Tulip Time Voting

Voting for Tulip Time 2015 Posters

Tulip Time Voting

I don’t ask for help very often but this is a quick and easy way that you can help support me. You can vote for me (5 votes per phone number!) by texting WIND or PARADE to 1-405-888-5477.

Voting is between May 2 and May 8 (ending at 4:00pm on May 8).

You can vote for me 5 times per phone. If you want you can vote for 1 painting 5 times or split up your 5 votes. You can also vote in person at the Holland Area Arts Council (150 E 8th St, Holland, MI 49423). You might even be able to vote more than 5 times by voting via phone and then in person!

This is a quick and easy way to show your support and help me win some money so I can keep doing what I do.

Loki Woodcut Process

Here are some process photos for an older woodcut print I made of my dog Loki.

The aforementioned woodcut print (one of two variations):

Loki

 

Here’s the preliminary pencil sketch:

Woodcut_Prelim_Pencil

I used a projector and transferred my pencil sketch to the woodblocks (MDF). I had to tape the woodblocks together so that they wouldn’t move as I drew on them (and they did move a little bit). Note that I flipped the image before transferring because when you print it prints in reverse.

Woodcut_1

Woodcut_2

After I had my drawing on the MDF blocks I then had to use woodcutting tools to gouge out the recesses in the wood and then it was time to ink and print.

And here’s a photo of the blocks inked up, before I ran it through the press. I made a custom jig to hold the blocks together using some spare cardboard. I think that was my brother’s idea.

Woodcut_3

First Pastel Drawing

A while back I completed my first ever pastel drawing. If you follow me on Facebook then you’ve already seen this image. But for those of you who don’t have a Facebook, here it is! It’s a girl at the beach with her basket, looking at the waves and intense sky. It’s based on a location in Saugatuck, MI.

Pastel

 

This drawing is already framed and ready to sell! It would make a great addition to your cottage or beach house! Message me if you’re interested in owning this original artwork.

EDIT: SOLD! 🙂

How To Draw: Drawing and Sketching Objects and Environments from Your Imagination

How To Draw by Scott Robertson Review

How To Draw: Drawing and Sketching Objects and Environments from Your Imagination

 

My review of Scott Robertson’s book How to Draw: Drawing and Sketching Objects and Environments from Your Imagination.

Today I’m going to try a different format for this art book review. It’s going to be based on the “five Ws and one H”. Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How (but I am rearranging them to What, Who, Why, How, When, and Where).

What? Who? Why? How? When? Where?

What? What is this book about?

How to Draw: Drawing and Sketching Objects and Environments from Your Imagination is about perspective. It is essentially a roadmap, almanac, or bible of perspective. It is the designers best friend. Are you having trouble constructing perspective grids? This book is for you. Do you want to learn how to mirror objects in perspective? This book is for you. Do you wish you could draw airplanes but they are just so darn complex and intimidating? This book is for you.

Who? Who is Scott Robertson? Thomas who?

Would you still read an art book if the author was incompetent or had no experience in the art field? I know I wouldn’t. Scott Robertson is extremely competent and he has years of experience in the art/design world. Scott has authored nine Gnomon DVDs about rendering and designing. If you didn’t already know, The Gnomon Workshop is some of the top of the line art/design instruction in the world. Scott is the former chair of Entertainment Design at the Art Center College of Design. He has designed for Hot Wheels, theme parks, BMW, Mattel Toys, Rockstar Games, and Fiat. That sounds pretty knowledgable and competent to me. Scott Robertson technically co-authors the book with Thomas Bertling. Bertling is the Director of Entertainment Design at the Art Center College of Design. Bertling has worked with clients such as Disney and Samsung.

Why? Why is this book important?

Perspective is necessary for good drawing. That’s just a fact of life and if you ignore perspective, your work will suffer. Perspective matters! This book covers many aspects of perspective and design.

Scott_Robertson_1

Scott_Robertson_2

 

How? How does this book teach?

Scott and Thomas talk in an easy to understand language. Perspective is complex but they start from the foundation and work their way through the more complex aspects of perspective and design. Every lesson is broken down into smaller steps and each step is thoughtfully transcribed and illustrated. Throughout the book there are even links to videos by Scott Robertson to further explain a topic. The book starts by discussing drawing materials and some basic skills. Perspective terminology is covered next and then perspective drawing techniques. There’s a chapter dedicated to creating grids, and a chapter for ellipses and rotations. They cover working with volume, drawing environments, drawing aircraft, drawing wheeled vehicles, and finally sketching styles and mediums.

When? When should you add this book to your collection?

You should add How to Draw: Drawing and Sketching Objects and Environments from Your Imagination to your collection as soon as you can afford to purchase it. Paired with maybe one or two other perspective books and your perspective book collection will be complete.

 

Scott_Robertson_3

Scott_Robertson_4

 

Where? Where can you purchase this book?

You can purchase it on Amazon, here. It’s a remarkable value for the size of the book, the printing quality and the price. As of writing this review, the paperback edition is available on Amazon for only $25.27. This is the first book I’ve ever read from Design Studio Press and I am very impressed. It is over 200 pages long, it’s 9″ x 11″ and almost an inch thick. The paper stock is THICK. Every time I turned a page I thought there were pages stuck together because the paper stock is so nice. I look forward to more books from Design Studio Press.

 

Giant Baby

If you missed it on Facebook, here’s a painting I made of a man fighting a giant baby. I might have some process photos around here somewhere.

Giant Baby

It’s acrylic on watercolor paper with some digital adjustments after it was scanned. Drop me a message in the comments if you have any questions or, obviously, comments.