Lost in the Supermarket

Lost in the Supermarket - Art and Consumerism

Inspired by a strange mix of Impressionism and a song by The Clash, this set of works includes some of my very first paintings. Originally I was interested in having a small art show to display these, but as the years went by I lost interest in the works. To be honest, I have had no idea what to do with these paintings. I never felt they were worthless, more like a little lost in regard to their ultimate purpose.

 

The idea came to me after seeing the Impressionist at the Musee d’Orsay. I realized that much of the artwork they created was about the appreciation of small moments in time and celebrations of French Culture. Upon coming back from vacation I was inspired to paint, but I had some trouble finding subjects, so I went to the supermarket.

At first it started out as a tongue in cheek critic of American Culture, but it evolved from a joke to a semi-real study. I found myself painting still lifes of the supermarket aisles. I started to notice the colors; how they all competed for dominance and I found an odd appreciation of canned food and cheese. In all seriousness, I found myself appreciating the value of

being able to go to a store and have food available to purchase.

Soon I moved on to painting people in the stores. Most of the time I was too afraid to ask the customers and workers to take their photos so I moved on to painting people from advertisements.

Sometimes I had a pretty good idea of what I was trying to accomplish when painting these people. Other times I didn’t have a clear message, just some idea I thought was goofy. The idea was to use sensuality and go over the top trying to sell a product. The end result was pretty ridiculous seeing how I was pulling images and phrases out of the Sunday paper and Cosmopolitan magazine.

This series taught me a good deal about being an artist. I learned through trials and some big errors that as an artist you have a responsibility for your work and its message. Not that all work has to have a message, but just know what you are working with because sometimes it can be volatile. It is going to be seen by people and you are going to have to explain it. Be prepared to defend it and be prepared for people not to like it. Then get over it.

Most importantly, I learned how to put paint on a piece canvas. I’ll admit, some of these paintings I despise (mostly the ones with people in them, so like 50%), but if I had not created them, then I wouldn’t have learned anything. You can’t be so focused on making everything a home run. If you do you will be too afraid to even start. It’s ok to make crappy art, it’s how you learn.

In the end, I don’t really know what else to say about these paintings. Oh and they can be found for sale here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AtelierLambert?ref=hdr_shop_menu&section_id=19727743

 

Admiral Ackbar Watercolor

I cannot get enough of Star Wars! I love all of the designs and alien creatures. Ever since I was a kid I have been obsessed with all of the little details. ALOT of my childhood was spent reading the Star Wars Encyclopedia. I am pretty sure I read that thing from cover to cover (and now ALOT of that is no longer Star Wars cannon....what am I doing with my life?). With these new movies coming out and listening to Star Wars Minute podcast from start to finish, I am in a Star Wars fever pitch! (P.S. if you haven't listened to Star Wars Minute Podcast you should! http://www.starwarsminute.com/)

So with all of that excitement and encyclopedic knowledge, I decided to start a new set of art work, Star Wars watercolors. I'll admit I am a newbie when it comes to watercolors and it takes a bit for me to get motivated to bring them out and practice...but that's where Star Wars comes in!

So for this painting I went with the ever lovable Admiral Ackbar. I started first with a pencil sketch, then moved on to the water colors. I tried my best to create a glazed layer effect by laying multiple levels of paint dry on top of each other. While laying down the watercolors, I pinched little bits of salt into the wet paint to create the sort of cloudy color mixes in the space backdrop. Finally I used my white correction paint and an old tooth brush to make the star patterns in the background. So that's it for this painting, but keep an eye out soon for more!

Green Arrow and Black Canary

Today I have a penciled drawing of Green Arrow and Black Canary. It's a little late in the evening so I'll make this short. I've been binge watching Justice League Unlimited lately, which sometimes features Green Arrow and Black Canary. Also I am really loving the DC Rebirth titles and I wanted to incorporate their new costumes. What can I say I am in a festive DC mood.

For this drawing I wanted to tackle an action scene. The idea was to draw the two characters attacking someone and I thought of a bank robbery. Hopefully I can post an inked version soon, but for now enjoy!

Dc Comics Aliens

Hey there! Long time no see! I've been super busy with alot of artwork over the past months and I am just getting around to sharing. I applied for the DC Comics Talent Search about a month ago. I should have those posted soon!

Here is today's drawing, featuring three of my favorite DC Comics heroes. Superman, Martian Manhunter, and Hawkman; all of which happen to be aliens. I was inspired by the idea of them teaming up. Maybe they were illegal aliens or something and the government is coming down on them. In some ways I feel like Hawkman and the Martian don't get as much attention as other DC heroes. I guess maybe it has something to do with a convoluted story lines. I'm not exactly sure why, but I feel like they have a wealth of story potential and really cool personalities! Anyway here's the art.

I tried to push myself with digital coloring this time around. I'd like to become good enough to color my own work, but I've still got some more work to do. I couldn't decide which version to pick, so I will leave you with three. Enjoy!

Whosoever Holds This Hammer - THOR

Hello, I am back with a new drawing! The Mighty Thor, God of Thunder.

For years friends from everywhere have been telling me how awesome Thor is to read. For most of my life I have thought Thor was kind of weird. I just didn't understand what was so appealing about with character. Eventually I got my hands on some Jack Kirby comics and man was my mind blown. Thor was no longer a blonde pansy but an epic space action hero. While the stories and art were fun I still wasn't too interested in the Norse god of thunder, that was until I found...Walter Simonson's Thor! If you have not had the privilege of reading Simonson's run on Thor then you are totally missing out. For me it is a harmonious mix of art and story. It plays out like an episodic grand adventure and less like a villain of the week comic. It's no wonder that I am inspired! Now for the art...

For this piece I started out with just a quick ball-point pen sketch. I ended up using my light table to use my new sable brush. I have had that thing for about 5 months and it felt great to finally put it to use. Well that's about it and it's kind a late. If you have any questions feel free to ask!

Storm Sketch

Here's the latest. My sister is staying over and working on some art so I figured I'd make some of my own. Sorry for the picture quality, I made this one in a sketch book so my scanner didn't pick it up correctly. So this photo is from my phone.

Continuing my work on the female form, I decided to draw Storm. She a member of the X-Men. I don't think I need to explain her powers, kind of self explanatory. Enjoy.

Marvelous Women

It's been awhile! My absence has paid off though. I finally finished courses and earned a web developer certification. We shall see how that goes, but you're not here to hear about all that! All you need to know is that I'm back in the saddle. Let's get to the Art.

Recently I decided to work on some of my weak points. I have been studying architecture, cars, and the woman form. All stuff that kinda psych me out. None of which really are as difficult as I've made out in my mind. More drawing of that stuff soon, but for now here are the women!

The first drawing I will share was created today. I have only had time to create the pencil work, but look for some ink soon. The goal what to study the female form and try not to get so much of a superhero or supermodel form. I am more interested in challenging myself to draw diverse body types with women, instead of just having a go to form. I was using some cheap sketch paper that I bought second hand at work. It has a tendency to smudge, so I prettied it up as best as I could. This is Captain Marvel by the way. Ms. Marvel has superhuman strength, the ability to fly, and can shoot out energy beams. As for her history, I'm even a little confused on it sometimes. If you are really interested I would suggest reading her introductory comics written by Chris Claremont.

Here is the second drawing. This was done back in January, I know I've been a little late getting this one out. Just as before I was focusing on the female form yadda yadda. I don't think I mentioned this but I used a very helpful reference site for both drawings (posemaniacs.com). This drawing was created on bristol board with pencil. The character is names Phoenix. She was one of the original X Men. She was telekinetic and telepathic powers. She also was possessed by an alien energy thing called the Phoenix force, which took her over and then she died. Then she came back, then she died. I see a pattern here...

That's all for today, until next time!