Policeman in Water No. 2

I have to figure out the issues with absorbency of pigment, but I may have found my paper. Still need to test out Windsor & Newton's lifting prep, which may address the issue.  But for giving something that Japanese print look, this hits pretty close to the mark.

A Myriad of Combinations

With my commission behind me, I'm continuing to develop this new watercolor on ink work as the response to it has been fantastic.  And while I enjoyed how those pieces turned out (stay tuned, I'll be posting the results of those soon enough), I'm not sure that I want to commit every whimsical idea I have to hot press watercolor illustration board.  That might constitue excess. So we're mixing up the papers and seeing what they'll do.

Also, thanks to the advice of my buddy, the fantastic artist/illustrator, Dave Crosland, I've come to love diving into the various mediums that can be added to paints.  So I believe I've completed the Windsor & Newton line of extras, and now I'm eyeballing all the strange chemicals that Holbein makes to add to watercolor.  Gotta start saving up my nickels and dimes, as those run a little pricey.  (Feel free to wire me the funds, I'm not above begging in the name of artistic experiments!)

Awash in the Flow of Watercolor

At long last I've returned with one of the finished pieces from my new water-based paint experiments. I'm very happy with them, though they're still not exactly what I wanted.  I was aiming for something somewhere between Japanese prints and Arthur Rackham.  In that respect, I've been somewhat successful, but there's still something lacking.  Now part of it is that my water color skills, while improving, are a damn sight below Turner...and maybe the drawing, while also getting better, still has room for improvement.  I'm working on it. Always working on it.  But here's a taste of the results.

A Final Test

By the time I rolled around to this test, I was already feeling more comfortable with using watercolor glazes again.  This was more of a paper test.  While I knew about hot press, I had never used it.  Heck, I'd never even used super heavy paper before (and I'm depressed to admit that even watercolor board I've been using has still been buckling and/or curling more than I expected, necessitating the use of tape).  Hot press, though it too has grades, usually has a smoother or satin texture to it, as opposed to the grainier texture of cold press.  So as I prepped the final drawings, I did some glazes on this little lady.

More Testing...

Much like acrylic mediums a year or two before, I had never really played with all the chemicals you can get to go with watercolor.  So, this test got a little damaged as I tried them out.  Specifically with the masking fluid.  Masking fluid, for those who don't know, is sort of like rubber cement and can be used to cover areas you want to keep free of paint.  It peels up with your thumb or eraser when you're done; however, you can't leave it on indefinitely, and with the wrong paper (which this was), it'll tear up the artwork when you try to take it off.  Like any medium on any project, this is what the testing is for. Like most of my gender, I tend to tear right into things without reading all the directions first.  Fortunately, I've at least learned to invest time in doing these tests so I can do this rash play, and figure out what I'm doing wrong without ruining the final project.

In the end, the paper was heavy enough that I was able to re-ink what got torn and with a few more layers of wash, I mostly managed to fudge it out.  Had I not liked the drawing, I likely wouldn't have bothered.  Even with a few rough spots, it turned out to be a decent piece.

Testing...Testing...1-2 1-2...

I'm afraid there hasn't been much time for sketching lately, as I've been in full finished piece mode for some time now.  But as I had to continue doing paint tests in preparations for the final pieces, I figured I'd share some more of the tests.

Now, I realize that doing watercolors and gouache (which I learned was once called bodycolor) over ink doesn't seem like it would call for much testing, but then you don't understand how long it's been since I've worked with watercolor.  The water-based disciplines sometimes get the short shrift because of their associations with crayons and kids, but to do them well takes patience and skill.

So, I started with a quick sketch of classic Hollywood star, Myrna Loy.  It's not totally accurate, and I realize the level of the eyes are a bit wonky....but didn't I say test above?

I chose to go for a teal/turquoise color of glazing.  The first couple I mixed, but as I felt it needed more greens or blues, I only added additional glazes of one or the other.  Myrna's hair was red and I figured that would be a great offset to the backdrop...and hey, I think I was right.  So there you are.

In case you were wondering what the finished piece from last week's post looked like.  I figured I'd include it with this post.  Using sepia as a base glaze helped get that muted tone that I'm going to be looking for in the final pieces.

Process Shots

Normally, I don't photograph works in progress.  Often it's because I'm not happy with what I've done by the time I'm done for the day up until the day I'm putting on the last strokes.  Other times it's to keep subjects from getting self-conscious, or clients from getting worried...not because I'm bad, but because not everyone gets the process.  Or, I might nail some spot that I love, but because the rest is underdeveloped, it doesn't feel right to document it.

But this time, I've got a commission, and it's requiring me to try something new...well, not entirely new since most people have played with watercolors as kids.  But over the years, working in acrylic and gouache, I've gotten used to direct painting, and watercolor is a whole other thing.  So I've been hitting up the web blogs and tutorials to get a grasp on how to achieve what I want, but let's face it, as with most creative endeavors, trial and error is the best way to learn.

Now what I'm shooting for is a sort of classic style in the school of Arthur Rackham or Edmund Dulac, two of the Victorian era's greatest illustrators.  Their works were typified by pen and ink drawings colored with washes of watercolor.  Dulac tended to be richer in color where Arthur had more of a washed out sepia look. I sort of plan to split the difference.  So, I made my drawing from an old photograph, and started by staining the paper (I chose 185 lb paper...which actually turned out to be too thin for all the washing I was doing, that was Lesson 1).  Then, I had to let it dry.  Now, I could get a hair dryer, but some feel it changes the tone of the paint and fortunately I had another small project to work on between glazes.

I wanted it dark, with a lot of contrast between the figure and the background.  I didn't bother with masking fluid and later just lifted the spillage with a brush and water. Also, a little color seeping helps to keep the the figure and background looking unified.  But I have to admit, I get bored and frustrated working this way.  I usually end up causing a lot of the bleeding myself because I keep wanting to jump into working other areas, but you can't add more of a water media next to a wet area and not expect to see the tendrils of color worming their way over.

And the thing about watercolor and washes is that you have to do tests or swatches because what it looks like fresh and wet isn't always what it looks like once it dries.  Some colors stay bright or seem brighter, others wash out really easily.  The one that seems most obvious, but is somehow easily forgotten, is that it's not likely to have much of that gloss (without mediums) that you may or may not like.  And so on.

Once I had the background down, I went back in to work the figure, but I still didn't directly paint any of the tones.  I'd wet an area, drop in the tone then give it some mild working with either a brush or small make-up sponge, or both.  The buckling of the paper caused some pooling that made for some matte effects in the thicker paint that I wasn't crazy about, but over all, she turned out ok.  However, my final pieces are going to be a helluva lot more complicated...haha...it might be another couple of tests until I can jump in.

Painting Water in Watercolor

No real series for this week.  In fact, this one should've been the wrap-up for last week.  This week's material are tests for a new project and commission I'm working on.  It's taken some getting used to to get back into watercolor after being so used to direct painting, either in acrylic or with the gouache.  Anyhow, that's what I'm doing...and the above is how it's going so far: not terrible...but not great either..

The Tides of Fashion

The second in a series of originals finds another strange bather in the surf.

The Tides of War...

It's a series of originals this week.  The sun, the surf and the strange have infiltrated my sketchbook this week. Enjoy!

A Bath in the Sun

A final look at the bathing beauties for this week...Have a good weekend...

Another time...Another seaside...

As the temperature continues to climb...our second lovely lady by the seaside.

By the Sea...

As it's summer, and things are apparently hot all over, though I'd do a series of bathing beauties this week.  The first is of one of those swimsuits that always had me wondering why there weren't more reports of drowning.

Death Laid an Egg

The final Screen Siren of the Sixties is Sweden's own Ewa Aulin.  Aulin, a teen beauty pageant winner, starred in a slate of European and American films.  She's perhaps best known for her lead role in...oh...I did it again, didn't I? More Terry Southern, I guess...she was the lead in the film adaptation of Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg's Candy (1967), which garnered her a nomination at the Golden Globes.  Personally, she first caught my eye in the surreal Italian thriller Death Laid an Egg (La Morte ha Fatto L'uovo, 1968) by Giulio Questi, director of the equally bizarre Spaghetti Western Django Kill...If You Live Shoot! (Se Sei Vivo Spara!, 1967).

A Very Grand Guy

Our Screen Siren of the Sixties series couldn't be complete without an appearance by Raquel Welch.  Welch, née Jo Raquel Tejada, had a string of bit parts before becoming a star with Fantastic Voyage in 1966, but she's probably best known for the endless reproductions as the cavewoman in the fur bikini from One Million Years B.C. (1966).  I'm partial to her (apart from the obvious reasons) for starring in two of my favorite comedies: Bedazzled (1967) and The Magic Christian (1969)...though I shouldn't say starred in The Magic Christian as she's one of a dozen hilarious cameos from the film from which I drew the above image.  My drawing of Terry Southern from a week or two back helped influence the choice.

Secret Agent Super Dragon

This weeks it's Screen Sirens of the Sixties, starting with Marisa Mell. Born in Austria as Marlies Theres Moitzi, Marisa was a sexy staple of the European genre cinema of the 60's and 70's.  She is perhaps best known for playing Diabolik's sultry squeeze Eva in Mario Bava's fantastic Danger: Diabolik! (1968). This quickie was from an onset photo...I'm particularly proud of the li'l black kitty she's holding.

Have a Good Funeral, My Friends! Sartana is Paying!

Our final Spagetti Western drawing for this week is a quiet moment out on the porch with Sartana, one of Euro-cinema's gunslinging legends.  The character originated with and was played four out of five times in the official canon by the great Gianni Garko (and once by smiling George Hilton...who's still not my favorite, but for whom my opinion has softened over time).  While he started out as a more standard hero, Sartana soon became a seemingly omniscient angel of vengeance as the films rolled out, and his arsenal of bizarre weaponry developed with him. (Some genre critics claim similarity to Bond, but I saw it more like the makeshift weaponry of the Lone Wolf and Cub series.)  Naturally, like Django, Sartana was also featured in a host of knock-offs and the usual character dub-jobs (ie. since all Spaghettis were shot without sound, when they dubbed in the voice, they'd just call the lead "Django" or "Sartana" whether they had any similarity to Nero or Garko or not).  If you can track them down, the series is an awfully good time...though don't save George's lone outing for last...stick with Garko.

WARLOCK: The Movie (1975)

This is my poster for a would-be Adam Warlock movie that I had hoped was going to be included in a Comic-con themed group art show.  I accidentally jumped the gun putting this together, and the event didn't happen.  Remember that Warlock test piece I put up a few weeks back?

The cosmic characters have long been some of my favorites in the Marvel Universe, particularly those penned by Jim Starlin.  Thanos is a fantastic villain (and apparently going to be in the next Avengers movie...). Adam makes for a bizarre hero with a cigar-chomping troll, Pip, as a best friend.  Then there's Drax the Destroyer, who was created to destroy Thanos, but I guess only recently, forty years after his creation.  And the deadly assassin Gamora, who, in her slinky fishnet outfit, was twenty years ahead of the superhero sexpots that would really begin to dominate in the 90's.

Now some may criticize me for lifting these poses and whatnot from others work...but in my mind, those old movie posters were made from set photos, so wouldn't the comics I was referencing be the same?  Anyhow, it certainly owes a debt to the aforementioned Starlin, Ron Marz, Al Milgrom, and many others who brought these cosmic stories to life.

"...But don't touch my coffin."

The second entry to Spaghetti Western Week is Franco Nero in perhaps his best known gunslinging role in Sergio Corbucci's Django (1966).  Perhaps one of the grimiest Westerns ever made, it opens with the hero dragging an old coffin through muck into a sad and seemingly abandoned town.  From there, it turns into a wild shootout between Django, the Mexican Bandits, and crazy Major Jackson who runs a personal army of klansmen.  Fans of Reservoir Dogs will perhaps appreciate the ear-slicing scene that was one of the elements that earned the film a banning in many countries.  Dark, violent, and enjoyable, it's one of the classics of the genre. (Side Note: In the Jamaican film, The Harder They Come (1972), it's a screening of Django that inspires Jimmy Cliff's later rampage.)

La Resa Dei Conti

With the sun shining bright and summer in full force, it's well nigh time for Spaghetti Western Week!

We kick things off with a drawing of Tomas Milian as Cuchillo. The character appeared in two films by Sergio Sollima: The Big Gundown (aka. La resa dei conti, 1966) and Run Man Run! (Corri uomo corri!, 1968).  Gundown is easily considered one of the tops of the genre (if you're gonna watch it, you gotta track down the uncut version), although all three of Sollima's westerns are very well regarded (Face to Face (Faccia a Faccia) 1967, is probably my personal favorite.).  I believe the above was drawn from a publicity still for Run Man Run!