"Maraca!!! Scourge of the Seas"

First in a series that I started. Keep your eyes open for a set of four "clicks" magnets from Ipop publishing and prints from yours truly! Have a great Friday!

Storyboard Exerpt From "Smack Talking Goldfish"

When I finished this job, the clients requested that I hold off on posting these so I sat on them for a while. These are some of the boards that I did for some online stop motion shorts to promote milk. You can see all the shorts by clicking on the link above. I boarded them all except for the "Charm" one. In this particular skit. A ominous eagle surveys his domain for a tasty morsel. Little does he suspect that he is about to happen upon a dirty mouthed goldfish, who has been drinking milk of coarse.

Autumn Plumage

8x12 Acrylic on Masonite
I did this little guy recently for a dear old college buddy of mine. He got married a couple of weeks ago and I thought he and his fiance could use a painting.

Tiki Blues

11.5x20 Acrylic on Masonite
Hey folks! I did this one a while ago but just recently had a friend photograph it. Thanks Janice! This one has been hanging in my apartment but I think eventually it could use a new home. It was a lot of fun to paint and I can't wait to do some more tiki pieces!

Smash The Hive

This is actually a job I did back in the beginning of August. A local sound editing company asked me to do illustrated characters of them for their website.

A Daring Rescue

I was asked to donate a piece of art work for "Purrcasso", a annual art auction to help raise money for the Berkeley, East Bay Humane Society.

Boules League T-shirt Design

A Night On the Town

This is one from my pirate series.

Pirate Festival 2009

Here is the first illustration in a new series I will be doing for the Portland Pirate Festival coming up in September. I will be sharing a booth and selling prints, paintings and t-shirts. Thanks, Mark Axton!!!

A New Friend, Marianne

I took my new friend, Marianne, out to dinner, but first we had Manhattans.

06.28.09 It was a beautiful Sunday so I took Marianne to the Japanese Gardens and packed us a picnic.

Music Fest T-shirt Design

Here is a t-shirt design I did recently for a music festival. I was really digging the illustration so I replaced the festival logo and info with water so that it can stand alone.

King Thing

My friend, Pascal Campion, turned me on to this great blog dedicated to the work of Maurice Sendak. Set up by Cory Godbey, the blog features the work of many gifted artists all doing their take on "Where the Wild Things Are". It's a wonderful site and it's packed with beautiful, beautiful work! Above is my contribution.

Captain Bogg and Salty

This is one of my most recent jobs. Captain Bogg and Salty are a pirate band here in Portland who play at schools, and children functions among many other things. Lucas Haley - CBS's bass player, web designer, and all around talented animator (I had the privilege of working with Lucas on the "Mr. Men Show) - asked me to do the character designs for their next animated music video, "Mutiny".

Flip The Bird

Below are a few paintings from the "Flip the Bird" Show. Ben Adams and myself have hosted three thus far. It is a annual show at Lunar Boy Gallery located in the historic coastal town of Astoria, Or. The first show, in 2007, went over so well that, gallery owner, Deborah Starr decided to have us back every year. Thanks so much Deborah! The illustration to the left was for the promotional postcard and then became the design for the t-shirt.

Dia De Los Muertos

So, I'm not posting in any type of chronological order as you can see on the dates next to my signature. I just feel like posting some of my favorite paintings that I've done prior to starting this blog. The two below I did for a "Day of the Dead" group show. Well, "Meriachis Rojo" made the show but "Rosa De Los Desierto" was a commissioned piece after the event. "Day of the Dead" is a Mexican holiday that is a week long celebration starting on the 1st of November to pay respects to the deceased. It is best compared to Halloween here in the states.

The Process

Some people like to see this kind of stuff so I thought I would break down my creative process. I tend to do a ton of drawing and rough sketches before I get to the completed composition. As you can see in this preliminary sketch for "Loana" I will sometimes patch together a bunch of different elements that I've drawn to find the best layout that works for the composition. All this happens, by the way, after I do a ton of research. "Loana" is the cave woman in "One Million Years B.C." played by the stunningly beautiful Roquel Welch. Running around dodging and battling dinos, the scantly clad Roquel continues to drop jaws till this day. It was a cinch to realize she was going to have to be depicted in "The Girl Show".
I will often times redraw rough sketches until I get a more refined drawing like this one of "Uhura" so that I can make sure all my lines are where I want them and the style is defined before I paint. I don't always plan things out to this extent but all this preliminary stuff helps the overall composition. Through drawing, I can solve problems with tangents and overall ballance.

I still won't lay down a brush until I do some color studies. Finally I will quickly block out the composition and run through a combination of colors and values to make sure the subject matter contrasts well and the colors work together. The computer is a friend and no matter how much you like traditional media, "control z" can make life a lot simpler. Often times I will do a finished digital version before I paint. That's not the case in this color study I did for my "Jane Darrow" painting where I was really just trying to suss out some colors in photoshop. You can see all the finished paintings below.

The Girl Show, Boobtube Babes and Bigscreen Bombshells

September 13, 2008. Ben Adams (a mentor, inspiration, talent, and dear friend that I am so privileged to work with) and myself shake up the coastal town of Astoria, Or. yet again. The tenacious and fabulous owners (Deborah Starr and Jane Thanner) of Lunar Boy Gallery hang "The Girl Show, Boobtube Babes and Bigscreen Bombshells"! The show featured acrylic paintings depicting Iconic women throughout the history of film and television. The opening night was warmed by so many excellent people and smiling faces! Thanks to all who have shown so much interest in the Bens! The weekend also saw a radio interview with KMUN d.j. Carol Newmann and a beach house retreat with friends and family. Thanks Deborah and Jane for making the Bens a on going fixture at Lunar Boy Gallery! You can see some of my paintings from the show below. If you would like to see the whole show or are interested in sales, check out this link. http://www.lunarboygallery.com/Artists/The+Girl+Show+SALE.php

Welcome to my blog. This will serve as an up - to - date news page corresponding with my website when it is finally up. You will be able to keep up with events like art shows and new illustrations that I will post here. I hope you enjoy the stuff I upload and feel free to shoot me a line with any comments.
Ben Burch