Clarice Sugar Skull – WIP

Hello! I haven’t blogged in a while and thought I would let you folks know what I’ve been up to. It’s been the best summer of my life! I’ve gotten out and about to so many shows/concerts this year. I said this was going to be the year for art and shows, and boy was I right! I have a special shoutout to Ken S. for helping me get to and remember these amazing bands/venues. I have so much to pay forward it’s not even funny. I try to get some doodling and printing in when I can, but I know that when it starts getting cold out I will have more time to spend with my new hobby. I did ruffle a feather with my ‘The Candy Flutist’ print. Grumpy Guss wasn’t keen on the idea of me ‘making a buck on the backs of others’. It’s not my job to defend the genre or ‘pop art’ to someone that provided no feedback on what I can do better for the next print, just the simple word over and over again ‘garbage’. Well, to be completely honest this genre of art isn’t my favorite, but I recognize that people have been doing it for decades, and some have built very large portfolios and names with the style of art. I respect artist that take the time to manipulate the image and make it their own. I am not as drawn towards a simple famous photo with a simple photoshop filter that allows people to ‘paint by numbers’. While in Vegas over the summer I got to walk through a great art gallery and got close up on a Andy Warhol print. It instilled a deeper respect for the efforts that he went through to produce such iconic pieces of work. This was also part of my inspiration to try a pop art piece of an iconic figure. I have received tons of compliments along the early path of my art career, and I will never allow anyone’s comments to impact me or my progress. Don’t like it, fine… don’t buy it. Have some feedback on what I can improve upon, awesome I am all ears… but if all you have to say is ‘garbage’ then you are not worth another moment of my time. To end this quick update I leave you with some progress shots of a Sugar Skull I am working on. I arranged a photo session with my friends Clarice and Brandy in hopes to turn them into artwork they could hang on their walls and give away to friends/family. This way no one can tell me I am utilizing copyrighted imagery. I am not sure what the final product will look like, but I am fairly happy with the line work and the rough draft of shading. I want to add highlights and deeper shadows that follow the light from the photograph better, and I will probably blend the layers together in some fashion. Hope to post some updates on this sooner than later, after all Halloween is coming!