Some Random This and That with a Side of Bacon

I know... I said I'd do a better job of keeping up with the blog this time around. Truth is, I've been busy. Mostly in all positive ways, so I am thankful for that. In any case, I wanted to take a few minutes to update on a few things that have been going on of late.

First, the book. As many of you know I've been tabbed to do the art on a book by talented writer and good friend Justin Hamelin. It's a collection of short stories reminiscent of my favorite childhood series Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark but with more of a classic horror feel. Think Scary Stories TTITD meets Tales From the Crypt. It's the best comparison I can come up with at the moment and seems about as accurate as I'll be able to manage. So there's that. I've done 8 pieces of the 11 or 12 that will be in the book, titled The Darkest Corner. The release date is still to be determined - I have an idea of when it'll be out but as of now cannot say until it's more firm. That said, it'll be available in print as well as for all your digital tablets and such, so that's pretty damn exciting. This collaboration has been a long time coming and it's a real pleasure working with Justin, who pretty much has the exact same thought process and mind as I do, so it makes this very easy. I'll keep you all posted on this as we learn more from the publishers. We are both excited to be able to share this with you all and trust me, you're going to enjoy it.

For those who don't follow me elsewhere, here's a sample of what some of the art will look like:

Second, I had pieces in 2 shows this past weekend. One was a one night event in LA at the Pi Gallery. It was great to be a part of the show and now with both pieces soon headed back my way I can officially say that they are both for sale. See the photo below and contact me if interested (kspencer81@gmail.com). If unclaimed, they'll likely be heading with me to NJ in August for Monster Mania, which I will be returning to (details at http://www.monstermania.net/MMC25_GUESTS.html ) 

The pieces from the Pi Gallery show: "Become Death" and "between Two Gardens":

The second show was an annual fundraiser for The Rochester (NY) Contemporary Art Center in which artists submit 6"x6" works of art to that can be purchased for $20 each. I am proud to say that so far 2 of my 6 sold on opening night. I am excited that my small contributions have helped support the arts, even if only in a small way. You can look at all the pieces here and buy them online at this time (my pieces start at 1547) : http://roco6x6.org/6x6x2013.php . Here is a picture of the pieces, the 2 sold ones being the first 2 from left on the top row (thank you to those who purchased them!):

Lastly for now (as I am sure I've lost a few of you by this point and will end this at the risk of losing the brave one who have read this far) is that I am beyond excited to announce that after a brief hiatus, the Forgotten Flix Podcast is returning and that I shall be returning to the art duties, providing the artwork for each episode. This time around, however, I shall be hand-painting each piece and they will be available for purchase after the episode is released. Being honest about it, I hate sketching, scanning and coloring in Photoshop. I feel you lose a lot of the craft (not to knock anyone who does that, I suppose I am just one of those "old fashioned" cranky dudes) so I am really excited to be doing it all by hand... we'll see how it goes. I may be biting off more than I can chew but hell, when do I not do that? 

You can catch up on old episodes of the podcast here: http://forgottenflix.com/ 

So that's about all for now. There are lots of other things going on but it'd take forever to get through them all. I suppose updating more often would remedy the once-in-a-blue-moon purge onto the blog.. so yeah, I'll try harder to keep this thing updated. For all of our sake.

Last thing, I am going to start posting more WIP (work in progress) stuff here. I have a long list of commissions I am also working on and with the OK of the clients will be posting pictures with little descriptions as I navigate through these pieces. By the way, I always ask first so if ever you hire me for, say, a secret project or a gift I will not post pics. 

I hope you are all doing well. As always, I am humbled and thankful for all the support you guys give me on a daily basis... It means more than you know.

Kevin

Monster-Mania This & That. A recap, of sorts. Plus a Bane Painting Step-By-Step

As you all know, this weekend was Monster Mania in Cherry Hill, NJ and my wife and I attended, she with her jewelry and me with my art ... Anyway... I apologize in advance, my mind is all over the place as I try to get my shit together after a crazy wonderful weekend.

Monster-Mania was awesome. Both my wife and I did incredibly well and in all the years there we've never seen it so crowded. Sold lots of stuff, met lots of really cool people and made some business contacts. All in all it just gets better every time and we both thank all of you who made it out to show your support and those who were not able to come out but sent us words of encouragement.

We got to catch up with some other vendors with whom we've become friends with over the past few years which is always nice. Picked some brains about what other shows would be good to do... To all of you folks - it was great seeing you and catching up.

Then headed home. Wasn't the smoothest trip in the world with an antsy 3 year old but we made it. Great, great time. Thanks to all involved.

I posted some pictures of the Bane piece I did for Monster Mania but wanted to do a quick little step-by-step of sorts as well with a little bit of explanation.

I hope to have some prints of this one made in the next few weeks once I regain my bearings and whatnot.

Hope you all enjoy!

Kevin

I did this the few days before Monster Mania while we were up in
New York visiting my In-Laws... hence the odd places you'll see me painting.

This is 24" x 36" Acrylic

I decided to do this one with a White Gesso then black base... I am repainting this for someone else who wants to purchase it (as this one sold) so the next time I will try the more traditional method of sketching it on canvas then painting it out... Sketching with the white paint on the black canvas wasn't ideal which I learned when it was too late. Ah well.

Super-rough blocking out shapes. Nothing fancy or particularly pretty.

More rough blocking and starting to think about how I am going to lay out some details.

More details and starting to add some tone to the muscles.

On this piece I decided to improvise with a few details - I added more detail to the shoulder straps than there were in the photo and I also added more brown because while it translated in the photo, the painting looked kind of goofy with an all white body and a brown head... the brown I added to the body was naturally in the shadowed areas of the chest and armpit/turned in portion of the biceps.

Done. Apologies for the Cell Phone photo - I have a hi-res version here on my good camera but don't know where the cord is to transfer it.

Overall, I was pleased with the result. It's one I definitely  look forward to trying again and taking a different approach in terms of execution with the hopes of accomplishing the same or better results.

This and That & Some Commission Stuff

This week has been nuts - Been preparing for the trip up North for family and friend visiting followed by Monster Mania next weekend ( http://www.monstermania.net/MMC24_GUESTS.html ) and trying to get done some last minute commissions as well. Good news is we're just about ready to get outta here and nobody has lost their shit yet. Art stuff is all packed, wife's jewelry for the show is all packed (as mentioned previously she also has a table at Monster Mania and sells some really cool / creepy jewelry) and tomorrow we'll load up, get the dog to the Doggie-hotel and make our way up the East Coast Saturday morning. We are quite excited...

That said, this isn't going to be an overly wordy post in terms of explanation, I just wanted to post some updated process photos of some stuff I've been working on of late... Hope you guys dig them and hope to see some of you at Monster Mania next weekend.

Kevin

The Darkness from Legend:

Johnny 5 from Short Circuit:

Sort-of-Step-By-Step: Puppet Master

14" x 17"
Inks (Speedball for colors and Higgins for blacks)
Bristol Board
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a commission for three characters from the Puppet Master series - which happens to be one of my favorite horror series.  This was a lot of fun. I did all of the line work with brushes, which was a little different for me, as I usually ink with either pens or nibs.

So here's a little look into the process... Hope you enjoy.

Also, if anyone every has any questions, feel free to ask.


So, I first obviously sketched everything out... Only Blade (the center character) has any amount of detail, the rest were pretty much just blocked out to be sure I spaced everything correctly (a problem I used to run into a lot before I started blocking EVERYTHING out first.)

 The pencil is kind of hard to see in the first one below but basically it's just a bunch of circles and rectangles. With eyes...

Then I started inking... I started in the center with blade bust because it made sense as he is the main character in this piece and the only character pretty much shown in his entirety. 

More inking... Starting to get the basics for the whole piece inked. This is another thing I was making a conscious effort to do because I always get obsessed with one part and spend all my time on that part. I am this way with everything: If I had a burger and fries I eat the fries completely before I touch the burger... I never mix... Just the way I am I guess.

Inking away, making sure I get everything blocked in and then will go back to do details and touch ups. All of the line work is with either a 000 brush or a 2... I will go back later and thicken some of these lines - For now I'm just sort of blocking everything in again but with ink this time and getting more of the basic facial features in place rather than just shapes.

Then you'll see here I can't help myself and start adding some color before I even add the character to the right (Tunneler, with a drill head)... I was thinking about how I was going to approach the bandanna and just couldn't wait. Fucked if I am not one of the most impatient people I know...

So now I am blocking out the character on the right with pencil - his original design was so sketchy I didn't feel comfortable going in with inks. Granted his design is super-simple but still... I could see myself diving in thinking it would be fine and screwing it up - I had put in too much time by now to be so brazen. 

Also, you'll notice I print reference photos... Lot's of them. Each character had about 3-4 photos I printed of various angles and I had a few pages of revolvers... I use a lot of reference materials. The combination of Google searching and printing and staring at them helps me get familiar with the subject matter. Often I'll also sketch the characters a bunch although in this case since I know the movies well I didn't feel the need to. 

Playing in the background was Curse of the Puppet Master (thanks Netflix!)

Now I am pretty much wrapping up, going back and cleaning up some lines as well as adding some white highlights and the detail in the bandanna...

And that's it! In actuality I went back and did a little more work after this photo but, truth be told, I am too lazy to go back and take another picture at this point in time... 

The photo of the finished piece washes out a little of the subtle details but alas, at a larger scale than a scanner, I'll need to find out a way to do a larger format scan... In the meantime this will do.

Thanks for checking this out. Catch you all later.

Kevin

Spend Less Time Complaining and More Time Doing

   Watch this video

    The above video was posted on Facebook by an artist whose work I greatly admire and someone who I look to daily to see what he's up to. His name is Tony Moy and his stuff is fantastic. Here are just a few of his pieces:

 

You can see more of Tony's work here: 

Tony's Art

Ah Facebook... what a useful tool, or horrible weapon, depending on how you use it...

You see for me, I try my best to ignore the bullshit on Facebook and instead use it to motivate myself. The video above got me thinking  about writing this blog entry... Because it's something I have been observing for a while now but never put into words. This is partly because I felt that "who am I to speak up about it"... But you know what? If one person reads this and is impacted by it then it was 100% worth it and if not, well, at least I got it out of my head. I hope at least a few of you can relate - It always helps to feel like you're not alone, I find.

    Being involved in art ever since I can remember, I defend it like a parent would a child. When I see people disrespect it, I fight the urge to jump in and tear them apart. That said, there's a terrible trend among artists that is getting worse by the day. With social media becoming a stomping ground for internet bullies and trolls, I see more and more people being attacked for work that others feel is not up to a standard that should garner the attention it's getting. These people more times than not are other artists, which is embarrassing. Sure, if I am being honest, there are times I see someone get backing for a project and go "seriously?" - but thinking something and going out of your way to insult someone directly are two very different things.

  

     If you look at those people who are making these comments, you'll find a good deal of the time that it's people who are talented artists but for whatever reason have not pushed themselves to be their best. It's quite clear these folks are bitter. Bitter because they are of the opinion (and sometimes accurately) that they have way more talent and that THAT individual has no right to be where they are but do you know what? It's your own fault.

   

     If you have any talent in anything you have no right to criticize anyone unless you are doing everything you can with that talent. I don't care if you can paint a perfect likeness of someone, if you are not utilizing that ability  then you are wasting it. Don't be bitter towards the guy who draws a witty stick figure comic, busts his ass to promote it and ends up getting it published - At least he had the courage and conviction to fight and see his idea through to completion.

    At some points everyone falls into this category, I know I do. "It's been a long day" or "My three year old wore me out and I don't have the energy to draw" or whatever excuse I come up with to avoid working on stuff... But I acknowledge it's my own fault. Or at least I try to. Sure I get bitter sometimes but if you make the decision to do so, you can turn that bitterness into motivation and use it to your advantage. 

      Beyond that point, I hope that there are enough people out there who love what they do to fight against these people who chose to bully rather than to do good - the art world is hard enough to survive in as it is and we all need to stick together and support one another. If you don't care for someone's work, that's fine, but there's no need to crusade against it like it's your job. It's not your job and most people will just think you're foolish and spiteful and there's nothing to be gained by that. This isn't just about art, it's about all situations and I know it's a tough world to get by in and for every guy who sells a painting it's a painting that I didn't get paid for but that said, let's all try a little harder to improve our situations through OUR actions and not by a false sense of empowerment achieved by tearing someone else down. We are all here for the same reason, to provide for our families and express ourselves but there's no reason why this has to be such a cutthroat process. 

    To end on a positive note, most of you are probably aware of it if you are a fan of art, comics or film but there is a wonderful site www.kickstarter.com that allows people to start a campaign in which they offer rewards in exchange for donations to help fund their projects. Many wonderful projects have been born of this site and if you are ever bored and have a few extra bucks to spend, check it out. Unfortunately I've missed out on a few I wish I had been able to be a part of but there's new stuff posted daily and there's some amazing projects in there. It's also a great way to support the arts and artists you love, even if you are not artistic yourself. 

    Lastly, there are a group of individuals that have joined forces to work towards a common, positive goal and I wanted to mention them, specifically. The work they are doing is phenomenal. As well known and respected artists, musicians and writers, they are a wonderful example of what can happen when people put their egos aside and decide to work together rather than against each other. Check it out: http://www.44flood.com/ and in particular check out the tab "Tome" and watch the video... It's another one of those things that can really light a fire inside you if you need a little extra push to get out there and create.

     Now to all those out there with ANY talent in ANYTHING, get out there and DO. Not everyone has a talent, so let's stop wasting it and when you do see someone involved in something creative, be sure to acknowledge their efforts- I can say from experience that there is nothing more motivational than encouraging words.

That's all I have to say. Understanding it's a bit off the beaten path from what people tend to expect from me (I keep most of my rants inside or vent to my wife, who is a wonderful and patient woman). 

Kevin

News!

I have begun the early stages of working on a graphic novel. The working title is "I.D." It will be 6 issues long and released initially as a web-series with the hopes of getting it into print at some point after that.

I will be at the very least penciling but likely doing some amount of the inking, coloring and backgrounds. It is completely written (by Mira Mortal - You can follow her here: https://twitter.com/mortalcoil ).

At this point in time I am trying to hammer out the characters as they will appear and nail down a style... I feel like this is the toughest part and am excited to get this done to get into the layout of the story.

Here is a little description of the story:

" The government has contracted a private facility dedicated to manufacturing classified weapons for military use. Due to the importance of the success of these weapons, those that show any deviation from company specifications are dropped into the deep ocean that surrounds the factory—intended to be buried forever, swept away and forgotten..."

This piece, which is a painting I did back in November / Decemberish (?) was a concept I did for the lead character... Dunno if it'll stick moving forward but I really liked the simplicity and emotion without detail I thought it captured.

I'll continue to use the blog to post information about the project, including sketches and panels as the project moves along.

I hope you guys (and gals) will dig it - I know I am beyond excited to be doing it.

Kevin

Joker - A sort of "Step-by Step"

I am wrapping up a Joker piece that's been underway for a few days now and thought I'd share.

Here's the stats on the project:

 - Two 12"x12" stretched canvases so in actuality the piece is a little bigger than 12" wide by 24" tall.
- Acrylic paint, semi-gloss finish.
- For Sale

 First, a sketch in my sketchbook. Was originally going to do 3 panels but realized a third panel of all hair and forehead was silly talk. Plus, while I like unusually shaped and composed pieces, I felt 12"x36" was a bit much. So two panels... I sketched it onto the two canvases... and we're off! 

 

I strayed a little bit from my usual routine at this point. Normally I'd Gesso (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesso) with a white or black (usually black) and cover these puppies completely but for this I opted to simply do an outline and the small portion of background black. In part my reasoning was that I knew most of the left half of the piece was going to be white/gray, so it would be counterproductive to go all black, per my norm... On many levels I actually like the black and white image better than the finished version with color but wanted to add a little color to it... So I did....

From here it's all color. Just a dab of red for the lips and 2 shades of green in the little bit of coat at the bottom as well as a little in the hair, although the hair is hard to see in these photos. 

Then I went back and threw in a gray-tone shadow here and there as well as some gray skin creases and finished it off with some white highlights, primarily in the eye and hair. 

Now everything is drying and I'll do some final touch-ups which will basically entail cleaning up some of the lines and small details, as well as cleaning up some of the gray shadowing. 

That's pretty much it. A fun little piece to do and wasn't all that time-consuming. After several months of not doing much art-related due to the move, it was a nice way to get back into the swing of things...

On to the next one!

Kevin