I haven't really been wanting to draw or paint lately. I have a lot of stacked up artwork that's going nowhere, and no commission work or sales. But I did feel like just doing some watercolor portraits of comic book characters. This one's a work in progress I just started today, about half an hour in. Still working on it and not using any reference material:
After seeing the photograph of it, I see that I've got quite a bit of work to do.
It's been a while since I've posted anything on here, but I was just recently informed that I will be having a solo exhibit in Mount Pleasant, Michigan at Art Reach Art Gallery June 5th through June 28th, I do believe. I can't remember when the reception is, but the focus of the exhibit is my My Heroes series. Here are two works in progress that I'm adding to "My Heroes" series. The black and white drawing is charcoal of Jack Nicholson in "The Last Detail", and the painting is an oil painting of cartoonist Sergio Aragones.
I started a series of artwork of Sammy Hagar era Van Halen after Eddie Van Halen passed away. His death hit harder than I'd expect. I'm always doing Hagar portraits, so I've accumulated a small series of artwork of Sammy Hagar. I was hoping to share my work with fellow Redheads (fans of the Red Rocker Sammy Hagar), but I don't see it happening. So, here's my tribute to Sammy Hagar and Van Halen
I've been working on this friggin' drawing for a few months off and on. It's 24"x18" graphite on mounted paper. I haven't drawn solo Sammy Hagar in a while.
Gotta say...I kinda hate drawing hair. And guitars. And hands. At least there's no guitar in this one.
I just finished a new Popeye series painting of Olive Oyl. 8x10 canvas. It was a quickie painting. I'll have it for sale in my Etsy shop soon (it'll take a while for shipping: it has to dry).
I've been painting a David Lee Roth era Van Halen tribute portrait with the intention to sell. It's very close to done. It's oil on 20x16 canvas. I charge by size for up to 3 subjects. 16x20 drawing or painting is $320 plus shipping and handling.
I posted January 29th a photo of my recent drawing for my Van Halen Tribute series. That photo is here:
This is where that drawing is as of March 24th:
Now, I don't work on it every day, but I work on it a few days a week for 1-4 hours a day.
I've done a drawing or painting for each tour with Sammy Hagar except the OU812 tour. That's the next project, though. I'm trying to do full band images to celebrate what I always loved about the band: teamwork and camaraderie.
I was inspired by the photo this painting is based on. Something about the image was so sweet and genuine, I had to paint her. It's an adorable little girl napping, and the bright pinks popping out got my attention.
I've been a huge fan of Mel Brooks for as long as I can remember. I've seen all of his movies and a lot of his appearances. This is the 2nd installment of my Mel Brooks section of my "Heroes" series. This is a 9"x12" graphite drawing.
This is only the 2nd time I've been hired to do a painting at a wedding. This was about 3 hours' work. Oil on canvas, 16"x20". I took it home to finish it by adding faces (too far away to see and they were only standing there for 15 minutes! Cut me some slack).
I just made a painting live at a wedding. This is only the 2nd time I've done it. It's tough because although I get there early to paint the background and surroundings, I don't know where exactly the bride and groom will be until they're both at the altar reciting vows. That might take 15 minutes at the most! They're only up there for a few minutes so I have to rush! I take a couple photos to look at, but outdoor weddings are rough because of various lighting. This one was no different, as the sun was lighting them up from BEHIND them, so my camera basically picked up silhouettes.
Anyway, this is what I ended up with. I brought it home to finish it. I spent a total of 3 1/2 hours on it, with 15 of those minutes on the figures. 16"x20" oil painting.
I've been working on this drawing all Summer (2 months, really, of 2022), and I finally finished. This photo is blurry, but you get the gist. It's graphite on paper (#2 mechanical pencil), roughly 24"x18". This is part of my Popeye series, which is part of my "My Heroes" series. It's ever-growing.
There is slideshow of the progress of the drawing on my TikTok and Instagram
I've done a lot of artwork inspired by my favorite band and favorite singer/musician VAN HALEN and SAMMY HAGAR. After Eddie Van Halen's death, I was (I don't want to say inspired) to make art to celebrate the music and band VAN HALEN, specifically the Sammy Hagar lineup that I first got into and was inspired by. Below are examples of those pieces.
I'm feeling that itch again, but more towards Sammy related, but I don't know if I want to do VH era, Montrose, solo or current (with "The Circle"). Below are samples of work I've done of Sammy and for Sammy. I'll be seeing him in concert again this Summer, so I might do something for him (it's been 10 years, why not?).
