|
Click here for my Digital Art Portfolio. | Click here to learn all about me. | Click here to view etsy.com store |
Alien Spaceship, digital, Adobe Illustrator CS5
It's been awhile since my last update. It's been a busy summer for me. Above is a cartoon drawing of a science fiction scene, done in Adobe Illustrator. Hope you like it. I'm hoping to get back into oil painting soon, so stay tuned. More work is on the way.
Conversation, digital, Adobe Illustrator CS5
I've decided to give Adobe Illustrator a try. Above is my first drawing with the new program. I don't really know what I'm doing yet; it's surprisingly different form CorelDraw. Not bad for a first go, though. More artwork coming soon, so check back oftet!
Contemplation, digital
Well, you know every other painting I do is a mermaid don't you? 'Cause here I go again. I don't know why I'm drawn to that subject. I'm sure fifty or so years of therapy would work it out. But it's cheaper to just keep painting mermaids, so here I go.
This one began life as a pencil and ink drawing, which got scanned into my computer. I then colored it in with Corel Photo-Paint X5, which is part of the CorelDraw Graphics Suite. I did the seashell bra on a seperate layer, so I get to see the R rated version. (There are some benifits to being an artist, you know.) Anyway I hope you like it. Thanks for checking out my artwork. More on the way, so come back again!
High Priestess, ink and digital
Above is a quick brush and ink cartoon that I did today, then scanned and colored in Corel PhotoPaint X5. It came out quite well, despite being a quicky. I'm getting the hang of color in my ink drawings, I think.
Thanks for checking out my site. And Happy Memorial Day!
Pirates' Quest, Gouache on illustration board, 8 X 10
New artwork up. This one was done with Winsor and Newton Designer's Gouache on illustration board, and it came out quite well. As they said in the movie Gamers- Dorkness Rising, "everything is better with pirates." I'll probably be putting this in my etsy.com store at some point this week, in case you're interested. More artwork coming soon, so please check back in again. And thanks for checking out my site!
Necromancy, digital
Okay, so I lied, the new piece isn't a real painting. It's another digital. I've been a bit too busy lately to start my next oil painting, so I decided to do another quick digital study. This one was done in CorelDraw X4, and Corel Photo-Paint X4. I sort of bounced back and forth between vectors and bitmaps, which is very easy to do in CorelDraw. Hope you like it. Check back in soon for more fantasy art!
Oh, and Happy Mother's Day too!
Dragon Study, digital
Here is the finished digital painting of the dragon. Not bad for a digital sketch, eh? More artwork coming soon. Real art this time, not this digital stuff! So check back in soon!
Oh, by the way, I've just opened a art store on etsy.com. Just the last mermaid painting in there now, but more artwork will be added soon. There is a link at the top of this page. Take a look!
Fairy Study, pen and ink
Fairy Study, pen and ink with mixed media color.
I wanted to try out different ways to add color to a pen and ink drawing. So I did one quick drawing of a fairy, made copies, and tried out coloring in different mediums, two digital and two traditional. The vector version took the longest, and ironically has the least detail. The ink version was the quickest to create, but was the hardest to controle because of the medium's transparancy. The gouache one was the most fun to work with, and scanned quite well. But I'm partial to gouache anyway. The bitmap version was the easiest to detail, and was the second quickest.
So, does anyone have any preferences? Does one version look better to you than the others? Feel free to let me know. E-mail me at jaytref@jaytref.com. Thanks!
The vector version was done in CorelDraw X4. For the ink washes I used Dr. Ph Martin's Radiant Watercolors. The gouache was Winsor and Newton's Designer's Gouache. And the bitmap version was done with Corel Photo-Paint X4. Both Corel Products are part of the CorelDraw Graphics Suite X4.
Dragon Study, work in progress, digital, 9 X 12
Above is a dragon painting I've been working on. It was originally only a study for a much more involved oil painting I've been planning. But as I was working on it, the study turned into a painting onto itself. It's being done digitally, but I'm using the same techniques I use in my oil paintings. In the unfinished portion, you can clearly see the pencil underdrawing and the transparent underpainting. This was all done digitally, in Corel Photo-Paint, which is part of the CorelDraw Graphics Suite. I'll upload the finished image as soon as it is done.
Ta-da. Here is a scan of the finished painting, Welcome to Atlantis. It is done in oils on an 11 x 14 canvas panel. Hope you like it. More artwork will be posted in a week or two, so check back often!
I've finished the mermaid study I've been working on. But I can't scan it yet, because the paint still needs to dry. So here is a quick snapshot of the finished painting. A decent scan will make it look much better, but alas, you'll have to wait. I'm using linseed oil as a medium, which makes the paint dry very slowly.
I'm working on a new oil painting right now. It's not done yet, so I can't scan it, but here is a quick photo of what I have so far. This is actually an old painting that I started last year some time, but put it aside for some reason. I found it recently and decided it was time to finish it. I'll be posting the finished scan, as soon as it is done and dry. The problem with oils, of course, is that they take forever to dry!
|
|
|
Boskone was great. Meredith and I both had a ball. The art show was both awe inspiring and humbling at the same time. So much great artwork out there! I brought six pieces; two digitals, one acrylic, one watercolor and two oils. I also brought a flier based on the acrylic piece. It was done the morning of the convention, so it is very simple. But that's okay; it came out quite well.
Goat Song, acrylic painting by Jay Trefethen
I've had the week off from work, so I used my free time to try an experiment I've been wanting to do for awhile now. I took one of the digital illustrations I did last year, one that sort of worked but not quite, and redid it as an actual painting. I wanted to see if the process of working it out in the traditional manner would impove it at all, or not. It came out quite well. You can see the original digital version in the portfio page.
If I can frame the thing in time, I'll be taking it to Boskone with me. Nothing like last minute rushes!
Twostaffs, watercolor by Jay Trefethen
Above is the finished painting based on the drawing shown below (Jan. 17.) It came out quite well, if I do say so myself. This will be going to Boskone with me, of course.
Sorceress of the Keep, by Jay Trefethen
Dagon's Daughter, by Jay Trefethen
Well, I'm getting ready for Boskone again. Really looking forward to it. As usuall I'm going to be bringing some artwork with me. I'll be bringing some prints of my digital art and some originals. For the prints, I've decided on Dagon's Daughter and Sorceress of the Keep. Being a bit of a perfectionist, at least when it comes to my artwork, I've touched them up a bit. If you compare the versions above the what's on my portfolio page, you'll see I've worked them both a bit more. In the case of Sorceress, I actually touched that one up awhile ago, for the Science Fiction Book Club's cover art contest. It wasn't selected, which was a bit disappointing, but I really like it, so I've submitted it to the Spectrum Annual too. In the case of Dagon's Daughter, I've just recently touched that one up, and I really like the new version, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it is recieved at the convention. I haven't decided what originals to bring yet, but I'm narrowing it down now. I also have to come up with a give away flier for the show. That will keep me busy this week.
Above is a quick drawing I did of a classic fantasy wizard, ready for action. It was done in brush and india ink, then colored with watercolors. After scanning, I touched it up in CorelDraw X4. I did it mostly to brush up on my scanning skills. Scanning original artwork is an art onto itself, and I'm going to be doing alot of scanning over the next month!
Well, I've been working on my web site a bit, trying to clean it up. Hope you like the new look. New artwork will be coming on a regular basis, so check back often.
All artwork © 2009-2010 James J. Trefethen