"Escape from Vietnam"

Monday, June 30, 2008



Well, it turns out that all the amazing things I had heard about the Heroes Con were correct. From getting picked up at the airport to the art auction on Saturday to the wonderful hotel room and beyond, I had a great time. And as if all that wasn't enough, my girlfriend and parents joined me on Saturday to help round out the family affair.

Pictured above is the 20" x 30" painting I made for the art auction. It took me a little over 3 hours and it was tons of fun. I haven't painted anything that large in quite some time and it was a welcome change. The pressure to create on the spot forces me to make snappier decisions and not get bogged down in excessive planning.


This is the painting roughly midway through. I asked one of my commission patrons what I should do and he replied, "old school Iron Man." I really enjoyed the movie's take on the original armor, so I did my own interpretation with a nod to the original comic, which is set in Vietnam.


Here's a close-up at the midway point, exemplifying the tin can look I was going for.



The art supplies were provided for us by the convention and we painted right in front of the crowds. I had more supplies available to me than when I'm home.



This is my set-up in Artist Alley, which really should be called something else at Heroes. It easily took up half of the convention hall, maybe more. Above me is my mirror stand that I bring to most cons. It allows people to see what I'm drawing without too much effort on their (or my) part. Eventually, I'll post a detailed blueprint for this contraption, which always gets me the most compliments at cons.



And last but not least, here is Iron Man... and some kid doing a... robot dance? Who knows? All I can say is that I wish Iron Man's undies were a little... snugger.

Ah yes, I almost forgot. If you by any chance have jury duty today at the Brooklyn Supreme Court Building, I'll see you there. I'll even sign your books.

6 comments :

  1. Wow amazing work as usual, the lighting in particular is so warm and explosive. I especially dig the Blue pilot flame on his right hand, really genius stuff.

    What type of paint did you use? Did you do an under painting or sketch it out first or just dive right in and carved it out?

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  2. Sweet Iron Man painting!
    If I had the disposable income, I would have totally bid for this at the auction.

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  3. Oh yeah.... congrats on Mythos as well.
    Picked up Cap yesterday at the comic book store. You wrapped things up with a bang - although I do miss the blatant RISD cameos we'd seen in the 'Spider-man: Mythos' days...

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  4. Great work, as usual. The expressive feel to the brushwork is awesome, I really dig it.

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  5. Thanks, guys. The painting is acrylic on illustration board. I did a loose pencil sketch, then decided I should just dive in. The best part was getting to paint with a large, house-painting brush.

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  6. mmm... old school iron man. nice work man.

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