Hey folks. One of my goals for this summer is to find time to fill a sketchbook with master copies. I reckon I'll learn a bunch so it should be a good time (yes I said reckon). I also decided that if I ever make a picture with Repin's sheer skill, Rockwell's dedication, and Cornwell's compositions I'll be a happy man. If that's ever going to happen I got a ways to go. But I do think the first thing to do would be to grow a mustache though, since all great artists have mustaches...haha
take care, -francis
**the top page had copies of Repin, the second has Brulov and Friant, and the last one is Cornwell**
Just take a look at this beauty!!!!! WOW!!! Repin used the lighting and large amount of white to grab you at first. Then if you take the time to look at what's going on......ouch!
I haven't been as moved by paintings as I have been by Repin's in a long time. I always knew he was a good old school painter, but I never really took the time to look at his work. Holy geez!! He's a master at composition, paint handling, color.....drawing...seemingly everything. So I spent a chunk of today collecting as much of his work as I could and squeezing it into a 90MB .zip for all to enjoy and hopefully inspire.
From my humble knowledge of art history, the images contained in this folder are among the best I've ever seen. He has the classical portraiture down pat, but it's his immense multi-character illustrations that launch him into the highest levels of art.
If you feel obliged, leave a comment on your feelings with this work. Are these claims I'm making too exaggerated?
By the way all the images I posted here and many more are in huge eye-bleeding resolution in the .zip.
take care, -francis
***EDIT: In the comments LuisNCT made a great recommendation to check out "Ramon Casas." Man what another great painter. I feel guilty that I'm not familiar with all these amazing artists. I need to get some work done today tho, so I can't scrounge the net for Casas images hahaha. If anyone has a good Casas .jpeg collection and are feeling especially generous I could take them off your hands...haha.****
The kind folks over at Designers Depot recently asked me to do an interview, so if you want to read my thoughts about life, illustration, and hip-hop check out this link:
By the way New York was tremendous. Thanks to all the locals that were so hospitable during my stay. I'll post some photos my buddy took of some amazing paintings we seen.
Hey guys, crazy hurry before I have to leave to catch my plane....but I want to throw this up to get some feedback. I've worked on this so long I'm not sure what I'm seeing any more. Crits????
all oil
take care
-francis
***I may be a little slower in checking emails over this next week, but I will do my best****
Hey guys! Just a quick note. I'll be in New York for the first time next week for the Society of Illustrators Student Show. I feel like the "big apple" is a mecca for artists so I'm real stoked. Let me know if you're in the area so we can sketch!
Hey guys, it's way too late at night, but I thought I 'd post a crop of a large painting I'm working on. I'll post the final in a couple of days. By the way, Starbucks "Extra Bold" coffee is the drink of champion artists everywhere...ha
So I finally got a good picture of that "billboard" painting I did a while back. It is now hanging in a gallery at Gorilla Riot's retail store in Gainesville, Florida. Other artists displaying are Erik Jones, Nathan Fox, Ted Kinsella, and others. Everyone should visit for the great clothing and the art!!!!
Hey guys. So I finally got my act together and put together a formal portfolio website (for the most part). Follow the link below and let me know what you think.
I thought I would do my part and help spread the word on an unfortunate situation affecting many artists in the illustration community. A Japanese (allegedly fake) bookmaker just released a illustration compilation book named "Colorful Illustration 93 C. They basically just ripped off a large amount of illustrator's work and stole all the exclusive interviews from Darren Di Lieto over at the Little Chimp Society. This is bad news. The ISBN is fake as is the phone number on the book. They knew they were doing illegal activity and really covered their tracks.
Hey guys. So a little over a week ago I was asked by the folks at Moloko+ magazine (a Russian magazine) to do the cover of their next issue. I agreed knowing that it was going to be a crazy ride since I was fairly swamped. I was right..haha I pumped this guy out in one action packed night. They amazingly asked me to do whatever I wanted but make sure it had something to do with Spring. I thought I'd do something that would make people smile, but avoid cheesiness (did I succeed?).I'm stoked with the fact that I used gouache for the color. I did tweak it a little digitally, but for the most part it is a traditional piece. For me that is a small victory! take care, francis
Hey guys, today I had the pleasure of receiving the VIBE May 2008 issue with my illustration in it. I'm real stoked with how the piece turned out with the type applied. It was great working with their art director Mark Shaw, who is doing some great things with the mag! All around good experience! As a bonus I had great company with Frank Stockton having a great piece a couple articles after mine. I hope he posts that on his blog. take care, -francis
ps. I guess my blog looks different depending on what browser you are using. It looks fine on Explorer but when I open it in Firefox it is misalligned. I managed to fix it for Firefox but now when I open it in Explorer it is REALLY out of whack. So I reset it. If anybody has any ideas, that would be of great help!!
Hey guys. Here is a quick sketch, Dr. Suess style, I did today. I also put up some figure drawing I did over the past couple of days...a variety of pose lengths. I have a big post coming with a lot of work I've been holding onto. Thanks for the kind words!! take care, -francis
p.s. Also if anyone is good with HTML I could use a little help in fixing this white border on my blog. I messed it up tweaking some links.....thanks!
Hey guys. Quick post. I'm real excited about the way I've been approaching figure drawing lately...sort of adopting a Tony Ryder and Zhaoming Wu method. And on the completely other side of the spectrum I have an image I did for a commercial that I worked on with Jihad Lahham. It was to promote an event at our school. I think it's running on Comcast or something similar. But as soon as I knock this plague of a sickness that's running threw southern FLA I got some art blogging to do!! take care, -francis
Hey guys! I'm exhausted from the Orlando MegaCon but it was a great time. Thanks to everyone that stopped by the booth! I've been to some cons before but this one had some pretty wild people there....emphasize wild..haha.
In other news, I was fortunate to get 2 pieces in the Society Of Illustrators Student show. Congrats to all that got in! Last week I also finished a piece for VIBE magazine. I'll wait until I get a tearsheet before I post it. The issues should hit stores April 10th! I also signed on to be the artist on a comic to be produced over the next year or so. I will be handling all the art chores so it will be a heavy duty project as well as a real good time. I'm working on the initial poster/promotional illustration now so I'll post that guy when I wrap it up. Lastly I am working on an "art of" book to be released later this year (hopefully by ComicCon) so I'm going to be keeping busy.
And if anyone is attending the Illustration Academy at Ringling over the summer give me a shout. I'd love to find out who's going!!!!
take care, -francis
ps. They posted the Spectrum winners HERE. Congrats to all those that made it in!!!!!!!
Hey guys. I got a quickie today since I feel guilty for the lack of posts lately. Just getting warmed up for a long term project I'm beginning. I'll get those Fechin scans and commentary back up soon. Oh, and if anyone is in the area I will be at the Orlando MegaCon this Fri-Sun....Booth 325 and/or 327. take care, -francis
Hey guys! Kind of exciting post here. These sketches are for a job that I am greatly excited about. I should be able to post the final when I have the go ahead. The last pic is from my favorite corner of my room....books and paintings. The Mt. Rushmore piece is about 80% done. The abstract piece is the beginning of a collabo with Michael Carpenter. I still have to do my part.
I am also trying out a new feature.
If you click the play button above on the GrandCentral player below you can here me commenting about the images in this specific post. I'm going to try and do this from now on. Let me know if you like it. You can also leave me messages on this "web phone" at 941-312-2748. Sorry that it cuts off...I guess you only get 3 minutes.
I should have a shrine in the corner of my room for Fechin drawings. The more I look at them the more I feel the need to sit down and have fun and render some figures/heads. So when I have a chance that's what I've been doing. The single page with a bunch of heads is a warm-up from the sketchbook. The other are from the moleskine as well, but I did them at a figure session. Allright gotta go and paint...(I'll post the last progress shot of the Mt. Rushmore painting later tonight).
Hope everyone is doing well! Heres a bad photo of a mock advertisement I'm doing. Oil on masonite...around 3ft x 1.5ft. Notice the pile of paint clothes in the corner...hahaha. I'll be sure to post the final when I finish it.
Been enjoying graphite lately! The top image is a crop of a sketch for a comic cover. The middle image is a study for a illustration I'm beginning tomorrow. The last image is from figure drawings today.
take care,
-francis
**added a sketchbook page up top of some drawings I did tonight. The right are from my Fechin book the left one is me.
So I've been pretty excited with art lately. It seems like a lot of people are doing some great work, and that always inspires me to try and keep up. I'm going to be really focusing on combining my line with my painting/rendering this year. So we'll see what happens. These two pieces are from today, one from a figure session and the other from the sketchbook.
take care,
-francis
edit: I added a sketchbook page up top in a similar technique as the one below it. I think I over-thought it this time. On to the next one..
Name: Francis Vallejo Home: Sarasota, Florida, United States About Me: Illustrator, caricaturist, animator available for freelance i.e. commisioned work in a variety of mediums. Many other samples of work available upon request. Email fvallejo@ringling.edu to contact me for rates and other pertinent information. Thanks. See my complete profile
