prints

Canyons, deserts, and angels, oh my

Hi all,

Welcome back to the blog! Today, I’ve got updates on the angel painting, as well as recent shows.

As I mentioned in my last post, I got into the Wrightwood Wine and Arts Festival, which I showed at in May. I turned the show into a small road trip, and I got to see some really beautiful places along the way. I of course brought a sketch book with me to document them. Here’s a drawing from Moab, Utah:

and another from Snow Canyon (also in Utah):

Although that sketch was a fun one for the campsite I stayed in, it doesn’t really do the park justice, so here’s a quick video I took, too, just for good measure:

The festival in Wrightwood was a beautiful day — plenty of sun, art, and interesting people. I brought a few more pieces with me than I anticipated, too . . .

In addition to Wrightwood, I also recently showed at another Pancakes and Booze pop-up show here in Denver. I decided to change it up a little this time and bring some bigger pieces with me.

I also had a few more prints made for the show, so if you’re in the market for some giclée prints, stop by my Etsy account or shoot me an email!

Giclée prints — “Angel Torso,” 10’’ x 7.5’’ (left); “Shipwreck,” 9.5’’ x 8.25’’ (right)

Outside of the recent shows, I’ve been continuing to hack away at the cherub painting. When I last posted, I had finished all the studies and was starting on the underpainting. I’m very excited (relieved?) to share that I finally have finished the underpainting:

“Cherub — Ezekiel’s Vision” (WIP) - oil on canvas - 42’’ x 26’’

Freaky, right? If you’ve been keeping up with the project, you know that I’m using Ezekiel I (yes, that Ezekiel) for the textual reference. The Bible’s got some pretty bizarre imagery.

This painting has been a long haul . . . and I’m only halfway done. To give you a better idea of the scale, here’s me and the painting side-by-side:

I’m 5’11’’, and it comes up to my waist, so it’s not quite life-sized (whatever that means), but it’s definitely a biggun.

Because of its size, I think some aspects of the painting are better seen up close. Here’s a quick tour of the details:

I used such warm colors because Ezekiel describes the cherubim’s appearances as “like burning coals of fire or torches”. You can look forward to some color studies of burning coals (and maybe torches?) in my next post.

Aside from all the painting news, we also recently released a new issue (15.1) of Consequence. Stop by the website and pick up your copy up today!

The reading period for our next print issue is also open. If you’re a writer, be sure to send us your best work on the culture and human consequences of war and geopolitical violence before the reading period closes on October 15!

That’s it for now. Thanks for stopping by, and keep creating!

Slowly but surely...

Hi y’all,

Welcome back to the blog! This week, I’m happy to announce that I’m now offering prints of the front-facing Procreate angel torso study. You can purchase them online via Etsy. I’m really pleased with how they turned out, so be sure to take a look!

Angel torso, front view, Procreate (print)

Angel torso, front view, Procreate (print)

Angel torso, front view, Procreate (print, with pen for scale)

Angel torso, front view, Procreate (print, with pen for scale)

I’m selling two other prints on Etsy, too, and will be adding more soon, so feel free to poke around! As I shared in the last post, you can find the full range of products and services I’m offering on the “Shop & Learn” section of the website.

Now for the fun stuff! Over the past couple of weeks (sorry for the gap between posts, it’s been crazy), I’ve been hacking away at the remaining angel body parts. First, I managed to finish the oil study of the angel leg. This time, I got a lot more adventurous with the texture and color work, really emphasizing the visual chaos of the fallen angels.

Angel leg, back view, oil study

Angel leg, back view, oil study

I’m seeing this one as a study for Satan as he travels through Chaos. It’s one of my favorite scenes in Paradise Lost — utterly bizarre, science fiction-esque, and sonically delightful. For anyone who’s interested, it’s the end of Book II.

I’ve also been working through some preliminary sketches of what the whole angel bodies might look like. As usual, I started with a pen and ink study. This time, rather than starting with a human study and distorting it, I Frankenstein’d together the various angel anatomy studies I’ve done thus far.

Angel body, back view, pen and ink

Angel body, back view, pen and ink

To get a better idea of where I might go color-wise with this, I also worked up a Procreate study.

Angel body, back view, Procreate

Angel body, back view, Procreate

I’ve also been working on an oil study of the angel wings. Just to get a little variety, I’ve been pushing it in an unfallen angel direction, keeping the color and values relatively traditionally organized. I’ve been primarily referencing the pen and ink study of angel wings I did a couple weeks ago. You can find them both below.

Angel wings, back view, oil study (WIP)

Angel wings, back view, oil study (WIP)

Angel wings pen and ink.JPG

Blue heron wings, back view, pen and ink (above); angel wings, back view, pen and ink (below)

The oil study is still in early stages, but I’ll have more on that soon. That’s it for this week. Thanks so much for tuning in. Have a great week and keep creating!