Merry Christmas!

Final

A bit of insider info on this one: The bike in the painting is one I had as a kid. It was called an "Open Road" (at least that was what it said on the pads). Even though it was yellow and blue and has a really lame name it was the coolest thing on the block. It had two speeds. (That's right two speeds.) I would race other kids on the block and shift to the second speed like I was hitting a "Turbo Boost" button. I loved that bike.

A bit of insider info on me: Until I was about 13-14 years old, I believed I would be visited by an alien. NEWS FLASH: I was a nerd. Yes - I was brainwashed by E.T. and The Greatest American Hero. (I know I'm dating myself here.) Something inside me said, "One day they're going to choose you!" I think somewhere deep inside that kid still exists and relives those dreams through my art. Ok...I'm still a nerd.

learning experience

This was the color version of my first composition. It's a lesson for me in trusting my instincts. I never felt right about this painting no matter how good I thought the colors worked. Even though I brought this one to a "final" painting stage I knew I had to start over. I'm much happier with the new version and I'm surprised at how different it feels given that it's the same concept. Maybe I'll use this palette for an upcoming painting but for now this one goes into the painting graveyard.

First of all...sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I did a full color painting of the image below and never felt like it was finished. I got caught up with a side project and this is the first opportunity I've had to revisit it. With fresh eyes on it, I realized that I'd been trying to turn a mediocre image into a good painting. So I'm going to try this one instead. It's closer to the idea I had in my head and tells more of the story. Maybe too much, I don't know, but I'm going to start painting it and see what emerges.

The Passenger

Possible illustration entry for a gallery show here at work. The basic idea and composition is here. I'm not sure how much evolution is going to happen in the color phase. Here's a sneak peak.