Damien Sandow, Vitruvian Man

Here's a goofy illustration I made today. It's Damien Sandow, Savior of the Masses. I first became entranced after seeing his Rotation of Illumination. But the true testament to his greatness came from the perfection that is the Elbow of Disdain.

Site Update!

Not a huge change or anything,  but I added a new page's worth of work. Check it out: http://novastuart.com.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have to admit I meant to finish this piece over a year ago. Well, one way or another here it is. I'm thankful for a couple of people in my life who have really been a true source of support and stability.

Lloose Lleash Graphics

A couple of months ago I responded to a call for artists to submit their work to a company that deals in brand development. Their goal is to bring a more illustrative, fine art aesthetic to corporate branding. The call was a "Doodle-a-Day" challenge, where a different piece of art is featured daily.

I was asked if I would be the Lloose Lleash Graphics artist of the month for November. I'm very proud and honored to have been asked, Lloose Lleash is a very cool company with a very meaningful objective.

The feature is currently running on the home page here: http://www.llooselleashgraphics.com, but I encourage you to check out their Facebook page as well as subscribe to their Twitter.

Dog Series : No. 2 "Yorkie"

Here's a really simple ink drawing, No. 2 of my doggie series, "Yorkie." We had one of these when I was little named Charlie. For some reason, my five-year-old memory only recalls his soft hair and bad breath.

Dog Series: No. 1 "Pug"

I've enjoyed abstract expressionism, classical portraiture, and contemporary satire. So it's about time I did doggie paintings. Here's my first finished piece (but 6th or so attempt):

This was a very simple ink drawing with a wash of watercolor on Eames Vellum cover paper. I really like the simplicity and silliness of this sweet dog. The original doggie is really a million times cuter with its sad little eyes, but here's my attempt to recreate the cute.

The original piece is here on ebay.

Why Portraits

It seems the most common question for any working artist is "How do you find inspiration/what inspires your work?" or any variant question on the theme of pulling of some grounded idea from the vast fabric of every day life.

Well, I personally find "inspiration" a fleeting feeling. Maybe I can feel some superiority by adhering to Chuck Close's advice that "Inspiration is for amateurs," but either way, it's not easy. Frankly, finding the drive or creative spark to start a project is sort of like experiencing the same frustration you would have teaching a toddler a foreign language.

 

But why I personally find creating portraits to be good times? Like any other piece of art, the possibilities and solutions for determining the given space for a portrait work are limitless. But with portraits, there is the one particular goal of making a single facet of the piece relatively objective: the face.

 

The portrait artist must innately capture the facial features of a subject, there is only success or failure in this aspect. I have spent years and years (most of my life, actually) struggling with my perfectionism, and eventually yielding to its necessity in this field.

 

I think it's very important to realize and come to terms with the fact that even in these times of lightning-quick turnover and unbelievably short deadlines, great work (and artwork) cannot be rushed. For anything in this world to have longevity, there must be thought put into every aspect of its construction.

 

 I believe that portraits, free from the limitations of photography technology, can truly capture a human essence that would be lost with time and age. It is almost a spiritual practice to give life to something through manual recreation; it cannot be duplicated with a machine. Perhaps the age of flat and soulless photographs ala Terry Richardson are what we are living through now, but that work does not adequately capture life as a person of depth knows it. So sticking to my guns with traditionally hand-created portraiture, satisfies my need for something authentic in a world saturated with assembly line iPads and drunken Facebook photos. Call me old-fashioned.