Monthly Archives: March 2010

Inspiration: Stephen Gammell

Posted on March 31, 2010 | 1 Comment

There are a few artists from my childhood who had a HUGE impact on me, and I didn’t realize it until later in my adulthood.

One such artist is Stephen Gammell. You may recognize this:

Oh yes. I’m sure you remember this. This stuff used to scare the crap out of me, but I LOVED the drawings. I was fascinated by their morbid darkness, the shading techniques, the black ink, the overall creepiness (as a kid, I’m sure I just thought, “that looks cooooooool!”).

I am terribly thankful for the existence of Stephen Gammell, and for the memories of his work that were deeply instilled my mind’s eye. I believe they have had a significant impact on my style.

++++++

I did another character study for Miss This & That. I actually sort’ve loathe this drawing. Which is why it’s at the tail-end of this post. Jake had to put up with a lot of grumbling while I grudgingly finished shading it. I hoped that after finishing it I would have a change of heart, but really, for some reason I still hate it.

However, I liked the characters a bit, especially Miss That.

Finally getting somewhere with Miss This? We shall see.

-LW

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Character, Inspiration, Process

Tagged Character, Charcoal, Ink, Maryanna Hoggatt, Miss That, Miss This, Scary Stories, Stephen Gammell, unicycle

Party Bombs/Cat Wanderers

Posted on March 28, 2010 | Leave a comment

I completed shading the new collaboration piece, Party Bombs, and will now pass it on to Jake.

Inked

Shaded

Don’t worry, these aren’t the scary bombs. After crossing lazily over the ocean, they will land on Earth with a dull thud. Rusty and old, the vessels will then creakily open and spill forth with bottles of bourbon, champagne flutes, Cuban cigars, party favors, vinyl records, and other such implements of enjoyment.

++++++

We finally hung the pictures that I had given to Jake. I think they compliment ol’ Skully quite well. Afterwards, a nice work session on my dining table. We would work in my studio, but I’ve got this ridiculous 9 foot art piece blocking the door.

After all them concise lines and super careful shading on Party Bombs, I really just needed to do something more loose and care-free.

There are probably about 80,000 cats wandering around my neighborhood, and everyday that I work and draw at my table, I always catch one of them rounding the corner of my house in my backyard. They are often the same cats, and I feel like they are patrolling the premises and “keeping it real” for my little Wolf den.

I see this little guy quite often, he’s got the socks thing going on.

I’ve been seeing this cat since I moved into this house a year ago. He will usually jump out of some bush and bound over to me when he sees me approaching, then always tries to follow me into my house. For some reason, I just started calling him Pony Boy, after The Outsiders. During the summer, Pony Boy does get into my house by sneaking in through my security gate with the main door open.

++++++

Jake spent the last week in NYC and visited many Illustration studios. We spent all of Sunday talking about what he learned and I’ve been soaking up the knowledge. See what he learned for yourself here!

-LW

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Process, Sketchbook

Tagged Bomb, Cats, Charcoal, Collaboration, gouache, Ink, Maryanna Hoggatt, Pony Boy

The Widow: Book Project

Posted on March 26, 2010 | 2 Comments

One of my absolute favorite class assignments of ALL TIME was the book project I completed for my Illustration: Word+Image class at PNCA, instructed by Illustrator Kurt Hollomon.

The subject of the book was to be an explorer of your choosing, in which you illustrate their home, mode of transportation, where they traveled, the things they collected, and the people they met.

I instantly knew I was going to model my explorer on the late and great Georgia O’Keefe. While I am a great admirer of her work, I admire the life she led even more. After her partner and photographer, Alfred Stieglitz, passed away, she moved permanently to New Mexico, where she lived in solitude for over 40 years. She painted, explored her desert surroundings, and collected animal bones. She was a strong, spunky, independent woman.

You can watch a video interview with Georgia O’Keefe at her New Mexico estate here. She is 92 in this!! Amazing!

Anyway, I loved, loved, loved this project.

The book is all handmade, using charcoal, gouache, and ink, and bound in kraft paper.

Inside cover.

I am an old widow.

This is the cottage where I live.

I have been alone for many years.

I travel by an old war plane that I pilot myself.

I have traveled this world many times over.

Wherever I go, I collect old animal bones.

I have met many along the way: cowboys, farmers, monks, mothers, gypsies, artists….

But more often than not, I meet no one,

and I feel I am the only one left on this Earth.

The lettering is hand-written on vellum which I treated with pastel to give it an “aged” look.

Ok, can you get any cooler of an old lady than this?

The only way she would look tougher would be if she were wearing all the animal bones and sipping a glass of whiskey. Preferably Jameson, but any whiskey would do.

Image taken from Taschen books “O’Keefe”, written by Britta Benke

++++++

I have started another illustration with which to torture Jake. He will be returning from New York City tomorrow, after doing such mundane, boring things all week like meeting Illustrators such as Milton Glaser and Jillian Tamaki (are you freaking kidding me?!?!). The stories should be very interesting.

-LW

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Character, Hand-Lettering, Illustration, Process, Project

Tagged book, Charcoal, Georgia O'Keefe, gouache, Hand-lettered, Ink, Maryanna Hoggatt

Sketch: Scraps

Posted on March 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

Sometimes I will find random drawings I made on bits of paper, stuffed in between pages of books or buried in one of my purses. These are drawings I have made during a particularly long, slow shift at work, or whenever my mind wanders away from a group conversation and my hands feel busy.

Hot.

Sexy.

This was definitely in witness of some summertime patio drinking.

++++++

Jake tells me that he is nearly done coloring the “Let’s Pretend” drawing, despite the fact that he is running amok in New York City. Look for the final piece soon.

-LW

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Sketchbook

Tagged Ink, Maryanna Hoggatt, Sketches, zombie

Character Sketches: 3

Posted on March 25, 2010 | Leave a comment

Finally! After weeks of struggling with the title characters of the book, The End of This and That, I think I have captured my ladies. I am super hyped on these drawings and hope I can continue to move forward with the book illustrations.

Although the book is primarily focused on the characters in their elder years, I must still include images of their younger selves in several flashbacks.

A young Miss This: refined but playful, aristocratic, intelligent, and bold.

A young Miss That: tomboyish, punky, but still with a bit of elegance. I love the hot air balloon basket and will probably use it for the book.

A side-by-side view of young and old Miss This. I will definitely be tweaking the elder version of Miss This by shrinking up the nose and refining her hair style a bit.

Totally.

I noticed after finishing these drawings that I had put the characters in a lot of clothing I own myself. Funny how that happens.

-LW

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Character, Process, The End

Tagged Character, Charcoal, Ink, Maryanna Hoggatt, Miss That, Miss This, The End

Bear Cub

Posted on March 22, 2010 | 1 Comment

I spent most of last week sick with a head cold and laying around hating life because I didn’t have the energy to do anything. Toward the end of the week, however, I felt much better, and was able to put together a drawing for my friend Carey for his birthday.

If there are three things in life that Carey likes, it’s taxidermy, motorbikes, and design. If there are five things, they would include Lil’ Wayne and scouring estate sales.

I wanted to make a drawing that would include his Bear Cub persona (we all seem to be animals around here), and it’s never really good unless I’m laughing while making it.

I referenced this original photo of Carey on his Honda:

I went with my usual materials of Bristol board, Micron pen, vine charcoal, and charcoal pencils.

The final result:

I really enjoy making drawings for my friends on their birthdays. I find it is more gratifying and personalized than anything I could ever purchase for them.

++++++

There is no better way to top off a crappy sick week than taking long bike rides on a beautiful Spring day. Jake and I pulled out my lil’ moped and Honda and cruised downtown Portland, NE, and dreamy suburban neighborhoods. My AZ blood fully appreciated the warm sun.

-LW

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Motorbike, Portrait, Process

Tagged Charcoal, Honda CL100, Ink, Maryanna Hoggatt, moped, Portrait

Vintage: 3

Posted on March 16, 2010 | 1 Comment

Year: 2009

Age: 27

Description: I drew this in my sketchbook about a year ago. After finishing the line work, I colored the drawing with gouache, then added charcoal.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in History, Sketchbook

Tagged Charcoal, Ink, Maryanna Hoggatt, Portrait, Sketches

Let’s Pretend

Posted on March 15, 2010 | 1 Comment

This weekend I took a break from drawing/blogging to host my good friend, Little Brain, who flew in from the 7th circle of Hell also known as “Arizona”. After a few days of debauchery, it’s time to get back to work.

Inspired by the pleasing results of our recent collaborations, I decided to whip up another drawing for Jake to work his digital wizardry upon:

For this drawing, I decided to trade in the #2 brush, India ink, and loose lines for Microns and careful shading. I will post the results of this collaboration once Jake completes his half of the work.

We are both excited for the forthcoming Eagle & Wolf site and will be posting all of our collaborations there.

++++++

In other news, I completed the commissioned portrait of Portland musician Morgan Grace. I will be posting process photos and the final piece once I have printed/framed/delivered the work; in the meantime, here is a sneak peek:

++++++

As I’ve stated before, I’m a lover of all things old-timey, and that goes for old children’s books. You can often stumble upon some pretty good mid-century gems at the thrift store, but for the really old books, I search eBay.

A few years ago, I purchased Young Companions on eBay for about $10. This book was printed in 1900!

front cover

back cover

The book is full of fantastic, creepy little illustrations, short stories, poems, and wonderful glimpses of the turn-of-the-century past. Inside, the previous owner has left a small postcard ad for “Wonder Flour”, which was probably used as a bookmark.

from the story, “The Fox and the Bear”

Story titles include, “The Um-Brel-La”, “What the Roost-Er Crows”, “Lit-Tle Run-A-Way”, & “Young Mrs. Wink-Et Scolds Her Dol-Ly”. Overall, a great find.

-LW

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Collaboration, Eagle + Wolf, Inspiration, Process

Tagged Charcoal, Collaboration, Ink, Jake Hollomon, Maryanna Hoggatt, Morgan Grace, Portrait