Matt Johnson's Art

Around the World and Back Again

2012-01-18T20:03:00.001-05:00

Wow, it has already been a month since the Imaginism Studios workshop wrapped up. I've only managed to fit in random digital sketches and some small commissions over the last few weeks. Rest assured, they are better than anything I could do before, but I still haven't had the chance to unleash the full power of 'the box'...haha.

I assure you, however, it is for good reason, I promise! I've been very busy. Take a look at the pictures here and you'll see.

As pictured above, I did a photoshoot with a lovely friend of mine, Gabby, after we re-outfitted the living room to be an impromptu studio with amazing results. I'll be posting photos from the 6 or 7 hours of shooting we did for the next several months, at least. Not to mention the artistic reference shots I took that I hope to turn into wonderful works of art before all is said and done.

After that, I got the honor of being this month's Featured Artist at Blick Art Materials here in Paramus. I thought they only wanted ONE piece from me, it turns out they wanted TWELVE!

That's great news, but it took a lot of scrambling to get everything framed and ready to be put up. My living room and studio were a living art gallery for a day or two until I could transport all the art. Haha.

The end result is this. Not the best display of my work since most of it is so small, I really like for people to be able to get up close and personal with it. However, its still on a wall, doing what it does best....being seen. Hopefully some great contacts come of it or some customers want to buy the pieces right off the wall.

Lastly, there were a few prints that needed to be mailed, the one above went to my good friend Joe and I couldn't have been happier to frame it up and ship it out for him.

As you can see, it has been an eventful month so far. I won't even go into the large amount of writing and graphic design projects I've received that have kept me up at night as well. However, when there is money to be made, and it is needed urgently, sometimes we do what we have to do. No complaints here, I'm fortunate to get asked to do so many different things by so many different people.

Oh, and lets not forget about filming and editing the video about the Imaginism Workshop....there was that, too. Phew. I'm making myself tired just thinking about all this at once.

If you don't already, friend me on facebook, follow me on twitter, or check out more of my work at artofmattjohnson.com!

Artmeme Interview and Video!

2012-01-11T16:24:00.002-05:00

Click here to watch the video!

I was fortunate to be asked to do an interview and short video for Artmeme, a NYC based online art community. I talked a great deal about the Imaginism In-House Workshop as well as my own experiences and passions. You can watch the video above or click here to read the full interview!

My Dragon Valentine

2012-01-10T09:41:00.002-05:00

Click to see a larger version!

Like many other workshop students, I have spent the last couple of weeks reorganizing life to accommodate the new perspective I have on life and on my goals. From organizing, planning, closing up loose end projects, and catching up after being gone for a month, it is a wonder I am even writing this post this early in the year!

I just wanted to share a piece I recently made for a special show at Blick Art Materials in Paramus, NJ. It is a flattering and humbling honor, they have asked me to be their 'featured artist' for the month. If you're in the area, go check out my work going up this week. I'll have about 12 pieces there, traditional and digital.

The great thing about this piece is that it took a cumulative total of about 4 hours, which would have been at least twice or three times that before the workshop, and it would not have been as interesting.

I look forward to sharing more with you all in the near future as things ramp up. I'll be doing some acrylic paintings and some sequential pieces (i.e., stories) that I think are really exciting.

All Good Things...

2011-12-15T11:26:00.000-05:00

I told myself I wasn't going to write a long thing eulogizing our last days at the workshop. I tried to resist. At the very least I kept it short!

I started this Monday night, and finished sometime Tuesday. By the time it posts I'll be on the road back to New Jersey.

It seems like the workshop is ending in as much of a whirlwind as it began. We're all sitting awake drawing or getting ready to get back to our lives, mostly just trying to pass the time without getting sad.

No one wants to talk about it being over.

We watched some inspiring movies and documentaries, and some awful ones, too. Some were so bad they became fun again. Waking Sleeping Beauty (at Jimena's request) and it was almost as eye-opening as the rest of this workshop has been.

I can't express enough that every single day has held some sort of new life epiphany that will be nurtured, groomed, and developed for months and years to come. Not a single day drifted past without great things happening.

I feel like we all started this workshop last month with open minds and open eyes, waiting to see how our lives and art would be changed. We end this workshop with direction, equipped to teach ourselves in ways no one else could teach us in colleges and classrooms, and will spend the rest of our lives learning effectively and improving at our crafts.

We will all go our separate ways, thousands of miles from one another, but we will only become more close over time. We shared a significant amount of time as part of one another's lives, when you consider the 24/7 nature of the workshop.

We will surely collaborate on projects that came from the time we spent together talking about our dreams and goals over three meals a day and late nights of painting at our desks in the studio... we will connect each other to people in our lives that can help us on our way, so our lives are enriched for this experience in ways that go far beyond drawing and painting skills.

So all good things come to an end. I for one will be taking this as an opportunity to consider the sweeping change that is about to take place in all of our art and in our lives as we pursue new goals with as much excitement as we had for our time here.

To Imaginism Studios, Bobby, Kei, Jason, Peter, Fez, the rest of the crew, and especially Thierry and Isa, thank you all for the insights. Every conversation was electric with knowledge and passion for realizing our dreams, you gave us more than just new skills and knowledge, you inspired change in our lives and forged connections and friendships that will pay dividends out into the world for years to come.

A Face Only a Mother Could Love

2011-12-13T19:27:00.002-05:00

Amphibious Cotillion - 12"x12" Acrylic on Panel

Well, its no Bouguereau painting, but its a start. I'll be refining this some more when I get home. The important thing to note here is that I used a pretty new method of painting for me, and came out with a result close to what I wanted...something a little weird with a classic feeling.

I'll be doing more like this in the future, for sure. If this is my first one, I can't wait until my fifth, or my tenth painting. The complexity possible is limitless... now I feel like I can do as much with acrylic/oil as I could EVER do with digital, if not more.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my progress over the workshop. I can't wait to show you more art, announce new projects, and do more commissions for those of you that were waiting.

Feel free to email me any time with questions, comments, concerns or requests. This has been an absolute blast. :)

Stay tuned for another post with final thoughts on the workshop as a whole in the next few days!

Acrylic Concept

2011-12-09T12:01:00.001-05:00

Digital concept for Acrylic Painting week at the Imaginism Workshop

This is my digital rough for the acrylic painting project we're doing in our last week at the workshop. I love this disgusting little girl because she has manners. Haha.

The interesting part about this is that the entire process from idea to 'finished' digital (which admittedly isn't perfect) took easily a 1/10th of the time that my work before the workshop would take.

Acrylic Underpainting of the digital rough...still needs some work but its almost ready for color!

Brain Renovations

2011-12-06T14:19:00.001-05:00

Wow, how much has changed and how hard we've worked, and how much clearer everything is now. Just wow.

The difficult thing about posting during this workshop is that it requires 100% of your focus and dedication, and by the time you write a post, everything has improved and changed again, and the post becomes irrelevant, and you don't even want to post it.

Don't take the lack of posts from any of us to mean we're sitting back in some non-existent Imaginism Workshop lounge drinking cocktails and reminscing about the good ol' days when we made art. HA. HA. HA.

Thierry has been giving us challenging assignments, time crunches, tough deadlines, even tougher standards for our work, and more advice than you can wrap your head around. The learning almost can't keep up with the application of the new ideas, you just have to grab everything you can and process it later.

We're off to the Imaginism Studio for our official tour so I am cutting it short. I wish I had something visual to post, but you can see our gorgeous faces over at the Imaginism Blog, there's a post there about subway sketching!

Other Workshop Mates' blogs!

2011-11-29T11:14:00.001-05:00

If you're needing a fix of info from the Imaginism Studios workshop and haven't seen these already, take a look at the awesome posts the others in my group are writing.

Filipe Laurentino: http://www.laurentino.com.br/en/blog/
Daria Zersen: zersen.blogspot.com
Jimena Sanchez: monitosbonitos.com

Quick update

2011-11-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

I guess one blog post in a week is a good indicator of how crazy demanding things have been here. It is all wonderfully productive, lots of late nights of homework assignments, learning about light, realistic painting, dynamics of drapery, anatomy, and more. So much more! Life, career goals, time management, etc. etc.

Let's not forget our amazing visit with Doug Sneyd this weekend. Doug Sneyd has been illustrating for Playboy Magazine since the 1960's, so naturally his wisdom about the industry and his technical skill are unparalleled.

Not to mention, he is totally hilarious, as you'd imagine. It was truly an honor to be a guest in his home, viewing his work from decades past, and hearing his thoughts on our careers and where we can go from here.

We're all trying hard to ignore the fact that we've already been here for two weeks, and that we're technically half way finished. I prefer the glass-half-full idea that we've already had two weeks of great education and new ideas for the future.

I've started to get some clarity on my next projects, which is very exciting. Looking forward to giving another update, hopefully even sooner. :)

Picture time.

2011-11-21T23:27:00.001-05:00

So, while I'm probably too tired to properly post ever again, I thought I'd at least take an opportunity to show you some photos from the weekend. We went subway sketching, checked out a mall full of giant ghost deer (at least that's what I like to call them) and found Jimena's evil twin brother. All in all, a good weekend.

Oh, and lets not forget the 8 - 12 hours of drawing and painting at the house. There was that, too. :)

66 flavors of burgers and wings....I'm not going back to NYC.

Filipe, Jimena, Daria. And a pole.

Look at these guys.

Jimena, Daria, and Filipe while we were on a trek through downtown.

That guy could eat you. Seriously huge.

These deer ghosts are obviously in the wrong place.

Jimena's evil twin was at the mall in Canada...random, right!?

Gonna get drunk on pancakes.

Get your subway sketch on. Peace sign and devil horns. We couldn't be more cliche if we tried. Haha.

This is my "whatchoo doin with that camera" face.

The Nitty Gritty

2011-11-19T11:39:00.001-05:00

Photo by Workshopmate Filipe Laurentino

After yesterday, my ideas of how to develop story and character have been changed in really great ways. We learned techniques for being more receptive, more intuitive, and more expressive, and crazy character ideas were floating around all day.

OH....and we bravely ventured into the great outdoors. Seriously getting cold up here, kids.

Basically things are going as you may expect.... late to bed, early to rise, and extremely productive. Week one is almost over, and it has been worth the entire expense and journey already. I can't believe my work stands to transform this much three more times at least before I leave.

This workshop also gives us all pause to consider our larger goals, and we've been getting a lot of feedback on pursuing them. When you really get down to it and organize your thoughts, there's very little you can't accomplish if you set your mind to it and use common sense. The same is true of anything, artistic or otherwise.

I accidentally (and only temporarily) stole a shopping cart. They do shopping carts differently here, I learned very quickly. Lesson number one about Canada.... if something looks free to use, make sure someone else didn't put money in it to make it functional first.

On a final note, I would like to point out again that T's cooking is not to be reckoned with. That is all.

Day 4 - Salads, Mass Hysteria, & Efficiency

2011-11-17T14:02:00.001-05:00

Curves are actually straight lines. Arms and legs are boxes. Up is down. As the great Dr. Peter Venkman would say, "Dogs and cats, living together! Mass hysteria!" Who knows what assumptions will be shattered and rebuilt next!?

Our notions of structure are being simplified. There is an elegance to this new method that isn't just about making it 'right'....it is about making it right the first time. Drawing carefully and correctly can be faster than drawing quickly.

This is so much more valuable than someone leaning over your shoulder giving advice on a single specific piece of art....this is much more efficient and effective knowledge for us.

I started some sketches last night and I feel like a different person is at the computer than the guy that was painting back home a couple of weeks ago. I think that's a great sign.

Also, change of subject, but I'm gonna take some pictures of Thierry's awesome lunch salads for you all soon. You haven't had lunch until you've had lunch T-bear style.

Feel free to talk to me on twitter or email me if you have any questions. I know when Jodee Taylah was writing about her experience, I was glued to every post. :)

Also, if you aren't already, go to the Imaginism Workshop Blog and check out the updates from everyone else.

50-Headed Monster and Bobby Chiu

2011-11-16T16:31:00.001-05:00

Filipe, Daria, and Jimena on break, but not really because there are entirely too many awesome things to read here.

Day two was definitely the beginning of something new and magical that none of us quite understand yet, even if we think we do. Thierry has been teaching us how to restructure our thinking about the human head and how to rethink how things are built and appear in physical space.

Our drawings are very abstract right now, almost just notes of how we are thinking when we look at things in the world (like I said yesterday.) but I think we are all learning immensely from it, and I can already tell that my approach to getting my imagination on paper has improved. Drawing heads in a few simple brush strokes in a matter of minutes that are intended to read as having depth and structure is no small task, but we are performing as well as we can, and doing a good job, if I may say so.

Oh, hello little guy on the wall....I know you.

Suffice to say, there is more being packed into our brains than we can digest in one day but there is already immediate improvement in everyone's work just from having Thierry surgically deconstruct our thinking.

Today (day three) was our Master Class lecture from Bobby Chiu. I am so blown away by the knowledge and the new perspectives that I don't even think I can speak on it just yet, maybe tomorrow or the next day....or next year. I have a lot to think about and plan for.

Also I should point out that it really feels like we are one team pursuing one goal together, and a lot of people are lucky if they ever have that once in their lives, much less for an entire month about art.

Break is over, now it is time to learn some more from Thierry about these 50 heads we drew last night (and then had to be up early for Bobby's live-changing talk) then it is on to the next challenge.

Maybe it will be 50 more heads. And why not? I can't get enough of them. Haha!

First impressions

2011-11-15T09:33:00.000-05:00

Monday was our first day doing 'lessons' from Thierry, but it has been a non-stop learning experience so far. Sunday in the airport we sketched while waiting on classmates to arrive, learning a million little things from Thierry before even starting.

The first day I filled pages with notes, notes on things T said about life, about art, or about common sense, things that weren't even parts of the lesson at times.

We are learning about structure, how to make our images have more depth and interesting features. I feel like I have had my eyes opened to how 'flat' my art can be, and how to fix it, and it is only the first day.

Dinner with the Imaginism team was enlightening and fun, of COURSE. The conversation moved from art, to mango milkshakes, to Richard Branson and then back again!

Looking forward to sharing some art soon, we are doing a lot of drawing right now that is mostly mental work and not very aesthetically appealing. The work right now is about reconfiguring our brains to think differently about our work.

That is truly the most valuable type of knowledge, though. It is the old idea of 'teaching a man to fish' which is stuff we can take with us and work on for years to come.

Final Thoughts Before Toronto

2011-11-09T20:07:00.000-05:00

I figured that the next three days will be a veritable madhouse as I try to solve many of life's tough travel-questions. Will Canada accept me? How many socks is too many socks? Since I'm driving, do I REALLY need to pack a suitcase, or can I just throw everything in my car? Wait, did I remember socks?

So I decided to go ahead and put down some final thoughts on what I hope to get out of this workshop, my goals for the trip, and what I'm excited about learning and experiencing.

First of all, for anyone just tuning in, I'm going to Toronto for the Imaginism Studios In-House Workshop. Only 4 artists from all over the world were chosen for this workshop, and we're only the second group to go through it. It will consist of drawing, painting, and learning in an intensely productive environment from Thierry Lafontaine, Bobby Chiu, Kei Acedera and others about how they make the work that has made them so successful, and how to become better at what it is that I do.

Of course, primarily, I just want to come away a better artist. I want to have more focus in my work, find new ways to use my imagination, and some new skills to accompany that.

I also want to have an actual strategy for getting my work out to the public more effectively and attracting clients in the hopes of one day being a full-time artist.

I am excited about the RARE opportunity to completely devote a month to my art, I'm already used to 16 hour days (split between work and art, almost every day is this for me!), but for them to be filled with art is a rare blessing.

I am excited about soaking up the energy Thierry Lafontaine, Bobby Chiu, Kei Acedera, and the rest of the Imaginism crew will be exuding. It has always been a huge curiosity of mine - the day-to-day lifestyles of these powerhouse creators, what makes them tick, how they conduct their day-to-day business, etc. and to glean any small bits of wisdom from that will definitely improve my life.

I am excited about seeing what their process is like as they work on their own projects. Getting to watch the teacher at work on something more than just a demonstration is sometimes more insightful than any teaching could be.

I can't wait to meet my fellow classmates. I have a strong feeling that after a month of interaction, we will be life-long friends that will continue to encourage each other for years to come. I hope to be challenged by them, and I hope to challenge them in turn.

I want to make this a longer list, but I feel like these broad strokes are all that I can really define at this point. There's really no need to get more specific. At this point, I'm truly excited and ready to give my brain over to the experts, let them tinker with it, and take it back home with me after the workshop and make them proud.

I am proud of the person I am, that I was able to accomplish this with the support of friends and fans of my art. When I initially looked at the application, I disregarded it as something I was not in a position to do with my life. Now, six months later, I'm packing my bags. It is absolutely unbelievable what you can do when you just make up your mind and set a goal.

I'm already a better artist than I was when I applied. The process of fund-raising for the trip and trying to be as sharp as possible has really paid off. I've made some of my best work in the last few weeks, and I couldn't be more grateful to arrive as a sharp artist, ready for whatever Imaginism throws at me.

More than anything, I've just been inspired by the fact that this workshop exists. The fact that Imaginism took the time to say "hey....we should do this." and put in all of the work to make it happen is simply astounding. We are lucky to have such generous artists in the world.

Imaginism Studios Workshop

2011-11-08T00:30:00.001-05:00

Well, the time is finally upon us!

Sorry I didn't update much. I was busy drawing and painting. FORGIVE ME.

Anyway, I'm off to Toronto next weekend, and I'll be there learning from the greatest concept artists I know of, Bobby Chiu, Thierry Lafontaine, Kei Acedera, and my three yet-to-be-met classmates!

I'm looking forward to an amazing trip, and I'll be updating here as close to daily as possible. Stay tuned!

Andrew's Magic Puppy

2011-11-08T00:24:00.000-05:00

This is the latest digital painting commission I finished, for my friend Christina, whose six year old son believes that his puppy stuffed animal comes to life at night as his 'Magic Puppy' and protects him from monsters that are up to no good. This is my take on the story. Hope you enjoy! (click for a larger version)

Photobomb!

2011-11-08T00:23:00.000-05:00

Some would call this a bit of an Angry Birds homage....I won't argue, but it wasn't my original intention. :) Click for a larger version.

Glowing Scout Lemur (updated)

2011-11-08T00:19:00.001-05:00

Made some changes to this one, you can see the before and after here (the 'before' is on the left, click to enlarge!).

Also, check this out, just for funsies. This is the sketch about 20 mins in, and the final on the right. :)

Baby Cookie Monsters

2011-09-14T22:08:00.000-04:00

Baby Cookie Monsters Digital Painting
On Etsy

September Study

2011-09-09T18:49:00.001-04:00

Click to enlarge....the picture doesn't really do this one justice, I'll try to replace it at some point. I hope you enjoy.

Death By Cupcake

2011-09-06T00:15:00.000-04:00

Hey guys! Just wanted you to know that I finally finished and posted the "Little Debbie" Pinup I've been telling you all about! Pretty excited about this one, I think it came out great!

Also, for a limited time to celebrate this new piece, use coupon code "cupcake" on etsy to receive 30% off anything you want to purchase, and thanks for supporting me!

Click here to check out my shop and other art

Glowing Scout Lemur

2011-08-17T12:33:00.001-04:00

"Lemur Nitoris Protegere"

This rare breed of lemur is nocturnal, and has only been seen by humans fewer than a dozen times. They come out at night to protect enchanted forests. Their eyes and antennae glow when danger is nearby, alerting other scouts. It is said that if provoked to howl, it will more than likely deafen his attacker and raises the alarm for the entire forest.

Click here to see detail shots on etsy or buy a print!

Just for an Instant

2011-01-15T17:39:00.001-05:00

"Just for an Instant"
Graphite on paper, 40"x30"
Fine art prints are also available by clicking here. Thanks for looking!

Portrait of a Girl

2010-12-07T01:39:00.000-05:00

18" x 24" Pencil on Bristol
Prints available at artofmattjohnson.com

Fawn

2010-08-01T13:13:00.001-04:00

by Matt Johnson
Pencil and Photoshop, prints available!

Waking

2010-07-18T20:17:00.000-04:00

"Waking" by Matt Johnson
Pencil and Photoshop
Prints available here!

Portrait Study

2010-07-02T21:24:00.001-04:00

Portrait Study of a friend, about 2 1/2 hours, unadjusted photo, too. Feedback?

Eat Sleep Draw #004

2010-06-13T18:33:00.001-04:00

My illustration is the cover of the latest issue of Eat Sleep Draw magazine! You can get it here, and its only $10!

Work in Progress....

2010-06-13T18:12:00.001-04:00

This is my newest pencil, just a pretty face for now, but we'll see where it goes. I'm hoping to get some color on it this week. [click for a larger version]

Her Old Portrait

2010-06-13T18:04:00.000-04:00

It has been a long time since I've posted here! I'm just now getting back into the swing of things after several hectic months at my new day job, which is actually more of a 24/7 job.

Above is my most recent digital painting, done from this pencil drawing...

Prints available at my etsy shop or you can check out my website.

Out of Commission

2010-04-18T23:21:00.000-04:00

I know I haven't been posting much art for the last few months, life has been crazy/exhausting/stressful/exciting.

Hopefully things slow down at work soon and I can start posting more art. In the mean time you can always check my website, or just drop me a line via email at matt@artofmattjohnson.com.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Sawyer the Dog!

2009-12-11T19:40:00.000-05:00

Digital Painting of someone's beautiful lab I was commissioned for. I won't mention names since its a Christmas present from them and I don't want to spoil their surprise! :)

If you'd like something like this, a dog, cat, person, bottle of gin, whatever..... I'm still available before Christmas for a couple of more.

Beth Anne

2009-12-09T22:41:00.000-05:00

Approx 12" x 18", Charcoal on Toned Paper - $75

From tonight's open model session. Archival Prints available here.

2009-12-06T18:52:00.000-05:00

22" x 18" pencil on bristol, click for a larger view.

I picked a reference I knew I'd never get perfect so that I could really push my pencil skills to the max, and boy did I. I'm happy with the results and happy with everything I learned.
Prints available upon request. Thanks for looking!

Charcoal Study 3

2009-11-30T23:14:00.001-05:00

18" x 24" Charcoal on toned paper. Click for a larger view. Prints available upon request, thanks for looking!

Charcoal Study 2

2009-11-29T21:29:00.000-05:00

Charcoal Study, 18" x 24"

5 Tickets to the Flash Museum, Please

2009-11-23T21:52:00.001-05:00

Click to enlarge. This time we did the bad guys! Another collaboration between Tony Veronese and me. Prints available upon request!

Come Up Screaming

2009-11-21T17:38:00.001-05:00

Charcoal and Colored Pencil on 18" x 24" toned paper. Click to enlarge, prints available at my etsy store.

Figure Study 11/18/09

2009-11-21T14:42:00.001-05:00

1 1/2 hr study from last week's figure drawing. I'm rusty but still happy with it. Sorry for the lazy photograph, I'm sure you won't lose sleep over it. :)

3 Generations of The Flash

2009-11-20T00:42:00.001-05:00

Click for a larger view.

This was a collaboration between Tony Veronese and myself. He did pencils/inks and I colored it. This is part of a larger collaboration between Jon Raney, Tony Veronese, and me, known as Pupil Food Press.

I hope you like it!

artofmattjohnson.com

Prints available if you drop me a line.

You HAVE TO Stay Quiet!

2009-11-18T22:53:00.000-05:00

Since I hope to find my way into illustration for kids work one day, I thought I should start doing some concepts just to show some skills/looks that are solely mine.

This might be for a story of a little girl hiding a dragon in her tree house.

Painted in Photoshop.

PS: I just recently redesigned my site, go check that out if you haven't in a while.

The Bad Apple

2009-11-06T00:18:00.000-05:00

The Bad Apple started as an idea to make a pin-up style illustration of Snow White, and turned into a concept ad for a [fake as far as I know] pub.

I used some old coloring book pictures for reference, entirely created in photoshop.

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to or not, but I know how Disney can be about their characters showing up in places they don't deem appropriate, so.....

Snow White is property of Disney, and this image is solely a concept piece not intended for any financial gain whatsoever.

Check out my deviantart page, and click the picture for a larger view!

Opera - Of Chorus!

2009-10-16T10:38:00.000-04:00

Click to see full-size! This is a poster Jon and Tony and I just did for the Montgomery Chorale. We'd love to do more poster-illustration for people's events, etc. so let me know.

Logo Design

2009-10-16T10:33:00.001-04:00

Logo design for 41 Fitness, a new crossfit gym opening here. Their gym is an old warehouse that will be rigged up to suit their needs, affectionately called the Boneyard. So, there you have it.

2009-09-24T00:35:00.001-04:00

This is sort of another imaginism inspired thing. Bobby Chiu has been doing a lot of live sketches lately, and I drew this little guy for a friend in pencil, decided to photoshop it, and now here it is. This was maybe an hour you could distill down to about 30 minutes if I didn't play so much. click through to my deviant art and a larger version. prints available on etsy!

Hey look, its a two-fer!

2009-09-18T12:48:00.000-04:00

Here are two new pieces, the most recent digital paintings I've completed. It was really hard to not put these up sooner, but I wanted there to be a couple of surprises at the show! Also, I now have a deviantart, so, yeah. :)

click to enlarge

Thanks to everyone that came to my show last night, also. WONDERFUL night!

Print Prices lowered

2009-08-21T15:09:00.001-04:00

I lowered most of the prices in the store, in hopes of..you know, SELLING SOME. So go check it out through my main site. www.artofmattjohnson.com

Carley!

2009-08-20T01:52:00.000-04:00

My friend Carley asked if I'd do something for her business card [she's a piercer] and this is what I came up with, fortunately she loved it!

House Show Announcement!

2009-08-18T12:59:00.000-04:00

Come one, come all. Hors d'oeuvres and wine, too. It'll be a good time.

Pebbles Flintstone

2009-08-10T01:20:00.000-04:00

Everyone's gotta grow up some time.

Prints available.

Prints available!

2009-08-10T01:18:00.000-04:00

After a lot of hard work and planning, I'm selling prints of my artwork and photography! Right now its just the statistically 'most popular' items, but if there's something you want, I can make it happen, no problem. I hope that you'll go to my site and find something you like!

[site opens in a new window]

Adrift

2009-07-28T19:32:00.000-04:00

36" x 48"
oil on canvas

This is the first time I've painted in a while. Go to my flickr [link on the right over there], and you can see the entire process, as well as seven 'rules' I wrote that I sort of try to live by when it comes to art.

Thanks. :)

2009-07-12T17:14:00.000-04:00

White and Sepia Charcoal, 24" x 18" toned paper.

This is the beginning of a series of classically drawn 'freak show women' of sorts. We'll see how it goes! I hope you like it.

2009-07-09T12:59:00.000-04:00

Pencil and Photoshop. Click to enlarge!

Last Americans, Issue 1

2009-07-08T01:15:00.001-04:00

Click to enlarge. The first cover of our comic, The Last Americans.

Website

2009-07-07T16:56:00.000-04:00

For anyone out there that may be unaware, my website is www.artofmattjohnson.com. You can contact me there for any work or prints! Thanks for following, folks!

Izzy [pencil and photoshop]

2009-07-06T21:02:00.001-04:00

Click to enlarge. Pencil and Photoshop. This is a picture of my friend Abby's daughter, one of the cutest kids on the planet. I hope you like it.

Blue

2009-07-05T14:09:00.000-04:00

Click to enlarge. Pencil and Photoshop.

Red

2009-07-02T01:14:00.000-04:00

Click to enlarge.

This was sort of a practice, get back in the swing of things picture. Done in photoshop, 11" x 17".

sketches

2009-05-27T21:48:00.000-04:00

went to figure drawing tonight, this is what happened. :)

Walnocerus

2009-04-19T22:11:00.000-04:00

So, this is one of the first originals I've painted since Bobby Chiu's class wrapped up, click to enlarge.

Walnocerus

2009-03-31T00:22:00.000-04:00

I guess I took a little inspiration from Bobby Chiu after drawing some random shapes and what came out was a Walnocerus. I'm gonna try to take this pencil drawing to the degree of completion in Whaleboy, we'll see what happens!

Jessica

2009-03-27T18:51:00.000-04:00

Jessica

Brown/White Charcoal on toned paper. 1hr 30mins.

Figure Drawing 3-19-09

2009-03-19T22:56:00.001-04:00

Jessica
Sepia/White Charcoal on toned paper. 45 mins.

Figure Drawing 3/18/09

2009-03-18T23:39:00.000-04:00

Approximately 18"x6", 1hr 30mins.

Black, Brown, Sepia, White charcoal on toned paper.

Figure drawings

2009-03-18T01:09:00.000-04:00

40 mins, charcoal on toned paper, 6"x12"

20 mins, charcoal on toned paper, 4"x12"

Figure studies from this week

2009-03-05T23:20:00.000-05:00

Click to enlarge.

These are all 30-45mins. Not my best week, not my worst. Good practice, I'm warming up to the tonal stuff.

Assignment 8 & 9 - Bigfoot

2009-03-02T02:17:00.000-05:00

Click to enlarge.

Bobby Chiu's bigfoot, painted from his line-art through completion. This was a doozy. I hope you like it.

Figure studies

2009-02-26T22:16:00.000-05:00

Click to enlarge

15 min on packing paper

15 min on packing paper, I call this one, the butt-picker

1 minute gestures

15 min pencil drawing

Assignment 7 - Vectors

2009-02-03T00:19:00.000-05:00

Click either for a larger view. This was a lot of fun. :)

Painting study

2009-01-30T01:02:00.000-05:00

This was about an hour in photoshop based on the drawing. I hope you like. :)

Logan Study

2009-01-29T18:53:00.000-05:00

Logan study, 1 1/2 hours.

Wiggle Warily

2009-01-25T21:22:00.000-05:00

There's a lot of stuff about this that makes me wince. I might put up a version later that is a little more refined, if that's even the word I want to use.

However, it was inspired by this young lady's self-portrait.

Assignment 6

2009-01-24T17:19:00.001-05:00

Click to enlarge. Before you go giving me too much credit, the assignment was just to paint the hair, the face wasn't my doing. All I did to the face was the hair's shadows. I learned a TON on this lesson, really.

Assignment 5

2009-01-20T01:25:00.001-05:00

Click to enlarge.

The before and after, from Bobby's line art to my final painting using the smudge technique and a little bit of the brush tool.

Assignment 4 - Before and After

2009-01-05T00:31:00.000-05:00

Click to enlarge. Bobby Chiu's original base-coat for his piece "Kangamolebunny" is on the right, the left my work for the assignment. I'm completely exhausted now, thank you and good night. Oh, but wait, tomorrow is lesson 5. I'm loving this, don't take this as complaining. But good lord, its intense.

Assignment 3

2009-01-04T19:21:00.001-05:00

This crap was ridiculously difficult. That is all I have to say on the matter.

Assignment 2

2008-12-30T10:10:00.000-05:00

Assignment 2, Colorizing from Black and White. Bobby Chiu gave us this image in black and white and we had to color it. It is not as easy as it sounds, it took me over 3 hours.

2008-12-21T20:19:00.000-05:00

Is anyone else totally getting tired of studies? Cause I know I am. I'm gonna be doing my new assignment for Bobby Chiu's class and trying to come up with some stuff of my own this week. OH YEAH CHRISTMAS. Well, next week then. Arg.

First Bobby Chiu Assignment

2008-12-15T23:35:00.001-05:00

Our first assignment for Bobby Chiu's class was to "recreate" one of his black and white pictures. I don't know if I did it justice, but here's my second/final draft.

Also, I know its been a while since I've posted, I've been too busy making stuff to really stop for blogging, don't feel neglected. :)

A lot to show, and a little to say

2008-11-30T23:51:00.000-05:00

Let's all not forget that this is all practice work, so a few of these are more trial and error things where I'm learning a lot more so than finished 'pieces' or whatever.

This one here of Beth was a two hour pose, its like 12"x16" (these drawings are a lot better in person in full size, I think I say that a lot) and I learned a lot here about pencil technique. A new lead-smoother-outer idea from Barrett that will pay massive dividends in future drawings. You'll see the chalkiness/grainy stuff in a lot of my work but now I know how to fix it. :)

I really wanted these two tonal pieces to fit on the screen side by side but I couldn't figure that out and I'm in a hurry sort of. The top one is my drawing in white pencil on toned paper, the bottom one is to show how solid the forms are, that the figure reads really really well, so I feel good about my "eye" but I'm really trying to nail down technique and craftsmanship so my drawings look a little more graceful. I don't want my drawings to BE blurry....I just did that to show you that the structure is intact and that the pencil-quality sort of takes away from that right now.

1 hour, Allison.

These two are both unfinished, but something else I'm working on is not detailing features too much. Look how pronounced the eyes are in the top one versus the bottom one. The bottom one, as a finished drawing, would ultimately read better because its more true to life, eyes don't pop out of the shadows and glow, so I'm working on - as always - drawing what I SEE and not what I think I see.

Also, look at that handsomely shaded sphere. Now that's just plain classy. (Barrett was talking light to the class, so I drew along. Never enough practice!)

Jon's Octopus

2008-11-20T01:01:00.001-05:00

Jon's Octopus Drawing, I just colored it. :)

Logan Study

2008-11-19T21:40:00.001-05:00

Logan, Approximately 13"x18", 1hr 30mins

John, Tuesday Portrait Study

2008-11-18T23:19:00.000-05:00

John, 2 hrs

Michelle Portrait Study

2008-11-17T21:45:00.000-05:00

Michelle, 12"X14", 1hr 30mins

2008-11-17T00:34:00.000-05:00

Another of Beth, 2 hrs, from this weekend.

portrait 11/13

2008-11-14T00:23:00.000-05:00

beth, 11"x14" - As always, I apologize for the crappy photo-reproduction of the work here. If you wanna see them look really good, you're just going to have to make a visit. :)

Two for One

2008-11-12T22:30:00.000-05:00

Beth, approx 12"x12" - Wednesday night figure study.

For those of you that may have noticed one of the first posts to this blog, these pins are being released as promotional items for the comic I'm working on with Tony and his brother. It revolves around a character named Nathan Cresk, who is in a governmentally run 'contest' to see what American gets to go to space - and THEN it gets crazy. So, these are campaign buttons for Cresk. Genius.

Toned Paper Studies

2008-11-10T01:04:00.001-05:00

Just getting into this, and I really like it. These were both done in about an hour. Also, check out my Flickr Page link on the right, it has updates from the weekend. If you use a reader, you can subscribe to the flickr page, FYI.

Karla

2008-10-31T19:50:00.000-04:00

As per usual, unfinished (had to watch The Office!) and a lot of lessons learned (aka FAILs).

This is my first charcoal drawing in ages. I think I need to do some more, this came out nicely for not having worked with the medium much.

Figure Study

2008-10-28T20:43:00.001-04:00

First one in a while. Rusty, but ok. I'm going to an actual figure session tomorrow instead of working from stock photos, so that'll be interesting. This was about 45 mins.

Long time coming

2008-10-25T18:24:00.000-04:00

10" x 8" - Untitled

I'm posting this in part because I feel like there's something dreadfully wrong and I can't place it. I've looked at it too long to discern problems at this point. Maybe someone out there has an idea, or if you just really really like it, you can buy it!

This is my first painting attempt in over a year, and I'm happy with it for that reason alone, if nothing else! More to come, certainly.

Photography

2008-10-21T23:03:00.000-04:00

There hasn't been a post here in a while, but I promise I've been hard at work. :) I just got a new camera, and some of these you've seen, some I took tonight. Thanks for checking back regardless of my regular neglect of this blog. (click them to enlarge)

Amanda

Robin and Neal

Famous Sculptures

Amelie, the Raney's little tramp.

Their dining room at sunset.

See!? That's paint. I'm painting. Which is what I'm going to do right now after I publish this. Now you have photographic evidence.

Brown Tree

2008-10-05T17:01:00.001-04:00

Just going for that painterly look in photoshop. This is 11" x 8.5" for prints.

Illustrator Tryout

2008-09-09T00:30:00.000-04:00

I just did this randomly and decided to try coloring it up in illustrator. Fun experiment, I'll maybe do some more.

New Drink and Draw setup.

2008-09-01T23:00:00.000-04:00

Many of you know about Drink and Draw, its been going steadily for a few months now. However, it started to waver and wane due to the fact that we're getting random and far-reaching on our topics.

So, we came up with a new method. We're going to each pick (or at least four people will pick) a card at random. Person, place, phrase, or thing. Then they come up with a person, place, phrase, or thing at random, depending on which card they got. Then we take all of them, and put them together to make the week's drink and draw topic.

Last week was the first time we did this, and the drawing ended up being: Kindergarten Class, Tomahawk, Mother Teresa, "Takes one to know one"

So you can see how that got crazy. :)

Being the nerds we are, we're taking it to a level beyond. Jon is making a box for these four cards I designed, with keys and everything. Neal will laminate them to ensure that they last. The top and bottom brown things are the same, just flipped - that's the back of each of these four cards. Click for a larger view.

Well THAT's not allowed in the dress code....

2008-08-28T21:30:00.000-04:00

Unless you're a very well paid escort, or a professional model for a kinky photographer. Whatever. Newest piece. I think I've accomplished what a lot of professional illustrators accomplish...and it only took me ten times as long! I learned a lot.

Alabama ARISE

2008-08-26T22:30:00.001-04:00

This hasn't been approved yet, so there might be changes. But this is a T-shirt design I just finished for the advocacy group, Alabama ARISE.

24"x18"

2008-07-29T23:10:00.000-04:00

Original Sketch and Finished Product. Guess which is which!?!?

A nice break from the strict rules of realism but I'm glad its done. :)

If you want a print, they're 24"x18" and $50.00 unframed on archival paper. They'll be signed and numbered on the back, so you know its legit and the "value" will never drop due to reprints. (haha...I feel ridiculous even saying all of that, but if I get a few requests, I can do all that) :)