Marv Painting

{Oil on Paper, 2009}

I finished up this painting of Marv from Sin City for Scott. You see part of the process on THIS post. In my current paintings, I am trying to be less controlled on every single aspect of the piece. I think you can see some of that with the background and jacket.

Work in Progress: First Day with Oil

{First Layer of Oil, 2009}

{Detail, 2009}

I started putting a thin layer of oil paint on this illustration today. I wanted some of the values and a few parts of the drawing to show through (at least for now) while I am working out the major color palette. Tomorrow I spend a lot of my time at the Des Moines Art Center teaching, but I hope to get some painting done during my afternoon break and continue painting on Thursday and Friday! My aim is to try to be done with this by mid next week.

Work in Progress: Winter Scene

{Final Sketch on Illustration Board, 2009}

{Acrylic Layer to Seal Drawing, 2009}

I have a bunch of little things going on in my studio right now, but I have been working on this fairly large (18"x8.5") illustration for a week now. It took awhile to get the drawing right, plus it was a hectic week last week... and the "hectic" wasn't art related, just life. Nothing serious, but it prohibited me from spending much quality time in my studio. More than anything, I'm just glad to be back in my little space working away! I can't wait to get started on the oil portion of this piece and share the progress.

Marv and the Ultimate Question Answered

{Marv from Sin City Sketch, 2009}

{First Layer of Oil Paint, 2009}

{Mickey Rourke as Marv in Sin City}

My friend from college, Scott (aka Workhorse) has been on my case about fulfilling my promise to illustrate my interpretation of Marv from Sin City (easily my favorite character!) I'm not a die hard comic-bookie or anything, but I really loved the depth in the movie and Marv stands out as a complex character. In my drawing I made Marv's eyes a little sadder, 'cause this guy has been through some stuff! I'll probably make some adjustments as I continue working through the painting (which is relatively small at about 4"x4") I'll post the finished piece as soon as it gets done... and then I will promptly mail it to Mr. Workhorse.

Now, as I mentioned in the title of this post... The answer to the ultimate question.

Q: How do giraffes drink from a drinking glass?
A:

{Pen and Ink, 2009}

I know, I know... my sense of humor is hideous.

More Halloween Pictures!

{Pumpkins lit up, 2009}

{Costumes, 2009}

{Finished Makeup, 2009}

{Ken's Wonderful Costume, 2009}

I know this is generally an illustration blog, but I can't help but share more of our Halloween happenings! We spent so much creative energy on our pumpkins and Ken's costume that I think its totally legit to share it here! Ken came up with the idea of a Lego man costume. He did a scale drawing in AutoCAD and started to build the costume using cardboard and tons of other mundane materials. When he got to the final stages I helped sand parts of the costume and I painted the torso and areas of the face. The final product turned out fabulous and even won him $500 at a local radio/casino costume contest! I loved working on the project with him too. Its always such a wonderful bonding experience to work together on something creative... especially when the hard work pays off! (literally!) Hope everyone out there had a safe and happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween 2009!

{Digital Mixed Media, 2oo9}

{Oliver's Costume, 2009}

{Our Pumpkins, 2009}

{Close up of my Pumpkin, 2009}

{Close up of my Husband's Pumpkin, 2009}

{Oliver Helping, 2009}

I hope everyone has a wonderfully spooky Halloween! The pictures above are a sampling of how we get into the Halloween spirit here at the Camling household! As you can see, Oliver is a big part of it! I don't think he really appreciates the costume, but he was ALL ABOUT helping carve the pumpkins! Can't wait to post some costume pictures later. (not so much mine, but the costume my husband and I worked on for him!) Can you believe tomorrow is already November?!

"Swine Flew" Illustration

{Oil, 2009}

I'm so pleased to be done with this piece. Now I can move on to something else! If you scroll down the blog, you will see the progression of this piece from sketch to where it is now. I'm glad I made the changes in the lighting and background. I think it adds more to the type of mood I am trying to portray. I don't know about the rest of you, but when I enter the late stages of a painting, I feel as though I am holding my breath hoping my hand doesn't slip or my color choices aren't wrong as I daub the last few details on!

Illustrations for My Light Magazine

{Digital, 2009}

{Digital, 2009}

These are my contributions to the November 2009 My Light Online Magazine. I did the drawings with colored pencil and scanned them into photoshop to add color. I always forget how enjoyable it is to paint in Photoshop... plus the added luxury of "command z". (all you digital illustrators out there know what I'm talkin' bout!) Well, I'm off to go finish my painting from the previous post... hope to be done with it today!

Progress on Flying Pigs

{Work in Progress, 2009}

{My Palette, 2009}

If you regularly read this blog, you have probably seen some of the stages of this illustration. There were several areas that I wasn't happy with. For instance, I didn't like the background; it looked too cheerful. I didn't like the standard lighting on the characters; didn't evoke the sense of mood I want to portray. Due to my unhappiness with certain compositional elements, I have been reworking areas and I wanted to share my progress so far. I also included a photo of my palette, because it is always interesting to see all the little colors I've mixed during a painting session and I don't even realize how full the palette is until I am cleaning up.

Autumn Spice Headbands

{I'm wearing one of my autumn inspired headbands, 2009}

{Headbands: Details and Colors , 2009}

When I got my hair cut too short to wear in a ponytail, I decided I wanted to make some autumn inspired headbands. I made one for myself, and then I made five more variations to sell at the Market Street Media Foundry Market Day. The sale is this Saturday (October 24, 2009) from 9-5. Not only can you find reasonable art and craft deals, this particular Market Day event is also having a rummage sale. If you are in the Des Moines area, stop by for some great finds and even better deals!

Market Street Media Foundry

118 SE 4th Street

Des Moines, Iowa 50309

Illustration Friday - Frozen

{Ink Pen in Moleskine, 2009}

I did a pen sketch in my sketchbook last night. This is probably all I will have time for this week, but I still think the little sketch has quite a bit of personality! I am busy preparing for Market Day (this Saturday, October 24th...stop by if you are in the Des Moines area!) and also some other little mysterious illustration based things that need to be tied up into neat little bows in the next few weeks.

And the Winner is...

{Oliver waiting to choose the WINNER!, 2009}

{Oliver with the WINNING entrant!, 2009}

I want to thank everyone for playing along in celebration of my 300th blog post! Join me in congratulating Margaret, who is the winning entrant! I have e-mailed her, and once the finished painting is done, I will post it on this blog. Also, special thanks to Oliver, for helping to choose the winner. You can't get any more random than that, can you?!

Illustration Friday - Flying

{Oil on Board, 2009}

This is a little piece of the illustration that I am currently working on. I am hoping to be done with the whole thing very soon. When I finish it, I will, of course, post it here! 

Also, you can comment on my previous post until Saturday with a chance to win a painting! Check out the details HERE!

300th Post Giveaway!

{Oil on Canvas, 2009}

I am working on some smaller paintings to sell at Market Day in Des Moines on October 24th. This painting measures 4"x12" and will be put up for sale. I will post more as I finish them!

NOW, FOR THE EXCITING NEWS!

This post represents my 300th post on this blog! In honor of this post, I am going to be giving away an original mini painting of which the winner will choose the subject matter. Here is a concise list of the details:

1. To enter, you simply need to leave a comment. In that comment, you MUST include at least your FIRST NAME and a current E-MAIL address. (A link to your blog or something that I can contact you with works too!)
2. YOU CAN ONLY ENTER ONCE. Additional comments will be discarded before the drawing.
3. Contest closes on Saturday, October 17, 2009 at Noon Central: UTC-6/DST-5.

4. One winner chosen at random will win a custom painted mini canvas (4"x4").
5. Once chosen, the winner will be notified and they will choose the subject matter of their painting!
6. The painting will be completed and posted on this blog for all the world to see!

* EDIT: The contest is NOW CLOSED. Thanks for all of you who participated! I will post the winner before 4pm today! Thanks!!*

Work in Progress: Oil Painting

{Day One of Oil Illustration, 2009}

Today was the first day I've had to work on this illustration. I'm stoked that the theme for Illustration Friday this week is "Flying". I created this piece for Illustration Friday's theme of "Germs" last week. Its lucky to have a working illustration that fits in so well with two themes in a row! Before I started with the oil today, I had previously transferred the drawing onto the primed illustration board and sealed it with burnt sienna acrylic paint. (you can see a little peeking through in a few spots, specifically the buildings) I also built up some VERY general tones with the burnt sienna, which helps determine lighting. This piece is going pretty quickly, which pleases me!