June 2, 2013: Signed limited edition glicee prints exclusively available at Pasadena's Paseo Colorado.

I'm happy to share that Rudd Rudluff, a recurring guest on TV's reality series STORAGE WARS, is now featuring exclusive, signed glicee prints of my work at the Antique Mall in Old Town Pasadena's Paseo Colorado.

Rudd showed me the first framed print today, and I was a bit stunned.  I dare say it looks much better than the frame I put my original painting in.

For more information, check out the Antique Mall's Facebook page.  The store itself is located at 309 E. Green St., Paseo Colorado, Pasadena, CA.

UPDATE 6/7/2013:  Rudd just generously bought me an even more elaborate gold frame for my original painting. We bold think that if I had used this in the Nucleus Gallery show 2 years ago, it would have sold!

May 4, 2013: Thank you, Mark Raats!

I want to give very special thanks to Lucasfilm artist Mark Raats, who not only took the time to sign the RAIDERS IMAX mini-posters I sent him, but also included, much to my surprise, a special custom-made full sized 27x40 poster, featuring the unmodified version of his original artwork.  (I wrote a bit about it in my Sept. 7th, 2012 post.)

My photos (above) don't really do Raats' poster justice.  I've therefore included these images below to better illustrate the artist's original color scheme (left), versus the orange hue adjustments featured on the final version (right).  I particularly favor Raats' use of more subtle, dusty earth tones; they better reflect the look and feel of the film itself. 

I also marvel at Raat's use of line in developing shading, texture, and color -- particularly with faces. 

I'm delighted to add his work to my collection, and that Mark personalized it, along with a touching, heartfelt letter, means the world to me.

March 30, 2013: Poster Frame Depot writeup!

It's the same old song and dance: I've been so swamped with work that these site updates come only once in a blue moon.

Once thing I've done is add a few more artists' links to the ARTISTS I ADMIRE section, at left.  These include extraordinary talents such as Ciara McAvoy and Laurent Durieux, both of whom I've had the pleasure of chatting with a little bit.

In other news, some weeks ago the guys at POSTER FRAME DEPOT reached out to me, saying they wanted to feature one or two pieces of my work on their site.  I was delighted by the offer, of course, but I didn't realize they'd write up an entire profile on their blog... I'm quite flattered! I'm also glad they took the time to mention Richard Amsel, though there's no way the quality of my work remotely compares to his...

Admittedly, the two pieces of mine they featured in the article are not among my personal favorites.  (That Indiana Jones piece makes me cringe, in fact.)  But THE FELLOWSHIP I'm sort of OK with... :)

So let me give a shout of thanks and appreciation to these guys, who offer quality frames -- made in the USA! -- in a variety of styles and colors, and at very good prices!  (And no, they're not paying me to write this.)

January 20, 2013: Another image revision -- THE FELLOWSHIP.

Completed ten years ago, The Fellowship was my first attempt at painting in oils, and it certainly took the longest amount of time to finish.  It's not one of my favorite pieces, but I'm proud of it just the same.  I had to do some touch up "fix it" work on it after an application of varnish had accidentally wiped away some of the thin painted details from the surface.  This new, rephotographed image shows these revisions, as well as color and detail adjustments that better reflect the original painting.

Rollover the image to see a before and after:

January 17, 2013: Return to "NIMH" yet again...

Of all the movie related artwork I've done, the one most popular among fans is "Gateway to NIMH," an illustration I did back in 2001 as a tribute piece to Don Bluth's THE SECRET OF NIMH.

While I liked the final artwork enough, I must admit I didn't think all that much of it at the time.  I worked on it over a few evenings, after coming home from my grueling day job, and don't remember anything particularly challenging about it; the design was quite simple, and painting it was relatively quick and easy.  But over the years I've had more requests for prints of this piece than anything else I've done.  That, and the fact that the artwork has turned up -- always to my surprise -- on ripoff T-shirts and even an article in The Hollywood Reporter.  In fact, someone just emailed me about a custom Blu-Ray wrap website that features the following:

I gave up on patroling the internet for unauthorized use of my artwork a long time ago, mainly because the illustrations themselves are often of licensed properties that I myself could not profit from.  I'm actually flattered when they turn up where they do.

Of all my work, the illustration is now my personal favorite, and I promised myself I would never sell the original (unless, of course, the price was a really handsome one).  I therefore decided it was time to have a new, high resolution scan made, and I'm a bit shocked at the comparison to the original image:

This new image captures the exact dimensions and proportion, includes what had previously been cropped out (including my signature!), and colors have been matched as closely as possible to the original artwork.

I'm planning to do this with a few other pieces in the near future.  Next up...The Fellowship.

January 12, 2013:  Illustrating Modern Life: The Golden Age of American Illustration from the Kelly Collection

I just came back from the opening night reception of a fantastic art exhibit at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University, in Malibu, CA.  For those of you in the area, this is an extremely rare opportunity to see original works from J.C. and F.X. Leyedecker, Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish, N.C. Wyeth, and Howard Pyle.  The exhibit runs from January 12 through March 31.

Clockwise from top left:  J.C. Leyendecker, "Florist."  Coles Phillips, "The Magic Hour." N. C. Wyeth, "The Boy's King Arthur."  Howard Pyle, "Dead Men Tell No Tales."

From the museum's press release: 

Illustrating Modern Life: The Golden Age of American Illustration from the Kelly Collection features over 60 works from one of the most fascinating periods in American art. The Golden Age of American Illustration arose between 1880 and 1930, when revolutions in printing technology and mass mailing resulted in a meteoric rise of new magazines. Publishers and advertisers turned to illustrators to create eye-catching, hand-rendered paintings that would appeal to a growing public of modern consumers.

The original oil paintings, watercolors, and ink drawings in this exhibition, rarely seen on the West Coast, include some of the finest examples produced by the best artists of the genre.

The art created by renowned talents such as Howard Pyle, N. C. Wyeth, J. C. Leyendecker, Maxfield Parrish, and Norman Rockwell has entered the pantheon of 20th century American culture and still captivates audiences today.

Pyle, regarded as the father of American illustration, invented the quintessential pirate character that still inspires movies over a century later. His student N. C. Wyeth (father of painter Andrew Wyeth) gained national fame for his paintings done for the Scribner's Illustrated Classics series of novels. The iconic imagery he created for books such as Treasure Island and Kidnapped helped establish the era's vogue for adventure stories.

Leyendecker invented new urbane and stylish figures that captured the knowing sophistication of the modern era. He transformed both illustration and retailing by creating his Arrow Collar Man, a fictitious "celebrity" whose extraordinary popularity established the country's first national advertising campaign.

Rockwell, who began his career by emulating Leyendecker, captured the heart of the nation for decades with his keen sensitivity to the nuances of human behavior, which he used to create poignant depictions of life in small-town America.

"I am thrilled to bring a collection of such outstanding art to Southern California," said Michael Zakian, director of the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art and curator of the exhibition. "Like many Americans I remember seeing these artists in magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post and in old books. To see the originals firsthand is a real treat. Most people will be surprised to discover that many of the works were rendered in a rich, painterly manner. Even though much of that effect was lost in the printing process, these illustrators saw themselves as fine artists. They took pride in their craft and wanted their work to meet the standards of the best painters from the past. It is particularly fascinating to see a group of paintings by Dean Cornwell. People in L.A. are familiar with his work through the monumental murals of California history that he did in the historic downtown Los Angeles Public Library in 1932."

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration is regarded as one of the nation's largest and finest private holdings of this material. It was formed over the last 30 years by Richard Kelly, an individual respected in the field for his attention to quality and his commitment to documenting this period of art. He has earned the highest respect from colleagues in the field and was selected by Art & Antiques magazine as one of the top 100 collectors in America.

Illustrating Modern Life: The Golden Age of American Illustration from the Kelly Collection is accompanied by a hard-cover, 128-page exhibition catalog featuring an essay on the art by Zakian, as well as an interview with Kelly by David Apatoff, author of Robert Fawcett: The Illustrator's Illustrator; Albert Dorne, Master Illustrator; the forthcoming The Life and Art of Bernie Fuchs; and the popular blog Illustration Art. ...

Works are on view at the Weisman Museum in the Gregg G. Juarez Gallery, West Gallery, and Ron Wilson-Designer Gallery.

Located on Pepperdine's main campus at 24255 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, CA, the museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is closed on Mondays and major holidays. There is no admission charge.

For more information, call (310) 506-4851, or visit:
http://arts.pepperdine.edu/museum

January 11, 2013: Tribute to David Grove, Feb. 27, 1940 - Oct. 25, 2012.

I'm terribly saddened to learn of the passing of illustrator David Grove last October, which I only heard about a few days ago.

Grove was a giant in the illustration world, whose work was well known throughout the 1970's and 1980's.  His striking movie posters, book covers, and advertisements evoked comparisons to Bernie Fuchs, frequently employing a rubbing technique in his painting process, whereby dark colors would be rubbed away to reveal lighter colors underneath -- a painstaking, challenging process whose end result looks deceptively simple. 

I actually had been working on a book cover these last few weeks inspired by Grove's special style, and printouts of his work are currently peppered all over my drafting table.  I had intended to write to him when the work was done to show my appreciation...but alas, now it is too late.  While I never met him personally, I feel quite heartbroken.

Movie posters were only a small part of Grove's body of work, but they left a huge impression on me throughout my childhood.  Grove's illustration for SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, in particular, is darkly, eerily beautiful, and captures the atmosphere of Ray Bradbury's book even better than the film itself did:

It's bittersweet that Grove's passing should so closely follow several major milestones in his career:  he was recently inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame, had a one man retrospective at the Museum of American Illustration in New York, and had just published the book "David Grove - An Illustrated Life".  The latter book I had bought last summer, and it's far more than just a collection of pictures; Grove provides us with a memoir about his life and travels that read every bit as colorful as his art -- by turns funny and poignant, to downright startling. He also provides rare insight into his painting process, something artists and illustrators will savor.

To read more:

San Francisco Chronicle obit
"Life Needs Art" blog tribute
Muddy Colors blog tribute

January 7, 2013: Comic-Conn catalog

I'm finally getting around to posting this -- the ComiConn catalog from last summer's event containing my artwork. The INDY V bandwagon has pretty much tipped over, but I hope at least someone out there enjoyed this illustration.

January 6, 2013: Happy new year!

I've been retinkering with this site throughout the holidays, and am testing out this new layout for the main page as well as the art gallery. I want to sort out a few details before moving forward with all the other pages of this site.  This, and a few current art projects, are the big reasons why I've been slow in my updates and posts.

So...do you like the new format?  I wanted something same, but different -- including links to all the art gallery pages from the front main page. Also included are easier links to places where you can buy prints and T-shirts of my artwork (see top left corner), a neat QR code (top right), a wider reading pane and banner animation, and a new archive banner at the bottom of the page.  (Just look at how different this place was back in 2005!)

There are months and months' worth of posts I've fallen behind on, and when my current projects are done -- hopefully by the end of the month -- I'll be more frequent in my posts.