AIRBRUSH WORKS

as I venture deeper into the airbrush world as a full time job, I figured I'd post my more recent airbrush paintings...........

Eleanor CMYK (continued)

Eleanor CMYK (continued)

Eleanor CMYK

this is my eldest daughter Eleanor, using a subtractive/ additive CMYK process - for a first attempt, I'm pretty happy

Sorry again!

I've been so busy painting (and moving house for the winter), not to mention welcoming my new daughter, Jane, into the world, that this place has slipped - regardless, this is the most recent offering. Mainly portraits in different styles - hope you enjoy

Sorry!!!!!!

found out in February that we were due to have another daughter (due today). Since January, we finished our house renovation, sold it in the summer, and am currently renting until we find a new venue! The Kneivel painting will be continued asap, along with some new material and ideas - please stay tuned!

JJ

Knievel continued

I wanted the packaging to be that real cheap Chinese stuff, with no reference to Evel at all. It just seemed fitting somehow, as it wasn't too patronising - plus, the real aficiandos out there will recognise the bike. I had "Jump Cycle" as the original package title, but soon realised it needed the word "Super" preceding in small text.

So far, just the background is blocked in, the canvas being 5' x 4', and in acylic.........

Evel Knievel Tribute

There are two types of people in this world. Those who are daredevils, and those who aren't. Those who aren't become insurance brokers in order to finacially cover those that are. That's how the world works.

This is Evel Knievel's fault. The next time you have to put on a suit and head into the office to sit in front of a computer and listen to copiers running all day and wonder whatever happened to that wonderful life as a kid skateboarding over a plywood ramp with all your friends and hoping that your mom would let you stay out another hour because the sun was still up.......blame him. It's easy to fall off a ramp at 80 miles per hour, but it's not easy to get people to pay to watch it.

EK (which, interestingly enough are my daughter's and wife's initials) died late last year, at 69 years old. Probably through boredom. He not only influenced me and all of my friends in our formative years of the 70s, but is the reason I am still the way I am. It was a revalation to see someone ALLOWED to act that way, albeit under strict supervision.

He is the King of Daredevils, and that's why I'm painting his bike.

Now, before the thousands who read this blog begin screaming sacrilidge, I KNOW he jumped a modified Triumph Bonneville, but after several months of research and attempting to contact his Estate, I got nothing imagewise.

So I used one of his many other jump cycles, the 1972 Harley Davidson XR750. This particular bike is now on display at the Smithsonian.

The idea behind the painting, much like the Ducati, is to package the bike as a toy, this time at 1/2 scale, with the Caesars Palace as the cardboard backdrop - here's the photoshop mockup....

Isn't it interesting..............

.........what difference a few hours and glasses of wine make. Balanced the helmet tones, and almost completed the jacket - sunglasses and safety glass are the order of the day today - sure beats sitting in front of a computer........which is kind of ironic..............

A plastic plate, a hole punch, and a Sharpie

Well, the wall's pretty much finished, so I began detailing the items inside the case. The final piece will have fire safety glass as the case door, so I wanted to begin detailing to a level that would complement this - i.e. low. The thing about super realism, is that it takes a long time. The thing about super realism on a piece that's 48" x 80" is that it takes a REALLY long time. So, I have to learn to cut corners, and not spend too much time on elements that aren't the main focus of the piece, such as breeze blocks and peg board. So, I basically found a section of pegboard (my daughter's toy tool set), and used it as a dot template - notice I say "dot" not "hole" - I then had to punch a hole in a plastic plate, and Sharpie in every hole individually (this method proved to work the best) - onto the helmet and jacket now...........

Falling Goat

A few years ago, I completed a piece for a friend's brother. It was entitled "Bombat Helicopcop Dead", after a dream that the brother's son had had. A few weeks ago, he contacted me again, asking for another painting, this time entitled "Falling Goat". The facts is, his daughter and his other son were to be in the painting, and the "falling goat" is a password she uses around the house - it's a very entailed description, but if one client ever pushes me from the world of Realism, to that of Surrealism, it'll be this guy...............

Captain America Update

Who'd have thought that the most labour intensive part of the painting would be breeze block walls? So simple in theory, but not so in practice - so many subtle pinholes and shading variances in the mortar will make this a long haul. I have found in the past that this monotony can translate into a magical backdrop, on which the real subject is displayed - that's why I figured I'd get it finished before completing any more of the painting...........I just need to remain sane.

Captain America update

Friday at last, and managed to get a full day, (i.e. no architecture), on the painting. Completed the security case for the items, and began mapping in their shadows. As I had the jacket, sunglasses, and miniature toy helmet in my possession, I simply shone a flashlight on each piece individually, and used the resulting shadows as reference - the sunglasses were the most surprising - I didn't realise they sat so far off the canvas. Either way, it's starting to look convincing, and that's really all that keeps me going. Otherwise, I'd probably be designing a bedroom addition instead.........

Captain America update

Managed to get another few hours in on the Captain America Emergency Kit painting today - using my own abused Indian motorcycle jacket as reference, I began working into the coat, in order to try and acheive the worn, old look. I figured the coat is better with some battle scars (and possibly the helmet), as it was at the end of the movie - plus, no one wants to look at a NEW motorcycle jacket - let alone wear one - anyway, still plenty of work left on it, so off I go..........

Guest Appearance at Dunbar EuroSports

Saturday was a busy day. I visited Dunbar Eurosports, a local Ducati and BMW dealership as a "guest painter", where I finished off the Casey Stoner helmet, as part of the Customer Appreciation Day. I had some good feedback, as well as some print orders of the Ducati in Styrofoam! It was an all day session, from about 10:30 to 3:30, and got to meet a lot of great people, including a few members of The Yankee Beemers, the New England BMW Club.

In between Tacos and painting, I got a chance to chat with Roy Bertalotto, the Club President, and we discussed a possible BMW painting, so stay tuned for updates.

All in all, the attendees consisted of very knowledgeable and big time riders, obviously full of the riding passion. The atmosphere was great, and I made some great contacts.

One of the highlights, as far as bikes goes, was the already infamous Ducati Desmosedici RR, the $72,000, 200 HP Race Replica. Full Carbon Fiber panels and tip top components and 1 of only 45 imported to the US, it really was a pleasant surprise to see it in the flesh.

Now, off to finish Captain America.............

Captain America Emergency Kit Painting

Hot on the heels of the Casey Stoner helmet, here's the first shot of the Captain America "Easy Rider" emergency kit. The jacket, helmet, and shades will be in a glass case for easy access in times of need. The helmet's metallic blue, metallic red, and pearlescent white, while the jacket's supple black leather, with the quilted Stars and Stripes - a challenge no doubt, but I hope it'll be worth it.......

Casey Stoner's Helmet: New Progress Shot

The painting won't be complete until November 29th (as I will be finishing it live at Dunbar Eurosport's Customer Appreciation Day).

But here it is today...

I'll post pictures of the event and finished painting.

Casey Stoner Helmet--The Idea

Probably like most artists, I have no problem painting, but when it comes to selling my work...forget it. I have no idea how to do that. Thankfully my wife Kerry has jumped on board to help market my work. Hence the blog...

When the Ducati painting was nearing completion she sent an email out to several local Ducati dealerships to get some feedback. We got a great response and one dealership invited me to attend their Customer Appreciation Day.

I'll be at Dunbar Eurosports in Brockton, MA signing paintings on November 29th. They wanted me to be painting while I'm there and since the Ducati painting is too big to lug around (not to mention, finished) , I started a brand new painting...Casey Stoner's Helmet.

Here are the first progress shots.