Watts Atelier 2011 Summer Schedule

The NEW Summer 2011 class schedule for the Watts Atelier is available. The Spring term has just ended and we recommend early registration for the next term. Classes fill up quick. The new session starts July 11th. Here are the classes I will be teaching:


PAINTING FACIAL FEATURES IN OIL
Tuesdays 2:30pm-5:30pm





HEAD,FIGURE, AND QUICKSKETCH
Tuesdays 7:00pm-10:00pm





Click on a class above to be directed to the class page. Feel free to contact me with any questions. lucasgraciano@yahoo.com

Into The Pixel - Updated With A Chesley Nom!

Update: Amorphous Drake is nominated for a Chesley Award for Best Gaming catagory. I feel very honored to be nominated amongst such amazing artists! Congrats and good luck to all who were nominated.
Amorphous Drake was one of 17 winners in this years Into The Pixel gallery. Into the Pixel is a collection of art designed for video games. It will be on display at E3 on June 7-9th. Congrats to all the other winners!

Master of Devils Cover

Here is a cover I did for Paizo's Pathfinder Tales novel. You can find more information on the book at Paizo's main site.




Here is the full image-

Rest in Peace Jeffrey Jones

One of the most influential aritsts of our time has passed away today. His work has been a big inspiration on me. RIP Jeffrey Jones.

NEW Pathfinder Cover

The Paizo site has released a second cover I did for them.




Here is the original. It's 24x18 oil on masonite.



You can find more information on the book at the Paizo site here - Faiths of Balance

Pathfinder Cover

Here is a cover I did for Paizo's Pathfinder. The original is 24x18 oil on masonite.




Here is the full image-


You can find more out about the book here- Pathfinder

New Magic Card - Grave Titan + Spectrum 18!

It was just pointed out to me that a Magic the Gathering card I just finished has already been spoiled. Original is 16x20 oil on hardboard. Here is the link with the spoiler cards-
Magic Spoiler

The Spectrum winners list was also announced and my name is on it! Congrats to everyone who got in!
Spectrum 18

Watts Atelier 2011 Spring Schedule

The NEW Spring 2011 class schedule for the Watts Atelier is available. The Winter term is about to end and we recommend early registration for the next term. Classes fill up quick. The new session starts April 11th. Here is a list of classes I will be teaching:

PAINTING FROM THE MASTERS
Wednesdays 2:30-5:30pm



FIGURE QUICKSKETCH
Wednesdays 7:00pm-10:00pm



COMPOSTION AND PICTURE MAKING
Thursdays 10:00am-1:00pm



DRAWING THE DRAPED FIGURE
Thursdays 2:30pm-5:30pm



Click on a class above to be directed to the class page. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

On The Shelves: "Wild Harvest: The Animal Art of Bob Kuhn"

First off I have to appologize for the lack of posting lately. I've been extremley busy. I have new work to show, but I have to wait for those pesky NDA's to lift. I'll be posting some new work soon.



On my birthday about 4 years ago, my wife told me she got me something but it hadn't come in the mail yet. After a couple of weeks she finally got the package. I asked her what took so long as I opened the gift to reveal the Bob Kuhn book I've been wanting. She told me that this was one of the last few books that the seller had available and he was a friend of Bob Kuhn's. Bob Kuhn was in the hospital at the time. The guys selling the book took the book over to Bob in the hospital to have him sign it for me. This made the gift that much more special! It was unfortunate but Bob died shortly after.


Bob was one of the best wild animal painters of his time. I was always impressed with how well he captured the gestures of animals in his paintings. His style of painting was very loose and often the ground of his intial lay-in would remain in the final, a kind of a Bernie Fuchs or John Harris feel. It's so inpiring to see how much he could get with so little.







The book is now out of print and going for around $150. It has 168 pages with 133 color plates and 36 b&w illustrations. The first edition was limited to 4,800 copies and comes with an "Artist's Book Plate" certifying the copy. You can still buy used copies on Amazon.com

Wizard World Anaheim Appearance

I was invited to attend Wizard World Anaheim in April this year as a guest artist. This has sparked me to make an "Appearances" section to the blog. Right now I only have two scheduled appearances, but will post others as I figure out my schedule for the rest of the year.

Watts Atelier - Student Years: Still Life Painting

Still life painting has always been one of my favorite classes. I know, most of you are thinking..."Really?! But isn't that a class for old ladies who like to paint flowers?" Absolutely not!





The number and variety of textures you learn to paint in one of those classes is great. If you're planning on working in illustration, concept, or fine art, it is one of the best classes you can take. I learned to paint various types of metals, colored glass, fruit, and other sorts of textured surfaces. Learning to paint differnet types of cloth: satin, velvet, linen, sheer, and more. All of this I took into painting my fantasy illustrations. Being able to paint the illusion of a certain kind of material adds so much depth to a painting.





I took the class most often with Meadow Gist and once with Jeff Watts. Each week would be a new 3hr study. Sometimes we would even do gesture paintings of 40-60min studies. During these studies I was also learning another level of dexterity with the brush. The nice thing about still life as well as landscape painting is that you have more freedom to experiment with brushmanship, color, and design. A portrait has to look like your subject, but a still life painting can be pushed and pulled in lots of directions with more room for error. This way of thinking allowed me to take more chances. Sure I failed a lot, but I also gained a confidence that I think, allowed me to take chances in my illustration work.





I've taught the class myself a couple times since I started teaching at the school. This has helped me reinforce a few things in my own work.

On The Shelves: "Not Far From Home- The Paintings of Daniel F. Gerhartz"

I was introduced to Dan Gerhartz's work not long after I started training at The Watts Atelier. I've been a big fan ever since. He's a fine artist from Wisconsin. I've been lucky enough to see a few of his originals. I've always liked his sense of lighting, his bold brush strokes and the richness he gets in his colors. I've been waiting for him to come out with a book and this one does not disappoint. The book is 175pgs with plenty of full page color images. The reproductions are crisp with plenty of close up shots of various images. Every dozen or so pages he gives a couple of paragraphs of insight into what he's thinking when he executes a particular painting.









If you're a fan of fine art and like his work, you'll want to pick this one up. If you're into fine art and you've never heard of him before, check out his work. You can see more of his work and purchase the book from his site, www.danielgerhartz.com