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I answer listener questions about how I broke in to the entertainment industry, about being a well-rounded artist and I share some encouragement for those who may have found themselves in a transitional phase of life.
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So, this week’s post is a little early. My wife, Angie, my dachshund, Sydney, and I are heading up to the mountains north of Los Angeles to spend the weekend with some close friends and I’m not taking anything work-related with me.
But the good news is that I worked extra-hard this week to make sure I had a cool update for you despite of my taking time off this weekend.
As some of you know, I’ve been spending a lot of time working on a series of children’s books for Simon and Schuster. The books are pretty fun and they are an interesting technical challenge.
However, sometimes when I have to produce a lot of cuteness for an extended period of time, the nerd in me starts to get rowdy. …and there always comes a point where he just has to break free.
And once again he did. Last Thursday morning. I took about three hours at the beginning of the day and just started painting with the intent to soothe the nerd. I did not plan anything. I had nothing in mind when I started. I just opened a blank file and started drawing on my Cintiq.
Then, tonight, I put some finishing touches on it and called it ‘done.’
I did most of the work with my ‘Daisuke_Wild’ brush.
I moved very quickly and spontaneously because I have been recently inspired by the loose, painterly styles in which the amazing Hethe Srodowa and David Hong work.
Looking at the finished piece, it could be even more spontaneous. This is probably because I am really sleepy this evening and I tend to work more tightly when I need sleep. Its hard to sustain a visceral approach to painting over an extended period of time or throughout multiple sessions with the same piece. That’s something I’m going to be chasing after this year.
I have a number of different things going on. All of them are pretty exciting and I just can’t wait to share it all with you. I will keep you posted through this blog, via my updates on Twitter and, of course, through my podcast.
Speaking of my podcast, my next audio episode is most likely going to be a “listener mail” episode where I just respond to the wonderful emails that many of you have been sending. So, yeah, if you have any questions or you want to share some feedback for the show or site, please write in soon!
Thanks for reading and listening, my friends. I love hearing from you.
New blogs or podcasts at ChrisOatley.com EVERY MONDAY!
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As many of you know, one of my dear friends, Lora Innes is the creator of an amazing IDW comic book called The Dreamer.
Lora wrote me a few weeks ago and asked me to design a Wizard Of Oz Flying Monkey to go on a shirt that the main character, Beatrice, would be wearing in issue #6 (which can currently be read on The Dreamer Website).
Lora knows that I am a Wizard Of Oz super-fan. I love just about any incarnation of the story. I myself have made a number of paintings featuring the OZ characters and she knew that I would have a blast creating the design.
However, as I was dreaming up this Flying Monkey for The Dreamer, I started thinking about how awesome it would be to turn it into an actual, wearable shirt and have them for sale on the site.
So here begins the ChrisOatley.com Store!
The shirts that you see on the models (below) match the shirt seen in The Dreamer as closely as possible, but you can customize the shirt to fit your taste if you’re not into the sky-on-navy color scheme.
But don’t forget Gruff Troll…
As a side note, I’ve always wanted to see my Gruff Trollcharacter on a T-Shirt… …ever since I painted him WAAAAAY back in 2005.
So I made a Gruff Troll shirt available as well. This one is also customizable, but it has to be printed on a light shirt for certain reasons.
So please, order one today and help to support ChrisOatley.com and Chris Oatley’s ArtCast!
New blogs or podcasts at ChrisOatley.com EVERY MONDAY!
Shop other personalized gifts from Zazzle.
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IN THIS EPISODE ::
I discovered the awesome work of illustrator Grant Gould after I heard an interview with him on The Force Cast.
When they plugged Grant’s website I checked it out and immediately became a fan of his work. He has a confident graphic style, a serenely balanced design sense and it is all sustained, primarily, by a contagious joy for drawing. His interpretations of the Lucasfilm characters are perhaps the most commercial pieces in his portfolio, but his own original creations are just as compelling.
I had the honor of meeting Grant when I attended Wizard World Chicago last summer and I was pleased to learn that he is also a remarkably friendly guy, easy going and humble.
I knew that I had to interview him for this show. And as I suspected, he generously obliged.
My dear friend Brian Campbell also joined us for the conversation. You can learn more about Brian’s life and artwork by listening to Episode 7 of this ArtCast or you can visit his website.
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