Hand drawn illustration. Digital colour.
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girls
The Lady in White
Acrylic on canvas 16″ x 12″ (40cm x 30.5cm).
This piece was completed for the big end of year art sale at Kustom Lane gallery in Hawthorn. The show runs form 28th November – 19th December and is a great chance to pick up some cool art before Christmas. There’s no opening night event but a bbq at the gallery on the 19th December.
Check out all the details here http://www.kustomlane.com/
My main inspiration came from pulp paperback covers from the 1960′s (particularly artists like Robert Bonfils). Many of those covers not only had provocative imagery and titles but were painted in a rough dry brush that gave the artwork real energy.
In regards to the lady’s appearance I was inspired by two animated movie characters. Ginormica from Monsters vs Aliens and Mirage from The Incredibles. Both have white hair that contrasted strikingly against their skin and i wanted a similar effect here.
In my first sketch i had her holding a wine glass but a gun seems more appropriate and in keeping with the pulp theme. It also creates a greater sense of intrigue. As you can see in my development sketches below i had a lot of trouble with her face. Eventually went for cute younger look rather than a sultry appearance.
Art nerd stuff
For the texture I used heavy modeling paste over the pre primed canvas. This was spread with a palette knife and then created the texture with various toothbrushes and combs.
After the drawing was transferred with carbon paper I began painting with Golden Acrylics. The darks in the curtain is a mix of Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue. The gray/green shadows in the dress is a mix of white, a tiny bit of Thalo Blue and a touch of Burnt Umber.
Heres the completed painting with a first coat of acrylic sealer. Gave it three coats sealer and two coats removable varnish.
Development sketches (Below)
Sketches were drawn at A3 size. Revised parts were redrawn on tracing paper. Eventually it was scanned into Photoshop where sizes were adjusted. It was printed out and then transferred by carbon paper to the canvas.
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This is my entry for a “design a superhero” competition announced on Jonathan Rector’s blog. Check it out here.
This involved creating a superhero and writing a description including name, superpowers, and traits. My character is a small town hairdresser that has the power to change into crusading crime fighter.
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Pitch: A small town hairdresser is caught in a nuclear test explosion in Los Alamos, New Mexico and transformed with super human powers.
Name: Hairpin
Real name: Betty D’Angelo (hairdresser and proprietress of D’Angelo Beauty Salon)
Superpowers:
When Betty transforms into Hairpin her hair becomes a deadly weapon.
Her modest ponytail grows over 12 feet to become a lethal cat-o’-nine tails lash alive with an electric charge. All her senses are heightened. She gains strength, agility, and acrobatic prowess.
She compliments her superpowers with weaponry that she designs herself. Her favourites are a pair of modified hairdryers that can fire heavy ammo. She is also known to use a curling tong that can slice through metal.
Traits
Betty D’Angelo she is cool, professional, bright, ambitious business woman. She prides herself on being a great hairdresser with a loyal clientele.
As Hairpin she is sassy, head strong, arrogant, impulsive and sometimes over confident. She is more likely to fight first and ask questions later. She is also very sensitive about her hair or lack of it. Any comments about her baldness evokes her wrath.
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My development sketches (below).
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Some pages from my sketchbook.
Media: Col erase blue pencil, lead pencil, PITT artist pens.
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A couple of sketchbook pages.
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The sketch on the left hand side is my initial drawing. (pencil/marker on photocopy paper). I then used detail paper to refine and tighten the drawing. (right)
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These sketches were done on Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper with PITT oil based black pencil and ink. Highlights were added with a white conte pencil.
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Here’s a colour sketch of 1970′s Aussie soap siren, Abigail. This is based on the photo below. As you can see I began quite realistically but then progressed to a more stylised caricature.
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A rough brush and ink sketch of Modesty Blaise. This wonderful Japanese poster for the film served as reference.
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Here’s my final acrylic painting of Tiki Girl. I am quite happy how it turned out because I wanted to combine a stylised figure with some realism. The major changes I made were to the background and the wooden Tiki carving.
The yellow-orange sun burst (see my final colour rough below) overpowered the whole image so it was toned down to a more subtle sunset. I added some cool blues to further recede the background.
I also redesigned the Tiki carving to be less angular. That area was first painted with a dark tone (mix Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue) and then the form was highlighted with Burnt Sienna using a scrubbing technique with a dry brush.
Once the painting was complete it was sealed with acrylic binder medium and two coats of gloss varnish.
Tiki Girl: Acrylic on canvas. 30cm x 40cm (12″ x 16″).
My final colour rough. Here’s a more polished version of the same Tiki Girl sketch with the black line work cleaned up. Coloured and painted in Photoshop. (Above)
I am submitting a painting to a local art show next month. Have played around with various subjects but finally settled on this Tiki inspired pin-up girl. Here are some preliminary sketches and a colour rough. The final painting will be acrylics on canvas, 30cm x 40cm.
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