Goin' down Unda!

I'm off to Australia, going to the Stanley Awards! I'll take loads of pictures, and I'm bringing my sketchbooks too!


My friend and also cousin-in-law Brian, will be going along with me . . . we'll be at Rydges in Melbourne for our first week while at the Stanley's! See you soon Aussie's!

Drawing and Painting Caricatures at Schoolism

It's that time again! Another semester of my caricature class at Schoolism is nearing it's end, and the next is about to start. Click here to find out more about how to sign up for my class. I'm so proud of the hard work my last semester has produced and when they finish their final assignments I'll post them here to share with all of you. If you're wondering what the class is like, you can read student testimonials on the Schoolism site. If you have any questions please feel free to email me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. This class is not only a class on caricature, but also a class on drawing as well as painting. We also cover anatomy, how to capture a person's character, building confidence and overall, how to create professional and original art work.

My next class starts November 12th 2010, there are only a few openings, this semester is selling out fast.



Example of students work, skull studies by Eric Lebreton



Example of students work, Forest Whitaker by Magnus Igland Moller.

Here are two testimonials of past students of mine.

Jason Seiler's class The Art of Caricature is fantastic. I was apprehensive going
in because I really haven't taken an art course since Jr. High. My art background
is based in photography and 3d. Jason's teaching style makes it easy to start from
scratch and build from there. There also were students in the class that obviously
were pros or close to it. I think they would agree their work improved over the
course. It's great to have the ability to learn from an entire class even though it
can be treated as a one on one experience as well. The blog is a great way to
participate and see how others work is coming along. Most of all though it's
great to see the world through Jason's eyes. He makes you see how true the
statement he often uses really is. "It's funny because it's true".
--Lee Fraser


This course has without doubt helped me greatly improve my work, both in
terms of technical ability and in terms of motivation and dedication.
Jason packs the lessons with lots of great techniques, tips and advice
that I'm sure will be invaluable to everyone taking the course. He also
provides fantastic feedback and constructive criticism all the way
through. Great teacher, great course!
--Neil Davies

Eminem sketch

Earlier today I did an Eminem sketch that blew chunks . . . it was supposed to be a warm up to get me in the groove for the rest of the day. Unfortunately it didn't turn out that way, and it haunted me all day. I had to have another go at it before going home for the day, so here's sketch #2. This one took maybe 20 minutes or so?




Quick thumbnail . . . just getting the basics down.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard

The Suburbs

Win Butler sketch.

Profile in Advanced Photoshop

I was excited to be profiled in the latest issue of Advanced Photoshop!

Depp Sketch

Depp sketch and study for an upcoming illustration . . .



I did the gesture sketch in only 60 seconds because I wanted to get the basics down as fast as I could. It's a good exercise to try, and fun too!

On stands 10-15-2010

Picked up my copy yesterday!

Digital Collage and Painting book!

I did a digital painting tutorial for this book! A step by step demonstration on how I painted my friend Zach. It will be available soon and when it is I'll be sure to post all the info here. For now you can pre-order it if you like?

Click here to pre-order this book.




This is the painting that I did specifically for this book.

Sketch from Thursday 10-07-2010

Warm up sketch . . . push ups for the brain!

Random thoughts . . .

Don't push anything, you need to love it (art) for yourself. I've never wanted to do anything but what I am doing now and I didn't care what anyone else said . . . I knew what I had to do. Creating art is not about making money or being famous or whatever, it's just something you have to do, or that I feel I have to do. My parents have always supported me, and I'm sure they were worried for years that I had no direction, but I stuck with it . . . don't listen to people who tell you that you can't do it! If you tell me I'm not allowed to breathe, and I listen, I'll die.

Peace.

Elton John & Leon Russell for Rolling Stone

This week I finished my second painting for Rolling Stone. "The Union" Elton John & Leon Russell, for the reviews section. I had a blast painting this one! It was a challenge for me to hold back and not exaggerate . . . it took a lot of focus to ignore the caricature monster who shares my studio space with me . . . but I fed him some cake and he finally left me alone long enough to finish the painting.

The issue will be on stands next week. The version above will be the version in print.



Originally, I thought that my "hand idea" had been approved, but I misunderstood and went ahead anyways . . . whoops, my fault. So, I now have two versions! :) Whenever I can, I think it's important to add hands, it can be more interesting to look at and like faces, hands can also be expressive. Also, it's quite challenging and I always enjoy a good challenge. I think the painting works well without the hand, and even though the hand won't be in the printed version, I still have a version for the 'ol portfolio . . . my glass is half full baby!




Face detail. These days I'm not interested in painting photo realistically . . . I don't really see the point? I'm more interested in having a voice, a fingerprint that exists in my brushwork. I want my work to look hand-made, to feel painted . . .



My sketch.



I saved steps while working on this painting . . .



. . . perhaps I'll do a small tutorial?

MLB Tease

Last week I finished three paintings for Major League Baseball. The paintings will appear in this year's World Series program. I painted a full page illustration and two smaller spots all in 5 days. For now, here's a little tease. When it's out, I'll share the full images as well as some of the process.

I apologize for the lack of blog posts, I'll try to post more regular when I can. I've been lucky enough to be busy but most of the work that I've been doing cannot be shared just yet. When I can, I'll try to squeeze in some extra sketching and painting to share here on my blog. As always, thank you for stopping by!

News! I'm currently working on my second painting for Rolling Stone. A painting of Elton John and Leon Russel. It's due this week, when I can, I'll share my painting here. I'm saving some of my process and steps, so I'll have more to show than just the final painting.