Finished

I finished my pieces for OVS Magazine today, which is really great since today was the last possible deadline that I had to finish my pieces. Whoops. Buuuut....I think the pieces are really good. I am very excited about one of them. The other three are pretty cool too, but the one is a combination of things that I have been trying to get at for a while, which leaves me immensely pleased.

Here they are, best first, to my least fav last. Just to show off.

I went to school for illustration, with the intention of starting a career in sequential art. Needless to say I have not really done much with the sequential art. But this is sequential and my style. I heart it.

This is an old idea, but I never had the skills to pull it off the way that I had wanted to. Now I think I've finally captured it. These Sharpie pens really are awesome. I've been able to get blacks that I've never gotten before.

And here we have some more of that loopy line that I attribute to the use of the Sharpie pen again. I really like the way this tool handles. I feel it brings out the best in my inking.

Last but not least:

Peg Leg. Poor bird.
Til next time.

Peace
-Mike

The Escape of One Eyed Willy

This year is the 25th Anniversary of "The Goonies", and I have been working on a couple pieces for the Anniversary show in Astoria, OR, at Lunar Boy Gallery. I had been working on a couple portraits, one of Sean Astin which is coming around, but decided that I would like to do one of my quick landscape style pieces with One Eyed Willy's ship.

It gave me an opportunity to do some cartoony water again. I really enjoy painting waves and breakers, as long as there is no necessity to make them realistic. Hopefully you folks like the piece as well.

Pretty successful, I think. Having seen this beach, I can say that it is one of the most amazing sights that I have seen on Earth. So it seemed natural for this image to kind of stick with me.

That's it for today. Who knows, maybe I'll fix the Sean Astin portrait or maybe scan in the drawings that I keep assuring folks I will scan sometime soon. Either way, I'll see you when I see you.

Peace
-Mike

The Finished OVS Cover Illustration & Other News

I have finished my train piece for the cover of the May issue of OVS Magazine. I am very pleased with the way that it came out. The magazine will include an feature interview with me, which I was quite honest with, hopefully people will enjoy that. I still need to provide 3 pieces for the interior of the issue. I'm trying to find some things that "speak" to what I do as an artist. Any suggestions?

Here is the finished cover piece:

I'm usually not done with any black and white piece until I add some cross-hatching. It is kind of my signature at this point.

Also I've added some older paintings to my Etsy shop in the past couple days, besides the $10 drawings which are all still available. Check it out, there's some good stuff for good prices.

I'm also working on a sticker project which I would like to implement by mid month next month, which will give me a sticker to provide to anyone who orders a painting. If there is money left over then I will be pursuing a button project as well.

Stay tuned for more details. Until next time.
Peace
-Mike

A New Pen and its Results

While at home in New Hampshire this past week, I picked up one of my lady friend's awesome sharpie fine point pens. I have been using Fabercastle fine point pens for a while now and have never really like them that much, to the point where I've started using a Bic pen for basically all of my drawing and shading. However, the sharpie pen is absolutely awesome.

I put together 3 new drawings this morning and inked my big train piece a bit more. The train piece is not ready to show, but the three bird drawings are. The three drawings are also available over on the Etsy Shop for 10 bucks each.

Here they be:

This bird is my favorite. I love the shape of his head compared to the shape of the wing, and oh so easy to get some loopy line work in. I love my new pens.

Another bird and headphone piece. Been kicking it old skool this month.

My birds are almost always giddie in my mind, so I decided to make a frustrated bird. A range of emotions is always better right.

Anyway, hope you like them, and will be back tomorrow with some more stuff. There is lots going on. Til then.

Peace
-Mike

On Procrastinating, Trains, and a Generally Discombobulated Sensibility

I am in Portland. I have set up my studio and set up my scanning station and pumped up my air mattress. My clothes are neatly filed away and I have a new very awesome teapot and flamingo shower curtain. And so the summer begins. It is still nearly two months until my residency for MECA starts but I am here five days a week while working a day job and in New Hampshire three nights a week, hanging out with my lovely lady. Phew. So far everything is going pretty well, though tomorrow I need to get a couple jugs of water because I am dying of thirst, but on a more artistic basis, today I cranked out a sweet pen and ink drawing.

Check it out. I am totally obsessed with trains and with boomboxes so when I was in NYC this last time, it was not a stretch of the imagination for me to think of the boombox train.

So here it is:

What do you think? I think I might like to use it for my OVS cover that is coming up, well assuming that the OVS magazine hasn't been put together in the time that I have been moving....Haven't heard that that was the case, however.

Also, my Feed Your Soul free print is up and available on Indie Fixx now. So anyone who would like some Mike Lewis art, head on over and get a print free. Free! Sorry got carried away. In case you don't remember it is this piece:

Pretty cool, huh. You should go get one. It's free and available here.

I got some more stuff in the works for this week, so I hope to get some more things up later on. We'll see what happens. Until next time.

Peace
-Mike