A Few Photos From Ultracon Of South Florida

This past weekend I was a special guest artist at Ultracon of South Florida. It was my first time at a Comic Con, even though technically I was invited to the Cleveland con first, but that doesn't happen until Feb.

 

Below is a shot of my friend Matt who plays an incredible Jack Sparrow standing next to comic book writer and creator Larry Hama. The first comic book I ever purchased as a young kid was an issue of G.I. Joe, which was written by none other than Larry Hama. Comic books got me started on both reading and drawing. It lead to me reading novels, literature, Shakespeare, etc. Copying drawings out of comic books as a kid directly led me to oil painting. It was interesting that the first Comic Con I go to I am signing just two tables away from the guy that in some ways put me there. Had that issue of GI Joe been a terrible story, and I never read another comic book, my whole life may have been different.

Although Larry Hama didn't actually create GI Joe, he did create many of the characters form the smaller action figures including Cobra Commander. Pretty Cool!

Next to Larry Hama was Brian Muir, who did the original sculpture of Darth Vader and other characters for the original trilogy. That's him to the left of Darth Vader. He has also worked on Indiana Jones, and most recently Guardians Of The Galaxy. His work is amazing. He and his wife were delightful in conversation and very friendly. It was a pleasure getting to know them.

 Batman was drinking a lemonade but I unfortunately didn't get the shot - would have been priceless.

At the table directly next to me was Callie Cosplay. On Saturday she was Wonder Woman, Sunday, The Baroness from GI Joe. Her costumes were extremely well done as you can see. There is Matt again in his Captain Jack costume.  He put an incredible amount of work into the details of the costume and it's amazing how authentic he looks in person. He told me it takes him two hours just to get into it! His business cards are even in a little treasure chest.

I have recently learned that there are mixed feelings in regards to the Cosplayers. Some comic book writers are upset that the conventions are more about the people wearing costumes than the writers, creators, and artists. I liked the cosplay part of it. Callie is very cool, and fun to have sitting next to me. She loved the characters she played and had respect for them. But not everyone did. I was in shock when one girl dressed as Elsa from Frozen was standing in front of my table, and said nothing to me, not even hello. She was so wrapped up in who she was, who was looking at her, that she had a Disney Artist in front of her and she could not have cared less.  When someone finally did introduce us, it seemed a chore for her to be cordial. I told her she should hire a midget and dress him up as Olaf to add authenticity to the costume. Shockingly she wasn't amused.  If you are going to dress as a Disney princess as an adult, when people are looking at you smile! Smile at everyone, especially the kids, and not to ask too much, but when you smile, try and actually be convincing about it. Another girl dressed as "Brave" also walked by and didn't even look. I find that a bit odd. I will add that these were not young kids which I might say didn't know better. You should dress up as a character you know well, love and respect, or at least research. If your dressing up in a costume that makes you "look good" or will get you more "likes" on Facebook, you are doing it for the wrong reasons. I like the costumes, but no convention should put the costumes ahead of the people who created or contributed to them.
 

 

A shot of me at my table. I'm really looking forward to my next Comic Con appearance, I met a lot of great and interesting people. It was a blast!

 Come see me this Feb in Cleveland:
http://www.wizardworld.com/home-cleveland.html

To like Callie on FB: Callie Cosplay
To like me on FB: Clinton T. Hobart Fine Art

Ledger Bond Paper Needs Some Help !

I have been using Borden and Riley No.32 Ledger Hammermill White paper since I was in Art School. It was the paper that we used in James McMullan's High Focus Drawing Class. After graduating I tried many, many, other papers and always came back to this one for figure drawing. Almost every other paper has a tooth to it. I never understood the attraction to a paper with a tooth to it for figure drawing. The Ledger Bond is smooth, lightweight, and it has 50 sheets per pad. I used to go through two to three pads per week!








While recently searching for paper online, I found the Ledger Bond was almost impossible to get. Jerry's Artarama doesn't carry it, neither does Blick. I had to have my friend who owns Stuart Art Supply in Florida special order it for me. But special orders aren't cheap, not nearly as cheap as if these stores carried the product. Bristol is an excellent paper, and smooth, but it is thicker than the ledger and the same price per pad only gets you 25 sheets.

I know a lot of you out there like the paper. I am asking that if you look for the paper, and can't find it, rather than just buying or ordering something else, give them a call and ask if they can get it.

Call Blick, 800-828-4548 or Jerry's 800-827-8478 or your favorite art supply store, and just ask if they have it. I was told by Blick that if they get enough calls they will carry it again. There is a Jerry's Artist Outlet that carries it, and an ArtStuff.net which also has it, but we want to call the big stores first because it is the stores that order large quantities in bulk that get the prices down. Right now it is selling for $12 a pad on the two mentioned stores, the bigger stores could have it for half that if they ordered a large amount.

One of the number one comments I get on my figure drawings is the line quality. Although I have always been attracted to smooth, flowing, beautiful lines, the Ledger Bond makes this even easier to accomplish.

The fellow on the phone at Blick told me that there was a note in the computer that the paper was "obsolete". That is both a shame and untrue! In my opinion, there is no other paper like it!
 
If you have never tried it, track some down, you just might like it. If the paper gets discontinued, you may never get the chance...

Another Round of Quick Wave Studies

I promised some of you I would do this one more time this year. Here they are!

  Five Wave Studies, between and hour and a half and two hours each.

 This one is really tiny, a 4 x 6, but I'm pretty happy with it. Smaller is easier with a short study.

 
Wave 4 is a 6 x 6

"Wave V" is definitely my favorite of this batch. Limiting your time is a great exercise but you never know what you are going to get.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

A Few J.C. Leyendecker's to celebrate the holiday...

I included this one because of the unfinished areas. I love seeing a work in progress from my favorite painters.

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a few traditions. Some people watch the parade, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Football, and of course, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. I remember for a while, when I was a kid getting mad, really mad, at Charlie Brown for trying to kick the damn football every year, and never learning. I thought, it's insane, he falls for it every time. Bugs Bunny would never do that. I have been saying for years that part of getting through life is trying to be more like Bugs Bunny, and less like Charlie Brown. Just a few years ago I realized how true the football story really is. We all have a football we are trying to kick, and too often someone pulls it away from us. Although now I realize how important it is to never give up trying to kick that football, I still wonder if Charlie Brown ever has to fight the urge of kicking Lucy instead...and I think, What would Bugs Bunny do?

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

A Free 3-Day Demo, Upcoming Appearances, and Comic Con's

I will be painting live at Barker Animation Art Gallery the Weekend of  December 5 - 7!

I will painting from 1pm on Friday, December 5. This will be a demo on how to draw a still life.

From 10 am on Sat and Sun.
The subject will be a statue of Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket.

A great chance to watch a three day demo!

The following week December 13 & 14th I will be a Special Guest Artist at  Ultracon of South Florida!

http://ultraconofsouthflorida.com/ 

And in February... Comic Con Cleveland!

Wave Demo In Palm City Process Shots

Hello Folks!

Last Wednesday I did a one hour Demo for the Palm City Art Associates in Palm City, Florida.
I love doing demos, and I think this one went particularly well. Seemed like everyone had a great time including me! Here are a few process shots and the demo below.

 I brought a finished painting with me and just demonstrated how I begin them.

 The size is 30 x 20 making it the largest demo I have ever painted.

  I was actually impressed with how far I took it in one hour. Doing a large wave in that much time is not easy.

  

A shot of the crowd. I'm told there were around seventy five people present.

Above is a shot of the Demo (to the left) and the finished Wave painting (to the right).

 

30 x 20 Oil on Canvas

Click Here To Bid

Although the finished Demo is not complete enough to send to one of the galleries, I liked it to much to wipe it away. I will be putting it up for auction on Ebay at 10pm tonight starting at $100.00
The finished one will be going to one of the galleries and will retail for $6,500.00.

Click Here To Bid

Painting Demo at Barker Animation of Disney's Goofy!

 On Friday Barker Animation Had it's Grand Opening Celebration at their new location in Coconut Creek, FL.

As a special guest, I was doing an eight hour painting demonstration of  Disney's Goofy.

It was actually a still-life demonstration since I was working from an actual statue of Goofy. I started with a blank panel, pictured above.

Whenever I do a demo, I always show up with a blank panel and start from scratch. I think showing the first stages is very important in a demo.

Below is a shot of the finished drawing.

Above - The end of the first day, eight hours.

 
I worked on him for a couple of more hours on Saturday. I didn't do a lot, just darkened the darks in the head, and added a quick background for atmosphere. Below is the finished painting. It's available for purchase at Barker Animation Art Gallery, Coconut Creek, FL.

 One last shot of the painting and the set up.