Tilt!

-By Dan dos Santos

Here's a new cover of mine that was just released. This cover is for the latest installment of Diana's Rowland's 'Kara Gillian' series.



Time was short on this one, so I ended up painting the image digitally, something I don't do too often.



This cover is a good example of utilizing a tilted horizon line.



Even though this image has quite a bit of 'action' potential, often times I am commissioned to paint relatively static portraits. One of the easiest ways to add excitement to an otherwise boring picture is to tilt the horizon line.



Here is the image with a straight horizon line:

Here is the final image, with a tilted horizon line:

It's not a huge difference, but tilting the horizon line, even a little bit, can instill your image with a greater sense of drama.

In addition to adding drama, the tilted horizon line makes the viewer respond to the image in a different manner. They immediately know something is 'off' and therefore have already prepared themselves for something abnormal to happen.

I actually use this trick fairly often.

Helen of Troy

                                                                    By Petar Meseldzija

On the road to Troy,
Helen receives a vision – 50X70 cm, oil on MDF board.

A few years ago, a
private collector from Belgium commissioned me to do two paintings. First painting
was to depict Guinevere, King Arthur’s 
beautiful but unfaithful wife; the subject of the second painting was Helen
of Troy. The first commission was finished three years ago, the second one a
few months ago. 

It would be very cool,
even romantic, to say that the reason for this delay was my internal struggle
with the painting, because I was not able to find the right model for Helen, for
no woman I knew was beautiful enough to ignite the fire of inspiration and help
me achieve the unachievable: to depict one of the greatest beauties of all
times, a beauty so glorious, a beauty so divine, and so lethal at the same
time, that initiated one of the most famous wars in history, the Trojan War. A war
in which the greatest heroes fought and died, including the greatest of them all,
mighty Achilles. A war that raged for 10 long years, eventually bringing the devastation
to the city of Troy and its inhabitants; 
A war that gave birth to the famous Trojan Horse; A war that eventually produced
 wondrous wanderings of Odysseus, and
inspired a blind ancient Greek poet, Homer, 
to create two of the greatest and most important epic poems of Western
literature, The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Unfortunately, the real
reason for the delay in finishing the second painting was much more trivial;
because of my extremely busy schedule, combined with some health issues, I
could not find time and peace of mind to focus on this commission.  

However, once I did
manage to give my full attention to the painting, things got a little tricky.
The main question was – what should I depict, and how? There were so many
possibilities, and so many different ways to do it. At the end, of all the interesting,
dynamic and juicy moments from the story of Helen of Troy, I chose to depict a   nonexistent 
moment, so to speak. Recognizing this as a conceptual weakness of the
piece, I tried to neutralize it by giving the painting the title “On the road to Troy, Helen receives a
vision”.

By choosing to depict
this uneventful moment, I sacrificed many potentially attractive scenes for the
sake of something more elementary. I tried to bring the composition down to the
story’s very essence: the irresistible attraction between a man and a woman, that
eventually produces a fatal ending.  This
is a timeless theme, and while the outer elements change through time, the essential
components stay the same - forbidden love and irresistible passion, betrayal
and subsequent devastation.

As you can see, I
used only three elements to point out the essence of my interpretation: a
feminine element, a masculine element, and a vision. Although definitely not
the most beautiful of women, my Helen is dressed in a simple but richly draped
clothes. She is bathing in light.

 

 

The masculine element
is reduced to the archetypal symbol of masculinity – a strong, muscular body, a
spear, and a shield; and it is placed in the shadow. There is no glittering armor,
or richly decorated clothes that would suggest this person is Paris, the prince
of Troy.

And the third element
of this composition is a vision of a broken ancient Greek helmet, with a serpent
coming out of it, and biting its own tale. In the image of a serpent biting its
own tail, or so-called the Ouroboros, lies the thought of devouring oneself and
turning oneself into a circulatory process. Ouroboros is a symbol for the
integration and assimilation of the opposites…it represents infinity or
wholeness. Ouroboros slays himself and brings himself to life, fertilizes
himself and gives birth to himself. (C.G. Jung)

 

I mostly don’t like
to explain my paintings verbally, for I think if the painting is good, it  will speak to the spectator in its own
language. But sometimes an indication of the general context is necessary, and
in this particular case I thought a few hints were needed in order to help the
understanding of the piece, and to enhance the experience.  My intention was not so much to present a pictorial
story that one needs to read as a book - although I understand that this might
be the first impression - but more to show a few symbols, and through bringing them
into a certain relationship with each other, I hoped to stimulate certain
questions to come to the surface.



Questions like:  does Love knows about the morality, or is Love
a phenomenon that transcends all the concepts known to men, and therefore should
stand above all judgment; what is the actual relationship between the sexual
attraction and Love, between the personal benefits and Love; is there something
like unconditional Love; can Love sometimes be considered a sin, or is it
always a virtue; having in mind the terrible consequences of their afire, were Helen
and Paris guilty of selfishness and egoism; or were they just the little
figurines  in the game of chess played by
Gods; or do their actions have the power to influence Gods; in other words, do
Gods need man, as much as man need Gods...?

In spite of my wishful
thinking, I don’t believe that my modest pictorial contribution to this
everlasting dilemma has the ability to bring forth some of these fundamental
questions, let alone to give an answer. However, it is true that these thoughts
have played an important role, inevitably influencing the composition and the creation
of this painting. 

 

 

Art by Venn Diagrams

-By Lauren Panepinto

As a designer, I have a deep love of infographics, and I have an especially soft spot for Venn diagrams. Sometimes I think the interwebs is constructed of 60% cats 30% porn, and 10% venn diagrams. And here are some fantastic ones that specifically pertain to being a working artist. 

Some of the below are original, some are adapts of different venns I have found, and some are redesigns of pretty internet-famous ones. I apologize for not being able to credit where they originated, I tried, but sharing has obliterated the original credits. (Remember to watermark your images, folks!) The "being a successful freelancer" venn idea has been kicking around for some time, but was most recently the topic of a Neil Gaiman speech. The rest are bits and pieces of conversations I've had over and over again through the years. Enjoy!

Spectrum 21

Above: Android Jones' Call For Entries Poster for Spectrum 21

The baton has effectively been passed: the new Spectrum website (under the infinitely capable guidance of John Fleskes/Flesk Publications) is now on-line. The information for participating in Spectrum 21 is now available (along with a sneak look at Android Jones' Call For Entries poster) and the judges for this year's competition are profiled. While much will be familiar, there are also some new bits and pieces that many will appreciate. John will continue to roll out new information in the coming weeks, including the announcement of his new Advisory Board.



We're excited—as we hope everyone else will be—and sincerely hope you will all give John the same support you graciously have given to Cathy and I for the last twenty years. Spectrum has always been about the art, the artists, and the art community as a whole. Regardless of how you describe or categorize yourself or your work, regardless of the tool you use to create it, Spectrum is your home, without pretension or prejudice. Trust me: the best is yet to come.

Art Out Loud Event at the Society of Illustrators

by Greg Manchess

This Saturday, October 5th, is a very special Art Out Loud event at the Society of Illustrators in NY. Mark English, Gary Kelley, and Rebecca Guay, three of the best painters in the business will all be working, me included, before a live audience and there is plenty of room left to attend!

I’m so excited to be included in this group of colleagues I can’t see straight. If you are a student wondering just what illustration, let alone making art in general, is all about, come and listen to these artists talk, and watch them work. Yep, I’ll be painting like a mad man as well, and answering any and all questions about process, creativity, talent, you name it.

Artists have been painting together since the caves at Lascaux. There’s just a special energy in a room full of artists who are working, sharing, and developing in the moment, with decades of experience behind them.

I only wish I could be listening to the others while I paint. Think of all the secrets I’ll be missing....



This is one powerhouse of an AOL.

Madness, Magnolias, and Moonlight

This coming Thursday is the opening of Laurie Lee Brom's new show 'Madness, Magnolias, and Moonlight', at Roq La Rue Gallery in Seattle.



Laurie is the Wife (and often times, Muse) of the well-known illustrator 'Brom'. As often is the case amongst artist couples, Laurie set her art aside for some time in lieu of more practical considerations as the two of them raised a family. But recently, Laurie has rekindled her long-time passion for painting, and has been steadily carving out her own niche in the field... and doing so with great success!



Drawing from her love of Victorian Era fantasy art, Laurie's oil paintings exude a quiet eerie-ness while still maintaining their femininity. She manages to capture a sense of contemplative 'quietness', in both her subjects and her compositions, without being the least bit boring. Her strong design sense, and her sophisticated use of color, give her works a long lasting, graphic appeal.

Laurie Lee Brom grew up in the historical town of Charleston, South Carolina with the local ghost stories and folk tales of the swampy Low County and its rich Gullah culture stirring her imagination. As a child she spent untold hours pursuing critters in the pluffmud of her back yard, playing with Ouija and drawing all sorts of creatures.



She studied art at the College of Charleston and Illustration at Parsons School of Design. She worked in many art related jobs until the birth of her second child, when she embarked on a long sabbatical from art. In 2009 she returned to painting full time and has shown in group shows around Seattle. This is her first solo show. Though now a long-time resident of Sammamish WA, the haunting beauty of her hometown is a common theme in her art. She resides in Sammamish with her art/writer husband.

'Madness, Magnolias, and Moonlight' will run from October 3rd, to November 2nd at Roq La Rue Gallery.



For more information on the exhibit, or to be place on their preview list, visit Roq La Rue's website at: www.roqlarue.com



To view more of Laurie's work, visit her website at: www.laurieleebrom.com

Sketchbook 2013 Shipping Out!

By Justin Gerard

Last week I shipped out all the 2013 sketchbook orders!  We sold out of the DELUXE editions on day one, and now it's time to roll the dice and see who got what!

There is no rhyme or reason to these sketches, I just sit down and sketch for about 3 days and see what turns up. As the drawings are finished the sketchbooks are placed in order and then whatever number you are when you order, that is the one you get.

Sometimes you get wizards...

...And sometimes you get crocs.

And maybe more wizards.

And maybe a few Ents.

There were also a lot of mostly harmless dragons.

And a lot of angry dwarves.  

And some lucky person gets #43, which was probably my favorite of the bunch:

It was a good batch and I hope everyone likes them. Until next year...  

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To see sketches from previous years books:

Sketchbook 2010

Sketchbook 2011

Sketchbook 2012

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