A Blue Whale Birthday!!

It was my beautiful girlfriend's birthday on Friday so I painting a card on photoshop based on a couple of Adam Rex characters. One of them is a chicken (not sure which book that it out of) and another is a whale from the cover painting of 'Billy Twitter & His Blue Whale Problem.' That book , I've only just spotted this, comes out on my birthday!!! (Suzanne I hope you're reading this) Anyway she really really liked the whale so I thought I'd adapt him into a card.

What's Work Really For?

Greek Plates drop shadow
Originally uploaded by chrisdunn210

Management Today Magazine arrived in the post this morning so I guess it's safe to post the work I did for it. The characters were all pencil sketches scanned in and then colour in Photoshop. The plates and cracks are all digitally painted, the cracks were especially good fun. It looks like I've made some good contacts at Haymarket with this piece.

Here's what it looks like in the magazine:

The Doorway

The Doorway
Originally uploaded by chrisdunn210

Here's the finished painting. I did have to do a bit of major pencil crayoning on the 'tentacles' but apart from that it all gradually came together. Hope you like it!

Dimensions: 29.5cm x 21cm

Get some work done Chris!!!

Here's a work in progress. I've just started a little mini series of watercolours based on where I live, I think I'm going to call it Bingley secrets. The premise is I find interesting compositions in and around the town and then imagine what creatures or people could exist there secretly. I've got two paintings on the go at the moment and possibly planning another four later on.

This piece in terms of colour is unresolved but I think I can pull through if I stick to warm light and cold shadows but that's easier said than done!

Crikey it's been a while since I've blogged!! That's why I don't keep diaries. I'm glad to say I've been very busy this last couple of weeks. After visiting Jane Fielder and her brilliant Bingley Art Gallery (go and check it out if you live near), she's agreed to show one of my paintings 'Foundry Hill' (above). You can buy the original for £150 and if the painting sells hopefully I will be showing more work there.

More recently I've just finished a commission for Management Today magazine. That's my first ever editorial commission WOHOO! It seems practicing digital painting has really paid off and I will be putting the work up when the issue is released in April I believe.

Who You Gonna Call!?

Finished Painting

Detail

I'm quite pleased with my first attempt at photoshop painting, although there's still something lacking. Maybe it's my lack of reference or just the dodgy composition - but I'm sure you'll let me off it was just a rambling sketch to start with!! (Please?) The colouring was good fun though, and I like the boy's expression so I added a detail to the post. Rest assured I'll keep practicing so watch this space. (If anybody actually does - Hi!)

Self Portrait

Self Portrait
Originally uploaded by chrisdunn210

I really really really enjoyed this watercolour because its ME ME ME! Not really, well . . . maybe a bit. I was looking through Eric Fortune's work which is astounding and I just had to do a homage but not in acrylic, those paints smell funny. It really didn't take long to do at all - a days work really. I hope you like it.

Toilet Training

Toilet Training
Originally uploaded by chrisdunn210

*PRINTS ON SALE @ NATURE CALLS STUDIO*

http://www.naturecallsstudio.com/toilet_training.html

Sole Diving

Sole Diving
Originally uploaded by chrisdunn210

A personal piece going back to basics of getting proportion and line right before going anywhere near the paint. I also had a go with leaving a faint line around the figure after looking at Rockwell books recently and I'm very pleased with the results. The water, fish and trainers just happened and I'm not even going to try to explain them!!

Pop-up sample

DSCF0012
Originally uploaded by chrisdunn210

Heres some work I did that ended up at the Frankfurt Book Fair last October. I'd like to point out though I didn't do the paper mechanics and binding just the illustrations.