An Obamanation?

WHAT IF....our candidates ideas came together? What would that look like?
This is another quickee.

Zooey Deschanel

Here is a quick pen and ink portrait. Ive been having fun doing different things inspired by my journal while I work on some of my larger projects.

As Demanded (BECK)

It has come to my attention that there is a great interest in the work I do through my journal. Because I feel like it has a direction worth going and it is something I've always enjoyed, I am putting together a portfolio of pen and ink work (drawings).
As a preview, here is a portrait of Beck.
Thanks Scott for kicking me in the butt and motivating me to put it together.

Ghost Print Show, NY promo trip, and new piece

I just recently returned from a successful promotional trip in NYC. I had a great time while I was there and much thanks goes to Scott Brundage and David Hollenbach for putting up with me for a week. Many thanks also go out to those who I met with (Mark shaw, Liz Macfarlane, Sari Levy, Mike Ley, Joann Hill, and more) and those who I met for the first time. These people made my stay worth while and left me wanting to come back to NYC.
Capping off the week, I was able to attend the Politics show at the Society of Illustrators and had the great pleasure of meeting some of the greatest illustrators of our time as well as the art directors who supplied them with the means of showcasing their work to the world. It was a tremendous job well done on behalf of Edel Rodriguez who put on the show. If you're in NYC you should take the time to check it out. It was also the first time I had seen a phillip Burke painting in person and that was incredible.
Right now I am in a show at Ghost Print Gallery (richmond, va) with three other local illustrators Neal Iwan, Barry Bruner, and Danny Robbins each of them with a very impressive collection of work. The show was a great success and a lot of fun on first friday despite the bad weather which didn't seem to stop anyone from coming out to celebrate. The show wouldn't have been a success without Thea Duskin and her mother who put on the show. Those two did a great job and I am very honored to have my work hung in their gallery.
Pictured up top is a study for a private commission and can be seen at the Ghost Print Gallery. For the commission I will be doing a larger version in oils and working out some of the kinks.
Later on I will be posting some more work and some of the journal things I've been putting together.

Daniel Johnston

Lately I have been expanding my portfolio to be more editorial friendly. Recently I was inspired by Daniel Johnston and his music. His documentary "The Devil and Daniel Johnston" was astonishing and I highly recommend it to anyone. You will either love or hate his music, and while I'm not the strongest fan of his vocal capabilities I have a great appreciation for the music he has written and the life he has lived.
His portrait is a reflection of his struggle with mental illness. After his many incidents, the several times he has been institutionalized, and need for medication I decided to focus on how he wears these ailments on his sleeve and they act as symbols for all the trials he has had to overcome and continues to overcome to create art.

something new and something different

Here's the news:
The illustration for Virginia Living has been published this month. It was a lot of fun and I got to do a more journalistic approach. I have included the illustration itself and the page layout. If you haven't checked this issue out yet, do so. It has more amazing work from Robert Meganck, an amazing dark illustration from Sterling Hundley which I am almost positive will be a medal winner at the next society show, Neal Iwan, Tyler Darden, Rob Ullman, and a fresh illustration from Shawn Yu. Unfortunately the Will Jenkins article I did back in March got bumped to a later issue.
Also, I have included one of two private commissions I am working on. This one is finished. It depicts a family's life on the bayou in Mississippi.
Other than that, still working on the website and planning a trip to New York City in late august. If anyone in the area wants to get together and geek out, I am always up for it, just give me a call.

sketchbook snack

Greetings.

Lately I have been busy working on a few fun things, some commissions and some personal. I have two private commissions going right now which wont be done for another month, and a job with va living. while I am still updating my website, I have been kept occupied by my sketchbook lately. So while I'm working on the jobs, here's a little sketchbook snack. Enjoy.

site update

Hey all,

I am in the process of updating my website. For right now it is the basic structure of my new website, but it is still under construction.
Visit www.chriswhiteillustration.com

Va Living

This is another job for Virginia Living. It's a portrait of science fiction writer Will Jenkins, also known as Murray Leinster. He was one of the first American science fiction writers. They gave me a lot to work with so it was a lot of fun. The illustration will be published in the May/June issue.

Elton John and The Voyage Home (The Odyssey)

old painting revisited

journal

Lately I have been trying to get back to my journal doing the type of drawings that keep my nose in the book all day every day.
I borrowed an old west book set from my parents a while back and I have finally cracked them open and started drawing from some amazing old photographs. There's nothing like those old black and whites. I could spend hours just starring at these old images.
This sketch is from a photograph of an old medecine man cloaked in a bear skin. Only a portion of what I've drawn is from the photograph and I decided to expand on it.

Chincoteague poster

This is a promotional idea for the Chincoteague National Wildlife Reserve. This was a concept that didnt go with for a job back in october, but I still thought it would be a good promotional work.

Self Promotional

Here's a self promotional portrait of a young Bob Dylan. Much more posts to come.

va living work job

Last monday I got a job from virginia living for an article about bird watching on Chincoteague Island. I was required to use irregular edges so it made croping rather difficult, but it was a fun challenge.
With this job and everything else going on I've been very busy. I just got married on september 22nd, I still have a full time day job and a full time illustration job, and I have been apprenticing under Sterling Hundley. The marriage is everything I hoped it would be and more, the day job is slow and without reward, the illustration work is coming slowly but surely, and the apprenticship is absolutely great.
I'm still working on some personal paintings and I have yet to bring them to finish so that's what I hope to have up next.

experimenting

Ive been working on progressing my work and finding new tools and techniques. This piece was more personal than anything. It is an example of how I am constantly trying to find my voice, not so much in the image itself but technique. Most of what I am doing here coming a lot from my influences so I still want to push this new work in a different direction.

those pieces I neglected

Hey all,

Here are those pieces I promised to put up but neglected to do. The first is "Bob Dylan", second "Blue," and the last is a conceptual portrait of Harry S. Truman.

new stuff

Lately I have been doing a lot of promotional stuff (send outs...etc.) so I have these drawings I am doing on the envelopes I send out. Ive published one of them on this blog. Also, I have just been doing a lot of drawing in general and not as much painting as I would like to. So for now, here are a couple recent sketches as well. Hopefully I will have some of the paintings Ive been working on up here as soon as I finish them.

woody

Hey all,

I just photographed my bird calender piece. It is a conceptual bird calender with a time flies theme. This was a lot of fun and an experiment with color.

illustration academy

So Im finally back from the academy and I had the best learning experience possible. Gary Kelley, Mark English, John Foster, John English, Sterling Hundley, Brent Watkinson, George Pratt, Robert Meganck, Doug Chayka, and the list goes on. It was a great two months and I hope I can go back next year. So here is just some of the work I did there. First is a portrait of Steve Prefontaine, next is an illustration of "blue," I choose blue collar and I did a speed painting (45 minutes) of a reference shot I took for that piece, last is an Illustration for the third chapter of pinocchio where gepetto just starts to carve the "little wooden bastard." I hope to have the rest up soon but I have to scan those.
For the future I am working on a bird calender with a group of illustrators.