Settling in

Hey gang, sorry for the large gap in postings but I've been in the process of moving and I've neglected to keep posting. I've finally settled in and got everything pretty much put in place. I've even got a room dedicated as the art room, whereas before it was just a desk in my bedroom.

A goofy pic of me at the new place, no I don't
wear glasses

I've been applying to jobs like crazy, because although ideally I want to be supported solely by my art, right now it isn't enough to keep me going. I had 3 interviews yesterday and one of them that I set up was from a really vague craigslist posting so I went not even knowing what the job was...turns out it was a door-to-door Kirby vacuum salesman, but the pay they boasted was outstanding. The interview went fine and the guy said I'd get a call if I got the job. So I left and about 2 hours later I got the call...but I had been thinking about it and I really don't think I want to sell my soul for any amount of money... because firstly I don't think people actually have souls, I just think it's pragmatic for illustrations sake; secondly, I decided that I'm really not that into money; and finally, I hate pushing sells on people.

So I told the guy, Bob, that I didn't want the job but he just kept trying to get me to do it...but I stayed strong and said "NI!". Later in the evening I had another interview with the owner of a janitorial/carpet cleaning service, we met inside a Wendy's restaurant and it went great! I got the job, and I will be working alone late nights which suits me fine.

Children's book illustration project

Lately I have been working on the character designs for a children's book that I am illustrating. It has been a fun experience coming up with concepts for the characters. It is also new for me to be working in collaboration with the writer. I have a lot of creative freedom as far as how the characters look, which is nice but is kinda hit and miss when it comes to what the writer wants. The project is moving along slowly, but hopefully it will pick up the pace in the future...and I hope it gets published.

These are just some preliminary sketches done with watercolor and ink, just to get idea for what the characters will look like. The final medium will most likely be digital.

Slow It Down

Time has been flying by me and I feel as though if I don't take time to slow down and analyze what I'm doing I will continue this pattern indefinitely. I graduated from college less than two weeks ago, and looking back it doesn't seem like it took that long. I did have some great times in college though; I gained some great friends, found my life partner, went on some cool art club trips, and learned a lot.

There has been a lot of confusion and indecision rolling around in my head about what I should do with my life and if I'm making mistakes, but I've finally concluded that I just need to gather all the information I can and make the choice that seems right to me. I'm going to be leaving my hometown soon and moving across the state, I feel it's time to move on and start on my own path. I've been reading several articles lately (Art of Non-Conformity, Zen-Habits, In Praise of Idleness, Walden) on simplifying life and determining my life's direction. It feels like a long slow process, but I know this is something I shouldn't rush.

I feel like modern society over complicates life and I want to find a way to keep it simple. I don't want to fall into the average "produce-consume" lifestyle. I don't want to buy a fancy new car every few years or buy every gadget that comes out. I don't want to trade the young years of my life working for a company in the hopes that one day when I'm old I'll be able to retire. I'm going to live now. In this situation I don't think delay of gratification is the best choice, I have one life to live and I'm not going to live it by selling out. I feel like a lot of people want a life of simplicity too, but I don't see much effort to change.

My goal is to be self employed and create quality artwork for wonderful people, so I can buy the things that I need to live. That's it, nothing extravagant. I know this goal is possible and I'm going for it.

I want this to be my life's motto: Life is simple.
And I am going to do everything I can to achieve it.

Frost

Frost

Created with watercolor and sumi ink. I've really been enjoying the process of painting these trees. It's very whimsical and carefree.

New watercolor paintings

Watercolor and sumi ink

Watercolor and sumi ink

Crunch Time

Completed painting of Marylin's portrait

It's been a busy week, but I finally finished the painting. It has taken about 40 hours (or about 80 tv episodes on Netflix) to paint. But it was time well spent, I learned a lot; improved my technique of painting hair; discovered that just because both tubes of paint say "Payne's grey" doesn't mean they are the same color...

I finished painting this bad dog just in time because I had to hang it in the art show while the edges were still drying! Yipes!

Detail shot of hand

detail of neck stump, eeeww

detail of the billowing hair

All in all, I think this portrait turned out well and it's a good likeness of Marylin.

Rite of Spring

Add caption

New watercolor and sumi ink painting.

I'm starting to a use a new way to promote my blog posts by using Stumbleupon , so if you like a part of my post or a piece of my artwork click the green and blue circle with the ''SU'' at the bottom of every post, and give it a thumbs up!

Funky fresh watercolor paintings

   Hey guys, I just finished 4 new watercolor paintings. I started by splashing some watercolor around the pages, let them dry and then came back to see what could see in them and then defined the images. I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed making them.

As a side note, I finally started an Etsy account and these paintings are the first available for purchase.

"Jellyfish" watercolor on
 cold press paper by Gabriel Tuxhorn
Available on Etsy.com: Right here!

"Serene" watercolor and ink on
cold press paper by Gabriel Tuxhorn
Available on Etsy.com: Right here!

"Chief" watercolor on
cold press paper by Gabriel Tuxhorn
Available on Etsy.com: Right here!

"Terror Fish" watercolor and ink on
cold press paper by Gabriel Tuxhorn
Available on Etsy.com: Right here!

 

New Ink



Sumi ink and watercolor on bristol board

 I'm starting a new series of sumi ink drawings based on Norse mythology. I have been inspired by Norse myth and now it's finally time I did something about it! This particular piece is about Odin going to meet the giant, Vafthrudnir, and challange each others' knowledge on the origin of life and the universe.

The majority of what is left about the old norse religion is found in the older and younger eddas which you can read on Gutenberg.org. Project Gutenberg is a great online resource and has thousands of free books and even some in audio format, you should check it out!

I recently bought a bottle of sumi ink, because I heard about it from a fellow artist and blogger, Bryan Moss and this is my first try with it. It's pretty fun to work with and it's really gritty and smells like dirt.

Painting skin tones using acrylic paint

     Hello all, today I want to give you a "how to" about my techniques for painting skin tones using a photo reference. This is my first tutorial on here and I hope it will be of some benefit to you. I would also appreciate any feedback or anything you would like explained further. 

Acrylic painting skin tone techniques using photo reference by Gabriel Tuxhorn

This is from a painting I am currently working on and it is a portrait of a friend. I like to work from photos because it allows me to work when I want and not have to wait on a model.

Basic rundown of my process:

• pencil sketch
• block in lights and darks
• add light washes to color match
• continue with details to completion

This is a work in progress shot of the painting

I hope that you enjoyed this brief tutorial about my process of painting with acrylic.

Discovering new things

Last weekend (the 8th-10th) I went to Kansas City with the Art Club from college. It was a really cool trip and we got to see a couple museums, went to cool places to eat, and shopped at some vintage shops.

Ink and brush, in hotel cafe

Kemper Museum of Art + color mixing
     The first museum we went to was the Kemper Museum of Art. It didn't seem like it had that many pieces...but it had a couple portrait pieces that I liked. There didn't seem to theme to the work either.
     I did however have an epiphany about mixing skin tones in paint. Prior to this point I had been over complicating the process by trying to mix too many colors and it was not working well. But there was a piece there that I could see how he only used a few colors and used different combinations in certain spots. It was a very good moment for me and I got like 100xp in art skill! heh!


Look before you leap
     We also went the painting department of The Art Institute. An instructor greeted us and told us some stuff that I don't remember...but she kept whispering the entire time, like a giant beast would bust through the wall if she spoke too loud...it was odd.
     She showed us around the student working areas (of the junior and senior students) and I have to be quite honest...it was disappointing. It looked slightly better than the quality of art that is produced by the painting 1 students at the community college I go to. I think it matters less about where you learn art and more about how hard you are willing to work.

Exploring history in an afternoon
     The last museum that we went to was the Nelson-Atkins, and I must say, it was great! I saw a lot of famous artists' work: a Warhol, a Rothenberg, Rothko, Andrew Wyeth and there was Greek, Roman, and Egyptian sculptures, which was awe-inspiring to behold. But I think my favorite part was the Sculpture of the Thinker, by Auguste Rodin. It was so amazing to see it. It was huge! and I touched it's left big toe! The museum had a big cafeteria area and smelled like my grandma's basement. I think it was all the stone and fried foods.

A collaboration work by me and Marylin
during the van ride

     All the pictures here are sketches I did while on the trip. I always like to sketch when I travel and I've been refining my travel kit for a while now. I think sketching is a great way for me to document trips, I like it better than a camera, but that's not always practical. Maybe later I'll post pictures about what my sketching kit contains.

Free itouch? Yes, please!

So this morning I get a phone call at 8:30ish and it's the book store lady from college and she's like "I hope you have an itunes account because you're gonna need it for your itouch!" and I'm like "COOL!" and she's like "Yeah... it is cool!"

  

  Earlier this week I filled out a survey at

 my college with a chance to win an itouch.

 But the only reason I did it because you get

a little bag of candy, because I really didn't

think I'd win the itouch...but I did!

This is the second time in my life when I've

 won something pretty big. The first time

 being when I was about 12 and I entered

 into a coloring contest and won a 125cc

suzuki dirtbike. Man, that thing was fun..

but I digress...

    I've never owned an ipod and I'm pretty

wary of the Apple Cult in general, but hey if

you're passing out a brand new gadgets...

I'll take it!

This just goes to show you...good things happen to people who take free candy!

Welcome the the Jungle

After recently reading a book by Chris Guillebeau,  The Art of Non-Conformity I was encouraged to pursue my artistic dreams, so this blog will serve to chronicle my adventures through the highs and lows in search of artistic independence.

Acrylic painting on canvas by Gabriel Tuxhorn