New Painting: "Enlightenment"

Hi!

On May 1, I created a blog entry here that rejoining Concept Art Sketchbook Forum had led me to go through some of my old "works in progress."

(See my new CA "Sketchbook" here:  http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php/327483-Jephyr-s-New-Sketchbook )

Anywho—I found a WIP sketch that I'd already done some work on—and decided to make that the next project—and hopefully get it finished at long last.

Working on it brought more than a few times of frustration—but thankfully, there were also a LOT of times when I felt Blessed by BIG "a-ha" moments of inspiration too!

I've been wanting to be able to infuse my work with "story"—so that it just isn't an interesting image to look at—but causes a viewer to fill in their own narrative about it too.

Of course—I have my own ideas about that for my image below—that I hope some will be led to see too.

So with all that in mind I'll present my final painting: "Enlightenment."

Digital Painting: "Enlightenment" - Copyright 2017 - Jephyr - All Rights Reserved

------------------------------------

And here's the original sketch and an early draft

"Enlightenment" - Original Sketch And Early W.I.P. - Copyright 2017 - Jephyr - All Rights Reserved

------------------------------------------

 Thanks as always for stopping by...and if you're the last one out could you make sure to turn off the lights?

Thanks!

 : )

See you again soon!

-----------------------

See other Jephyr! digital paintings—as well as links to other artwork at jephyr.com.

7-9-14: First Life Drawing Charcoal In A While

Hi,

This morning I decided to head on over to Mesa Community College to a Life Drawing Open Session for the first time in quite a while.

I thought it went from 10 am to 1 pm but about 9:30 I re-read the e-mail and realized it started at 9 am.

Click Image To Enlarge

At first I debated about going but quickly decided to race on over.

I burst in about 10:15 and fortunately there was a small group...so I was able to still find a good spot.

By the time I had my easel and all set up it was getting close to 10:30 and so at last I jumped into my drawing.

It's always fun to draw very lean people because the "landmarks" on them are easier to see.

And maybe you can tell that Rebecca was both very tall and lean.

I wish I'd had more time because she had a beautiful, exotic face...but sadly working in that kind of detail in such a short time meant doing that was outa reach for me.

Anywho...I'm glad I went after-all...and plan, God willing, to go to the next one later this month .

Thanks for stoppin' by...see ya next time!

"Snow" Falls In Phoenix Arizona

Hello,

I've lived in the Phoenix area for over 15 years and had family here for some 35 years now.  So through the years I've seen all kinds of different Phoenician weather.

BUT NEVER SNOW!!

Ok...to be fair the media is calling it graupel or a "soft hail".  *

But to me...if it walks like a duck..............

And what we had here this evening...we would've called snow when I was growing up in Colorado.

Granted, there wasn't much...what my mom woulda called "just a skiff".

But I snapped a few pics as a reminder...and I'll let you decide for yourself what to call it. : )

Keep in mind as you're looking at theses images that Phoenix is located in the Sonoran Desert often records temperatures of 114 degrees!

Note the Palm Tree off in the far right

"Snow" sticking to cars and lawns:

*  A few years ago the main-stream media breathlessly, and unanimously reported a "man" gave birth to a child.  So maybe they aren't always the best source of truth and information. 

:)


Thanks as always for stopping by!

Jephyr's Art 202 Photoshop Assignment: Identity Project

Image from Art 202 "Identity Project" - Copyright 2013, Jephyr

---------------------------------------

Hello!

Yesterday, my Art 202 - Digital Art Survey class had a critique day for the Adobe Photoshop "Identity Projects" we've been working on for the last three plus weeks.

A lot of students in the class are just beginning with Photoshop but I was surprised at how good many of the submissions were.  There was so much inspiring variety...and lots of cool, sometimes very thought provoking images.

---------------------------------------

As usual I really went into over-drive for my assignment and put in endless hours...and was generally pleased with end result...but you never know how it will be received by others. 

Sometimes what "speaks" to you as an artist...seems to completely miss the mark when you finally share it.

But in this case I was happy to find that there was a lot of positive feedback...and even a few compliments that would be wrong for me to repeat.  Let's just say I wish everything I did had this kind of response.

Below I'll post the full "Prospectus" I submitted to our instructor at the beginning of this assignment...but the summary will probably explain enough for most:

Project Summary: 

"This project will explore my own aging and its effects on my perceptions of life.  A series of self-portraits and other images will be shot with a digital camera and then enhanced and manipulated in Adobe Photoshop."

---------------------------------------

So If anyone is still reading...and didnt' just go straight to the images...here they are...beginning with the "triptych and quadtrych" I submitted as the Final images for the project.

 (click to see larger views):

---------------------------------------

(Triptych removed)

---------------------------------------

Lastly, as you age, you become more and more aware of mortality.

While I'm not morbid about it...the older I get the more I find myself thinking about my own exit from this planet.

Here's a larger view of The Skull Image from the first Triptych.  I took several high contrast portraits of myself and a reference skull that I have and composited them together:



---------------------------------------

And here's the prospectus I submitted for the project:

---------------------------------------

Thanks as always for stopping by!

Jephyr Posts Latest Digital Painting: "It Came From The U.N."

Hello!

Hope you had a great Christmas!

It's so hard to believe we are almost into a new year...and 2013 at that!!!

-------------------------

Life has been keeping me very busy.  Earlier this month I finished another semester at Mesa Community College...and took an Art History class where I learned a ton.


And speaking of that...if you are in the East Valley of Phoenix I would definitely recommend taking a class from Lindsey Pedersen, an Art History instructor at MCC.   She is excellent!!


It's clear I'm not the only one who thinks so...because she has an extremely high rating on ratemyprofessor.com too.

-------------------------

The Background Story For My Latest Digital Painting



Click to Enlarge
See A Larger View Of The Final Image Below

I've still been drawing a lot and digitally painting as time allowed...and after the semester ended finally found the time to finish a digital painting I'd begun long ago.

Started in December of 2011, I worked on the concept a bit using Adobe Photoshop and my Wacom Intuos Tablet and then fairly quickly lost interest and moved on to other things.

As seen in the "process steps" to the left...I just got as far as the weird, green "alien" head last year (top left).

After classes ended this fall I decided to look through my old files and when I saw it, decided to do some work on it again.

I was feeling most dissatisfied with the color choices last year...so this time around the first thing I began to do was mess around with that and experiment with color layers.

And finally something I was more happy with began to emerge.

-------------------------

So....Why Is It Such A "Creepy / Scary" Image?

I've been interested in creating a graphic novel about the current state of the world and the "end times".
 

Meister The Construction of the Ark of Noah

According to the Bible, in the time of Noah before the Biblical flood, fallen angels had mated with human women and created an evil hybrid race which God detested.   (Genesis 6:1-8)

And apparently the fallen angels also messed with the DNA of animals.

All this created evil and fearsome, soul-less creatures.  These human hybrids were much larger and stronger than man and are called Nephilim (along with other ancient names).

God used the flood to purge the world of this evil. 

Unfortunately, afterwards the fallen angels continued their ways and produced more of these creatures. 

For example, long after the flood, the Jews were told to take possession of "the Promised Land" and Numbers 13:32-33 gives a report of what they found: 

"The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."

Much Later, around the time of Jesus (2,000 years ago) it was recorded in Matthew 24:37-39 (KJV) that "as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." (the return of Jesus and the end of our present world)

-------------------------



Public Domain Image

Fast forward to today, when there are many Biblical prophecies and signs indicating the end of the world, such as wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, the "roaring of the seas" and more.

http://alltheangelsshoutedforjoy.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-words-of-jesus-on-signs-of-times.html

Many point to current research being done with human cloning and trans-humanism: the combination of human and animal DNA.

Others point to our popular culture and that movies and TV shows use human evolution as a regular theme.

Still others suggest that "they" are preparing humans for the appearance of these creatures by planting the notion in our minds that these beings will be extra-terrestrial...ALIENS. 

The "they" most often mentioned are the powerful elites:  The Illuminati, and secret societies...pulling the strings behind the scenes...assassinating leaders and toppling governments...causing wars...dumbing societies down so that they can keep everyone else in a servant class...obedient, uneducated worker drones...who are kept in slavery to drugs, porn, alcohol, video games, etc etc etc.

-------------------------

So all these themes were in my mind as I worked on this image.

I know many of my Christian friends might recoil at this image...and might think of scripture that tells us to think about what-ever is good, pure and lovely.  (Philippians 4:8)

And I have no defense against that...except to say that I have been praying for guidance about what to work on.

And this is something that came from my efforts after those prayers.

-------------------------

Anyway...that explains my thought process behind this image...and FINALLY...here is the large version of it. 
 


Click To Enlarge - Jephyr Art - Digital Painting - It Came From The U.N.

Thank you for stopping by!




Please:  Share!  Comment!  Join!

---------------------------------

Please visit Jephyr.com to see many more examples of my artwork and photography!

Jephyr's Epic Adventure - Panicked Drive Into Miami, AZ : )

Hello!

So I've come to the conclusion I need to do more planning!!!  : )

Yesterday I decided to head out east on Highway 60 thinking I'd drive to Globe, Arizona and take some photos along the way and back.  (yeah, work...work...work!!)

Retired Mining Machine,
Miami, Arizona - Photo:  Jephyr 6-17-12

I got a bit of a late start and rushed off on my adventure.

It had been quite a while since I headed that direction and soon realized a number of things: It was going to take a lot longer to get there than I thought...I'd started out too late...and I'd forgotten there were some "passes" with some 6% grades I had to get up and over.

More importantly...on the way up one of those steep grades...my car's "gas tank on empty" bell rang for the second time.

Miami, AZ - "Evening Skyline" - Photo:  Jephyr 6-17-12

THAT worried me...but I thought..."no problem, I'll just stop at the next town and gas up".  < confirmed city-slicker

Then I passed a sign that said Miami - 14 Miles...Globe -  38 Miles...and something shy of panic set in.  : )   On that second chime I know I can go about 9 miles...so there was a distinct possibility that I could run out of gas!

I'm a praying man but usually do way less of it than I should/could...but I began a Tent Revival meeting right there in the car:  "Dear God...PLEASE help me make it to a gas station!"

Interesting "Storefront" - Miami, AZ - Historic District - Photo: Jephyr 6-17-12

I turned off the AC...made sure the windows were up (to reduce drag...hey I was desperate!) and even turned off the radio for good measure....and continued to beseech the Almighty!!

Finally I saw a sign that announced "Reduce Speed Ahead - Business District"...and I strained my eyes for a filling station.

But before I knew it....Whoosh!  I was through what ever little "town" that was without seeing a single gas station.

That began Jephyr's "epic neutral coast into Miami"!!!!!     hahaha

Fortunately, at that point, I was heading down some very steep grades...so I put my car in neutral...and used the brakes to keep from going over the rails as I screamed down that steep and winding road.

Then, after 15 minutes of that, thank the Good Lord, I started seeing signs that I was entering Miami...and gratefully coasted up to the first pumps I saw.

Cool bridge between Superior and Miami AZ - Taken just before the gas bell
rang a second time.  Photo:  Jephyr 6-17-12

Whew!!!!

Who says God doesn't answer prayers (and look out for fools!)!!!  
: )

In my desperate run for gas I saw the sun going down and several times wished I could stop.  For example I saw a little cemetery off to the side of the road with a large angel statue near it's center.  I might go back some day to investigate that and take some pics there and along the way.

I did manage though to take a few photos before I completely lost the light...I've posted a few here as a testament to that trip!

: )


-----------------------

As always, thanks for looking in!

Jephyr

-----------------------

Stop by Jephyr.com

It will CHANGE your life!!  ; )

----------------------

Buy a poster, greeting card, or high quality print (with options to have it beautifully framed and matted) of this image on Fine Art America.

Jephyr Art: A recent Life Drawing (charcoal on grey paper)

Me again!  How are ya?!

I hadn't been doing any "life drawing" for quite a while (a year or more) and recently I've attended several open sessions hosted by the highly esteemed Dr. Gingher Leyendecker at Mesa Community College.

During the first 2 sessions (posted here May 4,2012) I felt soooo rusty...but last Tuesday everything felt a lot better.

I've taken 3 semesters of Gingher's Life Drawing classes and took her Art Anatomy class and learned so much!

I used to work very slowly but through the years I've been consciously trying to speed up and loosen up.  Tuesday I worked a bit faster and felt relaxed and comfortable...and was very happy for that!

As you might be able to tell, our model was a tall, very lean and muscular woman and so it was easy to see "life drawing landmarks" as I drew her.

Some models tend to slowly droop or shift in their pose.  I'm sure it is very difficult to sit steadily in one position for a long period of time.

But this model was rock solid!!

------------------------

BTW:  I'd be very interested to receive comments from you or have you vote in my poll (found at the top left...your vote is anonymous).

As artists we get used to drawing the human form.

But I'm aware that for some people these kinds of images may not be appropriate.

Do you think I should stop posting this kind of work on a public blog?

I don't really want to close my blog to those under 18 or label it "adult" because these studies are not mean to be sexual.

But I'm interested in your feedback about it and will certainly take into account your opinions about it.

---------------------------

Thanks as always for visiting.

You're welcome at my web-site anytime:  Jephyr.com


*   *   *