illustration

Heads Off!

Posted by gsnader

So today I am posting a piece that literally took me years to finish. I started in 2008 and finally got around to finishing it late last year. I suppose that is a cautionary tale about the dangers of putting a project down.

Actually, this piece was inspired by a fairy tale I found in a book when I was doing a series of fairy tale illustrations. The tale goes something like this. A poor peasant makes a deal with a odd stranger and pledges his future child. Eventually the stranger returns and the son is taken away and made prince of a distant land. He is given wonderful gifts, one of which is a magic sword. When the sword bearer shouts “head’s off” the sword works it’s magic and pops the heads off of the intended persons the way a kindergartener pops the head off a dandelion. At some point the prince decides that he’d like to return home. He is informed that while he can keep his magic gifts, once he leaves he can never return. And so he returns home to his parents who are shocked by his appearance. Once he sees that his parents are still okay he decides to return to his land across the sea. The prince arrives to find he is treated as a stranger, even his wife, the princess no longer recognizes him. So in an odd, fairy tale turn the prince storms the castle, magic sword in hand. He shout’s “head’s off” as the guards swarm him and make his way to the throne room. There, the royal family is waiting for him. He again shouts “head’s off” and installs himself as king. THE END.

How could I NOT do an illustration of that story, it was so deliciously odd, it made for a fun challenge.

If anyone would like the story I referenced I will happily point them to it.

~Greg

Blue House

Posted by gsnader

At some point in October I dusted off my gouache and had a brief period where I was cranking out several pieces a week. Looking back I’m going to guess some of it was due to the garden winding down and finding myself a bit more free. Sometimes I feel like the creativity just seizes me and I have a sudden burst of creative energy. For me, those are good bits of time.

For any readers out there, have you ever had that burst of creativity or energy?

~Greg

 

The Curious Cavern

Posted by gsnader

So I started with the idea of an active scene featuring pirates. I started watching Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, which I recently picked up at our local library’s book sale. Before I knew it I had created this adventurer. Regardless of the subject matter I wanted to create something with some dramatic lighting, I’d call it a success.

~Greg

Farmers Markets: Pacific Northwest

Posted by gsnader


So here we go, the second thing I did in the new style. I took what I had with the gargoyles and created a more intentional piece. I’ve only been to Oregon once, but in my mind, there’s got to be a market stand like this out there in the Pacific North West.

~Greg

Gargoyles!

Posted by gsnader

So at some point this summer I tried out a variation on my normal technique of preference. Here’s the first intentional piece I made with the style. The inspiration came from looking at a blog of different artist’s travel sketchbooks. Unfortunately I can’t recall the website now but there are plenty out there!

~Greg

A Landscape from Japan

Posted by gsnader

So this summer we took a trip to Japan. Much of our time was spent in both the city and the countryside. Some of my favorite parts of the travel (many, many hours on the trains!) involved just looking at the landscape as it passed us by. Everything appeared new and unique and I felt like my brain was just bursting with ideas for projects back home. One morning in Kobe I made this watercolor. We had been to a Japanese bathhouse the day before and this is one of the images that was still fresh in my mind the morning after. Amidst the dramatic mountains was a simple house with a small rack next to it for the bike to sit and bunches of onions to dry. As an avid gardener I also loved seeing the gardens that were all around in the country. When we were in Tokyo there were no gardens and I wondered, “what do people eat, where do they get their food here in Tokyo?” But as we took the train out to Yamanashi the houses grew smaller and almost all of them had an abundance of vegetables growing close at hand. As an avid gardener I really enjoyed the brief glimpse we got into the gardening culture in Japan. In the middle of winter I’m beginning to get garden fever again. So as I’m beginning to plan my garden for a new season I’m also thinking of the gardens I saw over the summer, dreaming of drinking cool cups of Hoijicha or eating some green tea-flavored ice cream.

~Greg

if: ferocious

Posted by gsnader

So here’s my submission for Illustration Friday this week. It’s part of a larger idea, but more on that as I make more pieces!

~Greg