City Lights III

City Lights III

1920 x 1600

SketchBook

well, i'm near the end and i just ain't got the time,

and i'm wasted and i can't find my way home.

-- Blind Faith, Can't Find My Way Home

City Lights II

City Lights II

1600 x 1920

SketchBook

the stars are out tonight. look up. 

Happy Lunar New Year 2023

Wishing y'alls who are celebrating a Happy and Prosperous Lunar New Year 2023! 🐰🐇🧧🎇

This is a fanart/tribute to an old Chinese New Year joke/meme back in the day, immortalised in a parody trailier made by SGAG about one of the scariest snacks to ever exist on this planet.

If y'alls curious, you can check this trailer out. 

A version without the title. 

City Lights

City Lights
3080 x 1923
SketchBook

well it's time to leave the darkness baby

it's time for us to know

not that we got lost my baby

i've seen you grow

i could see it in your eyes

the city lightning

i just wanna see your eyes

in city lightning

-- HAEVN, City Lights

Something a little somber. Been studying more of Simon Stålenhag's paintings from TALES FROM THE LOOP, and I re-learned something from them recently -- and I have to thank my colleague who pointed this detail out -- that sometimes not everything needs to be in focus, but only that which is important for the picture.

Ashes Upon The Kinloch Bravo

Ashes Upon The Kinloch Bravo

1920 x 1600

SketchBook

I have recently started watching this show on Prime, called THE RIG, and I am enjoying it so far. Moody atmosphere, organisational politics, a group of people stuck in the middle of the sea in the midst of something strange -- and potentially Lovecraftian -- (guys in hi-vis and work coveralls); what's not to love? 

Here are the illustration without the title, and a close-up of our oil rig technician. 

Welcome HOME

Welcome H̴̡̢̛̘̬̤̺̤̳̪̯̯̱͎̯̪͍̍͗̂̐͐͗͗̆͆͋̈́͊̎̊̚͝͝͠ͅƠ̶̧͎͎͔͚͂̈͌̔͛̓͆̈́̓̒́̊̊̓̕͜M̴͈͕̗̂͋̀̌̈́͐͐͂̃́̓̓̃̽̇̌̑̇̚E̸͙̼̣̗̠̲̊̒̓̌̿̓͛͋́̓͗͑̓̓̓̋̇̔͛͌̑̍̓̕̚͘͜͝͝͝͝
3248 × 2030
SketchBook

Don't mind the glitchy text. That is intentional. 😝

Something a little different from my usual stuff. Saw this in my head last night just before falling asleep. Not sure what it means though. 🤔

Here are some close-ups and sketches. 

Beyond Saving

Beyond Saving

1920 x 1600

SketchBook

I was very recently acquainted with the art of Simon Stålenhag and also just started watching TALES FROM THE LOOP. I am deeply enthralled and inspired by the atmosphere and the mood and the stories told by both Stålenhag's works and also the show, so much so that I thought I'd use that inspiration for my next practice on composition. 

Eurydice

Eurydice
1920 x 1600
SketchBook

Lately I have been feeling somewhat lousy about a couple of things where painting is concerned. At least with my last piece of work (my first for 2023), I realised that I have heavily regressed to purely working instinctively again, and in struggling to bring the piece to life, it has made me realise what I might still need a great deal of work on: composition, tone and perspective. 

So I went in search of an instructional video on composition -- which I really should have done in the past, or if I did, probably should have paid more attention -- and I found this one, which helped a great deal. 

I do highly recommend this video. Do check it out, if you haven't. The explanations are delivered quite well, and there are pretty solid examples given in here too. I haven't seen the rest of the series, but I plan to continue (hopefully). 

Anyways, having seen the video, I took out my stylus and phone and started making a sketch, very reminiscent of some of the examples you will see in the video.

I was surprised at the sense of depth this sketch was able to achieve, and I felt quite happy about it, even without any sort of details on it. This was... I think... my first conscious experience of this particular aspect of making art. 

After the sketch, I went straight into painting and adding in the details almost very instinctively -- which was fine seeing as there was already work done for the foundation, and I didn't have to guess how the picture would generally look like anymore. 

Once again, a solid foundation makes for a more fulfilling and satisfying painting process. And fun too. 

Anyways, here's the close-up of our little 'Opheus' character. Why Orpheus? Because as I filled in the details, I began to realise that I may have been subconsciously inspired by SONG OF ORPHEUS from THE SANDMAN graphic novel. 

Happy New Year 2023!

Adventure awaits! Wishing y'alls Love and Happiness and Hope for 2023! HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!