Deep Thoughts by Ian Kirkpatrick . . . Yeah Right!

Journal Entry January 5 and 6, 2012

2012-01-07T00:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was watching an old black and white movie so I decided to draw a character I thought would be reminiscent of that time, just random drawing. Today I went down to Old Town San Diego to get out of the inland empire of southern california and actually go somewhere with culture. I love my town of Redlands, but sometimes I feel like I just want to leave. I had a great time drawing in Old Town. I did a couple buildings and some random stuff around the place. Today I filled up 3 pages in my journal. Not an overload of drawing, but enough that I thought was productive. I absorbed the culture and had some fun. Afterward I met up with a good friend who is a life and career coach. I want to make some goals this year so talking to her helped me to lay out a plan in the next week that I want to accomplish. It seems realistic and doable, so it's easier to get it done instead of just dreaming about it. I want this year to be more goal oriented so doing these plans every week will help me a lot. I gotta keep this momentum going. Here's to a new and productive year.

Journal Entry January 4, 2012

2012-01-04T22:11:00.000-08:00

This is a new sketch for the day. Since I did animals yesterday I thought I would do another one today but interacting with a person. Falconry seems like such a fun sport. Since doing these journal entries it seems to me that making a goal to do one of these a day is getting easier, and it is something that I want to do. One of my friends is a career coach and I listened into her tele-seminar today, where she was talking about setting goals and getting to the career you want. I feel that this is a good step to get in the habit of making small goals and accomplishing them, even if it is in a day. I have more long term goals, I just have to now make a game plan to accomplish those goals. I guess when I'm doing these my plan is to warm up with small drawings, read, relax, research and then delve into the page and sketch. I'm gonna have to approach those small steps first to build up to one of my long term goals. Thanks for reading.

Sketch Journal: Jan.3, 2012

2012-01-03T14:30:00.000-08:00

Here's my entry for the day in my journal. The subject matter of the day is animals because I haven't drawn them in a while. I wish there was a zoo near me so I can draw them live. The nearest one is San Diego, which is over a 2 hour drive away. I guess that's not too bad, but I'd make it a day trip if I go. I got these reference pics from a great site that have great drawing tools and picture resources. The website is here: http://www.pixelovely.com/gesture/figuredrawing.php. Check it out if you want great practice.

Sketch Journal 2012

2012-01-02T23:51:00.000-08:00

Alright, so here's my first post for 2012. I've decided to keep a sketch journal for the year that (hopefully) I'll add to every day. I say that because lately I've been lacking discipline to do anything. Here's my first sketch for Jan. 1st and today! The first one starts off with a bang, the second one is just something that popped into my head after taking a look at a reference photo. Kinda weird, but intriguing.

Revisiting the Masters

2011-08-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

Man it's been a while since I posted anything! Last week I went to the Laguna Arts Festival with some friends and checked out all the great art by local residents of Laguna. The art was very inspiring and I enjoyed it all. One artist I thought was very cool was John Taylor. He made some incredible sculptures of submarines, ships and paddleboats. He used trash and computer chips to make them, it was so awesome! You can check out his work at www.folkartships.com . Later on that night I went to go see a live show called Pageant of the Masters. Now this is an incredible show where props and people are placed on a stage and in movable frames. They showed how it was done and at first it looks like people and props on a stage, and then the lights go off. When they come back on the lights are different, and the figures and props become the painting. Everything looks completely flat. They also did this with sculptures and they actually looked like sculptures. It was crazy to think how these actors could stay completely still while the audience stares in awe of what they are seeing. They hold their pose for around 90 seconds. Master paintings are recreated in a very surrealistic way that seemed almost impossible to me. This got me thinking upon looking at all these master paintings about how can I revisit the masters of Illustration. I studied them at school, but it's always a smart thing to go back and take a good look at how illustrators like Dean Cornwell, Howard Pyle, Harvey Dunn, J.C. Leyendecker and N.C. Wyeth worked and study their drawings. Here are a few drawings of Dean Cornwell and a J.C. Leyendecker. Dean Cornwell is called the dean of illustration and rightly so. His knowledge of anatomy is incredible. His figures are drawn with such authority, they jump out of they page with so much personality it's crazy. J.C. Leyendecker is a master of design in his figures, he edits out all the busy parts and puts in what matters in the drawing. I learned a lot by doing these yesterday and today. I look forward to doing more each day.

More Sketches

2011-01-06T02:09:00.000-08:00

Here are some more doodles I've done in my sketchbook. Nothing really major but just fun drawings. I haven't really tackled any major paintings as of late. Opportunities for upcoming classes are flooding in and it's kind of overwhelming. It's hard to find time to just sit down and paint without putting a whole lot of thought to it. Most of my stuff requires a lot of involvement. It's finding the time to get fully involved in my illustrations that's hard. Sometimes I just want to do stuff that's easy and fast. We'll see how that goes.

Some sketches

2010-12-14T22:28:00.000-08:00

Here are some sketches I thought I would share. I did these just messing around in my sketchbook, seeing what could come out of some doodles. I know it's been a while since I posted. I'm going to post soon a pic of the marquee I've designed and painted in downtown historical Redlands. It was something different, but still a challenge for me to do.

A new push for marketing

2010-11-26T22:22:00.000-08:00

As an artist with no representative, no degree in marketing, no company to do illustrations for it's tough to find an avenue that can keep me busy and happy with the art that I do. I love to draw people, I love to draw in public so how could I make that into a revenue? Over a year ago I decided to market myself as a caricature artist for parties, events and festivals. This has been going on with ups and downs at different events. Why stop at trying to do everything by myself though? Connecting with party and event planners was one marketing strategy I had to tackle. After making a bunch of fliers with this service and spread it out to dozens of stores, I got a call the next day from a party planner about working a party. So any artist that is just waiting for something to happen without doing anything different will wait a long time. I say reboot your strategy by reaching out to others and connect with them, you never know what will happen. My goal is still to develop my own illustrations and be recognized for them, but I need to be pro-active in what I am happy doing right now. I used to think that the caricature artists in the bay area were uneducated and talentless hacks, and for some I still think that ;). That doesn't necessarily mean I am one in doing the same trade. This new approach in marketing seems to work and hope it will continue to work, along with the people I connect with.

Palm Springs art class

2010-10-17T17:15:00.000-07:00

So I taught a class at the Palm Springs art museum on Saturday, October 16th and it turned out great!! The kids were nice and focused, ready to do some work and learn. As I walked around to observe the teen's art, it was already obvious to me that they were getting a hang of things. It was not only a learning process for them, but for me as well. They were really involved in what they were doing and seemed really into it. My age range was from 12 to 19, which seemed that it might be hard to handle but it wasn't too stressful. It was an awesome class and the education coordinator asked me to come back in July, so I look forward to teaching the kids again!

The Design of Music

2010-10-07T20:35:00.000-07:00

So here's the color comp of the commission sketch that I posted earlier. I'm genreally happy with the direction I'm taking it. The posterized edges in it gives it a more stylized, graphical type of painting. As with all my paintings that I do a digital color composition for, the colors may change when I paint it traditionally. Which is what I want so it doesn't look so much like a digital painting. Will post another update as time goes on.

New Commission Sketch

2010-10-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

So, here's a sketch for a new commission I received from someone I met at the recent Stage Coach Days event in Banning. It's musically inspired and considered a challenge for me, especially since it's going to be stylized in a posterized, traditional painting. I love challenges though, because it always makes me think differently on how to approach something. So here's a preview of what it's all about, enjoy and I'll post up a digital color comp of the piece soon.

Sketches and Color Comp "for Harvester of Sorrow".

2010-09-01T15:51:00.000-07:00

Working on a new piece, which I actually posted a first sketch of previously. I thought it was too restrictive and didn't like the composition that much so I completely changed it. I'm putting up some development sketches, the final sketch, and the color comp I did. I'm painting it traditionally so it won't look so "Digital". I'm doing this illustration in the hopes to add a new client to my list, Wizards of the Coast. Time has been going to long since my portfolio review with them at Comic Con. Since I have a direct contact with the art director I'm going to send him this, along with one more piece.

new illustration sketches

2010-08-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a sketch of a painting I'm going to do for Wizards of the Coast in the hopes of getting some work for them. I'm not gonna send just one, but a few more so I don't keep on having to send new stuff all the time. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Saving Grace

2010-08-20T15:43:00.000-07:00

This is my latest finished commission for my first real collector of my work. I'm really happy with the way it came out and he was also. I actually immortalized my roommate in it, so he's another person that's happy with it, ha ha.

My First Comic Con!!

2010-07-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went to my first Comic-Con and I was not quite sure what to expect. I had two pieces up in the art show so I wanted to make sure I was there. I had my portfolio ready and plenty of cards to pass out, my goal was to make connections. I arrived at the San Diego convention center and it was HUGE!!!! I heard the con was big, but actually seeing the size of the convention center and how many vendors there were was overwhelming. I went and hit the ground running, going to as many publishers as I could find. I hit up the Del Rey booth, expecting an art director to be there that I could show my work to. Unfortunately none was there, but I gave the editor my card anyway, hoping he would pass it along to the art director (kinda doubt it). I did that to several other publishers, and then went to pay a visit to my old boss, Eric Joyner. It was good to see him again and catch up. I learned that he met Matt Groening and had a small talk with him, very cool! After my visit with Eric I went to go visit one of my favorite artists, Donato Giancola. He is easily one of the nicest guys to meet, very open to give feedback on my portfolio. I learned a lot just from talking to him and getting feedback from a grand master. I might go visit his studio when I take a trip to New York in September. Next stop was Todd Lockwood, who was also very open to give feedback on my portfolio. He laid down a lot of faults in my work, which was actually very helpful and that I will use. Next up was my portfolio review with Wizards of the Coast, which actually went really well. They loved my work but want to see what I can do when I push my work even more, through color and dynamic composition. I talked to the senior art director of D&D and the game designer which really helped and gave insight to what they were looking for. I came out of it with the art directors card and already started an e-mail thread, which was golden. That's all I could ever wish for, a direct contact within Wizards that I could send work to as they come along and eventually come to the point of getting work from them. My paintings didn't sell, but getting that portfolio review and contact info from Wizards was worth more than my paintings.

All The King's Men Final!!!!!

2010-06-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

It's finally finished!!!! I'm really happy with the way it turned out and I consider it my best yet, conceptually and technically. I'm taking this down to this years' Comic Con to debut it to the world! I'm super excited to get some feedback and see peoples reaction to it. I feel this painting needs as much exposure as possible and could very well lead me to my big break.

"All the King's Men" W.I.P. 6/9/10

2010-06-09T14:40:00.000-07:00

Here's an updated pic on "All the King's Men"! It's getting there, but I have to solve more of the background and simplify some things in the wall.

It's Coming Along!!

2010-05-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

So, here's another w.i.p. pic of "All the King's Men". Don't know if I'll make the personal deadline of May 28. I never know though, it may happen. I still have plenty to do on the background, the wall, and of course Humpty. I want to save him for last because I know I'll just half ass the rest if I put all my energy into him in the beginning. I'm happy with the way it's progressing.

"All the King's Men" W.I.P.

2010-05-14T16:13:00.000-07:00

So, here's a work in progress picture of my latest big painting "All the King's Men". So far I'm really excited about it and am working hard on it. Seeing that this is my own personal project I'm holding it to some high standards and putting a lot of faith in it. I set a personal deadline to finish it on May 28, and it is now the 14th. I feel I really need to focus harder on it and get it done, but at the same time I don't want to rush it. I got a commission going on which I need to work on, but my personal priority is this. I still plan on taking this to comic-con and see how it is received. I hope it is a big hit.

plein Air paintings

2010-05-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

While up at a cultural arts and dance festival at the Edward Dean Museum I decided to do some plein air painting of the Koi pond. Overall It came out pretty nice and happy with it. Also did another plein air painting as a demo for my students in my painting class. I'm pretty happy with that one as well. The Edward Dean one is on top and the demo painting is on the bottom.

Decade Anniversary

2010-04-15T23:25:00.000-07:00

Today marks the day that ten years has passed since my father died, and I feel I need him now more than ever. I don't know why I'm writing about this, I think it's easy for me to put this down in words. If I were to think of how he would feel of my accomplishments if he were alive today, I honestly believe he'd be ultimately disappointed. He may say he was proud, but be disappointed. He was my inspiration and it was both of our dreams for me to go to art school and do something with it. And here I am, back in the town I grew up in. I feel I let him down. It's hard to make a living as an artist, especially when no one will rep you and in this type of economy marketing yourself is a full time job. I do what I can, but don't feel it's enough, and think I need to work harder but my motivation is not enough. I wish I could ask him what I should do and hear him make some obscure answer with a joke, that was his style. He was also a very philosophical guy and read a lot of books about different philosophies. He gave me a book about Zen Buddhism by D.T. Suzuki, which he wrote several notes and and highlighted. In the back cover of the book he came to a conclusion and wrote a note. It said, "In life, it's not about how much money you make or how much you own and successfull you are, but how far you get from where you were." Smart guy, I guess I have to take that quote to heart and make a goal to advance further in life.

Another Dissapointing year!

2010-03-21T23:18:00.000-07:00

I've been checking the Spectrum: The Best in Fantastic Art site every day, almost every hour for the past week, seeing if they posted the artists that made it in to the annual. Well tonight they posted them, and yet again I did not get accepted. For anyone that does not know what Spectrum is, it's an annual of the best sci-fi/fantasy done for the year and I try to be in every year. I submitted my Pinnochio painting, which I was sure to get in! I mean, it got such a great response from everyone I showed it to and I put my heart and soul into doing it. This makes the third time I submitted, and the third time I was rejected. It sux especially when I have peers from my school repeatedly getting in. Oh well, I guess there's always next year!

Almost there . . . !!!

2010-03-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

So, I've narrowed down the drawing to this final sketch!! Next step is to do a color comp and finally get to the painting. I'm kinda scared to get started because I anticipate this being finished to such a high standard that I don't think I'll be able to pull it off. Oh well, gotta wait and see!!

All the King's Men update!!!

2010-03-06T12:34:00.000-08:00

So here's an updated sketch and sculpt for my next project. Trying to figure out the background more and some of the bodies in the wall. Don't want to overload the wall with detail but need to suggest more in it.

All the King's Men

2010-02-06T20:29:00.000-08:00

So, here's my next pet project!! I think it's one of my most ambitious yet and really brings me out of my comfort zone in terms of complexity and concept. I decided to do a painting on Humpty Dumpty and he's sitting on a wall, of dead bodies. Did I mention the wall of dead bodies is all the King's men that didn't put him back together again? Did I also mention he's a badass crusader with a scar over his missing right eye? Like I did with pinnochio, I want to do a familiar character but with a different twist on the tale. With inspiration from one of my old teachers, Kazu Sano, I decided to also sculpt out a piece for accurate reference on lighting on the character. So here's a sketch of my piece, and a picture of the sculpt I'm still working on. Of course this will eventually turn into a painting. Sketch still needs work and I'll post up more stuff as it comes along. Hopefully this will turn out well and be a big hit!

finished painting!

2009-12-18T22:37:00.000-08:00

So I finished my latest painting, which was a commission of a warrior wearing the armor of God. The result is above. Overall I'm pretty pleased with it, although there are some things I would change, like the glow on the sword and the eyes, but it was a commission and the guy I painted it for wanted them in. And I also would have given more consistency and accuracy with the armor fitting with the sword, which they don't. Before I started on this painting I was looking at one of my old school chums awesome paintings and figuring out how I'm going to paint his armor and show light reflecting off of it, but not too much. I was looking at Chris Rahn's awesome work, which you can see at www.rahnart.com and tried to mimic what he was doing with hardly any success. I was able to get some good advice from him before starting though, which I was grateful for. Anyway, here it is, my latest finished painting since May!

color comp

2009-11-20T20:30:00.000-08:00

So, here's a quick color comp for the commission I'm working on mentioned in the previous post. I wanted to get something with lighting as dramatic as possible like my other paintings. I think I still need to work on it, but I'll do it in paint. I don't like to spend too much time on a digital color comp when I'm just going to paint it anyway. Doing the armor for me is always a challenge, especially if it's somewhat dull but has a shine to it. One old classmate of mine, Chris Rahn, is a master of painting armor in my opinion. I'm happy I could say I went to school with this guy, although I wish I got his secret on painting armor when we were in class together! His work is awesome, he's pretty successful and has done numerous illustrations for Wizards of the Coast and their Magic cards. Check out his website at www.rahnart.com . I was looking at one of his paintings for almost an hour yesterday trying to figure out what measure of saturation he puts in his armor and how much of a highlight is in the armor, it's still a mystery to me. Anyway, looking forward to actually start painting this one, should be fun!

New painting!

2009-11-17T22:29:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted anything on here, yes I know that everyone's been waiting in eager anticipation for a new one, haven't ya? I recently had a show up at a coffee shop in Redlands called Augies, with great coffee by the way, and it was pretty successful. Well it was as successful as I could hope for. I was able to sell 3, and the night that I was hanging I sold one! Talk about a great start right? It was the painting titled "The Struggle Within", and the guy who bought it is commissioning me to do another one. The painting I'm working on for him is called "Full armor of God" and it depicts a warrior in between the realms of heaven and hell wearing the Armor of god. The armor is a little too Roman for my taste, but it's what he wants so I'm going with it. Oh and also, a little more news, there's actually someone out there who thinks I'm interesting enough to write about! Hard to believe, yeah? I'm meeting up with Kylie DeForge, a local blogger and aspiring Journalist for the New Yorker, and we're gonna have a sit down and talk about whatever and let her pick my brain. You can check out her cultural musings at her blog, http://kyliedeforge.blogspot.com/.
Hopefully I'll update again soon with a color comp.

painting study!

2009-09-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a small study I did earlier on in the week. I posted outside and painted my parent's fountain. Planning to blow this up and elaborate on it a little be more, add some more detail to it.

2009-08-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

Some sketches

2009-06-03T03:11:00.000-07:00

I went to a live model drawing session tonight and had a great time! It was hosted by Rachel Schwarz who runs the blog page "Art for Arts sake" which you can go to here: http://sanfranartsake.blogspot.com/ . It felt great to get some drawing in, seeing that I haven't done that for a while I really needed the practice. Here are a couple sketches I did, Enjoy!

It's Time for a Change!!

2008-11-05T00:15:00.000-08:00

Waiting in line at the polls to vote was just the start of a day in anticipation. I anticipated while I worked, while I ate and even while I rested. This type of anticipation didn't just start today though, but last Wednesday when I e-mailed the art director of Night Shade Books my final painting for my first fantasy book cover. I got it to him on time, but waited everyday to hear back by phone or by e-mail. I hadn't heard anything and was worried that maybe it didn't go through or he hated it. I heard from him tonight that he got it and he really liked it, so that put me at ease. Then watching the television and seeing Barrack Obama win the President Election was even more great news that put me at ease. His ambition for this country and his ideals is a change that I think everyone needs. Eight years of Republican leadership under George Bush made people very unbalanced and doubtful about where this country is headed. What needs to be fixed and how to fix it were questions that were tossed around. What needs to be done? For a while I felt like nothing was working for me and I doubted what I was doing would actually get me anywhere. Fantasy is one genre that I focus on heavily and want to do, but there's so much different kinds of fantasy that I don't do. Dark fantasy, modern fantasy, classical . . . romanticism . . . medieval. The list goes on. The book cover I did for Night Shade Books was for the American version of "The Lee's of Laughters End" by Steve Erikson. It's very different from my other work as you will see. It's darker in tone and color, has a limited palette, no dragons, no women, nothing medieval about it and has an interesting composition! You can go view the painting at www.iankirkpatrickart.com/laughtersend.html . Maybe I should do darker stuff like this more often, or just different stuff in general to get more book covers. It's time for a change, not only in my artwork but for the country as well!

I've fallen for "Fallen"!

2008-10-11T10:03:00.000-07:00

So I went to go check out the Carlos Huante and Jose Fernandez show, "Fallen", in San Francisco at the Varnish Gallery last night and let me say that it was AMAZING!!!!! I already knew that Carlos was a great artist but realizing the scope of how detailed and how much you can pick out and appreciate in his pieces was staggering. If you have seen his previous book "Monstruo", expect some different type of paintings here. These are more reflective on the human will and spirit rather than twisted, grotesque monsters. He wrote poems to go along with a lot of his pieces that compliment them very well. I got to talk to him for a bit and I was asking him about how it was as an artist in the film industry. He said he loved working for films but he strove to have more of the artists being recognized in the movie production, like in movie guides, that's why he first came out with "Monstruo". He also talked about some of his influences, which I found a few surprising. He would integrate a lot of fine line quality and shapes inspired from Alphonse Mucha and Gustav Klimt, pick out the negative spaces like J.C. Leyendecker and choose adventurous subjects like N.C. Wyeth. He was a very down to earth guy and really nice, and I enjoyed meeting him. Jose Fernandez of course is an incredible sculptor! All his pieces never seemed to be static, there always was some type of fluidity in them and looked malleable. He was telling me how he worked with Jordu Schell, along with Carlos, on a little movie called "Men in Black" and I really couldn't imagine Jose sculpting little aliens and creatures because all his sculptures were epic and weren't really grotesque. Again, Jose was a very nice guy and down to earth, and he offered me a piece of his gum! *swoon* ha ha. Anybody who is in San Francisco needs to go check out this show! Varnish Gallery 77 Natoma st. @ 2nd. Be There!

First Fantasy Book Cover . . . FINALLY!!!!!

2008-09-24T18:36:00.000-07:00

So, I recently finished some card illustrations for Fantasy Flight Games and posted above. They were based off one of my favorite fantasy book series, "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R.R. Martin. The were quite pleased with them, as always (add modest laugh here). I also recently got assigned a book cover for Steven Erikson's "The Lee's of Laughter's End". I'm gonna be doing the American Cover version, Which I will post on my website once it's finished. This is a great opportunity, plus Something I've been gearing my portfolio for since I've been painting. I have always, always wanted to do books, especially covers!!!! So I'm very happy this opportunity has come to me.

Summer's final days

2008-08-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

Looking back at how enthusiastic I was of summer's coming and at how much I wanted to do before it ended, I really didn't do as much as I wanted to. A lot of times I felt lazy, or I was distracted at looking too hard for work and not doing what was necessary to get that work like doing samples etc. Ah, the trials and tribulations of being an artist!!!! Well, here's a sketch of something I'm working on digitally. I sketched it while on a plane to Louisville to visit a friend and thought it might be a good concept art piece. I have another traditional painting in the works, but will post it later when it's finished. Enjoy!

The whole sketch n' kadoodle

2008-06-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

The summer has started off pretty well! I went back to work as an apprentice to Eric Joyner and am enjoying it so far. Being able to work in a very laid back environment in a nice cozy studio beats working at a starbucks (which I may have to do later on in the summer, but pretend I didn't say that so shhh . . . quiet). I've been working with him on and off for about 2 years, he's a masterful painter and I enjoy watching him do his brush magic. His book "Robots and donuts: The Art of Eric Joyner" is coming out early August, so look out for it! I've included some sketches and doodles, so enjoy!

random sketches and site update!

2008-06-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some sketches of people in a cafe and other random ones. I'm trying to sketch more as much as possible, I reeeaaaaly need the practice! Oh, and I updated my site so that when people go to see my illustrations, there's a link to buy prints of them (wink wink)! Share the love, people! I'll return the favor . . . maybe.

An Elephant off my shoulders!

2008-05-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

So, Graduation has come and gone and I can now focus all my time on getting work! This past year has been very difficult balancing time between freelance work and school, and doing my own personal paintings. I am happy with what I have accomplished though. I don't like to boast but having 2 art shows in lounges, one in october and the second in may, makes me feel accomplished. Having doing freelance at top ad agency Goodby, Silverstein & partners was a great experience! Illustrating 6 cards for fantasy flight games puts my foot in the door. Getting work with a graphic designer and illustrating marketing and label designs for Corte Clean, Avery and Solovue broadens my style. I got a small storyboard job with an indy director within the past 3 weeks! All this while going to school in the past year and getting ready for graduation, man I'm tired! The spring show at my school was fantastic, and being able to display my work with all my talented peers was an honor. I've included a work in progress picture of a personal painting I'm working on for my portfolio. The sketch I posted below, and it's gone a long way from that.

passing of a legend

2008-05-05T00:56:00.000-07:00

My most recent memory of Barbara Bradley is when I heard of her retirement and I went to tell her I will miss her teaching full time at the Academy of Arts. She looked up at me with her pleasant smile and reassured me that she will be back for small workshop sessions and talks. That made me feel better to know that she will still pass on her immense knowledge to other students. I took her class once, and then was a teacher's assistant to her for a couple more semesters. She gave me a gift for helping me out, even though I thought she owed me nothing because I learned so much. I felt like I couldn't take her class enough because every time I learned something new. She passed away on Friday, May 2nd from a car accident. I will sorely miss her and will take her lessons to heart. We love you Barbara!

painting sketch

2008-04-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

Here's a sketch for my next painting I'm going to be doing! I felt like I needed a painting that shows emotion and a kind of situation that you wouldn't normally see in fantasy, medieval painting. I also need a grand opus and a new cannon to my portfolio, so I'm going to spend a lot of time on this one and make sure it comes out right. I'm planning on the title to be "parting sorrow". Yeah I'm a big softie, so what!

Brand New Blogger

2008-04-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!!! Welcome to my new blog site. If you came here from my new website design, please let me know what you think of it! If you happen to stumble upon this blog, thanks for visiting and make sure to check out my site at www.iankirkpatrickart.com . It feels good to get a re-design done and I feel it serves my work a lot better. Hopefully I'll get my name out there and get some assignments for books. I finished some illustrations I did for Fantasy Flight games last week and sent them in. They're for playing cards based on H.P. lovecraft stories. They liked them and I think they're gonna use them, hopefully. Feel free to contact me with any comments or just to say hi!