Sketch of artist . . .

Sketch of artist, Mario Magnatti Mariom. I will be gone for a week, but when I get back, I have two covers to finish, one for The Weekly Standard, and another for UTNE Reader, see you all when I get back!

Clint E-Wood sketches and studies . . .

A few studies of Clint Eastwood that I did last fall for Aardman Animation . . . I also painted to full-figure poses for them well which I will share here in due time.

You may notice that the different sketches are all very different in style and exaggeration . . . and that is because I was trying to give them a few different options or ways of approaching Clint's look and character . . .

Mick Jagger portrait for Las Vegas Weekly

Another quick turnaround. I painted this Mick on Monday, adding finishing touches early Tuesday morning. The portrait is for a bit written about The Rolling Stones re-release of "Exile to Main St." Great album BTW . . .

The art director wanted a Mick Jagger of that era, 1972 to be exact. As previously mentioned, I only had one day to paint this, and luckily all they needed or wanted was a portrait. So to make it a bit more interesting, I thought it would be cool if I painted it to look like a vintage photo from the 70's. I made sure there were no harsh blacks in my palette, and used mostly warm colors, and looked at some vintage 70's pics for inspiration . . . listened to the Stones and then painted the day away! It was a fun little piece to work on.






These are two quick sketches that I did before painting, both sketches were done in about 30 minutes . . .



Before I get serious about rendering I paint with large brush strokes and squint my eyes . . . focusing on values and color temp. I like the way this block in looks.

Thursday morning get up and get motivated sketch!

Didn't exaggerate all that much, just enjoyed the ride.

Rhino who you are . . . Wednesday sketch!

Had a little time to sketch at the end of my day . . .

Tuesday morning warm up sketch!

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Monday morning warm up sketch.

I've got a lot of painting to do, so I figured I'd start my day off with some quick sketching . . . just good 'ol practice, good for the soul!

Snakepit Obama - The Weekly Standard

I was called last Wednesday night by The Weekly Standard to do this piece for them. I had to go out of town for the Weekend, leaving only Thursday to both start and finish this little illustration for them. I loved the idea of drawing the snakes, animals are always so much fun to draw. But I knew there was no way I could paint this in one day, so I had to create a new style of sorts, which I rather like and really enjoyed working on. I decided to really simplify Obama's features turning him into more of a cartoon character. I'm a big fan of Disney's Jungle Book, and I also love the sketchy look of Aristocats and 101 Dalmations. So those films as well as the work of one of my favorite artists, Peter de Seve influenced my style and technique with this piece.

Now, to be clear, I didn't watch the Jungle Book, or the other two films, or reference any of Peter de Seve's work for this job. Instead, I thought about what I really like about their work, and then fed off that inspiration. I only had about 7 hours or so to finish this piece so I had to work fast.


I know that this is something so very different from my "normal" look and style, but sometimes I find myself under certain deadlines that require me to come up with different ways of doing things.

I had quite a bit of fun doing this one and learned a lot as well.





Quick head studies, trying to come up with the look and idea of this piece.





For this piece I wasn't trying to just "caricature" Obama, but instead cartoon him and come up with yet another way to draw him. I enjoy pushing myself and discovering new ways of drawing the same person.





The a.d. wanted a specific type of expression for this piece, and I couldn't find any reference of Obama with the expression that we needed. So, I took pictures of myself making the expression I thought would work and then made up Obama's face while looking at my own.

CG Arena Interview

Click here to download and read my interview with CGArena.

Warm up sketches . . .

You know who it is . . . whatshisname. Watch out or he'll kick your A$$!



My friends, Fred Harper and Ray Alma.


I've been busy lately with a few paintings that I can't share yet. I've also been doing a lot of sketching lately, sketching as much as I can. Unfortunately I no longer have a scanner so I can't scan in anything in from my sketch books. So for now, I'll share a few quick sketches that I did this week using sketchbook pro. All three were done as warm ups before working on my current projects . . . all done within 10 to 15 minutes. I enjoy doing quick sketches like this. There's a life and excitement I feel when sketching that usually is lost in a final piece.

Get 'yer sketch on! - 15 Minute Ape sketch.

I have a challenge or goal today for all you artists out there! Try to get your sketch on today, give yourself a small window of time, 10, or 15 minutes. Sketch anything, it doesn't matter. Do this throughout the day . . . you don't have to post the work . . . there's no need to share it on facebook or anywhere else if you don't want to. I think there's a lot of pressure sometimes to post everything you do, and I get the feeling that a lot of you out there are too worried about what everyone thinks . . . but remember this is for you and your growth as an artist. Think of these sketches similar to stretching before running a marathan. And for you "caricaturists" out there . . . try drawing and sketching something other than caricature. Or, if you want to draw caricature, try caricaturing something other than people . . . mix things up a bit, and have fun!

Wolfman for a T-shirt

Le Wolfman! A fun little piece to work on . . . This was done for my friends band, Leper. It will be printed on charcoal gray t-shirts and will be available to buy soon. I will let everyone know when and how to order a shirt as soon as I have all the info on it.