I've always wanted to try painting but I just never seemed to have the time or the space to really give it a go. When we moved into our new house both of those problems were solved. Not only did we have a spare bedroom but we had no TV or internet. It seems our cable line has been cut by some overzealous landscapers and it will be weeks before Comcast is able to run a new one. So I decided to pull out a Christmas present my parents had gotten me years ago. It was one of those "start painting today" type of deals with an easel, canvas, brushes and paints all in one big box. it had been collecting dust in my closet but I figured now I had no excuse not to give it a try.
For my first painting I decided to use a sketch that I had originally done as a possible cover for the PAX 2008 program. It was a Twisp and Catsby piece and I figured since I had just done them on last year's guide I should probably switch it up for 2008. I liked the drawing though and I figured painting it would be a great way to use it.
I learned a lot making this first painting, not the least of which was that I really like painting. When Kurtz came to stay with me after PAX for a week I told him we were going to paint and it would be awesome. He'd had never tried it either and so I think he was a little hesitant. You can read his blog post about it over on his site and check out his Flickr for some shots of us working.
His first painting was of Scratch and it turned out great. I decided to try and do a Jim Darkmagic portrait and I challenged myself to do more rendering this time. This one was significantly more difficult for me but just like the first one I learned so fucking much about painting.
I've really got the bug now and I have another blank canvas waiting for me back at home. My wife has asked for a painting of our WOW characters but I'm not sure I'm quite ready for that yet. Maybe I need to beg Jim Murray for some lessons.
-Gabe out
