Rising from the Dead

So its been awhile, and if I remember correctly (without reading back) I was going crazy and insane...as one reader put it. :P Yes, we all have our days, we're human. Fighting for your life can sometimes make you appear insane or unbalanced. But since then, its been quite the journey.

The piece you see first is a commission requested by a woman who loves Jesus so much and has decided to tattoo Him onto her body. Something many have done, but because of that was looking for something original, unique, and as she saw Him. Not an easy task. I feel very blessed to have been chosen for this job, for I haven't sat down and painted a portrait of Jesus yet in my walk. What a wonderful opportunity and by His grace it must be time for me to do it. This was the final sketch for the piece.

Another thought about the timing...my grandmother just recently passed away and she left me with something, given by her to me some time ago, and its a card they hand out to the children at her church. Its a drawing of Jesus laughing...something we both agreed you don't see too often. On the back of this small lamented card says "I promise I will follow you when I learn and work or play. And when you speak to my heart I will listen and obey. Every day and every night, I'll let your light shine through; 'cause even though I am a kid, I can do big things for you!".

This piece couldn't have come at a better time. It was requested right after her passing and so I dedicate it to her, a smiling Jesus titled "Prince of Peace".

Because of the piece's nature (being a tattoo) it will remain in a monochromatic scheme. I hope to someday paint Him in lush colors. :) I want to share the process of this piece with you. But first some updates.

- I am now a member of The Fairy Society (http://www.thefairysociety.com). A wonderful group of highly talented (the best of the best in fantasy illustration) artists. Please visit the site to learn more about the artists and more about what we're about! Not only that, but the design of the site is stunning and very enchanting.

- My grandmother, like mentioned above, Lucille Butcher, passed away January 26th. She was such an inspiration, safe place, wonderful and beautiful woman. I will miss her so much its beyond words. But she left a seed in my heart that will continue to grow and blossom. Much of my work right now has a little bit of her in it.

- You can now purchase sig tags and tubes of my work at CILM (http://www.creativeimagelicensing.com). Their site is full of fantastic artists and designs!

For more updates please visit my home website Dreamflier Studios (http://www.dreamflierstudios.com).

Now back to the piece "Prince of Peace".
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After transferring the image to watercolor paper (which you will notice it is now reversed) I ink the piece. I try to keep the lines simple and thin. Sometimes I will go in and add line width and weight but not here. The inked drawing will be saved as a .tiff file for the tattoo artist so that they may transfer the image to the body with ease.








Finally I get to start adding paint. The commissioner wanted the piece to be black and white so instead of sticking with gray scale I added prussian blue to my charcoal giving a beautiful slate tint. I'm tempted to add a warm color, but not sure yet. At first it was hard to see Him through the slate because its such a cool color, but He's starting to warm up as I work.

In this photo if you look on the right side its not as worked in as the left. I wanted to show you the first layer of paint, the under painting if you will, before I start going in with darker values. I decided to add in some almost pure prussian blue to give more definition. I am really enjoying this piece, for not only am I painting my savior and source of life, but also it gives me time to myself, God, and my grandma. :)

More soon!