Octopus Battle

Octopus Battle- acrylic/mixed media by Greg Newbold.

In this scene from Stormalong, our intrepid hero Stormy dukes it out with a giant octopus in a liquid battleground. The ship's anchor was being dragged deeper and the ship along with it. Of course Stormy dives deep, wins the the wrestling match by tying the octopus' legs in knots and makes it safely back to the surface. I posted a couple of other pieces from this series earlier and you can see them at the links below.

Baby Stormalong discovered on the beach
Stormalong's carved memorial 
Stormalong title page illustration

Baby Stormalong

This is part of the Stormalong series I did a couple of years back that I described in my last post. The future folk tale hero started life out large and only got bigger. This one depicts the moment when the villagers find baby Stormy on the beach. I am just not sure where you get diapers for a baby that big.

Stormalong background info on Wikipedia

Tribute to Stormalong

I was updating some portfolios last weekend and found a series of paintings I did a couple of years back for the American Fable Stormalong. The story of Alfred Bulltop Stormalong who begins life as a larger than life abandoned baby who is raised by an entire harbor town. He was hauled back to town in a wheelbarrow and continued to grow until he was as large as a whale. Stormy then goes on to have all sorts of adventures as a sailor on the high seas. In the end, a statue is erected in the town square
as a tribute to his legacy. I have enjoyed American Tall Tales since I first heard the Paul Bunyan legend, but I was not as familiar with this one. I did a total of nine images for this story that was included in a reading anthology textbook for elementary aged students. I'll post some of the others I have not posted before later this week.

Asleep At Sea

Last week I posted another piece from this Stormalong series and it just so happens that this weeks theme on Illustration Friday,  "asleep" also fits in with that group of paintings. In the story, Stormalong is so big, that there is no room for him to sleep on the ship. He is resigned to sleeping in (and filling up) the entire lifeboat which is pulled behind the ship. I have a thing for full moons and sunset colors, so it's no surprise I worked both things into this piece. I was also the model with my cooperative wive acting as photographer (she does that a lot- thanks babe!).

Sun Soaked Sailor

Stormalong Title page- 19" x 14" acrylic/mixed media

I did a series of paintings for a reading textbook illustrating the American folk tale Stormalong. It tells the tall tale of a giant baby that gets washed up on shore after a shipwreck. The town folk raise him into a giant sailing man and he has many far fetched adventures on the high seas, including a hair raising battle with a giant octopus on the ocean floor. This was a very fun project and included eight paintings. I'll post some of the others another time.

AND THE WINNERS ARE:

For those of you who entered the Life Needs Art blog birthday giveaway, the drawing was held this morning. The following individuals had luck on their side and were drawn from the hat (actually a paint encrusted Cool Whip container) and will receive autographed copies of my book The Touch of the Master's Hand.

Mike Blake
Chad Grohman
Spencer Harris

Thank you to all who entered and to all of you who check in on this blog on a regular basis. It has been a fun ride to this point and I hope the first year is only the beginning.