eklektos on Workbook.com

Lately life has been very full with teaching, making plans for a school, working, hanging out with my family, and working with some folks to help me build a bigger client base. Part of growing the business now includes several portfolios on Workbook.com. So far I've been really pleased with their customer service... no taking your credit card number and then forgetting who you are. Let's see what comes of it...

The Little Man

My daughter, Lydia snapped a great picture of Levi, my grandson, as he was looking out our kitchen window. "What a great subject for a drawing or painting" I said to myself. So here it is. Seven inches square on Arches hot press block, all in Winsor & Newton burnt sienna with #6 and #3 Kolinsky brushes.

I Love to Draw!

After posting an old pencil drawing last week I decided to return to my first artistic love. No matter what medium I work with, when I draw I want to shout my own rendition of Eric Liddell's famous line from Chariots of Fire... "When I draw I feel His pleasure!"


This past summer, my daughter Natalie snapped some great photos at her older sister's baby shower. One of those photos was of Hannah, a young lady for whom both Natalie and Alayna were babysitters. Hannah's piercing eyes and focused expression were the perfect subject for this seventh portrait.

1983

Teaching two classes and being very busy with work leaves me very grateful but with little time to finish a portrait a week. So, it's back to the archives.


1983 was a very productive year. I was hoping to make my way as a portrait artist, and that year I must have produced dozens of portraits in watercolor and graphite. I had a number of friends who were more than willing to let me draw/paint them or their family.


A friend from high school, Tom Brennan, moved from Hartford to a tiny town called Fletcher, Vermont — so small you had to go to the next town for the post office which was in a general store. Here is a graphite portrait I drew of him and his first daughter, Erin.
My signature style then was to have a rectangular background with the subject breaking out its frame into the blank page.

So, Can I Do It Without The Computer?

That was a question I asked myself since I will be taking commissions for portraits at the Six Summit Gallery. I know some people might not want a print, feeling it was not an original. Technically, the print is the original since the file is a digital file. I don't think the digital vs traditional argument will ever be settled.


So, I set about finishing the portrait of Lydia by printing the outline I had drawn and posted last week. I printed it on watercolor paper and then painted and drew directly on the paper... no separate layers, no scanning and assembling.


I'm pleased with the piece, but not ecstatic. I don't like the texture of the paper for drawing. I'll have to experiment on a hot press paper to see if I get better results. Also, the colors are not as dynamic as they are when printed on my Epson 7880. I'll keep plugging at this, and maybe even offer a client the choice.


Anyway, here she is... portrait number 5... my daughter Lydia.

To Dad, Christmas 1978

Once again my week has gotten away from me. I'm grateful that I've been busy with design and illustration work. I also started teaching a class this week. I have a new portrait started, but won't get to finishing it until next week. So, once again, I dig into the archives. Today I'll share the drawing that was a turning point for me in realizing the drawing skills with which I had been blessed.


I don't remember who the subject was. It was from a photo I found in a magazine. But it looked like something my father might like. I'm sure I was pushing myself to impress my rugged, machine-shop-working father. He never said much, but the picture was always hanging right above his rocking chair in the den until he died.


I didn't know that there was such a thing as acid-free paper, or that there were other pencils besides your generic yellow number 2 model. But I was surprised and pleased with what I was able to do, and it started me on a path for many years creating very tight pencil portraits for myself and others.

By the way, here's the start of a portrait of my daughter, Lydia. Hope to post the finished piece next week.

Waiting for the J train

In November of 2009, while in NYC for my MFA, I grabbed a photo of this young lady waiting for the train. Tired and cold, she looked like an Ellis Island immigrant.


I'm enjoying working in this loose/tight style. I'm open to any suggestions or any photos you want to toss my way for portraits. I've got a lot of ground to cover these next 50 weeks.

Creation of Adam

OK... So I said I'd be posting a portrait a week. And hopefully I'll finish the piece I'm working on by tomorrow. 


So there you are, rolling your eyes, saying to yourself,"He's slacking already!" But before you jump too quickly, the reason I'm late with this week's portrait is that I've been given an invitation to hang and sell my work in a gallery here in Connecticut. Other than my thesis presentation, I've never had a gallery show. I'll be posting more details about it later. Here's a link to the gallery.


In lieu of a new portrait, allow me to share an image I created for a book cover. The challenge was to portray God seeing Himself in His own creation. While taking a drive to get some coffee, clear my head, and find some inspiration, the thought occurred to me that Genesis tells us Adam was created in God's image, and that he was fashioned from the dust of the ground. I bought my coffee (priorities!) and headed off to the nearest Home Depot to buy a couple bags of potting soil.


Layering the floor of my studio with cardboard and newspaper, I emptied the bags, moistened the soil and began to sculpt.

I photographed the final sculpture and began to play in Photoshop. The final portrait below illustrates the creation story with the shoulder being formed out of the ground, the face taking shape and then turning to flesh after God breathed His Spirit into him. 

I hope you find this portrait inspiring. And I promise to have my next image up soon.

A year of portraits...

It's been 6 months since I graduated with my MFA. And sadly it's been at least that long that I've failed to pick up my pencils or watercolors. I've never been one of those artists who just draws all day long... I need a project with deadlines and some accountability. So I either go for years of counseling to dig into my past and find out why, or I just give myself a project and give myself a reason to keep my feet to the fire. Call me a coward, but I chose the project.


We were visiting friends last week, and I was talking about this with their daughter, Rachel– a lovely, gifted young lady who has the makings of fine photographer. She was pouring out the same lament to me, that working full time has kept her from challenging herself more. So, right there at the dinner table we committed to posting a piece a week on our respective blogs. She will post a photograph, I will post a portrait. If you ask me, she got the sweet end of the deal, but if keeping my commitment makes her better at her craft, then I'm up to the challenge.


Since I've never done a portrait of my youngest daughter, Emma, I decided that would be a great start. For those of you who may not know, you can click on the image for a larger version.

So here's my first of 52 portraits. I ask you, dear reader, to prod and push me as well. And please encourage Rachel as she endeavors to grow creatively.

Klingberg Auto Show

I just completed a series of pieces to help promote the 2011 Klingberg Vintage Motor Car Festival. It was a tremendous honor and opportunity. The VP, Mark Johnson, is one of those delightful clients who knows when to give direction and when to let the artist play. And play I did, deciding to make use of Adobe Illustrator for almost all the art.

This is the second year that the show is running on Father's Day weekend, hence the father/son theme on the poster. The show is features rare and seldom seen antique vehicles, displaying about 500 antique automobiles from collectors in the Northeast. But more importantly, it serves as a fundraiser for Klingberg Family Center, raising funds for vital programs restoring and preserving families for children.

For more info about the show, visit www.KlingbergAutoShow.org.

The car featured on the front of the flyer
is a 1939 Delahaye Type 135M.

I couldn't resist drawing a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado
for the interior spread.

I had a lot of fun with the poster.
Designed for 3 formats, this one is 11" x 17".
The car is a 1914 Locomobile Berline Limousine.

Create elaborate patterns from a single flower

Here's an easy way to create some beautiful patterns that could be used for fabrics, scarves, or just plain fun... all from a single image of a flower and some Photoshop magic. 

For this demonstration I chose a photo I have of a pansy, one of my wife's favorite flowers.

Isolate the image of the flower and place it on a separate layer in a new document. Drag guides from the top and bottom to mark the center of the document.

Fill the background with a color. I happened to choose green because... just because. You don't have to get deep and technical about this. You can play with and change colors to your heart's content. Then change the blending mode of the flower layer to Difference. 

Duplicate the flower layer 4 times, creating 5 identical layers. Select the four top layers,  select Edit => Free Transform, and drag the center point of the selection to the center of the document, at the intersection of the guides. Rotate the selection 72 degrees.

Repeat this process with the 3 top layers, then the top 2 and finally the remaining top layer. Create a group from all the flower layers. 

Duplicate the group. With the new group selected, select Edit => Free Transform, rotate the group 36 degrees, and scale and move the selection until it covers the background area.

Now for some fun. Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer above the background and play with the hue.

To take it a step further, experiment by changing the blending mode of the groups. You can see the variations by just changing the blending mode of the top group.

Each flower you use yields a unique image. Here's a sample of a pattern I created using an image of a snapdragon.

Have fun!  If anyone decides to use this tutorial I'd love to know how and where you applied it.

Views from the Second Floor

Here are some pics of the latest snowstorm here in Conneticut... taken from the safety of my studio and bathroom! Haven't seen it like this in years. Click on pics for a larger view...

Yes, Virginia... we have an 18 ft. Christmas tree!

Several years ago, my daughter, Natalie, started a bit a of a tradition. Never one to do what is small, easy, or what everyone else is doing (yes, she reminds me of me), she wanted to see how big a tree we could fit in our home. This year is probably the biggest at around 18 feet!

Coming out of my studio,
I am greeted by this marvelous sight...

Making my way around the balcony
toward the stairs
(that's my studio door behind the tree)...

Looking up from the landing...

And finally, the view from the dining room!

Balsa Gliders at Barnes and Noble

There's never a bad time for some shameless promotion. If you visit your local Barnes and Noble (or if you want to drive to visit one far away) and visit the bargain section, you will find a display of kits on sale for Christmas (or "the holidays" for those who are easily offended). 
















Amongst the piles of boxes you should find kits for making balsa gliders. Not those cheesy, styrofoam, poor-excuse-for-a-glider kind that most kids today have played with.


And here comes the promotion part... ready... I designed and illustrated the box cover! Honestly, I've been a designer/illustrator for over 30 years and I still get jazzed when I see my stuff in print.




So buy one or two or three for the kids in your life and tell them, "I know the guy who did this!" I don't get any royalties, but you'll have the audacious pleasure of boasting to your friends that you know someone minimally famous.

Strata 3D for 99 cents?!?

Here's a great opportunity for anyone who has had the slightest desire to delve into the world of 3D graphics. Strata 3D, the 3D software I use for most of my 3D work, is offering SE, their entry level version, for only 99 cents! I feel like I should be talking in a radio announcer's voice and offering some free steak knives if you act now. Click here to view the offer.

Stop by StrataCafe.com to view work in Strata by a host of artists. And while you're there, take a look at some of the work I've done with Strata.