2011: A good creative year

This is an underpainting for a work in progress. Even though it’s barely begun, I’m calling it my 40th painting of 2011. (Just because 40 is a nice round number to end the year with.)

I realized in 2010 that if I wanted to become a better painter, I had to stop my periodic dabbling and make a point of painting regularly. I set a goal to produce 50 paintings this year. Though I fell short, I’m happy with my output. I think I’m ending the year as a much improved and more confident painter.

For the painting above I’m using a Gros Morne photo by my colleague Chris Hammond. He’s generously offered up a slew of his landscape photos for me to use as reference. I expect this little collection will result in quite a few landscape paintings in the coming months.

I’ll leave you with a link to great post by Chase Jarvis called 10 Things Every Creative Person (That’s YOU) Must Learn. It’s written for photographers but applies to all creative types. Instead of making resolutions this year, I think I’ll just revisit this list periodically.

Happy New Year!

Rose

An oil painting in progress. Waiting for  it to dry before the next layer. I laid the paint on thick so it might be a while. Should end up with some nice textures though.

Frenzied flock

This is a detail from a large acrylic painting I’ve been picking at over the last few months. The image is of a frenzied flock of birds evacuating the area as a storm moves in. Unfortunately, it didn’t really come together as planned. I was thinking of painting over it but I might just build a smaller frame and transfer the canvas, cropping out all the crappy bits.

Prussian Peaks painting

More mountains. They’re not quite out of my system yet. I’m currently eyeing my largest available canvas and thinking about the big empty wall in my dining room.

Probably going to happen.

BTW, these peaks are only Prussian because I made them with Prussian blue. Their resemblance to anything in reality is pure coincidence.

This diptych consists of two 12” x 16” masonite panels.

37/50

Blue peaks painting

My mountain peak iPad doodles have evolved into a triptych oil painting using three masonite panels each measuring 8” x 10”. I like the result. The panels had a warm acrylic coat over the gesso so I simply wiped away the blues to expose the highlights.
Sold

Blue peaks

More iPad peaks. Much like the last. Except bluer. And peakier.

Mountains

Raid party

So I’ve had this gag comic series bouncing around in my head for quite a while. A polite descriptor would be to call it a gardening comic but really it’s about the insects imbibing on pesticides.

Siri and Santa

AKA “Santa’s got an app for your crap!"

Glass bottles

Pushing pixels on the iPad again. Some imagined bottles.

Xander

Did a quick doodle of our much-loved lard-ass, Xander.

I’ve gotten pretty good at translating 'cat' over the years. Here he’s either saying “Why are you not rubbing me?” or “My food bowl is not overflowing... make it right."

Cecil

I started this one in my painting class with Greg Bennett. Greg insisted he needed a name and christened him Cecil.

I know, he’s a bit intense. But Cecil’s not a hater... he’s a protector: he’s got your back.

Cecil has made it into the shop. Lucky bugger.

Cecil
Oil on canvas
18” x 24"

34/50

Snow Day!

This old cartoon came to mind today as I was clearing snow. But it’s not all bad... day off work, wood stove’s cranked up to eleven, leisurely brunch, catching up on freelance work and I might even get to some painting this evening.

Winter shades

Jury's still out on whether I love it or hate it but I’ve received lots of positive feedback.

It's another heavily textured acrylic. Plaster base, several gesso coats followed by at least a dozen layers of paint and glaze.

The trees were made with thinned paint and applied with an eyedropper... gravity was in the driver's seat.

I think I've got these out of my system for the time being. Back to the oils soon.

Winter Shades
Acrylic and plaster on canvas
20" x 16"

SOLD

Calculation Blues

Calculation Blues: the feeling I get when attempting to conduct business with my flimsy entrepreneurial skills.

Speaking of flimsy entrepreneurial skills, this painting is in the shop.

Calculation Blues
Plaster and acrylic on canvas
16" x 20"

Crossroads

A new textured abstract painting. Making these are WAY too much fun. I've got another one underway.

This one is in the shop.

Crossroads
Plaster and Acrylic on canvas
16" x 20”

SOLD

Garden sculpture

Did a little landscaping during my long weekend.

Wookie Cutz

Chewie follows his dream.

(Or was I thinking of Ringo Starr's dream?)

Anyway... Wookie Cuts.

No one will suspect a thing

Stripes

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "Stripes". So... Bill Murray. What else is there? (I threw some actual stripes in the background... just in casey).

Autopilot doodle

Whenever I feel like doing some drawing but have no subject in mind, this is the guy that usually emerges. He's the autopilot doodle. Maybe I'll call him Otto from now on. He's no one in particular. He used to thrive in my sketchbooks but now he's propagating my iPad.

Wise guy

I'm taking a painting class from Greg Bennett at Anna Templeton. One of the paintings I'm working on is a large (by my standards) owl (18" x 24"). I missed class last week due to some freelance obligations and, for some reason, kept thinking about that owl.  So last night I made this little (6"x 6") fellow. He's way more blue than I intended but I think it works. I'm not sure how wise he is... he looks a bit on the snarky side to me.

31/50

Edgar Allan Poe

For Illustration Friday's "Scary" theme.

Pushing pixels

Some idle scratches from the iPad.

Bee... now in technicolor!

Okay, not really technicolor... just splash of watercolour. Puts a bit of spring in his step.

I think that's enough bee posts for this week.

(I shot it on a coloured background so you could see the fibres in the awesome paper.)

If you are so inclined, it's available in the shop.

Lino bee

Apparently I still have bees on my mind.

I've been anxious to try out the Unryu paper I received a few weeks ago so I decided to have go at a small linocut. The image is approximately 3"x 4" on 5"x 7" paper.

I cut the plate tonight and made 8 prints. The thin paper made hand burnishing easy-peesy.

It's been nearly a year since my last linocut... can't wait to do some more. When these dry I'll post a better image.

Buzzzy bee

Still feeling buggy since the last post. This fellah is refuelling.

Made using the marker tools in Sketchbook Pro on the iPad.

I am doing other things beside iPad doodles. I've got 5 paintings in progress that I've been picking at this past month. Also, I recently splurged and bought myself a big roll of Unryu paper (11 yards!) in anticipation of new linos.

Bygone bugs

While digging through a few boxes of cram here at Doodlepalooza HQ, I stumbled across some old sketchbooks.

These critters were drawn for The Independent (NL) about 5 years ago. I don't recall the story they accompanied but my crackerjack sleuthing skills tell me it may have had something to do with bugs. According to my detailed notes, we've got a Garden Spider, a Cinch Bug and a June Bug.

Dusk

Bit too dark maybe.

Reach

Neo social

I’m submitting this one for Illustration Friday’s topic “lonely”. I know that interacting with others via tech is inherently social but sometimes it doesn’t seem that way to me.

Francis

Frank

With Halloween approaching, I thought this fellah would make a good submission to this week's Illustration Friday theme: contraption.

Purple sky

Cloudy landscape

Exhausted

This guy looks how I expect to be feeling at work tomorrow after yet another late night of iPad doodling.

Just realized his ears are wee.

At the lake

No reference for this one... just winged it. iPad freestylin'.

The colours were a bit too bright and bubblegummy for my taste so I darkened the whole thing in Photoshop and desaturated the colours a bit.

Digital tree doodle

Watching some painting vids tonight and trying some things out with the iPad.

Line up

Who looks guilty?

Pink bot

Albert Einstein

This portrait of Einstein is something I've been working on for a friend of mine. It's still in progress. I'm going to let it dry and maybe touch it up a bit next week.

Albert Einstein
Oil on masonite
10" x 10"

Wikitoon: Ginger Smith

Former welder and retired professional wrestler, Smith now operates the salon Ginger's House of Curls.

Okay, okay... not really.

I've got several paintings happening but nothing to post yet.

Blogger's choice nominee

I was surprised to discover today that Doodlepalooza has been nominated for a Blogger's Choice Award in the Arts/Food/Craft category at the Newfoundland and Labrador Blogroll! Yay!

Voting is open until the end of September and people can vote once per day. To vote you need to go here and put your choice in the comments. I'm up against two great blogs: Norton's Cove Studio and Rock Recipes. If you don't want to get involved with voting, I encourage you to at least check out the NL Blogroll. I'm always intrigued by the diversity of subjects that people enjoy obsessing over.

Don't worry... I won't be bombarding you with requests to vote. This is the only time I'm bringing it up. I might add a link in the side bar for the next few weeks. Oh and I've rented a dirigible with "Vote Doodlepalooza" emblazoned across the side to circle St. John's for a few weeks. That's it though.

Thank-you to Stephen Harris for both nominating me and for the fine work he's done over the last few years keeping the Blogroll rollin'!

Tree float

I'd like to move a tree in our backyard away from the house as it is too close.

But it's huge.

I imagine the roots are very long and whole weight would make it impossible to budge.

I think my only options are alien technology or extremely powerful telekinesis.

Decisions, decisions...

Punk fish

I should have given him a Black Flag tattoo.

Hindsight, etc.

Back to painting soon.

Punk Fish
iPad doodle

Hero

Another iPad doodle. My new favourite pastime when I'm supposedly watching a movie.