Octo-Attack. This is a little sketch I worked up for a painting I just started. It was a lot of fun and very freeing to be working in graphite (pencil and powdered graphite).

The Mermacrabicorn

The mermacrabicorn and it's environment continues to take shape. I finally like where the lighting is coming from and the colors seem to working together more now. I need to flush out the face and tale and build up the ice forms around it. Then I want to add some subtle lighting effects around the source of the light and create some bubbles screaming from it's nose. What fun!

Check out Dr. Gilzot online.

I spent the weekend working on the pastel/conte painting of the Mermacrabicorn. I begin by loosely drawing in the layout of the major forms in a blue pastel and then tighten it up a bit with black conte. The softness of the pastel helps the mobility and blending of the conte, which is waxier and doesn't smear around as easily. I experiment with the background and study the relationship of the mermacrabicorn to the forms surrounding it. Then I really push the values using a hatching technique and built up the structure of my underpainting. Once I was happy with that, I come back over the top of that with a bold use of color in a soft pastel and experiment with the temperature of light.

Buck Ownens Birthday Bash :the finished design.

My Friend Drew recently moved to Cedar Park from California to be a train engineer. Today he called and I met him close to my house for a photo op. Maybe someday I'll get a ride too.

Yesterday I began my first sketch of the Mermacrabicorn for the Radical Nautical show at Gallery Lombardi. After doodling a little bit, I opted for larger, bulkier claws and a more masculine mid section to offset the long proportions in the head. The front claw is going to be more bloated and have weathering marks to make him look a little more battle tested. I'm not completely happy the positioning of the arms and Ryan Parker, illustrator extroardinaire, thought I should open up his stance to see that more of his chest. The tail design was influenced by japanese mermaid drawings I discovered online. Overall I'm happy with the way it's progressing. What do you think? Opinions and suggestions are much appreciated.

Buck Owens illustration for a poster design I'm finishing up.