Latest Happenings - Cons, Arts, Website Re-Vamp

I feel like I say this every few months, but I'm really REALLY going to try to blog more. And yes, I know I just cursed myself. And I'm also going to get myself an Instagram account that I'll totally use!

....


*sigh*

Ok, before the actual content, I'll just say that you can also find me on Facebook and follow my feed there, which is updated much more regularly.

Anyway... things! Stuff! I recently had a table at RetroGameCon in Syracuse, NY!

My set-up... darn the weird color-shifting overhead lights!

I had a fun time, sold most of my originals, and got to chat to many very nice people! I also worked on a couple small paintings while there, one of Harley Quinn and one of Batgirl.

Harleen

Barbara

I'm going to touch up both pieces a bit more, then varnish and frame them and take them down to MoCCA Fest in the Spring (though they are available to purchase if you don't want to wait, just email me at heather@ryersonillustration.com).

I'm also working on a book cover project for author Danny Knestaut. The book is titled Arachnodactyl, and is a really wonderful steampunk-flaired novel. Once the final rough sketch is approved, I'll be putting up a lot of painting process posts/pics. Also in the works is a large Norse Mythology themed project, part of which will be incorporated into an upcoming art book being put together by an extremely talented group of women artists.

Lastly, my website is soon to be updated... and it needs it! I'm going for a much cleaner design, and will be adding a section back in for some of my sketches, studies, and general art wanderings in addition to my finished illustrations.

So that's all for now.... until next time!

RetroGameCon Sketches!

I'm gearing up for RetroGameCon, a convention dedicated to old-school videogames, cosplay, and art, held at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, NY on November 14th. I have a table this year, and in addition to prints of paintings and originals, I'm working on some original sketches to sell.

I warmed up with Game of Thrones, but will be moving onto some Chrono Trigger pieces next.

If you're in the area, come see me at RetroGameCon! It's a fun, and growing, convention. Sort of a perfect way to spend an otherwise bleak November Saturday, eh?

Mad Max Fury Road!

I am OBSESSED with the new Mad Max movie. So far I've seen it 3 times in the theater (and I usually hate going to movie theaters), with plans to see it a fourth time.

With obsession comes art. I want to create a Nux/Capable piece, and maybe a few quick character study paintings. I've done a few sketches of Nux and Capable to practice their likenesses. These are all from movie stills, unfortunately.

But soon.... soon I will make an original piece worthy to ride with me to the gates of Valhalla! WITNESS ME!

Model Mayhem

Not a long post today, just another unpaid endorsement.

Model Mayhem is a godsend!

I use models for all my pieces. Many times I grab family/friends. My sister is featured in many of my pieces, and has made for a wonderful model over the years... but she just can't be my model for EVERYTHING. And living in a small town means I can't skip on down to the local modeling agency, like many, say, New York City-dwelling artists can.

But there's Model Mayhem.

It's a listing service for models/photographers/artists. I was thinking there couldn't possibly be many models in my area who would be willing to come to little Oneida.... turns out, there's tons of them! I've found a few models through there now, and have had great results.

I endorse the site with the caveat that users have to keep in mind that the site can't guarantee the models will be good... but with the available networking to check references and such, it's incredibly handy.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Palette Re-Arrangement

To continue with my studio changes this year, I've also reorganized my palette.

My physical palette is the center of my studio and one of my most prized possessions. It is a 2'x4' sheet of glass taped down to MDF... room to mix, easy to scrape down, and when on top of wheeled shelves, able to carry around my entire career, more or less.

While I love my palette, I've been thinking recently that I'm not making full use of all the space I have on it to mix. For the past few years, I've set up my paints with warms on one side, cools on the other, and a section for acrylics.

Cool side (and acrylics)

Warm side

As you can kind of see on the warm side, my paints eventually start creeping away from the edge, and sort of block off that back corner. As I mixed my pools of mud or lines of colors shifting from warms to cool, I recently felt more and more often that I needed more room. And my palette is already pretty large! I'm not painting murals here, either. So now, I'm going to try out keeping my paints on two adjoining sides, in an L shape.

The paints

The SPACE!

I kept my cools in the same spot, but moved over all the warms. This has netted me quite a bit more mixing room, as the warm paints are in a spot I rarely used to mix anyway. The real estate freed up is prime space close to whatever painting I'm working on, as well.

So far, so good! I thought I would keep reaching to where the warm paints had been, but that hasn't been the case so far. I'm now able to mix enough of almost all my colors to do nearly the whole piece without a lot of re-mixing, which is helping me keep my colors consistent, as well as being a time-saver.

New Year: New Paint, New Palette Arrangement

Time for a Standard New Year Post About New Things. And to be honest, I actually started these changes just before Christmas, but this makes for a much more timely post to pretend it's a New Year's thing.

First change, I'm switching my paint brand almost entirely. Since I started painting in oil years ago, I've used mostly Gamblin and Winsor & Newton paints. This was mostly due to availability. Recently, I began purchasing some colors in the Williamsburg brand. I've liked what I've gotten so much, that I decided to keep purchasing the Williamsburg paints and hopefully switch over entirely to them.

Of course, some colors might not be what I want and I may stay with Gamblin or Winsor & Newton, but so far I've switched out about 5 or so colors and was quite pleased with them.

The ultimate test for me was Alizarin Crimson. It's definitely my favorite color to paint with, so if nothing else, THAT color had to stand the test. And it does beautifully. Following is a comparison:

I bought these at the same time, and you can see which one I preferred

First thing to note, I think the outside color guide is MUCH more accurate on the Williamsburg tube. That's not a big deal when you're already familiar with the color, but it's nice when you're considering a new one.

Blood red, I love it so!

See? You get a truer sense of the color with the Williamsburg guide. But what actually sells me on the paint itself is the texture and body.

There's a lot of Neo Megilp buid-up on my palette knife handle...

So the Winsor & Newton looks all smooth and pretty, but if you notice, there's a little pool of suspension at the edges and the color thins out fast. It's TOO smooth. The Williamsburg retains a nice body, without too much suspension, and thus better pigment integrity. It has a lovely buttery type of feel (I'm very tactile-oriented), and stands up beautifully with my medium, even thinned as a glaze. I've found this true of all the colors I've tried thus far (Raw Umber, Naples Yellow, Italian Terra Rosa, Davy's Grey, and Payne's Grey).

The last time I got paint, I needed some Cadmium Red Deep, but the store I purchase from was totally out of it in Williamsburg, so I had to get it in Winsor & Newton. As if to REALLY point out why I switched, even after massaging the tube a bit to mix up the paint, it still came out like this:

My blood is bleeding

Blegh! Maybe I'm too finicky, but I hate those pools of suspension. I haven't had that happen yet with the Williamsburgs.

And lastly, I also like that Williamsburg is a local company. They were bought out by Golden a couple years ago, but Golden is also a great company, and still local. Whenever possible, I like to shop local.

Here is Williamsburg's website for more information.

Next post will be about my new palette arrangement!

Let's Get This Baby Back On The Road!

I haven't updated this blog in uh.... quite a while. I'm always jumping around to projects and never think I have anything useful to say! But then I realized I do plenty of useful things around the studio and do have an opinion or two on illustration in general that others might find insightful. So time to make this blog a regular part of my studio life!

In addition to posts about illustration and oil painting, I'll also keep this as a place to put up my current work-in-progress... things that wouldn't be as a finished piece on my website, etc. With that in mind, here is a sneak peek at my current work-in-progress, dedicated to Red Letter Media's Rich Evans.

I'd put up the finished pencils, but I'm hoping the overall piece will be a fun surprise.

EDIT: Completely and absolutely by accident, this post was created a year to the day since my last one. Divine providence or a sign of impending failure?