I can't believe that is has been almost 2 months since I last wrote an email to you!  Between my day job, my night job, family commitments and the weather, this has been one of the craziest Holiday Seasons I have ever had.

I am excited to say that I am about to start a major commission very shortly, and will finish a drawing that has taken nearly 10 years (off and on) to complete. Since I kind of bogged down after we finished the big Marilyn Monroe gift for our son last year, I'm excited to get working again, as there are some 'special' projects that I want to do this year of Playmates and Internet models to enhance the portfolio.  Stay tuned, as I will send updates as I can.

In the meantime, please enjoy this art from 7 years ago of one of the best fine art nude models I've seen, Ann Mitch.  Her supple body could be twisted into so many great poses, she is a truly spectacular lady.

From Photo to Art: Sabrina

One of my most challenging, yet rewarding commissions, was a portrait pinup illustration I did for a wine label.  I was hired by the owners of Wein-Bauer Inc. , a wine distribution company in the Chicago area, to create a pinup style color illustration for one of their vintages, and the model was to be their daughter, Sabrina Bauer.

The clients hired my photographer friend, Rob Domaschuk (who also shot the reference shots for me of Playboy model Carlotta Champagne.  Rob rented a studio in Elmhurst, where met Sabrina, her mother and her MUA friend.  Although this was Sabrina's first professional photography shoot, she was a natural pinup--striking beauty, lovely curves, and she took direction very well.  The session went very well, and after a couple of hours, Rob shot some nice pics, and we eventually chose the top photo as reference.

 I drew an outline of the photo in pencil on Bristol board,  and then proceeded to start coloring Sabrina's hair.  I wanted to add a lot of detail and contrast there. (2nd Photo)  I moved down to her face and arms to get the proper blend of colors for her skin tones.  Colored pencil is different than my normal medium, graphite, which I mostly blend with my fingers.  Colored pencil won't blend that way, so I needed to layer different colors on top of each other, then use the colorless blender to smooth out the edges.  It takes more patience on my part to get the desired results

I really concentrated on the skin tones and hair first, as they were the more difficult parts to capture.  As you can see from photos #3 and #4, I gradually built up the colors on Sabrina's arms and legs.  I also made her dress much tighter and shorter.  As you can see from the reference photos, I started working on her shoes at this point, trying to get a more slender shoe style.


In Photo #5, you can see that I had a the dress almost completed, and began working on the stool on which she sat. While I was still working on the skin tones, Sabrina was for the most part complete.  The drawing is being to take shape, and some of the minor elements, like the wine glass, are being detailed.

  

Photo #6 shows the completed drawing as delivered to the client.  Per their suggestions, the stool was changed completely from what I originally laid out.  the dress was white with blue tones to create the folds and shading, as was the stool cover (slightly darker).  I emphasized the tones in Sabrina's legs, with some white highlighting, and made her lips ruby red, as befits the retro style pinup. And I made her shoes into pumps, so they would be more slender to accentuate her legs.


Overall, everyone was happy with the product; however, it didn't photograph well and was too wide proportionately for the wine label, and couldn't be used.  It was disappointing, but Sabrina was very happy with  the art, and she took it for her personal use.  This made the whole project extremely satisfying--while I didn't make the cut for the label, a young lady was very pleased with the artwork, which is a great thing.

Learning From the Master Leonardo

I recently saw a documentary on our local PBS station about one of my favorite artists of all time, Leonardo da Vinci. One of my favorite artists of all time, and especially of the Renaissance, da Vinci was the true Renaissance man---artist, inventor, mathematician, scientist.  He is credited with being the first person to study the biology of the human body by dissecting cadavers, his notebooks filled with detailed figure drawings from those dissections.  He also studied how water moved, he even drew designs for the first flying machines

One of Leonardo's painting trademarks was the use of sfumato, which is a style that eliminates the use of contour lines and creates outlines with the use of color only. It gives the art a 'smoky' effect, which can add drama and realism to the painting.  One of his most famous examples is the portrait he painted known as Mona Lisa.

I have always been a fan of the sfumato technique, and often incorporate a version of it in my drawings.  Below is an example of my "Renaissance" style, an art class project I did, in which I borrowed heavily from the master of both technique and subject matter.  This Madonna and Child was drawn with charcoal pencil on charcoal paper, it was the preliminary drawing for a painting.  I tried to use the 'smoky' technique in the folds of Our Lady's gown, the background, and the skin folds.

In this drawing of  Playboy's very first Cyber Girl of the Year, Alicia Burley, I tried to use the shading to distinguish the various body parts from each other.  Alicia has such lovely curves, and this art seemed to lend itself to using a variation of the sfumato technique.

In my progression as an artist, it's important not to stagnate.  After watching this special on da Vinci, I have decided to try to incorporate the <b>shading sfumato</b> again in my art.  I hope you'll like it.

Happy Holidays!

I know it seems early to offer up this type of greeting (unless you've walked into any retail store in the USA!), but I want to let you know of some exciting things we are promoting for holiday gift giving:

*From November 2, 2013 to December 31, 2013, we are offering 25% off the price of the print itself (not materials or shipping). Depending on the size, you can save a lot of money on a high-quality print of any one of my art pieces that is for sale. Use Discount Code EYSBRR in your shopping cart.

*Order a 13" x 19" print of any of my pieces for only $10 (plus shipping). These are printed on high quality presentation paper in a matte finish, and can be printed on demand. Buy 3 and pay only $25 (plus shipping). Contact me here for more information.



HOLIDAY COMMISSIONS
My schedule is filling up, but there MAY still be time to order your holiday commission! What away to say Merry Christmas. Contact me here for information and pricing.

A Playboy Model Tease

I have been working on a drawing of former Playboy Cyber Girl Misty Dawn for a long time--9 years, in fact! This has been an off-and-on project, and up until this year, the largest drawing I ever attempted at 30" by 20." It is a black and white graphite drawing based on several references, but mostly on her Cyber Girl of the Week photos from August 2004, taken by Sam T'ang. Below is a very recent Work In Progress shot of Misty's head.

 
I'm going to try to finish this in the next few weeks, before Holiday Commissions need to be started.  This is the last WIP that I'll post until it's completed.


FACEBOOK FAN PAGE
Come join my Facebook Fan Page! I upload updates, news, Works In Progress and more.  We have over 1800 fans already, and I'd like to include you.  Click here to 'Like.'

MODEL MAYHEM  PROFILE
Did you know I've had a profile at Model Mayhem since 2006? I have met numerous models, photographers, fellow artists, and other industry professionals there, and enjoy the networking capabilities that MM provides. Come take a look at my artwork.

Holiday Commissions (Already?)

Believe it or not, the holidays will be here before you know it, and if you have been thinking about surprising a loved one with some custom artwork, now is the time to book a commission. Below are all examples of commission orders from some very happy clients.


Sizes and Rates for black & white are as follows:*

Size................Reg. Rate
11" x 14" ............. $300!
14" x 17" ............. $350!
19" x 24".............. $425!
20" x 30".............. $650!

Depending on the size, I need about 2-4 weeks to do a custom commission in black & white, and slightly longer if its color.
Contact me right away for more information.

*Requires a 30% non-refundable deposit. Does not include shipping charges. Balance due prior to delivery.


FACEBOOK FAN PAGE
Come join my Facebook Fan Page! I upload updates, news, Works In Progress and more. We have over 1800 fans already, and I'd like to include you. Click here to 'Like.'

MODEL MAYHEM PROFILE
Did you know I've had a profile at Model Mayhem since 2006? I have met numerous models, photographers, fellow artists, and other industry professionals there, and enjoy the networking capabilities that MM provides.

The Angst of the Artist

For me, being an artist also means dealing with a ton of insecurities.  Creation of my artwork is fraught with highs and lows,  moments of grandeur that can suddenly turn into despair.  I've dealt with feelings like this as long as I can remember.

This illustration of Marilyn Monroe is the first artwork I've ever done that I can truly say did not cause me to not panic when I made a mistake.  I have to credit my wife, who guided me through her vision of how this piece should look.  She played art director, and assisted me through every step of the creation process, including some major, major changes in the hair, face and more.

Now, I don't want to make it seem like she doesn't help with my other work; she always gives some input when art is on the drawing board.  But since this was a birthday gift for our son, she was very invested in how it looked.  So she kept me on track, kept me focused for 4 months until we completed it. And not once did I feel like I wanted to give up on this piece (which would have been tough, since it's 30" x 40").

Come see the large version at my site at Fine Art America.