HE IS CALLING - Pt.1 - The Sketches

I'd like to share a few process shots of my latest painting "He is Calling" which will be on display at the CTHULHU CALLING art show, an H.P. Lovecraft inspired show I am hosting on August 18th here in Nashville at the CULT FICTION UNDERGROUND at LOGUE'S BLACK RAVEN EMPORIUM.

So, first things first. Sketches. 

I made about a dozen or so sketches of different layouts and ideas for this piece and finally came to one I really liked and ran with it. Below are a few of the rough sketches that made my personal cut for certain reasons for each.

Once I was happy with how Cthulhu would be posed, It was time for me to work on my border design, I had an Art Nouveau kind of theme going on in the event poster, so I wanted to make sure I kept the same flavor here. (For the keen eye, take note of the lovely ladies donning the top corners of the design, look familiar?)  This is where the computer is my friend. I know lots of artists who would cringe at the sheer thought of only drawing one side and then duplicating it over for the other side. But in my defense, I'm only doing it to the pencils to speed up the process, once I start to actually paint this, the symmetry looks more natural and not as "exact" from left to right. It's just one of the many short tricks I sometimes use when I'm in a tight deadline (I'll show you another BIG little trick that I use for speed purposes a bit later as well! There are hints on the pics that bookend this post.)

We got our Sketch all laid out in photoshop, have all the parts fixed up for the rough painting of the color study! Which we will cover in the next post!  

ALSO!  I'd like to point out that the COLOR STUDY FOR THIS PAINTING, a 12x24 acrylic painting will be up for grabs the night of the show, all you gotta do is order your tickets in advance here. It's only $10 a ticket with no added fees and this will ensure your name gets into the random drawing to win this piece! 

That about wraps this post up, stay tuned as I will literally post pictures from start to finish.. mostly, of the color study to this painting (which again, will be given away at the show, all you gotta do is buy your ticket online and just be there around nine o'clock pm)

Thanks again for checking out my post. I hope to see you all at the show! Come say hello and tell me how much you hate it when artist's cheat by using computers only to be lazy.  :)
-b