Indy 500 in the Technicolor Universe

Yesterday was the Indy 500 (which is always great to watch) and I had started a sketch earlier in the day of Robot Number 3 behind the wheel of an Indy car to suit the day. Somewhere along the way, he took a hard turn into the Technicolor Universe leaving the monochromaticness faaaar behind. Rarely do I get so explosive with color and after completing this piece I wondered, Why? Something tells me the answer is similar to the one about me censoring myself- I was really just holding back... for some reason. Well if this is an indication of anything, it's that the new road is full of life, color, cars, and robots. The original is sold and we will be doing Canvas & Paper prints- we'll make the announcement of their availability soon!

Thank You!

The Refreshening: New Robot Art and an even Fresher Perspective

This past week was a bit of a change up for me- my wife and I got home from a full week off and it gave both of us a lot of time to think about direction, specifically for me- Artwork. Clearly a lot of what I do is automotive artwork & design, but behind the scenes of our daily lives is a lot of cartoon, comic book, and graphic novel, and video game enthusiasm that originally had a lot more influence on my early ink work. Somewhere along the line I got involved with more clean, straight laced artwork for the sake of keeping the automotive artwork straight to the point (as builders rarely want to see anything but reality). Eventually, clean artwork took over- which wasn't an issue, just not what I thought would happen. So here and there on the side (behind the cameras watchful eyes) I would sketch characters on scraps, doodle robots, sci fi snip bits, futurism- all the bits that I didnt know I was missing. As part of my daily routine I sketch something with coffee every morning to get warmed up- with the week off I left my routine to try and feel like I wasnt truly working (which was challenging) and it opened my eyes quite a bit. Now this didnt change my love for cars, it just gave me clarity on the habits I had developed. Of course on our first day back I drew and illustrated a beautiful black Kustom Merc, and that wasn't out of habit- it was out of want to create after having been away from the studio a week. As soon as I cleaned up from the Merc piece I grabbed one of our traveling sketchbooks and started sketching a character I call Robot Number 3 and it quickly took shape with what I was missing. Im not new to character drawing, but what I am new to is sharing that side of my artwork with people. There's a lot more revealed about yourself in artwork like that I think, so you're putting yourself out there more then ever. I wasnt sure I was going to share the 1st piece (Robot in the Rain), but went for it anyways since I felt there was a better connection with the artwork and maybe more people could relate to it. I was immediately taken back by the responses I got and the connection people had with the Robot, and I knew I didnt have to be shy about it anymore. I alternated Robot artwork and Hot Rod artwork throughout the week and did a Robot & Hot Rod piece to finish out the week (a fine culmination if I do say so myself). Although what I do is not dictated by what people respond the best to, it is a nice feeling to put yourself out there and get a positive response. And again- this isnt me saying goodbye to clean automotive artwork, this is just me finally introducing the real me to the world. So look out for a whole new set of artwork based on Robot Number 3, sci fi, futurism, hot rods- and we're even talking about a storybook, graphic novel and some animation! Really excited for things to come, and I look forward to sharing it all.

The moral of todays story is:
1- Take a REAL vacation and clear your mind of work long enough to see it from all sides clearly. This vacation doesnt have to be long, far, expensive (heck, we vacationed at home mostly)- just give yourself some mental distance from your routine.
2- Stop censoring yourself (like I did)- Be who you are and be the best you you know how to be. If you limit who you are and what you share, people are only going to get a glimpse of you.
3- Most Important: Do what makes you Happy.

Oh yea- all of the new artwork will be available once professionally matted and framed and we will be doing canvas & paper prints as well! When the prints are ready I will write posts that explain the story behind each piece (because of course there is one).

Have a great weekend!