvious. Here we have some gnome archers and some gnome wives and some other bird like critters.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope next time to have something a little more interesting.

More soon.

Recent Sketchbook - Meadow Sprites

As summer moves into its final days and the colours on the land transition to the warm golden hues of autumn, Meadow Sprite activity invariably increases. These recent sightings were made in and around local gardens and nearby fields.

Be on the lookout for these normally elusive creatures. You just might be surprised to find out what is lurking in your garden or behind the shed.

More soon and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers.

Trolls - Recently Observed

This one flew past me near The Crown and Otter, followed by a flock of crows.

It's getting to be that time of year again. The final days of summer will soon be upon us and we can already sense that Autumn is just around the corner. The nights are getting cooler and the days are getting shorter. The annual migration of Trolls out of the Big Hill Country has begun and a few have recently been observed on the outer regions of Gwelf. These aren't the scary ones though. These are the harmless and the curious ones coming down out of the hills for a little look around in advance of the bigger and nastier ones that will arrive closer to Halloween.

These 2 were standing in a turnip field just off the Post Road near Bambury.

Don't be fooled by these early arrivals though. They may not be looking to start any trouble but if you scare one, or if they find their way into your wine barrel, there is still the potential for property damage, broken bones or worse. I just want to take a moment and remind everyone traveling in the Gwelf area this season to be cautious. I don't want to scare you but it is always better to put safety first. Trolls are easy to spot and even easier to smell. Stay vigilant and look for clues. Trampled gardens, broken gates and stray livestock are a dead give away.

This one was on Albion Bridge. There was something wrong with him, not sure what.

There will be a lot for tourists to do in the Gwelf area this fall so please be careful and enjoy yourselves.

Thanks for stopping by. More soon.

Draw !

In the past I would often post the warm up drawings I do in the mornings in preparation for a day of sitting at the drawing board. I haven't done a post like that lately and someone asked me if I'm still doing the warm ups or have I let that side of it go. I'm still doing it most days. Not every day mind you but quite often.

So in the spirit of full disclosure, here is a recent sampling. I draw lots of heads. I probably draw more heads than anything else. I also still draw lots of hands - sometimes my own, or I'll find random pictures of hands in magazines and draw those.

And figures of course. There is still a lot of work to do in that department.

Facial expressions - very important.

And sometimes when I'm drawing my own hands I will use a little mirror I keep on my desk and draw the reflection so that I can get a bit more variety out of the old left hand - see above.

Thanks again for stopping by.

More soon.

New Painting - Long Bow

Well, I managed to find a bit of time to actually paint this one. I was hoping for slightly better results, but then I'm always hoping for better results. Anyway - watercolour and gouache on cold press paper. More soon.

Long Bow

I'm anticipating having bits of free time on my current project as communication passes back and forth between myself and the art director. These things usually take time and I wanted to have something to work on while the wheels of production turned - you know what they say about idle hands. I've had this little Redwall inspired mouse archer in mind for a while so I thought I would jot him down while I was thinking about it.

With any luck I'm going to be able to find the time to paint my Robin Hood Mouse while continuing to push forward on the commercial work - fingers crossed.

More soon and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers.

Recent Sketchbook - Faeries

Okay, some recent sketchbook. Since everything I'm doing these days is still NDA protected there is very little that I can share, but my sketchbook is still mine and there isn't anything anyone can do about it - so here goes.

These first couple are variations on a pose that I came up with for one of the projects I've recently been working on that I can't actually talk about. I have changed them of course and they no longer resemble their original incarnation but there is a vague similarity which you will see if I am able to obtain permission from the publisher to share a bit of said project with you.

These next ones are just for fun and come straight out of the old sketchbook. The way faeries appear in my mind they are misty and indistinct and it is not easy trying to pin them down in a drawing, when describing them seems to take away their magic. Thus the paradox of drawing the Unseelie.

That's it for now. I hope to get back here much sooner with another post. Thanks so much for stopping by. More soon.

Cheers