My painting has been slowing down, so I decided to do a self portrait. It is the first self portrait i can remember, and everyone else is doing it- so why shouldn't I. But more seriously, my thought behind this painting was that I had observed a style by an amazing painter and wanted to give my hand at it. That is often where a lot of things start, but upon embarking on the work, it will take on a life of its own. Things arent working, or do work- and I decide to go a new route.

the artist who started this is...http://www.jeremygeddesart.com/

hes a bastard- because he is so damned good.

the other painting is the start of a sort of improv painting. Im sick of building and sjetching the paintings before i start in, so I decided to just do a quick easy painting without any preconceptions.

the third is the aliens comic inked. how different are these three posts?!

*update... got a 4th image done. its the three aliens jumping around.. fun stuff.

A revisit of the alien comic piece.

After the journal was made I started sketchwork on a comic. A random 3 panel 1-pager based off of the movie Aliens (badass old-school cameron). So here is the process. See a few posts ago i mention my aversion to lean towards super-controllism in my drawing. This last one is no exception- but there exists a fine line between finished-quality and overwork/over tedium. I am reading comic book forums and after observing some other peoples works I can understand that a certain degree of tedium is a good thing.

Here is how the pros make a comic, and the same process I am trying to mimic. I will use my new Aliens piece to demonstrate.

You have a penciller whom draws the initial art.





You then start to wonder about where the lighting comes from and what the inker needs to know- so you add the shadow.



You then have an inker then inks it.





and finally you have a colorer who colors it... this is next for me.

A little side-project

My sister-in-law jamie gave me a journal for a gift last christmas. I was looking at it closely and it actually didnt look too hard to make. So I went to my local Joyful Honda (Target on steroids in Japanese) and grabbed some leather, scissors and other supplies and got to work. This is the product. Not bad- it has a sort of Middle-earth feel about it. I plan on making several of these things- they are really sweet. There are lots of other options at the Joyful too that I could add- like buckles or corner pieces- best of all I dont have to buy sketchbooks anymore.

If anyone is interested in any of these lemme know- I can make em for about 40-80 bucks depending on the leather quality. And another thing- is that I can change the paper size and type to benefit what you plan on doing- be it drawing, writing or even as a stationary or planner.

It'd be cool to get good at making somehitng like this. There is a certain apeal to working with leather. I feel like Benjamin Franklin or something. Anyways, I am working on a re-work of the aliens image below. Hopefully I can finish it and post it tonight. Werd Suckas.

to buy a journal email me at:

justincoombs21@yahoo.com

to see my aliens and the feedback go to:

http://digitalwebbing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108619

And now some color

Schmeeeeeeerm

Wedding was fun- back to work.

Hey everyone. I went back to America to Tennesee (tenessee, tennessee?) and we had a wedding for my brother Jordan and his new beautiful wife Jamie. It was a ton of fun, and It was just a great time to get to see America again, and the south for the first time. Good times.

I havent been up to much since the last Tank drawing. Basically I studied the figure for 2 weeks. The results are this venom and then I did this Alien for 90 minutes tonight.

I need to keep busy with the bigger works of ink and someowhat militaristic themes. I will put these in a show somewhere.

So now I have a couple paintings going- random stuff.

I am actively posting on Digitalwebbing.com some comic-book style work. check it out. im on the forums there as justincoombsart.co

and finally I am doing thse giant ink pieces. I need to keep the energy up on these. The tank was a little too left-brain, but a good experience nonetheless. I have noticed that my brain tends to lean towards constrictive controlled works. My best pieces are the ones that I explode into and slow it down before it gets tedious. Thats the trick.

Tank

This is a tank illustration to be #5 of these oversized ink- drawings. Lotsa fun to see the finsihed pieces- ut they do take a long time.

Drawing has not been going well. It seems there are cycles of creativity. I am presently in quite a lull. I hope that this will change once nice weather arrives here in Japan- anytime this year would be nice!

damnit jesus. I blame you.

anyways, besides that I will try and show off some new work this week- and also try to geta good load done before my brother Jordan's wedding will take me away for a little break.

Thanks everyone whos checking this all out- hope you enjoy it.

hmmmm

A brief Hiatus, but I am back in business.

Here is what I have been up to as of late.

The Venom watercolor was my desire to get some more contrast out of the medium. Watercolor is hard to saturate, but if you can pull it off- the resulting color can be really shiny, or reflective. but it is a challenge.

As to the others- one is a preliminary color and layout study for the next in my series of comic-style large illustrations. This tank one has been a left-brain excercise in patience and immensity. The drawing is all to scale, and has soem really neat details in the final version (I am inking it now). for now though, here is what it looked like on Sunday.

Hope you guys enjoy, and I am excited to see how this big one turns out.

Hmmm

Well here is a new watercolor. Still practicing with this. I am checking out Alex Ross a little bit- cause I remember that he was a big inspiration from a long time ago. That is partly the reaosn I got this interest in watercolor. Another source was that Japanese manga is often illustrated with watercolor. It is a tedious medium, but is also easy to get some realistic effects. Here is the fruit.

I will not be updating for a few days, as my younger brother Parker is here. Be Back Tuesday.

Frankly- theyre not even good

BUT I knew this going in. See people assume artists dont make bad art once they make good art. I think I have made some pretty decent art. But trying somehting new is never guaranteed to have great results. This is the first time I have watercolored so please observe the fruits. They arent great but I wanted to more show my process rather than the usual best of the cut. I also threw in a sketch that was inspiration for the last big poster.

So here they are, for good or bad.

AFRO SAMURAI WAS BADASS BTW.

The More You Know

Im amazed that everything in the past gets used again soemtime in the future. So if you ever are wondering about why you are practicing a certain thing, or leanring a new skill- just rest assured you'll probably use it again. This is the case with the sky in this new cityscape shot. It was made using transparent gradient paper that anga artists use in Japan. I experimented with it a llong time ago and now I am using it again.

In fact I like the look so much I might have to use it again.

I am trying to get 10 or 12 of these big comic-style drawings done, so then I can throw em in Ben's Cafe, and put em up for sale.

Another little nugget is to try new things- and to do that buy new art supplies or tools, and just mess around with them. There is no right answer- no right way to do it.

THE MORE YOU KNOW..... dum dum duh

And another one bites the dust

Here are the first Four

On the last one: Im going to experiment with a gradient print for the sky (should be done this weekend) but besides that, this one is done. Little different from the other 3 I have done in this style. I chose to go this route because making this one a complete black and white (without cross hatching) would have been very challenging.

I am happy with the feel of it.

Besides all of this I would love some feedback as to what ones you guys prefer or what not. I am going to continue with these and host a show in a gallery in Tokyo this summer.

Yeesh

I start with a Large Canvas. I have done a few preparatory skecthes, ut this drawing is really from winging it. The paper is very compressed hard, glossy stock. So when I skecth on it with a mechanical pencil the lines barely show. So I can do many passes until I get it just right.


Then I start to determine sources of light- and direction, and what gets dark and what doesnt (not everything that should be dark, is. I try and find a balance between realism and drama.



And then i fill in some more



and some more



AND SOME MORE. I went through about 8 markers, at about 2$ apiece. Lotsa ink. werd.

These things are taking a lot of effort to finish, but I am really enjoying the final products.

I am contacting printers in Fort Collins Colorado to see if I can have prints made of these first 3, and perhaps I can get them up on my site for cheap.

Hmmm

I am working on a nother of these massive ink drawings. They really take significant time- but I think that it is well worth it. The first two hve come out just phenomenal and I am already excited to see how this one pops out. woot. They are pretty damn big too. I will prolly end up selling these for something like 100$ apiece if someone is interested. Once the series is all done- I will put em into the store on Justin Coombs Art.com. I am thinking of simplifying my homepage even further. word.

The other is a samnple illustration for my brothers great new project called Dingo- its a shuttle service for Fort Collins and it is starting to take off. Really exciting stuff.

Thanks for the comments Brian- schneeb to the heeb YO.

Friends Visited me In Tokyo

It was nuts.

I will be getting back to art this week. I read a paragraph in Metropolitan of Donovan Frankenthaler. Basically he is a musician and professional surfer. Hes Jack Johnson's buddy too. Anyways, he is asked how he balances his life between the two big endeavors. Donovan said a real artist has to take some time off from one or the other. This isn't a setback- this is a time to get a refreshed perspective on why you do it. A break is required- and I couldn't agree more.

With that said- I wanna hit the ground running. I will have a pretty sick ass pen and ink drawing coming up- should be cool.

one hour a day for 8 days...

This is prolly the best axample of what 8 hours can do if I put my mind into it. Sometimes I will spend 3 or 4 hours on a piece, but this one really looks like 8 hours of work. If I charged 10$ an hour I should sell this thing for 80$... somehow that just doesnt seem right to me. Ugh. Selling art is a challenge.

I have some paintintgs up at Days Cafe here in Japan and I think I have them for way to much. So, If you scroll below you will see 5 of the 7. I am lowering the price as of today to 125$ apiece. If you are interested send me a message to justincoombs21@yahoo.com.

I will put them into my store on justincoombsart when I get a chance.

Still in Action

Well a lot more of the same going on here in Satte Japan. That is a good thing because the same consists of sketching a good amount, and going out partying in Tokyo. I included a random picture, this one has me doing a g pose- but turned out to be more of a zombie face.

There is a sketch, a didgital illustration for a Graphic Novel and finally a preliminary for a pen and ink im doing. hmmm

the pen and ink is part of what I am hoping, hoping, hoping will be a sick series of sci-fi stuff. I would be interested in putting it in Ben's Cafe here in Tokyo- it is a goal I will have to meet before I leave. Time is of the essence, but so is everything. I am reading a lot of good books too.

in other news Joesph Biden announced he is running (hes smart... not as cool as Obama tho). Al Franken from Air America Radio Fame is running for senator of Minnesota- just awesome. seriously awesome. He could very well make cspan fun. he is no slouch and god if he wins it will inject some badly needed rebellion and transparency into our government.

**** it wont let me upload the photos, i will try later.

The first 6

So here are the first 5 paintings of my alley series. I think you have seen all of them. I am going to try to get another 4 or 5 done and really push it at some cafes I know around here.

Well Barack Obama is running. I just finished two books on Atheism. They were spectacular. one is a must-read. "Letter to a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris. Get it on iTunes right now.

seriously do.

now.

its only like 10$

So with these two amazing developments, I have really changed my belief in two things. God, and the American Political scene. This should be a fantastic 08' race, and either way we are getting rid of, what will probably go down as one of the worst administrations in US history. It is tied to the religious right as well (further adds some bitterness for me)

The art is churning along but there is still not enough time in the day. I have decided to forego another year here in Japan and will inevitably be in the Denver art scene this August. I will try and update my Justin Coombs art with a new link for any upcoming shows.

Thanks for reading if you are! It is the visitors on this and ym website that gives me motivation to do this work!

HEEB