'Nucleus' coming along...
I think this one is getting pretty close to the end, just some more tweaking here and there. I tried to make the face less obvious, add some mist/smoke, roots coming through the ceiling hole to convey the idea that this is underground, and tightened up overall.
I look forward to your thoughts!
Color-wise this is probably the most accurate scan of this painting so far.
I'm trying to not think about the time I have left to paint all four pieces, but the concept does cross my mind from time to time. They have to be in Switzerland by Sept 1, so I have to allow for shipping time and scanning on my end (I want to have good scans for my own records. Not only will I likely not see the originals back for about a year, but it's good insurance for any unfortunate mishaps).
~Paul
I look forward to your thoughts!
Color-wise this is probably the most accurate scan of this painting so far.
I'm trying to not think about the time I have left to paint all four pieces, but the concept does cross my mind from time to time. They have to be in Switzerland by Sept 1, so I have to allow for shipping time and scanning on my end (I want to have good scans for my own records. Not only will I likely not see the originals back for about a year, but it's good insurance for any unfortunate mishaps).
~Paul
Indeed your lighting effects are your strong point. Magic green gets full marks from me. The roots are a good addition and I can't help but love the night sky in the background. I'm still a bit more partial to the Azathoth painting, but it's clear why you've been asked to join this exhibit. Great stuff.
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Thanks! You're the send to mention liking the night sky. Perhaps because it looks more pleasant than what's below, like a breath of fresh air?
I suspect you'll like the next painting, which returns to a much larger scale.
A sad bit of news about our friend 'Magic Green'..... I was coming close to the end of the tube of paint, so I thought I ought to pick up a replacement. None at my nearby store, but I bought what looked like an equivalent. That ended up being less opaque and cooler in temperature, I simply couldn't get it to work, and any attempts just looked out of place. I went to the other two major at stores in the Boston area, and no dice. What I found there was too warm. Ends up the color has been discontinued! They (Grumbacher) have started a new line with a similarly named color, which I have just ordered some on line, but I can't tell if it is the same quality. Most manufacturer's carry both a student and professional grade.
I think I have just enough to finish this painting, fortunately!
We Hardly Knew Ye.
~Paul
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Wow. The arcane nature of your paintings is starting to affect your painting materials. "The color that should not be..."
I really like the way this painting is coming together. I particularly like the roots dangling down from the lip of the hole.
Keep up the great work!
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Heh, you think the color initiated it's own demise because of it's use? I guess that's the risk of the path less traveled. Good thing for all of us that I don't have a particular fetish for white.
The idea of the roots hit me about half way through the process, I wanted to help convey the idea that this chamber is underground. I first used this idea about a decade back with an early interior illustration I did for Chaosium, Inc.'s Call of Cthulhu RPG:
I wonder if all tree roots will soon vanish because of my fondness of them!
~Paul
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That's some amazing, twisted art! Great work!
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Thanks, Aaron! How many other fields could words like 'twisted' and 'seriously messed up' be taken as a sincere compliment? Some artist that does pet portraits might not know how to take a comment like that.
~Paul
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I agree about the awesome lighting, but I get a real "early D&D art" vibe from this. That's not a bad thing...but it's interesting
It's another picture where I especially like the stuff at the top of the image.
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Early D&D was without a doubt one of my strongest early influences, especially the first edition stuff.... Erol Otus , D.A.T. (which I later learned stood for David A Trampier), Jeff Dee, Willingham, Roslof and the like. The stuff was very stylized, almost abstract in some cases, but it had this real fun sense of imagination. I guess it has foreshadowed a recent change of mine, to feel more comfortable breaking rules.
As a side, I used to regularly attend large gaming conventions like GenCon, in order to generate jobs from companies that made role playing and collectible card games. One of the art show organizers went by the name of 'Diesel'. What I found strange about this is that he didn't seem to match the stereotype that would normally have a name like this. I'd generally expect a biker type, perhaps rather muscular (or at least large in some way) and tattooed. But, this diesel was relatively average in built, and mild mannered. It was only when I got home did I realize who he was. There was another influential artist of that period, David S. Laforce, and if you pronounce his three initials, it could be read as such: D.S.L. = dee-ess-el, or diesel! I would have loved to have spoken with him, if I had only known who he was!
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