Female Study

Here is another study from the other day.  I hope you all like it.  Done in Corel Painter X3. Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy!!!!

H.R. Giger

Hans Rudolf "Ruedi" Giger (/ˈɡiːɡər/; February 5, 1940 – May 12, 2014) was a Swiss surrealist painter, sculptor and set designer. He was part of the special effects team that won an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects for their design work on the film Alien. He was named to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2013. I was sad to hear about Giger's passing a few weeks ago and decided to put an homage piece together for him the minute I heard of the bad news. Like many artist, his work was a great influence and source of inspiration for me. It is not an easy feat to be original in this day and age, but Giger was able to transcend the norm and be a real pioneer in his art form. He inspired outside of his genre, everything from film makers to graffiti and tattoo artist, to architects, and the list goes on. On 12 May 2014, Giger died in a hospital in Zürich after having suffered injuries in a fall. In a New York Times obituary, Timothy Leary, a friend of Giger's, was quoted as having praised the artist by saying, "Giger's work disturbs us, spooks us, because of its enormous evolutionary time span. It shows us, all too clearly, where we come from and where we are going." Giger started with small ink drawings before progressing to oil paintings. For most of his career, Giger had worked predominantly in airbrush, creating monochromatic canvasses depicting surreal, nightmarish dreamscapes. Giger's most distinctive stylistic innovation was that of a representation of human bodies and machines in a cold, interconnected relationship, he described as "biomechanical". His main influences were painters Ernst Fuchs and Salvador Dalí. Giger suffered from night terrors and his paintings are all to some extent inspired by his experiences with that particular sleep disorder. He studied interior and industrial design at the School of Commercial Art in Zurich (from 1962 to 1965) and made his first paintings as a means of art therapy. Apparently he must have thought curing his night terrors would include giving them to someone else, mainly his audience :) He is most known for his work on the movies Aliens and Species, and being the father of the "biomechanical style of art and tattoo style. Below is my homage to this amazing talent followed by a picture of the artist, and some of his incredible timeless work. My condolences to his family and friends. May he Rest in Peace. His work will live on forever. Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy!!!!!

Gina Lollobrigida

Luigina "Gina" Lollobrigida; born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist and sculptor. She was one of the highest profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was considered to be a sex symbol. As her film career slowed, she established second careers as a photojournalist and sculptor. In the 1970s, she scooped the press by gaining an exclusive interview with Fidel Castro, the revolutionary Communist dictator of Cuba. She has continued as an active supporter of Italian and Italian American causes, particularly the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF). In 2008, she received the NIAF Lifetime Achievement Award at the Foundation's Anniversary Gala. In 2013, she sold her jewelry collection, and donated the nearly $5 million from the sale to benefit stem cell therapy research. Below is my caricature of the actress as The Queen Sheba in the movie Solomon and Sheba (1959)which also starred actor Yul Brynner (The Ten Commandments, The King And I). Also a picture of the actress from the same film and an animated gif showing some of the process. Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy!!!!

Jab Jab Whammo, now available at Amazon.com

So before I get into some shameless self promotion, I wanna take the time out to share some awesome tutorials by the very talented Anthony Jones. If your not familiar with his work, do yourself a favor and check it out here. I first heard of Anthony Jones through a 9-week Creature Design course that I signed up for over at the Schoolism site a few years ago. The course was awesome, I learned tons and have been following Anthony's work ever since. Anthony has put together a series of very affordable tutorials , and from the sounds of it he intends on adding a bunch more. I picked up Designing with confidence, Painting with confidence, Zbrush to Photoshop workflow, And Kitbashing your own Paintings. They are all awesome, so head on over there and pick them up. You won't be disappointed. You can check out the Videos Here. I forgot to mention he includes all the files, tools etc. that he uses. Now for some self love :) My art book Jab, Jab, Whammo is now available through the Amazon marketplace. You can check that out here. Good father's Day gift I must say, perfect for toilet reading :) So feel free to help spread the word about Anthony's tutorials and my book of course. Sharing is caring you know. You can preview a sample of the book below, and I also added a nifty little animated Gif of some progress shots of a painting of Italian Actress Gina Lollobrigida that I am working on. I'll be posting the finished piece soon, so be sure and check back. Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy!!!!

jab, jab, WHAMMO!!! by Rafael Rivera | Make Your Own Book

Some more studies

The art journey continues.  Here a few more painterly studies from photo references.  These were done in Corel Painter X3 using the oil brushes and Photoshop cs6 using various custom brushes that have canvas textures applied to them.  Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy!!!!