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

Basically finished

Here it is, mostly finished.  The only extra thing I need to add is some gold leaf on Dr. Teeth's tooth.  I could simply paint it in yellow, but I want the reflections to change based on one's position relative to the art and the lighting in the room.  I credit my brother, Ian, for the title of this piece.

"Posilutely Electro-fying!," 24" X 30", oil on canvas.

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.

More Fozzie

I'm excited to be close to finishing up Fozzie.  He needs to dry a little before I can go back in and do the finishing touches that will make it pop.  I also need to figure out where I can get a really good picture taken of it for my files.  You've been enjoying the photographic quality of my iPhone, but it would be nice to have some clean pictures that better match the actual color of the painting.

Wocka, wocka.

 

Hey, I'm back.  The urge to draw and paint finally overcame my exhaustion with work and I'm adding a couple of new Muppet portraits to my collection.  As always, I like to share the steps along the way, so here is my original drawing on the canvas, a 16"x20" piece I picked up at Michaels' a few years ago.  Next is my first step, just filling in the bricks on the wall.  I want it to look like Fozzie is at an open mike night at the Improv, with less than amused audience members.  A cream pie and a tomato are thrown on the wall behind him.  The last picture here is what I managed to do during the 45 minutes I had between my morning shower and my drive to work.  I'm getting a little better idea of how to recreate the texture of the fur.  More to come.

Threadless.com Muppet shirt contest.

Here is the finished scan of the painting. I added a lens flare (I know, cheap photoshop filter) and a couple of color adjustments. I'm trying to enter it in a t-shirt contest on Threadless.com so come on over and vote!

I'll edit this post as soon as I get the design uploaded to their site so you can vote. The internet reception in the green room isn't wonderful today.

Here's the edit: I just managed to upload the file to Threadless.com. They should let me know if it is acceptable pretty soon. After that, please vote! I'll post the link as soon as I can.

Edit 2: It is up on Threadless and waiting for your vote. 5 is good, 1 is bad. Just saying.

http://disney.threadless.com/themuppets/submission/1201/