MECH RACER

" Six time Mech Racer Champion Matthew Stewart of TEAM VENoM looks over his Mech one last time…  Deciding between payment to take a dive or battling to win it all at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, 2074."   

Awhile ago my friend and award winning fantasy illustrator Matt Stewart painted me for one of his card illustration jobs.  It was a real honor since only a handful of illustrators I know have ever included me in their works.  We agreed to do an art trade so that I could own his original painting.  Soon after working out a sketch for what I was going to do, a number of personal issues prevented me from finishing the final piece.

With life back on track and Spectrum Live fast approaching I wanted to do something fun and hopefully worth the wait.  I look forward to passing this over to him at the convention.  This is my thank you to Matt for being a friendly ear when I was overwhelmed by all that life was throwing at me.  

This painting will be on view and prints available at booth 805 during Spectrum Fantastic Art Live, May 18-20.

 

Some of the rough sketches and thought process.

 

I tried my best to make sure the mech design made sense even though you’re only seeing a piece of the whole.  It was important that it not just be abstract shapes that surround the figure, but hint at a functional looking design as well. Bicycle gears and hubcaps taken out of context provided great reference for the Mech’s hip and lower leg joints.  My love of Sport bikes like the Yamaha R1 inspired the rest.  

Here is the painting Matt did of me.  “Echo Mage” from the Rise of the Eldrazi set by Magic the Gathering.   Apparently it's a pretty rare and popular card played all over the world.  That's cool.

To see more of Matt's work visit  Matt Stewart's Blog 

Life Painting at Garin's

(This is basically a follow up to an earlier blog post by James Gurney) Last Saturday I attended an open life painting session at the Home/Studio of friend and mentor Garin Baker.  I’ve been attending these life drawing and painting classes off and on for the past 12 years.  It’s always a great time in a relaxing positive atmosphere.  Often I never know who is going to show up since the Hudson Valley is full of Illustrators and Fine Artists.  This time around we were honored to have James Gurney and Max Ginsburg stop by for the day.  Garin’s atelier offers a number of classes for experienced and novice artists.  Check out more at http://www.carriageartatelier.com/

  

My quick gouache study from the day.  When painting a live model sometimes I like doing it in watercolor and gouache rather than oils.   Here are some other pics from the day. Starting with Garin's painting, then Max and  James' Ginsburg study.

just so you get a sense of scale...

Here is a painting Garin did of me back in March 2001.  The model cancelled at the last minute so I volunteered.  He captured a quick likeness just before the rest of my hair fell out.