Thrust In Your Sickle

Thrust in Your Sickle- 11" x 17"  digital, by Greg Newbold.

This recent illustration is a reminder to me that you are most likely to get what you work the hardest for. Farm iconography has always been appealing to me. Probably because as a young man growing up, I had many opportunities to work the land. We cared for animals, gardened and hauled hay. There was always some project or another that needed to be done and my Dad taught us all to work hard and do the job right. When time came for harvest, I quickly learned that you reap what you sow. If you didn't weed, water or fertilize well enough throughout the growing season, plants struggled. I am grateful to him for his example and gentle (or not so gentle if we were too grumpy about the task at hand) encouragement. He once said that he never worried about me making my way as an artist because he saw how much I loved art and how hard I worked at it. I am a firm believer that talent only takes you so far and the rest is just plain hard work. Though it is still a challenge, I credit my for Dad for showing me that a job worth doing is worth doing well and right.

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.

Bus Stop Poster

Here is the latest theater poster I have finished for Footlight Players in Charleston, SC, for the romantic comedy Bus Stop.  The play was written in 1955 by William Inge and the film version starring Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray was released in 1956.

The story takes place as a snowstorm strands people at a diner in Kansas City that also serves as a bus stop. The main characters have to spend the night due to the raging weather. Cherie, a sort of hillbilly type attractive young woman is the nightclub singer trying to make her way up and out and Bo is the naive and boorish cowboy who is convinced that Cherie is meant to be his wife even though she has zero interest in him. Romantic relationships ensue between the young would be couple and several of the other supporting cast.

I didn't have access to a stage version, so I found a copy of the film at the library. It apparently takes quite a few liberties with the script, but captures the essence. I decided to focus on the romantic/comedy angle and proposed two options to the theater. One was more romance and the other was more flirty and fun. The theater chose the flirty angle and I jumped in head first.

I knew I wanted a little bit of a retro feel with a nod to the pinup art of artists like Gil Elvgren. I made a more finished drawing and then painted it in Photoshop. The result is what I guess I would call my first pin up girl!

Showers Over Lone Pine

Showers Over Lone Pine - 9" x 12" - Oil by Greg Newbold

Here is another painting that I finished up for my recent show. This one was painted in the Owen's Valley of California while on a trip with painter friends Richard Hull and John Berry.  When we took the trip a few years back, I really didn't feel like I had a grip on outdoor painting at the time. I was a relative newbie to plein air painting and it was my first extended painting trip. Not that I am now some sort of expert, but I feel a certain comfort level now that did not exist at all then. Most of the paintings I did on that trip seemed to be failures in the moment and many sat in a pile of rejects for a long time. One by one, I have pulled them back out and evaluated what was missing or what aspect could be fixed or improved to give the picture a finished feel. I am neither a good enough painter nor a purist enough to consider my field studies finished when they go from the easel to the carry box, hence I am not averse to painting back into them in the studio. For this one, I was startled at how close it was to being decent simply by glazing over the whole thing with some medium. That simple step popped the contrasts and bled life back into the color. It took me a few hours of applying cleaner color and more texture here or a bit of a glaze and scrub there to really bring this one around, but I am happy with the result now. What I have learned from hours in the field is that the essence captured in a plein air study painted from direct observation is much more powerful than anything I can get from a photo. I used the photo reference I took that day to inform me on detail and value much more than I used it for color as the color notes painted from life were much more interesting and felt more honest. I try to tap into my memories of being in the field even when I paint from photos. This one is still available for anyone interested.

Man It's Cold!

February Chill - 8" x 10" Oil by Greg Newbold

Closing out 2014 with a small painting from my recent show. I painted this one on a February afternoon in the western Utah desert near Cedar Fort. It was about 40 degrees when I started the painting and dropped to about 30 before I stopped painting an hour and a half later. Needless to say, I finished it up in the studio. Well, It's about five degrees outside today. That's way colder than I enjoy and it puts a cramp on anything that involves venturing outside, even if it's just hopping in the car to drive somewhere. The walk from the parking lot to the arena last night to watch the Jazz beat the Timberwolves was downright arctic.
Shoveling the driveway? Brrr. Good thing tonight's festivities only involve games, snacks and movies inside. Whatever you are doing tonight, enjoy your loved ones and have a Happy New Year!

This painting is available at Alderwood Fine Art

Christmas Surprise

I got an unexpected surprise a few days before Christmas. This lovely watercolor study by Arnold Friberg (unsigned, but most certainly by his hand) showed up in the mail from a friend. He had picked it up as a part of an auction lot that included three other Friberg studies. It's  a small (about 7"x7") but nicely detailed pencil and watercolor on paper. If you are unfamiliar with Friberg's work, have a look at this previous tribute that I posted at around the time of his passing in 2010.

This is the full lot of Friberg studies

The lot included other studies for possible Canadian Mountie works done for the Potlatch Paper company, likely in the 1950's. Friberg created dozens of full scale paintings on the Mountie theme from the mid 1940's to the mid 1960's. A quick web search turned up the final version for one of these studies complete with Friberg signature in the lower left.

Finished Friberg painting for the Potlatch paper company

As a lifetime admirer of Friberg's work, I was dumbfounded by the generosity of my friend, but he assured me that there was nobody he would rather see enjoy the piece. He knew I would love and care take this gem.

the back has some tape residue that needs attention.

As you can see, there are a few condition problems including slight paper loss tot the corner and some tape and tape residue on the back that I want to address. I am in the process of getting feedback on how best to proceed there. Then will come proper conservation, framing and finding the right spot to showcase it in my home or studio. It has become the highlight of my small but growing collection since it is the first I have acquired by a non-living artist. I could not be more pleased.

Wolf Den Cutaway

Just a little sketch for a textbook project I am working on. This is the preliminary drawing that will be painted digitally next. I'm not sure how I became the "cutaway" specialist for this particular client (this is the third or fourth such project this year) but I am OK with that. It's a fun challenge to show what goes on inside the different animal's dens without making it look weird or cheesy. See the previous cutaway I posted earlier of the beaver lodge here.