Francis Vallejo | blog

2011-12-20T12:05:00.000-08:00

Phidias Gold x Francis Vallejo

I designed a shirt for apparel brand Phidias Gold's Winter 2011 line.

Recently the homie Wesley hit me up to do a shirt for a fresh new clothing line he was premiering. I had freedom to do anything I wanted as long as it fit the brand's mantra. I've been fascinated how artists draw the opposite sex in relation to their personal tastes i.e. the Gibson girl, Jeff Jones' girls, Adam Hughes girls, etc. So I brought in a model and shot her in a grip of different scenarios and wardrobes. What resulted is my best attempt at the Vallejo girl. Say hi, she'll be showing up again.

The original drawing had to be tweaked a bit to fit the final print as you can see, but for a look at the original crop check above. In addition, I provided an optional back design that wasn't able to make it into the final - you can check that out here.

I'm pumped with how it turned out! The Phidias Gold crew did a fantastic job. Make sure to check out the other pieces they have in their collection! Lastly, you can check the shirt out in the real world below.

take care,
-francis

**bonus commentary**
The highlight of this process was the struggle to create this image which ended up being composited into the final piece. I originally became aware of this sort of shape 3 years ago while working on some monotypes. When you press two plates together with watered-down paint in between, air leaks into said paint and creates these incredibly organic and fascinating vein-esque leaf patterns. Since then, I've intermittently attempted to create a clean usable copy of this shape, but have had no luck...until now.
I knew I wanted abstract, organic shapes for the background of this picture to balance the planned, representational qualities of the figure. This led me to getting my Jackson Pollock on and throwing globs of paint down onto all sorts of paper, looking for appealing marks. I scanned all that in, but wasn't completely satisfied. Something was missing. It happened to be raining that day, and I remembered a piece of plexiglass sitting in front of the studio door that I had to push aside to get in. Then the light bulb went off. I ran outside, and luckily, the piece of plexi was still sitting there. I pulled out the random screws, and broke the piece in half. I quickly dobbed some watered down acrylic house paint on one piece, and pressed the other piece on top. I could watch the air pockets snake their way through the paint. Now the moment of truth: I pulled the pieces of plexi apart and the shapes, after 3 years of failures, maintained their shapes perfectly!!! I was so amped I didn't make any prints for fear of smudging them into oblivion. I let them dry on the glass, and scanned the glass in itself. I cleaned up the shapes digitally, comped them in, and now you can see them on the shirt. That was the exact mood I wanted for the abstracts, and I was pumped to have finally found the method to make it!**

2011-08-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

A month or so I was contacted by the good folks at Playboy to work on a few spots! This is the result. Super fast turn around, and a bit of visual play, since it began as a comic aesthetic, but was directed into a more painted look near the end. The bottom sex toy piece was inspired by the paintings of Edouard Dantan and scribbles in my sixth grade notebooks..haha.

It's a great feeling to have my work in such a legendary magazine which featured the work of a number of terrific artists!!!!

take care,
-francis

2011-07-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

SDCC was great!!! Thanks to everyone for putting up with my outrageous fan boy geek-ism. It was dope to chat with so many of my heroes! Speaking of Comic Con, I drew the top portrait of the lovely Faith for a demo at the TAD booth.

The other two images were done back in the studio. The middle female nude was interesting in that I stacked my easel on top of a few desks to get that angle...ha.

stay inspired!
-fv

2011-07-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

I recently drew this picture from life during an impromptu portrait marathon in Kansas City. I was in town to work the 2011 Illustration Academy and TAD workshop. A great time!! The highlight was listening to Mark English talk about his pals Bob Heindel, Bernie Fuchs, Alan Cober, Bob Peak and others over a home cooked dinner. Dang!!

Also, I'll be in San Diego for Comic Con next week. Booth 5561 with George Pratt and Jon Foster in association with Studio 2nd Street and The Art Department. Stop by and say yo!

take care,
francis

2011-05-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

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Recent figures!

Mostly 20-30 minute drawings, except the second image which is a 5 minute gesture. I've also been goofing with implementing sanguine into the drawings. Sanguine is kinda the best thing ever. Expect to see more of it!!

In addition, I've been starting my days with anatomy/form copies. Up to this point I've never legitimately studied anatomy and the human form in depth. I've relied on instinct and observation, but from now on I want to understand what these figures are doing so I really can own the pose. If you click on the last picture above, you can take a look at a Flickr set of the aforementioned studies. Many diagrams are copied from Michael Hampton's figure drawing book, Harold Speed's texts, and various online resources. I have another pile of anatomy books on deck to devour!!

Lastly, I've been tinkering with my online presence. My website (a bit of new work up) and this blog have been re-designed along with everything being centrally located at the links up top. Not all links are working, and there are some obvious place holders, but things are moving along smoothly! I really recommend taking a look at the Inspiration tab. I'm going to focus on weekly updates of amazing and inspiring pictures, with a focus on draftsmanship.

Finally, finally, check out the bio photo on my site. Shouts out to my mom - she hooked it up so amazing!

thanks for the continued support,
nothing but love!
-francis

2011-04-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

A few figure drawings from life.

I value dearly the terrific friendships I've been able to build with my models. I'm convinced this connection manifests itself in the drawings and improves the work.

thumbs up!

-francis

2011-03-31T10:38:00.000-07:00

Austin is an exceptionally dope city.

With that said, here's some recent warm-up drawings! The image way up top is the result from a recent demo I put together.

Good times x10....Especially when Binary Star stopped by my studio and looked at my comics. I was too star struck to ask for a picture, or really be cool at all...but it was a two thumbs up experience.

take care,
-francis

Comics!

2011-01-06T22:16:00.000-08:00

I mentioned earlier that for the latter half of October I attended a 3 week residency with Paul Pope in NE Florida. I had a remarkable time! I worked in a wood studio in the middle of a swamp - it was perfect to decompress and think. At first I was confused as to why we weren't really drawing that much, but rather talking...a lot. But I came to understand that this was a workshop on comics, not drawing. The conversations my group had were life changing. Paul is a force, and his dedication to his unique vision and beliefs is incredibly inspiring.

I was also able to spend time with the other groups, led by the terrific Craig Thompson and Svetlana Chmakova. Jimmy Palmiotti (the owner of the craziest, jaw dropping collection of original comic art..that he brought!!!!), Amanda Conner, Sam Hiti, Kostas Seremetis, and Jeff Newelt all took the journey down for a few days to give talks and keep the inspiration flowing. It was great to hear so many differing perspectives.

I highly recommend artists look into residencies. There are a ton out there, with money ready to support your trip. You just have to seek them out and be persistent. I applied for 14 residencies in the months prior, and failed, before I was fortunate to receive this one. It turned out to be the perfect one for me!

As far as the art goes..... Paul had us take an image and interpret it with our own vision. I created three versions: one for color, one for tone, and one for just black and white. The next image was fan art created for Sam Hiti. He recently published part 1 of his Death Day trilogy (which you can read in full online), and this is a little thank you for the info he shared! The final image is a study of a page by the great Attilio Micheluzzi, reinterpreted a bit in my own aesthetic.

Take a moment to check out the great work of the other artists that took part in the residency at Katie Shanahan's blog (first set of links on right). Thanks to everyone that made the experience legendary!

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What's this image? ^^

I've been working for months on a comic for Soleil, over in France. It's the first project where I feel like I have a clear, confident vision, and the work shows this. I am crazy excited, and nervous, but more excited! It's not due out for a while, but I'm creating all the art. Between this project and leading the studio at TAD I stay putting in work. I love it! I may sneak out images of the book here and there, but I want the content to be brand new when it's released, so imagery on this blog will be work I create outside of this project.

Don't hope that 2011 will be great, make it so!!!!

take care,

-francis

Inspiration: 2010 Hip-Hop

2011-01-06T21:26:00.000-08:00

2010 was a very good year for hip-hop. I have a hard time time working without music. Most of it is hip-hop. These are the albums that stand out to me this past year. They inspire me as much as the pictures I post - in fact, I want you to hear a fresh rap track when you look at my work. Blam!

Roc Marciano - Marcberg. Tough New York rap. Real tough.

Snow (remix) ft. Sean Price:

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Kanye West : My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The Legend crafts another classic.

Dark Fantasy:

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The Roots: How I Got Over: The Roots are hip hop's greatest group, and Black Thought is top 5.

The Fire ft. John Legend:

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Yelawolf: Trunk Musik 0-60. Favorite new dude. Tough, technical, Alabama skate rap.

I Wish (remix) ft. CyHi da Prince and Pill:

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Celph Title and Buckwild: Nineteen Ninety Now. Buckwild gives Celph classics from the 90's to update. Pure spit.

Miss Those Days:

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Nas and Damian Marley: Distant Relatives. World rap music. Nas' 2nd Verse on "Strong Will Continue" is the verse of the year.

Strong Will Continue:

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Big Boi: Sir Lucious Left Foot, The Son of Chico Dusty. Your favorite rap nerd's favorite album.

General Patton:

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The Left: Gas Mask. Traditional Detroit rap done very well.

Frozen ft. Kool G Rap

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Big K.R.I.T. : K.R.I.T. Wuz Here. Southern smooth Mississippi rap.

Hometown Hero (remix) ft. Yelawolf

Figure Drawing

2011-01-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

Figure drawing is so relaxing. It's just you and the model(s), a chunk of dirt, and paper. These are all from life averaging about 20 minutes. I prefer working with models that haven't posed for artists before. Their poses feel more real to me, compared to "art school" models. Heindel is an obvious influence for the last set of drawings.

Check out Orlando's drawings from the same block of time! Bo$$. Trey, over at the studio in KC, is knocking out killer drawing after killer drawing!

best!

-fv

Inspiration!

2011-01-06T20:02:00.000-08:00

^^ Golucho

^^ Contemporary Russian academic figure studies

^^ Ramon Casas

^^ Lilian Wescott Hale

^^ Gustav Klimt

^^ Jerome Witkin

^^ Academic Spanish figure drawings

^^ Robert Fawcett

^^ Edgar Degas

^^ Anton Azbe

^^ James Montgomery Flagg

^^ Anders Zorn

^^ Jenny Saville

^^ Kent Williams

^^ Luis Jimenez Aranda

^^ _______

^^ Gustav Klimt

^^ Anton Azbe

^^ __________

^^ Mariano Fortuny

^^ Dean Cornwell

^^ Mead Schaeffer

^^ Edmund Blair Leighton

^^ John William Waterhouse

^^ _______

^^ ______

^^ Robert Heindel

^^ _____ Ferriera

^^ Lucian Freud

^^ Igor Kravtsov

^^ Golucho

^^ _______

^^ Edwin Austin Abbey

^^ Edgar Degas

^^ Dan O'Conner

^^ Jerome Witkin

Every morning, I send the students here in Austin a suite of images to get the inspiration proper for the day. I haven't made an inspiration post in a while, so hopefully this makes up for it...haha. These works are the premier selections from these morning emails.

Regrettably, in a few instances, I did not record the artist who created the picture, or it was not listed. This means a few of these are not credited. If you know the name of the artist for untagged images, please leave a comment, and I will make proper adjustment.

Stay inspired!

-fv

2010-11-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

I completed this drawing for an advertisement as soon as I made it back from my residency. Tried to apply a few things I learned! Enjoyed it immensely!

Charcoal and ink on bristol 19x24. Thanks to studio mate Jenn Ayers for the reference.

Will post thoughts and imagery from the said residency soon.

Stay positive!

-francis

2010-10-10T01:58:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! A few new figure drawings, this time all from the model - great times!

Kinda in a rush to catch a plane to Florida for a 3-week residency with Paul Pope. I'm sure it's going to be crazy.

take care,

2010-09-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

YOOooooo! Staying busy and drawing a whole lot! I feel real fortunate to be running the figure session over here are the studio, so I'm trying my best to take full advantage! Nothing's better than being in front of a great model with sweet music cranked! Most of these are from live models - some from photos to warm up in the mornings.

Austin is so crazy!

take care!!!

-fv

*edit: added a drawing up top!

TAD/CA.org Inking Technique Download!

2010-07-09T10:19:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned this in a few venues, but I wanted to archive this announcement officially on the blog - my demo video with Conceptart.org/TAD is now available!!

LINK TO DOWNLOAD!

102 minutes / $20

While I was in Kansas City the past month working at the Academy and TAD I had the amazing opportunity to shoot a demo video. The turn around time was pretty tight, so instead of getting into an involved piece, I decided to shoot a video describing my ink techniques, and the various tools you can use to achieve different results. In the end I worked on three images - one in nib, another in brush, and another in nib and wash - over 102 minutes. I speak on working from reference, spotting blacks, line variety, gesture, and past inkers and influences; among other topics.

I'm pleased with how it turned out, and hopefully it is helpful to those that give it a watch!! Feel free to post your own ink work in this thread and I am happy to critique and offer suggestions :)

A trailer and imagery from the video:

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I'd also like to thank Jason Manley and John English for having me help out with the workshops in Kansas City. It's been the greatest honor of my career to work with all my heroes and those people that have had such a significant influence in my journey so far. Also a giant thanks to the students to being incredible and open to my suggestions and talks/demos. I admittedly was wildly nervous to give presentations but the group was so great, I relaxed pretty quickly. I look forward to continue to share and pay whatever knowledge I have forward! Everyone from KC stay in touch!

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Lastly, I'm mostly moved into Austin! I'm sharing a place with my good buddy and artist Orlando Sanchez and have my new studio space mostly set up at the Austin TAD POD! It's such a fresh space to work! The students are beginning to arrive for the beginning of classes next week and the energy is very high. After I finish this post I'll begin the first block of work in the new space. Speaking of work, I'm rocking out on some super exciting projects that I can't wait to share - but can't at the moment. But once classes get cranking here I'll have demos, figure drawings, and all that good stuff to share on a regular basis!

incredibly excited and thankful,

-francis

2010-06-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

Yo! These sketches I did a while back for a cover gig. It was anticipated to be for 5 issues so I had the idea of having one image slowly reveal itself across the bottom of all 5 issues with the top image changing depending on the issue. The "X" on the cooler is a placeholder for the title. I was asked to make revisions to the bottom image at the last second, so I dropped in 3d models which ended up getting the job done nicely. The 2nd image shows other concepts for what the top section could look like.

Unfortunately the series never made it off the ground, so this is as far as these drawings will go.

In other news, I'm about to hop on a plane to Austin, TX to begin setting up the TAD POD location. Soon after, from June 14th-30th I'll be in Kansas City helping out at the Illustration Academy. Busy month!! Hope to meet folks!

take care,

-francis

The O Show / Miami

2010-05-11T15:42:00.000-07:00

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^ painting by Oliver Dominguez

^painting by Orlando Sanchez

This Saturday the 15th, Orlando Sanchez and Oliver Dominguez are having a terrific 2 man exhibition opening in Miami, Florida. Named "The O Show," (with sponsors Monster Energy and Nestle Coffee) it features Orlando's interpretation of the history of music, and Oliver's interpretation of the history of Miami.

May 15th, 2010
Octopus Art Gallery: Doors open at 7PM
169 NW 36th St.
Miami, FL 33127

I've had the privilege of previewing much of the work and it is top notch! Hope everyone in the area can check it out!

best,
-francis

2010-05-03T13:44:00.000-07:00

Some more warm-ups between 1 minute and a half hour. If you look real close, I have a male figure in there!? I've been looking at these drawings.

Also, over this past weekend, my father graduated with his Associate degree in the applied biomedical field. When the Detroit auto industry collapsed he made up his mind to enroll in a local college. His last time spent in school was 40 years prior as a high school student. After 3 intense years of study he graduated with top honors in his class. The field requires regular computer use, and he had never turned on a computer before his classes. He also was given the highest grade his internship instructor has ever given. This internship requires 20 hours a week - he gives 40. Anything I've accomplished is a result of the inspiration I get from watching my dad give 110% to everything he does. You know those people that scream and yell at graduations? Yeah, that was my mom and I the whole ceremony. Congrats dad!!!

take care,

-fv

PS. It's about that time of the year. The summer Illustration Academy program begins May 31st and ends June 25. For the first time, it is being split into 2 locations: Kansas City, MO and Richmond, VA. I'm honored and excited to be helping out this year! I will be in Kansas City for the last half of the program, offering any knowledge I can. Again, it's a terrific program and one of the best investments you can make towards your development as an artist. Hope to see some folks there!

Also, TAD recently held an online course "The Art of the Feminine Form" this past weekend. The whole presentation has been recorded and is now available to purchase for a very reasonable price "on demand". It's a great course, with some killer conversations and artwork. Now that classes are over for many students, it's a great way to keep the juices flowing over the summer!

Sorolla!

2010-04-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

A real treat this post! Recently came across great photos of Sorolla's murals at the Hispanic Society of America in New York City. Sorolla was commissioned by Archer M. Huntington in 1911 to paint 14 large scale (twelve to fourteen feet tall) paintings to be installed at the Society. It took Sorolla 8 exhausting years to complete the monumental project.

The last image is a nice detail shot to show the brushwork Sorolla was working with. That's a very small detail from the painting above it. Wow! Here are a few more links to galleries containing hi resolution shots of these paintings: 1 2 3 4

Other top notch inspirational galleries and websites:

NC Wyeth: Complete Works

The Hidden Place

take care,

-francis

Gestures!

2010-04-06T22:46:00.000-07:00

After getting back into figure drawing while in Austin a while ago, and seeing how helpful gestures are, I realized I needed to step my figure game up. My solution was saving a folder of "artistic nudes" off of DeviantArt (there's literally thousands of great photos, although you'll have to sift through some odd ones) and playing them in timed increments through my computer's slideshow function. I love it! It's not quite drawing from life, but I am able to draw from poses that a live model would not be able to hold.

The top row is 4 minutes gestures, with the next row 3 minutes, the next 2, etc. I've been looking a lot at Mucha's drawings lately. Speaking of Mucha, his popular "design-based watercolor" pieces are cool and all, but his drawings and oil paintings are where it's at!

take care,

-fv

2010-03-29T17:45:00.000-07:00

Man what a good time this piece was! It was originally began for a comic pitch. Unfortunately halfway through drawing it out, the project was cancelled. So on my free time I wrapped it up.

I hope to throw some color on it in the future. Speaking of that...would folks be interested in a limited run screen-print release of this piece? I've always wanted to release a print like that and work with a printer. Let me know in the comments.

cheers!

-fv

ps. The text near the asterix is a little tough to read. It says:

*In 2012, a catastrophic solar flare decimated earth's atmosphere. The sun's rays are now lethal to all living creatures.....except Mathew.

ILYA REPIN!!!

2010-03-19T19:14:00.000-07:00

Katia Wish is awesome. She just sent me a link to a very complete gallery of Ilya Repin's work. Especially cool to check out all the studies he did for his major pieces. The man was thorough.

Anyways enjoy!!! Follow the link here!!!!

stoked,
-fv

ps. This is the art nerd in me talking....but Rockwell and Repin were working at the same time roughly (1920s)...I wonder if they knew of each other. Can you image a collab piece between those two masters? An "Ilya Rockwell" or a "Norman Repin" if you will. But what if they really did create that painting but it's been lost!? But I digress.....haha

pps. Also check out the Zorn and Serov sections from the same site!: http://gallerix.ru/

Austin, TX

2010-03-18T16:38:00.001-07:00

photo by phil holland

Pretty busy around here lately, which is a good thing! To keep the pencil moving outside my comics, I've been doing a lot of girl drawings.

The top 2 images are from a continuing series of pastel on paper pieces drawn for the figure drawing section on the VLP. The next ink page was done from life, 1-2 minutes. The next image was a morning warm up, and the final bunch of images were drawn from life at SXSW in Austin Texas where I was working with the Art Department promoting the program. 1-2 minute poses. I was amped to draw alongside Trey, Jane, and Dustin the whole weekend...make sure to check the drawings they did from the same sessions..great work!!! Friday night was a dope event at Austin's Mohawk bar. Was able to knock out some drawings of wild models with the insanely talented Massive Black crew of Whit, Kemp, Andrew, Jason, Carl, and Brad. Mark English even stopped by and wowed with his drawings and paintings. I can cross off a life goal since I was able to score one of his drawings!!!!!

===

Lastly I'm excited to announce I will be moving to Austin, Texas to begin my role as studio leader of one of the the physical studio locations (aka pods) of The Art Department. I really believe in the program and am happy to be involved at the ground floor. I will be working directly under Jason Manley and moving my studio into the studio space with all the students to hopefully set the pace and offer any wisdom I can. Trey Bryan will be the studio leader at the Kansas City location working with the Englishes, and Josh George will be the leader at the Richmond location working with Sterling Hundley. The final location in San Francisco will continue to be handled by Carl Dobsky and Coro.

A few folks have asked how this will affect my Russian studies... well, I haven't given up on that. I still really want to make that happen. And I am confident they will. But for the foreseeable future I am very excited about Austin and my comics that I'm working on behind the scenes!!

take care,

-fv

Russians and Cornwell pt.2

2010-03-06T09:34:00.000-08:00

Nikolai Fechin ^^^

Abram Arkhipov ^^^

Dean "The Machine" Cornwell

More discoveries from my online adventures. Some mind numbing Fechin's up top! Now I know the high key painting of the women in the red dresses is by Arkhipov. The other 2... I'm not sure. The images were not labeled. If anyone knows otherwise, please let me know. Finally, bringing us home is Cornwell, with another gem.

Also check out this nice collection of Fechin drawings. Speaking of drawings, make sure to visit this collection of Anders Zorn's etchings. And lastly, another favorite of mine, check out these pics of Kroyer paintings. Nuts!

stay inspired,

-francis

2010 Illustration Academy and TAD!

2010-03-04T07:26:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! Here's an update on the situation with this summer's Illustration Academy. A lot of folks from Ringling and beyond have asked me about it. This is the official announcement from John English. Also some additional info on other great programs!:

"Announcing the 2010 Illustration Academy!

The Illustration Academy’s 2010 summer program will be held in two locations, Kansas City and Richmond, Virginia. The Illustration Academy is now operating as a special program within The Art Department's (TAD) Illustration Major. The 2010 Illustration Academy will be held in the TAD studios (Pods) that are being developed to accommodate the immersion component of TAD.

The Illustration Academy will begin May 31st and run through June 25th. Students will have their choice of either location, Kansas City or Richmond, as positions are available. The same stellar professionals will make up The Illustration Academy Faculty. It will be a major advantage to have the Academy in our own space. We will finally have total control. I am presently speaking with a major convention hotel about housing for the Academy students and instructors. The hotel is less than 1 mile from the TAD Pod studio space.

Dates May 31- June 25th
Locations Kansas City & Richmond VA
Fee $3900
Housing Information coming shortly

Student can learn more about TAD at: this link

Students can apply to TAD at: this link

More information coming on The Illustration Academy, VLP and CA.org sites very soon!"

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Also, March 7th is the deadline for TAD scholarship applications. More info is available here. To discuss these programs with the faculty themselves and other artists visit the message boards here.

hope this is helpful!

-fv

Earth: Fragile Planet

2010-03-01T18:01:00.000-08:00

Hey folks! Here's a small painting (5x 15in. ink and gouache on paper) I created for the Society of Illustrators. It's for the show Earth: Fragile Planet to raise awareness for issues affecting the environment. This is especially timely with the recent onslaught of natural disasters around the globe.

I wanted to test myself, and see how simple I could go with this one. I have a chronic tendency to over complicate my pictures, so this was a fun experiment!

The show is not until June 3rd though, so when more information is available I'll pass it along.

cheers!

-fv

Art Contests: Unethical?

2010-02-28T08:22:00.000-08:00

Hey folks. I've recently become aware of a situation regarding online art contests, and their unfortunate popularity. The general procedure "includes a solicitation of original design concepts, characters and content to be produced on a speculative basis by cartoonists, artists, motion designers, and animators."

The specific contest in question is being hosted by Sesame Street. All quotes in this post are taken from, and additional information can be found, here:

LINK

Motionographer and Cartoon Brew are accepting signatures to combat such practices. Please take a moment to review the situation and perhaps add your signature.

I adamantly agree with the thoughts expressed. If you would have asked me a year ago while I was still in school, I may not have been so enthusiastically against this. While you are in the school bubble, and hungry to build up your work, contests like these seem like a great opportunity. I participated in a number of them. Recently even. But once you graduate and are faced with the daunting task of supporting yourself with your art, your viewpoints on such matters begin to change. If you float around the web, you will notice A LOT of similar art contests popping up. I'm not saying the intentions of the contests are always malicious, but the people running these sort of things need to be questioned. Yet again, another situation where an artist's value is being undercut.

I tried to summarize the situation here, but follow the links for a nicely articulated explanation.

take care,

-francis

2010-02-26T17:55:00.000-08:00

Some recent drawings. A page of Mignola copies in there. Can't believe March is around the corner...time is flying!

take care,

-francis

Brownstones to Red Dirt

2010-02-19T08:32:00.000-08:00

What's up friends! This piece above (4.5 x 5.5 inches, mixed media) was created for the Brownstones to Red Dirt charity auction. The goal is to raise enough funds to build a school for orphans in Sierra Leone and create a library for the youth in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

It's for a great cause, and the line up is stacked! Bidding opens March 6th and closes March 13th. A great chance to snag a piece of original art from terrific artists at a reasonable price. Follow the official blog for more details.

take care,

-francis

2010-02-12T06:32:00.000-08:00

This page was done a for a project that never got off the ground, unfortunately. Western imagery is real fun stuff!

When I did it I had a super tight deadline. I planned out the page in a day and a half, and penciled and inked it in an afternoon. I bow down to the comic artists that can crank the pages out. I'm trying to streamline my process with every page.

But I took the text out in respect to the property in case it's ever used again.

best,
-francis

2010-02-05T03:37:00.000-08:00

This piece was a blast (pun intended...ayo!). It was done for the esteemed Skottie Young. I've followed his career for a while now, and have always really been into his work. So when I was asked to do a pin-up of his character "Bernard the World-Destroyer" for his new art book, I flipped out!!

Basically Bernard has been sent to Earth to study it before he destroys it. He comes to find out Kanye West is a rogue agent from Viltron Nine sent to take control of earth's people. In my picture we find Bernard busting into the studio as Kanye is recording his newest jam...haha.

Hope you digg it Skottie!

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...and some more warm-up sketches!

I've had a great beginning to 2010! A number of terrific situations have arose. I'll announce them officially soon.

take care,

-francis

ps. I put up some great painting below. Take a look, I think you'll enjoy them!

Really really good pictures

2010-02-05T02:36:00.000-08:00

Dmitri Belyukin ^^

Ivan Kulikov ^^

Ilya Repin aka "Nasty McFly" aka "Are You Serious"^^

Dean Cornwell ^^

I had to share these images. Each one burned a hole into my eyes for quite some time. The top image by Dmitri is in my top 5 paintings ever. So good. Also interesting is that those paintings by Dmitri were painted in the 1990's. All the artists are Russian, except of course for Cornwell. Unfortunately the Repin files aren't the best. Anyone have those images in better quality?

I found a few of these images at this Russian blog I recently discovered. Also make sure to check out Elkin Canas' art blog. One of the best I've seen. And if you enjoy paintings of the sort posted, you'll love Mian Situ's work. Lastly, my internet buddy Valentino Radman launched a blog, and he has some incredible photos of paintings he's taken himself, and other top notch content!

stay inspired!

-fv

2010-01-21T19:45:00.000-08:00

So I'm working on a piece and the composition/perspective is giving me a hard time. And then I seen this painting by Mihaly Munkacsy and my head exploded.

Maybe I don't have it too tough after all...haha.

cheers,

-fv

2010-01-19T21:09:00.000-08:00

Hey ladies and fellas. A few new warm-ups. One page of Alex Toth copies in there. A few Da Vinci copies in the arm pages.

take care,

-francis

2010-01-14T21:31:00.000-08:00

Hey folks. A few new pieces.

The top two monotypes were pulled at the very talented Andrew Wright's studio over New Year's. I love doing these. I tell myself I don't have access to the equipment, but Trey runs over his plates with his car. This I need to do.

The 3rd image is just me doodling girls, you know the usual. The last two images are warm ups I've been doing every morning. I draw one page of something and post it on my twitter. So far I'm on track...I began 9 days ago.

Also, please take a moment to consider donating a few dollars to the relief effort for Haiti. They are going through an incredibly tough time and need all the help possible. I know money is tight, but even a little will go a long way.

Text YELE to 501501 to donate $5
Visit this link to donate more.

take care,
-francis

Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouveret

2010-01-10T20:21:00.000-08:00

===============================

I'm thinking of changing my name to Francis-Kercheval-Norman Jorge-Vallejo if long names make you paint better. It worked for Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouveret. These paintings are beastly. Thanks to the enormously talented (and Dolor collaborator) Jens Claessens for the heads up! To me, these stand next to Repin's work as far as quality is concerned.

If you digg those pieces check out the last piece by Gyula Benczúr! (via James Gurney then Bobby Chui).

take care,
-francis

I'm coming for you 2010!!!

2009-12-29T21:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a recent commission. Fun little piece. Wanted to put some of my work up to end the year. Been posting a lot of inspiration..haha.

2010 is going to be bananas. I can feel it.

take care and be safe on this New Years,
-fv

Famous Artist Course DOWNLOAD update

2009-12-28T23:17:00.000-08:00

I learned some things at art school. I learned more things at the Illustration Academy. The third source of much of my art education comes from the "Famous Artist Course" books. They were published in the 1960's and will make you a better artist upon reading them. Serious, serious. And because of the information superhighway, you can now download them.

These come at my highest recommendation. Irene Gallo's blog notified me that Daniel Caylor has honorably scanned the whole set and posted them to download at his blog. If you are a student of illustration, you owe it to yourself, and your loans, to read these guys over. I'm fortunate to own the original binders, and I re-read them at least once a year.

Now the scans Mr. Caylor put up are from the original 1960 binders. FAS put out additional volumes. These are also available.

FAS Cartooning Course
FAS updated volume with Bernie Fuchs
FAS updated volume with Bob Peak (pending)

On a side note, I have little pile of things to post. But if I don't get to it before the New Year, have a rocking 2010.

take care,
-fv

**edit: In an effort to be fair towards possible copyright issues always involved with situations such as this, consider purchasing the materials that the modern day Famous Artist Course company offers.**

**edit pt.2: This post seems to have generated some traffic to Mr. Caylor's site, which has now taken down the scans. It seems the FAS does in fact own the copyright's giving them the right to claim theft when these are put up. If you do a little searching, you can find a few conversations going on about this. I can't speak for Mr. Caylor, but the intentions behind my post, and other links to the downloads were scholarly and made in the interest of community. But sometimes the excitement over such information overshadows the reality of situations. I'm a big advocate for the spreading of knowledge, especially concerning art, but as Mr. Leif Peng said, in this digital age it is "an ongoing process for all of us to learn how to play by the rules." Many authorities in the field have commented on this, and have educated this young artist's eyes on this sort of situation. I hope everyone has the courtesy to consider both side of this situation and act accordingly."

2009-12-24T13:22:00.001-08:00

Speaking of Christmas, here is a female nude....kidding..haha. Actually, these are some better pics of that painting I did for the Nucleus 5 year show. Big ups to the California connection Kendra for the photos. To be 100%, I'm not very pleased with how it turned out, but it was a therapeutic process. It changed drastically, and I should have let it go, waaaay earlier than I did. Similar to this piece. Complicated does not equal better..hah. A lesson I'm still trying to learn!

On a side not, my pops made a top notch custom frame for this piece. Thanks dad!! The first of many from the Vallejo men I'm sure.

may your holidays be merry,
-fv

2009-12-15T08:26:00.000-08:00

Something must be in the air, because I've been discovering some world class artists lately. I'll let these pictures speak for themselves. If you're not familiar, meet Gonzalo Carcamo.

take care,
-fv

ps. Special props to Mr. Carcamo for the tribute to this Repin painting!

*EDIT* Big news. The very considerate Ricardo Antunes informed me that Gonzalo has a step-by-step feature in the terrific online illustration magazine: Revista Ilustrar. Gonzalo is in issue #5, and another artist I recently posted, Sergio Martinez has a great feature in issue #10.

2009-12-11T22:13:00.000-08:00

--------

Crazy project. I was given a week to do these three pages, and some branding work, for an Australian financial newspaper. The AD provided the titles and the script. The stories consist of epic tales of 2 financial advisers who are turned into superheroes, and one story of a helplessly addicted gambler. .. I tried to have as much fun with it as possible.

I enjoyed the challenge of having the whole story take place on one page. I found using all the comic elements - narration, speech bubbles, sound effects, etc - were all needed to condense the action to fit. And since it is for a newspaper, I colored it as such.

I also posted the super rough layout sketches I did at the onset. I stayed pretty loyal to them, with some minor changes. All in all, I had a blast! Expect to see much more comic work.

happy holidays once again!
-fv

**ps...I noticed Blogger is compressing these images funny, leaving some artifacts in them. Sorry guys! Can't seem to fix it. They look a little better here.

Oh Snap!

2009-12-09T15:16:00.000-08:00

Sergio Martinez ^^^

Paul Gillon ^^^

Jose Luis Salinas ^^^

Pablo Auladell ^^^

(thanks Kyle)

Hey ladies and gents. Lately, I've really been cranking long hours on a project, so to keep the mojo fresh I look to inspiration periodically. Here's four incredibly masterful artists I've been scoping. If my research is correct they are all still alive, and most still working.

It's interesting to consider their influences. Of course this is all speculative, but it seems Sergio is very influenced by Mark English, and Pablo with Brad Holland. I'm not sure how their careers overlap, but I see a lot of Fawcett in Jose's work.

Hope these provide some inspiration with the end of the year deadlines. Happy Holidays!

cheers

-fv

2009-11-26T08:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying their time with family and loved ones. The piece above was a small thank you piece I did for a cousin I grew up with. Real good guy, happy to have my work in his place!

Now I have to go put on some turkey weight!

-fv

Pitches

2009-11-22T10:23:00.001-08:00

The above imagery was created for a graphic novel pitch I was asked to put together. The writer asked me to recreate a panel in a few styles. Unfortunately I wasn't selected as the artist, but it was nice to play with a few different inking styles. Good Experience.

This image was part of a pitch I put together for a large mural project. I worked on a few other pictures. I did in fact land the gig.... it didn't take long to realize that the project was a huge scam. Like the kind you see in the movies. Bad experience.

But all in all, I enjoyed working on these pictures!

best,

-francis

Save the Elephants charity auction!!!

2009-11-20T19:03:00.000-08:00

Super stoked for this project! I was cruising through my blog lists and noticed a post by the very talented Andrew Shek. It seems the "Elephants Managers Association" is having an auction of artwork to help raise funds for their cause.

I'm an animal fan, I worked at the Detroit Zoo for 2 summers, so I found some time to do a piece. Another experiment, but this time I'm pretty cool with how it turned out. I've been searching for that loose-but-polished aesthetic in my work for a while.

So my piece, along with other great works, will be available for purchase at the auction date, which I will announce! I'm sure you've seen the videos of the elephants painting. Yeah, that's right, the elephant's work will be up for auction too. My most diverse show yet..haha. I hope other artists in blog-land have time to donate a piece!

Mr. Shek summarized the cause nicely:

"The Elephant Managers Association is made up of professional elephant handlers, veterinarians and researchers. They exist to improve the care and management of captive elephants as well as support conservation projects in Africa and Asia.

The association is asking any interested artist to donate pieceswhich feature elephants in an effort to raise funds. Money generated will be used to support the organization as well as conservation projects for wild elephants. Several zoos have already donated pieces of art made by their elephants.

Dead line: November 28th 2009.
Paintings, sculptures, carvings....anything you would like to donate is fine."

Sergio "Are You Serious" Toppi

2009-11-20T14:21:00.001-08:00

I did the above drawing over a couple days warming up in the morning. They are all copies from the grandmaster 2000XL of ink: Sergio Toppi. He is a modern master, and is still with us, although he is getting up there in age. He's one of my favorite artists, in any medium, and I think I'm gaining a lot studying his work. His use of negative space is just as impressive as his use of "positive."

Not familiar? Here are three incredible links with a lot of great pages of his work:

LINK1 LINK2 LINK3

Up next: Alberto Breccia.

take care,

-francis

2009-11-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

This is a new painting for Erik Jones' Tata Gala show opening this Saturday the 14th at 7pm. It's in Sarasota, FL and this is it's 3rd incarnation. A sizable amount of the show's proceeds are donated to Breast Cancer research, so it's a great cause.

My piece is 18x18 oil and wax on board. It went through various incarnations as illustrated in the progression shots. In the end, a Francis Bacon influence (among others) brought me to the final. An experiment for sure. Loads of fun was had. I do think I like the version of the painting before the final a little better, tho.

Funny story: I finished a phase of painting and needed it to dry, so I thought it would be a fantastic idea to use a heat gun to encourage the process a little. I had forgotten that much of the painting was over a layer of wax. So I proceeded to heat the piece up, and watch the wax start liquifying and bubbling..hahaha! I repainted some areas, but the drips on the right side, that resulted from this goof, are my favorite parts..haha. As Barron Storey would say, "give yourself something to react to!"

best!

-francis

Soviet War Paintings

2009-11-08T21:14:00.000-08:00

I found the link to these collections of painting from James Gurney's blog. I'm a huge 19th and 20th century Russian art fan, so these just blew me away!!! I've posted a few of my favorites.

LINK1 LINK2

best,

-fv

2009-11-03T19:42:00.000-08:00

Heres a few doodles I did while waiting for some paintings to dry. A bonus of being home is I get to chill with one of my best buds, my German Shepherd Wile. E. I grew up with this dude. He's getting older, so I'm trying to take advantage of this time. I wanted to try something I read about: spraying milk onto your charcoal for an interesting effect. Edel Rodgriguez talks about it here. Not sure if I'm doing it right, but it was a good time. Definitely had the great drawings of my buddy Trey Bryan in the back of my head while doing these.

Here he is kickin it in my painting space:

take care,

-fv

Remixed

2009-10-18T18:56:00.000-07:00

So like Bad Boy did back in the 90's, my plans got remixed. I should be in Russia right now, but I'm in Detroit crashing at my folks place until February. Despite serious effort, I wasn't able to make my Russian studies happen (a sincere thank you to all those that contributed to the cause). Soooo, the school is allowing me to jump into the program for the onset of the second semester, February 1st. Until then, I'm going to grind away and do all I can to get over there. Paying my dues.

...cars? I've been given a great opportunity to work on a project where cars are the focus, so I did these doodles to warm up. Freehand, marker and pencil. I'm trying to avoid the ruler, but if the client wants them tighter I may have to dust it off.

take care!

-francis

2009-10-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

This is a poster from my past Open House. Thanks to everyone that stopped by and made a purchase. Your support means a ton!!!

*I deleted a lot of the open house posting, since it isn't too exciting- especially to folks outside of Sarasota - and was taking up a lot of space. Time permitting I will put items up for sale online also.**

cheers!

-fv

2009-09-18T13:14:00.001-07:00

Heres a photo of some work in progress portraits I've been working on. The plan is to now rework them as a whole image now that they are connected. These will probably be almost unrecognizable in the final piece.

In other news I will be drawing portraits and giving a demo tomorrow night (Saturday) at Ringling College at the Hammond Commons to benefit this year's Illest of Ill show. The portraits begin at 11pm and I'll begin the demo at midnight (that's early in college time to those wondering why so late).

Bernie Fuchs

1932-2009.

I recently was informed that Bernie Fuchs passed away. By far and away one of the most influential illustrators to have held a brush. Artists made careers with styles he discarded. I am constantly looking at his work and in awe of his accomplishments. We lost a legend.

David Apatoff wrote a very sincere tribute to Bernie on his blog. Drawing 'till the last.

-fv

2009-09-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

This post has been a long time coming. I began this project in November of last year in George Pratt's senior illustration class. It is my adaptation of Roald Dahl's great short story "In the Ruins." Yes the same fellow that brought us the giant peach wrote adult stories too..haha. I then was given the opportunity to include it in Image Comic's Popgun anthology.

Obviously that didn't happen. This is the "kinda-not-really" finished inks for some of the first pages (out of a proposed 12). Unfortunately I'm calling the project quits since I'm leaving the States so soon, and have too many commitments. Bummer!!!! I really enjoyed this process, but I'll get another shot. I love comics and hope to work on more projects in the future!

The blank boxes were supposed to have drawings in them, but I never got around to working them out. The pages still need a lot of work, but I thought I'd give them a post anyways.

take care!

-fv

**I'm going to put these pages up in my Store soon, but if anyone is interested in the purchase of a page(s) please feel free to email me and we can work something out. Thanks!**

2009-09-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

Many people have probably heard me raving one way or another about the Illustration Academy. I've attended it twice, and I'm fortunate to have stayed in contact with many of the instructors and students year round. It's a big family. A family that has helped make me the artist I am today. So when John English told me about the online Visual Literacy Program I was pretty stoked. He described it as the Academy year round. And for the most part it is! I mean nothing can replace the face to face time of the summer workshops, but this gets darn near close!

I've been a member of the VLP (what the cool kids call it), since it began a month and a half or so ago. In that time it has really exploded. The members range from artists very early in their studies looking for guidance... to Sterling Hundley. It's a wild range. Most of the Academy instructors are active on the forums giving upper level crits and advice. It's so cool to put up a piece and have Doug Chayka, Brent Watkinson, Sterling, George Pratt, and John English give you spot on advice later that night.

But the most valuable thing it offers is the simple inspiration. Like many other artists, sometimes I have a real hard time grinding through long nights and maintaining the motivation to keep pushing through a project. Sometimes I'm in my studio/apartment for days at a time, and can feel my mojo really falling off. I can sincerely say that the forums keep me going, especially lately with my crazy schedule preparing to move. I can check out a post by one of my buddies or teachers and see what they are working on at that moment. That kick in the pants is invaluable. Not to mention hours long instructional videos by all the world class instructors!

I'll admit that I receive a number of emails from folks asking about the Academy. Now I can forward them to the VLP. The cost is very do-able; especially the one month option. I know times are tough (believe me I really know), but the investment is worth it's weight in gold. If you are serious about illustration, really think about it. You will grow so much!

take care,

-francis

**Here is a video they put together taking you through the site/forums and giving you the visuals to what I am speaking about!**

2009-09-03T15:57:00.000-07:00

A few sketchbook pages. Getting a little silly with the ink. Sorry about the warping. Water and moleskines don't mix.

By the way, days are good when Jay-Z and Raekwon got new albums out. Especially when one of them is "Only Built for Cuban Linx 2."

cheers!

-fv

2009-09-02T22:52:00.000-07:00

This is gouache on paper finished in the good ol' Photoshop. I want to do a few more things to it so I'll update the image with the final very soon.

**EDIT: updated with the final image, cropped and full size.**

================

I'll also be attending my teacher and friend Sterling Hundley's opening this Friday in Richmond, Virgina. If you see a dazed looking dude gawking at the amazing artwork...that'll be me after driving up. But if you're attending, make sure to say what up! I've seen a number of the paintings and they are amazing. The man's concepts are on another level.

take care,

-francis

2009-09-02T22:48:00.000-07:00

Here are photos of some things that have went through the studio lately... The paintings are all works in progress.

Also, I received an email compromising the Step by Step Mondays, so I unfortunately have to suspend future installments for the time being. I also took down the old links. I am trying to resolve the issue and continue the posts, so keep an eye out. I'll make an announcement.

take care!

-fv

Repin Institute

2009-09-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

Hey folks. I've mentioned it a few times, but I never made a formal post concerning my future studies. I will be attending the Repin Institute for painting, a department of the Imperial Academy of Arts, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Classes begin this coming October 15th, so I'm hustling like crazy to get a few projects wrapped up. I'm real stoked! I've never been out of the United States before, so it should be a wild experience. English is not spoken over there, so I'm trying to learn Russian. Luckily I have language classes every night. But I'm sure the language barrier is going to make things interesting.

The program is for 6-7 years. The ultimate goal is a master's although the U.S. does not recognize it..haha. That's ok, I'm not going for the paper. But for me, I will be attending the prepatory program. It is for one year and is not technically a "real" year. It is designed to prepare you for admittance into the school. In July of next year, I will be given an intense 36 hours to complete a figure painting, drawing, and composition. That will then be judged by the school's faculty and I will find out if I am accepted into the real school. I have 6 hours in front of the model 6 days a week, with lecture classes (given in Russian...o boy) strewn through out the week. At night I have language classes. It's year round, so in the summer time we travel around the Russian country side landscape painting! I have no idea if I will decide to go through the whole program. If I do I'll be over 30 when I get out...that's kinda scary.

I'll admit I was really looking into various ateliers. Although the work I seen coming out of those programs was technically cool, it lacks life much of the time. The Repin school is so great because it is based around the concept of bringing life and intensity into all of your work. The teachers enforce the responsibility you have as as artist. They teach that if you are painting a cube, make it "your" cube and let the audience know what you were feeling when you painted that cube. That and Whistler, Zorn, Repin (of course), and Fechin went there!!

So it's going to be a wild experience. I'll do my best to document it on the blog.

take care,

-francis

SBSM: Austin Briggs!

2009-08-17T10:55:00.001-07:00

Hey folks! Another week, another dose of inspiration. This time from illustration super hero: Austin Briggs!

**link taken down for time being**

take care,
-francis

2009-08-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

Some more exploration. The only pastel work I have ever really done has been the Illustration Academy figure drawings. I loved doing them, but for some reason I never explored pastels again. So I did these to see what the medium could do. I usually default to figure work when I am experimenting since I am very comfortable with that subject, and know that I am going to struggle with whatever style/medium I am exploring. Each image is a little different, and has its strengths, weaknesses. Again I'm running across the concept of "quickly done but fresh work" vs. "overworked but polished imagery." I spent days on the top 2 images and knocked out the bottom pic in 20 minutes. I kinda like the bottom one more....? The best guys find a balance between the two, and that's something I strive for.

take care,
-francis

***edit: added a new image up top***

SBSM: John Gannam!

2009-08-10T08:56:00.000-07:00

For this week, we have a nice feature on the painter John Gannam. His work has always reminded me of Zorn and seems to straddle the line between illustration and gallery work (not that there has to be a line in the first place).

**link taken down for time being**

Enjoy!
-francis

Art purchasing SCAM!

2009-08-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

These posts are always a bummer to write but hopefully this can inform folks. But recently I received an email from a woman asking to purchase a painting or "creative work." I responded and was stoked. I received a prompt response but began to notice interesting wording in the email. Seemed fishy. Then I talked to my buddy who received...... the exact same email. He actually went through the process the woman asked. But right before he let the piece go, he figured out the scam and had the woman's check bounce.

I did a little research and found this post discussing the exact scam that I had pulled on me.

The idiot takes these names.:

Betty Moore-
Bikram Shrestha - sbikram81@yahoo.com
Claire - clairepinkii@jojomail.com
Claire Pink - clairepink@fastmail.co.uk
Crewford - shiper@myway.com
Crystal Moll - crys.moll01@gmail.com
Dave Frank - free4allwe@yahoo.com
Garritt Miller - m_garritt01@yahoo.com
George Craige - gcraige108@yahoo.com
Henry Matt - henrymatt27@googlemail.com
James Carter
Jane Francis - jan.fran01@yahoo.com
Janet Brand -
Janet Gillian-
Janet Francis - jan.fran001@yahoo.com
Janet Rumsey - janet_rumsey75@yahoo.com
Janet Vida - jan.vida01@yahoo.com
Jessica - kelvinjessica777@yahoo.com
Johnson Mark - johnson_mark_arts01@yahoo.com
Kim Bauer -
Lisa Benson - lisaben100@googlemail.com, lisa_benson10@yahoo.com and lisaben100@yahoo.com
Nicole Danes - nicodanes@live.com
Nicole Roane - nic_ane01@yahoo.com
Precious - precious_llyod@jojomail.com
Raymond Hyslop - anitagatlin1010@Yahoo.com and remystore333@yahoo.com
Robert Cole - robert.cole81@yahoo.com
Sandra Haddock -
Sandra Williams - sandrawills_sandrawills@yahoo.com
Steven Pallin -
Susan Cutter -
Swane Mackerel - swanemackerel@gmail.com
Tina Brown - tina_brown100@yahoo.co.uk

It's really unfortunate that these things exist, and I really hope no one has had their work stolen from them.

all the best,
-francis

2009-08-03T09:31:00.000-07:00

Recently I've been exploring different ways of drawing. These are few of the more successful ones. I have a hefty stack of failures, but I'm excited about some of the things I learned. The top image was an experiment with scanning in a drawing, destroying it, printing it out again, and then adding pastel and colored pencil on top. The other images were drawn very quickly with black colored pencil, normal pencil, and a little charcoal. I made an effort to draw them without any construction underneath. Just started with a line and tried to make it work. The mistakes were just as fun to work with as the more "correct" marks. Been looking at a lot of Schiele, Kent Williams, and Klimt.

take care!
-francis

SBSM: Coby Whitmore & Mead Schaeffer

2009-08-03T09:26:00.001-07:00

Hey folks, real quick Step by Step Monday with 2 terrific artists. Sorry for missing last week, real busy.

**links taken down for time being**

best!
-francis

SBSM #2: Saul Tepper!!

2009-07-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome to week #2 of Step-by-Step Mondays. This week's artist is Saul Tepper. He is a personal favorite of mine. It's unfortunate that he is often overshadowed. But when your competition is Dean Cornwell and Mead Schaeffer I can understand...haha (I think that timeline is correct right?). But holy moley, check out the painting on the first spread...wow!!!!!

*link taken down for time being**

take care!
-francis

Brother Ali- Begin Here

2009-07-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

When I was young you couldn’t tear me away from the stereo/

Used to carry one with me everywhere I’d go/

As I memorized the words I genuinely believed every line I heard/

I thought that these men that I referred to as prophets of our time would never lie in verse/

I can’t begin to tell you how it hurt /

as time went on and some of them disguises burst/

I always said if ever I get heard, if ever I am perched in an elevated place/

High enough so this world can recognize my words I would never turn and try to hide my faith/

And so I give it all as an author even if myself is all I have to offer/

I don’t exaggerate it, I would gladly be hated for what I am and just stand and state it/

And if you relate than you can take it, all human beings are the same when were naked/

We’re all living through the same insane trip but we ain't in it alone/

Somebody stand up and say…….

A lot of people waiting for their big break to make it/
You’re gunna spend your whole life waiting until you learn that/
Anything given to a man can be taken/
Only thing that’s ever really yours is what you earn /
It’s a mistake to label it patience when you see a person blatantly waiting for a turn/
Another one got the faith to go and take his, win lose or draw the end aint a concern/
I want it so bad I can taste it and makeshift tools are the only ones that work in the hands of a dreamer to make it take shape with/
See if I can’t get this old torch to burn/
And all of those chains and the braclets are symbols of that for which our souls yearn/
Strip it all away and what you face is, were trying to touch ? before we touch the urn /
I thank you from the bottom of my heart /
Every show you ever saw every album that you bought/
You can be my guest and tear it all apart/
At the foundation you’ll be sitting there with what I forged/
The past is gone, my path is charted/
My grasp is strong I’m just getting started/
My aim is steady and my view is clear/
My name became heavy and the truth is here!

.....Just finished the Academy last night. Cleaning up today and recuperating. These are some of my favorite lyrics. They feel appropriate for the space that I am in in my life right now. I'm extremely inspired by this song. It's by one of my favorite mc's: Brother Ali. Click here to listen to the full song.

keep on keeping on!

-francis

*ps* speaking of inspiration...I was incredibly, gigantically fortunate to be able to add this Jon Foster painting to my collection last night. Jon is one of the reasons I switched my majors from animation to illustration, and I can't express how much it means to have this piece. It will be hanging proudly in my studio for a long, long time.

2009-07-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

Camel and rider studies for a new painting. Ballpoint pen and pencil. Sorry for all the process work lately and no finals. I literally have a stack of pieces waiting to be finished/tweaked once the academy is finished. Expect them to be posted soon(ish).

take care!

-francis

Step-by-Step Mondays!!!

2009-07-13T12:51:00.001-07:00

Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of their week. In an effort to increase inspiration levels when the case of the Mondays hit, I've decided to start posting my scans of Step by Step magazine pages. It's a great old school magazine that had (drumroll) step by step tutorials of top illustrator's working methods, and profiles on illustration legends. I have access to almost all of the back issues so I'm making an effort to scan in many of the pages. I remember Sterling Hundley telling me that when he was in the trenches he used to scour over these magazines and copy the techniques they offered. If it worked for him, it must be worth a shot!

So to start if off, I've posted an article outlining the process of the great Thomas Blackshear. This is a great working method, especially if you find yourself running into problems when you lose your drawing by painting too opaquely over your lines. You can maintain your drawing, and challenge yourself to really switch up your process since you are actually pulling out your lights instead of painting them in. Great fun!!! Remember, it's based on solid, solid drawing!!

So below is a link to download the hi-res scans with very readable text (12 pages). I'll do my very best to post a new article every Monday, but sometimes other commitments may prevent that. In that case, I'll just post it on a later date. But I have quite a few gems, like one on Saul Tepper, Whitcomb, Cornwell, and many more!

**link taken down for time being**

enjoy!

-francis

thoughts?

2009-07-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

Hey folks. I've been making my images too unnecessarily complicated lately, so for one of the last assignments at the academy I'm doing a simple-ish image of two rams butting heads. The point of it is to illustrate the sound that is made by the action. So when you look at the final piece you should be able to hear the crunch of the two animals hitting each other. I did a few thumbnails, so I thought I would ask the blogger-verse what ones they feel are the most successful? I'll be doing a monotype for the final, and hopefully a large oil when I have a little time after the academy ends.

But I look forward to your thoughts! Their is a tiny green number above each thumb. Sorry it's a little hard to read.

take care,

-francis

sketches!

2009-07-04T20:23:00.000-07:00

Quick post! But these are sketches for two paintings I got going. They both are providing different problems that I've enjoyed solving (or am trying to). The bottom sketch is actual size. I'm thinking of making a post on thumbnailing and idea creation. Probably after the academy ends..haha.

happy 4th!

-francis

Originals for sale on Ebay!

2009-06-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

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So I just listed the artwork above on Ebay with no reserve. The auctions all will be ending in 5 days. So technically you could own these originals for 99 cents, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that maybe they go for a little more.. :). The funds garnered from sales will be used to fund my last days in the states and the final weeks of the Illustration Academy.

ALSO, all the figure pastels below are for sale. Shoot me an email (fvallejo.illustration@gmail.com) and we can work out a very reasonable deal.

I also overhauled my STORE, with new work and prints for sale. All of the originals are being handled by galleries or outside dealers, that's why they aren't on Ebay right now..haha.

I imagine good deals are sure to happen with many of the pieces, so if you are interested, make sure to click the "Bid" links for more information on the work.

**EDIT: Thanks to those that bid on the work!!**

Thanks and take care!

-francis

2009-06-25T19:18:00.001-07:00

Doodlin away at the Ill Acad! I feel this is as close to the modern day Brandywine as you can get. Right now Mark English, John English, Sam Weber, Jillian Tamaki, David Apatoff, Doug Chayka, George Pratt, Jon Foster, Anita Kunz, CF Payne, Sterling Hundley, Brent Watkinson, and Robert Meganck are walking around Sarasota waiting to change our lives again tomorrow morning. The other day Gary Kelley, Francis Livingston, Terry Brown, and Barron Storey just left. I really am constantly overwhelmed. Each and every artist has their own philosophies and they usually are completely contradictory to each other, and I love it! It's up to us, the students, to pick what we agree with and mold our own philosophies. But man, I've never seen so much unbridled passion for picture making. I feel like I'm part of something historic.

On another note, my sketches have been changing. Since January I've switched from pen to pencil and feel like I'm slowly moving away from line. Slowly. Honestly I'm trying to draw like George Pratt. He taught me to not think, just react and make honest marks. I'll be moving to Russia soon, so I'll have plenty of time to make tight drawings.

best,

-francis

**ps: RIP MJ, your music continues to fuel my art.**

pastel figures and photos!

2009-06-16T21:56:00.001-07:00

The 2009 Illustration Academy is in full swing and as expected it is crazy bananas. It is my 2nd year attending and I am honored to be around such accomplished teachers and students!

This means nu-pastel figure drawing. These figure sessions truly contain me at my most happy. Something about the technique they push is so money. It makes it much easier to get those strokes you see in your head, but can never seem to get. I did notice a trend of having a rendered torso with simple (or lack of) hands with no feet. I need to fix that. And yes the model that posed for the last one is ripped, she's great!! O yeah, these are 10-20 minute poses.

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Also the opening for my show in San Diego went terrific! Thanks to all those that stopped by and said hi! A few pics are above.

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And lastly, here's a WIP photo. Maybe 50% done. It's of a 30x40 oil portrait of badass guitarist Johnny Winter. I'm determined to finished it up next week. I'm jazzed.

take care!!

-francis v

2009-06-01T19:59:00.001-07:00

ORIGINS | new works by:

Kyung Soon Park
Francis Vallejo +
Austin McCormick

June 5th - July 19th
Subtext Gallery, San Diego CA
Opening Reception: this Friday June 5th 6-10pm
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I'm pleased to announce my first major exhibition opening this Friday at Subtext Gallery in San Diego, CA. I'll be sharing wall space with two very talented artists: Kyung Soon Park and Austin McCormick. All the original work falls under our interpretation of the word "Origins." I'll admit it's been great fun to watch how each artist has interpreted the theme so differently!

I'm flying out Wednesday to hang the show, and really look forward to hopefully put some faces to names at the opening this Friday. Make sure to say hello!

The top image is one of my paintings to be exhibited. It's an oil of Michigan Central Station in Detroit, Michigan. I spent many afternoons and nights exploring that amazing building. The next two images are details of my main canvas, a 40x60 oil on linen. I'll have 2-3 more pieces exhibited, that I will post after the show has been up for a little while.

hope to see folks there!!
-francis

**if interested in previewing the show and pricing please email Dylan at dylan@subtextstore.com **

covered in paint

2009-05-27T13:17:00.000-07:00

Detail of painting in progress for my 3 person show (opens next week, post on that soon!). Painting with giant brush-fulls of paint while jamming to the new Eminem and K-OS has been keeping the mojo very positive lately!

take care,

-francis

the studio

2009-05-15T07:14:00.000-07:00

Recently took a shot of my studio aka the lab aka the dungeon aka the imagination station (ok that last one was bad). A bunch of things being painted in various states of finish. I spend a lot of time here so I actually made an effort to make it a place I'd enjoy in comparison to the tiny grey box I lived in at Ringling's dorms. I don't know how I worked in those things for 5 years..haha?

But in the future I think I need a space like Mr. Sargent's:

Hope to have some finals up soon.
take care,
-francis

News update!!!

2009-05-04T11:25:00.001-07:00

My painting (and the other terrific paintings) for the Microvisions show is up on Ebay and available for purchase. It is a perfect opportunity to own a piece from a variety of comic and illustration greats. We worked small, 5x7 inches, in order to keep the prices affordable! All the proceeds benefit the Society of Illustrators student scholarship fund, a very cool cause.

BID!!!

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I also recently did a podcast interview with Dwight and Swain over at Sidebar. Terrific guys to talk to. We covered a lot of topics, specifically art (of course) and music. Take a listen if you get a chance. My voice didn't crack once...a small miracle!?!

LISTEN!

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And lastly the magazine that my friends (Dustin, Oliver, Orlando [killer Roots illo], Tyler, Eric, and myself) designed and illustrated just went live. It was a fun project, and great to work with those dudes again. It's called "The Find" and has a ton of great articles on REAL hip hop. Ton of top notch artwork from everyone inside. It's a free download so you can't go wrong.

DOWNLOAD/VIEW!

cheers!
-francis

reference/research

2009-04-23T20:09:00.001-07:00

It's funny. I remember when I first began going to art school I was real frustrated with my drawings because they were dead, stiff, and lifeless. Then I started noticing that the upper-classmen were taking reference pictures of each other, which they then based their drawings on. This caused a huge lightbulb to go off. Since then, and after reading everything I can get ahold of concerning Rockwell, I spend a considerable amount of time in the early stages of my work taking a ton of ref pictures and to doing as much research as time permits. The more time I spend getting the pose just right, and referencing the environment, the story-telling, lighting, composition, color, etc....the better the piece always turns out. It's just become part of the process now, one in which I enjoy, because it is at this stage the piece begins to come alive.

I took a few screen caps of some of my reference folders. The top one contains the three main photos I based my Street Fighter piece on. I was in a crunch for time, so I went online and found some great martial arts reference. As you can see, I deviated quite a bit from these photos, but they informed many of my marks. The 2nd image is my reference folder for the "kitchen" painting that I am working on. That's probably the most researched piece I've ever did. And the last image is what's on my computer now. I'm working on a new painting, and am trying to figure out one of the primary figure's pose. Most of the time, I can never get the pose just right in one shot, so I shoot details of the face, feet, hands, etc.. These are helpful because they give me a ton of options to add to the "base" pose. Usually the reference that I print out and work from, is a chopped up from many different photos, and is optimized for my purposes. And like Rockwell said, the photos should just inform your work. I really try not to merely copy the reference, but use it to enhance the world that I am creating in my illustration.

Hope this is interesting to some!?

best,

-francis

Street Fightin'

2009-04-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

First off let me say I had a blast working on this piece. It's for the very cool looking Street Fighter show at Gallery Nucleus opening this Friday in Los Angeles. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend, but if anyone is able to make it, let me know how it goes. Since the majority of my work lately has been fairly serious, I really wanted to do a picture of a bunch of characters beating the junk out of each other! So I picked Sagat, Cammy, Vega, and Dhalsim... I usually use a ton of reference, but for this piece I really tried to push myself to draw a lot from my head, or at least really push the limited reference I had. I'm pretty pleased with the final result!

By the way, the second image is the sketch I did before I transfered that onto the paper and inked the final with sumi ink and brush. I used a little bit of a B pencil to add the mid-tones on the tattoos and such.

And if anyone is interested in coloring this image, feel free to email me, and I'll send you the hi-res version!

all the best,

-francis

Illustration Academy .... NEW SITE!!!

2009-04-17T11:48:00.001-07:00

Just found out that the new Illustration Academy site went live! It's flippin awesome! Make sure to check it out. Even if you can't attend (which I highly recommend you do), there are tons of great videos and podcasts to scope. The blog is very cool too, with recent work by George Pratt and all the instructors. If anything check out the podcasts by Bren....I mean Academy Guy..haha!

NEW ILLUSTRATION ACADEMY SITE!!!

cheers,
-francis

Dilla!

2009-04-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

Times are nuts right now. I'm bouncing back and forth between pieces constantly, but I can't complain. I'm really enjoying all my projects!

Like this one. My good buddy Dustin took it upon himself to help completely re-design the great hip-hop magazine the FIND. So he asked me and a close group of illustration friends to help him with some illustrations. I was jazzed when he asked me to do a portrait of the late, great J-Dilla (along with the cover, which I will post soon). I am a big fan of Dilla's work, and later found out I used to cut grass across from his house, and even went to high school with his brother (now rapper Illa J)..small world!!

So I did a fairly straight ahead portrait, but to hopefully add some interest I put some heavy back lighting, inspired by an amazing painting of an angel by Howard Pyle. Since the image relies so heavily on the contrast being just right, I've noticed that it looks dark on certain monitors...sorry for that.

I also put up the work in progress layout Dustin and I are working on. I'll make sure to leave a post when the magazine is available!!

best,
-francis

sketch video!

2009-04-09T14:06:00.000-07:00

This is kind of a test. But I have never uploaded a video to the net.....behind the times or what!? I used my high tech Cybershot and took it into Premiere.....but it turned out kind of crummy. Any recommendations on how to up the quality, or a quality player?

I also put up a pic of the nude and other drawings from that session. Hope it's no too lame..haha.

cheers,
-francis

**also I did an interview over Christmas time that was just put up. Disclaimer..some of the info is a little dated..

Process Work!

2009-04-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

As promised (only 2 months late) here is some of the process work for a painting that I am working on. There are inconsistencies and differing levels of finish between the various images, mainly because I keep reworking the image.

The top image is what I'm basing the final painting off of. That image was frankenstein-ed from the original drawing on paper. There were a few problems with the drawing - perspective, value, etc - that I cut and pasted it back together in Photoshop. The finished image will be used as a mock front and back book cover, which is what the 2nd and 3rd images represent. It is taking an interesting mind set to make the image work as a full spread, but also as two individual pictures.

Lastly I included the color studies, a character study, and the line art that was projected onto the canvas. This has been a very educational process, and I look forward to sharing the final piece!! Always open to crits!

take care,
-francis

**edit: replaced line drawing with reworked version. I think the new additions really helped the composition?**

2009-04-06T14:34:00.000-07:00

The best piece of advice for someone starting out is really simple, yet only whispered in private conversations and dark bars: Don’t get married or start a family until you achieve some semblance of stability.

-James Jean

....seems appropriate considering the post I made about Rockwell resulted in an interesting conversation.
-fv

the ladies

2009-04-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

From my point of view, the most relaxing thing to draw is the female nude in line. The pursuit of that perfect simple line, will definitely be a lifetime journey...but what a beautiful struggle!

best,
-francis

Microvisions!!

2009-03-31T20:37:00.000-07:00

Hey folks! I actually have some art to share!?

Earlier this year Dan Dos Santos and Irene Gallo asked me if I would like to participate in this year's Microvisions show at the Society of Illustrators to benefit the SOI student scholarship. I was honored to say the least, and scared straight that I would be sharing company with industry heavyweights!!?

So I painted two pieces, in hopes that one would work out. There were no guidelines for subject matter...just that the image had to be 5x7 inches (hence "Micro-"). That's small. Real small. I'm working on a painting 40x60 inches....so I broke out the .000000001 sable and went to work. The top gouache/mixed painting is the one I'm going with. The second image is the initial thumbnail with the third image being the value/tight sketch. Since I went through the whole creative process for that image, I wanted to paint something more spontaneously, so I did the bottom painting of the violin player with no planning in one session. I kinda digg it, but I think the top piece was the better choice......right?

And in case you haven't seen the tremendous work already submitted, follow the links below to see what the artist's turned in:

Greg Manchess
Chris Buzelli
Justin Gerard
Greg Ruth
Paolo Rivera
Volkan Baga
Welsey Allsbrook (tba)
Michael Kaluta (tba)
Michael Whelan (tba)

When the pieces are listed for bidding I will be sure to let everyone know!! This is a great chance to snag originals from top artists, and to raise funds for a great cause!!

keep jammin!
-francis

2009-03-23T15:28:00.000-07:00

Upcoming exhibitions!

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Subtext Gallery: Origins
-June 5th-July 19th at Subtext Gallery in San Diego, California
-3 artists with 5-6 pieces of work
-I've been working on the pieces for this show for a while...real excited!!!

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Society of Illustrators LA 47:
-March 28-April 3 at Gallery Nucleus in Los Angeles, California.
-Opening reception March 28th at 7pm (my prints will be available at the show)
-Was informed that I received a Gold, and 2 Bronze medals, thanks guys!!!
-Congrats to all my bros and ladies that got work in the show!!!

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Street Fighter: Jab, Strong, Fierce:
-again at the Gallery Nucleus April 25th-May 11th
-Opening Reception April 25th 7pm.

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Microvisions 4:
-at the Society of Illustrators building in NY at the end of April with my piece up for auction at the same time. Money raised will benefit the student scholarship!! I have received this award myself, so I feel very honored to be contributing!!
-The work turned in so far is tremendous...wow!!

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Ringling College of Art + Design Illustration Thesis Show:
-at Ringling in Sarasota, FL
-May 1st-4th

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Art post coming soon, promise! Thanks to all those that invited me to show my work!

take care,
-francis

purchase SKB pens

2009-03-15T16:31:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, I receive a massive amount of emails asking where to find the SKB pens. So in order to lighten the load of responses I send, I asked the person that has the pens if it's cool for me to post contact info... she said yeah.

So if you are interested in the pens....

email: cheesecakepie@gmail.com

.....and ask for the pens.

If I may digress, I've had artists mention that they can't figure out how to draw like James with the pens once they get them. James just draws incredibly well. Just owning the pens will not give you any drawing super powers....it takes a talented draftsmen to get the results James' gets ( I know I don't). I'm just discouraged by the amount of people that feel owning the pens will give them superhuman skills.

But don't get me wrong, they are nice pens, and I know the emails have the best of intentions, but to draw like James, you have to draw as much as him.

cheers,
-francis

color test!

2009-03-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

I did this test a while ago but forgot to post it. This was a test to figure out how to color my 12 page comic I'm working on. I was trying to finish it a while ago, but things happened and it's been put on the back burner. After I graduate in May, I'll have a month before I start the Illustration Academy, so I'll finish it then.

Anyways I plan on coloring it through monochromatic monotypes composited together with the inks. It will be similar to this panel, but hopefully will gain some fun textures.

take care,
-francis

etchings!

2009-03-05T13:39:00.001-08:00

Hey guys! Quick post. I just moved into a new place, hence the slooow updates. I have a lot to put up.

For now, here are three etchings/monotypes off of one plate. The color is digital for now, although these will serve as a comp for the final rub with color ink.

take care,

-francis

2009-02-15T11:10:00.000-08:00

Do yourself a favor and check out this blog:

http://underpaintings.blogspot.com/

Make sure to go through the archives. The posts are incredibly well written and informative on a variety of great topics. And for a giant art book nerd like me, the author Mathew Innis recommends, and gives links, to a ton of phenomenal art books (many of which I've never seen before.)

best!

-fv

almost...

2009-02-14T18:24:00.001-08:00

WIP

2009-02-11T11:34:00.000-08:00

Hey folks! Posting has been erratic lately because I'm in progress in so many projects. Hopefully some final pieces will begin to make their way onto the blog. But here is my attempt at doing a cool artistic shot of one of the drawings I'm working on...haha.

I should be wrapping up the drawing within the next couple of days. I'll be sure to post it.

take care!

-francis

Francis Vallejo | blog

Comics!

Inspiration: 2010 Hip-Hop

Figure Drawing

Inspiration!

TAD/CA.org Inking Technique Download!

The O Show / Miami

Sorolla!

Gestures!

ILYA REPIN!!!

Austin, TX

Russians and Cornwell pt.2

2010 Illustration Academy and TAD!

Earth: Fragile Planet

Art Contests: Unethical?

Brownstones to Red Dirt

Really really good pictures

Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouveret

I'm coming for you 2010!!!

Famous Artist Course DOWNLOAD *update*

Oh Snap!

Pitches

Save the Elephants charity auction!!!

Sergio "Are You Serious" Toppi

Soviet War Paintings

Remixed

Repin Institute

SBSM: Austin Briggs!

SBSM: John Gannam!

Art purchasing SCAM!

SBSM: Coby Whitmore & Mead Schaeffer

SBSM #2: Saul Tepper!!

Brother Ali- Begin Here

Step-by-Step Mondays!!!

thoughts?

sketches!

Originals for sale on Ebay!

pastel figures and photos!

covered in paint

the studio

News update!!!

reference/research

Street Fightin'

Illustration Academy .... NEW SITE!!!

Dilla!

sketch video!

Process Work!

the ladies

Microvisions!!

purchase SKB pens

color test!

etchings!

almost...

WIP

Famous Artist Course DOWNLOAD update