catfish_charlie

I had a late night impulse (or early morning rather as it was about 3:00 AM) to create this image. This is NOT a digitally altered picture, this is the unaltered original photograph. I used fluorescing pigments on my face to get this effect. I did use a digital brush merely to black out a few white specks in the black at the bottom of the picture.

Problem is, I like this image both full and cropped close and simply can't choose between them. I think the answer is that I must revisit this concept again with a bit more planning to see if I can make a composition that has the elements of both that appeal to me.

Title: "The Seer, The Dreamer"
Media: Photograph, Kodak digital Z712 IS

Crop 1;


Crop2;

Well I said that I would post the progression of the Poe painting, so here it is.
The first step was to create a very simple under-painting. Most of this will not be visible on the final piece, but it's still very important because what will show through will have a major impact on the final piece. I basically used a two-tone scheme, but I added some orange areas and some dark areas to the red portion so that it would add complexity and definition to the final piece;


Once that was finished I let it harden up a bit and then I applied the top coat with soft Sennelier oil pastels. Again I stuck to a basic two-tone color palate. The basic look I wanted was black and red with alabaster white. Using subtle accents of pale blue, orange, and grey will add depth and richness to the bold color scheme without destroying the effect. Here is the top coat; you can see that it almost completely covers the under painting.


Once that was finished, I only had to add the filigree and the text. To do this I used a stylus (a blunt metal tool) to scrape away the top coat. The colors underneath then show through and reveal the gradations of color. This technique is called "sgraffito", or sometimes just graffito or even graffiti. The next and last thing I did was add some depth with various shades of grey oil pastel. To see the final piece just look at my previous post.

Here is a different detail picture of the final painting, showing some of the knotwork and filigree.


Also, I now have this painting available as a poster and on shirts and more in my Cafepress store;
http://www.cafepress.com/klturner/3166840

I spent entirely too much time on this painting. I can honestly say that I truly suffered for this piece- I kept working on it despite a rather serious headache and an infection in my jaw because I really wanted to just see it through. I got couple of scans of this piece in progress as well- I'll post them tomorrow along with a write-up, but tonight I just want to get this image posted and relax.

Title: Nevermore
Medium: Oil Pastel On Bristol
Size: 8 x 10"
Status: For Sale Soon


Enlarged detail from painting;

I had a request some time ago to do a portrait of H.P. Lovecraft. Although I had the idea on the back-burner for a long time, I just couldn't resist giving it a shot. I plan to put this up for auction tomorrow evening.

Title: Lovecraft
Medium: oil pastel and colored pencil on mat board
Size: 8" x 8"
Status: For Sale Soon