Lil' Charlie! Even cuter in his sweater...

This painting was commissioned by Nick Garbis as a Christmas present for his wife Sarah. It is a painting of her much loved lil' buddy, Charlie, who was her present last year.
Charlie is one of those dogs that is ridiculously cute. So cute, I almost didn't want to paint this dog, afraid that some of the cuteness might get away in the time it takes to go from eyes to my hand.

I've painted plenty of dogs for this blog so this should have been a piece of cake and it was, until I decided to make things hard for myself. I had a week and a half to paint this and did so in a few hours well before delivery time. The painting I made was very simple and charming. I used very simple lines and the color was minimal but to the point. I showed this first painting to my very honest wife, Beth, and she liked it. Her only criticism was that there should be more of a sparkle in his eyes. I agreed and the night before delivery I dipped my brush in white to do so... and then decided to touch up a few other things...

I filled in a little more color here and there and defined the body a little more... and the next thing I knew I had gone too far. The charm was gone. The looseness that the painting originally had was destroyed. The inaccuracies that came from simple lines, now made solid, just felt like clumsy proportions which I was feverishly trying to fix.

On these small paintings, the layers of paint get thick and lumpy very fast making clear detail almost impossible. I used so much paint that the lower part of the painting's surface became the Pintos Mountains and my tiny brush was a disoriented pilgrim looking for salvation. Things went wrong... really wrong and I was supposed to deliver this in a few hours morning.

I contacted Nick early the next morning and asked if we could meet later in the day.Then took out a new board and started over. I figured if I did it once I could do it a second time. This painting, which you see above, came together fast. But I made some changes this time. I decided to have the dog wear his sweater (for maximum cuteness) and made the painting more "complete". Couldn't rely on this simple line stuff in a pinch. And very quickly, it turned out well. Probably more satisfying than the first.

I have a couple of new paintings that will be up soon. Today I'll complete a "baby brown bear playing pots and pans with wooden spoons". It is one of those paintings that I've been sitting on for a while. Bound to happen when I'm not given a deadline. So, moral of the story is, if you commission a painting, always give my a deadline for both of our sakes. If nothing else, just arbitrarily say "Groundhogs Day" or "Fourth of July" or whatever. It works better that way!

-John

Byzantine Jesus; Not the Grinning Blond Beau-Hunk.

This painting was made for Mark Scandrette. Mark's request to me was simple, one word, "Jesus". Not surprising since Mark is an author and speaker who focuses on spirituality and social justice.

Being Greek Orthodox, my approach to this was obvious. Byzantine. In the Eastern Orthodox Church there are very specific traditions in portraying holy images that developed in the Byzantine World and still practiced by iconographers today. I don't think there is another form of Christianity in which visual art as important as the Orthodox. (Well, Coptics... but... same thing really.) 

Catholics seem to like Renaissance realism with a large dose of drama. Christ's face filled with excruciating passion in theatrical lighting.

Many protestant groups seem to be more comfortable with a blond cartyoonish-friendly-grinning-beau-hunk-next-door version of Jesus. A kind of Santa Claus-like figure.

The Orthodox portray Christ as a meditative figure. The images are very stylized to suggest a realm that is not physical. In many ways this is very similar to how 20th century expressionist painters created emotional content in art.

I am not a trained iconographer but I do understand the basics of the visual language used in the Eastern Orthodox Church. So, I did my best. This painting humbly emulates the style. Flattened perspectives, articulated clothing, illuminated face. In one hand Christ holds the bible, with the other he is giving a blessing.


Anyway, Thank you Mark!

Working on a new painting for the Panda right now... and it involves another bear... but no light bulb...

-John

Eli is here...

Here is the completed painting of Linda Sue Anderson's dog, Eli, who recently passed away.

You would think that making this painting would be simple, but it wasn't. The image above represents my 3rd attempt at this painting. I was going to post the other two incomplete paintings, but to be quite honest... I'm too embarrassed. They were not good. At all.

Linda asked me to paint Eli at the back door, waiting for her to come home. I did a small ink drawing which I posted here months ago and it turned out well. It was charming and simple. Unfortunatley, when I moved forward to make the full painting something went wrong. I wanted to add too many details and it became grotesquely literal. I felt that I had to make a specific room and an obvious door. Since I'm working in such a small scale, the dog had to be tiny. It's miniture face gave no room to convey emotion. The original painting accidently became an alert dog standing in front of a door in someones kitchen. (For whatever reason I imaged the backdoor to be in the kitchen).  Eli looked like a guard dog, not an loving pet waiting for the arrival his owner.I also tried to use "kitchen colors" for the room which were just distracting and nausiating in this context.

A week ago, I came back to this deciding to use only the picture of Eli that Linda had sent me (though I made him look younger. That's always a compiment, even to dogs.). It was just his face. I painted it with an ambiguous background so there would be no distractions. I then added a very thin white coating of  acylic and matte medium over the top to make the image softer and to make it feel more like a memory. The blue wash on the left suggests the door or a passage to somewhere else.

I hope you like this Linda! Thank You!

-John

A Random Email to the Panda.

Here is my favorite email to come to the Panda so far. I have no explaination for this!


Dear Customer Service

Am Rev.David Pxxxx and i will like to place an order regarding Bulbs and Lamps from your company,so i will like you to quote me on the types and prices for the ones you have available in stock so that i can give you the quantities i will like to order.
And again,i will like to know the types of Credit Cards you accept as a form of payment.
Yours Faithfully


Rev.David Pxxxx


In other news... I've been on a bit of a hiatus working on other projects BUT am finally finishing Linda Sue's painting and just started the next one for Mark Scandrette... So, check back soon!

Waiting at the door...

Rough preliminary ink drawing

Our friend Linda Sue Anderson has requested another painting. This one is in memory of her well loved dog, Eli, who suddenly became ill a few weeks ago and needed to be put to sleep. Linda asked for a painting of Eli waiting for her at the back door when she gets home.

Linda Sue, I feel your pain.A couple of years ago I had the heart breaking experience of having our family cat put to sleep.

Jimmy was a huge, black Maine Coon that we got from a no kill shelter for my son Theo who was 5years old at the time.
Originally from Ohio, Jimmy was found in the yard of a state supreme court judge (we did some research). After that, the big Maine Coon was moved from one shelter to another crossing several states over the two years of his short life. When we got him in Minnesota he had the name Jimmy but, according to his info, he previously went by "Jail Bird". The ID photo that came with his paper work showed this giant cat behind the bars of a tiny metal cage.
After getting him, my family made a big deal that Jimmy had finally found a permanent home. We all loved him, especially Theo.  He was friendly and liked to be pet and brushed. He liked water and would sometimes jump in the tub when someone was taking a bath.
However, after about 3 months, Jimmy suddenly stopped eating and drinking. We brought him to a vet who was, unfortunately, not very helpful. I force fed him 3 times a day, like they told me to, but after a week he just got skinnier and weaker. His heart beat was hard and fast. We had to have him put to sleep. I went in with him to provide comfort and cried my eyes out. My wife, Beth, stayed with Theo trying to occupy him. Even though we all knew what was going on, it was devastating when I came out with an empty cat carrier. I think we were all hoping for some kind of miracle.

Anyway, I've got a rough preliminary drawing above. I'm going to do my best to make this a nice tribute to a loved pet.

Red Dragon And The Phoenix Fly Off To Meet Victory Or Destruction!

Here is the finished painting for Oliver! The heroic Red Dragon and his Phoenix side-kick are on their way to right some kind of wrong or,tear up some village or... maybe a little of both.

This painting was fun to make but coming up with a composition that worked was tricky. The problem with using the same format for all paintings (as I always do here) is that it limits possibilities. In this case having two figures, one long and winding and the other with it's wings spread, is not a good match for a long thin surface. But, Panda Licking on a Light Bulb is all about this kind of challenge. I placed the Phoenix further in the distance and made the dragon the focal point and it works.

But the question is, where are these creatures flying off to? Let's turn this into a choose your own adventure.

a) They are rushing to save a beautiful Chinese Princess from horrid maniacal creatures.
b) They are rushing off to capture a beautiful Chinese Princess for horrid maniacal reasons.
c) Taco Bell

You Decide.

Thank you Laura and Oliver!

A Rough Red Dragon and Sketchy Phoenix

"Chinese" Dragon Sketch

Laura Dyer asked me to make painting for her son Oliver. After much consultation, Oliver decided he wanted a "Red Chinese dragon with gold pointy scales with a long tail and a phoenix flying above the dragon." Laura added that "Asian influences in style are welcome."

To start, I did a few very quick drawings with sumi ink on paper to get a feel for this. The dragon is fun to make. I have a strong sense of what it should be. The long, winding, snake-like Chinese dragons are physically ambiguous and expressive. I particularly love the forlorn eyes that usually have. I looked at several Chinese Dragon ink drawings and pieced together a few my own.

Phoenix Spitting Fire

The Phoenix is less obvious to me. I know it needs to be a bird rising from the ashes of a burned kingdom with flames shooting from it. BUT I think the drawings I made are a little too sparrow-like. For the painting I'll have to go more bad-ass. I think a Phoenix is supposed to be more like an eagle (not like a bird you throw pieces of scone to at a sidewalk cafe. Right?) However, the Chinese Phoenix looks more like a chicken.
Most importantly, I haven't yet figured out a composition for this painting. I've just worked on the two figures separately. Even though Oliver, like many young boys, may not be very concerned about composition, he'll know if it's off. It's a gut thing, just makes you feel weird when it's not right.

Rough Dragon, not very defined or graceful, but the lines ar.e working.

I'll dive in and make the painting this coming week. 
Laura and Oliver, feel free to send me any comments you have. Don't worry, I cannot be offended. I've heard it all.

Check back... I'll post the final painting very soon!