‘watercolor’

Comfort Before The Sacrifice

Feb 07

Narnia has been a very influential place throughout my life. I remember as a young lad watching the Narnia BBC version and falling immediately in love.  After reading the books, I realized that I would be a fan for the rest of my life.  Up until this point, I have not explored the ideas of Narnia in my art.  I’m currently listening to the audio series by Focus On The Family’s “Radio Theatre” If you are a Narnia fan and haven’t listen to this series yet, stop what you are doing right now and get it. I’m not kidding.

Aslan is a brilliant character in this series. I could go on and on about how I love the parallels between Aslan and Jesus; showing his great strength and power at times, and at other receiving comfort in times of need.  This very concept drove me to painting this part of the “The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe,” right before the scene at the stone table.  My heart fills with emotion as we watch Alsan grieve in full knowledge of the sacrifice he is about to make.

Here are some of the initial drawings and sketches that led up to the final painting. First, I have my initial sketch of Aslan with the girls.  From this idea I built the background and eventually digitally painted a rough color comp.  The color comp is my guide for the actually watercolor process.  Without this guide I can’t get a good feeling of the emotions and setting I want to portray through color.

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Fairy For My Love

Nov 18

Back in August I drew this for Christina’ birthday.  I was scared to paint it because my watercolor was still shaky.  Well today, was the day I wanted to paint it and give it to her.  She loved it show much she wants to hang it in the living room!  So here is to my wonderful bride, whom I love dearly.

My wife reminds me of a fairy. No seriously! She is delicate, graceful, and stunningly beautiful.  She glides around the house like a sweet little fairy, and I am completely captivated. With this painting I can always remember the day that I married a fairy.

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Peter And The Wolf

Nov 16

Peter And The Wolf brings me back to my childhood.  I remember going to see the play when I was very little, and being overwhelmed with fear of the wolf. The music is what captivated me of course.  How a simple tune can be in its very essence, story telling.  I have always been drawn to simple and concise story telling. Now being a visual story teller, this of course simply amazed me.  Today I bring you my adaptation of this beloved story just prior to the capture of the wolf.

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Revenge of the Squirrels

Nov 01

For as long as I can remember my Dad has been chasing squirrels.  Therefore, I thought it would be fitting to paint him this picture for his birthday.  I had really fun thoughts about the squirrels acting in a rather vengeful way.  Thus, the squirrels revolt and attack.

Watercolor/Digital

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All My Life

Oct 06

“All My Life” is the next music project by Chasing Clarence.  I got to illustrate the cover, which was fun because I love drawing foxes.  The idea is playing off the fable, “The Fox And The Grapes” which is the tension of seeing something you can’t have, and despising it for that very reason.  This piece was to capture the very beginning of the fox seeing the grapes.

Initial sketch

Pencil drawing.

value study

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Art For Africa

Sep 27

*Update*
So obviously I was confused about which benefit I was giving to.  This print is actually for the new homeless shelter, Village of Hope, here in Bemidji.

Hey friends, I have been invited to participate in an art auction to benefit “Art For Africa.”  The charity organization supplies children in Africa with art supplies so they can experience artistic expression with adequate tools and resources.   The show is going up in the Cabin Coffee house here in Bemidji.  If you are around, please join us for the opening of the show this Friday for the First Friday Art Crawl.

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Pulled from the Fire, Saved by Grace.

May 25

I have the privilege of working on the book illustration for “Pulled from the Fire Saved by Grace” by my friend Jamie Lull.  The book tells the story of a man who’s life was transformed by Christ. Thanks so much Jamie for the opportunity!

Once again I am using the same technique of watercolor to digital on BFK printmaking paper.

Here are a couple shots of the book, once the illustration was sent to the publisher.

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With Mommy, Life Is Good

May 18

Thinking back on my childhood brings fond memories of my mother.  There is no way I can possibly imagine all that she has done for me.  One of the biggest gifts my mom ever gave me was her time.  Endless hours of attention, playing, and care-taking for us children.  This Mother’s Day I wanted to tip my hat to my mother and the special time we have had together.  This of course, even the simple things like pulling us in a wagon.

Cheers to Mom!

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The Real Reason We Don’t Swim at Deeper Life

Mar 22

You may have never known why were aren’t to swim at Deeper Life Bible Camp.  All these many years a secret has been kept in the depths of Blackduck Lake.  May the Lord protect you as you venture out into the mirky waters.

Wow, what a fun piece to put together.  So much of this I feel was done in my head.  Below I have a few images documenting my process.  Enjoy :)

The watercolor/digital process.

Everything starts with a sketch. Coming up with the idea can sometimes the most fascinating part of the whole journey. The sketch is scanned into the computer and I draw on it a bit digitally to get it ready for projection.

My latest illustration purchase is a brand new Artograph.  This projector allows me to project quite nicely a sketch for enlargement.  I place my paper below on the table and draw away.

This is the final drawing before I watercolor on BFK printmaking paper.  BFK was my favorite paper for printmaking as an an art student at the university. The drawing is scanned and will be kept to lay over the watercolor so I don’t loose my lines.

Let the watercoloring begin!  This is the most difficult of the process for me, because I am new to watercolor…and boy do I have tons to learn.  I do my best here to stay consistent with color, so I have less to do in post production on the computer.  The watercolor is scanned and ready to go.

And now the really fun part is the digital process.  From the scanned watercolor I place my previously scanned line drawing on top of my watercolor so as to get back my lines lost in the watercolor process.  Then comes color correction, and layers upon layers of painting. I enjoy using custom brushes, airbrushing techniques, and other various layer types to achieve the above image.

So that is my watercolor/digital process in a nutshell.  My next painting will be of my crested gecko, ThimbleTack.

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