Gotta' Equip Them All

Just finished this commissioned Batterskull tonight:


Goes nicely with these oldies:

And Now a Word From Our Sponsor

For a while now, extensions have felt like commercial breaks for me. It's not that I don't enjoy doing them, or that they lack luster compared to character alters. On the contrary, extensions offer good decompression amidst superheroes and pop culture references. Here are some recent projects:


I'll leave you with some video coverage from SCG Louisville. The man behind the slick camera work is Richard Castle. His work thus far has had me pretty impressed, and he was kind enough to offer me an interview at the event.

Foils and Altering: Ask Me How

Quite a few asked me last weekend about the differences in altering foil cards from normal ones. Foils simply limit what you're able to do to a card. Covering up parts of the holographic art with acrylic without clashing horribly can be tricky. That said, I'm happy with the way this Joker came out tonight. I broke out the new camera (thanks Mom! :p) to highlight the foil a little better here.

Strictly Business

I ordered new business cards several weeks ago, but unfortunately they didn't arrive in time for SCG Louisville. Not to worry! The StarCityGames Invitational is coming to Indy in a little more than a week. Stop by my table and pick one of these up.

Sheen, Agent of Bolas

The past few days have definitely offered a wealth of diversity when it comes to alters. Apparently celebs are the new superheroes. On the plus side, I'm getting lots of portrait practice.

First through the Riftstone was Genesis...

Jace Beleren, Popular Guy

I've now altered twelve Jace, the Mindsculptor lifetime, with two more waiting in the wings. It got me thinking about which one has been my favorite. I think I have to give it to this guy from several months ago (seen here with his counterpart).


The backgrounds just worked out really well with this pair, if I can toot my own horn a bit. I guess when my brush meets the next Jace, I'll look to top this one.

Aieee!

SCG Louisville is in the books and it was a blast. What can I say? Indy is going to be just as insane. Well maybe not as insane as this piece I finished up on site:

Greetings from SCGKY

Wish you were here!

You Think This Letter On My Head Stands For France?

I was alerted to the existence of this comic frame by a friend a few months ago. Needless to say, it's stuck. Anyway, this weekend's StarCity Open starts in just one more day and I'm finishing up a few more pieces to tote with me.

Searching for Seurat

In 8th grade, our entire class took a week long trip to Washington, DC. One of the first stops on our tour was the National Gallery Art, which today remains one of favorite museums. As we offloaded from two charter buses our professors handed out note cards that included the names of well-known artists housed in the museum - which we were to locate during our visit. As I received my card I remember being told, "I think you're going to like this guy." The card read: Georges Seurat. Not quite a prodigious art historian at the time, I didn't recognize the name. I tracked down a small seascape by the artist later that afternoon, tucked in the corner of a small, unoccupied corridor. I recall the piece as nothing spectacular, but to this day any Seurat piece brings me back to that afternoon.

Which brings me to my latest:

Seurat's most famous work, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.

This marks the third in a playset of artist-inspired Jace alters. And four is on the way...

Lurking in the Shadows

Who doesn't like a graphic image? Clean, simplified imagery is inherently designed to be eye catching. For me, it's a lot of what makes comic art so appealing to work with. I recently finished up these two pieces that were referenced from completely different artists. It was only after finishing that I realized how much in common the pieces had stylistically.



In other news, SCG Louisville is approaching and I'll be up bright and early Saturday morning selling work on site. I am super stoked for this event and hope to see you there!

Stretching Out

I decided to focus on some extensions for the next couple of days, in order to diversify my stock for upcoming SCG events. Here's a few in the binder already:

You Should Get That Glowing-Eye-Thing Checked Out

I've wanted to do a ambitious Spawn piece for a long time. The thing holding me back has been finding the right card to fit both the composition and maintain a high level of detail. I traded for this Day at prerelease and it was just what the doctor ordered.

Bruce Banner and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

The great thing about the Hulk is he fits on pretty much any green card. Here's one I finished this afternoon:

Baby It's Cold Outside

This is another idea that comes from floatius via Twitter. He's two for two on awesome ideas. I've done a few Street Fighter alters, but I've always been a Mortal Kombat player at heart.

A Prerelease Far, Far Away

Prerelease weekend is over and it was great. It's sad to know that regional prereleases are now a thing of the past. I had an excellent time hanging out with friends and casting some sweet, new cards. Tom Lapille, old friend and member of R&D, was spellslinging and I had the opportunity to beat him down with none other than this card:


Of course, it wasn't painted at the time. I've had this planned for at least a week. Nice to get it knocked out quickly. I was also fortunate enough to bust a new Sword (very fortunate!). Look forward to getting some paint on it soon as well!

Utagawa

I've always loved Japanese ukiyo-e prints. When a Hokusai exhibit came to DC's Freer several years ago, I went four times. The skill involved in producing the work is astounding. Yesterday and today I took on a piece by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, one of the last master printmakers.

Brothers Hildebrandt

Tim and Greg Hildebrandt have been big names in the fantasy art community for quite some time. Collectively they've produced art for over 101 Magic cards. Sadly Tim died in 2006, but the art he and his brother produced lives on. I've always been a fan of their work and distinct style; overt brushstrokes and brilliant lighting.

Today I worked on a Galactus using a reference from the two. I was a bit skeptical laying it out. For sure, it's hard to do these guys justice.

Grab Bag

Nationals qualifiers are over and I'm back to the grind this week stocking up for all of these SCG events coming up. Lots of painting means a variety of alters. Here's a few from the past couple of days.

Here's a commission based on Ansel Adams' Jeffrey Pine.


Poor Kenny.


This idea came from @floatius over on Twitter. Love it.


Finally, a good ol' Tusken Raider.

Presence of the Master

The first time I saw this card it gave me a chuckle:


Thought I'd give Al a more appropriate card choice:


Props to @Ericrobertevans for getting me thinking about Einstein.