Ending on a Lotus

The Guru Moxes that are displayed above are probably some of my best known works from the past year. They were originally commissioned by Wes Wise, buyer for StarCityGames, just a few short months ago. They're changed hands since, but I had an opportunity to meet the current owner earlier this month at SCG Charlotte. He approached me about commissioning an accompanying piece to the Moxen. The idea: a Guru Black Lotus.

This was to be my third Lotus alter of the year, and they've all raised different challenges. This time the question was, how does one Guru something that produces all five colors of Magic? The solution was to combine all of Nielsen's original landscapes into one colorful background. And here's what that looks like:

It's been a great year starting a new business and running this blog. 2012 is sure to bring lots more painting and hopefully some awesome alters! I'll continue to update here with the best pieces, but be sure to like the Klug Alters Facebook page to see even more work. Thanks for all your support and have a Happy New Year!

Queen of Japan

The surface on this Japanese Sliver Queen didn't look so hot so we gave her a complete makeover!

Tales from the Crypt

Fixing up Judge promos, one card at a time. Like the way this turned out. Obviously based off of Mark Tedin's original Crypt.

Klug Alters 2012

I spoke with Evan Erwin this past weekend in Charlotte about how to go forward with the next year of Klug Alters, and he provided some sage advice. Long story short, Facebook provides a more fluid way for the community to share and comment on the work I post, and to communicate with me directly. Over the next few weeks I'm going to start transitioning the majority of my updates to my Facebook page found here. This blog will remain intact, and I'll likely still use it to post detailed descriptions and anecdotes of my favorite pieces, and to document travel weekends as I've done in the past.

To kick things off, this week I'm doing a Facebook Giveaway where you can win this:

Go to the link provided above and Like, Comment, or Share for a chance to win. Do all three and earn three chances! And remember to Like the Klug Alters page to stay updated on future alters, events, and contests like this one.

SCG Charlotte: Part II

The last few rounds of the Invitational are completing and we'll have a Top 8 shortly. Meanwhile I've just completed this:

My table here is paired next to 3-D alterer Mike Fairservice. This morning Mike handed me an awesome gift: a 3-D of my sticker that debuted this weekend! I wanted to showcase it here, and as usual, photos lend 3-D alters no justice. Thanks Mike!

That's a wrap. See you at SCG DC in 2012!

How Bazaar

Something a little different for me. Bazaar of Baghdad becomes Saddam's Al-Faw Palace.

The owner tells me, "Basically, it boils down to my active duty-ness and the fact that I never got deployed to Iraq and instead got deployed to Afghanistan...it's a symbol of pride in what our guys have accomplished over there."

SCG Invitational in Charlotte

Just a few rounds into the Invitational here in Charlotte and I've already have quite a few commissions in the queue. I started this Grave Titan yesterday afternoon while waiting for clients to drop off work. Just one of the cards for sale this weekend!

So what's on the table now? A work in progress. You'll have to wait to see what it turns out to be.

Illusion, Michael

Mysterio doesn't get enough credit. I mean, his costume is puke green and magenta. He also wears what amounts to a fish bowl on his head. Top ten costume design easy. There's not a lot of reference material online for the guy, but Aaron Lopresti did a nice sketch to base this one off of.

Getting super excited for SCG Charlotte tomorrow. Glenn Jones gives the rundown here! Be sure to stop by my table and grab a sticker!

Countdown to Charlotte

The past fews days have been spent catching up on commissions and now I'm in crunch mode. Just a few more days until the SCG Invitational in Charlotte and I'm looking to get a few more alters done before then. All of the Gambits I've done in the past have been blue draw spells, but I realized today that this guy works perfectly.

I'll leave you with a reminder about my Escher Maze of Ith, which is currently up for silent auction on my Facebook page. The bidding closes Friday at 12PM EST. I'll be on the road to North Carolina, but will be sure to check in and contact the winner.

See you in Charlotte!

Everybody Likes Stickers

Stickers came in super fast! I'll be handing these out at SCG Charlotte next weekend. :)

Escher

My first Escher alter. And probably the last for a while. Quite the marathon, this piece.

The Mountain Top

It's hard to not call Katsushika Hokusai the most masterful, and certainly well-known, Japanese artist of all time. His most famous work, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, is recognized by the most modest of art lovers around the world.

I recently came across a spare Sensei's Divining Top and decided it was time for a little Asian art history. The result contains no waves and is likely one of my most subtle alterations.


The image comes from one of Hokusai's Thirty Six-Views of Mt. Fuji. I tried to stay true to the print's minimal palette and subtle gradients. While it doesn't come close to the original, I enjoy projects like these that get me into the heads of the masters.

A Nouveau Month

Wrapping up November with one more Nouveau piece.

Two Hundred

This is my 200th post on the blog! Thanks to all those that visit, comment here, on Facebook, and Twitter. You keep me going!

Here's another to add to my Jace collection. To me this concept evokes a lot of what it feels like to face the Planeswalker with an empty hand.

Blow Up the World

Leading up to SCG Charlotte I'm looking to work on some pieces that revisit styles and themes that have been well received in the past. Sounds like a recipe for success right? Recently I looked at a Mark Tedin card and was surprised that I hadn't seen the similarities with Van Gogh before.

Original by Mark Tedin

One Man Wolf Pack

You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when my sister brought Doug home, I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack... it grew by one. So there... there were two of us in the wolf pack... I was alone first in the pack, and then Doug joined in later. And six months ago, when Doug introduced me to you guys, I thought, "Wait a second, could it be?" And now I know for sure, I just added two more guys to my wolf pack. Four of us wolves, running around the desert together, in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine. So tonight, I make a toast!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Poised for Poisoning

Nexus has been the flavor of the last two months or so. I figured it was time to do another. And I hadn't done a superhero/villain in a long while.


Another that will be for sale at the SCG Charlotte Invitational. Looking to grind out a large stock for that event over the next two weeks.

The Fly

For those who don't know me personally, I'm a big monster movie fan. The 1986 (the year I was born) release of The Fly is one of my all-time favorites. So when Delver of Secrets was printed I, along with everyone else, had the idea to paint a Jeff Goldblum/Fly Delver. The problem? Everyone else thought of it too. So rather than be old hat, tonight I decided to paint up a 1959 version.


This guy is one-sided because if all goes well you won't be staring at the front for very long. Which makes for a great surprise when you flip!

AllSunsDawn Thanksgiving Giveaway

I recently painted this piece for Mark Sun (AllSunsDawn on Twitter). He had the great idea of giving away an altered card for this Thanksgiving!


Mark tweets, "To win a Thanksgiving themed alter done by @klug_alters, tweet at me: "What are you most thankful for?" :) I'll choose one on Black Friday." And don't forget to follow him (although he's not asking you to)!

Ancient of Days

My first William Blake alter.

The Joy of Altering II

It's official. I'll be holding an exclusive altering tutorial over Skype this Tuesday, November 22nd starting at 8PM. Here are the basic details:

- 8 slots available
- $20 per person
- 2-3 hours minimum (likely even longer)

Here's what you'll need:

- Skype (free download)
- ability to send payment via PayPal.

I plan to take participants through many of the altering techniques I use everyday. Note the video will not be in HD, so there will be more of an emphasis on the conversation. I'll attempt to finish one alter throughout the duration, though I can't guarantee we'll have the time. I encourage the asking of lots of questions throughout! It's first come, first serve, so interested parties should email me at: eaklug at gmail.

Hope to have you there!

Snapcaster Bro

Wednesday was Jonathan Medina's birthday. Our mutual friend JR Wade commissioned me to create the perfect gift.


Yes it's foil, and yes I've painted Jon two too many times. Happy birthday Jonathan!

The Doctor Is In

And all the Watchmen lived happily ever after. Here's the last piece for the set:


And all of them together:



As an aside, the results for GatheringMagic's ARC #4 went up today. I received 2nd in the popular vote and 1st in the judge portion. Thanks to all of you who voted for me!

Ozzy

Next in the Watchmen line. And strangely, my first Memory Adept alter. The background colors really do a nice job of complimenting here. Thanks D. Alexander Gregory!

There Is No Justice

This week I'm working on the last few Watchmen alters in the series I've been doing. Hooded Justice here:


The guy really knew how to pick costumes. Amiright?

A Nouveau Week

It's a new week and I'm back to work with a fresh batch of cards on the table. Let me know when you guys are sick of seeing the Nouveau stuff. It's been a more and more popular request the past few weeks, so there'll be a few more on the way. Luckily practice makes perfect, so I got more ambitious with this one. Re: tedious patterns.


In other news, I'm planning on hosting an exclusive, live tutorial via Skype in the near future. I mentioned it on Twitter over the weekend and it seems more than a few are interested. Details are up in the air but here's what I've got:

- 10 slots available
- $20 per/person
- 2-3 hours minimum (likely even longer)

I'm planning on demonstrating a lot of the techniques I use everyday, alongside a discussion of materials, setup, ect. I don't have a day or time locked down yet so if you're interested feel free to leave your feedback below!

Survival of the Cubist

It's funny to see the styles and themes that have become standard for me over the past few months. Picasso has seen several revisits and my approach to his work is evolving with each new alter. This new one is likely my favorite to date:


Like the Ascension I completed just a month ago, this again references a small section of Picasso's painting Guernica.

That's a Big Radish

No really, go vote for me in GatheringMagic's ARC. :p

Yesterday a fellow alterer posted a Spirited Away card on the forums and I was inspired to give one my spin. There's lots of spirits on the plane of Innistrad...

Make That 81 Planeswalkers

First and foremost, if you haven't gone and voted for me in the GatheringMagic ARC, go now! Currently I'm waiting for some commissions cards to come in the mail so today I was left to my own work. Having nothing planned I decided to just hop on a simple extension to get the paint flowing.

Everyday I'm Planewalkin'

Today I estimate I've completed over 600 alters lifetime. The vast majority finished over the past few months. For a while I've wanted to compile all my images together just to look back and take in the breadth of work. Maybe someday, but the truth is as the cards continue to pile up, the task of compiling all the images becomes ever the more daunting.

So for now, I'll settle for 90% of the Planeswalkers I've ever painted (open in new window for larger view):

Hoot!

Starting off the week with some more Watchmen Planeswalkers. Night Owl:

That's a Big Twinkie

I haven't done a lot of Ghostbusters alters, but they certainly have a lot of potential. Hopefully this guy gets printed in Innistrad block. Just give me a reason to paint Bill Murray.

Let It Snow

I've finally got around to working up a submission for a GatheringMagic Altered Reality Challenge. I'd love the idea behind them and judging the first was a blast. My Mucha-inspired pieces have received a fair bit of praise lately so I thought it prudent to go down that avenue. This was sort of a top-down alteration where I had a specific image in mind and had to find the right canvas for it. I think Path ended up a great fit - especially if you're opponent searches up a Snow-Covered land.

All the entries go up Wednesday. Make sure to tune in and check out all the work!

Olivia

Finished!


In other news, the owner of my first Lotus is potentially selling it. The asking price is $1,500. Any interested parties can contact me via email: eaklug at gmail.

The Drawing Board

The nouveau commissions are rolling in. This one's going to take a while, so I thought I'd throw up a progress shot.

I Ain't 'Fraid of No Geist

Cool commission that came out of SCG Baltimore. Props to @SBrynild on Twitter for the idea.

Duals of the Planeswalkers

A surprising amount of people thought the Sapphire I posted earlier this month was just a Unglued Island with a gem slapped on. I certainly take it as a compliment. Hopefully this guy garners less confusion.

A Brony History

Long before the brony craze, local superstar Tim Pskowski commissioned this card in 2008.


To date, Tim is proud he was so ahead of the curve. Not much has changed these past few years. My third MLP commission:

Abby Normal

Great Halloween movie.

The Picasso Collection

I just added another Picasso to the resume, so I felt this might be the opportune time to see them all together. Working on the JTMS, I never thought this would be become a 'thing.'


The freshly painted Picasso Chainer:

On a Mission

This past weekend, I had a brief chat with SCG Event Coordinator and Judge Nicholas Sabin. I love Nick. He's always looking to make sure the Open weekends are enjoyable for everyone and is overall a great guy to talk to. After asking about my weekend and potential commissions Nicholas said something that surprised me.

"You should raise your rates."

I've raised my prices a few times over the past several months and I'm used to, at least, a little sticker shock when people find them out for the first time. For reference, I currently charge $60 on a basic commission. I told Nicholas that I'd love to be pulling in more income, but seeing as I'm one of the more expensive artists in the community already, it just isn't feasible at the moment. More and more Magic players are starting to alter. The community has become increasing aware of alters, and demand, along with competition has never been higher. This all got me thinking about my mission when I started altering full-time nine months ago. So what's the big picture here?

I love art and I love Magic. Being naturally competitive, I want to produce the best work in the community and never sacrifice quality for dollar signs. Over the past few months my goal has been to convince people that one, I truly believe those words. And two, the cost is worth the work. Currently I only complete about one alter every 4-6 hours and two total on any particular day. Is it a grind? 100% Do I love my job? You better believe it.

I guess my point is: thank you. To those who have noticed the time and energy I try to put into each card and who visit the blog week in and week out.

PS. Stay classy:

You Say Obliterator, I Say...

A week ago my fiancee asked me what I'd want to do if I weren't an artist. I eventually settled on either architect or engineer of some sort. This card got me thinking about it again. I love doing drawings of machines and the like. Likely why my style leans towards the very crisp and clean. That's a fair amount of self-reflection stemming from a killer robot.