The early days of aviation...

This week I am working on a series of three pictures depicting the excitement and possibilities people felt when aviation was in its early stages. Here is one of the sketches so far.

Book Proposal- My Little Brother Richie

Time to cook something...

I am about to begin a new project, which will take most of the next month. Before I get started on that, I thought I would share one more Wonderful Good promotional idea. These are some of the recipe cards I created to promote the story. The recipes were tested in the Freed test kitchens and are great.
I have a bunch of new projects to begin and a few strings to tie up on an older one. Hopefully there will also be time to get outside with the real paints- it is another gorgeous fall day here in Ohio and I am inside :-(

Wonderful Good

Here is a link to my first video on my new studiofreed youtube channel. LOL, I have to think about what I am going to post here in the future. This could be a lot of fun.
So here goes, first try and all :-)

Still having fun with acrylics...

I am still working on acrylic portraits this week. It is so different than what I am used to. I haven't gotten tired of it yet.
This is a portrait in progress of Ralph. I don't like the dog too much. I am not sure if I should redo her completely or keep struggling along.
Painting a mature person represents whole new challenges. I have been going back and forth with the lines in his face, darkening them and lightening them. A balance must be struck or it won't look like him. Of course you don't want him to look like one of those dried apple head dolls either... with raisin eyes.
Yuck. Glad that fad is over.
I think I am going to start a new project and give this one a break for a couple of days.

Still Painting traditionally...

Still painting traditionally this week, applying some of Payne's techniques to my portraits. I like this one, but I had to go over the wash stage with several layers of paint before I reached what I was looking for. I want to get to that point in one or two layers, not take all day. I am betting that's how the old timey illustrators got things done, by getting it right the first or second time. I suppose that comes with practice.
This picture is painted with a mix of oils, acrylics, colored pencil, and even a teeny layer of watercolor. It truly is mixed media.

Painting traditionally for a change...

At Hartford Art School last week, I had the privilege of studying with Chris Payne. On the first day of class, he got assigned a Time Magazine cover, due two days later on Wednesday. We all got to watch Chris put together an amazing illustration that is featured on this week's Time Magazine cover.
Here is my attempt to paint like Payne. It is the first traditional painting I've done in months. It is mixed media with glazes of oil paint and colored pencil. I really enjoyed painting this picture. I want to apply some of this approach to my traditional work.
BTW, the subject in the painting is my great grandfather, Whoa Bill Phillips. He pitched professionally for sixteen years around the turn of the last century. I would like to learn more about him. I inherited NONE of his athletic ability.