31 DAYS OF SANTA changed to 25 DAYS OF SANTA...

Super sorry, peoples, but I'm cutting the series short, for a couple reasons-

1.) the freelance is beginning to build up a little, and I promised to start it up beginning in January. That time is creeping up fast now, and the days I missed already, I'd have to do some rush work to give myself some breathing room in between

2.) Not too many people care about Santa past Day 25 (you know, Christmas Day, after which most folks tend to think two things- PARTY LIKE ITS 2011, and MAKE SURE I DONT PASS OUT NAKED IN SOMEONE ELSE'S FRONT LAWN AFTER PARTYING LIKE ITS 2011

3.) Ummm... Because? Yeah. Because. Other things too, but that's enough. Onto new things to post. And new art. Not Santa related ;)

Dirkus

31 Days Of Santa: 27th Day- Aubrey Beardsley

I'm counting down :) These have been fun, but I have some freelance to get back to!!! Hopefully these last few come out as good as I'm hoping they will...

 

 Aubrey Beardsley, another famous Art Nouveau artist. Hung out with Aesthetic Movement contemporary Oscar Wilde and the like. British born, died at a very early age. Did a lot of erotic stuff, then towards the end of his life, converted  to Catholicism, and asked for all his naughty drawings to be destroyed. Thankfully, that didn't happen. Fantastic graphic blacks and details, and organic forms. I love great black and white art as much as I do color, and I diggeth him righteously- as should you.

PS- he would've owned those lateral lines in the robe. I however... did no owning whatsoever, unfortunately.

31 Days Of Santa: 26th Day- Tex Avery

Nice holiday weekend. That's it.

Wasn't as successful with this one as I hoped. I sort of assumed that since my other animator-influenced works were done decently successful at not too lengthy of a time, that my Tex piece would be quite similar. But I guess that "assume" saying can come into play here. I must've been a little too excited over football and roller skating today. Tex Avery took one part slapstick, mixed it with 2 parts elastic form, and stirred it on the next level above HIGH, called COCAINE-INDUCED NEVER-ENDING-THRILL-RIDE. The guy didn't let up in his cartoons, and provided the racy subject matter that glue the adults.

His Bugs Bunny/ Elmer Fudd/ Daffy Duck/ Porky Pig shorts were all responsible for establishing the characters' famous personalities. When he moved on, he created Droopy Dog for MGM, the Wolf and Red Riding Hood, and those great, nonfamous-character shorts like Cars Of Tomorrow.

I prefer his Bugs and Daffy over Jones', and that early style of his is heavenly in my opinion.

31 Days Of Santa: 25th Day- Alphonse Mucha

Merry Christmas everyone! How was everybody's holiday? What did you all get?

I got boots.

Alphonse Mucha- Ever hear of Art Nouveau? Artistic movement during the late 1800s/ early 1900s that dealt with the organic, as opposed to its direct predecessor, Art Deco, which focused on geometric structure. As with Picasso and the Cubist movement, Art Nouveau is nearly synonymous with Mucha, a Czech illustrator famous for his posters and ad work.

My favorite part about Mucha's story is that he saw both sides of the art world in terms of popularity. At one time he was homeless, and he worked tirelessly as a starving artist until he was successful. Gorgeous linework (that I didn't come close to emulating), great colors, beautiful women, elegance, form. Often always a favorite amongst illustrators who take pride in their drawing abilities.

31 Days Of Santa: 24th Day- Robert Crumb

Had to skip YET ANOTHER day- oh the makeup time will be fun; should hopefully get them all done by New Year's. But here's today's...

If you know of Robert Crumb's style and work, I don't need to tell you that I played it conservatively- I threw some vanilla on this piece in hopes to keep everyone at peace. If you DON'T know Crumb, the counter-culture 70's underground comix ICON to so many, I merely took one of his most famous creations, Mr. Natural- an old, 'wise' guru-type who stands on the edge of genius and hypocrisy, seemingly taking advantage of those with less wit- and threw on some jolly reds. Note to the easily offended- if you decide to look him up to see more of his stuff, the man is pretty blue and risque with his material. I've seen bluer, but Crumb helped set the mark, and he never has backed down after so many years. He's proclaimed a spot to take up, and understands if he ever goes conservative, he will undoubtedly be called a sell-out, or at the very least, washed up.

His style is something, though. There are times where I believe others can draw circles around the man. Even so, that's not what makes great art necessarily. A good style, good design, clear message- they all go into making successful illustrations.

I personally love his work, don't know if I want my little cousins seeing some of the stuff until they turn 16, but it would make for more fun conversations at the dinner table.

Medium: ink, digital color

31 DAYS OF SANTA: DAY 22- Arthur Rackham

Thanks for not chastising me so much. I'm back, with...

Arthur Rackham. Illustrator during the Golden Age (turn of the century), famous for his Alice In Wonderland book illustrations, Rip Van Winkle, Grimm's Fairy Tales, drawing gnomes, being awesome, etc.

As his career coincided with the photographic printing process, like Parrish, Wyeth, Pyle, and many other greats, he took advantage of it with great technique. Fantastic drawing in organic form. One of my heroes.

31 DAYS OF SANTA: 20th Day... UH OH...

Apparently there aren't enough hours in a day for me, even on weekends, and I didn't even catch up on my zzzs. I'll make up for it, just gotta get some personal commissions finished first.. then back on track. It's a lot of fun for me, and I'm grateful to those who regularly check in, and especially those who share my blog to others- one can only do so much in promoting himself, so those who share my links really add to the element.

I've got some great ones coming up that I'm really hoping to do killer jobs on.

PS- I'm not doing any charity work this Xmas due to the blog posts taking up most my time. I blame it on everyone who's following my Santa blog :)