Rage

Stromboli, maniacal puppeteer from the story of Pinocchio.  The counterpoint to the fatherly Gepetto.
Cool gray Prismacolor markers

The personalities of turtles

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been a favorite of mine since the 1980s.  Beyond watching the cartoons and movies, I was able to bring them to life in a major theme park during the early 90s.  For this project, I was asked to create a little art for a new Turtle fan's birthday.  The media is acrylic on connected 12" X 12" canvases.

Bow ties are cool

Matt Smith's eleventh Doctor came crashing into our hearts with a redesigned TARDIS, a penchant for bow ties and fezzes, and a craving for fish sticks and custard.  The show itself had some fundamental changes as well, with show runner Russell T. Davies exiting and Stephen Moffat taking lead.  While I favor a lot of the tone of the show during Davies' run, Moffat created some of the strongest female characters in the series' history, including my favorite, Clara Oswald.  Argue amongst yourselves, if you must, but that's my opinion.

My Doctor!

No secret, David Tennant is my favorite Doctor.  Despite my sadness at losing Eccleston after a single season, I was won over by the end of  Tennant's first episode, even though he was unconscious during most of it.  His style was easy to relate to, with skinny pinstripe suits and Converse trainers and that wonderful trenchcoat.  He was charming and funny and just enough danger to make him riveting.  I didn't want him to go.

The return of the Doctor

As a kid, I never really embraced Doctor Who.  The alien costumes and low budget special effects sort of turned me off and the local PBS station aired the episodes out of order.  I remember a little about the Cybermen being frozen (on Mars?), but that's about it.  When the show was revived back in 2005, a friend of mine really pushed to get me to watch.  After seeing the first episode, he didn't have to push anymore.  The special effects had improved, but the costumes were the particular stand-outs.  The second episode was set in the far distant future, aboard a satellite positioned to observe the last moments of the planet Earth's existence.  Among the guests were a group of sentient trees that were absolutely gorgeous examples of prosthetic make up and costumes.
 Anyway, Christopher Eccleston played the Doctor for one extraordinary season.  His strong presence paired with unpredictable humor and an infectious smile easily made the ninth Doctor one of my favorites.  And here he is as a ferret.

Seven, Eight, and War

As I continue with the Galliferret Doctors, I've reached one of my favorite looks, Sylvester McCoy's seventh Doctor.  There's something very nice and dapper about this costume, despite the silly nature of the question mark umbrella and sweater motif.

 Next up is Paul McGann's eighth Doctor, but not necessarily the one people might remember from the television movie that aired in the mid 90's.  This costume is the more weathered one that makes its appearance in the "mini-sode" that appeared before the 50th anniversary special.  With one speech, McGann took his version, one that had been developed as a series of audio adventures, and made it canon.  Faced with the most difficult decision of his life, the Doctor had to become something darker...

...which brings us to John Hurt's War Doctor.  My understanding is that the original concept was to bring Christopher Eccleston (the 9th Doctor) back for the 50th Anniversary episode and have him team with David Tennant and Matt Smith.  Unfortunately, Eccleston's relationship with the franchise has been strained and he turned down the role.  That led to the "revelation" of unknown regenerations.

My eyes!

Colin Baker's performance as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor is generally considered a low point in the character's long history.  Quite against the actor's hopes, the producers cobbled together an outrageously mismatched costume that would make one long for the days of black and white television.  Perhaps the prevailing thought was that if Doctor Who appealed to children, why not make it a children's show?  Baker wore a changing cat pin on his lapel, teddy bear buttons on his vest, and a technicolor dreamcoat that would make Joseph feel invisible.

Cricket, anyone?

Never understood the celery. As portrayed by Peter Davison.

Oh, the scarf. Everybody knows the scarf.

The fourth Doctor was arguably the best known of the entire series.  Portrayed by Tom Baker, the Doctor displayed a goofy grin, an addiction to Jelly Baby candies, and a twelve foot long scarf.

More Doctor, now in color!

Jon Pertwee was the third Doctor.  Aside from the dashing velvet suit, with cape, he sported the most amazing Golden Girls hairstyle.  Seriously.  Google Bea Arthur and then Jon Pertwee.  See?

The second Doctor from Galliferret

Rather than allowing the blog to go fallow again, I'm going to share more of my Doctor Who ferrets.  As with the previous post, there is a bigger picture planned for the group, but I'll share that a little further down the road.  In the meantime, here is the second Doctor, based on Patrick Troughton's appearance.

I had fun with this guy, but creating the plaid for his trousers was tedious.  I'm grateful that his original run was in black and white.  Maybe someday soon I'll learn how to make that repeating pattern as a swatch so the computer can do it for me.  I'm sure that's a thing. 

For those who like my sketches or have no idea on whom I based this illustration, here's my pencil doodle and the primary reference screenshot (copyright of BBC).  Yes, the photo is in color, but Troughton revived his role for several episodes during later years.

Back. Again.

After a really long absence, I've decided to give the blog another go.  I enjoy creating artwork and this format allows me to share it, so it's a win-win.  Here we go.

I've got a concept I've been developing with a friend.  The central character is a ferret, and when you combine that critter with my nerd love of Doctor Who, you get this, the first Doctor of Galliferret.  First, you reference a picture of William Hartnell (copyright BBC and all appropriate individuals).

From this, I worked up a sketch.

Finally, I went into Adobe Illustrator and came up with this.

There are a couple more things I plan on doing with this, but it's a good start.

Swine and Roses?

Hi all.  At this point, you may well be wondering if I have given up on art and blogging altogether.  I'm happy to say that isn't the case, but I have not been nearly as prolific as I would wish.  For my most recent piece, it will come as a surprise to absolutely no one that I dove into the world of the Muppets once again.  In fact, I revisited a theme I explored in watercolor a few years back, but this time I gave Miss Piggy the spotlight to herself.  She sports the costume (and figure!) of Rose Tyler, companion of both the 9th and 10th incarnations of the Doctor, originally portrayed by Billie Piper, and is presented in front of the iconic TARDIS.  The painting, titled "BAD FROG," is a 16"X20" oil on canvas and gicle'e canvas prints are available in three standard sizes:
8"X10" - $35
11"X14" - $60
16"X20" - $100
Shipping is actual from the USPS, plus the cost of the mailing tube.  Other sizes can be accommodated, but may cost more.  The ORIGINAL PAINTING is currently available for $500 + shipping costs.  As always, email me at eric.sweetman(at)gmail.com if interested.

Muppetium Falcon Prints!

Announcing giclee prints of the Muppet/Star Wars mash up, "Muppetium Falcon!"  Printed on canvas, the 11" x 14" giclees accurately recreate the original look of the oil painting and sell for an amazingly low price of $40.  Other available sizes are 8" x 10" for $25 and the full size of the original art, 16" x 20", for $80.  As a special holiday deal, I offer both the 16" x 20" and the 8" x 10" for only $100 and free shipping in the USA on all orders. These specials will be valid through January 6th, 2013, so order soon.  Sorry, I cannot guarantee Christmas delivery.  Custom sizes are available.  Contact me for pricing at Eric.Sweetman@gmail.com.

Finished Painting and a Special Holiday Deal!

Once I started blocking in Piggy, I couldn't stop.  There's something about the white on white costume that I really like.  Instead of being easy with one color, it's a complex exercise of warms and cools.  The iPhone camera doesn't show it very well, but it looks interesting to me.  Still lots of work to do.

Eyes.  Kermit and Beaker needed eyes.  The cockpit also needed quite a bit more detail to make it look active.  I knew there would be no way, and no reason, for me to recreate every panel from the film set, but it still needed the little details.

In the final image, I made sure the Swine Trek was in space, all the random space was filled, and that the Empire would fall to this plucky crew.

So, that's it.  Finished in two days, oil on canvas, 16" x 20".  BUT, if you love the picture and want it for your very own, I have excellent news!  I am getting giclee prints made!  8" x 10" will be $25, 9" x 12" for $30, and $80 will get you the full sized 16" x 20".  As a special holiday deal, I'm offering both a 16" x 20" and a 8" x 10" for $100, plus FREE SHIPPING!  All interested parties please contact me at Eric.Sweetman@gmail.com.  Holiday deal good through January 6, 2013.

Pigs (and frogs and dogs and test subjects) in Space!

As promised, here are a couple of stages of sketching on the 16" X 20" canvas.  I start out with a regular pencil before going over the important lines with a black colored pencil.  The graphite tends to wash off the canvas when I apply the acrylic tone and what remains is so faint, I can't see what I drew, so the colored pencil keeps it visible.  It all gets covered up with oils anyway.

In the image above, I was free handing everything and the only reference picture other than the movie still was a photo my brother took of his Kermit photo puppet (yeah, he's got one).  It gave me a guide on which to base my lighting and color for the frog.  However, since I just started drawing, I didn't center my image very well.  I assumed that if I made it off center and at an angle, it would look cool and dramatic.  Not so much.

Further research (read: Google) helped tighten up Miss Piggy's head but I still had the composition issue.  Since I did not want to redraw everything,  I had to think of something that would help balance the picture.  Something outside the window?  Sure!  The Death Star?  No, this image is from The Empire Strikes Back.  Ooh!  How about a Star Destroyer?  Yeah, that'll work!  Except I ran into a friend at work (Hi, Christina!) who joked about Pigs in Space, triggering the idea of the USS Swine Trek.  Genius!

Later:  Painting

Soooooooooo close.

Okay...I had a pretty busy Independence Day.  I did some face painting in Celebration, FL, as part of their fireworks festival.  It was fun, but kept me away from the Mayhem so I'm not quite finished yet.  Hopefully, that will change in the next day or two.

As you can see, some changes were made from the original sketch: Janice is raising a tambourine and Zoot is  playing his sax and angled inward instead of looking out to the viewer.  Both changes are intended to redirect the eye around the image rather than following Janice's eyeline off the edge.  Previously, I thought about using a guitar to bounce the eye back into the picture, but Janice is a left handed guitarist, so the presentation wouldn't work.  See, I think about these things every once in a while.

Celebrate...everything!

Welcome to July everybody!  I was busy yesterday, what with mowing the jungle left after "Debby" moved out to sea and helping out a friend with a mural in his guest bedroom.  After doing an errand or two and paying a couple bills, I didn't have a whole lot of time left in the day to paint, but I did anyway.  Unfortunately, I was too tired to notice that I put the hi-hat and snare on the wrong side of the drum kit.  It is an easy fix, though.  By the time I post again, you won't notice the error.

In other news, I wanted to mention my good friend, Tony Ley.  One year ago, he started this crazy mission of celebrating a holiday every single day.  This commitment demanded a lot of time and energy, but it also brought attention to all kinds of causes and silliness and acts of love.  I even participated in a couple of the celebrations.  So, what did he decide to do after that year ended?  He decided to do it all again.  Please take a gander at Tony's ambitious endeavor at The Celebrate! Project.  You can participate as much as you want!

Early mayhem.

The pencils for this Muppet painting were completed before I started Fozzie, but I didn't feel ready to jump into the painting stage until now.  I had to redraw it after applying the acrylic wash because most of my graphite washed away.  Usually, I clean up the pencils with a colored pencil finish since the wax keeps it from disappearing, but I wasn't thinking at the time.  Now, with the colored pencil layer over the acrylic, the pencil pigment blends into the oil paint.  I'm trying to make the most of that effect, but it involves additional layers of paint once the base dries a bit.

Tough Crowd

Here you go, the finished painting.  You may notice a bit of a color difference; chalk it up to natural lighting.  I took this picture outside on the driveway instead of indoors with the iPhone flash.  Big difference.

I call this:
"Tough Crowd," 2012, 16"x20", oil on canvas