The DCK

Sketches...

2011-10-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

'Nightmare 01' sketch - ink on paper, 2011. This is the first sketch for the "Nightmare" Sketchbook project that I have been working on. Progress is creeping along slowly. I may actually have this done by the end of the year.

Picked up a collection of life-casting supplies from Douglas and Sturgess this weekend. I am excited to get the garage set up for doing some prosthetic appliances, maquettes and masks.

Neglect...

2011-10-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Oh art blog...why do I neglect you so? I have missed you and you are now back on my mind.

Some new posts are long overdue. These days my center of attention has been sketching. Working on finishing up the Sketchbook project that was due earlier this year and wrapping up a lingering personal sketchbook.

Getting back in the habit of sketching daily has been therapeutic.

I am very antsy to pull together another short film. Story outlines have also been scattered in between drawing time.

Another big change is the move to my new diggs...more room for art projects!

Bird-man 01...

2010-09-27T23:57:00.000-07:00

'Bird-man 01' sketch - ink on paper, 2010.

'Dead By Dawn' Derby Car...

2010-09-26T21:31:00.000-07:00

The Hell's Belles Car Club of San Francisco throws various fund raising events throughout the year. Annually, they host a Pinewood Derby race and art auction. This year's event was on Saturday.

I decided to submit a show car.

After registering, the Belles send you a traditional pinewood derby car kit which is a small block of pine and some wheels. Building this made me realize how much I miss fabricating pieces. It also made me really want a studio space outside my kitchen.

Here's is the final piece from various angles:

Dogs in School - 2010: Time-lapse...

2010-08-01T21:45:00.000-07:00

Revisiting the Dogs in School painting this week. While I was working on the piece, I took a picture to capture my progress after each sitting. Today I edited together a quick time-lapse of the pictures.

Also posted on my vimeo account if you would like to see it a bit bigger: Dogs in School - 2010: Time-lapse

Juggling...

2010-07-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

I am trying to buckle down. My focus is scattered these days. I am juggling 5 art projects at the moment. Still plugging along on the Robert Conrad portrait. Finished the drawings of the two Binski portraits. Getting paint on those canvases is next.

Added to this mix is a show car for the Hell's Belle's Pinewood Derby show here in SF this September. I prepped a canvas for entry into the Small Wonders group show in Maryland this December. Finally, I just signed up to participate in The Sketchbook Project. The sketchbook arrived last week in the mail. I had them choose a theme for me which is 'Nightmare'.

Lust...

2010-06-17T23:20:00.001-07:00

This was a maquette I did back in 1997 which was based on a sketch from my days at Ringling. 'Lust' - sculpey and acrylic paint.

4 Years of Fortunes...

2010-05-25T21:21:00.001-07:00

'4 Years of Fortunes' 8" x 10" - ink, enamel and fortunes on wood panel, 2010.

Sketch 4 Sketch...

2010-05-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

Artists Alex Pardee and Dave Correia just finished up a cross country road trip tour with the idea of getting inspired by others meeting up with them and trading a sketch or piece of art for a sketch. Sketch 4 Sketch.

I attended the last stop of the tour in SF yesterday. At the SF event they were joined by fellow artists Jeremy Fish and N8 Van Dyke. The wait in line was a bit long but it was good to meet the artists and share sketches.

Here is my contribution:
'Pazuzu Panda' sketch - ink and acrylic on paper, 2010.

And here are the sketches I received in return:

Stitches...

2010-05-02T12:32:00.001-07:00

'Stitches' sketch - ink and graphite on paper, 2009.

City Dweller...

2010-05-02T12:30:00.000-07:00

'City Dweller' sketch - ink on paper, 1997.

Wild Thing...

2010-04-21T20:39:00.001-07:00

'Wild Thing' sketch - ink and acrylic wash on paper, 1996.

Die Katzen...

2010-04-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

Finished up these quick cat portraits last month.

'Gozar the Gozerian' 8" x 10" - Oil on wood panel, 2010.

'Ivan the Terrible' 8" x 10" - Oil on wood panel, 2010.

Dogs in School...

2010-01-17T18:58:00.000-08:00

It has been about a year since I shipped off my painting for the 'Dogs in School' show. I really enjoyed the process of being given a theme and coming up with one piece with no rules. This way of working and one deliverable fits my current time schedule. I would like to keep doing themed group shows like this to get my work seen out in the world.

So the actual gallery show is now around the corner. The website is live, travel arrangements to Portland have been made and the road to the opening will end.

Images and impressions of the opening to follow but for now: http://www.dogsinschool.com/

Dream Beast 2...

2010-01-12T23:37:00.000-08:00

'Dream Beast II' sketch - ink on paper, 1997.

Angel of Death...

2009-11-07T13:05:00.000-08:00

'Angel of Death' sketch - ink on paper, 1997. This was part of a series of sketches for a screenplay treatment I wrote called 'Sins of the Flesh'.

Tattoo...

2009-09-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

'Tattoo D' 8.5" x 11" - Acrylic on paper and gauze, 2001 (1 of 3).

Demon...

2009-09-20T23:19:00.000-07:00

'Demon' - Latex Mask, 1996.

'Dumpster' Lighting Study...

2009-09-19T20:22:00.001-07:00

This is a watercolor sketch trying to work out lighting and texture for a future painting. Image area is about 6" x 10.5"

SFAI ACE Diego Summer Exhibition...

2009-09-19T20:05:00.000-07:00

The Summer session art show went well. It was also my birthday. Many peeps showed up for support. Reactions were very positive of the SprooD.

The SprOOd...

2009-08-22T12:19:00.001-07:00

'The SprOOd' 4" x 7" - Graphite and watercolor on paper, 2009.

Boris Re-post...

2009-08-03T00:07:00.001-07:00

'Boris Karloff' 16" x 16" - Oil on canvas, 2009.

Still Life...

2009-08-03T00:03:00.000-07:00

So this is a re-post of this piece but with a better photograph of the painting. My friend Daniel Tse has been helping me with the shots.

'Reno' 16" x 20" - oil on canvas, 2009.

Tamara Dobson...

2009-07-30T23:35:00.001-07:00

'Tamara Dobson' 20" x 20" - Acrylic on canvas, 2005.

Mercury...

2009-07-30T23:18:00.000-07:00

'Mercury' 24" x 48" - oil on canvas, 2008.

Primeval...

2009-07-29T23:23:00.001-07:00

Going waaaay back with this one. Primeval - Latex Mask, 1989.

Rabid...

2009-07-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

'Rabid' sketch - ink on paper, 1995.

Boris framed...

2009-07-04T13:02:00.001-07:00

Boris is now framed and I still can't take a good picture of my work with my camera. This is as good as it gets until I have a photographer take some shots. 16" x 16" - Oil on canvas, 2009.

Religion...

2009-06-26T00:31:00.001-07:00

'Religion' 8"x10" - ink on illustration board, 1990.

Power...

2009-06-20T19:10:00.001-07:00

'Power' 8"x10" - ink on illustration board, 1990.

Fear...

2009-06-16T23:24:00.000-07:00

'Fear' 8"x10" - ink on illustration board, 1990.

SFAI ACE Diego Exhibition...

2009-06-14T14:33:00.001-07:00

I submitted my finished Boris Karloff portrait to be shown at the SFAI ACE Diego Exhibition which was on display last week. Helen, Sheesh and Matias joined me on Friday for the closing reception.

I will post a better, close up picture of the piece once I get it back from the frame store.

Ego

2009-06-14T14:29:00.001-07:00

'Ego' 5"x11" - watercolor on illustration board, 1992.

I should be updating this blog...right?

2009-06-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

So it has been a few months since my last update. It was a busy end of spring. I finished the oil painting class, took a trip back to the durty south, and started a new class. One of the things holding back the posts is to do more scans of old work.

The oil painting class was a success. I was able to expand my palette and learn some new techniques. The summer class is Drawing from Imagination. One of the things made clear when taking the painting course was my need to draw more. There are tight deadlines and more assignments with this new class so I will be completing new drawings roughly once every two weeks.

Easter Island...

2009-04-13T20:29:00.000-07:00

'Easter Island' sketch - ink and watercolor on paper, 1996.

Picklock...

2009-04-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

I completed a short film about 2 years ago. Originally it was posted to Google video but I uploaded it to vimeo.com over the weekend. Higher quality upload: Picklock. This summer I will be buckling down for some writing to get another short prepped. It would be good to shoot something in the fall.

Reno...

2009-03-29T21:53:00.001-07:00

The still life I did for class is now finished and framed. 16" x 20" - oil on canvas, 2009.

Boris...

2009-03-25T21:12:00.001-07:00

I finished the drawing for my next class project. It is now ready for some paint.

Progeny - Dream Fetus

2009-03-18T21:38:00.001-07:00

Another case of the final effect looking nothing like my drawings.

In this sequence, the woman awakens in the night to symptoms of a miscarriage. As she stumbles to the bathroom, a huge placenta emerges from her belly. This thing then claws its way out of the placenta.

I have always wanted to do a small scale sculpture of this design.

Progeny - Alien Fetus

2009-03-18T21:31:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the Alien Fetus designs. In the film, these were to be seen via ultrasound and possibly in macro close-up shots.

Progeny - Tall Grays

2009-03-18T21:08:00.001-07:00

In 1997, towards the end of my work at S.O.T.A., I did some concept drawings for the film Progeny. Directed by Brian Yuzna, the film followed a story very similar to Whitley Strieber's Communion meets Rosemary's Baby. Alien abduction with pregnancy gone bad and re-written by Stuart Gordon.

On paper this had potential to be a really unsettling film. As executed, it is a not very engaging, low-budget mess. With thoughtful direction, it could have been an above average B movie.

The drawings were of three areas. The Tall Grays which were the aliens doing the abducting, the alien fetus growing in the female leads womb and finally an exaggerated, monstrous version of the fetus that appears in a dream sequence.

These are some of my concepts for the tall grays. The on film effects ended up looking much different than my ideas. Screaming Mad George created the Tall Grays while S.O.T.A. did the Dream Beast and some practical effects.

Drool...

2009-03-11T23:26:00.001-07:00

'Drool' sketch - ink on paper, 1991.

You Give Me Fever...

2009-03-11T23:22:00.001-07:00

'You Give Me Fever' sketch - ink on paper, 1996.

Undead...

2009-03-11T23:19:00.001-07:00

'Undead' sketch - mixed media on paper, 1996.

Woman in the Window

2009-03-04T20:52:00.000-08:00

9"x9" - watercolor on paper, 1992.

This was the second book cover I did while in college. 'Woman in the Window' edited by Pamela Pratt.

There was a bit of an argument between me and the publisher on this work. Take a look at my signature. Only my last name remains legible. The book is a collection of lesbian themed erotica. Apparently the publisher thought the intended audience of the book would be offended somehow if they saw a man painted the cover image.

So I am just credited as D. King. I fought the guy and insisted my name be credited. He scratched out the David C. after I turned in the art.

Seems silly now but then again it was 1992.

Still Life...

2009-03-04T20:44:00.001-08:00

The first project we are working on in class is a still life. We are wrapping up the exercise this week. I hardly ever draw from life these days. My time is short so I tend to draw from my imagination or from photographs.

Still life work is challenging as the perspective of your model changes as you move. Light changes as you work.

Once the piece is done I will post an image.

Virus

2009-02-25T23:06:00.001-08:00

'Virus' sketch - ink on paper, 1995.

Dream Beast 1

2009-02-25T23:03:00.000-08:00

'Dream Beast 1' sketch - ink on paper, 1995.

Pig

2009-02-22T21:42:00.001-08:00

'Pig' sketch - ink on paper, 1995.

Eli

2009-02-22T21:39:00.001-08:00

'Eli' sketch - graphite on paper, 1992.

364

2009-02-22T21:36:00.001-08:00

'364' sketch - ink on paper, 1994.

Trust

2009-02-18T22:52:00.000-08:00

Trust 10"x10" - watercolor on paper, 1992.

Moving Mother Out

2009-02-17T00:11:00.001-08:00

This was my first paid book cover illustration. The book is a small collection of poems by Joanne Childers entitled 'Moving Mother Out'. 9"x7" - watercolor and ink on illustration board, 1992.

War

2009-02-16T23:43:00.000-08:00

10"x12" - watercolor on illustration board, 1994.

Weekend Work...

2009-02-07T21:39:00.000-08:00

I had no luck shopping for items for the first assignment for class: Thrift items from Scrap? A fossilized shark tooth from Paxton Gate? Mexican wrestling masks from Mission Thrift? An aluminum top from the toy store? None of these immediately grabbed me. An idea better come to me soon as I only have tomorrow to gather the items to paint before Tuesday's class.

The two canvases are almost prepped. The gesso canvas has a final coat but needs to dry and sand.The oil grounds canvas needs a second coat and sand.

Outside of class I have been working on two small paintings of my parents cats. These are small and hopefully quickly done as a no pressure project.

Freed to Kill

2009-02-07T21:33:00.000-08:00

Inspired by the book Freed to Kill about serial killer Larry Eyler. 10"x12" - watercolor on illustration board, 1994.

Alien Trilogy

2009-02-02T21:51:00.000-08:00

This piece was for a class assignment to create an illustrated magazine cover. I chose the magazine Cinemafantastique. At the time it was one of my favorite film magazines and was one of the few that used illustrations as cover material. My design was to illustrate the 3 Alien films that had been released at the time. 10"x12" - watercolor on illustration board, 1992.

2009-02-02T21:39:00.000-08:00

I started my oil painting class which, despite an initial set of reservations, seems to be exactly what I was looking for: an in depth look at the medium of oil from canvas prep to finish. The class is an wide mix of people from one guy who has never taken a class to artists looking to switch mediums.

Several errand trips last weekend included collecting materials for the class. To my surprise, I did not have many of the items on the list. Tuesdays are going to be long but I am very excited to be heading to class. First up is canvas stretching and prep.

The Witch's Tale

2009-01-25T15:51:00.000-08:00

From the same Tune In For Terror! card set , this one illustrates The Witch's Tale radio horror series. 9"x7" - watercolor and ink on illustration board, 1992.

Tune In For Terror!

2009-01-24T13:14:00.000-08:00

While still in college, I created a set of illustrations to be published as trading cards. The project was born as promotional tie-in for a series of old science fiction and horror radio plays. I was assigned the task of creating works based on classic horror novels.

It looks like there are a small amount of the cards available for purchase as a case at www.monsterwax.com. The bulk were destroyed in a fire according to the info on that website.

Here are the pieces I did. They are all approximately 9"x7" - watercolor and ink on illustration board, 1992:

The Masque of the Red Death - Edgar Allen Poe

The Time Machine - H.G. Wells

Dracula - Bran Stoker

Frankenstein - Mary Shelly

I also did one for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but I cannot find the original. It was he weakest image of the bunch so not much of a loss.

Date Rape

2009-01-20T22:06:00.000-08:00

Illustration for a magazine article about date rape. 8" x 10" - Watercolor, 1993

The Howling

2009-01-15T22:35:00.001-08:00

Eddie Quist 10" x 12" - Oil, 1991

The Shadow Over Innsmouth

2009-01-13T22:07:00.000-08:00

Like many others, I was extremely impressed by the H. P. Lovecraft penned tale The Shadow Over Innsmouth when I first read it years ago.

Lovecraft's vivid descriptions of a traveler stuck in a strange, ocean side town where the towns people have been inbreeding with sea creatures for years inspired a couple of my illustration projects and some sketches.

Finished!

2009-01-13T21:56:00.001-08:00

I spent the weekend with the full hit of the cold I was fighting last week. I am starting to feel better but this has delayed progress on my new paintings.

I did manage to finally finish the Dogs in School piece. The custom frame piece was ready on Saturday morning and it worked. A quick trip to ace for a rubber mallet and some upholstery nails wrapped things up. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to ship it out until Monday but now it is on it's way to Vancouver, WA.

I will post at a later date with further details on the project with links to the website that Patrick is putting together.

Foetus

2009-01-07T19:35:00.000-08:00

I have always been fascinated by pre-birth imagery. I have several reference books of images of the various phases of gestation.

Here are two self promo pieces inspired by that imagery. The top image was done during the college years and the one below is an unfinished piece from 1997.

Vampire

2009-01-06T22:45:00.001-08:00

This is an old personal piece from 1992. Oil on Illustration Board 11" x 17".

Oil Painting: Materials and Methods

2009-01-06T22:05:00.000-08:00

So I dove in and signed up for an evening painting class. With thoughts of returning to school to get an MFA in my head, I decided a good test would be to take a class to see how things roll. Since it has been almost 16 years since I graduated from Ringling there may be many cobwebs to clear.

The class is at the San Francisco Art Institute. I chose Oil Painting: Materials and Methods which appears to be focused more on the technical side of the medium. There are many options with oil so getting a better understanding of the materials will be a huge plus. I studied Illustration in school which was all about getting the work out really fast and not designed for long lasting work.

This begins the last week of Jan. It will be good to connect with fellow art students as well. I feel very separated from the SF art community since most of my time is spent in the South Bay in the tech world.

I am patiently waiting for the email to let me know what to expect and which materials to bring to the first class.

Multi-tasking

2009-01-04T22:36:00.000-08:00

After an enjoyable few day break for new years celebrations, I am back to my work. The Dogs in School piece is now done...other than the custom frame piece. I re cut, painted and attached the wood frame this weekend. Final paint details were done this evening.

Over the years I have jotted down ideas for paintings in my sketchbooks. After reviewing various lists, I compiled a new list of pieces to work on this year. A trip to Flax to use up the last of the balance on a gift card got me 3 new canvases to go towards these pieces. I also picked up some brushes and some damar varnish.

I realized while working on the last stages of the Dogs in School piece that there comes a point while waiting for layers to dry that I could and should be working on secondary pieces. So in between detailing on DIS I prepped the new canvases and finished up the drawing on the two next paintings.

I am going to try to complete at least two paintings a month this year. As of tomorrow I am back at the day gig which consumes the bulk of my weekday time so we will see how this goes. I am up for the challenge.

Film Image Series

2009-01-03T11:11:00.000-08:00

I am a film geek. When I first jumped back into painting back in 2005, I did a set of acrylic portraits of film actors. I wanted to use bold color and a more graphic style than my usual work. My research for images began focusing on old noir films but expanded to films as late as the 70's. The first three are all women. The next in the series will be male actors.

Forgive the poor quality of the images. The paintings are sealed with a glossy finish making it hard to capture with my nice but point and shoot camera. I have plans to work with a photographer to get high quality files in the near future.

Back to FCP...

2008-12-28T20:08:00.000-08:00

I spent the bulk of creative time today and Saturday in front of my computer cleaning up two more of the old FCS shorts: Damn Calm and Pigs. This completes the 1993 set. Something still needs to be done with Inheebreated Confessions and there is also the disaster that is Twisted Weekend 2.5. That one may have to remain in the never to be seen again archives. I can at least cut it down to a more manageable length and trim most of the awful dialog.

Dogs in school is still in the short sitting for touch up, spray then wait to dry phase. I mistakenly cut two pieces of the wood frame a touch too short so another hardware store trip is on the plate for tomorrow. I hope I can find another piece of the same lumber that I used for the other pieces.

Manual Labor...

2008-12-26T19:10:00.000-08:00

Progress continues on the 'Dogs in School' painting. I have finished the bulk of detail in the faces. There is a grid that needs to be masked off and painted. One stage of this is in process. I probably should have done this part with acrylic but the piece is in oil so I am sticking with that delays and all.

My landlord, Gerry, let me borrow a frame cutter he had to cut the wood I bought for the frame. The frame cutter is a nice tool. I think I will add one to the list of 'to purchase one day'. This fancy contraption made it much easier to cut the wood down to the exact lengths needed. For previous frames I used a hand saw which really sucked.

The wood pieces need some coats of paint or stain. I am still trying to decide the exact shade for them. I will take a look at options at the hardware store tomorrow.

While waiting for the masked grid to dry between coats, I am moving on to the clean up of the final set of Fival's Corn Shank shorts. The quality of these shorts are rough to say the least but they are a funny time capsule of the end of my time at Ringling.

Scanning and Dogs in School...

2008-12-24T17:29:00.000-08:00

I was able to finish 'Stage 1' of the scanning of my old art. Most of this was illustration projects from college and various sketches from my days S.O.T.A. FX. It felt good to finally get these things in digital form and my new scanner does a beautiful job capturing the detail for clean up in Photoshop.

I am in the final stretch on the 'Dogs in School' painting. Patrick, the show's curator, has given the deadline of Dec. 31, 2008. I believe I will be done by the end of this weekend leaving me a few days of cushion from the due date.

One thing that will delay the delivery is a custom piece I am having made for the frame. On Monday, I met with the shop who will be fabricating the piece. They can construct it in a day...after the holidays. A slight delay but a necessary evil in order to finish the painting as envisioned.

The Beginning of an Archive...

2008-12-22T22:25:00.000-08:00

In order to gain some online presence and document my new and old art pieces, I decided to initiate this blog.

For those who explore the content...enjoy!

Posted images will appear in the near future. I am busy scanning, photographing and prepping the files.