New Work for the Portrait of the Artist Exhibit this Weekend!

This Saturday night, June 18th from 6-9pm the Ware Haus in Des Moines will be featuring the works of numerous Artists from around the country who were asked to do one thing: paint a portrait of an Artist that has inspired you.  The response was phenomenal.  People chimed in from all over eager to pay their respects to their many influences.

The idea got started when I drew a portrait of my friend and fellow Des Moines Artist, Brent Houzenga.  His tenacity and invention has been an inspiration to me and after seeing a particular shot of him I was moved to attempt something I rarely do... portraiture.  Brent saw the piece and immediately had the idea for a show.  The concept took off and very quickly received support from Artists around the US.  It gave us all the chance to tip our hats to the people that have given us direction along the way.

It gave me the courage to attempt a second piece.  A portrait of another fellow Des Moines Artist who has been a great influence on me, Larassa Kabel.

Here they are together

I won't be able to attend the reception and that's a major downer because from what I saw of the Art that had already been dropped off... it's going to be a great show.  Definitely stop by the Ware Haus, 1718 East Universty Ave, Suite A in Des Moines this Saturday.  Enjoy the show.  Meet the Artists.  Have one for me!


Cheers,

R

Prepping for July

I've gone and gotten myself booked for three shows this Summer.  I'll be posting dates and times, but for now I'm doing a lot of prep work.  I've got plans for some large scale monochromatic drawings.  Drawings big enough to crawl around on.  Additionally I've made a bit of an adventurous materials purchase and it's time to make sure it was money well-spent.  While I was waiting I hit the charcoals and dug out my old litho crayons to get the process moving.

They're just ideas, but you've got to start somewhere. 

 Litho crayons are an old standby of mine.  They can take a bit of patience if you're not comfortable working with water-based mediums.  You can attain some great variations in value if you spend just a little time though.

 Charcoals are still a personal favorite though.  I really need to try out making my own.  If you've done it let me know how it went.

Lots to do... lots to do.
Keep up your momentum.


Cheers,

R