NEW PROJECTS

Besides needing to desperately finish some portraits for some friends and having to do my taxes, I've got some exciting new projects lining up.  First of all, Danny and I have quickly grown out of our currant house, so this means time to start thinking about getting into something bigger.  There's got to be A LOT of decluttering and removal of art, collectibles, and things like bicycles (yea, you read right) that not everyone can appreciate.  Since the movie posters have to sadly come down I need to add some other type of art.  After a brief look in some decorating stores in town I decided that it would be much cheaper for me to create the art...and more fun!  I've had some canvases sitting upstairs collecting dust for years that I'm going to use for some simple acrylic art pieces.  After doing the mural for Eli I realized how much I miss painting.  Like I said before, it never hurts to take a break from doing just one thing.
The second awesome project that I've got brewing is something for my brother.  He called me the other day to tell me about a website that he's creating for t-shirts.  He's asked me to do the designs for the t-shirts!  I won't get into what exactly he's wanting to do, because it will be a nice little surprise for later.  I'm really excited about this, because it's again something new and people will be wearing my designs!
Third, my good buddy Jen has convinced me to go forth and get a booth in artist alley for an upcoming convention.  I'm going to have to put the pedal to the metal with this one, because I really need a larger collection of things for people to chose from.  Most of what I've done so far has been mostly commission work, so any suggestions from you all out there is more than welcomed....What would you buy from a "no-name" pencil portrait artist?
So, that's it for right now.  I'll keep you all updated on the progress and I'll try to post "works in progress" as I go along.

Pencil Portraits

For the past two years I have focused on pencil portraits more than anything else.  Thankfully it's gotten me a lot of work from co-works to family.  I really enjoy portraits and it feels very natural for me when I'm creating them.  Whereas before when I was working more on cartoon/comic style art it was a bit of a struggle for me, at least the way I looked at it.  I just never felt completely satisfied with my work.  Not that I'm completely satisfied with my portrait art either, but I'm more proud of it when I'm finished.  

Here are a few of my pencil portraits.  First I'll start off with two that where for family members:*Edit* I'm not sure why I can't edit this next paragraph so that it's the same font color as the rest...so please excuse the change. :)

This one was commissioned by my Aunt Rene for a Christmas gift for my Dad and Uncle.  It's a portrait of my Grandpa "back in the day" wearing his football uniform and striking a pose.  I really enjoyed making this one and I liked how it turned out.  In hindsight I wish I would have added in the background, it would have given the drawing more depth.

This next one is of my nephew J.P.  I did this for my Brother's 40th birthday present and I had the pleasure of giving it to him at my wedding rehearsal.  I've always had trouble figuring out what to get him in the past, but I didn't hesitate with this and I think he was really surprised by it.

 

These next two portraits are a little older and I did these for myself.

The first, the incredible Robert Downey Jr.  I chose to do this because I'm a HUGE fan of RDJ, and I have been ever since I saw 'Chaplin'.  I also figured that it would be a good study piece.  His hair was the most difficult head of hair I've ever drawn, and the closeness of his face gave me great details to focus on.

 

This last piece was my very first pencil portrait I have ever done.  It was shortly after the death of Heath Ledger that I came across this photo and I couldn't resist the challenge.  Ask anyone who knows me and they will let you know that I love Batman...especially Christopher Nolan's Batman films, so that was an added bonus to this project.  I'm still very proud of this piece because I think his clothing turned out beautifully.

 

Mural For Eli

My best friend Amy is having her first baby soon...very soon, and she asked me to do a mural for the nursery.  I, of course, was more than happy to do this.  I've really only done one other mural in my life (at my parent's house), but I've worked a lot with acrylics, so wasn't too nervous about the project.  It was still a good sized undertaking, but I was up for the challenge.  Out of all my works, be it portraits or paintings, this has got to be in my top five favorites.  I really love the way it turned out and I think Amy and her husband John were more than pleased with it.  Before starting the mural, Amy gave me her idea of having the two trees on either side of the crib and then she gave me some references for the little woodland critters.  The animals are actually on Eli's bedding, rug, window valence, and all the other cute things you need for a baby's new room.  After that info she let me run with it, and here are the results!!

 

  

A couple details put together:

 

 

  

 There it is!!!  I really hope that Eli loves it as much as I do!  Hopefully this will also generate more commissions for murals as well, because taking a break from pencil can be really nice sometimes. ^-^

 

A Little New To This

Hello all!!!  Welcome to BirdieboArt!  I've created this blog as another means to get my art "out there".  I've been contributing to another blog lately that's run by my good friend Jen.  I mainly do movie reviews and articles about art.  I really love contributing to her blog and I thought, "I really need to start one of my own, but that focuses mainly on my art!"  So here I am!  Like the title says, I'm new to this, so these first few posts are going to be wonky :)  Please bare with me!  
Anywho, for my first post I'll be sharing my latest commission.  My best friend sent this one my way.  It's on a typical photo sized Strathmore Bristol vellum paper.  It's all in Staedtler pencil, ranging from 2H to 3B.  I really like the way this one turned out, especially with the ocean in the background.

There it is my first post!  Short and sweet.  Also if you would like to check out Jen's blog, which I highly recommend you do, here's the link: http://fangirl92183.blogspot.com