The Drawing Board

Sundance, and Halloween creations

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:46:00 +0000

September and October kept me busy on the portrait of Sundance. Here you can see the painting's actual size as I work on it. My easel now sits on the other side of the drawing table, and the wall behind now boasts a signed print of Aly Fell's Medusa. (I've so got to get that framed...).

For those of you interested in such things, my pallet in the foreground is actually a photograph frame that I purchased because of the glass, which makes clean up so much easier.

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October also saw the inception of my "Mask" series, which was born out of a doodle at work. Thus far all of the images are digital, but I have plans on doing oil on paper versions of all of them, and I am seriously considering ways to go about make a real mask from the first painting. Mask II did not progress to my satisfaction and awaits a revisit before it's completed.

Mask I

Mask III

Mask IV

That's all for now. Looking forward to November!

Joan of Arc

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:12:00 +0000

Blogger seems to be having challenges at the moment, so forgive the larger than usual image post.

I was browsing Pixdaus the other day and stumbled across this stunning photo of a statue of Joan of Arc and I immediately fell in love with it, so I did a study. Now I want to see the real statue, which I understand resides at Notre Dame.

Pencil on paper.

~S

Dragon Teapot work in progress.

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:28:00 +0000

While I'm waiting for another canvas to dry for an upcoming commission piece, I decided to start work on a still life to keep me occupied.

I took some shots the other day out on my deck, and after going through them, I've decided on this one. I use photos a lot because with my schedule, I don't often have time to work from life - especially since I prefer natural lighting over artificial for my work.

So, here I've begun sketching the painting out on a gessoed sheet of Strathmore Windpower Vellum - a paper that I've found to work very well with oils.

Bad shot of the final drawing.

Here, I've put down the base coat.

And here it is after a couple of hours.
Still have a long way to go yet, but I'm happy with the start.

Back!

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:11:00 +0000

Somehow, almost a year has gone by since my last posting. Just a little scary how life can sweep you along like that!

Well, with a redesigned site, a more focused selection of artwork, and with a couple of commissions on the calendar, I'm back. Check out the "Available Works" Section and the "Illustration" section as I think you'll find some fun stuff there you may enjoy.

More to come.
I won't take a year this time :P

All the best,
~Shane

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 22:35:00 +0000

Well, it was a Herculean effort, but I finally updated the illustration section. With everything in there (33 pieces as of this posting(!)), that's still not everything I have done. At present, it is the single largest section of my site.
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Other news - those of you who have responded to my request for a model - thank you! Your willingness to volunteer is appreciated beyond words. The photos I now have to work are fantastic!
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Also, for those of you who enjoy the sci-fi fantasy/horror stuff (Halloween *is* coming!), here's an illustration that I did for Conceptart.org's Character of the Week activity:

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 02:52:00 +0000

A Favorite View, pencil with sepia oil wash, is at the Orcas Center through next month during their combined On and Off the Wall and Eastsound show.

August / September Update

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 15:07:00 +0000

Two new offerings for August/September:

Approaching Storm
18x24, oil on board------------------
Mt. Baker at Sunset
12x12, oil on board

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I am looking for someone to model for me (either male or female) for some simple portrait studies - primarily head and bust (clothes stay on). I'm looking to just take a handful of photos - probably around 10-15. If we could build a working relationship, that would be great.

Compensation for the time spent, at most an hour or so, would be one of the original pieces I do from the photo shoot.

Alternately, if you are interested in working with me, but do not live near by, contact me and I can work from photos you provide. Compensation would be the same.

If interested, you can email me here to work out details.
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Final bit of news - For those that are specifically interested in the sci-fi/fantasy and children's illustration, I will be reposting selected works under the "Other Works" section in the coming weeks.

Finally, an update

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 05:01:00 +0000

I've finally had a chance to do an update here. I've totally revamped my website, and have added a handful of pictures that I've done over the summer.

Unexpectedly, the summer has turned out to be far busier in other aspects of my life than I had anticipated at its beginning, so artwork wise the offerings a bit slimmer than I would have liked.

However, that said, I did complete some that I like, that you can view here:

A couple of pages of studies.

And a couple of paintings.

Getting ready to frame the trawler

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:38:00 +0000

Purchased some nice wood and glass frames for the new work this past week. Here's a shot of the trawler under glass (still need to resize the matt, but I think it looks nice!).

Calendulas and Deer Harbor Wetlands

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Mon, 28 May 2007 16:11:00 +0000

This was a plein air painting I did yesterday out in the garden.
Calendulas, oil on paper, 10x7.

[edit - finally got a good photo of the Calendula painting!]

Deer Harbor Wetlands, near where I live. 7x10 oil on paper. Cheers,
~Shane

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Tue, 22 May 2007 16:59:00 +0000

Fishing Tralwer in Deer Harbor. 7x10, oil on paper. Large version [here]

Morning Mist, Deer Harbor. 8x10 oil on paper. Large version [here]
More on the way as I get it done.
Cheers,
~Shane

Deer Harbor wip & a squirell skull study

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Tue, 08 May 2007 14:10:00 +0000

Fin - 5x7, oil on paper.

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Mon, 07 May 2007 13:59:00 +0000

Sketch Dump

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:51:00 +0000

Here's some fun digital sketches that I've done over the past couple of days.

The first three are progress shots of an image I did for a weekly activity over in the Concept Art forums called the CHOW (Character Of the Week) that I started as a spin off of the COW (Creature Of the Week) about a year ago. I no longer run it, but I still like to pop in periodically and see what's going on. The basic idea of the CHOW is you are given a character brief and you have one week to come up with whatever it is you are going to come up with, but it has to match the brief. This week's character is a contemporary Little Red Riding Hood. I thought this was too good to pass up, so here is my entry. For those that don't know, "Oregano" is my username there.

Oh, and don't forget; you can click on the thumbnails here to view a larger version of any of the artwork.

Initial Sketch

First color lay-in with some detail

And final.

The others here are just some random sketches

I've been doing. Anyway, more artwork on the way.

Cheers,
~Shane

Corrupted files and SCBWI

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Tue, 01 May 2007 03:52:00 +0000

Sometimes, things just don’t go the way you want them to. And sometimes things seem to do this maliciously.

Take yesterday and this morning for example. Fresh from returning from a fantastic couple of days at the Western Washington SCBWI conference in Belleview, I had a clearer vision on what I wanted to do with my children’s artwork, and a much better idea of what the editors and agents are looking for (more on this later).

So, after work, I spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 9 hours repainting one of the dinosaur pictures that I submitted for the conference retreat. I wanted to give it a much more painted feeling, ad a lot of detail and really let the viewer in. The previous version was more or less line art with a color wash. I wanted to take it to full painting, which is something that I had been playing around with anyway, but hadn’t really committed to. Well, I was committed.

From 2 till 11:30 p.m. I painted away, refining and playing experiment and really being pleased with what I had. By the time I was done, bleary eyed, aching and stumbling from sitting in front of my laptop for so long a stretch with only a couple of breaks here and there, I was very pleased. I figured that if I could get another session in like that, I’d be done with the piece in two sittings. And I mean really done – something to be proud of done.

I saved the pic, shut down the computer and went gratefully to bed with visions of printing a spot section at full resolution in the morning to see how well it looked printed vs. on the computer. I anticipated excellent results.

Now. I work in Corel Painter XI. For those of you in the know, I don’t use layers. I paint digitally pretty much the same way I paint traditional – the process is essentially the same, and on one layer.

Morning. Coffee cup firmly in hand and gritty eyes propped open, I started the computer, launched Painter and loaded the pic.

I could only stare. Nine hours lost. I was too shocked and disappointed to be mad, though I should have been. I’m still not sure what happened exactly. (Warning: Geekspeak ahead). The only thing that I can figure is that I was saving the file a .rif file, which is native to Painter and allows for keeping your digital watercolors “wet” between sessions, something that can not be done with any other file format. I typically just save my files as .psd’s, and don’t worry about saving “wet” paint – it’s all “wet” anyway if you use the blenders correctly. You can see what happens when things go, terribly wrong with digital artwork.

So, back to the drawing board…. The hours this morning before work were spent repainting the picture from the line art. Fortunately, I did come up with a couple of things that worked well yesterday and was able to bring them forward to today. The picture won’t be the same, but it will still be good. My arm hurts from carpel tunnel, and I still have a long, long way to go on just this one piece. And there’s thirty-one to go…

The Illustrator’s Retreat and SCBWI Conference.

Um. Wow. I’m not even really sure where to begin with this. First, it was incredible. I attended one about three or four years ago and just did not come away with the same feeling. This year was just fantastic. Every one I met there was incredibly nice.

I started off at the Illustrator’s Retreat on Friday, which started bright and early at 8:30 a.m. for registration at the Overlake Golf and Country Club in Medina. We spent the first half of the day with Paul O. Zelinsky, Caldecott Medal Winning artist. He is an incredibly nice man, and a fantastic artist. After lunch I was in for the Portfolio Critique with Stephanie Bart-Horvath, Art Director, HarperCollins and literary agent Scott Treimel of S©ott Treimel NY.

What can I say about it?

How about “Ouch!” By the end of the end of the day I was ready to either slit my wrists when I got back to the hotel or get drunk. It was rough. Brutal is a more accurate description – but that is actually a good thing. I would not have taken as much away from that had they been nice. I’m very glad that the two of them were as honest and forthright as they were. Both Stephanie and Scott gave me a lot to think about in regards to how I am approaching the digital work, and what needs to be done in order to make it really shine.

The actual conference itself on Saturday was awesome. I don’t want to give you a blow by blow description of everything that went on, but it was well worth it. I had a lot of questions and concerns answered and learned a ton – much of which I am still digesting.

So, for now, back to the art!

Apple barn in Crow Valley

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 04:32:00 +0000

I, like many other people, have been in love with the Apple Barn on Crow Valley road ever since I first saw this island landmark. Its' striking red sided structure over a rocky foundation set in the fields (usually with some sort of livestock) is really too much to pass up. On the far side (left, in this case) of the barn are a couple of poplars that I am in love with as well. The didn't make it into the painting this time, but perhaps the next.

10x14, oil on board.

Raul Martin

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 03:29:00 +0000

Just a quick note - I've been meaning to bring your attention to this guy for a couple of weeks now and thought I'd do so before I completely forgot: Check out Raul Martin, Paleoillustrator. I found him by chance while doing research for the children's book. He has some lovely illustrations. I'm particularly fond of his pencil work. His copyright watermarks are a little annoying, but if you can look past that, it's worth the visit.

~S

Fallen tree and SCBWI

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 18:06:00 +0000

I pass this tree every day on my way to and from work. It sits near a bridge that I drive over on Channel road and I get a good view of it from the car.

It seems to me that it appeared shortly after one of our more intense fall storms, but I'm not sure. It may have been there longer, though I don't think so. My first recollection of it is sometime around November. The weather was particularly fierce then, so it may be that this tree was knocked down from the lagoon bank.

Regardless of how it got there, it's been a striking image to see everyday. To me it evokes some sort of sea monster or creature that has taken residence near the bridge waiting for an unwitting passerby (wasn't there a car commercial to this effect?)

I love the shape of the curve and twist near the base of the tree where it was up-rooted, and the texture of the bark. Both were great fun to draw. The sweep of the trunk as it lie in the water, arcing skyward instead of resting on its side was of special interest to me – this was really what set it apart. It should have fallen flat, but didn’t. Balancing on it’s limbs, they become almost like legs, supporting the body of some great, groping beast as it looks for it’s next meal among the waters.

Or maybe I just haven’t had enough coffee yet :o)

Anyway, the final illustration is graphite, 9x12, for sale if anyone is interested, and is what is going to be the first in ia series of nteresting Orcas Island Trees that I’m plan on doing in pencil. (click the thumbnail for a larger view).

Also of note, back in January I applied to the 4^th Annual Professional Retreat for Illustrators hosted by the SCBWI. In the application process you are required to submit five finished pieces of artwork (copies, never originals) for one of 25 slots for the retreat, where you get cozy with Caldecott winning artist Paul O. Zelinsky and Stephanie Bart-Horvath, an art director for HarperCollins Children's Books to learn more about Children’s book publishing, critiques on your work and general networking opportunities. The pieces I submitted where Dragon Tag, The Explorer, Mom’s Gonna Freak, Party Animal, and Galloping Diplodocus.

I found out yesterday I was accepted. Yay! Now I have to put a move on and finish the children’s dummy, as they want to see that (Ack!)

Anyway, in and of itself, this really doesn't mean much, but it is an opportunity to learn something new and perhaps make a few connections. I'll keep you posted.

Cheers all,
~Shane

WaFed Show Closes

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:40:00 +0000

A big thank you to the fantastic people over at Washington Federal. I may work there part-time as well, but everyone was has been so supportive of my work, I can not express my thanks enough. My art show there began in January, but when we didn't have a February artist, Lisa (the assistant manager) asked if I would keep my work up for another month. Of course I couldn't say "no" :o)

Having a fly's eye view of people's reaction to my work was a lot of fun. Not everyone knew that the Artist of the Month was also helping them with their transactions! When they found out (if they did) I took great joy in watching their surprise. I was also encouraged to play "curator" and talk with people one on one about the various pieces, which was a great pleasure.

But one of the best things about this past show for me was the all ages aspect of it. I mixed in some of my illustrative work with the fine art to bulk things out. I did this because I was concerned (needlessly) that I wouldn't have enough work to fill the walls, but that proved to be an unfounded fear. By doing this, however, it allowed an interest point for just about everyone. Mixed in with the still-lifes and portraits were fantasy and science fiction pieces, and I included my "sketchbook" portfolio which had forty some odd game cards I illustrated for Fantasy Flight Games and the box art for Space Empires V by Malfador Machinations.

Ultimately, though, this section of the post isn't about my art. It's about a big "Thank You" to Rollie, Lisa, Jen, Elinor, and Madeline for their support and tolerance of two months of my stuff on their walls and letting me goof off when I should have been working! Thanks guys!! :o)

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One of the things I enjoy doing are portraits - pets, people, whatever. I took some time out from the children’s book to work on a drawing of our dog, Bella.

I worked from a photo of her sitting in the snow we had in November. Something she seemed to really enjoy.

Sketches

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 04:45:00 +0000

As I feared this past week left little time for any meaningful drawing. But I did squeeze some stuff in here and there.
The most interesting of which was just one small page of sketches that started out as a brainstorm for a dinos for the children's book but ended up with a small collection of characters. I was fairly pleased with them.

Below is a preview of what's to come. A couple of pages from the the dummy.

Hope you enjoy.

~S

Bits and pieces

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 02:26:00 +0000

The end of another long week. Friday, finally. With my day job work schedule periodically in flux, my time for working on art projects tends to be a premium. Today, for example, I had about a half an hour to squeeze some work in on the children's book. Not a lot of time, but enough to rip out a background and and redraw it the way I should have the first time. The forground and middle ground in this particular scene were fine, thankfully, but sitting in the car with my clip board braced against my knee and the steering wheel make for interesting drawing conditions. I don't know what people passing me thought I was doing, as I'm sure you really couldn't see the clip board from their vantage point.

Anywy, this coming week is going to be extremely limited in terms of "art-time". I'll have more days like the one above coming up. I'd draw when I get home, but in my experience the more tired I am the more stupid mistakes I make and the more work I create for myself by having to go back and fix what I messed up.

Well, I don't feel right about posting an entry without something to look at, so here's a digital piece that I did this evening from memory. On the drive home from work, I get an incredible view of the Sound. Often, the clouds are just amazing. My favorite part is watching the light and shadow play across the water and sky. I could watch clouds for days. I often find them more captivating than the surrounding landscape. But that's just me.

~S

Children's Book Dummy

noreply@blogger.com (S.C. Watson) — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 01:47:00 +0000

Well, hey – the first post for the newsletter - I'm excited. It's been a while since I've done one of these, and frankly I was more than a little apprehensive. But thus far, interest has been high enough for me to delve in and start a new newsletter.

So, onto the news:

After much heel dragging, soul searching, procrastination, and distraction I'm finally working on a dummy for a children's book, as yet untitled. The picture shown should give you an idea of what to expect when it's done :o)

With children's books, as an author illustrator, you create what is called a "dummy" (you do this for any picture book that you are illustrating) - essentially a series of sketches, rough or fine-tuned depending on how you like to draw, that show your story and include your text separately all geared at giving a publisher an idea of how well you write and how well you draw and if both work well togther. For me, this has been a lot of fun. Being a visual person, I’ve had to draw the pictures before writing the descriptive test and dialog. I tried doing it like a normal person and writing the text first, but I just got bogged down – go figure! I think in pictures (most of the time) and need to be able to see what I’m doing in order to build the description around the story. As of this posting, I’m about 2/3rds done with the story. I will keep you posted on my progress!

Also of note, I have a couple of impending projects on the drawing board including a fine art commission which should be started in the next month or so.

That's it for now.

~S