New Paintings

Shown here are some new paintings which I finished this past week. It feels great to be working in oils again after a very long time. I have also completed "The Dinner Party" which I featured as a sketch in my previous post. I have decided on re-naming it "A Toast to the King" after adding his highness' head on the platter.
Also shown are various detail shots which I thought you might enjoy.
Please click on image to enlarge.

Preliminary Sketch / New Studio

This is a preliminary sketch for a piece I am currently naming "The Dinner Party".
Also shown is a colored version which I did in photoshop, basically just laying flat color
over certain areas. Not sure if I will follow this palette when going to final art but it was still fun to explore.
Please click on image to enlarge.

In other news, I just received news today that my space at ACME Art Studios , located here in Wilmington, NC is ready for me to move into. I am very excited about this and will start moving
in by the end of the week or even sooner.
Also, my new website is coming together. Here is the link     www.markweberart.com
If you are interested in purchasing prints, framed or otherwise, please go to www.society6.com/markweber  They do a great job and the prices are fantastic!

Enjoy!

Strange Doodle

Sometimes late in the evening I will just start doing some random doodling in the studio.
Recently, I have gone back to pulling images and characters from those old Lang fairy books and stories from the Brothers Grimm. Some are so twisted and strange. This is a doodle I did a couple nights ago. Done fairly quickly with pencil, watercolor and ink. There's a story in there somewhere!

 

Beautiful Woman / Ugly Old Lady

This is my take on the classic optical image "Beautiful Woman / Ugly Old Lady." 
I always loved the image so I decided to give it a go.
Prints available. Please click on image to enlarge.

Live & Learn

Well, it's not the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last but someday I'll learn.

I will be working on a large scale project in which I will be working on a roll of paper in a scroll type
of way...unrolling and painting, then rolling up the parts I have already painted. When finished the entire piece will be rolled out and revealed showing various segments.

I initially planned on working on a 140 lb. multi-media paper but it proved too stiff and large.
Yesterday I received a roll of 100 lb. drawing paper  36" H x 10 yards long which is well suited for how I intend to
proceed...in pencil, ink with acrylic highlights.
I was excited to give the paper a try and in my haste cut it off at an odd angle. The surface is great
and I was very happy with the feel and response of it.
However, being that I cut it off the way I did and just went for it without sketching anything out properly,  it lays a bit funny on the paper.

So, I went into photoshop after scanning the original and softened the edges and put a little frame around it. But, it's always good to think in terms of the art being matted and framed. In other words, try to leave plenty of white space around the entire image! Unless mounted as a floating piece, parts of this piece will be covered when matted. Like I said...live and learn.

Shown here is the scanned original art and the version I cleaned up in photoshop.

More Sketchbook Fun!

I went on a sketching tear the last couple of nights. Shown here are a few of my favorites.
Just loose and fun, done with a 4b pencil, ink and watercolor. I did highlight some areas of the conductor image in blue using photoshop. I thought this added some nice contrast to the black silhouette. I am using the Reflections black leather bound sketchbooks which I purchase through Jerry's Artarama, one of my favorite online art supply stores. The paper is not heavyweight but it's workable enough and is particularly well suited for pencil sketching. All measure approx. 8 x 11 .  Please click on image to enlarge.

Sketchbook Fun / Prepping for Projects

I will be moving into a new studio by the first of the month and have a few projects lined up already.
One will be creating a series of vignettes which will be around 36 inches H x varying widths.
These will be done in black ink, pencil and washes. I plan to keep the palette limited...perhaps blue and red.
I played around with some different pencils and think I have finally settled on water soluble graphite pencils, 4b to be precise as well as regular 4b and 5b drawing pencils.
This first piece is a loose sketch I did using all these materials. Also shown here are some pieces I did this past week. Please click on image to enlarge.

Printed Piece / WILMA Magazine

It's always a nice surprise to see how my illustration will look once it's on the printed page.
This is a piece I did for WILMA magazine's October issue. Thanks again to co-editor / art director
Nina Bays Cournoyer who is always a pleasure to work with . Please click on image to enlarge.

Corn Hole

Corn Hole or Bean Bag to some people, is everywhere it seems. From tailgating parties to BBQs to concert events... you cannot escape it.  Please click on image to enlarge.

Watercolor Sketch

Sketching in my new watercolor sketchbook from Jerry's Artarama www.jerrysartarama.com 
Just some fun figures done very quickly in brush and colors. Please click image to enlarge.

Ink, brush & Simplicity

Less is more in so many ways. Brush and ink and colored digital and in watercolor.
Please click on image to enlarge.

Pencils and Watercolors

Lately I have been using a 4 or 6b pencil more frequently in my work.
I still use a fine ink line for certain projects but find the pencils lend a more organic feel
to the work which is perfect for some subject matter.

Here are some recent pieces. Please click on image to enlarge.

Adventures in Watercolor / Sick Bell Hop

I decided to try my new brushes out and settled in with a sheet of bristol and my watercolors.
I really don't have anything against bell hops, this just kind of happened.
You can definitely hear the guy with the pipe saying something like..."My God Man...Get A Grip!"
or maybe ...."See here my dear man, do hurry and fetch our bags!"

One of these days I'll have to learn to splice larger pieces together in photoshop. In the meantime, here it is in two pieces.
Please click on image to enlarge.

Duck Blood Soup & other favorites

I am currently accumulating recipes of various dishes that surrounded me while growing up in Erie, PA.  Czernina  aka: Duck Blood Soup , is a Polish dish which was served at Stan's Dinette on 12th and Parade Street. 

I have no idea when these little recipe books will see print, if at all. It's a little side project.
However, I liked this image so I thought I would post it.

Please click on image to enlarge.

Sketchbooks & New Materials

It's always a joy to open up a box containing new art materials such as brushes, paints, paper etc.,
I just received a package yesterday and dove into it, ready to have some fun!
For years I have basically used a 2b pencil for most of my sketching and drawing. However, I just
got into using an H and I have to tell you I was amazed how this little change altered my approach.
It just feels good.
Shown here are various pages from my sketchbook. Some are done with the H pencil and others are brush and ink sketches which I use as an exercise to loosen up each day.

The one titled "New People" was just some random sketching done on a page. I then inked it and colored it in photoshop and made a mock book cover which I just might use. Not sure yet.

Also shown is a recent cover I did in ink and watercolor for The Greater Wilmington Business Journal. Thanks Nina for the art direction!
Please click on images to enlarge.