A whole hour given over to pencil tonight!  The Artist feels a deep sense of accomplishment.  Stay tuned, this is a study for a much more epic painting to come.

F-86 Study, graphite on paper, 5X7"

And it's coming, really.

Happy birthday, Bob.

I couldn't think of a better tribute to the feller who gave me, and thousands of others, the first happy little kick in the pants I needed to up and start throwing paint.  The world is a little more Ochre without you.

Progress?

As-Of-Yet-Untitled, 42 x 24", Acrylic

Well, it's been a while since I've posted, hasn't it?  But here's an update on the five-year painting, which is starting to get in some textures and see a bit of definition.  Haven't touched it for months, by the way.  If you're interested in seeing the long process, my older blog has it all.

I begin to wonder if this thing is a lost cause....

Oh No--A Leak!

This blurry photograph was allegedly taken deep in the wilds of Siberia last Wednesday. Experts disagree on whether it is proof that artist Mike Ryan is still alive and working somewhere on a secret project, or just swamp gas.

Travel Air: Finished Product

Well, as usual, life got in the way of rapid progress. But I did eventually find the time to do the work. The painting, as complete:

Haufe Commission, acrylic on linen, 14 x 20"

Some really cool ideas have been bouncing around in my head for several days now. Keep checking in, as I intend to be better about posting regularly.

Travel Air: Full-Scale Graphite

The final step before we move to paint. All the major comp issues have been solved, clearance has been given and I expect that the painting process will move rapidly.

Study for Haufe Commission, 14x20", graphite

Stay tuned.

Travel Air: DG Plot

Two renders down, none to go. The first was some fifteen feet above the eyeline, way too far, which I figured out about halfway through when I realized I could see the port wingtip. WHOOPS.

Having calmly scrubbed the mess so made and then serenely fixed and checked the station point (pay no attention to the untidy lines of harried calculations in the corner), I got through the rest in five or six hours, spread out over two days. As usual, time and nature conspire to keep me from my painting.

DG Plot for Haufe Comission, Graphite, 18x24"

Now that I've finished laying the lines down, I move on to the full-scale graphite for final approval. The T-hangars along the east side have to be rendered, as they were left out of the concept, and some other minor comp corrections remain. I expect to have that all done early next week.

Detail

As soon as the graphite is done and approved, we move on to paint and color. This is turning out to be a really fun challenge; I'm particularly looking forward to attacking the thousand-and-one shades on the ostensibly red, white and blue airplane.