General Russ's Art Blog
Galleries I’m in Part 1: The Gallery Underground
Last night was my first night in The Gallery Underground, an alternative art gallery in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Last night was my first night in The Gallery Underground, an alternative art gallery in Fort Collins, Colorado.
I decided, since I had a few old frames left over from another project, that the best thing to do would be to destroy the ever-loving hell out of one of them.
I like seeing how art evolves, from the beginning of the thumbnail sketches all the way through the final product. I think you can literally see an artist’s though processes as they work through issues, try new things, and complete what their vision is. In my case, it might be Read more…
I never just charge into a piece for the sake of doing art, I always let it mull around in my head some first. Sometimes I have a pretty good idea and I just need to smooth things out. Other times, there’s a lot of thought in what the scene Read more…
Since January of 2010, Jason Sizemore and MG Ellington over at Apex Magazine have given me the opportunity to talk on their blog each month about art, and how I create it. Now, so far, it’s been mostly rants about the things I see wrong with art and with the Read more…
I’ve been very anxious to show everyone this, and now, upon the release of the novella, I can do just that. Below I’ve attached a number of pieces of art that I did for author Brian Keene’s book Scratch, just released from Cemetery Dance Publications.
Scratch, if you don’t follow Keene’s work (and his followers are Legion), is the story of a giant snake. One that gives our characters quite a bad time.
I have to say, working on such an in-depth and extensive project was a daunting idea at first. But working with an author like Brian, who is so open to ideas and so helpful with the ones I came up with, was just fantastic. All the fine folks at Cemetery Dance are very supportive and wonderful to work with as well, and overall this was a great experience.
Now, the art itself is spread quite thoroughly throughout the book, and while the esteemed Mr. Keene doesn’t think that the art alone gives away the story, it’s certainly a possibility.
So, fair warning. The art is chock full of spoilers.
One more time, for those Keene fans (and others) who haven’t read it:
If you’d just like to see what the art looks like, please enjoy the full gallery below. Every image in Scratch is there, please let me know what you think.
[nggallery id=6]
If, however, you’d like a bit more “meat” with it, follow along below this (and to the next page) for comments on how I created the art, thoughts on it, and so forth. REALLY spoiled then, and I mean it.
After this, there’s no going back, because the rest below contains
Without further ado, follow along to the next page for my insights.
Sometimes, I shudder to post new ideas or new techniques that I try. I never know if they really work out, if they are ok but just need work, or if they are so awful that the sun will shrivel up and we’ll all die. But, I also think that Read more…
QR codes are images, much like bar codes on most things you buy in a store, that can contain information.
Last year, a couple of friends (Mike Oliveri, Cullen Bunn, and a few others) were really talking up using a small writing or sketching book to jot down quick ideas. I’ve carried a larger sketchpad in my backpack for a long time, but I’d considered something smaller to compliment it. Read more…
When I’m not doing art (so-so art, really), I work both as a day job and as a freelancer in web and multimedia design and development. Most of the time, that means I have to turn off the creative side of my brain and slog through whatever code comes next. Read more…
Awhile back (and by “awhile back” I mean “over a year ago”) I wrote an art blog of Frederic Edwin Church’s beautiful painting called The Icebergs (check out the blog here… I”ll wait.) I won’t bore you with the specs again (I’ll be boring you with other ways now), but Read more…
Family trips aren’t always conducive to finding those unique places that are either interesting, affective or both. But my wife’s family is from Oklahoma and Texas, and both states offer places that we visit when we are in the area. Above is one of the empty chairs from the Oklahoma Read more…
I was asked while at a gallery over the weekend what my artist’s studio/office looks like, and if I’m comfortable in it. It’s an interesting question, the environment in which we create the things that we do. I love seeing other artist’s studios, it gives me a sense of where Read more…
Now that the visitors are all gone, I’m getting back on track with things. There have been a few developments, and there are a couple of reminders here, so let’s get going. My art is featured in an actual, physical gallery locally now. The On Display Gallery in Fort Collins, Read more…
I get a vision of the next bit of time in my head, whether that’s weeks, months, or even years, I’m not sure.