The beginnings of all things.

Nearly every single artwork I create (not including life drawing!) begins as a small abstract thumbnail.  Whether the plans are for a giant canvas, 6′ x 10′ , or a book cover, or a Magic Card, my compositional and narrative structures are played with art a diminutive scale, ~ 1-3 inches in size.

Below are scans from my sketchbooks and the drawings and oil paintings they helped inform.  Note how many times I change scale, viewpoint, cropping, etc, before choosing a final abstract to develop.  Keeping the images small and devoid of details allows for fast, fluid experimentation.

The larger, highly detailed drawings are produced after I have obtained all my photographic references and before I transfer these compositions to my final support and begin working in oils.

 

St. George and the White Dragon, 24″ x 30 ” Oil on Panel, collection of Erica Berkowitz and Joseph Weinreb

Huor and Hurin Approaching Gondolin, 112″ x 73″, oil on linen 2013, from The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien, private collection

 

 

The House of Black and White-Arya Stark, 30″ x 30″ , oil on Panel 2014, Collection of George R.R. Martin

This was a great page, yielding two great final compositions! Arya and Stannis for A Song of Ice and Fire 2015 Calendar.

Stannis Baratheon, 30″ x 30″ , oil on Panel 2014, Collection of Deb Fulton and Doug Ellis