Box o' Drawings and other WIPs

Every once in awhile a backlog of works that need finishing happens. Even though I try to complete each work before getting too far along on another, now's one of those times things got pretty much out of hand.

Sorry if my (lack of) video skills got you car-sick--but thanks for staying with my ol' blog :)

Btw, my original art is available for purchase here: 

Tom Sarmo at Helikon Gallery

and some originals and miscellaneous products here:

Tom Sarmo Online Store

Your purchase from either helps a lot and is much appreciated!

A new Goblin-in-Progress

It's been awhile since I've been able to do some off-the-top-of-my-head sketching. There have been--and still are--a lot of projects in the hopper, but I had an idea for a new work that couldn't wait.

https://www.instagram.com/tomsarmo_art/

If you've visited before, you've seen some of my wood cut-outs for a spiritual gallery; I want this fellow to be a cut-out too, and he's going to be two-sided!

https://www.instagram.com/tomsarmo_art/

The initial red pencil under-drawing gives the pen and ink a bit of color, which I like a lot. After the red penciling, I outline the whole drawing--fixing it up as I go--with a Pentel Brushpen. That gives me a good variance of line. Then the highlights go on with a Signo white pen. The crosshatched values go in next, with a lot of layering to blend the tones.

http://www.tomsarmo.com/

Here's the initial red-pencil backside. It was a good challenge to figure out the back of his feet and hands--they had to match the silhouette of the front view.

https://www.instagram.com/tomsarmo_art/

Here's a collage shot of the completed rear that I posted on Instagram, and I'd appreciate it if you'd follow me there, as I add work regularly.

https://www.instagram.com/tomsarmo_art/

And here's the front. I'll add color with acrylic inks, then mount the drawings on wood prior to the cutting.

Thanks for checking this out!

St. Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio

St. Francis and the Wolf. Mixed media wood cut-out.

It will be varnished, then framed in a shadow box.

Lately I've been working again on spiritual pieces for a local gallery. When asked to provide a St. Francis with wolf, I jumped at that. St. Francis was the name I chose at confirmation, because at the age of 12 becoming a veterinarian was at the top of my occupations list. 

Also, St. Francis has been a favorite subject of mine. His mission was always peace, and his life and teachings celebrated the natural world. He saw even poverty and death as friends rather than enemies to be feared. Best of all, St. Francis was a free-spirit--an eccentric--who rejected the greed and short-sightedness he observed in mankind, and he generously embraced those whom society rejected.

The image was first drawn in red pencil on toned paper, then inked. After highlights, I sprayed the drawing with archival acrylic spray. Mounted on wood, the piece was cut out using a scroll saw. The color--translucent acrylic inks thinned a bit with water.

The legend of St. Francis relates that he tamed a savage wolf that was eating up the folks at Gubbio. You can check out a fascinating and thorough examination of the story here:

Francis of Assisi and the Wolf of Gubbio

Thanks for checking out my blog, and supporting the works I do.

A Saint Michael Wood Cut-out

http://www.tomsarmo.com

Saint Michael the Archangel (detail).

Been working on ideas and sketches for a series of works to be shown at a spiritual gallery here in Colorado. I'l be posting more about that soon!

http://www.tomsarmo.com

Detail of the early stages

http://www.tomsarmo.com

Working on top of ochre-orange primed wood, I drew the angel with a brush and black paint, then began adding the tones using blue grey in four values. I like the rough look of the brush-and-paint, which I always hope will somewhat remain in the finished art.

http://www.tomsarmo.com

Once it was cut out (using a scroll saw), colored glazes were applied in many varying layers. All that's left now is to build the shadow-box frame in which he'll be displayed. Then on to the next saint--probably Saint Francis of Assisi.

Thanks for reading!

Death gets a lot of Idea-Help

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Death might run out of ideas from time to time, but people always manage to assist him with new and effective ways of killing their brothers and sisters. Poison gas? Sure! Automatic weapons aimed at concert-goers? Why not?

http://www.tomsarmo.com

Couldn't keep reading the repetitious news full of lame politician's "thoughts and prayers", so I drew instead.

This one, like most of my sketches, began with a red Verithin pencil on toned paper. (I like Kona Classic best because I can use wet media on it if I choose.) Beginning a drawing with red pencil rather than graphite seems to keep my initial gestures looser, and I like the original red lines still visible in the finished art.

http://www.tomsarmo.com

The red gestural sketch is then tightened up with either a Pentel brushpen or a brush and India ink. Then, most often, I add the white highlights, before the shading begins--in this case, a fine-point white Signo pen was used for the white. The cross-hatching follows; I like Maica brand Hi-Tek-C pens if a crow quill and ink bottle isn't handy.

http://www.tomsarmo.com

This drawing is small--4" x 6". It's the third work of October--or "Inktober". The previous two were sort of humorous. Who knows what the news will bring in the coming days.

Thanks for the visit--I wish you peace.

Two Big Nose Breaks (from painting)!

http://www.tomsarmo.com/home

 Preliminary sketches for The Man in the Moon sculpture (below).

http://www.tomsarmo.com/home

 After making all the pictures for Innate Tapestries, I needed a break from painting. Had a chance to be in a "Munny" show at a neat little shop/gallery called Cooper and Dash in Downtown Denver. They provided the blank white Munny doll (upper left).

http://www.tomsarmo.com/home

I really like the Commedia del Arte masks with their giant noses, so approached the Munny as a mask built out of Sculpey. Into the oven it went (top center). Had some glass eyes I didn't have use for, and then painted the fellow using acrylic washes and matte black acrylic to sort of hide the body (I'm not very fond of the way Munnys look).

The show featured 12 other sweet Munnys that were painted and sculpted by local artists and illustrators, and the reception was a lot of fun!

http://www.tomsarmo.com/home

The Man in the Moon 

A fellow artist at Helikon decided to decorate his studio by building a giant sculpture of a face using cardboard. It is amazing! Then he challenged me to do the same. Upper left shows my rudimentary armature. On top of that went instant papier mache, which I built up in layers. 

http://www.tomsarmo.com/home

I ordered more glass eyes and used Sculpey for the teeth; painted the whole thing with a greenish, acrylic wash, and then used successive acrylic washes (thinned with matte medium) for the color. Lower middle shows the moon-head paint prior to the final wash of sienna brown.

Thanks for checking it out!

Harmonie at Helikon Gallery & Studios

New show!

From the Helikon site: "Two highly notable artists of illustration and the figurative arts come together in Harmonie, an exhibit featuring the intersection of styles and sensibilities between the figurative paintings of George Pratt and Felipe Echevarria."

George Pratt

Felipe Echevarria

"Ranging from watercolor, oil, pastel, and other traditional media, this body of work examines the beauty and mystery of the human figure. On the whole, ‘Harmonie’ is composed of aesthetic reflections on figurative expression, exploring the evocative power of color, texture, design, and style as harmonious parts of a single emotional and visual vocabulary."

George Pratt

There are two full galleries of these evocative works, plus hallways full of art to view, plus works in each of the Open Studios upstairs. This is a one-stop First Friday where you can spend the whole evening looking at amazing art! 

Felipe Echevarria

 Here are information links:

Helikon Gallery

Facebook event

The show runs from May 3 - June 3, and the First Friday event is May 5 from 6 - 10 pm.

You don't want to miss it--See you there!

DINK 2017

Had the chance to show work at DINK this year! It took quite a bit of prep work, but was worth it. It was a good time, and I met a ton of great folks who stopped by the booth I shared with Ryan Morse and Clay Brooks.

Here's the only shot I got of part of our set-up.

 

First day sketch. 

 

I forgot my sketchbook on the second day, but had a manila envelope to draw on.

And the sketch page with the finally-completed big-mouth.

Be sure to check out both Ryan's site and Clay's site too.

Thanks for the visit!

Recent Drawings from My Sketchbooks

http://www.tomsarmo.com

Some recent, selected works from a variety of sketchbooks. 

These fellows are spontaneous drawings from my head, with the exception of the blue lantern--drawn using an actual lantern as reference. 

Sketching is almost as good as meditation when I'm needing a bit of peace. I've been doing a lot of sketching lately.

I wish peace for you as well.

Thank you for checking in!

Landscape and Urban Sketching

http://www.tomsarmo.com/

Last Sunday's Plein Air group decided on an urban site. Instead of my paint set-up, 

I'd brought a sketchbook and drawing materials, planning on doing 

some research for a new project.

http://www.tomsarmo.com/

When doing on-location sketching of this type, I usually go for 

simplicity and quick studies, but...

http://www.tomsarmo.com/

...this intricate scene caught my eye. The planned research sketching went right out the window.

http://www.tomsarmo.com/

The complexity was a bit daunting, but decided to interpret the scene while 

capturing much of the detail.

 

Materials: Kona Classic toned paper sketchbook, Verithin Colored Pencil (Scarlet), 

Pentel Brushpen, Pilot Hi-Tech-C Pen (03), Uniball Signo (for white).

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

Painting Outside in Gouache and Oils

Plein Air Study: Carson Nature Center, South Platte River Trail

Gouache on Crescent Board

Painting on location regularly again has been good for me both emotionally and artistically. There's nothing like getting out into the natural world to center oneself, and translating what one sees into line, value, and color can't help but result in better art production.

I like painting in gouache and watercolor for its convenience and simplicity, but decided to get back to oils for a change. Headed out to the Highline Canal the other day and saw this scene.

Here's my translation of it.

Decided to use a limited palette since it'd been awhile since I'd painted plein air with oils. Been using Winsor & Newton's Ultramarine, Alizarin, Cad Yellow Light, and Rembrandt's Burnt Umber, and White.

My alley neighbor is an amazing gardener, and has gorgeous hops vines growing over his fence and gate. This study was done on a piece of cardboard (hence the horizontal line texture).

My yard has a big Blue Spruce in the corner. I got locked out of the house the other day. I had my paintbox, but no canvas or cardboard. 

Luckily there was a two-by-four behind the garage, which was a decent enough surface for this study.

I like all media, but there's really something special about oil paints. I hope I can do them justice someday soon.

Thanks for checking out my blog!

Parallel Universe Presents: A Unique Show at Helikon Gallery!

A detail crop of my artwork for Parallel Universe Presents

Very pleased to announce a new show, coming July 1, 2016 to Helikon Gallery in Denver!

This show is the brain-child of illustrator Thomas Haller Buchanan and gallery director and illustrator Cayce Goldberg.

Helikon is known for it's fresh and uniquely exciting shows, and this one will be no exception.

From Gallery Director Cayce Goldberg:

"Helikon Gallery is pleased to host ‘Parallel Universe Pictures Presents...’ this July! P.U.P.P. is a group exhibit where illustration reigns supreme over Hollywood, and features powerful drawings and paintings of posters for movies that exist only in the cinematic imagination of the artists."

This is Sherlock Holmes from my Parallel Universe offering of the movie The Hammersmith Ghost.

I love anything Victorian, and the Conan Doyle stories, but have always wanted to see Sherlock pitted against an actual, supernatural being. Hence this version of my dream film.

 

Along with your chance to see amazing finished paintings and posters by a group of stellar illustrators, you'll view the process each artist used to reach the final artwork. Each illustrator has the opportunity to show the sketches--thought processes--that went into the production of the final works!

From the chicken-scratchings of my initial idea...

...to character studies of Holmes and Watson...

...to value and composition thumbnails; this is only part of my process.

You won't see this at the show, but using my scary self as a model helped me draw...

...the initial sketch for the Hammersmith Ghost.

Here's a list of all the other fantastic illustrators in the show:

 

Thomas Haller Buchanan

Mike Kloepfer

Elena Gunderson

Matt Needle

Daniel Shaffer

Rob Jordan

Brooke Vandevelder

Arna Miller

Vinni Alfonso

Cayce Goldberg

I can't wait to see their finished artworks--and their sketches and processes and posters too!

And a huge bonus: Portals and Parralax!

 

 

"Portals & Parallax is a duo exhibit of new work by Thomas Haller Buchanan and Willa Haller. Shown simultaneously with Parallel Universe Pictures Presents..., the work in this exhibit stands as a conceptual and narrative bridge between both shows, exploring an organically unfolding story of two artists seeking to pierce the veil of time and space. Thom works in charcoal and pastel, while Willa presents large watercolor paintings. Both artists contributed to collaborative works where their concepts and aesthetics overlap."

 

Check out more details about both awesome shows by clicking the link below:

 

Helikon Gallery

And if you're in Denver, don't miss this show!!

Thanks, as always, for your support :)