3:00 am...

Well shit.

I can't seem to shut down my mind and get to sleep... so i'm channeling that into this fire demon...

(a study from a piece by the late Frank Frazetta, who was the man by the way)



I've been a night owl my entire life but some nights you just wish you could shut down at a normal hour >__<

In other news, I've been working on an ink and graphite Suicide Girl piece for a change

I've been relying on digital too much lately and looking to balance that out. It's amazing how the lessons learned while "painting" digitally apply directly to traditional media and vice versa. As far as i'm concerned, Photoshop belongs on the same list as pastels, graphite, charcoal, acrylics, etc...

Just another tool to be used as a vehicle for creative expression.

But I can't deny how incredibly satisfying it is to scrape a line or a shape onto a piece of paper with a good old fashioned pencil or brush! I love everything about it, from sharpening the pencils to cleaning the brushes after a session. God I live for that shit! haha

Anyways, stay tuned for an update on that! It'll be up a soon as it's finished (hopefully tomorrow night if I manage to conquer that age-old demon... procrastination)

Thanks for stopping by.

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From my headphones to yours:

Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra, "Kiss the Sky"


Morcheeba, "Who Can You Trust?"


King Crimson, "In the Court of the Crimson King"


Till next time...

What's up people

Just thought I would share the latest drawing with everyone.

I had a helluva lot of fun painting this one. I actually started working on it weeks ago but got sidetracked as I often do. Ah well, getting back to it has made for a great weekend.

I love this time of year.

A beautiful late October day outside, great music blasting from the speakers, and a new piece manifesting slowly but surely from my hands on the screen before me.

All is right with the world today

Anyways, here it is, about 95% complete (but I wanted to share it anyway)

The unbelievably gorgeous Tarion from one of the hottest sets on this entire website, "Kiss The Machine" [seriously, go check that out if you happened to miss it]



Still have a bit more to do with the hands and such, but i'll tackle that later with fresh eyes. (Who knows? Maybe it won't take another month lol)

Hope everyone out there is having a great day/night/afternoon/whatever wherever you are.

Till next time,

-Matt


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As always, some tunes:

Puscifer, "Green Valley" [Conditions of my Parole]


Queens of the Stone Age, "Make It Wit Chu" (Acoustic)


Type O Negative, "Love you to Death" (my god I love this song)

Update on the latest piece:

Pushed some of the values a bit further and added some minor changes here and there.



Thanks for stopping by!


Oh, on a side note, I've been considering offering prints of selected works in the near future and would love to know if that is something any of you are interested in. All of these are painted at very high resolutions and will maintain high quality up to about 18x24 inches. If you are interested, shoot me a message and let me know

Till next time,

-Matt

What's up people

It's been too long...

Current work in progress:

"I contemplate myself in that dim sphere,
Whose hollow center I am standing at,
With burning eyes intent to penetrate,
The black circumference, and find out God." - A.C.

Medium: Photoshop, Wacom

What i'm painting to (in many ways the soundtrack to my life):


More coming soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

This is the best thing i've seen all year!

No Escape: by Dan Trachtenberg


Badass.

Update on that painting (still putting off the hands lol)

This is much closer to the actual color thanks to the photography tips from VastPalette Thanks again!



I love paint. I feel like I just discovered the medium and path I want to pursue for the rest of my life O_o

EDIT:
Actually, now that i'm seeing it posted... the photograph has a more bluish purple tone overall than the actual painting. The real deal is a bit warmer, those yellows and light oranges are more pronounced in reality.

Whats up people!

Been a while.
Seems i've been so busy lately O_o

But i've finally gotten around to the next SG study

In the interest of getting out of my comfort zone and learning something new, I tried out a new medium....oils, for the first time in my life! I've always wanted to try them.

My respect for painting, and oil painting in particular has shot up about a thousand fold. My god is it fun. And also confusing. I don't really understand how the paint will react yet and mixing color is a whole other beast of a subject to tackle lol. And to see what the old masters could do with this colored paste is freaking mind blowing!

All that aside, I fucking love to paint! I feel like i've just discovered a missing piece of myself. Turns out i'm far more drawn to the traditional materials than I am to digital. It's always nice to make a discovery like that

Anyways, this is based off of a picture from Ari's incredibly beautiful set, "Delicious Torment"



As you can see, it's still a work in progress. I've been putting off those hands lol. Anyways, the actual painting is a bit lighter and the colors are a little more saturated but I couldn't get the photo to pick that up.

If any of you photographers have and tips on camera settings and lighting to take a picture of a painting I would be incredibly grateful for any advice. I have a canon rebel Digital SLR.

Thanks again for stopping by! More updates on this piece to come.

Random drawing from last night, trying to do stuff from imagination rather than rely too heavily on photos.


High Priest character idea:



I'm so happy with how this is coming out!
By far the most developed thing i've done without reference

Just wanted to share some words of wisdom and beauty that have helped me to clarify my goals in the past, and continue to remind me of whats important through times of stress and doubt.

"I am in a process of transformation, despite myself. Even with a clear understanding of God as Change, I sometimes fight and resist the changes that are essential to my being and growth. I fixate upon the challenges of accepting greater and greater responsibilities. I begin to desire results without maintaining the discipline that is required to manifest the necessary changes of heart and of mind, of balance, and inner harmony. I lose patience. I acquire doubt and debt.

I am in the process of creating a masterpiece. I am not referring to any album, book, film or creative endeavor, rather, I am referring to the process of self-realization that aligns one with their highest and innermost ideals and values and renders them fully alive. It is a process of overcoming the obstacles imposed upon self, by self, perhaps society, and a fearful mind that refuses to accept the upward spiral of being. What I have chosen to embrace within myself are the very values I caught glimpses of as a kid when I questioned how a world so beautifully diverse in it’s simplicity could be made violently complex by the check-points and regulations of man in his quest to control and manipulate the forces of love and nature for the sake of individual gain and power. My decision to live my growth outwardly as an expression of my artistic being, and to earn my living as such, has forced me to engage with a reality that I might have otherwise evaded and has put me up against a cultural perception of entertainment as escapism, which has only enhanced a once non-existent desire to escape. There is no escape.

I am a reality show, tuning into myself on a daily basis simply to see which emotion tattled on which unchecked ambition. My mind gossips about the actions of my heart. My fears attempt to seduce the cameras for airtime. My soul would vote them off the show. I am checking my habits, re-acquainting myself with age-old disciplines. I am meditating and staying focused (which is a bore for that overactive mind which wishes no more than to follow a trail, any trail to more thoughts, pretty pictures, and inevitably inaction). I am starring in a spin-off of myself where I sing and dance and dress in pomp and costume. I am evolving while simply playing my part. I am staring myself in the eye without flinching or blinking, standing still while moving beyond what holds me in my place. But mostly, I am dancing, everyday, and sleeping perched above the skyline. And I awaken to a new day, a new season, the latest episode…." - Saul Williams