State of the Artist 3/26/2014

View halloo, all!!

This week's update sees the fourth and final Work-a-Week Project painting, and the last week's Daily Doodle sketches. If you'd like to see these as they're completed every day, please Like my Facebook Page (HERE or search for Silvertales Studio in Facebook's search bar) or follow my Twitter feed (@silvertales) as I upload them there daily.

So sorry for the delay, post-con is always a rather crazy time!


Work-A-Week 2014 Project


Work-A-Week 4 (Day 27)

This piece didn't actually make the top 5 in terms of votes to be finished (it was in the top 7, though,) but I *really* wanted to work on it, and finish it in time to take prints to MegaCon (which I did!)

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Toning and building up my layers for the background with (you guessed it) Payne's Gray and Ultramarine Blue. I masked off the moon, figure, and city shape (which I added for the painting) with liquid frisket so I could just paint and not have to worry too much about keeping clean edges.

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More layers of paint for the cloudy night sky background, and adding in those defining shadows in the figure. I'm using the same mix of Payne's Gray and Ultramarine Blue for the figure.

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I used flat black India Ink for the body/mask and eyes and a mix of Cadmium Red/Alizarin Crimson for the hood/scarf thing.

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More tonal build up all around, both in the figure and in the background. You can see some of the salt sprinkled into the background for additional texture.

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Bringing the colors in the figure to life with more passes of color. I've dropped the Alizarin Crimson from the red paint blends now, to keep the hood/scarf thing warmer than the rest of the image. So, here it's all Cadmium Reds and a dash of Indian Red... and a touch of Copic markers to clean up some of the edges.

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Original Painting: $300
11x17" Watercolor, marker

Prints: $20

Like the other pieces completed this year, the sketch was enlarged from 9x12" to 11x14" and then slightly altered to work at 11x17" to take advantage of the format. I've done a lot of work in 11x17" lately, and I really like it! I've got another planned for 11x17" (that was always intended to be 11x17",) the next set of 4 in the Comic Nouveau series, and the other two Sketch-A-Day 2014 pieces that tied for 4th place that will also be done at 11x17".




Daily Doodle Batch #5:

This batch upload consists of the images from 3/17/14-3/23/14.

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I've included a commission or two from last weekend's MegaCon in the Daily Doodles, simply because I didn't really "doodle" while I was attending MegaCon, as I was busy manning my table and all the art I was doing over the weekend was convention/commission related.



If you have any questions or comments about any of the Daily Doodles, please leave them in the comments below, I'd be happy to answer any questions!! As the Daily Doodles Project is continuing throughout 2014, please feel free to leave prompts or suggestions, there are so many more days to go!! :)


I thank you for joining me again this week! Feedback is the food which fuels the creative discussion between Artist and Audience, please, feel free to comment or leave suggestions for new projects!


If you enjoy seeing posts of new or in-progress artwork, please consider a donation.

Become a patron of the arts!

Feel free to post links to this journal/community if you feel there might be interest in my artwork!

State of the Artist: 3/17/2014

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

View halloo, all!!

This week's update sees the third Work-a-Week Project painting, and the last week's Daily Doodle sketches. If you'd like to see these as they're completed every day, please Like my Facebook Page (HERE or search for Silvertales Studio in Facebook's search bar) or follow my Twitter feed (@silvertales) as I upload them there daily.

Just a head's up, next week's update may be delayed as Monday, the 24th is a travel day for me. I'll be heading back home after MegaCon this coming weekend, and so probably won't have all my sketches uploaded in time to update on Monday. I'll also try to include something of a con report for MegaCon!



Work-A-Week 2014 Project


Work-A-Week 3 (Day 9)
I do have a few WIP pics for this piece, and the finished piece will follow. Day 9 and Day 21 (The Nebula Dress) tied for the most requested sketches to be completed this year. It took me a while to get around to this one, as it was both an emotionally draining piece and I have a tendency to overthink the practical process of just *how* I'm going to complete a painting... thereby, usually making any painting project more difficult that it actually has to be. >.< * * *

Toning the ground with washes of Ultramarine Blue and Payne's Gray, building up where I'm going to put the writhing shadow mass of ugliness bearing down on the figure in the forefront. I originally tried using liquid frisket for all the areas I wanted clean and sharp (the eyes and mouths) but, what I had ended up eating away at the paper, so I simply did my best to paint around those areas, leaving the paper as close to untouched as possible.

For the shadow mass, I'm working wet-on-wet to get as much blurred-edge bleed as I can. This is 3 passes, I think, of the Ultramarine Blue/Payne's Gray mixture.

(I went through a LOT of Ultramarine Blue and Payne's Gray during this year's project!)

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More build up, another 3 or 4 passes, and starting to include the defining shadows on the figure, using the same Ultramarine Blue/Payne's Gray mix to keep everything feeling cohesive.

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The finishing passes of the blue and gray washes, along with some more intense blue/gray mix for definition around the eyes and sharpening up the mouths/fangs. Added some white acrylic paint here, too, for definition. Also laying down a few washes of color for the figure in the front.

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Original Painting: $300
11x17" Watercolor, marker

Like the other two pieces completed this year, the sketch was enlarged from 9x12" to 11x14" and then slightly altered to work at 11x17" to take advantage of having the shadow mass looming over the girl in the front. I've become quite enamored of the 11x17" format ever since completing the first 4 pieces of the Comic Nouveau Project last year. (There WILL be more, promise!)

A few light passes of Copic marker were applied over the figure in the foreground, just to sharpen her up and smooth out the llight tones I had been working with. Watercolor paper sucks up alcohol-based pigment like *crazy!*



Daily Doodle Batch #4:

This batch upload consists of the images from 3/10/14-3/16/14, which now puts me right on schedule.

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Why, yes, I AM doodling a lot of LOTR/Tolkien-related doodles.... why do you ask? :)

In my personal headcanon, since Tolkien didn't really give us a lot to work with when it comes to the House of Oropher (Thranduil's father and Legolas' grandfather,) I choose to believe Thranduil is a rather doting dad who, while he can be fearsome to the outside world, is basically a giant, indulgent, soft-hearted, gooey-centered marshmallow when it comes to his son... particularly when he's tiny and adorable and precocious. :)


Monthly Postcard Project

March's postcard mails out today!




If you have any questions or comments about any of the Daily Doodles, please leave them in the comments below, I'd be happy to answer any questions!! As the Daily Doodles Project is continuing throughout 2014, please feel free to leave prompts or suggestions, there are so many more days to go!! :)


I thank you for joining me again this week! Feedback is the food which fuels the creative discussion between Artist and Audience, please, feel free to comment or leave suggestions for new projects!


If you enjoy seeing posts of new or in-progress artwork, please consider a donation.

Become a patron of the arts!

Feel free to post links to this journal/community if you feel there might be interest in my artwork!

State of the Artist 3/10/2014

I suppose, due to the mixed content nature of the posts, I'm technically launching the State of the Artist series for 2014 now....

View halloo, all!!

I *think* I'm caught up with everything now... maybe? I've reposted Work-A-Week #2 for this post because I've included the handful of WIP pics I remembered to take for this painting. I'm also including the previous week's Daily Doodle sketches. If you'd like to see these as they're completed every day, please Like my Facebook Page (HERE or search for Silvertales Studio in Facebook's search bar) or follow my Twitter feed (@silvertales) as I upload them there daily.



Work-A-Week 2014 Project


Work-A-Week 2 (Day 28)
I do have a few WIP pics for this piece, and the finished piece will follow.



This is my set up in the kitchen. Unlike my usual set up in the dining room, the light is directly overhead in the kitchen, so the light is a lot better here. The photocopy seen just off to the right is actually for the nebula painting and is the only WIP pic I remembered to take. >.<

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Toning the ground with a wash of Ultramarine Blue and Payne's Gray, building up where I know I'm going to want darker concentrations later: storm clouds, piles of bodies, etc, and keeping it light in the center, where it will "shine" down on the figure.

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More build up, putting in the tower on the left, and adding a little texture to the rise it sits on.

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Starting the underpainting for the figure, putting in the shadows in the same Ultramarine Blue and Payne's Gray mix to keep the shadows consistent with the mood of the rest of the painting.

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The final refining of the darks I want in the storm clouds, bodies, figure and drapery. This was the last step before the little bits of color I added. I wanted this piece to have a very monochromatic feel with a very subtle skin tone, leaving just the deep reds of the banner to pop.

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Original Painting: $300
11x17" Watercolor

This piece was also enlarged to 11x17 from the original 9x12" drawing and is completed entirely in watercolor, mostly Ultramarine blue, Payne's Gray, and a *tiny* bit of Burnt Umber. This is one of those concept images that keeps coming back to me, expanded and slightly different every time. While I do like this execution, I am sure I'll revisit it at least a few more times until I'm confident that I've gotten the concept behind the image to say what I want it to.

Daily Doodle Batch #3:

This batch upload consists of the images from 3/1/14-3/9/14, next week's update should be back on schedule for the Daily Doodle batch uploads. *crosses fingers*

This past Saturday was my birthday, and it wasn't the best day ever, so the March 8/Day 67 doodle is a bit depressing...


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Monthly Postcard Project

The January original for the Monthly Postcard Project is now available for purchase to the general public!



January's original measures 5x8" and is ink, marker, and white conte crayon on Toned Tan drawing paper. It's $20USD plus $4/$8 USD shipping domestic/international. If interested, please email silvertales[at]gmail[dot]com using "January Postcard Original" in the subject line!



Near Future

Aside from continuing the Daily Doodles Project and finishing up the Work-a-Week 2014 Project posts, the Near Future sees my first convention of 2014!

MegaCon Orlando, FL / March 21-23

I will be at an Artist Alley table all weekend with prints and originals, and taking commissions, so come on by!!



If you have any questions or comments about any of the Daily Doodles, please leave them in the comments below, I'd be happy to answer any questions!! As the Daily Doodles Project is continuing throughout 2014, please feel free to leave prompts or suggestions, there are so many more days to go!! :)


I thank you for joining me again this week! Feedback is the food which fuels the creative discussion between Artist and Audience, please, feel free to comment or leave suggestions for new projects!


If you enjoy seeing posts of new or in-progress artwork, please consider a donation.

Become a patron of the arts!

Feel free to post links to this journal/community if you feel there might be interest in my artwork!

Originals for Sale: Monthly Postcard Project 2013

View halloo, all!

This is a supplementary post to list the 2013 Monthly Postcard Project original artwork pieces that are still available for purchase. I've had interest from a number of subscribers of the pieces I still have, so I figured I'd just post them up here.

There is a small blurb about the piece, along with dimensions and asking price with each entry.

If you're interested in any of the following pieces, please email me at: silvertales[at]gmail[dot]com with Monthly Postcard Original Artwork in the subject line!

April 2013:
A dark elf priestess and her wolfy familiar!
Ink, watercolor, and gold ink 6x8": $30



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August 2013:
Etched and glowing vampire skull with wings!
Ink, marker, white ink 5.5x8.5": $20



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September 2013:
Surreal discombobulated eyes!
Ink, watercolor, white ink 6x8":$20



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October 2013:
Something suitably spooky for the month that features Halloween!
Ink, marker, white charcoal, white ink 5.5x8.5": $25



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November 2013:
My personal favorite, my Napping Naga!
Ink, marker, white charcoal, white ink 5.5x8.5":






If you enjoy seeing posts of new or in-progress artwork, please consider a donation.

Become a patron of the arts!

Feel free to post links to this journal/community if you feel there might be interest in my artwork!

State of the Artist 11/4/2013

View halloo!

A bit later than my usual Monday postings, I know, but it is still Monday here on Planet Kit, so I'm not late! :) I know I said I'd have the Holiday card Request post up before this week's State of the Artist, but that just didn't end up happening. There's been a whole raft of maintenance issues on the Home Front to take care of over the last week. It's almost like everything in the house decided to go on strike all at once! I plan to have it posted this week, however, so be on the lookout!

That said, let's get on with the update, and it's going to be a woefully short one this week!



Weekly Words

From the body of one guilty deed a thousand ghostly fears and haunting thoughts proceed.
- William Wordsworth, 1770 - 1850



Current Project

While my Current Projects include working on the November postcard image and getting things set up for the Holiday Card Request post, I do have a new personal piece in the works... sort of.

Unfortunately, there are no images, as I'm having difficulties with transferring my original sketch to a suitable substrate without altering the original sketch lines. I PLAN (and I say plan loosely, as plans change once they go from concept to practice) to complete the newest piece in watercolors, but it's larger than I usually work in this medium.

Ordinarily, I would run the paper through my printer to transfer a washed out scan of my original pencils to the surface... however, I'm working on hot press illustration board that is too wide for the printer and is a much thicker, more rigid surface than watercolor paper.

Any of you out there have any suggestions for another transfer method, please let me know!



Monthly Postcard Project

The September Monthly Postcard Project image is available for sale to the general public!



The September image is 5.5"x8.5" ink and watercolor on watercolor paper, $25USD + shipping ($6USD domestic US/$9USD international.) If interested, please send an email with silvertales[at]gmail[dot]com with "September Monthly Postcard Project original" in the subject line.



Near Future

As mentioned, the Near Future brings the November postcard original, along with the plans for the Holiday Card request post. I also hope to have the next four pieces in the Comic Nouveau series done before Christmas! *fingers crossed*

As, I'm now officially done with convention appearances for 2013, hopefully, there will be more time to work on new personal art and open up a few commission slots, as well!



Well, I think that's all for this week's State of the Artist update here on Planet Kit.

I thank you for joining me again this week! Feedback is the food which fuels the creative discussion between Artist and Audience, please, feel free to comment or leave suggestions for new projects!


If you enjoy seeing posts of new or in-progress artwork, please consider a donation.

Become a patron of the arts!

Feel free to post links to this journal/community if you feel there might be interest in my artwork!