Stripes are on.

Finally finished painting the stripes, not cleaned up but they are at least in place. Still much work to do, She has been sitting on the easel for months.
 This is the piece I took to Art Walk to paint while standing there not selling much. One of the other "artists" actually asked me why I didn't just use a Sharpie. I doubt I do Art Walk next season.

My time at the Kansas City Costume Company

A view into the shop, at that time there were different productions being put together going all over the country.

Stylized Chefs hats for the "Whos"

 I first started working at Kansas City Costume Company about ten years ago as a stitcher. I was the rental manager for a few years before I decided to head to L.A. to try t.v. and film. I enjoyed my time in K.C. and have maintained a good working relationship with the company, returning with projects of my own or in the case of the Grinch, helping when they need it.

I made 2 of these Grinch Santa jackets, one "mean"version with fake fur trim and another glitter and feather version when he gets a heart.

Each of the "Who" boys has a detachable tail. I made six different tails.

The direction for each was "like an elaborate Christmas Bow"

The Grinch who's hands I made that he stole Christmas with.

 I worked again at Kansas City Costume Company last month on "The Grinch" musical. The older tour came into the shop for refurbishment and a brand new tour was built for Madison Square Garden. One of my projects was making the gloves for the Grinch himself. 

I sculpted the fingers, made molds, then cast them in foam.

Painted each finger with acrylic paint.

I made the gloves from dyed mesh Lycra, attached the fingers and painted them in. 

I sculpted the fingers out of plasticine clay, baked them, and made silicone molds. Then poured foam rubber into my molds. After sanding, I painted each one. One of the original actors wanted finger tip hair, which weren't part of the first design so they had difficulty keeping the hair in place. I added an indention in the sculpt to hold the hair more securely. I sewed the gloves, four total, and attached the fingers using a plumbers glue. Finger tip pads from suede were also applied with plumbers glue. My final step was painting the fingers and gloves so they appeared seamless. More hair was vented on the gloves  by a wig maker. The finished gloves were in my humble opinion better than the original.

I should be more careful what I say to the Press

I was part of a nice article on Art hanging in restaurants in Joplin for Joplin Metro Magazine (June 2012 Issue 2 Vol. 3) Though I was misquoted. It said my work was for "display only". What I actually said was that not everyone can afford a Giant Cheshire Cat in there house so I have smaller prints available. Not that I have prints available because no one wants the Giant Cheshire Cat painting. They took some nice photographs though, and any exposure is good right? 

Hot Set on ScyFy Channel

 Since I finished this project months ago, I have watched the show "Hot Set" on ScyFy. Nothing from these concept drawings or any of the set design I saw were used. The check was fat and cleared so it doesn't bother me!

Scy Fy project

 The note for this one said "Mushroom with a doorknob" I assumed there was to be a door so this is what I came up with. Couple minor changes and they went with the very first sketch.

 "Spaceship captains chair" Pretty straight forward. That actually was the major note back, the chair should be facing straight ahead.

 "Robot with exposed gears in his chest" One note said "like I-Robot but not close enough for copy right infringement." This one I did a lot of photoshoping.

 Easiest one "Moonscape with lunar module" Sketch then photoshop.

This one took the most drafts. The original note said "Hell scene with torture victim" The chains and wall were to be the 3D highlighted element. Then add a Demon. Then the Demon should be in the foreground, then the horns and pitch fork should be the 3D element. Everyone was happy in the end, including me...so many drafts for this one, I got to charge for a 7th sketch. Sweet!

Here's the first sketch for the Scy Fy Show. The original line I got was "An Evil juggling clown with a girl on a knife throwing wheel in the back ground. Then notes came back that He needed to be juggling pins not balls, the clown needed more Tim Burton feel, then less Tim Burton Art and more like his movie characters. Also  I am not sure how this will happen or why, part of the design will have a 3D element.  The juggling pins and the Clown nose will be a computer graphic so those needed emphasis. My final note from producers was "Nailed it!" That seemed like a good start.

Finding Need more time to Paint

Haven't updated in a while. Been doing Art Walk on Third Thursdays. It is getting easier to do, though it still makes me very nervous. I started last month bringing a painting to work on, it helped having something to do instead of sit there like it was a flea market. I've gotten most of my paintings now in Prints. Not everyone can have a giant Cheshire Cat in their house but a nice reasonably priced small one...

Also had a great gig for the Scy Fy Channel doing some concept Art sketches. It's for the development stage of a reality show they are working on. My stuff will only be seen by the designers and executives to help everyone have the same vision. I'll post the sketches and describe them in my next post.

I also started a FaceBook fan page...
https://www.facebook.com/TravisEliPaintings
Like me and tell friends!

Otis

Otis the Smelly Belly Dragon. An unpublished children's book I wrote with my sister. We had publishers interested in my illustration but the connection was lost when I sent back a reply that I'd be more than happy to work on other projects.
We also worked for two years on a stop motion animated version of the story. We created amazing work out of it but ultimately it stalled. I still like to think there is life in the project but it's been dead a while.

Time to Paint and Sell

It is nearly Spring, my favorite time to paint. I just applied for the Joplin Art Walk. If accepted it will be the first time my private work has been officially seen in public. Other than online, the only folks to see my stuff in person have been friends and family at my house. It would be nice to start selling again.

I've been working on a portrait of my Cherokee Grandmother. She was killed when a train struck her car a few years before I was born. I am using one of the few photos my mom has of her. She looked happy and is standing in a pose that many of my family does. Mom says she had long hair, but in the pictures we have it's always back. I've taken some license with that, it feels more active.

The Black and White on Gray seems to be a favorite style of mine to return to. It's strange that I never consciously set out to do them, but some ideas just fit better in my head that way.

(You can see the portrait of LaHeather peeking around, I still haven't figured out where she needs to go...I've been working and re-working that one for over a year.)

Clockwork in Orange

I've finished the Clockworks one. I decided to add the highlights on all the gears that I had originally thought about but knew it would take forever to do. I was right. Damn my detail style! It looks complete now. I tried to get a photo but didn't get one with any clarity. I really need to take it outside to get the proper light, so it will need to wait for a freak sunny day or Spring.

(Update: Got a photo of the finished work. I have prints available and the original, like all my work, is for sale)