I was lucky enough to get to illustrate a beautiful Gorilla sculpture for Paignton Zoo. He took me 18 months to complete as he was under a purpose built awning at my house. Too hot and the pens dried up, too cold and my fingers froze! He now sits at the zoo and I miss him terribly! He Was decorated using acrylic markers on a white gloss base then varnished with car varnish.
This is was more of an experiment as I wanted to see what black ink would like on paper with an "aged" like background. I think it came out quite nicely but I also think that the black ink might seem a bit too bold. I'm not really sure.
Abandoned drawing of Ellie wearing a black turtleneck. The lighting in the room was terrible and the black fabric hid a lot of the shadow detail of the folds and it frustrated me. That’s my excuse anyway… Model: Ellie.
The last few days, I've been going through my drawing journals dating back to 1977, mainly to purge them, but also to reminiscence. I laughed at this comic- one of many that I had forgotten about- of a conversation with an artist friend I've known since 1984, when I went to visit in her pottery shop.
Being a retired nurse, I often frequent , among others, an old folks forum and nurses website. One ongoing thread I have is called Davey Do's Art News, and I mentioned this website and a couple of artists who I've had the pleasure of communicating.
This is an exterior white paint on an old tarp with a treated lumber frame painting using a photograph taken of my Dad in the Summer of 1979. Dad and I were on the porch playing our guitars while a girl I was dating snapped some photos. I get a sense of Dad's calmness whenever I look at the photo, and now, this painting.
A strange beast . It sits by the lakes and plays tunes. Luring all who hear into its maw. It has four arms, And, typically, six fingers on each hand. Its mouth is located at its lower abdomen . I really like top imagine that it plays old 30's and 40's jazz and such ... "you keep a Nokken but you can't come in... I know you been drinkin' gin ... You been cheatin' round with other men, I'm busy and you can't come in... "
Casey the Puppet. This painting captures the essence of a puppet lots of older Canadians will remember. A strange genderless creature with a dog puppet companion. A puppet with an outspoken personality that I remember as a kid wondering how it got away with saying what it did. The painting has a Canadian stamp to commemorate the puppet's roots.
Clearly I have a problem. I am obsessed with my first pet in over fifteen years. How I have missed having a pet. Mostly because of allergies I have avoided pet ownership. Recently I bought four big air purifiers and two budgies. I vacuum frequently. Join me in celebrating the love of pets.
The Queer Old Man is a solid wood puppet head created more than 50 years ago if not more. The eyes of the character are a radiant blue and the carved structure of the face is expressive and bold.
Impalla, Wart Hog and Topi is a strange painting of a young doll like female puppet head with large intimidating eyes. The scary doll head puppet looks like a frozen predator. Her expression almost ferrel but still oddly innocent at the same time. I chose the vintage storybook background based on the mottled rich tones of the paper itself and the fact that the title refers to prey and predators in Africa. It is an excerpt from an old African adventure story. I love the arresting expression and bright colours of this painting. She has great stopping power and evokes all kinds of emotions.
A portrait painting of a vintage dislocated puppet head. Created with mixed media including vintage storybook pages, old photographs and stamps. Pen and ink, gouache, and watercolours.
This is just an idea I'm playing with after I recently reconnected with an old friend. He's a painter but has this huge passion for mushroom collecting. I have few more ideas for a little series now.
I did the water texture according to a tutorial by James Chapman, found on Instagram. The steampunk seahorse was an idea from a lady I am following on Instagram as well (look for @carrieisartsy) This piece is done on a paint chip card with poscapens, a gold marker and fineliners.
I'm working on finishing this with watercolor and pen. It symbolizes growing up and the important relationships between old and young. Critiques are appreciated.
Humble Thy Self In The Sight Of The Lord
This Pen And Ink was rendered from a image Of the painting entitled," The Prayer At Valley Forge" by artist Arnold Fryberg. I drew this rendering from my computer screen. It took a couple of hour to draw. I carved this image on a pumpkin at the annual Chadds Ford Historical Society Great Pumpkin Carve.
So this rendering was done as a guide not a finished piece . As you look over this picture you will notice the ink ran in a few places, that is be cause it was raining while I was carving the pumpkin. Even though I had clear plastic laid over the picture, rain still got it wet.
It seem like almost ever time I took part in this event it has rained .
The reason I chose to carve this image is be cause the battle of the Brandywine was fought around the town of Chadds Ford, and because George Washington was a renown Christian man of Prayer.
Just as the thirteen colony were freighting their way through hell to gain their independence from England, I feel our nation is going through Hell to maintain the principle the founding fathers had laid as the foundation of this country.
Our country is in trouble and no political party can save this nation, only The American People who humble themselves before God, repent of their rebellious ways against God, and pray for His forgiveness, and seek Him to guild our nation out of the dark,and back into the light. Then will our nation be able to receive blessings from the hand of God.
Stephen J. Vattimo July 16, 2012 See Less
