Friday, December 17, 2010

Artist Spotlight - Richard Schmid

Gosh-- how to even present such a MASTER!? Richard is an inspiration to ALL who view his work-- both collectors and definitely artist's that know of him! he's a living legend and someday will be studied in Art History alongside the other legends of Art.. he's that good!







he's been an inspiration to me for 15 yrs or more (when i first discovered him).. everything he creates is full of life/energy.. such amazing knowledge of color, masterful brushstrokes, etc.. my words just won't do his work justice.. see for yourself if  you haven't already!

..man, what i would give to study with such as master!?! :)

link to his website: http://www.richardschmid.com/default.htm

link to DVD's: highly recommended  (i own 6 of them-- very useful):
http://www.richardschmid.com/video.html

books/catalogues: http://www.richardschmid.com/book.html

google image search of his work: Google image

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Figure studies #01

Below is a page of 60 second figure studies, by Chad W Greene

(click the image to view a larger version)


below is a YouTube video that shows the process of creating this image
(click to play)
note: this video was sped up 2.5x for playback purposes


---
Just as athletes and or skilled professionals, artist's (musicians, dancers, actors, etc) must practice their craft to get better. Artist's have long used figure drawing studies as a way of training the hand/eye coordination needed (in all aspects of fine art);

during art school, we would spend hours in class drawing/painting from live models.. once we graduate, it gets harder to find this much needed means of training (you have to find art associations, attend workshops, etc) or draw from reference books. portrait artist's will hire models to pose for them live at their studios-- but this takes money and the initiative to make this commitment.

at my company, Volition-- we are fortunate, at times, to have weekly figure drawing classes (5-8pm) once a week, in which we hire a local model that comes in to our office. (i'll post some sketches from these classes at some point)

anyway-- as for me, i try and find time to practice, at least 3-4 days a week-- drawing from reference books, etc.. i plan on posting these studies here for you to view.. most of my studies are 45 second and 60 second poses (nothing longer than 90 seconds) -- and this is great practice for studying weight/form, etc.. these studies are done both digitally and in my sketchbook using mostly pencil (although i will use ink washes, charcoal, etc.. as well)

more to come-- check back!

Blog title changed

as you may notice, i switched my blog name/title to 'Chad W Greene' and no longer am using my online artist nickname, 'Artsy Fartsy'..

the reason being that i have been reading a lot of articles/ediorials and talking to others about the importance of building your identity as YOURSELF.. and i want my artwork to be synonymous with Chad W Greene and not Artsy Fartsy

nevertheless-- it's still ME! :)

i have also registered a website: www.chadwgreene.com and i'm the process of building it up to be focused on my fine art exclusively (it won't have my illustrations or professional CG work) and will be used on business cards and communication with galleries, collectors, etc.. stay tuned for that!

Cheers!

Chad

'Inside the studio' -- art studio pics

I just love seeing photos of artist's studios.. it's nice to see where they create their masterpieces and what their space is like.. as for mine, it's in the basement of my home (wish it were above ground-- with Northern light windows.. but it is where it is and it works out well for me! ..maybe someday i'll have the dream studio! :)

Here are a few pics of my art studio.. (more to come-- i plan on taking a 360 pano pic as well)

size of studio is approx 12x24 and has a bathroom/sink as well


(Above) one view of the corner of my studio; you can see the
painting, 'Cherries' on the easel



(above) misc props on my shelf



(Above) just finished this painting, 'Peppers,' mixed media, 18x24



above - 'tools of the trade' (oils and oil pastels)

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Artist Spotlight - Feng Zhu

Feng Zhu is a concept artist/designer that has been working professionally for over 11 yrs now -- working on games, films and other forms of entertainment and industrial design (for companies such as: Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Sony, Activision, Industrial Light+Magic, NCSoft, Warner Brothers, Lucasfilm, Bay Films, Epic Games, and many other top studios)

He also started his own design school -- http://www.fengzhudesign.com/ which has tons of good information/training, etc.. i especially want to point you to his videos, which are streamed from YouTube, in which he discusses student works and how to make them better..



check out his artwork/portfolio here: http://www.fengzhudesign.com/portfolio.html

check out his design school here: http://www.fengzhudesign.com/index.html

check out his YouTube training/insight videos here: http://www.youtube.com/FZDSCHOOL