Nahcotta Gallery: Enormous Tiny Art 23!

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com

On the Path. (Pre-colored detail of the larger, now-finished work.) Pen and ink plus colored inks.

Pleased to announce the opening of the Enormous Tiny Art Show (23) at Nahcotta Gallery in Portsmouth, NH

And I'm excited to have eight works in the show--including On the Path!

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The Hatter Before the King (detail crop). Pen and ink plus colored inks.

Even though the opening is not until March 2, you can read a bit about me and purchase art now online here:

Tom Sarmo's Art

And see all the sweet artworks by great artists here:

Enormous Tiny Art Show (23)

Thanks for looking and supporting art and artists!

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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!

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Detail of the early stages

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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.

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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!

The (Magical) Hermit: A Painting Sequence

I start with sketches--in this case I just wanted to figure out the character of the tarot Hermit, so didn't worry about a composition rough. At this point I don't want to draw a perfect rendering because I want to keep my options for the painting open and flexible.

Often I use a terra cotta gesso as primer--a wood panel from the craft store is the surface here. I freehand the initial drawing using a brush and black acrylic, fixing and altering stuff with the gesso when necessary (it's very opaque). The benefits to not tracing or projecting my sketch: I don't get bored with re-drawing; good surprises happen at this stage; and the final drawing is looser--resulting in a more lively finished painting.

For this work, the next step was to put in the cool colors and establish rough shadows. Putting in the brightest light helped me gauge the other values as well.

 

Adding lighter values and more color comes next. I pre-mixed a limited palette of colors, greyed them down, then created value strings for each color. It makes the painting process go quickly as there's no guesswork or wasted paint. For this work: Greyed down orange, blue, green, and yellow.

There you have it--an oval (for no real reason), one-of-a-kind, tarot card on thick birchwood.

And you can own it! Here's the link:

The Hermit

Thanks for checking it out, and for your support of the arts!

Little Guys on Cardboard

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Been experimenting--trying out some glazing techniques I want to use on a project this coming spring. These two fellows are painted on some cardboard rolls I'd stashed under the table in my studio.

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Painted the cylinders with a mixture of ochre and sienna, drew the guys with a brush and black acrylic, then painted them in grey monochrome.

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Followed that up by using tinted glazes to add subtle color variations. 

I have a few more I want to work on--good thing because it's pretty fun.

Thanks for checking it out!

Some Plein Air, and an Experiment, cont'd

Been working on many projects in the studio, but also taking some time to do a bit of on-location drawing and painting with some fellow DIS members. This study is of a garden off an alley in my neighborhood. The place has always fascinated me. I finished this at around 12:30 pm. It is 5" x 7".

Yeah it's November in Denver and there's still green grass and living plants. That's creepy. 

I took this photo around 10:00 am, before I began the pen drawing which I then filled in with watercolor. Then we got hungry and left for lunch.

Here are a couple more, done a few weeks earlier. Both studies are approx. 3" x 4".

An update from the last two posts: I'm still completely off of Facebook (outside of checking on events) and

 only occasionally looking at Instagram.

 

What I've noticed in 20 days since the beginning of An Experiment :

 

1. Still feeling better mentally; much lighter and more content.

 

2. I'm now sleeping through the night, every night. 

(Prior to bailing on social media I'd gotten used to waking around two or three am and not being able to fall back asleep for an hour or so. Previously, I seldom looked at screens late in the evening and never checked my phone during the night, so the new sleep habits have nothing to do with that. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but I don't think so.)

 

3. I'm reading a ton, compared to the last 6 months. That's no coincidence.

 

4. Still really don't want to jump back onto social media--it sounds less and less inviting.

I must be incredibly sensitive to Facebook. Oh well.

 

And that's about it--thanks for the visit!

 

Angry Goblin Process

A bit of a sequence to this artwork with some less-than-steller iPhone photos.

The drawing began with red colored pencil--Verithin Poppy in this case. White highlights added with a Signo white gel pen. Crosshatching was next.

The finished ink drawing is lightly sprayed with acrylic gloss coating, then color added with transparent acrylic inks.

I like the way the red pencil shows in the final work, and also how the acrylic washes 

soften the india ink lines.

(A follow-up to last week's post: Still experimenting with zero Facebook (outside of keeping up with local events). Continue to feel much lighter and have slept incredibly well this past week. That may be a coincidence, but nonetheless I have no desire to go back to Fb. Not posting on Instagram, but am keeping up with those I follow. IG doesn't seem to bug me as much as other social media, maybe because it's mostly photos of art.)

Thanks for the visit!

My Art Book (and a Sticker Pack)!

My artwork from the past three years, compiled in a really nice, 96 page volume!

This past year brought a solo exhibition for me at Helikon Gallery. Along with the show, the gallery director and illustrator, Cayce Goldberg, designed this 96 page book.

I got to watch--and add my thoughts--as he worked on laying out the covers and pages. It was a fascinating process, and I've nothing but admiration for Cayce's skills as a writer and designer.

 

 Many of the page layouts feature the finished work along with the initial sketch and process photos...

 

...along with pages that show close-up details of my drawings and paintings (with my short commentaries about technique, or process, or thoughts about influences).

 

There are even great layouts of my sketches (and a few "portraits" of my friends) designed consistently by theme...

...including pages that deal with my fascination with Alice's Adventures.

It's a volume that pretty much covers my work and process, and I'm very proud of it.

 

The gallery even created a companion sticker pack to go along with the book and exhibition!

If what I create happens to resonate for you, both book and sticker pack are available here:

My shop

 

Your purchase helps me continue to make art, 

and I very much appreciate your interest and support--thank you!

Afterword at Helikon Gallery--Opening this Week!

Above is one of the posters for Afterword. A Tribute to Literature.

It's the completed piece from my previous post,

Macbeth and a Ghost

Here's the line-up of all invited artists for an easier read :)

Many of my friends are showing works in this show. If they have a website, it's listed below. Click on their names for more of their works--you'll be amazed!

Vinni Alfonso

Dymond Starr Austin

Clay Brooks

Laura Imbler

Rob Jordan

Mike Kloepfer

Jeremy Aaron Moore

Ryan Morse

Valerie Savarie

Kelsi Jo Silva

Tony Steck

John Van Horn

Kaitlin Ziesmer

Here's the direct link to the show:

Afterword at Helikon Gallery

In addition to Afterword, Helikon Gallery is presenting

Muses V 

and
Goodnight Sweet Prince--The Artwork of John Van Horn

So much stunning artwork to enjoy--so please come out this Wednesday or First Friday and support the arts, working Denver artists, and a great gallery!