The first image is a digital concept painting of a location I designed for an animated film. The second image is the finished digital painting I noodled out with various Photoshop brushes. Whoever programed "command z" is a friend to me.
Dr. Ken Taylor_02
It's exciting that one of my first corporate portraits was of a man I truly admire, Dr. Ken Taylor, founder of Tyndale House Publishers. This was painted from a black and white photo of him when he was in his fifties. One of the most humble and talented man you'd ever meet. The painting hangs in his son's office in their corporate headquarters.
Dr. Ken Taylor/ Oil On Canvas
Oil Paintings .02
More oils from my first gallery series. I chose painting kids because I love the innocence and honesty they naturally express in their eyes. My next series which includes much larger pieces focuses more on adults so I can explore deeper world weary emotions etched in their facial features.
This series, however, was challenging in the sense of painting a smooth child's face without getting too slick with the brush work. All in all I loved working with the models. When you think about it, oil painting is basically the art of capturing an emotional moment using animal hair attached to a stick to apply paint—no Photoshop "command z" to make mistakes go away.
Anyway, my son, Josh, posed for the painting Chores and the talented film director, Tim Hodge, posed for both Drifter and Hondo which was included here in an earlier post. My apologies to all of the victims—I mean models.
This series, however, was challenging in the sense of painting a smooth child's face without getting too slick with the brush work. All in all I loved working with the models. When you think about it, oil painting is basically the art of capturing an emotional moment using animal hair attached to a stick to apply paint—no Photoshop "command z" to make mistakes go away.
Anyway, my son, Josh, posed for the painting Chores and the talented film director, Tim Hodge, posed for both Drifter and Hondo which was included here in an earlier post. My apologies to all of the victims—I mean models.
The Runaway
First Shave
Chores
Drifter
Jenny's Prayer
The Lil' Sheriff
The WesternerThe Day By Day Bible .01
My new book, The Day By Day Bible, gave me the awesome opportunity to illustrate a children's Bible. This is something I wanted to do for years. The design sensibility was much more simplified from my normal style due to the deadlines involved but the emotional impact was maintained by the broad strokes of color. I created over three hundred digital paintings while also designing animated films—it was rough but everything got done on time.
I can't tell you the thrill I feel having played a small part in developing this book and bringing it to market. It will touch so many lives in the process. The recent agreement with Wal-Mart has not only made this project successful in terms of sales but also in terms of outreach to a very diverse and broad market. The book has just been released yet we are already moving forward on the second printing in order to meet market demands—simply amazing.
Special thanks to: Karyn, Luke, Jackie, Julie, Jan, Talinda and Dr. Ken Taylor who taught me the true nature of success.
UPDATE:
We just went into our third printing which is so amazing. I'm really thrilled about the success and outreach of this project. I'm currently art directing and co-illustrating a new series of books which will be launched sometime this year in America and England. I hope it does as well as this.
I can't tell you the thrill I feel having played a small part in developing this book and bringing it to market. It will touch so many lives in the process. The recent agreement with Wal-Mart has not only made this project successful in terms of sales but also in terms of outreach to a very diverse and broad market. The book has just been released yet we are already moving forward on the second printing in order to meet market demands—simply amazing.
Special thanks to: Karyn, Luke, Jackie, Julie, Jan, Talinda and Dr. Ken Taylor who taught me the true nature of success.
UPDATE:
We just went into our third printing which is so amazing. I'm really thrilled about the success and outreach of this project. I'm currently art directing and co-illustrating a new series of books which will be launched sometime this year in America and England. I hope it does as well as this.
Abraham
Frogs In Pond
Moses Parting Sea
A Big Fish
Out Of The Grave
Joy Again
The Slave That Ran Away
The Man of Sorrows
This is my Conté crayon sketch depicting The Man of Sorrows in Isaiah 53. I didn't use a model for this—just let it happen. I love the imagery in this passage of a man most would pass without a second glance. The text is very sad and I did my best to convey this in his eyes. This Conté sketch was recently sold at an auction with the profits directed toward Masterpiece Ministries—which provides a series of workshops for young adults concentrating on painting, writing, dance, theater, film, music and graphic design. Timothy Botts, one of the most incredible calligraphy artists in America heads up the program.
The Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53)
The Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53) Oil Paintings .01
After working in film and television with so many great artists, I caught the oil painting bug and finally took a crack at it. I love expressing human emotions and relationships using this medium. The samples here are from my first series in which I focused on the person caught in a moment and used minimal background treatments. My son, Josh, posed for "Bored" wearing his official Indiana Jones fedora. After spending considerable time posing for a commercial painting beforehand he naturally inspired this image as he took a break.
Hondo
Wanted
Grampa's Home Blend
Grampa's Coffee
Bored
A Snoodle's Tale
This is a digital painting for the animated film, A Snoodle's Tale. It was a blast painting the backgrounds on this film. The saturated colors and fun shapes really made it a joy to design. This was the main location where the characters jumped out of a door on the top of the clock tower and slid down the slide. Alas, the budget hit the film hard and the end result was good but not what was in my mind—the hard reality of commerce over art. All in all, however, a great experience.
BIG IDEA COPYRIGHT © 2013
Visual Development_01
This is the last piece I did for this animation studio as a full-time designer. The shop had gone through so much turmoil at this point the emotions were raw. Some were deeply saddened for those who were laid off while others jockeyed for positions under the new management. As for me, I would eventually move on to several Disney projects where I learned more than I could have ever imagined. Couple things I took away from all this—integrity is the worth of a man and dedication to your craft is the best business card. Be true to your art. The road may be rocky at times but everything has a way of working out if you have the faith.
Pie Wars
Visual Development_02
These concepts are from Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie. This was a very challenging production primarily due to the budget limitations we had to deal with. All in all, however, this production was a time of strong creative energy as I worked with one of my mentors, Michael Spooner. You can see a reflection of him in these images—I'll always be thankful for the time we worked together and the effect it has had on my work ever since. Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki directed this production. Dan Philips managed the studio while Ameake Owens served as producer.
Corporate Portraits_01
This is a few sketches from a series of commissioned portraits I recently completed for a corporation. It was a great deal of fun capturing the likeness of each person and bringing out the warmth of their personalities—each had their own stories waiting to be told. The final work was framed and displayed in the corporate offices as well as featured on their website as bio images.
One of my favorite sketches is the first one listed here. The inner joy of this man shines through his eyes. He went through a great deal in his life and is a true survivor. The experiences he faced and triumphed over are etched in his face, yet true to his nature, there are no signs of self-sympathy because the valleys he walked through made him who he is today. Most just see him as an extremely successful business man but others look into his eyes and see much more—a father, a husband and a man who breathes deeply every moment life has to offer. It's amazing what a pencil on paper can capture—a life, a moment and even a man's love for life.
One of my favorite sketches is the first one listed here. The inner joy of this man shines through his eyes. He went through a great deal in his life and is a true survivor. The experiences he faced and triumphed over are etched in his face, yet true to his nature, there are no signs of self-sympathy because the valleys he walked through made him who he is today. Most just see him as an extremely successful business man but others look into his eyes and see much more—a father, a husband and a man who breathes deeply every moment life has to offer. It's amazing what a pencil on paper can capture—a life, a moment and even a man's love for life.
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