Dog Portrait #1: Shiloh

Since this drawing has been completed, delivered, and viewed by its recipients, I can now go ahead and post this piece!

This is the original photo:



And this is my drawing:



This piece was done on 11" x 15" Stonehenge warm white rag paper, with a variety of pencils (no charcoal).

I used to periodically do animal and people portraits (and on one occasion an Italian kit car) on a semi-regular basis, but it had been a while. However, I'm considering taking on more of these projects in the near future once I've rebuilt my portfolio, so if anyone is looking to have something done, drop me a line and we can discuss it.

On that note...

This photo was a very challenging one to work from. Although I can make do to a certain extent with what I'm given, the ideal photo is:

-digital
-a good resolution (nice and big!)
-sharply in focus
-taken outdoors, in natural lighting, at a flattering angle
-no obstructions
-no flash!!

No matter how much I try to compensate for it, there is always a lot of flattening of the image which occurs with flash photography. However, even though this photo broke most of the rules, I did my best to compensate in the drawing and I'm pretty happy with the end result.

When Worlds Collide

Unbeknownst to me, when I painted this back in 2006, I was painting the prequel to the following Regretsy item:

http://www.regretsy.com/2009/12/04/i-want-to-believe/

Astonishing! Although I didn't think to give my aliens such a, ermm, lovely head of hair. Or, you know, incorporate walnuts somehow.

Where to find me

For the curious, here are all the places to find me online (that I can think of off the top of my head):

My main site:
http://www.edenbachelder.com

This blog:
(You're here already.)

Deviantart:
http://shmeeden.deviantart.com

Boot Camp Comics:
http://www.bootcampcomics.com

Nerd Girl Pin-Ups, in the artist's alley section:
http://www.nerdgirlpinups.com

And if you play as an Emo (all the cool kids are doing it), you'll find my artwork in:
http://www.forumwarz.com

Contact info:
eden (at) edenbachelder (dot) com*


*(written out this way here to avoid the spam bots!)

New bird paintings available! Affordable minis, in time for Christmas.

I've only just completed these, and am now unleashing them upon an unsuspecting world (or something). All of my birds have so far been solitary, but this time, I thought they deserved to have a friend. Or a staring contest partner. Or, as I'm showing them below, maybe an enemy to snub:



Though the paired birds share the same poses, they're not entirely identical, with variations in the texture of the canvas and application of the paint making each one unique. They're not attached together, so hang them as you like: back to back, face to face, one above the other, or hey, even in separate rooms. It's entirely up to you.

The pieces are 10" x 8" each. Buy a pair a pair for the sweet sweet price of $200. I will deliver for free within reach of the TTC, or else ship them out at cost.

Owl: Work in Progress

I have to confess, I kind of hate sharing things that aren't done because all I can see, when I look at them, is what's off about the image. But I thought I'd share this one at this point, as I feel it's starting to come together.

It's 18" x 14", acrylic and modeling paste on canvas. I'm kind of picking away at it at this point when I get tired of working on the things I HAVE to do, but I could put some more focus into it and have it ready by Christmas if someone were keen to give it as a gift.

I may post some more images showing the progress on it as I go forward. Check back in to see how it's coming along! And if you have any questions about my process, leave them in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them.

New bird painting!

I've been working on this one over the last couple of weeks, and have finally declared it finished, and varnished and photographed it.

This is easily the most complex of the pieces in the series, to date, and is my personal favourite so far!

It's 36" x 18", ready to hang, and it's available! As always, delivery is free if you live within reach of the TTC.

Madly painting. MADLY!

A few words about what's in the works:

-I've just completed a new 36" x 18" bird, which I will be posting on the site shortly. So totally for sale!

-A photo-realistic Great Horned Owl, 18" x 14", on the same textured surface as the more stylized black bird paintings, is underway.

-Three pairs of 8" x 10" black bird paintings are nearly ready. These will be available within the next week, at very reasonable prices, and will make great Christmas gifts for all your friends and loved ones (hint hint)!

-I've been painting a house portrait, which is a pretty big departure from what most people know me for. I'll be sure to post it when I get it done within the next two weeks.

And who knows what other things I'll come up with to stretch myself just that little bit thinner. It seems I'm most productive when I have a million things to work on, so I'm just going with that!

Slim and shady

After one of my friends became fixated on the Slender Man, I had to play with the idea a bit myself.

The Slender Man is an invention of the Something Awful forums. Despite that dubious origin, it's a pretty seriously creepy and compelling subject.

You can read more about him here (which explains the idea better than my own attempt to boil it down to a sentence might):
http://www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com/page/Slender+Man

There's also a series of Blair Witch-style videos on youtube, under the name Marble Hornets. They didn't do much for me at first, but over an hour later, I found I'd watched them all anyhow, and was ready for more.

So inspired, I made this facebook graffiti for my fixated friend.

His face came out a little too human, and I think the potential for extra, tentacly limbs holding additional cupcakes may be worth exploring in future.

(This one is vanilla with butter cream icing, just so you know.)

Introduction

This is a fresh and shiny new blog, devoted entirely to posting new sketches, experiments, and ideas.

I will be posting new artwork several times a week. Each of these sketches will be experiments to test out new ideas and techniques. Win or fail, they're going up here for your scrutiny and feedback!

Also check in for news about new work I have available, and for places I'll be showing and selling originals and prints.