Stan at the Beach

I doubt his name is Stan as I did not get the opportunity to ask him his name or what he thought of this painting.  He began to pack up his stuff the moment I finished inking the picture, so I had to work fast on the color and the shadows.  But judging from his Che Guevara bag and other accoutrements, I am guessing his name is not Stan.  But who knows, maybe it is.

                                  Watercolor and ink on paper 5.5x8.25

Temple of the Horned God

If asked, most comic nerds would say that either Barry Winsor-Smith or Big John Buscema are the definitive Conan comic book artists.  And I would agree with that (especially when Buscema was inked by Ernie Chan) senitment but there is another, oft forgotten, yet incredibly innovative artist from back in the 70's.  Alex Nino was an innovative artist who did some mind blowing things, from wild layouts to incredibly detailed line work.  

Most of his work was in the black and white Savage Sword of Conan (SSC).  In 1978, Marvel reprinted Savage Sword of Conan #6 (art by Nino) in color for the first time in Marvel Treasury Edition #19.  At the time I had no idea who Alex Nino was, but I read and stared at that issue for hours on end.  His work has continued to amaze and inspire me.  Below is my adaption of one of the panels from that SSC story.  As always, click to embiggen'.

                    Pen & Ink with watercolor on 200 lbs watercolor paper 14x10

Here is the picture before I painted it. As you can see, I only lightly inked it before adding watercolors.  After the paint dried, I went back and add more detail in ink.

Golden Gate Bridge -- View from Hyde Park

It was a windy, misty afternoon in Hyde Park when I sat down to paint this.  You can clearly see the unpainted area where the clips kept the paper from flapping all around.  By the time I finished, most of the Golden Gate Bridge was lost to the mist and waning sun.

I like the little details on the dock in the foreground. They were almost an after thought as I finished up, but I think it gives the picture more scale.

                                      watercolor on paper 5.5 x 16.50

Conan swipe

Barry Winsor-Smith may very well be my most favorite artist.  His run on Conan in the early 70's was awesome.  His subsequent return to Conan or a Conan inspired genre like Freebooters was nothing short of magnificent.  

So when I wanted to practice using watercolor to do more comic book like art, it made since to use him as a guide.  It took some research to figure out how to make decent skin tones (the key is to heavily dilute the reds and add a touch of burnt sienna).  I also like how many artists (including BWS) include cool blues in the shadows.  I might have over done it a bit with the blue but I think I better understand it now.

Overall, the results are not half bad, by Crom!

                        Watercolor and ink on 140 lbs watercolor paper 9x12