Tattoo La Palooza / "Owlthulhu"

"Owlthulhu"

16" x 20"

Mixed Media on Aquabord

2012

TattooLaPalooza was back in June, so this post is a little behind. None the less, I had a blast there and the above image is a product of the recent studies I did with other art(ist) styles--namely Ashley Wood and Ukiyo-e--and I'm proud of what came out.

It seems I get a really good energy from working around other artists. Jeff Dekal, even though he is soft-spoken at these events, gave me some sound advice. I was working on sketched of owls and ideas as I hadn't decided on what I wanted to do. He came over and said, "You can prepare, but sometimes, you just have to just go for it". Simple enough, yes, but as I sat at the precipice of design and fear as it was live art being done with people walking by, it was the right thing I needed to hear to just get to work.

I even tried something new with the pallet knife for the moon coloring. The bars were an accidental measure to compensate for making the circle and owl so far to the left, but it invariably lent itself to the overall geometry and balance of the piece.

I'm happy of this amalgamation of the Sacred and the mythological with a touch of the Horrific. Glaucus, the Owl of Athena, combined with the symbolism of the moon (read: circle and outer space) and the addition of the Lovecraftian tentacled face meet in an interesting intersection. I loved watching the reactions from the people walking by who were attracted at first to the owl, and the moon, and the general appearance, but were then intrigued and even repulsed by the realization of that bit of green near its mouth...

Attraction and repulsion.

Accidental as it were, it worked out very well. My next piece is of a bear.

Traditional Illustration / "Time and Death and God"

Ye olde workspace.

"Time and Death and God" [Series]

8" x 10" (each)

Mixed Media on Aquabord

2012

Figure Stock: Felixdeon (deviantART) -- Time (Ukiyo-e), Death (Ashley Wood), God (Personal)

I really like how this series came out. It was a fun experiment to do three pieces in three different styles. I decided to go with Ukiyo-e, Ashley Wood and a personal style. The hardest was definitely the Ukiyo-e, but I learned quite a bit about the aquabord surface and its absorbant qualities in regards to ink and damar varnish spray.

The pieces are based off of the imagery from a section of Chapter 8 in Brave New World and their name is derived from the last sentence, "He had discovered Time and Death and God."

Traditional Illustration / "... and God"

"... and God"

8" x 10"

Pencil, Ink and Acrylic on Aquabord

2012

Brave New World

Chapter Eight:

"At the full moon, in the Antelope Kiva, secrets would be told, secrets would be done and borne. They would go down, boys, into the kiva and come out again, men. The boys were all afraid and at the same time impatient. And at last it was the day. The sun went down, the moon rose. He went with the others. Men were standing, dark, at the entrance to the kiva; the ladder went down into the red lighted depths. Already the leading boys had begun to climb down. Suddenly, one of the men stepped forward, caught him by the arm, and pulled him out of the ranks. He broke free and dodged back into his place among the others. This time the man struck him, pulled his hair. "Not for you, white-hair!" "Not for the son of the she-dog," said one of the other men. The boys laughed. "Go!" And as he still hovered on the fringes of the group, "Go!" the men shouted again. One of them bent down, took a stone, threw it. "Go, go, go!" There was a shower of stones. Bleeding, he ran away into the darkness. From the red-lit kiva came the noise of singing. The last of the boys had climbed down the ladder. He was all alone.

All alone, outside the pueblo, on the bare plain of the mesa. The rock was like bleached bones in the moonlight. Down in the valley, the coyotes were howling at the moon. The bruises hurt him, the cuts were still bleeding; but it was not for pain that he sobbed; it was because he was all alone, because he had been driven out, alone, into this skeleton world of rocks and moonlight. At the edge of the precipice he sat down. The moon was behind him; he looked down into the black shadow of the mesa, into the black shadow of death. He had only to take one step, one little jump. … He held out his right hand in the moonlight. From the cut on his wrist the blood was still oozing. Every few seconds a drop fell, dark, almost colourless in the dead light. Drop, drop, drop. To-morrow and to-morrow and to-morrow …

He had discovered Time and Death and God."

Mother's Day / "Mugen"

"Mugen"

8" x 10"

Ink on Aquabord

Mugen reference.

Here is a piece I did for Amber on Mother's Day. Mugen is more than a son-figure to her, he is an amazing ball of happiness that brings a smile to her face every day. He was also at the Vet a couple days ago and was VERY sick. I figured a portrait of him would be a fun way to show her just how much I love them both.

On the artistic side I absolutely adore this new surface I am working with. It's called Aquabord and it's a clay that has been adhered to a masonite board. It's archival and absorbs akin to watercolor paper, except there is no warping! Plus when you erase pencil from it, it doesn't mar the surface like watercolor paper. And it's already mounted to a surface.

Now I have to figure out how to make it wall-hangable without framing it. I used a mixed epoxy to attach to d-rings and tied a wire to it. It dried for 5 hours. When the gallery (a bar) hung the piece (another one I did yesterday) it was up for a short while before falling from the wall and chipping the corner of the piece. Fortunately it was a piece I had done purely for fun in a 'beer inspired' art contest, so, no great loss. Live and learn!

Advanced Painting / [Law] & [Battle]

IN PROGRESS
"Goddess Series: Iaculus Ipso [Law]"

© Vaughn Reynolds 2012

22" x 28" Oil on Canvas

Here is painting #2 of the Goddess Series in it's current state. I am working on this one and "Proelium Omni [Battle]" (pictured below) simultaneously. These two pieces are also the first pieces where I personally photographed the models for the paintings.

"Iaculus Ipso" is inspired by the heroic and tragic story of Hypatia of Alexandria. My original idea was to make a Goddess of Law, and by law I mean cosmic and scientific law, not the martial type. My professor gave me Hypatia to research and what I found blew my mind. I uncovered things even the professor didn't know about that totally fit into the direction I wanted to go. She was a Neoplatonist, and in this school of philosophy there is something that resonates strongly with me and will be a part of this painting (which isn't shown above yet!); this concept is known as,

"The One" -- "The totality of being may thus be conceived as a series of concentric circles, fading away towards the verge of non-existence, the force of the original Being in the outermost circle being a vanishing quantity." ... This is part of the reasoning for the solar system that will be represented as a 'halo' around the figures head, with her head being the sun, falling on the crown and third-eye chakra.

As for the fish, which you may ask about, they are coelacanth and represent Christianity, which consumed Hypatia in a horrific way.

IN PROGRESS
"Goddess Series: Proelium Omni [Battle]"

© Vaughn Reynolds 2012

22" x 28" Oil on Canvas

I had some loose ideas I had researched for inspiration to the Goddess of Battle. There are a number of Greek and Roman Goddesses whom fit the bill, but I wanted to make something wholly original.

I was fortunate enough to go on an art trip to Italy where we traveled through Rome, Florence, Verona, Venice and Milan. While in Rome we visited the Vatican museum. I would go into further detail on the trip, but that's for another blog post... So, while there I was finally exposed to classic sculptures and I was, to put it lightly, blown away. So I decided to keep an eye out for a figure to inspire the painting. I came across Juno Sospita and found the one that fit what I had envisioned!

Fortunately for me my roommate participates in Medieval festivals and competes in period combat. So, I borrowed his spear and his friends shield. Coupled with my cloak and a mask I had just purchased in Venice I had all the props for the model.

It was an interesting experience working with a person who had never modeled before, and since I'm new to shooting models for a painting I too was learning. It was fun and we ended up getting some great shots.

I chose to place her against a scrubland backdrop to give her more of the medieval European feel, rather than something too abstract. I have an idea I've been playing around with for her hair to make her seem more cosmic... but I'll leave that as a surprise!

Advanced Painting / "Faucibus Orc [Nature]"

"Goddess Series: Faucibus Orci [Nature]"

© Vaughn Reynolds 2012

22" x 28" Oil on Canvas

Here she is with her fur coat all grown in! Coincidentally I just started watching Season One (yes, I know) of The Game of Thrones. I've read book one of the series, and I'm excited about how its playing out in live action! Now I look at this painting above and think, "winter is coming!"

Advanced Painting / "Faucibus Orci [Nature]"

IN PROGRESS

"Goddess Series: Faucibus Orci [Nature]"

© Vaughn Reynolds 2012

22" x 28" Oil on Canvas

Here is the almost finished version. When I get the time I'm going to glaze some color into the fur coat to break her form out of the now snowy birch-tree laden background. Now on to "Iaculus Ipso"...

TattooLaPalooza / "Faucibus Orci [Nature]" 2.0

It only took me a month, but I finally put some time aside to put up my pictures and experiences from TattooLaPalooza which happened on January 4-6th, 2012 in Miami!

Below are four progress shots of "Faucibus Orci" as I worked on it live at the show. I went with oil even though it's not really something you can rush through live at an event. The piece developed out of an image of VampireVoodoo I saw on Tumblr that I really liked. She's wearing a Spirit Hood and has a cherubic face contrasted by the septum and dimple piercings. I then thought just painting the chic would be too generic and I happen to love horns/antlers so I tossed those in. I also appreciate all things cephalopod but didn't want to put tentacles in this one, so I went with the eye; but it later turned into a goat eye which I will explain later. So with these elements I thought the piece was starting to come together well, but it needed something more. So I decided to go pop and put some acrylic swipes and drips for the underpainting of the piece.

While I was working on it, a guy walked by and asked if I had been in Juxtapoz. While that might sound like a compliment, it actually meant what I was doing was very derivative and looked unoriginal (unless I happened to be that artist from Juxtapoz)... so I spoke with some of the artists who happened to be my friends who were also painting live. Jeff Dekal suggested I add a body to the bottom of the piece so it looked less pop and so I got to sketching. I decided I would give her the Renaissance Jesus blessing hand position and turn the piece into an Earth Goddess piece riddled with religious symbolism that meant nothing except what the viewer might impose on it. I happen to like reading about semiotics and this is a fun way to integrate it because art can be so symbol-heavy.

I extended her hood down over her shoulders and left one breast exposed for fertility.

I started an Advanced Painting course the week after starting this and was allowed to use this (and the series I intend to do) as my assignments for the quarter! The piece is taking on more life, but I won't be posting those images just yet. ;)

TattooLaPalooza / "Faucibus Orci"

I will be posting up a full chronicle of my weekend with progress shots of my new personal piece, "Faucibus Orci". I love how the piece is coming along because it was one that sort of developed on it's own.

More info to come in the next few days!

TED / "Can art change the world?"

JR's TED Prize wish: Use art to turn the world inside out.

JR, a semi-anonymous French street artist, uses his camera to show the world its true face, by pasting photos of the human face across massive canvases. At TED2011, he makes his audacious TED Prize wish: to use art to turn the world inside out. Learn more about his work and learn how you can join in at insideoutproject.net.

Sketchbook / "Legacy of the Dragons"

"Sketchbook: Legacy of the Dragons"

"LotD: Aurora (Air)" (1 of 5)

8.5" x 11" Digital Painting

"LotD: Fjell (Earth)" (2 of 5)

8.5" x 11" Digital Painting

"LotD: Pyronos (Fire)" (3 of 5)

8.5" x 11" Digital Painting

"LotD: Serena (Water)" (4 of 5)

8.5" x 11" Digital Painting

"LotD: Mugen (Void)" (5 of 5)

8.5" x 11" Digital Painting

Here are my initial drawings and digital progress of the five Elder Elemental dragons from a story my friend is working on. These are wholly my take on them and their design, but spawned from his concept of the Origin Myth for his world. Each Elder is a mix of a couple real world creatures to break away from the stereotypical images we have seen for years. Now I get to start working on their bodies! Wooohooooh! ^_^

All Elements: Four eyes like the Jumping Spider

Air: Sea Dragon; Pronghorn

Earth: Giant Isopod; Rhinoceros

Fire: Gorilla; Markhor (<---new fave creature)

Water: Long-Nosed Chimaera

Void: Gulper Eel; Japanese Spider Crab

Animal Drawing / "Omnubai the Crass"

"Omnubai the Crass"

13" x 19" Character Design - 360º

"Omnubai the Crass"

13" x 19" Character Design - Faces and Poses

Animal drawing class assignment. Create a 3D rendered arthropod character. I went with Umbonia crassicornis, also known as the thornbug. They are indigenous to my home, Florida!

Time for some color!

Sci-Fi & Fantasy / "Pterois, Eye Tyrant"

"Pterois, Eye Tyrant"

Applied to assigned CCG Frame

"Pterois, Eye Tyrant"

2011

11" x 14" Digital Painting

"Pterois, Eye Tyrant"

Final Sketch

Here is the initial drawing and final digital painting for my CCG illustration! I love school. ^_^

Sci-Fi & Fantasy / "Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath"

"Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath"

2011

9" x 14.5" Digital Painting

We were assigned to do a cover illustration for a Sci-Fi or Fantasy novel we've read. The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath immediately came to mind, and those creepy obsidian merchants. I hadn't read it in a while, so I skimmed and found where the merchants were described. It was interestingly vague. No idea why I had such a vivid memory of how they looked in my head... but I guess that was the best reason to illustrate them!

Thanks to Chris Negelein for being a gangsta roommate and turning into a demon!

Multiversal / "Diamonds -N- The Ruff"

Kazilla's Multiversal Group Art Show is coming up again at Art Basel 2011!

Check out Diamonds -N- The Ruff, a fundraiser to the December event, and an after party for the Wynwood Art Walk!

On a side note, Kazilla brought me on as the Assistant Director and Artist Coordinator for Multiversal! I'm so flattered! >_<

Digital Illustration / "Itzel"

"Itzel"

2011

11" x 17" Digital Painting

Final painting for my Digital Illustration [Corel Painter] class. We worked using Painter 11. I like how it came out, and it's a huge step up from my previous paintings! Having a Wacom 21UX helped quite a bit too! :X Added the textures in the background via Photoshop. The subject, Itzel, is a friend of mine, who is just too beautiful not to be painted. With her permission, and an awesome photo © Kris Starry I was able to make this piece happen! Thanks ladies for being awesomesauce!

Conceptual Editorial / "Natalie Portman - Black Swan"

"Natalie Portman - Black Swan"

2011

8.5" x 11" Digital

Class assignment: Create a magazine cover with a famous/important individual with a narrative that describes a characteristic of the individual or their work. I like how this one came out.

Conceptual Editorial / "The Angry Monk"

"Mindfulness"

2011

Digital

"Impatience"

2011

Digital

Here are my two newest digital illustrations, which were done for my Conceptual Editorial class. We had to make an illustration (and subsequent spread) for an article. Some choices were given in class, and I went with one titled "The Angry Monk".

Now, the fun thing about this is as I was sketching my thumbnails I came up with an interesting idea. I had been reading up on i and the golden ratio recently, so my mind was in math-orientation, especially since I had also been reading up on spirituality and enlightenment. Anyway, I thought of this enlightenment fraction quantification: if your enlightenment/mindfulness/awareness (numerator) is equal to your impatience/unawareness (denominator) then you are at 1, meaning you are simply content; if your numerator is greater than your denominator, then your happiness is multiplied as you are at greater than 1; and if your numerator is less than your denominator, your happiness is a fraction of what it could be. It just came out, and is a simple way to describe the effects of enlightenment or mindfulness on your body/life/mentality.

Intermediate Painting / "Bacchus" "Banana Split"

"Even Bacchus Needs A Guinness"

2011

26" x 30" Oil on Hand-stretched Canvas

Master Copy of Peter Paul Rubens' "Two Satyrs"

Here is the final version of the piece I posted earlier. I submitted it to the 37th Annual Student Exhibition at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and was awarded the Judge's Choice Award! My first award was quite an awesome feeling!

"Banana Split"

2011

24" x 36" Oil on Canvas

Here is the progress on "Banana Split". All that's left is to add some color highlights to pop some elements out.

Hunting Party / "Flee" "Rest" "Shoot"

The following three pieces are illustrations © 2011 Hunting Party by Gorilla Games.

"Flee"

2011

Digital

"Rest"

2011

Digital

"Shoot"

2011

Digital

These three pieces are an interesting milestone. They are my first purely digital pieces done for freelance illustration. They are my first pieces done for a major art director that I have known of since I was a kid! And they are the second set of pieces done for a fantasy game. So, this is right up the alley I have dreamed of working in since I was young. I'm overwhelmed with excitement! I look forward to getting onto more projects and producing even more work!

Also, as for the two previos WIPs I posted ("Two Satyrs" & "Banana Split"), I will be getting nice shots of their finished forms to post soon!