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  • August 2008
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  • Support a Deserving Artist - Why not buy a T-shirt?


    For those of you who don't know, I am also a designer by trade. I have a number of T-shirt designs for sale through Cafe Press. These are largely pertaining to the Martial Arts or Fitness.


    It would mean the world to me if you would be so kind as to click on the image above to visit my humble shop and take a look. (This link will open in a new window).

  • My portfolio on Coroflot


     
    view my portfolio:
    www.coroflot.com/sagearts

July Sketches

By Anthony on Aug 4, 2008 | In Artwork, Illustrations, Sketches | Send feedback »

Link: http://www.sageartsstudio.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=760

Here are the better sketches from July.

Spending more time with markers this month. Still trying to nail down certain expressions and characterizations. Definitely need more time with a model in a structured setting. This happenstance drawing is too infrequent. Still, I'm beginning to see a change in my results.

 

I found a couple of new pens, and have a really cool one on the way. I decided to drop $25 and order an Ackerman Pump Pen. Perhaps one of the coolest ideas I've seen in awhile. I ordered the one that will accept the Manga G-Pen nibs. I have a stock of those coming in from Akadot as well.

 

Dragon Design

By Anthony on Jul 13, 2008 | In Artwork, Illustrations | 1 feedback »

I was recently hired to design a poster for a local Tae Kwon Do school's annual tournament. I did their poster last year, it was well received. This year I was asked to do a dragon. The design included a t-shirt design for one color silkscreen printing as well as a full-color version for the web and for the poster.
 

Read more

Tags: comic art, design, drawings, illustration, marker sketch, pen and ink

Advice to a Young Artist

By Anthony on Jul 1, 2008 | In Editorial | Send feedback »

A week ago I was approached during my weekly drawing session by a young man who was carrying a sketchbook. He had asked me a few weeks prior if I was trying to be a professional artist. I said no. (I wasn't trying, I just was). He asked if I had any training, classes or such. I said a few. These are smart ass answers, but with a straight face, they are polite and nondescript, which lets me get back to drawing. Most people ask a question, but really want to make a statement about themselves in the process, maybe to see if they're doing ok. This time I humored him.

Read more

Tags: advice, commentary, editorial, opinion

Digital portrait - work in progress (stage 1)

By Anthony on Jun 29, 2008 | In Artwork, Sketches | Send feedback »

Work in progress

Here is a digital portrait I started working on, I'll post updates as I finish the piece. Painter X rocks by the way.

 
Tags: digital, expressions, painter x, paintings, portrait, sketch

June Sketches

By Anthony on Jun 29, 2008 | In Artwork, Sketches | Send feedback »

Link: http://www.sageartsstudio.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=721&g2_page=2

I found out this weekend that I have a nickname at the coffee shop: "Green Tea." Not as sexy as "007;" I suppose I am a creature of habit. Speaking of habits, here are the better sketches from June.

I'm up to an average of 4-5 hours of drawing per week (not nearly enough). In one sitting I'll get about three pages of sketches in ink or marker done, then some pencil sketches, and maybe a more involved portrait in graphite or watercolor. I always start with quick sketches in permanent media as a warm-up. No erasing, no going back. I also won't let myself look through what I did earlier when I start. The focus is first on gesture, then on accuracy, expression, and composition

I definitely need to get back to figure drawing, I'm spending too much time working from memory or photographs, not enough time drawing from life. My ultimate goal is to draw at least one hour per day, with longer sessions on the weekends.

Tags: drawing, marker, pen and ink, pencil, sketchbook, sketches

Portrait (sketch) on Yupo

By Anthony on Jun 25, 2008 | In Artwork, Sketches | 2 feedbacks »

Finished this one over the course of three sessions. Still trying to work out the best way to create textures on this surface. I just got my jar of liquid pencil, watersoluable graphite. I'll be trying some new things with that this weekend.

This is a half-sheet from a 9x12 pad. I want to get more familiar with this before I start working on the larger sheets (22x35).

I also just found out that Yupo comes in transluscent sheets as well as the opaque bright white. More money to spend...

 
Tags: drawing, graphite, pencil, portrait, sketch, watercolor, yupo

The Death of George Carlin

By Anthony on Jun 23, 2008 | In Welcome, News, Editorial, Inspiration | 1 feedback »

Today is truly a dark day. It was announced this morning that a man of profound satire, intelligent humor and subtle wisdom, someone I consider to be a great teacher, has passed. Sunday evening, after reporting of chest pains earlier that afternoon, the comedian George Carlin died of heart failure at the age of 71.

Read more

Portrait on Yupo

By Anthony on Jun 16, 2008 | In Illustrations, Sketches | Send feedback »

This is one of two drawings that I did last week. I'm still working on the other portrait, but I will post it soon, because I think it came out even better than this one did.

I am beginning to get a handle on this tricky surface. Particulary, how to layer values to build up a sense of atmosphere. If it weren't so expensive ($9-$18 for 20 9"x12" sheets) I might waste more of it, more often. You have to be prepared to spend some money to learn a new medium.

My next drawings on Yupo will involve lifting and sponged textures as well. I had some interesting accidents recently that have gotten the gears rolling. I also have some new watersoluable graphite on order from Blick Art Supplies. This is tinted and comes in a jar.

Tags: drawings, illustration, pencil, portrait, sketches, watercolor, yupo

Site is back up.

By Anthony on Jun 16, 2008 | In News | Send feedback »

The site is back up and everything is now in working order. Thanks for your patience.

Portrait of a Chinese Girl

By Anthony on Jun 15, 2008 | In Sketches | Send feedback »


I was paging through a National Geographic couple of weeks ago, found an interesting face, tried to do it justice. This sketch is watercolor pencil on 6"x9" watercolor paper. This was a 20 minute sketch.

 
Tags: drawing, portrait, sketch, watercolor

Site will be down this weekend

By Anthony on Jun 9, 2008 | In News | Send feedback »

Beginning Thursday evening, my site(s) and email will be down for maintenance this weekend. Unfortunately that includes this blog. Things will be back to normal as of Monday, June 16th, 2008.

For more information, click here.

Portrait on Yupo

By Anthony on Jun 9, 2008 | In Sketches | Send feedback »

A month ago I started playing around with a new kind of paper I read about in an article in American Artist Magazine. The surface is pristine white, absolutely non-absorbant, yet will allow binding by all water media. Further, it's made of plastic, not fiber or paper. The material is called Yupo.

Controlling the paint on this type of surface is tricky. Because the paper is non-absorbant, watersoluable media can be worked into over and over. This also means that layering is a tricky thing. Too much water in your paint and you will begin to pick up under layers, instead of adding to them. Many artists who paint on this surface make use of dripping and pooling paint, using rollers and sponges to create odd textures.

After experimenting with this I had the idea of using watercolor pencil and watersoluable woodless graphite sticks to create drawings, then work back into them with a slightly damp brush. This method can have the control of drawing, yet the expressive qualities of painting. Even after working back into the drawing, creating a layered texture, the media can be erased with a pencil eraser, offering yet more control.

There is a great controversy in the Watercolor Community, over whether or not to allow this type of ground into more traditional watercolor competitions. The question of what is and what is not water-based media is one full of opinion. Personally, I think this type of ground should be allowed.

Although it's somewhat expensive, I think this method of working deserves more research. I have other drawings/paintings in the works, I plan to post them next month.

Tags: drawing, painting, pencil, portrait, watercolor, yupo

April - May 2008 Sketches

By Anthony on Jun 7, 2008 | In Sketches | Send feedback »

Link: http://www.sageartsstudio.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=56&g2_page=1&g2_navId=x1a213a03

Here is the next batch of sketches. Again these are the best of many many sketches, still working on certain issues. I hope to have more available in a week or so.

Before you say it, yes, I tend to draw female portraits more than males. I find that the female face requires more subtlety and an accuracy of line, and that's really what I need to work on right now. I also tend to start with a bounding box, or circle, some shape to begin to confine my drawing. That is something that I disregard if the drawing is going somewhere interesting, but I start with to make sure I keep the graphic aspect of the drawing in mind.

Tags: drawings, marker, pen and ink, portrait, sketchbook, sketches

Oppose the Orphan Works Act

By Anthony on Jun 5, 2008 | In News, Editorial, Issues | Send feedback »

Originally posted on www.drawn.ca

By now many of you are already informed about the proposed Orphan Works Act being introduced to the U.S. house and senate. For those unaware, this legislation, if enacted, can effectively undermine and dismantle your existing copyright protection.

Currently, copyright is granted the moment a work is created. This new Orphan Works legislation proposes a change in U.S. copyright that would (indirectly) require artists, illustrators, photographers, and any creative individual to actively maintain and defend their copyright by registering each and every work with privatized registrars. Failure to do so would leave everything you’ve ever created as an artist up for grabs by anyone who wanted to copy, reproduce, create derivative works of, or flat out steal your work since the act defines an “orphan work” as any work where the author is unidentifiable or unlocatable, and applies to both published and unpublished works, U.S. and foreign, regardless of age.

This is completely contradictory with international copyright standards and is ethically, logistically, and financially bonkers.

Read more

Tags: bill, copyright, law, legal, protest

Drawing Day 2008 - June 7th

By Anthony on Jun 5, 2008 | In Issues | Send feedback »

Link: http://www.drawingday.org

Drawing Day 2008Drawing Day is almost here. Check out the website for details on how to participate and spread the word. This is a project that is pushing to produce 1 million drawings in a single day worldwide.

Tags: artist, events, participation, promotion

My Drawing Kit

By Anthony on Jun 2, 2008 | In Welcome | Send feedback »

One of the biggest problems I've had over the past ten years is finding enough studio space to do the work I want to do. When I was in college I used to do large paintings on canvas. Now it's not that easy. With digital artwork, the studio is "virtual," but with real media, you have to have space for working and drying and storing…

So I've taken to working abroad, either sitting in my truck or at cafe's and bookstores. I try to have something with me to sketch with. In addition to the stuff below I also keep my digital camera with me to shoot reference material.

Last year, one of my students brought me a rather odd hand-woven bag from his trip to Peru last year. It is surprisingly well suited for carrying markers and pens. I currently carry:

 

Read more

Tags: artist, drawing, methods, studio, tools

Sketches: Jan-Mar 2008

By Anthony on Jun 2, 2008 | In Sketches | Send feedback »

Link: http://www.sageartsstudio.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=21

2008_01-03_010.jpg

So last fall I decided it was time to start working on my drawing skills. I took many years off after college, a long period of about 10 years where I was not making what I considered "real" art. Given that all of the design work I had done during that time involved Photoshop and Illustrator, I felt like I lost something.

When I was in college, I had a real knack for gesture, but even then I was never one to draw clean line. So I began to work on it, weekly. I currently average 3-5 hours each week, drawing at bookstore cafe's and coffee shops.

These sketches are from January thru March of 2008. I wasted a lot of paper during this time. My routine is to sit down and start with a bunch of quick and loose thumbnails in marker and ink, stuff you can't erase. Later I might work in pencil, but not until after the first couple of pages.

You can see the rest of this gallery here: http://www.sageartsstudio.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=21 I'll post more recent images next week.

Tags: drawings, illustration, sketches

Welcome

By Anthony on Jun 1, 2008 | In Welcome | Send feedback »

Welcome to my new blog.

I will be posting new drawings and sketches on a weekly basis. Check back from time to time to see what's cookin'.

  • Awake at 3 AM


    Awake at 3 AM and the clock
    flashes the time to my conscience.
    Toss and turn on the uneven bed
    fix the covers, sheets and pillows
    listen to the grinding of your neck
    in blue midnite impatience
    there is no grace in insomnia
    only deadpan fatigue, a soul
    leaking slowly from the corners of your eyes
    I bounce my leg, for lack of a tail,
    think happy thoughts, deepen
    my breathing, pray for peace of mind,
    for once, for a good night’s sleep
    and find that this doesn’t work either.
    The dog barking and that asshole
    slams his car door again,
    the furnace kicks in fits and blows air in,
    the ticking clock is a pounding drum and
    my neck is sore from the pillows.
    I bury my thoughts in a basket of
    dirty laundry, the room is a mess
    and my life is no better
    the light in the other room is still on
    and the tape in my mind replays over and
    over
    and the time ticks by again at 3:30 AM.
    I’m waiting for the music to begin
    for the song sung by valkyrin and
    choirs of angels, a heavenly lullaby
    a kiss on the eyelids and softly tucked in.

    © 2008 Anthony Sell
     

  • Recent Posts

    • July Sketches
    • Dragon Design
    • Advice to a Young Artist
    • Digital portrait - work in progress (stage 1)
    • June Sketches
    • Portrait (sketch) on Yupo
    • The Death of George Carlin
    • Portrait on Yupo
    • Site is back up.
    • Portrait of a Chinese Girl
    • Site will be down this weekend
    • Portrait on Yupo
    • April - May 2008 Sketches
    • Oppose the Orphan Works Act
    • Drawing Day 2008 - June 7th
    • My Drawing Kit
    • Sketches: Jan-Mar 2008
    • Welcome
  • Labor Sons


    And I dream
    in those quiet times
    of friends past
    and faces lost
    words spoken, or not,
    of clasping hands
    and weary eyes.

    I dream of lovely agonies
    and careless minutes
    strewn, about
    grinning stupidly
    at the humdrum
    of daily shuffle
    and passing time.

    Labor sons, we trusted
    the clock, plodding
    and plotting to overcome it,
    the week, the day
    the hour, the damned
    Banker’s hour
    and the shallow dollar.
    The Butcher’s week.

    Pockets pleading and
    shoulders tight, the way
    was to not-think
    to think of anything
    somewhere else
    and bide, silently bide
    we chewed our tasteless
    food with the same
    mechanical efficiency.

    © 2.14.08 Anthony Sell

  • And I love you with your crooked teeth.


    Your hand touches mine
    we turn to face each other
    on the pillow
    looking down
    your eyes dance darkly
    through your lazy bangs
    watching my hands
    our fingers entwine
    and the corners of your mouth
    turn upward just slightly
    I touch your hair
    black as kitten fur, and as soft
    the room, cast vermillion,
    gold and apple green
    dappled in sunlight,
    my heart is a violet sponge
    we kiss lightly and breathlessly
    enter the same dream.

    © 2.26.08 Anthony Sell

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