Shane Jackman CD Cover Art

Cover for Shane Jackman's new album "Peace"

I have always loved the peaceful silent nature of new fallen snow. My musician friend Shane Jackman and I have wanted to collaborate on a project for some time. I finally got the chance to do a piece of cover art for one of his albums, so here is a sneak peek. After concept discussions for the cover of this album, we settled on the idea of a peace sign pressed into a snowy hillside at evening. Shane is crafting this recording to appeal to all denominations as more of a holiday album but it will have songs that are obviously Christmas themed. The bright star in the sky stands as a little reminder of that. Shane is an incredibly gifted singer and songwriter and I am excited to be a part of this package. The album will be simply titled "Peace" and will have a mix of original Christmas and holiday themed tunes as well as a few traditional carols Shane has arranged.

Check out Shane's website here

Woodland Skunk

Woodland Skunk- 9" x 18" -by Greg Newbold

acrylic on canvas 

This week, I got one of those nice surprises in the mail- a royalty check. It was for my book Spring Song, which unfortunately has fallen out of print for the moment. I think the art in this book is actually stronger than the companion book I illustrated called Winter Lullaby, also written by Barbara Seuling. So how did I get a royalty check on a book that is out of print you ask? Well, the anthology rights to the book are still very much active and it was picked up again to be published in a children's reading textbook.Granted, the check was not huge, just a few hundred dollars, but it's always nice to get money when you don't expect it!

A few "vintage copies" of Spring Song are still available here.

More Walter Everett

Walter Everett- couple on hillside (unfinished?)

Last week I got an email from artist Kevin Ferrara regarding a previous post I did on the work of Golden Age Illustrator Walter Everett (1880-1946). 

As a result, we happily traded Walter Everett scans which were new to both of us. This exchange motivated me to have another look at Everett's work and I came away with a renewed appreciation of his skill. I continue to be especially impressed by his design sense, bold brushwork and color use. 

Washer Woman- finished painting

Sketch for the above painting- notice design differences from finish

A student of Howard Pyle, during the first quarter of the 20th century, Everett established himself as one of the most sought after illustrators. He founded  the program at the Philadelphia College of Art (formerly the School of Industrial Arts) in1911 where he taught until the conformity of academia chafed too much. He abandoned teaching in 1915. 

His ego and tendency to push deadlines to the last possible moment or beyond, made him an art director's nightmare. But Everett's brilliant work made him a headache that publishers were obviously willing to tolerate as his work continued to appear in all the major publications of the day.

At the height of his career in the mid 1930's, Everett famously burned the bulk of his life's work to ash according to several accounts including this post on David Apatoff"s Illustration Art blog. He then disappeared from illustration forever. nobody seems to know why.

Walter Everett spent the rest of his life creating personal work such as the one below which was on his easel at the time of his death in 1946

Very little remains by way of Everett's original art and tear sheets of his printed work. I would love to find more examples, but for now I'll be satisfied with digesting the samples I have. If you have any scans of Everett's work that may be more obscure and that you are willing to share, I would appreciate it.

Walter Everett was one of the most talented of the Golden Age of Illustration, giving nothing to the likes of Dean Cornwell, N.C. Wyeth, Harvey Dunn. He was certainly one of the very best from an era of illustration giants.

See more brilliant Walter Everett work here

Have a Scary Halloween!

Clown-Fish; 5" x 5" acrylic on paper, by Greg Newbold

Here's another one of my goofy fish that I finished just yesterday. It seemed appropriate for Halloween. This one is a little creepier than usual, but still pretty funny. It's getting shipped off to a fundraiser for the Westmont Museum of Fine Art in Santa Barbara, California. Everyone was given a 5" x 5" piece of BFK paper to do anything they wanted on. My friend Scott Anderson teaches art there and when I saw his contribution, I was a little embarrassed by my previous effort. It was a fun drawing, but not typical of my painted work. I asked for another shot and this is what came out of it. I did it as a demo for my Illustration 1 class at BYU. I have seen a few on the pieces for this show posted online and I think a few people are going to end up getting some little gems. I'm tempted to bid myself.

Happy Birthday Muddy Colors!

Have some cake, Muddy Colors!

The Muddy Colors Blog turned one year old today. If you have not checked it out yet, it is one of the most inspiring and informative art blogs on the internet and I look at it all the time. Contributors include some of my favorite fantasy illustrators like Dan Dos Santos, Gregory Manchess, Justin Gerard and Petar Meseldzija. Go see what it's all about at http://muddycolors.blogspot.com

Don't stop looking at my blog though..

Painting Kolob Canyon-Part 2

View Up Taylor Creek- Oil; 6" x 8" by Greg Newbold

After a first attempt at painting Kolob Canyon which I posted earlier here, We ventured down the canyon a couple of miles and hauled our gear a little way up Taylor Creek for another shot at the majestic red rock. Looking back, I guess I was enamored with the way the light played off the sheer salmon colored rock faces and the contrasting cobalt blue skies because I painted a close sister to the first picture.

The View from Taylor Creek- Kolob Canyon, Utah

In some ways I think the paint application in this second attempt is better than the first. I figured out some of the paint mixing and though this one is smaller at 6" x 8" rather than 8" x 10", it also went much faster. I like the sky  color better in the first.

Blocking in the rough shapes

It's not very evident in the digital version, but this one got a little too dark. I'll touch it up in the studio. Evaluating things like values and temperature after the fact is an important exercise for me to learn how to more accurately capture what I am seeing in my outdoor studies. They then become much more of a reaction to and interpretation of nature rather than a slavish copy.

Fueling the Fire

Fueling the Fire- 11.5" x 12" acrylic/mixed media by Greg Newbold

Sometimes the only way to keep the wolves at bay is to fuel the fire. Make sure your creative fire is always stoked with new and interesting projects. I have found over the years that I have to take time to do work that is just for myself or just for fun. The breakthroughs and discoveries I make during these explorations are what keeps me excited to do those inevitable jobs that are less than thrilling, but that pay. By injecting aspects of my explorations into my paying work, I have been able to keep my creative fires burning. If you don't have anything exciting going on in your paying work, come up with a personal project that excites you and get to work. The benefits are enormous and far reaching.