Last One

I'm anticipating the colors of the trip I'm taking...and know I've got an uphill battle to even capture it in gouache. Of course...this is more from Painter. I think the lack of specificity in this sketch lets you believe the lighting a little more. Your mind fills in the rest.
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Need to stop the laziness.

Eventually my goal is to start shooting more reference to support my illustration work. I'm guessing and muddling too much I think for my own good.
For some reason or another I believed at one point I had a "handle" on the figure, but the less I draw and paint from life to remind myself, the further away I get from truth.
That needs remedied.
So in preparation for an upcoming trip I've built myself a small portable gouache kit. Much like my getting used to Painter, I also have to get used to the gouache. The darks dry lighter and the lights dry darker. What is an artist to do?
I have a few ideas in mind, so we'll see.
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Anticipating

I used to love boxing.
Many people think it's dumb, and on some level I'd have to agree.
But really at its purest form, it's great to see athletes in peak condition really out-skill and out punch each other. It doesn't get any more basic than that. Especially when nowadays you can't throw a punch on the playground or outside a bar without a lawyer punching back.
I'm not the typical manly man type, but I still think if someone deserves a good kick in the ass, they should get it. Rules of engagement...something boys learned in days of yor.
I also might add, this was done in Painter. Still trying to understand how best to use this program.
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Old Style New Year

Here's an inspired self-portrait in the style of J.C. Leyendecker. I know, blasphemous that I would attempt such things. But how can one unravel the mystery of this guys art without studying his work?
I'd love to try the real deal in oils...just to see what this guy was thinking.
Anyway, he's known for his "Baby New Year" covers from the Saturday Evening Post of a bygone era. Those grotesque little jaundiced blobs of baby fat that became increasingly scary as the years continued must have delighted people up to a point.
Eventually J.C. fell out of favor with the magazines...I wonder if the two have any bearing on each other.

Anyway, chill with the ones you love and put the best foot forward into next year's endeavors.
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