Antler Boy Coming to Life (Art is Long)

I started with some photo reference of myself for this one. Okay fine. I'll post one. I'm embarrassed by this picture but this will make more sense if you can see it.

I used this reference for the lighting, the gesture and structure of the facial expression, and the pattern on the shirt. Even though I changed all these things, the reference was very useful to turn too when something looked off. 

I tried not to make it look like me. It still kind of does. Like a caricature version of me almost.  But in a very weird doppelgänger type of way. It reminds of grotesque artists from the renaissance period. I don't know enough about that topic. Maybe I'll do a deeper dive on that in some future video. 

I look simultaneously younger and older in the painting. The effect of this was a cool unexpected surprise which seems appropriate for the theme of the prompt, revisiting old work. Going back in time and working on old art. 

The Process

I started with this sketch then I did a transfer drawing of it to a panel.

I didn't want to get the projector out for the tracing. It's a small piece which makes it hard to project on to. There's transfer paper that is designed for this. But I didn't have any so I went a little DIY on it.

I cut a piece of tracing paper down to the size of the panel and traced the drawing from my computer. 

Then I covered the back of the tracing paper with graphite using a very soft graphite stick.

I taped it to the panel  with the graphite side against the panel. then I traced the drawing with a red colored pencil to make sure I get everything

This makes the graphite on the back of the tracing paper transfer on to the panel, and the transfer is complete.

Because the graphite is so soft, If I just started painting over it, it would've mixed with the colors and made them all very gray. Which isn't bad, but I wanted to seal the graphite onto the panel and use it almost like an underpainting.

So I took some matte medium and a brush, and used the soft graphite like paint. 

It sealed the drawing and made it like a nice two tone underpainting.

I've been kicking myself for not taking more pictures of this part. Especially after I did the experiment with the matte medium and the graphite. It was a successful experiment and  It looked really cool.

I filmed it though! So you'll get to experience it that way. 

After that I just started painting it. Which I also didn't get many pictures of. But you'll see in the video.

I'll probably make a few more changes to the piece but it's pretty much done. I'll share the finished finished version after I scan it.

Here, you can see side by side the 2014 and 2024 versions of this idea.

Happy February 16th Everybody

When I was going back through my instagram for this Antler Boy painting I found this picture of a shirt that I threw into a tree when I was in 8th grade. 

It's in the parking lot of the movie theater where I used to hang out. It was probably 2004. 

I remember I was on a hot one that night. We all were. Just peaking in puberty. Making out. Beating the crap out of each other. 

A girl named Molly was especially on a hot one. Some other girl had dumped a big old movie theater sized cup of cold water on her 

She was out for blood over it. I'm sure the fought it out. I don't remember. 

I asked her for the old wet shirt. Fixated on hunting this other girl down and getting her revenge, she just handed it off to me. 

I threw it in the tree. Because it was wet it really wrapped around the branch good and tight. 

Cut to November 30th 2014. 10 years later. It was still there. More tattered and torn. Like an old battle flag.

I was there a few years ago and it was just disintegrated. I could tell some of it was still there but if you didn't know it was a shirt, you'd think it's just part of the tree. 

I've been re-reading the book "Art and Fear" and it opens with a quote from Hippocrates, 

"Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience treacherous, judgement difficult."

While the elements have been working hard to break down that shirt in that tree for the past decade, The Antler boy I did in my sketchbooks within days of taking that picture is still here for me to build upon. 

Life is short, art is long.

Have Fun,

Goodnight Sweeties