Artist. Gamer. All Around Nerd.
Back in April I announced my Robo-Girls project and debuted the first character image. This past week I completed the second character image of the collection.
That completes phase one of the project. Phase two, will start off with another character adaptation and will end with full-figure images of the first two characters.
The month of July was a busy month for me. At the end of July I completed a commission art piece. A watercolor portrait painting of a horse named, "Bella." It's not my first attempt at painting animals but it is my first attempt at painting a horse, which has been on my "Bucket List" of subjects to attempt to paint. This project gave me the opportunity to approximately gauge the time it takes me to complete a project. Unfortunately, and I'm laughing at myself here, I didn't really keep track of that time spent.
All is good though. I can say that I spent most of the time working on the piece sitting outdoors, under the shaded trees, in my backyard, with an "adult" beverage (or two). My dog laying at my feet, in the hot, Texas heat (I made a rhyme). I really enjoyed working on this piece and looking forward to painting more!
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| "Bella" 5" x 7" Watercolor |
A few weeks ago, my good friend Dirk approached me and asked if I would be interested in doing some graphic design work for him. Of course, I said, "hell, yeah!"
For a couple of weeks now, in between searching for, and filling out applications for a new day job, painting pet portraits, creating a new "Robo-Girls" t-shirt, several other things, I've been creating logos for Dirk and his apparel line.
You can purchase the design, on several different applications, over on his Redbubble page here: "Bound" T-Shirt
Sorry about the recent lack of postings. I'll have some art updates coming soon, probably as soon as tomorrow! In the meantime, I've been diligently searching for a new daytime "jobby-job." While searching, I've been thinking about life lessons handed down to me from my parents, and I thought I'd share the main one that's been motivating me.
My Dad, a retired elementary school principal, and my Mom, a former high school art teacher, at some point in my life, in some form or fashion, both have said this to me:
"With a classroom of 35 students, the majority will study for a test. The odds favor that the majority will pass the test with grades ranging from 'A' to 'D.' Very few, if any, will flunk the test. The few that don't pass may have a problem with their study form that needs to be addressed. If the whole class were to have studied and failed the test, the problem isn't with the students' abilities to study. The problem is with the test, and most likely, the teacher giving the test."
I think about this quite a bit.
A few weeks ago I completed a pet portrait commissioned by a former coworker. A 5" x 7" pencil sketch on Strathmore smooth Bristol.
This is Bennie, or "Bennie-Roo-Roo," as his Mama likes to call him, a dachshund, was rescued 7 years ago and is living happily with his two siblings, Parker and Olive.
If you are interested in a commissioned art piece, you can email me here: walterg.thompson@gmail.com
Over the weekend I completed the first illustration in, what I hope to be, a series of illustrations I call "Robo-Girls." The concept is simple: Anime girls cosplaying as famous sci-fi robots on t-shirts.
This first illustration I drew the line art more than a year ago, January of 2020. I was working at a trade show convention for my employer at the time and I would use my breaks to spend time to draw. I was going to use it as a mascot, of sorts, for a different project that I shelved a few months later due to possible legal ramifications if implemented. So, I hung on to the sketch vowing to do something with it in the future.
Well, that future is now!
Starting off with one of the "'Heroic' Robo-Girls" here. I haven't come up with an official name for the character but you can tell who the character is spoofing here.
If you're interested in purchasing the design on a t-shirt, click "WHAT!? Studio Art Store" in the links panel or for a direct product link, CLICK HERE!
Next up: "'Evil' Robo-Girls!"
Four years ago I was shopping at a local Hobby Lobby store and came across packets of baseball card sized (2.5" x 3.5") Bristol board and watercolor paper and I bought a packet of each. Out of curiosity, I searched the net and I discovered that there is a niche for baseball card sized original artwork. I told myself, "hey, I can, at least, sketch and draw a mini-pic within two days!" So, I set aside my lunch breaks drawing and painting. I'd prepare my lunch the night before, a sandwich and a bag of chips. I'd take the first 20-minutes of the hour break eating and then spend the last 40-minutes drawing and painting. The hardest part is coming up with a subject to illustrate. In this first instance, I went with my "go to" subject, Godzilla! Over two days I spent my lunches getting the pencils down and painting.
After completing the painting I put it away and then, like so many of us do, forgot the place where I had put it away at. This week I took the time to start some "spring cleaning" and discovered a small box full of junk papers. In the box among all the papers was a Ziploc sandwich bag filled with a stack of old Dallas Stars, Texas Rangers and NASCAR ticket stubs as well as stubs from other events like concerts that I'd attended over the years. On the very top of the stack was my Godzilla painting!
