Wednesday, July 24, 2013

The State of Things

I've been working on a lot of things here lately. I'm a busy little bee, but it keeps me out of trouble. One thing I try to do is to make out at least one sketch every day. It doesn't always get done, but trying to keep up with that expectation has helped me knock some of the rust off of my hands. Some of my sketches are just practice. Some are just for fun, like this little image of the Little Prince, which is definitely NOT my design (talk to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry!).

The Little Prince is one of my favorite books of all times (which you should read if you haven't- Yes it appears to be a children's book, but I assure you that it is not). I did a few Little Prince related works back in my old high school art class days, so I thought it might be a nice way to get the creative juices flowing again.

Some other stuff I'm working on...
Not too long ago I went for a walk along Moline's riverfront. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon (albeit a very hot way to spend said afternoon). I took my trusty little Molskine sketchbook along with me in case I saw anything worthwhile. I was really pleased with the look of the I-74 "twin bridges" from a nice shaded park bench. So I took some time and dropped a rough version into my wee book. So far I'm calling it "Bridge to Bettendorf" which I think has a nice ring to it. Over the next couple weeks I'm going to blow the image up, refine it a bit, and hopefully get it transferred over to a block. There are a lot of fine lines, different textures, and I definitely need to work on the portrayal of the water, but I think it will end up a very nice print.

I'm also working on a self portrait. So far, it isn't too complex. I usually like a certain degree of simplicity, but I feel like this image needs a little something. I'm contemplating putting this one on the back burner for awhile, and just pulling it out here and there to work on. I think it may be a good choice for a reduction print when I get a little more experience under my belt.


I've also done a few preliminary sketches for a print that I'm doing for my buddy Mikey. It is (of course) agriculture based.

I'm calling it "Bungalow Corn" and it may have to sit on the back burner for a little while as well. I'd love to take this opportunity to experiment with some varying textures in the background, and even in the leaves around the ear, but I'm still looking at different ideas for how to go about doing that.
The blocks from my previous printing run have been "edited" so I can go back and do a full run soon. I'm hoping to have a couple more blocks carved by then so that I can run a couple AP's while I'm at it.

I am sitting on one block that's ready to go, that I call "Open Til Midnite" (someone out there please get the reference).
I'm really excited about pulling this one, because it has some fine lines that were a new challenge for me, so I'm curious to see how they turn out. I'm sure that I will need to do some tweaking and the like, but I think that the design is going to look really sharp.


Well, lots to do, lots to do, so I'm off to get some of it done. Hope you're all having a good day. Keep on keeping on.

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Unless otherwise mentioned, all work by Wade Ellett is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

First test run

I wanted to take a moment to share some of the prints I've pulled in the last few weeks. These are just artist's proofs so there are still some corrections that I need to make in the blocks, but for a first run, they're not bad. I've got another block ready to print, and a few sketches I'm working on.
This design isn't actually mine. It was a practice print based off of a design in a bar menu. I don't recall the name of the bar, but it was in Detroit. Good mojitos. Again, the design isn't mine, it was just a nice one with which to practice carving the lino.

"Triskellion"
Based on a stained glass window that was based on my tattoo, which is based on the Celtic Triskellion. Full circle.


"Smoking Jesus"
Based on a homeless man I met once. He smoked cigarettes and told us he was Jesus. It was an auspicious evening.
"Clarissa's Elephant" This is an elephant. For Clarissa.

Check back for more stuff soon...

Creative Commons License
All work by http://themisadventuresofwade.blogspot.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License unless otherwise noted.

Carving Out a New Niche

Anyone who knows me very well knows that I'm perpetually experimenting with the hobby world, trying to find something that feels like a good outlet for me. This oft neglected blog is one of those things, dating back to when I began to script and draw web-comics as a means of coming to terms with loneliness and dissatisfaction with the job I had. But then I got a new job, and taking time to draw out those web comics just wasn’t in the cards. They did their job though; they kept me sane long enough to improve my situation. So I thank you, first incarnation of The (mis)Adventures of Wade.
Of course, this wasn’t my first step into the art world. Some of you may know that I used to fancy myself quite the artist. I even applied to some art schools. They unanimously rejected me. I had some very creative ideas, but alas, the talent just wasn’t there. I was just good enough to know how good I wasn’t. So aside from a doodle here, a sketch there, and a few paintings along the way, my forays into the art world have been a thing of the past.
But recently I found myself the new owner of a slightly used hand press and linocutting tools. I’ve always been interested in printing, and in something of a perfect storm, I’ve got a new hobby; a new hobby of which I know nothing about. Before nabbing this gear, the last print I made was over a decade ago in high school art class. I’m still sweeping a little dust off the creative side of my brain, and knocking some rust off of my hands, but so far I’ve really been enjoying myself.
I’ll try to keep you posted on how it goes. Who knows, maybe if you’re nice, you'll end up with a print or two.