Progress with Vegas

Today I started to work on the underpainting, this is what I have so far. When I have the underpainting finished, I'll scan it in, it'll be much more clear than this photo.

Vegas Baby, Vegas!

Last June my brother got married in Vegas. For a wedding gift, they wanted a painting of themselves from me, so last summer I started the painting but it never looked the way I had wanted. Last week I was working on it again and I realized that I didn't like it, that it could be so much better, and being that it is a wedding gift for my brother I decided to toss the first painting. Not only am I starting all over, I am taking it in another direction using different photo reference and lighting, this should make for a more interesting painting. Here's my sketch, there's still little things here and there that I am working out, but this is the basic idea.

Clint Eastwood

Sketch of the Day!

Kim Jong Oil study

On the side, I am working on a Kim Jong painting that will feature his full body in a scene, I don't want to give any of it away at this time, but will be sure to post as I work on it. This painting is a 16" X 16" oil study that I did in 3 hours. The reason for this study was to experiment with what kind of palette I would like to use for my final painting. For this painting, I painted with a limited palette, I chose to use Ivory Black as my darkest blue, Yellow Ochre, Alizarin Crimson, and of course white. I'm not sure yet if this is the feeling I want for my final painting, so I may do another smaller even more simplified oil study before the final.

Sherlock Holmes

Here's the final of Sherlock! Tonight I will be speaking and drawing at a "Sherlock Holmes" society thing. We will eat at this amazing German restaraunt here in Chicago, and I will talk with them about what I do as well as share my portfolio with them. Every member will get a signed print, should be fun. I'm looking forward to the food!

Beau Hufford

Sketch of the Day, artist Beau Hufford!

Photoshop Dad, step by step . . .

Hey all, I'm back!!! I had a great time with my wife and kid, it's good to get away for a while. I didn't get much of any sketching done, but I did finish my Sherlock Holmes piece as well as do a 16"X16" oil study of Kim Jong, I'll try and post that later today. I also started this step by step of my Dad. A little more time is needed before I'll call it finished. I'll continue to post the steps as I go. This is the first time I've ever done a photoshop painting all in photoshop. Usually I sketch first in my sketchbook, scan it in and go from there. With this, I just started drawing with my Wacom tablet, this is about an hour and a half to two hours worth of work.

See you in a week!

I'm going on a short trip with my wife and three year old daughter. We're expecting baby number two in January, another girl! This will be our last get away before the new addition, so we're going to have a little R&R. I'll be bringing my sketchbook and paints with, and will hopefully do an oil "study" of one of my Kim Jong's. I have an idea for a Kim Jong painting, so I'll be experimenting with a pallet that I may want to use.

See you in a week! God Bless,
-Jason

Tom Fluharty

Sketch of the Day, Tom Fluharty.

Hey, it's a Donkey!

Missing Wisconsin

I have now lived in Chicago for 10 years, it's crazy how fast time flies. Anyways, I'm originally from north Wisconsin, or as my Dad and brother say, "Da Nort Woods". I was missing home, and missing how beautiful the fall is this time of the year, so I decided to do some quick BIC pen caricature sketches of Wisconsin animals. These aren't exaggerated too much, more stylized. I just let the pen do everything.

Joe Bluhm

About a year or so ago, my friend Joe talked me into using a Wacom tablet and painting digitally with photoshop. Before then I wasn't into it, and didn't like much of any digital work that I had seen. Joe and another friend of mine Jan, had done some pieces that were cool and so I thought I'd give it a try. For my first digital painting I chose to sketch and paint Joe. I never did finish but I've always liked it, so I figured I'd post it and share my first digital painting.

Nelson Santos

Sketch of the day, caricature artist Nelson Santos from Portugal.

Kim Jong IL . . . AGAIN

My first attempt of sketching Kim Jong went ok, however not really what I had in mind. Structurally, it lacked in form, and was boring, it didn't have a unique quality to it. So over the weekend I did a couple more sketches, this time spending a little more time on them rather than my earlier 15 minute sketch. Hope you enjoy!

Jack AGAIN

Not every drawing flows magically out of my hand, sometimes the idea in my mind gets stuck somewhere inbetween my head and hand and I get lost. It's ok, because I just pick up the pencil and keep trying until I'm satisfied. Sometimes it takes more effort to get something right, other times it just happens.

A couple days ago I did a quick sketch of Jack, and at first I was happy with it, well for a quick sketch anyways, and the more I looked at it the more something about it bugged me. I couldn't quite figure out what it was. I posted it on a couple forums so my colleagues and friends could see it and they too saw something off with it. That's ok, it happens, it's a good idea to let others with fresh eyes see your work, it helps to see your work from another's point of view. Anyways, I went back to the drawing board today and had another go at Jack, I am pleased with this version and I feel a weight has been lifted off my mind . . . whew!

Sharon and Bush

Here's the final painting!

Sketch of the Day . . . Keith!

Alaskan Brown Bear

This last summer I was blessed with the opportunity to spend a little over a week in Juneau Alaska with my Dad. My Dad was brought up their as an instructor by an Alaskan Plein Aire group called the Plein Rain painting group, it rains a lot in Juneau. It was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot about painting from life from my old man. Juneau is by far the most beautiful place I have ever seen. While there we saw hundreds of bald eagles, a black bear, seals, glacier's, mountains, billions of salmon, and last but not least, humpback whales. It was an experience I will never forget. I painted plein aire for the first time, and did six plein aires, as well as this sketch of a Grizzly (from a photo). The small watercolor sketch of mountains on the upper right was done on my last day in Alaska. My Dad and I took a tram 4,000 ft. up a mountain and then hiked up even further and did some fun little watercolor sketches.

Sketch from Facial Expressions

Sketch from Facial Expressions

Sketch from Facial Expressions

Facial Expression

There's this great book out there called Facial Expressions by Mark Simon, if you're a caricature or portrait artist, I recommend that you pick it up. It's filled with hundreds of faces, old, young, fat, skinny, pretty, goofy, you name it . . . it's a great book to sketch from. Anyways, here's a few sketches that I did recently from the book.

JACK

Sketch of the day, Jack! I've got to get a new scanner, the one I use now scans with too much contrast. Do "they" make a scanner out there that just scan's exactly what you are trying to scan, could it be that difficult? I need a new scanner.

A peak at the progress

The Sharon and Bush piece is coming along, and will be finished very soon, if I don't get any more interruptions. :) I've cropped it, because I want to wait to share what I am working on for the background until it is finished.

Scorsese take two and three

I wasn't very happy with my first sketch, so I took a little time this morning to do a couple more quick sketches of Mr. Scorsese. My favorite by far is the side profile, still there's a little charm in the second one . . . all in all, good practice.

Adrian Brody as Jack Driscoll

Sketch of the day! An amazing face that is hard for me to resist. I could draw him all day, and never get bored.

Update on Sharon

Coming along, won't be long before it's finished, I'm having fun with this one, trying to keep a more painterly feel to it.

KING KONG

Sketch of the day.

Update on Sharon and Bush

Sling Blade MmmmHmmm

Sketch of the day! My wife and I rented Sling Blade the other night, we hadn't seen it for years. A great movie, if you haven't seen it, I recommend it, Billy Bob's amazing in it!

Work in Progress

I had a little extra time today, so I decided I would paint my Sharon/Bush sketch. I'm painting with photoshop, so far about an hour and a half into it. I'll post more as I work on it.

Iggy

I have always wanted to do a painting of Iggy Pop. His face intrigues me, and even though I like this sketch, I'm still not settled enough or ready to work on an Iggy painting. This sketch is fun, but it is only one quick sketch, my first take. If I decide I want to paint him, I'll gather more reference, and do a few more sketches of him until I satisfy what it is that I see in my head when I think of Iggy.

For now, this sketch as well as the Sharon and Bush sketch will remain in the "warm up sketches for the day" category.

Sharon and Bush

Billy Joe

Quick sketch, done with a BIC ball point and a few washes of watercolor.

James Bond

This weekend my friend Mat who was previously my watercolor instructor held an open house to his new studio and gallery downtown Chicago. Mat does beautiful watercolor work, by far I am one of the luckiest to have had him for an instructor. Everyday Mat would bring his sketchbook to class and share his ideas and sketches with us, and ever since, I've been wanting a sketchbook like his. It's just a great book for sketching with pens, pencils, and best of all, it can handle watercolor. A beautiful book. This last summer Mat went back to his motherland (England) and while he was there he picked up a few of these priceless sketchbooks to bring back home to the states. Lets just say he has become my sketchbook dealer, I'm hooked. Anyways, here's my first sketch in my "Mat Barber Kennedy" sketchbook, I did this one last night while watching a movie with my wife. Daniel Craig, the new Bond.
Please check for Mat's website in my links section.