NYC Highline!

Im really excited the highline park is finally open. Lots to see up there-

Zombies

The zombies were out today.

Wave running

Surf Nazi 2

Surf Nazis

one day it got too crowded and it was never the same again.

Farewell Kwai Chang Caine

Besides fly in the Tiger Squandron of Cosmo Zero fighters with Derek Wildstar, what I wanted most when I was a little kid was to get to grow up in a Shaolin Monastary like Kwai Kai Chang. It was with some sadness to hear David Carradine passed away, farewell Kwai Chang Caine.

project 11:52

I participated in Kyle Cameron's 11:52 project the other morning.
What were you doing at exactly 11:52 am?
I was sketching- actually I was sketching while baby sitting my car from the NYPT (New York Police Parking Police). One of the most exceptionally ruthless city departments I have ever encountered.

Happy Birthday Last Outpost Art Blog!

Today marks the 3rd year of posts to the Last Outpost! Happy Birthday! This third year, one of my favorite numbers, will be commemorated with a repost of my very first post- looks like I was just getting back from an amazing trip to Italy! The little town of Treviso we stayed in remaining one of my favorite places in the entire world.

Memorial day at the beach

Spent a lovely Memorial Day Weekend at an equally lovely beach. Found some time to break out the DS for a quick color sketch of one of the many coves we lazily spent our mornings and afternoons at.

Warm Wednesday Night Long Pose

Oil on a 9x12 board and a couple hours
For all you workshop/figure painting junkies, I made yet another gallery where these quickstudies can all live. Eventually I will make a button for the right hand column, but for now you can access it by clicking here. Happy Spring!

My early brush with Fame: Bianca Majorie

Im not sure what brought up this long lost memory, but the other morning it all popped into my head. I couldnt of been any older than 7, and I recall this woman named Bianca who lived down the street from us that my parents had become friends with. I clearly remember her face, her little house in Santa Cruz, and a handful of paintings propped against the wall. I also remember hearing how she had worked at Disney and with what I recall as some bitterness, she had developed the character Dumbo.
I was having a hard time sleeping that morning so I got up and did a little research, and yup, there she was, Bianca Majorie, the first woman to be hired by Walt to the Story department at Disney in the '30's. All of you in the business understand what a monumental achievement it is to make it into the story department, and for a woman in the 1930s to be brought into such a male dominated industry should clearly indicate what a Titan she must have been. Im happy that I was able to find out about her, but still its disappointing nothing what so ever is mentioned about her in my Disney Animation Studios "Story" Archive Book or much at all anywhere, even though she seems to be truly a monumental and historical figure of the Animation industry. One touching and profound quote of hers does remain though in regards to the Elmer the Elephant story; "that usefulness is more important than beauty ... that things that are not decorative may be extremely useful and should be cherished for that reason."

David Lyle Show

My talented friend Dave Lyle is having an art opening tomorrow April 30th at the George Billis Gallery 511 W 25th Street NYC.
His show runs till May 23.
Check it out!

Easy reference

Been busy finalizing some work for the good kids at Sprig Toys, and had to run uptown for some interior reference at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. So lucky to have that resource close at hand!

Welcome!

dillon marie tung was born under the very auspicious sign of the ox earlier this year.
welcome!

I Miss My S4

I sure do miss my S4.
So much fun to have a really fast car...

Grand Tetons DS

Its been a long while since I sketched with the DS Lite. Still a really fun tool.

Guitar rough

Rough guitar player. I absolutely cant wait to see this band all together in one place.

Friday Beers

beeer.

Rodent Preview

Sneak peak.
This was a test/practice run for a rodent band Im managing.
6x8 oil on paper

Toy Fair

I've been working on some playset prototypes for the fine folks of Sprig Toys and they were kind enough to give me a guest pass to this years Toy Fair. Had a really great time- my favorite booths being; TWH Collectibles, who make scale nearly functioning diecast models of some really really large mining and excavating cranes, shovels, draglines, loaders and a variety of other bits of large equipment. Amazing stuff. My other three favorites were the Bruder booth, Playmobile (the jaques cousteau looking marine playsets made me want to get in the bathtub again), and of course, Sprig Toys.
Had a great time and met some fantastic people. Quite a different vibe than the comic show I had gone to the week earlier. Heres an image of one of the twh toys. The nice lady at he booth left me with the impression that since these are scale replicas, its what companies like P&H Mining, La Tourneau, Bucyrus etc use to sell the actual product. The toys/models were really impressive, I can see how those buyers and execs for the actual mining companies would be salivating and ready to drop millions for this stuff. Sign me up!

Cafe Colombe Characters

a page of Cafe Colombe customers. small tables, great coffee.

sketchbook

spent an evening with new friends and their sketchbooks, and I promised myself to do more sketchbook work. There are also some new sketches from my monday night quickstudies group here or via the fancy link to the right.

New gallery

Ive opened up access to some art I did for the Madagascar 2 project in my madagascar2 gallery which can be found to the right- or by clicking here

neglect

An old friend reminded me how Ive neglected my plein aire gallery this year. I will start to fill it back up.

While were at it

while Im digging around in my archives I have a few more things to post... for posterity- these are a few more old minigolf ideas from a past project-

Old goodies

Its 2009 and Im pretty sure its safe to post a few of these mini golf concepts from a past project- Mostly I would get a render of the fairway and the hole from the game designer and then I would paint in the setting according to what environment it belonged to- and pass the concept off to the modeler.

Monday night quick poses

found a nice quickstudies group and gave the modbook a go.

christmas eve

broke out the nintendo ds for a christmas eve quick study out the back window.
probably my very first 'white christmas'.
hope everyones having a lovely holiday.
cheers!

Clarinetist

Christmas Clarinetist.
Oils on board 9x5

More rats

almost there.
were approaching the big finale of the year of the rat.

A Day Later

ahh, whata difference a day makes- these guys were a little more like what I was imagining yesterday.

Rats!

Marin Memories

I remember I went back to paint this spot again only to discover that hill of trees is now a hill of gray condos. Cant stop the progress.

Happy Birthday Lenny Rogers

Last Halloween my friend Alan dressed up as Kenny Rogers hypothetical washed up brother, Lenny (shown here on this card I made). He really cracked me up. Anyways- its actually Alan's Birthday today, so Happy Birthday to you Mr Alan Harris!
Oh by the way, Alan is a fantastic film maker- be sure to check out his shorts on;
www.collarsup.com

3 more of 1

one particular part looked right, so I offered a few more options of the one.

Frank-Gun-stein

I often get asked for new gun designs and being someone whos mom really frowned upon such subjects, Im always happy to oblige.

Fortress of Solitude

I wanted another shot of this secret spot I did earlier this week. This time I used photoshop instead of the ds. Anyhow, we all have that imagined fortress of solitude, and thats definitely mine.

Secret Spot

This weeks submission to the "colors" nintendo DS challenge.

Cloudy with chance of pumpkins

prepare for a deluge.

dog head concept

I dont have any actual photos of my Halloween outfit but it was something like this;
Fun project, super easy- Id like to build more one day... perhaps a whole pack of dogs in suits....

Head gear

A sneak peak of my Halloween "hat" on the work stand last night. Ill try and get another shot of it completed later today or tomorrow...

Happy Halloween!

Lots of people have been talking about really bringing Halloween back in 2008.
Have a great and safe Holiday you kids.

Sketchbook Review

This sketchbook review has been on deck for quite sometime-
check it out-
or Last Outpost Art Book Review link to the right.
Also, I posted a new sketchbook page of my very own, a child site I have definitely neglected over the past year...link to the right...

Bougareau Study with the Nintendo DS

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (November 30, 1825 – August 19, 1905)
Such an amazing Artist and a couple paintings up in the European section of the Met.
This and a few more sketches can be found in my Nintendo DS "Colors" Gallery here, or the link to the right.
Stay cool as cucumbers all you kids.

Soccer to 'em!

more soccer

workshop

I went out to Governors island last weekend with SCampbsos and the ferry over there docks underneath this awesome structure that I just couldnt help imagining as a workshop/studio, (one of my favorite things to fantasize about). Figured I sketch it out from my memory- since its all old tyme jules verney looking- I gave it a steampunk prop/pedestrian- still need to work out that robot a bit better but I sure would like to move into that overhead shop.

Soccer5

soccer4 rough

Soccer3

paint box opening

Rhode was laughing at me on the rapid complicated dance I have to preform when setting up my easel- Im sure everyone has their own individual way to do it, but this is the order I usually do it in.

Photo Backdrops

I had the unique opportunity to help a friend work on some large backdrops for a photoshoot. Had a really good time making these, as anyone could imagine- painting really big was super liberating. Fun project.

Soccer2

soccer

A rough for a soccer story Im working on.

Hand modeling

I picked up a fun little side job today being a hand model. If youve never modeled before, let me tell you, its a lot of waiting around. Luckily I had my modbook with me and some time to break out a couple quick color studies of a cake shoot they were working on.

Tekkon Kinkreet 2 Art Book Set

I finally wrote up a quick review for the amazing 2 volume set of art books for my favorite feature animated film of all time, Tekkon Kinkreet.
Checkout the Last Outpost Art Book Review to the right, or link here.

Modified Mac

Thanks for reminding me to mention this modbook Ive been sitting on for the last month or so. They tear off the screen of a 2.4 Ghz macbook and replace the keyboard and track pad with what essentially is 13 inch wacom cintiq digitizer- so basically its a slate style tablet running leopard with the 512 levels of pressure sensitivity and surface texture of the cintiq. Ive been using this program alias/autodesk made for tablet pc's called Sketchbook pro- its a really great sketch application, the interface is super simple- just a few tools which takes a minimal amount of screen space. When I take something beyond the sketch phase, I import to photoshop, but for sketching on site or on the couch the sketchbook pro program is way better. Ive used quite a few tablet pcs, but none of them have as good of an actual drawing surface (its usually slick and plastic-y feeling) and I can really tell the difference between the 256 levels of pressure of all the tablet pc's, and the 512 of this mac modbook. Its probably the most impressive thing the surface and screen sensitivity. Also, the modbook has an internal dvd/cd drive which is absent for the entire field of tablet pc's. I could care less about whats better- the macs or the pc's, but you know- I really like the latest leopard operating system- its clearly way better than Microsoft Vista which is terrible on my other tablet pc.
Some people think the modbook is heavy and gets really hot, well, its heavy and gets really hot but not any heavier than the macbook and not any hotter. I have had some issues where the cursor will jump to the apple icon all by itself- which is definitely a big problem people are having (and the company who does the modification doesnt seem to be able to do anything about it)- but it seems to have recently stopped jumping.
So that jumping cursor and the fact that I waited over a year to receive the actual modbook both leave me a bit sour on the transaction- at the same time, its a brilliant piece of hardware and Im really really happy with it.

At Met with my Modbook

Finally broke out the modbook for some on site sketching- it worked out great- so much more accurate than the little ds... still a little tough to sketch with it while standing but not that bad!

climbing

mmmm color.
5x7 oil on linen board
I like the linen- recommended

way up river sketch

4x7 oil on a piece of cardboard

early bird

Ive been getting up early and strapping the ole easle to my bike and headin out for a morning painting. Its light out, and of course nice and warm at 530 here! Fun.

mlrs

makin collages and editing/painting over the top with photochop.

hot rod in ds gallery

hot rods and more in the nintendo ds gallery link to right-

Flakey

i like the flaking paint on the boards.
5x8 oil on some cardboard

Cliffs

June means time to paint.
This is actually that Courbet which I took quite a few liberties with...
Who's ready to paint!?
oil on oak panel 5x7

Quickstudies at the Met

I forgot to look to see who actually painted this particular masterpiece. american wing closed until 2009? what?

Tribute to Courbet

Some Courbet quickstudies at The Met with the DS. I'll post a few more from this day here at my Nintendo DS Gallery- link to the right-

Colors Gallery now up!!

I added a new gallery, Nintendo DS Painting to my art gallery section to the right. I'll be posting the sketches I make with my Nintendo DS Lite there, instead of here on the Last Outpost page.

New Link ENBs Nintendo DS Gallery

Alright- Ive been doing enough DS sketching to just make a seperate area to keep this stuff.. stay tuned for the En-bsDSGallery coming really soon.

tank

Feeling obligated to post something. Ive been working on some quick tank designs.

Nintendo DS Madness continues

Still kinda stuck on doodling with the DS. The interface and size of it makes it so easy to work with. Also it's really encouraging to work with more color- Ive been striving to get more graphic shapes onto the page, and its so much easier when you have quick access to a full palette of color and value to break the page up with. Also- its actually its nice to not have an undo button- that button is the greatest- but its really no help...

On the Train with the Nintendo DS

You can really quickly and easily paint anywhere now.
Details on the program "colors" below.

Yellow sky before the snow

Just an hour or two after this a huge snow storm blew through.. next time the sky is all yellow like that I will know its on the way...
-painted on a Nintendo DS lite -details below-

Clear Crisp Day

Couple more color sketches- details on this cool program "colors" are in the post below. Check it out!

Out the window with my DS pt 2

Out The Window With My Nintendo DS lite 01

Thanks to Joe Ching and Greg Knight for pointing out to me this great little paint program for the Nintendo DS Lite called "Colors". Its really fun and has a nice simple interface so you can paint anywhere. Its been cold so I sit on top of the heater and sketch out the window. Some people are really getting impressive results- all of which can be seen in the colors gallery. A really cool aspect to this is that it records your strokes so you can play back anyones painting and see their process. Choice!

Heads, Cars, and Buildings

Would like to take this cityscape a few more steps forward....maybe... I like that sketch.
More sketchbook art can be found by clicking the sketchbook link to the right.

The Elements of Style

Elements of Style book reviewed on "The Last Outpost Artbook Review"- link to the right. You can also find links to my sketchbook and a few bits of concept art I've done on various projects in this same column.

Construction Equipment 2

been seeing some extra large trucks lately.
alias sketchbook pro

Out the window

Quick sketch of some of the buildings out my window on the 11th floor.

Sketching at The Frick pt1

Rainy day so I hid out at the Frick- I'll try and post the other page tomorrow/below-

Sketching at The Frick pt2

The Whistler in there is even more remarkable than I remember.

construction equipment

a piece of equipment i may or may not have actually seen.

figure painting

did a quick value study- been a while since i did a bit of figure painting. so far so good...

10-10-07

been seeing some neat construction equipment around the city.

09-07

4th of July

Escaped the SF summer heat and went with a cast of characters to the Russian River for the holiday. Got a quick landscape in while nearly everyone was canoeing down the second half of the river.
5x7 oil on oak panel

Off the wall

Its on the wall. Thanks to Moira and Jimmy G for all your help. Ill keep udating this as the walls and roofs go up....

2nd color group

2nd time around is always better than the first...I should probably do a third round-
....think the top one is the direction its gonna go in-

Island Colors 01

Working on a company related non work project with a couple people here at the office- Ill post the other page of them tomorrow-

One more SF Zoo page

Memory Lane

Lets take a walk down memory lane shall we?

SF Zoo Tuesday

Got to go to the zoo with my work chums this past Tuesday... Ive never been a big animal artist, but it was actually a pretty fun exercise. SF Zoo isnt as depressing as it was last time I went there in the mid 90's.

Sf Zoo 2

More animal sketches from the zoo-

May 24th

Return of the afterwork plein air painters! Im glad to be back...pfew! Easy to forget how rewarding and fun landscape painting is. Hope to have more soon.

2 Fistfuls of Cheeks

I got both volumes of Sean Galloways new sketchbooks- hes one of my favorites, great shapes and colors and everything just looks cool and pop culture-y. 25 bucks each- nice printing job with hard covers- Ill scan in some selected images soon. If you like his drawing and want hard copies of the work Id say support the kid and get one or two of his books- more info can be found in the "More Goods" link section of this blog under Mr. Sean Galloway-

Freedom To Teach Impulse Buy

My Anatomical man came this week and its really cool. Actually, its really big. Was kinda weird and creepy at first, but over the past few days its really grown on me- makes studying anatomy easy- just cause its so much fun to look at it. I hope they keep making more of these.
Theres a couple versions and although I think the flat gray one is more practical cause you can see the masses easier- the colored one, even though a bit distracting is fun to look at- and I realize the benefit of being able to see the seperation from bone to fascia to muscle. Id say just treat yourself and get the colored.

4-17-07 lunch in Novato

Havent painted landscape in a while- kinda lost sight of why I was doing it- but yesterday I realized doing these little simple problem solving exercises really helps solve some of the bigger problems I have throughout the day.
The colors up here in Marin have definitely shifted with the season...goodbye luscious green fields...

Hugo Pratt Art Book Review

New favorite Art Book reviewed on "The Last Outpost Art Book Review".

Ryan Boyle

Went out to the galleries last night with the fellas and spotted these really intriguing paper sculptures hanging in the office of the Steven Wolf Fine Art gallery- Nice girl in there let us go back there and check them out. Super cool looking industrial Paper sculptures. Paper.

Legion of Honor

About a week ago we went and saw this jewelry show at the Legion. I was rather surprised at how much I enjoyed it- there were some fantastic design by the French artists Lalique and Fouqet, and a few others Im forgeting. Really nice classic Art Nouveau . The jewelry itself was amazing as well- old Cartier cigarette cases and clocks. And lots of diamonds. Good show. Recommended.