Commissions and paintings

This is another self motivated brief I have set up for myself. The original goal for this brief was to simply design and create as many paintings as possible, focusing on a wide range of different characters and themes. This brief both consists of my own personal artwork that has been sold and also requested commissions from people around the world. This has allowed me to really explore my own skills and refine my psychedelic painting style, as well as figure out new processes in how I can create a piece of art. This brief has been a big step for me and has taken me out of a sketchbook where I no longer feel comfortable and has allowed me to gain new knowledge through the simple process of doing. Instead of spending hours sketching ideas, I now think it is much more beneficial for me to get a few ideas in my head and start painting on a larger scale. This is where I am most effectively able to develop my practice.

Working in this way allows me to have an idea of a painting and simply make that idea into a reality without having to think about it too much. The main thing that is considered with working in this way is the colour palette that is going to be used. By working in this way it is helping me to create more refined colour schemes.

Fictional characters
Fictional characters have been a big part of my commission work recently and this is a good way for me to further progress with my drawing skills. These mostly consist of cartoon characters such as Dragon ball z, Adventure time and Avatar which is perfect for me as they are made up of bold flat colours which is my preferred way of painting. 

Most of these commissions have been painted onto wood. This hasnt been necessary but I decided to do this because I think it makes the painting look more professional. Combining the bright colours of the character and space effect with the natural textures of the wood creates a nice balance across the piece. Just by giving the paintings a wooden boarder it really enhances the contrast of the colours to make them seem more vivid. 

I also dyed the wooden boarders with various wood dyes and stains. This is a method I developed last year and since then I have been using it to help elevate the overall quality of my paintings.

Requested paintings 

This brain licking girl was a requested painting and once it was posted online, I immediately had a second request for it it be painted again.

I really liked doing this psychedelic erotic painting as it is not something I would initially choose to do myself but it proved to be pretty successful. Using a combination of paint pens and spray paint like my other commissions I am really getting a more consistent aesthetic within my practice but am also exploring new possibilities within the media. 

I really like the concept of this painting and it is suppose to be a metaphor of someone tasting anther persons mind or thoughts on an intimate level. Much of my work doesn't have much conceptual context behind it but with this brain licker does which makes me want to bring some more subtle concepts or metaphors within my paintings and imagery.

Water colour dog portrait commission

This commission was especially challenging for me because I was asked to do it using watercolour which is a media I never use and is an aesthetic that I am usually not interested in pursuing but I was very surprised with the outcome of this.

I don't believe this is one of my best pieces and as an overall image I don't think it is quite as professional as others and has a very feminine aesthetic. But I do think that I have surprised myself with the application of media. It was a nice change to try something new with a completely different approach. Using the watercolours to my advantage and loosening up my hand to create more splashy and drippy effects was a nice change to focusing on line work and detail. This portrait has hardly any lines and is just made up of blending colour tones. Again this is a way in working that is very unfamiliar to me but was a good experience for me to develop.

My final thoughts are that I could take this use of media further but combine it with my detail and bold block colours to create a multi media finalised and refined style of illustration.

Psychedelic owl commission

This is another commission that has made me take an alternative approach. The background and wood texture was nothing new but the way in which the owl has been painted is a new method. Just using paint brushes with acrylic paint and building up the colours layer by layer to get the desired effect of the feathers. At first this was a challenge for me and it took a while for the image to start coming to life but patience was key with this painting and working on the layers was a difficult task but i'm happy with the end result.

Again this painting has pushed me out of my comfort zone and pushed me to try something new to create a new aesthetic instead of being stuck in my usual ways, This is why being given specific commissions enables me to try new things and further develop my knowledge and skills.

Japanese dragon commission 

This commission is one of my favourite pieces I have done this year, this is because it is quite different to anything else I have previously painted. This was one of the most challenging designs which took much time and consideration. 

I decided to use a much more muted colour palette for this using a small range of pastel tones rather than my usual psychedelic vibrant colours. This was a good choice and it helps to create a more authentic traditional aesthetic.

Most of this dragon painting was done with using paintbrushes, only the line work was done in black pens but slightly changing the media to paintbrushes and acrylic was more difficult and I had to take a new approach. Getting the feel with paintbrushes is helpful for me which can push me away from constantly using pens and allows me to mix colours and make up my own tones and shades. In doing this I am further helping my knowledge of colour expand.

I also think it is nice to see one of my images created without having to use a space effect to fill out the background. I can get very caught in using that to fall back on as it comes to me now as second nature. But this has shown me that I dont always need to do that and it can actually look more professional and refined without it.

Religious figures

Through Instagram I was given a few commissions of the spiritual/religious figures Buddha and Ganesh. For this I was instructed to paint them both with a psychedelic twist which would involve my space background with planets and also a magic mushroom. These are some of my most successful paintings within this brief that reach the peak of my current skill level.

Using my most comfortable and consistent media tools (paint pens and spray paint) I am able to have much more control of the outcome.

The Ganesh painting however was the first time that I had created my own stencils of different sections to create the colour effects using spray paints. This was the first time in doing this but it proved to be successful. Because this painting is so large i couldn't just use pens for the colour so I had to develop a new process. Working larger scale really helps to develop new ideas especially with the use of media.

I used spray paint for the background textures on the Ganesh and a paintbrush for the background on the Buddha. It is quite clear to see the distinction between the two but I think the Buddha had a more successful outcome, this is because I left much more black and is not overly saturated with colour which provides alot more depth in the image. By testing new ways of working I am able to figure out the best processes which will lead to the most professional looking outcomes.

To make these two religious paintings more playful and modern I added the round glasses which takes away the seriousness of the religious connotations and makes it more acceptable to include psychedelic features. 

Skateboards

Pawzeus

last year I designed and invented a psychedelic cartoon character who is based around the shape of a cat and I named him Pawzeus. Putting him onto a skateboard wasnt a commission but has been something that I wanted to do ever since he was created. This is one of my favourite skateboard designs because of the colour choice, using a wide range of pastels and neon colours also with the strips on wood texture that increase the overall brightness of the design. 

Pawzeus is a character that I will continue to develop and paint onto as many objects and surfaces as possible. I was even thinking of turning him into a short animation sometime in the future.

Space bedroom painting 

Large scale space effect made using only spray paints.

Reflective review 

This self directed brief has overall been a very positive project in terms of the development of my painting and practical skills. Aesthetically this is where my strongest images are presented, I have used this brief to refine my practice as much as possible in consideration of colour, composition and detail of my painted pictures. I have enjoyed painting each of these images and it has been informative to my practice as well as getting my work more noticed so I am constantly being asked for commissions. One of the main things that I have learned in this project is the use of different medias, Paint pens, spray paint, water colour, acrylic paint and marble inks have all be explored within this project to get a wide range of psychedelic and colourful aesthetics. I have spent the most time on the craftsmanship of these pieces because commissioned work needs to be professional and well crafted. I have used a lot of space textures and planets into my paintings which has been a good way for me to refine this but I have also discovered that it is necessary to not include that and to not always rely on the space effect to make up most of my image and designs. 

If I could change some elements of this brief it would be to have a sketchbook where I can keep all of my ideas for possible painting designs. While I have learned much from doing and painting I think I should of kept some sketches to help me visualise a few of the commissions, this could of helped with the whole processes and methods of the making of my art and being more considerate towards the compositions. Another way in which I could have made this project better is having done some research into context for my commissions and paintings. This would have made my work more informed which could have lead to a more refined and solid outcome. 

Painting is what I love doing and will be the heart of my practice and career as an image maker and I am still learning many new things and I have much to learn. This project has helped me to figure out ways in which I can improve my practice so that when I graduate I am much more equipped with the skills, knowledge and mindset that will allow me to reach my full potential as an artist.