Madplanet's sketches (updated 3-4-07)

[blacky]

Hey bruce, the viewing problem seems only to be present when I try from my home pc, also discovered your sb is not the only one I'm having difficulties to see. (will get a new i-connection soon though, yay)

It's cool you did 2 sp's on november 1st. Like the gritty look/ texture on first one and glance in second, halloween-pic is nice too. But you could put more effort into eyes specially on first sp, they look like pearls and harsh blue doesn't match to the rest of the pictures mood. perhaps a small stroke of brownish or green or sth. would make em look less flat and more interesting.

[madplanet]

Grrr....
Crap, I've been busy these past two weeks. The grrr....is for being called back to my crappy job. Yeah, yeah, it's a paycheck and all that, but it's such a crappy job and I've really enjoyed having time to paint more, to put in that much more effort into my illustration class, oh, and to stay up late and watch movies and all that. There has been some cool news to share, though. On the 9th of this month I was able to participate in a local event called the Motor City Art Expo III at the Emerald Theatre in Mt. Clemens, MI. Basically, it was a few artists trying to sell their art in a bar type setting, a dj spinning the tunes and strippers on stage. Well, not really strippers, burlesque they called themselves, but close enough. They spelled my name wrong on the promotional poster, but it was kind of funny. I didn't sell anything, but I had a blast talking with the other artists and the crowd. It was quite a different experience for me, but it was cool to actually talk with people about my stuff and actually bring some attention to my work. Good times. I'm also working on a logo for a local organization in which I'll show when that is done.

Mike Dutton: Mike, I have to say that I checked out your piece for LMS, I think it was and....wow. That's it. Wow. About my sp, I agree with your thoughts and the weird thing about that is that when I was doing it, I wasn't angry or anything like that, but the expression and the color usage really says otherwise, eh? In fact, I distinctly remember being in a really good mood that day. I must have been channeling the dark side or some other bs like that.

The landscape was such an awkward start, so I'm real happy with how it turned out. Unfortunately, the photo ref wasn't all my own, although I did use my own photos from the area to get a grip on the colors and rock formations. Those rocks are in the Superstition mountains in Arizona. Part of the Sonoma range, I believe. Wonderful place, plenty of very cool and beautiful rock formations. I was there in '91 visiting a friend and she took me there one day and I went crazy with the camera.

Congrats on the house.

Bumskee: Hey Min, it's going kind of well at the moment, how about you. Nice to read ya again. You used words like freaky and silly, two words that about some me up on some days, ha, ha. Glad you liked the sp's, I was kind of worried about them, actually. Thanks for the thought, dude.

Marioucci: hey Mario, it's been awhile my friend. It's good to see more of your art on a regualr basis and to chat a bit. The landsape seems to be likeable, so that's good. I spent so much time on that Dafoe piece, that I had to ask people if that's who it looked like. He became kind of abstract in a way. Glad your back in the loop.

Dchan: Hey there, thanks for visiting my little neck of the woods. I went to your thread and checked out your stuff and was impressed and I will respond, I promise. I'm just falling behind lately. Thanks man.

Mag-Neo: Nice to see you here again, Mag, and yes, I have been busy. But, a good busy. Glad you liked the portraits. Yours have been kicking butt. I'd like to try doing some digitally like the way that you have been doing, lately. Thanks for the comments.

Blacky: Hey man, how's things? get that new internet connection, yet? It's kind of strange how some threads can't be viewed on your home pc, I wonder why that is? When I did the sp and I put that too intense blue in the eyes, I was thinking the same thing, but I left it because I thought that the contrast was interesting. But, it doesn't really work too well now that I've looked at it awhile.

I will respond soon to all of your threads and then some. Oh, and thanks for the four stars people. It was kind of nice seeing that.

Ok, the first is a close up of a hood ornament, then a value study for a sci-fi painting that I hope to show soon (when I get it back!), then the usual goofy stuff.

[blacky]

Oh, jeez I don't even know what to congratulate you on first!

On your job (paycheck, -sry to hear you'll be cut short on time and joy overall)

On your latest updates

On your logo assignment

On your participation in the exhibition

Or on your 4star rating.......?

Hmmmm tough one.
I'll comment your updates meanwhile, since I think that first 2 seem to belong to some real prommissing pieces.
3rd's got a nice concept that makes one chuckle.
Good hands and proportions on last one. Also like red pencil/ yellowish paper combo.
Forehead looks too big and nose kinda weird on that one . Might need more contrast too, specially on right side where face goes into hair.

I got a new pc today (fast internet oughta follow soon) and I'm working at Internetcafe more often now too, so don't worry about pics that wouldn't show no more. (Don't thing other users had that problem)
So long....

[sve]

Hello, Bruce. Read that you doubt you will be a good teacher... How so? I don't know, you seems to be pretty well mannered, shouldn't be a problem for you to deal with students, people... And I'm sure you would be good in absorbing all attraction and originality of certain period of time, you look pretty carefully, I will never forget two left feet you dug out of my sketch. . I feel usually pretty good seeing two left feet if I notice them at all, I kind of tend to think, I didn't live long enough, maybe it has a right to exist somewhere. That's why I can't be a teacher. I doubt there are rules . Totally aware what consequences it will bring though...

Your SP. I recognize them as yours, but only because you see yourself like this consistently, something big and gruesome and awkward. I see you differently, and because of that your portraits are just portraits of how you think you are... but like we always terrified to hear our own voice recorded on phone message, the same I think you see yourself distorted...
technically, in the first one the eyes are too close to your nose and they are distorted, lines connected them goes at different angle from the rest lines of the face, line of nose, mouth.... Blue eyes are interesting effect, I bet someone is very proud of their shade . It is fair, you should . Any relationship to Sinatra? . heheh, I wish I were...

The second portrait is closer to your photos... blue eyes... in black and white picture, ahahahah, I love it, Bruce... Little human weaknesses...

In your update I like the second illustration very much, that's how I perceive your style in general, curiosity provoking, intellectual, with brains involved in creating and receipting the image, more than any other sense... and manner to render, careful, attentive to details, patient, and because of that provoking to look carefully, not in a hurry...
General impression is tense, strange, nervous, like those two strange creatures hang in the air in total silence and it is not clear what they plan to do... Swirl on the back of the image is hypnotizing...
Strangely enough they don't look funny,,, more like uneasy feeling...
I like the woman with huge forehead.. apparently you wanted her that way... it sure makes her look not human despite beautiful face... kills her attraction as a matter of fact... Star Trek inspired?

The last image. Oh, you too? boys will be boys...

[hurricane]

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/att...1&d=1154061982

that one is so cool!! how did you come up with the idea?

cheers and keep at it !!

[tensai]

Tensai: Hey Lok. I like the techinique in the portraits. they were done in layered acrylic washes with the darkest darks put in first and opaquely. Man, the female portrait must have had a hundred washes! You'll see more. Thanks for stopping by, always enjoy it.

cool - i think it would be cool to get a bit more loose with the portraits. see what that does for you. but, i was actually talking about this one
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/att...1&d=1161714444
i love how that one is a bit more painterly than the heads you did. its got a hint of simon beasley in there.

keep at it man, and hope you enjoy the holidays

[Alday.J]

Hi, Bruce. I'm quite in a hurry but I want drop a word anyway.
Merry Christmas and keep posting the good stuff.
Cheers.
J.

[madplanet]

Blacky: Thanks for all the kind words my friend. The one sketch where you said the forehead looks big is because she was leaning forward in the ref that I had. I seem to do that a lot, though, those big forheaded chicks. I'll have to pay attention to that in the future as I seem to lengthen the forhead too much.

Glad to hear that your internet problems are solved for the time being. How's the med training going?

Sve: aah, those two left feet. I smile everytime I think of that. Thanks for reminding me. But for every two left feet that I notice a thousand obvious things slip by me. Yes, it's true. I still don't think that I have what it takes to be a teacher. Heck, in my last class that I took some of the twenty year olds had a thing or two to teach me about art. It was nice to see actually because they were good and had good personalities.

My SP....an interesting experiment, let's just say. I think that you are right on with your critique and I still feel that I didn't capture exactly what I looked like more of what I felt like as you stated. I was happy with the colors, though. And no, unfortunately, no Sinatra in my blood. You wouldn't want to hear me sing "come fly with me."

And about that last image and comment "boys will be boys". I've got nothing compared to Julien, he's the master in that department!

Hurricane: Hey man, that one was inspired by The Shawshank Redemption. When Morgan Freeman was saying how Andy crawled through 500 yards of sewage, I thought that he crawled through as many people in his way, too. He went through a lot of shit literally and figuratively (sp?).
Thanks for the comments.

Tensai: It's funny that you brought up Simon Bizley, because I just recently got his art book in the mail last week and have been enjoying the heck out it. And also, just before we began our landscape paintings in the class that I had, our teacher had talked about Bizley and the technique that he uses. the only difference, I guess is that he starts with a black background and works his way foreward so that you see some of it coming through. Now that you said that about my painting i see that maybe it's because of the blues. Very cool compliment. I must have been channeling ol' Simon a bit when I was doing that one. But the technique that I used was opaque layers starting with the sky and working foreward from dark to light at each layer.

I hope that you enjoy your trip back to Amsterdam and a safe trip home.

Alday.J: hey, thanks for the comments and I hope that you had a great Christmas, too, Julien.

Well, December was a very busy month. Besides work, my illustration class wrapped up and had me jumping, a couple of deaths to suffer through and finally the Christmas rush. Whew.
So, these are the last few paintings (and a drawing) that I did in my illustration class.The first one was a sci-fi/fantasy project, the 2nd a movie montage, the 3rd what was called a displacement piece and finally the drawing was for a theme: reflections of yesteryear. Sorry for the blurriness, my camera is for crap sometimes. So next to them i showed some details. I do have some sketches, but they need to be scanned, so shortly...

[madplanet]

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted actual sketches, so I've got a few from the last few months. Sorry about the size of the images in my last post, they were a bit big.

So, most of these sketches are prelims or studies, just trying to work out the kinks.

[bumskee]

Hey Bruce! how's things mate! hope you had an awsome new year. Love the lego painting, hahah made me smile! it's WACK! what's "smut bowl sketches"? they are wicked, ha! you know for your line rendering.. if you just keep them going from one direction like left > right instead of back and forth they might come out a little cleaner.. just a thought. keep scribbling! hope you are doing well. cheers, Min

[madplanet]

A few more...

[masterpug]

Still doing well I see. I think you should take more time to sketch things out with pencil. Draw and erase and draw again. Work down until things are "perfect" as far as you can tell. Sure, it won't every be COMPLETELY perfect, but it will help. I used to have a math teacher who said, "If you do any of you work in pen, I will fail you on that problem." Her point was that you NEED to be able to eraise for everything except the final answer. It seems that she was also talking about art (despite what she may have thought). The answers don't come easy, and it can take a LONG time to get there, even if it means using an entire eraiser.

Well, anyway just though I would but my 2 cents in. Things are looking better and you certainly have your technique down. Just looks like some are a bit rushed. Some of that line work is killer though, keep on truckin'!

[Mike Dutton]

Hey Bruce,
I feel like such a schmuck that it's been so long since I posted so I wanted to stop by and apologize. The benefit for me is that I get to see several updates all at once, but the downside is that I'm unable to comment in depth on as many individual pieces as I like. So I hope you'll settle for a couple highlights which are, to me, the "my intellect is so massive" sketch, and the last one in your 12-28 update (the face over all the smokestacks). That last one has such a great editorial appeal to me. I especially like that flat planar light on the character's nose and the way he's taking in the boquet of smoke, wearing it like a moustache. I love all the various things you do, but I wonder if you have any interest in exploring this avenue any further?

Hope all is well, Bruce. I'll be back sooner than later next time!

[marioucci]

WOw Mad!!! amazing evolution and wicked ideas man.

congratulations!

Mario

[madplanet]

Damn, I can't believe that it's been almost two months since I've updated my thread...

Bumskee: Min, how are ya? I got that lego painting in a show starting this week, so it's cool that you like it, and Smut Bowl is the annual football game that a bunch of friends and I play every New Year's Day. "Smut" is just a play on how muddy we usually get. I've been taking your advice when sketching and trying not to have my line work looking a bit sloppy. Thanks for the comments.

Masterpug: Hey MP, how's it going? I hear what your saying about the need to erase, but I hardly ever erase sketches. Pretty close to never. I don't see the point when I can just draw over it. With a sketch I like to record the first impression and then work from there leaving the original as it is. it's a visual journal. As far as sketching in pencil, I go back and forth, spending some time with pencil, some with pen, but I do enjoy sketching with a pen. I actually feel more confident sketching with a pen, if that makes any sense.

Mike Dutton: Hey Mike, you don't have to feel like a scmuck or apologize for anything, you more than make up for it on my blog. I'll take the comments when I get them, y'now?

That "massive intellect" sketch was done about one of my friends who is greatly impressed with himself. He actually believes that not liking anything is a sign of a superior intelligence. Huh. I always thought that it was because he was unhappy. Go figure. The smokestack guy was an assignment for a class that I had last year. And it was an editorial lesson, so I guess it was a success. So, do you mean exploring editorial work further? yes, I think that would be interesting.

MarioUcci: hey Mario, good to read your thoughts again. Thanks for the comments.

Here's a few sketches to keep this thing alive...

[dchan]

it's really nice to see that you developt allot since your first post. it's nice too see that you working with different materials. have you tried working digitaly with tablet and so? anyways nice work keep it up the good work!

[blacky]

Hey Bruce,

I really like the ongoing brainstorm in your works and scetches.
Some might be just fooling around for fun but you carry forth an own perspective of thinking nevertheless, your stuff is recognisable and has little similarities with most peoples work on this forum, which I think is a strong point of yours ( I've been noticing way too many Wes or Marko like-Sketchbooks for example)
Digging the surreal concepts and Magritte-like jokes in your scetches.
Although I have to say that your colours are kinda simple and used only to serve one purpose but not necessarily to enhance the beaty of the pictures. Colours are never simple. Don't know if it would be relevant for your works but livestudies have helped me alot concerning that issue.
So long...

[taxman]

Hey Bruce,

sorry for missing a couple of posts, but you can be sure I visit your book frequently even when I'm not posting regularly. And since I just discovered how to subscribe to an rss feed, I subscribed to Tattooed Sky. Now you have to write another entry so I can see if it's working or not.

Great stuff all around, those tree people intrigue me.

I could have sworn you portrayed Dieter Meier of Yello on your blog before reading it's Kurt Vonnegut, but after a quick Google picture search for Mr. Vonnegut I'd say you nailed his likeliness pretty good. The odd thing is, I think it's a great portrait of both... (in case you don't know who this Dieter Meier guy is: http://static.twoday.net/remington/images/Yello.jpg ) But that's propably just stupid Phil who thinks all guys with moustaches look alike.

Good to hear your tree (mad)houses made it to an exhibition, very cool. I'm a huge fan of your work and be sure I'll leave some words or two on your blog...

[guggemmaneuver]

hehe... omg it's so dusty in here, my pleasure to drop some freshness in here! yuck. muck.

Speaking of muck, Mr. madplanet/bruce contributed a piece for this Fall's edition of Rice on the Other. And just a heads up: The deadline for this Winter's edition of R.Ø.T.Ø. will be Saturday, 19 January 2008.

Awesome work b! the rice-fiending hordes eagerly await muckman's next adventure! (will be dropping your copy in the mail very soon!)



rs

[Mag-Neo]

---How r u my friend & you r doing more & more & getting better & better by day by day..... AMAZINGLY INCREDIBLE....... GOOD LUCK..... mate......