SBSM: Austin Briggs!

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

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!

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!

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

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

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