A story was done on Lori and I in our hometown paper yesterday, it ‘s about some of our accomplishments and hurdles we faced. I say we because even though the article states I went through a hard time it’s easy to forget it’s even harder for the one by your side while you’re going through it. My wife is my biggest supporter, she’s the first to tell people about my work, the first to hit “like” on my Facebook page and the first to talk to the Newspapers about me saying “I have a good story for your paper.” I don’t care that I made the paper, I care about how wonderful my wife is and how supportive she is. I don’t care who you are, if you don’t have a solid support system then you’re on borrowed time before you fall. Appreciate the ones who appreciate you, honor them as they do you.

As the write up says I had to undergo Chemotherapy and surgeries for over a year, it was so taxing on me I could not work or even paint. My brain was so taxed it was next to impossible to mix colors, it was the strangest thing! What would normally take me a few days to complete would take me 3 weeks to get half way through it while on Chemo, it was so bad I had to completely walk away from it. What the paper doesn’t say is during this entire time my wife took on the responsibilities of well….EVERYTHING. Our income got cut in half and she worked Mon-Saturday to cover our bills, every Saturday she worked for free so she could take off and go with me for every visit, every Chemo session and surgery. There were times when we only had 20 dollars in our account to last the week, try that sometime when that doesn’t even cover half your gas tank. 
During Chemo I got phlebitis in my right arm and let me tell you, there isn’t such a thing as relief when you have that because it’s in your veins. Lori would wake up every time I was in pain to try and make me comfortable, sometimes this would be 3 AM and she’d have to turn around get up in a few hours to head to work. Towards the end of chemo and the main surgery I could not walk or get out of bed, Lori had to do everything for me. It was a very humiliating experience at times and yet Lori wouldn’t blink an eye, she would just help. When I could get around she had to help me from room to room, try doing that with someone over twice your body weight. She’s my hero.

This post isn’t to say oh poor me, look what I went through it’s to honor my wife in the amazing love and support she’s given me. I am the man that I am today because of her, she deserves more than I can give her.
I’ll close with this, you’re never alone in this world. If you stop and actually listen to the ones who support and believe in you, it might surprise you on what you can accomplish. It doesn’t matter what comes at you or what you have to go through, keep pushing forward and keep your thoughts on the ones cheering you on, not the ones trying to trip you.

 Details of the contest can be found here.

I still have a few days until it’s due so I might go back and enhance it a bit, the only reason I haven’t is because I don’t want to risk the chance of overworking it.  A lot of the entries have focused on just Lara Croft herself but I wanted to do something a little different and add more elements of the game. The winning piece will be sold as prints in the official TR store so I thought it was a good idea to focus on that aspect and create a movie like poster as opposed to just one scene in the game.

From the reviews TR Reborn has been getting it sounds like it’s going to be pretty awesome and sticking with tradition, I’ll be getting it.

For a crazy good laugh, check out Conan’s review on MaxiumPC of the game, I laughed so hard watching this.

Be on the look out for the following pieces of work to be on Season 2, Episode 2 called “Alienation”.  Some of these you might have seen before and some I altered a bit for copyright reasons but I also added a few new ones. Since the set will be a fake comic con, I tried to pick anything that would fall into the category of  Heroes, Fantasy and Sci-Fi. I told them if they needed a fake comic con artist to hand out fake autographs to fake fans to look me up! Ha!

This is one of the new pieces I created, I think it goes without saying what my inspiration was.

Another piece created specifically for Perception, I pretty much used the Black Widow idea but made a “Black Viper” instead.

This one is a bit of a Magneto,Superman, and Statesmen mutation.

This one actually started out as COH art but I modified it so the characters would look different.

Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead
Created in ArtRage Pro

Christopher Walken when he did the Cowbell skit on SNL.
Created with Paint Tool Sai

I have decided to enter in the Tomb Raider Contest on the official Edios forum competition, I’ll do my best not to get all nerdy on you but I’m excited about this one. The requirement in this competition is the entry has to be made by hand. This means I’m breaking out the oil paint.

The winning piece will be displayed in the studio of Crystal Dynamics so I am putting my best foot forward with high hopes. I have already started and what I’d like to do is just keep adding to this journal with all the WIPs to share the process and maybe even answer some questions if one arises.

Canvas Size: 30″x40″x1 1/2″

Step 1
Before even starting a sketch I wanted to get a good idea in my head of what I’d like to paint so I started looking at the concept art and screenshots for Tomb Raider 9. I decided to base this painting on the cave scenes where people are hanging upside down from what looks like giant spider silk. (Haven’t read the details of game yet, if there are any) There’s also a lot of skulls and candles throughout the cave so I wanted to have those as well.  Sometimes if I’m having trouble visualizing I’ll hop in Photoshop and do a lot of photo manipulation to help with layout and composition.

I also started looking up Tomb Raider comics and cos players to help me get some ideas and came across XtremeJenn. This gal base jumps off of skyscrapers and rock climbs and then for fun dresses up as Lara Croft, not to mention she looks like the new character in the up and coming Tomb Raider Reborn. Jenn and Superhero Photography gave me permission to use one of her photos to help create the oil painting so I’m definitely excited!
Tomb Raider has always held a special place in my heart because it was the very first game Lori bought me as a surprise, this was at a time when games were just starting to get popular on the PC. It was pixelated, old generation graphics and I absolutely loved it. I have always been a fan of the heroine character or David and Goliath scenario because I have seen greatness like this in my lovely wife, at a time when most fall apart she stands strong.

Step2
 On certain subject matters I’ll just grab a paintbrush and sketch on the canvas with paint and go from there, but since I’ll be painting a person I’d prefer to get the anatomy and proportions correct. I’ve started with a simple sketch, I really do hate showing stuff at this stage because in reality it isn’t even a good sketch, it’s more of a guide so just the important areas are showing. I used a copic marker to create the sketch and will be coating it with Krylon Crystal Clear to seal it. This will allow me to apply paint over the sketch without it trying to blend with the oils and smear.

Step3
I have started to block in some areas in black and white, not really focusing on the fine details yet just filling in areas and establishing basic values.   There are two ways you can approach an oil painting and it’s really up to you, in my opinion they both have pros and cons and one is no better than the other. The obvious way is to start with your colors  mixing/blending as you go and the other is to do the entire thing in black and white establishing all your values and detail, then using a glazing technique to apply color. I did the same glazing technique with the following painting , believe it or not that painting started out in black and white.  If you’re interested in learning more about this technique just simply google “Glazing with Liquin” or “Glazing with oils”, there’s a wealth of information on it. Some glaze with linseed oil but I try and stay away from it because it tends to yellow.

I personally like doing the black and white method because some paintings just look good that way, you also have the freedom to leave it or apply color later. Plus this allows you to focus on the key elements of any piece because let’s face it, you could have perfect colors and one whacked out looking Lara Croft. In some cases you could apply just a small amount of color which is what I might do with this piece.

Materials I’m using at this point:
Ivroy Black and Titanium White by Winsor & Newton

Snap! flat brushes by Princeton. Their brushes are usually under 5 dollars a piece, I think it’s a waste of money to spend 40 dollars on one paint brush. I realize you get what you paid for in a lot of things but come on, a paint brush? I use cheap brushes all the time and have tried these expensive brushes and I can’t tell the difference. Some brushes have rough bristles and others have the nice white smooth synthetic bristles, which is usually my first choice.

Liquin original by Winsor & Netwon. This stuff is great, it speeds up drying time when you need it, creates the perfect consistency for smooth lines and is also used for glazing.

5.14.2012
So I’m still officially in “Step3″ LOL. I figure once I’ve blocked in the entire canvas then I’ll move onto 4, there’s a lot of canvas on this one so it’s taking some time . Then I’ll really start to refine the detailing and values a bit more. From the screenshots and concept art I’ve looked at those silk sacks have quite a bit of detail in them so it’ll be fun adding all that stuff in, not to mention the details in the skulls too.

You know if you ever feel like you’ve plateaued with your digital art, pick up a paint brush and work with oils or acrylic. You’ll soon realize how spoiled we really are with a tablet. I literally have to hold my breath to steady my hand on some of the brush strokes like on the ice axe. It’s good exercise actually and quite rewarding to see the paint blend like you wish it would in Photoshop or Painter.
Another trick I’ve learned is take a long paintbrush in your other hand and press the handle against your wrist, it’ll steady your hand just like it would if you’re resting on the canvas. This works great for those used to having your hand resting on whatever you’re drawing on. There are also tools such as http://muddycolors.blogspot.com/2011/04/studio-equipment-part-1.html you can purchase that will do a better job. Some of the newer easels even have them built in to steady your hand, if I plan on doing a lot more oil painting I’ll definitely pick one up.

I had  a friend ask me why I chose oils on this one piece and the best way I could answer that is in my experience Acrylic is perfect for shiny and metallic objects, even more so than oils and oils are perfect for anything organic. Acrylic has some nice mediums now for blending and the ability to slow the drying time but it still doesn’t compare to the “wet on wet” blending of oils.

Step 4
5.15.12:
 Now that I’ve covered the majority of the canvas in paint  it’s time to start bringing out the details. I’m still not satisfied with the overall values but for now it’s a good start. That’s the great thing about glazing is you can allow some dry time and then start glazing in darker values to really make it pop.

At this point I’ll switch to a round brush and start dabbing details

then take a flat (dry) brush and blend.

I’ll continue to do this until I’m satisfied with the details.

Step 5
5.17.12
 I didn’t update a progress pic yesterday because sometimes I find it’s a good thing to step away from a piece to get a fresh look. After doing this I decided to make an adjustment on Lara’s bow. In the concept art the bow was larger like a longbow so I’d like to stay true to the concept. Making changes like this to an oil painting is a lot more forgiving than you might think. If you keep your layers thin and blend as you go without creating paint build up it’s very easy to make drastic adjustments and the fact that we’re in grey scale helps a great deal.
I am still using the same brushes and liquin, probably more so at this stage. You know how we’re familiar working in layers with Photoshop? It’s kind of the same thing at this stage. I use thin paint layers and keep building them on top of each other. The benefit of working on a large canvas is you can bounce around detailing different areas and by the time you’ve come full circle it’s usually dry enough to add another layer. (using liquin that is)

To be continued….

I am really pleased to say that my piece “A Place To Ponder” made the cover art to ClarkesWorld Magazine’s issue 67. I wanted to blog this because this marks the first artwork I’ve had on a magazine cover and hopefully more to come.

If you haven’t checked out Clarkesworld Magazine yet, please do! Each issue contains fiction from new and established authors, they also do an annual publication of “Realms” which is a collection of previous magazines. Awesome stories and wonderful cover art from artists you’ve seen belonging to a lot of well known art communities out there today.
[link]

The artwork used for the cover can also be purchased as a print from my gallery.

I uploaded some paintings to my print accounts of Macaws,Cheetah,Red Tailed Hawk,Ibex and a Bald Eagle. Below are previews, click on the images to be directed to the print details.

I’ve created a couple of paintings with a theme of a woman dancing/moving in a red dress. I’ll keep going in this series because I believe they are getting better with each completed piece. It is an added bonus to read all the positive feedback from these.

View Descension Large

View Large Dance

View Ascension Large

Something I noticed recently was there isn’t a whole lot of Vietnamese dragon art out there (online anyway) and being Vietnamese I wanted to contribute. The features on this dragon are based on a lot of the statues you see throughout Vietnam.

Print Available!