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. I was just informed that the MicroVisions auction has gone live so I thought I'd post the link for you. Every Year the Society of Illustrators selects 12 artists to do a "micro" 5"x7" painting to be exhibited and auctioned for their student scholarship fund. It's been a real thrill to be in the company of participating luminaries: Scott Bakal, Julie Bell, Scott Brundage, Brian Despain, Rebecca Guay, Scott Gustafson, John Picacio, Dan Dos Santos, Peter de Seve, Chris Rahn and Terryl Whitlatch. It was tough to paint so small! Sure, I do tons of tiny roughs but nothing that's intended to be a "finished" painting. Nevertheless I'm happy with the outcome and have posted it here for you to take a look at. If you'd like to place a bid you can do so here , it goes to a good cause.

. . This is a scene from Road to El Dorado (2000). I painted the environment for this one. .

In 1810 the great painter Francisco Goya was commissioned to paint a portrait of King Joseph Bonaparte. Goya didn't like King Joseph, who Napoleon had placed on the Spanish throne by force, but Goya needed the money so he swallowed his pride and painted Joseph in a gold frame with adoring angels blowing trumpets and placing garlands to his glory. Shortly after the painting was completed,  King Joseph was driven from Madrid.  Goya seized the opportunity to paint over his portrait of Joseph, replacing his face with the word, "Constitucion." Unfortunately for Goya, the wheel of fortune turned once again and King Joseph returned to  power.  Joseph's portrait was hastily repainted. The following year, Joseph was booted out of Spain for good, and Ferdinand VII returned to rule Spain.  Feeling more confident, Goya once again painted over the portrait with the word "Constitucion." Unfortunately for Goya, Ferdinand VII annulled the Constitution the following year.  ...

Whether you're a figurative artist, landscape painter, entertainment artist or picture maker of any kind, if you're in the LA area I'd love to see you at our annual Composition W orkshop on Saturday May 19, 12-8pm . To en roll contact the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art at 877-695-2232 . www.laafa.org Watch the video for some tips and an overview, there's more written info below: Composition: Design for Dynamic Picture Making : Slideshow presentation and lecture, 12-3pm : Lectures on the fundamentals of effective picture making. Discussions on the creation of mood and environment. Principles for organizing complex scenes into compelling arrangements. Strategies for solving compositional problems quickly and effectively. Studies of Composition in history and the modern day. Instructor Painting demonstration, 3:30-5 Compositional exercises, 6-7pm Student painting time wi...

Eddie Bauer catalog cover, 1982 The career of famed illustrator Mark English can be divided into three phases. His first job was picking cotton in the fields around Hubbard Texas for $1.50 per day.  There were no museums or art galleries in Hubbard, but one day English saw a picture on a sign in a store window saying "Welcome Rodeo Fans."  He escaped the cotton fields by teaching himself to paint those signs and earned a living chasing rodeos around the Texas countryside.  After being drafted into the Army he was able to put his experience to work lettering signs for latrines. In the second phase he became a nationally renowned illustrator who received more awards from the Society of Illustrators than any other illustrator. English's beautifully sensitive portrait of Dracula Victorian Interior In the third phase he became a fine artist, selling his artwork in galleries.  Right now, some of you are probably saying, "Hey wait-- go back to that part about going from pa...

Compressed charcoal and ivory nupastel on Srathmore charcoal paper.

. A theatrical piece for Puss in Boots . .

Everyone knows the story of how two Cleveland boys, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, created the character of Superman and, short of money, signed all their rights away to a corporation for $130.  That corporation went on to reap hundreds of millions of dollars from their creation while Siegel and Shuster went hungry. The infamous check which purchased the rights to Superman is now being auctioned .  As of today the bidding stands at $36,000. The check is one of those wonderful avatars that remind us how artists will always be prey to accountants on the food chain, and that the largest share of the profits will always go to those with the cunning to exploit someone else's creativity. (It also reminds us why corporations should not have the legal rights of a natural person.  In the words of  Lord Chancellor Thurlow,  a corporation is not a person because it "has no soul to be damned, and no body to be kicked.")  Lots of people (and also lots of lawyers) have sp...