Ed Eyestone For BYU Magazine

I finished these three pieces up a few weeks back for BYU Magazine to accompany an article by All American and Olympic runner Ed Eyestone.

First concept for opener

Eyestone shares several life lesson anecdotes in the article including the time when he gave his last ounce of energy during a race and collapsed short of the finish line.  His coach told him that he had "run like a horse" meaning that a horse will run until it collapses and never gives up simply because the task is too hard.

Final Drawing

A mule on the other hand, will simply stop and refuse to continue on when it tires, despite prodding. He had pushed himself until he dropped and that made his coach proud. This experience was the inspiration for the opening spread.

Another spot dealt with Eyestone's interaction with the team trainer when as a freshman, he wanted the same post workout massage as the senior runners. The Finnish trainer said "you don't waste the black powder on the small birds" but then relented and treated him the same as the rest of the team. This experience taught him that everyone is important.

The final spot dealt with how small things can help you reach your goals. Kyle perry had set the goal to run a sub four minute mile and then concentrated on all the small things that would help him reach his goal, including a strict training regimen and diet and focusing on a list of ten small things he would do every day as he trained. He dropped from a 4:05 to a 3:59.16. Concentrating on the small things had helped Perry reach his goal.

All pieces were drawn first in graphite and then scanned and painted in Photoshop. Handmade crackle texture was added at the end.

A House Divided

Here are a couple of illustrations I just finished up for Boys' Life Magazine. They are for an historical fiction piece about a young man that witnesses the surrender of Lee and his troops to the forces of General U.S. Grant at Appomattox Court House. In the first spread, The young man is captured by Union troops when he tries to catch a glimpse of General Grant on the eve of the surrender.

I thought the most dramatic moment of the story was when he is captured and interrogated at bayonet point. Since the moment in question takes place  in the late evening, I wanted to focus on making strong silhouettes of the figures. I proposed two options of this idea to the art director. One had a low angle and the other was slightly from above looking down. After some discussion, I was given the go ahead with the top option.

The second spot illustration depicts the young man as an eavesdropping on the moment when U.S. Grant accepts the Confederate surrender from General Lee. I wanted the composition to reflect that Lee was backed into a corner.

By placing him behind the doorway, cropping him on the left  and placing a picture frame and shadow above him, he is effectively trapped within the composition as he signs the surrender papers. Grant on the other hand is seen full figure and leans forward expectantly but respectfully. Period pieces are always a challenge, mostly on the research and costuming end of things.

I spent some time finding pictures of Lee and Grant and I also found a great Union Soldier costume I was able to rent for a few days for the reference photos on the first spread. I combined details from all of these sources to arrive at the finished piece. Unlimited time and budget would have been nice, but given the deadline and resources, I am pretty pleased with the results. 

False Alarms

This is an editorial piece I just finished up for Liberty magazine. The article discusses the negative effects of many religious groups' reactions to societal changes such as the breakdown of the family and traditional marriage. How rather than raising the flag among followers, certain actions can raise the ire among portions of the non religious population. It also discussed how some of these groups are being manipulated by those wanting to control the message.

The concept was to show these puppet masters behind the scenes tailoring the message that is being fed to the crowd. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I proposed three different options and we felt that the one incorporation the speaking aspect and the podium worked the best. Thanks to designer Bryan Gray for allowing me to work on this one.

Dragon Mountain Redux

Last year I did illustrations for a Boys' Life fiction article called "The Secret of Dragon Mountain". It was a cliffhanger story (quite literally as you can see from the main scene below) that readers were invited to finish. Well, a winner was chosen and I was asked to do another illustration to correspond with the winning entry. In the scene, he looks at the photos from his recovered camera. Luckily, my model lives in the neighborhood and it has not been long enough for him to get to outgrow the role.

It will run in an upcoming issue along with the complete story and previous illustrations. Thanks to Kevin Hurley, current BL art director and Scott Feaster, previous AD who was fantastic to let me work with Boys' Life so much in the past. It's great to have wonderful clients.

See Dragon Mountain sketches here
And also here

Caveman Dinner

Caveman Dinner-10" x 12" mixed media by Greg Newbold

I've been working on a bunch of stuff that either is not ready to show or that I cannot yet show due to confidentiality agreements, so I thought I'd dig around for an oldie but a goodie. This little gem was for an article in Eating Well magazine from a few years back that outlined the benefits of the "Paleo Diet". Since then there has been a barrage of similar diets that seek to recreate what early man must have eaten. Lots of fruits, nuts and grains, lean protein, no sugar, salt or...no taste. Well, anyway, I tried to look at the subject in a humorous way as the scientist observes from a slight distance what the unsuspecting caveman as his daily diet sizzles over the fire. I don't know about you, but I won't be choking down grubs and bugs any time soon in the name of nutritional well being. Not to mention how close he is to the flames. Fire safety anyone? I don't think I have ever posted this one on the blog before. At least I couldn't find it. But if I have, just call it one from the archives while I get to something new I can post.

Sledding - Finished

Sledding- digital over graphite by Greg Newbold

Here's the final version of the sketch I posted earlier hereI have posted it here. I had a lot of fun painting this one in Photoshop. When I am painting something a little more stylized, I like to pump up the colors a little bit more than I would on something that needs to look more realistic. Even so, I like the balance of more neutral colors that I used on the old fashioned clothes. It seems I have a comfortable process established now that gives me consistent results. If you want to see a breakdown of the my digital painting method, I posted it earlier here.

River Dreams

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's famous speech this week, I thought I'd show a little illustration I recently finished. This piece will accompany a poem by another famous African American author Langston Hughes. The text of the poem will be printed in the golden waters of the winding river. It's always a little tricky to allow space for text in situations like these, but I think I solved the problem well and have created a nice mood. It will run in a prominent children's magazine in the next few months.

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

by Langston Hughes

I’ve known rivers:

I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.

I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.

I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.

I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I’ve known rivers:

Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Secret of Grady House- Finished

Digital over graphite - 11" x 17" by Greg Newbold

Here is the final painting for the Secret of Grady House fiction I am doing for Boys' Life Magazine. Who knows what they will find hidden inside this creepy old house?  I posted the sketch earlier here. I had a lot of fun with the characters and also the fun little details like the splintered steps and the cobwebs.

Detail at full resolution

Here's a little detail of the main face. Of all my digital paintings, I think the rendering on these faces most closely approach my traditional painting style.

It's a Deal

It's a Deal- digital over graphite by Greg Newbold

Another spot for the "Secret of Grady House" fiction story for Boys' Life Magazine. This one falls at the end of the story as our young protagonist makes a deal to help old man Grady with his research. I enjoy doing hands and this one gave an opportunity to convey a bit of the story through gesture and the contrast between old and youthful hands. The hospital bracelet and the equipment in the background provide the setting. Sometimes just a few bits of information such as this are just enough to tell the story, so it's important not to gloss over these small but significant details.

Boys' Life Sketches

"You know the Grady house is haunted, right, Evan?" This Boys' Life fiction story opens with young Evan being scared by the boys in his neighborhood. He turns the tables on the bullies and discovers that the sound they heard was just Mr. Grady's pet monkey which needed care after the old man's accident. Evan also figures out that Mr. Grady is an interesting person and worthy of his friendship. For the opening spread, I wanted to portray the moment when the two wanna be bullies are taunting Evan to enter the house.

I came up with several idea sketches and proposed my three favorite ones to nBoys' Life art director, Scott Feaster. I usually will only present my favorite idea and then show others if the preferred one does not fly, but in this case, I was intrigued with all three and would have been fine if any of the three had been selected. The final drawing needed a little more width and more of a  dilapidated feeling was given to the house. I enlisted my son and a couple of family friends to pose for reference and then I finished up the drawing. As soon as it is approved, I will render it in color using Photoshop.

3 x 3rd Time's the Charm for Grasshopper Hunter

I was informed last week that my Boys' Life illustration "Grasshopper Hunter" received an Award of Merit from this year's 3x3 Illustration Annual. This marks the first time one of my pieces has been accepted into three of the major juried illustration annuals after it got into both The Society of Illustrators and Spectrum annuals this year. I only missed on Communication Arts or it would have been a grand slam for the annual shows I entered. Needless to say, I am pretty pleased. The annual will be published for the first time in hardback and I am looking forward to seeing it reproduced alongside the work of so many other talented artists. Congratulations to all those artists whose work was accepted, especially to several of my classmates from the University of Hartford: James O'Brien; Jim Cohen, Scott Anderson, Q. Cassetti, David Brinley and Scott Bakal as well as former student Houston Trueblood. Hope I didn't overlook anyone.

Dragon Mountain Opener Finished

I finished the opening spread for the Boys' Life magazine story "Dragon Mountain".  I changed the camera and strap positioning to make it look like he might lose it. I hope you can feel the tension as he slides down the mountain. This was another fun one painted digitally over a graphite drawing.

Here is the preliminary drawing
Here is the second spread illustration

Dragon Mountain Opener- Sketch

Here is the opening spread drawing for the Dragon Mountain story I am doing for Boys' Life magazine. In this scene, the boy loses his footing and slides down the slope of the mountain and into a dark hole. I posted the drawing for the second scene earlier so you can see what happens next if you click there.

It's always fun to try to get the reference material for a piece like this. My model, the son of our good friends was game to give me the look I wanted but it was impossible for him to hold the pose without falling over, so he did his best and I took the pose in pieces. I laid on the cement of the driveway to get the low angle I wanted and then had him pose the different parts he could hold, one at a time.

Head and torso with one arm, then the second arm and then the flailing legs. I pieced them all together digitally to arrive at the photo comp above which matched my sketch That is what I used to create the final drawing. Both drawings are graphite on bristol paper which I will now scan and use as the basis for the final Photoshop paintings. Stay tuned for the finished illustrations as soon as I get them done.

Dragon Mountain Sketch

I'm doing another project for Boys' Life Magazine right now. This one is a little different in that it will be a teaser for a writing contest. Boys from all over the country will be able to "finish the story" and prizes will be awarded for the best writing. This drawing is for the second spread. I will be painting these in Photoshop and will post the final versions when they are done. The sketch for the first spread is on the table right now and I will post it soon.

Battle of Bosworth 1 - Finished

Richard III falls in battle signaling farewell to the Plantagenet Dynasty in Britain. I  think this one is done, barring any feedback to the contrary from the client. I enjoyed the challenge of creating a battle scene and overall am pretty pleased with the result. Despite the vibrant primary colors in the heraldry, I think that the neutrals carry the show which is what I wanted. What do you Think?

Battle Of Bosworth Sketch - Part 2

Yesterday I posted the drawing for the opening spread of the Battle of Bosworth article I am illustrating. This second spread depicts the aftermath symbolically by showing the fallen King Richard III battle flag and the thrown horseshoe. This solution was my attempt to simplify the original concept proposed by the AD in which it appeared that the entire royal army would be raging into battle. I don't much like what I call "mob scenes" in my illustration work and I had already given a very ambitious view of the battle in the opening sketch, so this quieter resolution was embraced by the art director.  Both of these will be oil on panel. I'll post the finish pieces later.

Battle of Bosworth - Sketch

Battle of Bosworth- 11" x 17" graphite  drawing by Greg Newbold

Here is the working drawing for a magazine article  am illustrating that recounts the Battle of Bosworth, in which Richard III of England was defeated by Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond. The popular account of this battle suggests that a poor blacksmithing job resulting from a lack if time and nails led to Richard's horse throwing a shoe in combat. Richard's horse stumbled and fell after throwing a shoe he was forced to engage the battle on foot. He rose from the ground as his horse galloped away shouting "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"  Henry's army ultimately killed Richard and Henry assumed the throne. The Battle of Bosworth Field is deemed the decisive battle that ended the War of the Roses and brought to an end the reign of the Plantagenet dynasty in England. I admittedly am not an English history buff, so it was fun to dig a little into the details to arrive at what I hope is a pretty accurate depiction of the scene. I am limited as for time and space (note the large area to the left of the spread where type will fall), so I had to creatively suggest the raging battle. I also needed to focus on details like  the heraldry in the flag and the styles of armor and weapons of the period. If I did not achieve total accuracy in historical detail, I think that I was able to capture the spirit of the action. For me, that is half the battle, so to speak. This will be a fun one to paint. I am doing this one in oil and hope to get going on the paint phase it today assuming
I get approval from the client.

Worm Scale- Final

I finished up this little editorial piece today. I posted the explanation of the concept along with the sketch in a previous post a couple of days ago. I was asked to keep the background simple, so I opted for a water stained paper at low opacity. This magazine gets translated into several languages, so they like near white space in which to accommodate different amounts of type. Once again, this one was Photoshop over a graphite sketch.

Do You Sell Your Feathers for Worms?

Here is the preliminary drawing for a magazine illustration I am working on. In the article, the allegory is told of how a bird begins to sell his feathers for worms thinking that is easier than actually going out and catching worms. Besides, he has so many feathers. Well, on the day he realizes that he can no longer fly, it is too late. Comparison is made to choices in our lives and the question posed is whether or not we are selling our feathers for worms? Do we trade what is of most value to us for something less, simply because it is easier? Do we opt for the smoother path or maybe even give up our dreams because they seem too hard? I have made a few of those choices in the past including diet and exercise.  That's why I am currently undertaking a challenging climb back to better physical fitness, but I bet there is something in every one's life that equates to selling your feathers for worms. Regardless of where you are in life, I think it's a topic worthy of consideration. What have you sold your feathers for? How have you recognized or overcome this? I look at where I want to be in all aspects of my life and realize that it will take time to grow back a few of my feathers before I can soar again. I'd love to hear your stories!

Running With Geronimo Finished

Yesterday, I posted the drawing for this one and here's the finished piece. Painted all digitally in Photoshop. Let me know what you think.