Malo

George

Digital Studies

I'm still alive and I'm still drawing. Most of my doodles are on newsprint or in a sketchbook, which I'm too busy to photograph these days. However, I'd like to keep the cobwebs off this page and sweep the old stuff under the rug, so here's a new post.

Below are a few digital studies from life and reference done over the past couple of months. The portraits are based off of black-and-white images from the Fairburn System of Visual Reference, a classic set of reference volumes for illustrators. I'm starting to develop a good process for painting digitally using a minimal set of tools.

I plan on doing more of these.

Breaking off is misery

I began this doodle at a sketch group session last night and finished it a few minutes ago. As you might have guessed, I've been looking at Jana Schirmer and Benjamin's paintings a lot lately. Those two are so good!

I don't know why I like to paint sad girls. Maybe because I'm always so happy, I feel like I need to counterbalance it somehow.

Or perhaps I'm still in shock over Satoshi Kon's passing. I really loved his films, and to hear that he passed away at such a young age breaks my heart.

Brant

9" x 12", oil on canvas board

Three hours.

Adrienne

9" x 12", oil on canvas board

Four hours. I normally don't sign my paintings, but this one turned out well, so...

Heather

9" x 12", oil on canvas board

Five hours. Trying out a method of painting directly a la Morgan Weistling in which you start from one feature, resolve it to a finish, and use that as the standard to go by as you fan out towards the edges of the canvas. I find this process fits my perfectionist personality well, and it's a really fun way to paint too, because you're constantly drawing and refining.

Malo

9" x 12", oil on canvas board

Four hours.

Jadyn

9" x 12", oil on canvas board

Four hours.

Vikki

Vikki as Joan of Arc

Four hours in Photoshop.

Roxanne

Photoshop, four hours. I got a bit of flak for bringing a laptop and Wacom tablet into an uninstructed painting workshop today. I honestly don't see why it's such a big deal. To me, tools are tools. It's what you do with them that really matters. People need to be more open-minded about these things.

Pink

No reference but my daydreams. This girl has been bouncing around in my head for the past couple of days, bugging me to let her out. Had no choice but to oblige. It feels great to draw in a more cartoony style - too much realism can sometimes give you the blues.

Nicole

9" x 12". Three hours.

Heather

Four hours, 11" x 14". We're working with a warm/cool palette of seven colors (titanium white, lemon yellow, yellow ochre, cadmium red light, alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue, ivory black) in my figure painting class right now. It's liberating to work with so many options.

Stephanie

Four hours. 11" x 14". Here's my last alla prima for 2009. Looking back through my old posts this year, I'm thrilled to see I've grown a lot as a painter. I wonder what the new year - and new decade - will bring? I can't wait to find out. See you folks in 2010!

Sarah

Three-and-a-half hours. I kind of went overboard here and gave her a Farrah Fawcett 'do!

Eddie

Three hours. This dude was pretty fun to paint. Every time his eyelids flipped up and down, it felt like umbrellas were opening indoors.

Doodle Before Sleep #2

Two hours on and off. Used reference for the hair. I wonder how long I can keep this up.

Doodle Before Sleep #1

45 minutes. No ref. I should do quick doodles like these before I head to bed every night to exercise and strengthen my imagination. As vital as drawing from life is, it is also equally important to devote time to draw from memory as well. The two will build upon each other.

Amy

Four hours. 11" x 14".