Art of Terry Z

SuperMax to the Rescue!

2012-01-10T15:39:00.000-08:00

Forgive me, it has been 2 years or longer since my last post. Feels like the beginning of a "confessional" scene to numerous movies and cable shows that I have seen! (Hello "Boardwalk Empire!" Gotta love that show.) Regardless, I felt that perhaps seeing "behind the curtain"on the process that it took to arrive at my newest painting, The Adventure Begins, aka SuperMax, might be what it takes to get me out of early blog retirement.

I guess it's important to realize the reason behind the painting in the first place. I bought a Superman outfit as a gift to my nephew Max, for his 2nd birthday. Seeing the pictures of him wearing the costume got me thinking of his next birthday gift, but the clincher was that Max saw the painting that I did for his sister Sadie and actually asked where was his painting from me. So, I had no choice at this point. I was helpless against his strong-armed tactics.

However it was important to me that this picture was not simply kitch. I wanted this painting to be a piece of art that he could grow up with to remind him not to forget his childhood dreams, his innocence, and hope for the future. Or his cool Uncle Terry, of course!

Reference

I shot a lot of photos of Max the next time we got together for the holidays. Luckily, his dad was very helpful in coercing Max into the Superman positions. However, even with all of photos, I was not happy with just one, so I was forced to use his head from one shot and pasted it onto his body of another. (Thank you photoshop.) Here is that photo:
I also did some research for the initial background idea and found a rather green/grassy picture which I will not post because I did not personally take the shot.

Original Painting
I did the painting in Photoshop for a few reasons.
1) I needed some digital samples for my portfolio.
2) I wanted to "prepaint" the idea to see if I'd be happy with it before committing to a real canvas.
3) I wouldn't be able to finish the real thing on canvas quick enough in time for his birthday.

While I was somewhat pleased with the result, I felt I could do better. The background was simply "too green" for my liking and the composition could be more dynamic. So I was determined to do better.

New Background Compositional Value Studies

So I regrouped, did more background research ideas to get inspired and did some rather quick background studies in photoshop. Since the figure was already done, I could paste it on top of the new studies and get a "feel" for what end result may be.

ONE:
TWO:
THREE:
FOUR:
I showed these images to a few close friends, and all of them picked number three unanimously. Who am I to argue with that? So number three it was...

Color Studies

So wanting this version to be better than the last, I took one extra step. I did some quick color studies, varying from realistic to just somewhat more pushed. As a matter of fact, the one that was chosen from my small peer "feedback" group, was the last one that I did simply on a lark. I didn't expect it to be chosen, but just wanted to fill out the choices some. It wasn't unanimous on this one, just a majority vote. So you just never know, you know?

Realistic Colors:

Color pushed towards cyan:

Colors pushed cooler with more atmosphere:
Final Version

To go from the color study to the final was actually not bad at all. Since I had most of the colors chosen already, I could just use the eyedropper tool in photoshop to make sure I was on color target. Honestly, it simply became a matter of cleaning up shapes, adding details, and dealing with edges. The final image:

I was more pleased with the end result this time. I can only hope that my nephew Max will enjoy it for years to come! Now to figure out what to get him for his 4th birthday. Oy....

California Art Club...

2010-04-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

So I was supposed to meet some artists at a park in Pasadena. I had no idea who they were because the invite was through Facebook. I figured, "what the heck? Go someplace new, see a new landscape and meet some new artists." When I got to the park, no one was to be found. I asked some nearby women if I was at the right place. Turns out I was, but still no other artists to be found. When I mentioned to them why I was there, one said that she saw a whole bunch of people down the road with easels. I took a chance and sure enough there were a whole bunch of artist there with a bunch of easels. But they weren't painting. They were exhibiting their work right outside. They weren't the people I was supposed to meet, instead these people comprised some the the members of the California Art club, a club I had intended to join at some point but simply never got around to it. This outdoor exhibit that I had fortuitously ran into only shows once a year. It was beshert, (yiddish for fate) that I was here on this day and this place. Some of the work showing was quite good. I joined the club that very day actually!

Since I had my paints with me already, I decided not to pass up some painting time, so I set up down in a valley with a view of this bridge in Pasadena. Turns out another painter had the same idea, and his name was Richard Gallego. We got to talking and he was a totally nice guy, very outgoing and passionate about en plein air work too. We exchanged info and have already went painting at an amazing location.

While I was painting the bridge, I noticed a hole in the ground by my right foot. Throughout the course of the day, an inquisitive ground hog kept on sticking his head out and inspecting my painting. It was pretty funny. I wonder if he saw my shadow...Overall, a very good day!!

Miami Paintings!

2010-03-19T23:03:00.000-07:00

So I spent a month in Miami with my brother David and his girlfriend Astrid. He was kind enough to let me crash in his extra bedroom for a long time! He has a beautiful place, kind of dark for my liking since his keeps most lights off, but beautiful nonetheless. I brought my easel and paints, of course, to keep myself sane and enjoy the outdoors. Since I had no form of transportation, I just walked around his place, painting whatever struck my fancy. This one was painted from my brother's building, overlooking the highway to go to Miami Beach, I believe. It was the first one that I did in Miami and perhaps my favorite...A maintenance man from his building came by to see if I was up to no good. My guess is that some occupant noticed me and must have been scared by my intimidating presence...hehehe...

Here is a view of my brother's building from the street. Pretty cool design for a building I must say. David mentioned that Michael Jordan lives here, but I never actually saw him. I was pleased in how I simplified the scene. I did have to remove a house in front of his building. It kind of marred the view, in the painting and in real life too!

So this is the view of his building from the other side. In order to get this view properly, I had to walk a ways down some highway on the shoulder to get far enough away to see the entire building. It was a bit sketchy there because David mentioned that an encampment of sexual offenders had taken up residence a short distance away. Turns out that those offenders in the system are not allowed to live in the city of Miami within a certain distance to schools. Because there are so many schools, living on the side of the highway was the only option. The police know about this and do not disturb them too much. They do go there to kick out homeless street people because they are not allowed to mingle with the convicted sexual predators. Perhaps that is why I finished this painting in less than an hour and a half!! Miami is a place like no other.

More from the Senior Art class...

2009-12-05T18:50:00.000-08:00

So I have a few more from the Emeritus College. I always enjoy painting there. The older artists always surprise me in a variety of ways. Some really talented people there...

For some reason, I actually forgot to bring a canvas, and my friend June saved the day by giving me one of hers. She made the canvas from a masonite square board. I have perhaps never worked on a square canvas, but beggars can't be choosers! It was only later that June asked me how I liked the canvas. I said it was fine. She replied, "Good. I should give you all of them that I made, because I can't stand working in a square canvas!" Gotta love June...

Kinda like this one, but not completely pleased with the screen right arm. Oh well...

I decided to paint a portrait so to continue to apply Nathan's lectures to good use. I seem to be able to relax better in this atmosphere and can usually get a painting that I am more pleased with. This particular model was in a bad way during the session. She had a splitting migrain and couldn't stay still. I had to ask her to keep her eyes open in order to paint them. One artist there mentioned that this may be my most successful one that she has seen. I don't know about that, but I appreciated the kind words.

Happy Turkey Day!!

2009-12-05T18:40:00.001-08:00

So for Thanksgiving I went to Columbia, MD with Jen. I always enjoy her parents' company and the deep fried turkey is amazing! In addition, they have a lake with some beautiful scenery behind their house. As a matter of fact, quite a few of the en plein paintings posted on this blog are from there. I brought my easel and paints (of course!) and had to do a painting. Truth be told, I attempted 3 paintings but only one I deem worth showing. Since I seemed to be in a painting slump of sorts, with a few crappy paintings as of late, I decided to pick a simple subject matter and just do it right. Back to the basics. Focal point, warm/cool, etc. It was cold and made me yearn to paint in the warmth of the California sun!!! :)

Nathan Fowkes Portrait class...

2009-12-05T18:14:00.000-08:00

So my most recent class at the Academy has been with Nathan Fowkes. He works full time at Dreamworks as a concept/color artist. The class was called advanced portraiture and damn, there were some amazing students there. I was always amazed by the caliber of work being produced there. Considering this was my first true portrait class, I was happy to just get a painting look like a human being, let alone actually looking like model. I can recommend Nathan to anyone interested in learning an illustrators perspective on the craft. His lectures were extremely eye opening and helpful. He talked about the ability to manipulate what was before you and to put it on the canvas in a visually interesting manner, while remembering the limitations of the medium of paint and that the eye can be fooled very easily. By no means do my paintings even begin to show the extent of what he discussed. After his lectures, we sometimes only had two hours or less on the paintings. Only with more practice do I hope to begin to take his words to heart and completely understand the concepts. Art is always about continuing to learn, to see, and to do. "Practice, practice, practice..."

Nathan discussed how to paint with colored gels quite a bit. The highlight should show the color of the light and as the form turned away from the light, it should show more of the local color of the skin.

This is the 4th time I have painted this model. This time was with a warm/cool lighting scenario. The dark background seems to have added to the drama of this piece.

My birthday Gal!

2009-12-05T18:01:00.001-08:00

November 5th was my 40th birthday. A milestone, I know. Jen asked me if I would like to go to Disneyland on my bday, which is free for the bday person and has some added perks, or go to my regular Thursday painting class. Hmmm.....decisions, decisions. I know that Disney is the happiest place on earth for some people, like my father, Jen and her family, but I am probably happiest when I am creating art. Preferable art that I feel is successful, whatever my various criteria may be. Yes, so I picked going to my Senior citizens art class! This is the model for that session. She is not pregnant, but rather obese. I actually don't mind painting overweight folks because there is so much more volume to capture. It can be fun getting lost painting all those curves. I may have missed out on riding Magic Mountain this year, but at least I got to paint some! Sorry, I couldn't resist... ;)

Portrait of Sadie Lee Ziegelman...

2009-11-09T23:01:00.000-08:00

So this is the color study that I did many moons ago. I knocked it out in a few hours based on a photo that my brother emailed to me. The painting is roughly the size of my hand. I very rarely do paintings based on photos, but this was one of the first offspring from the Ziegelman brood! (That we can verify...) I tried to keep the painting fresh and try to make it feel like it was not from a photo. I hate when you can tell photo reference was used... While I did like some of the feeling of it, I didn't mean to make Sadie look like Winston Churchill. I let it sit around for probably 1.5 to 2 years before even attempting a larger version of it. I worked primarily from the color study for the larger version to avoid the "photo look."

So I decided it was time to do a larger version since I have been doing more painting lately. This is the underpainting. Right now I was just dealing with placement and some values. At this point I could tell that the drawing was a bit off...

I decided to start laying in some color areas roughly at first. Larger shapes.

It was at this point I decided to really begin to figure out the facial features of a newborn. It was very difficult for me because compared to an adult, there are no hard planes. Everything is so smooth and delicate, but I think I started to see some definite improvement on the likeness.

After the face was in a pretty good place, I moved onto her clothes and the background.

I then jumped to the blanket, laying in values to make it look like it lived in the same lighting scenario.

All that remained was noodling in the background more and other fine details. I was pleased with the outcome. I like that I moved her flesh to a more warm look as compared to the original color study. I am also pleased that she doesn't look like Winston Churchill anymore. I hope that she likes it...in, ummm...15 years or so!

Some CA figures and portraits...

2009-10-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

So I have taken one class thus far at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art, and I am in the process of taking a second class there now. My first teacher was very hands-on and wanted the students to approach painting the way he does. This makes sense and I was very open to learning his techniques. I feel that it has influenced the way I now approach subjects, hopefully in a more proficient manner. Only time will tell...

Little did I know that I would be painting this guy quite a few times in the near future. This guy gets hired a lot by teachers in LA. He is very professional and hardworking, but sometimes a little variety is good too...

See what I mean? Here he is again. He likes to change up his hair with a variety of feathers and such. I also believe that my drawing seems to have elongated his face a bit as well.

Here is the last one I have done of him...so far. I can only hope that subsequent painting of him will only continue to get better...

The Academy likes to push the idea of a limited pallete and I am beginning to see the benefits to it. However, if I find myself too limited, I simply add in another color when needed...

I am also taking a free class with mostly senior citizens. At first they didn't like me being there much, but last week one artist told me, "I am glad that you are a part of this class." It's nice to be wanted! This is a painting done there. I seem to feel less stressed in this class and I feel it shows in my end results...

Here is another example from the senior citizen class that I did. The composition that I ended up with, was not what I was originally planning, but nonetheless, I am intrigued with the end result...

This was the first male model that the senior class did. I guess the old broads really liked him because when one of the model breaks were finished, one elderly female artists yelled, "Take your pants off already!!" A little decorum ladies, please...

I found this model quite challenging because of the very different shades of skin tone. Very different. I even exaggerated the warmth and value of the lighter tone to help integrate the two. She ended up looking like someone that would be spend a lot of at a bar smoking cigs and drinking whiskey. Just my opinion...

My latest image so far...from my newest class at the Academy with an amazing artist named Nathan Fowkes. He does great work and works as a color artist/concept artist at Dreamworks. The class is standing room only and I have to get there an hour before it starts to get a good spot. Unfortunately, this doesn't leave much time for him for one on one teaching. Hopefully, I will still learn a lot...

Some NY figure paintings and portraits!

2009-10-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

"Jen in a Sea of Red"

Jen has posed for me a handful of times. This is one that I am allowed to show. She posed for me during an anniversary get away weekend. I remember it being a very pleasant stay at a bed and breakfast. I painted this very quickly since the sun was setting outside and I was losing all light. I do feel that the simple indications of the painting is successful.

This is a color study for a painting of my niece Sadie. It is quite small; about the size of my hand. I enjoy some of the looseness of the piece. I had this study finished for at least a year and half now, but only recently finished the full size painting. I have never been a fan from working from photos, so this is quite a departure for me. I will post the final larger scale piece very soon.

A NY piece that I did after work at Blue Sky. I was fortunate enough to get to pick the model, set up the lights, and help with choosing the pose. Stephanie Landers is an excellent model. She raises the bar, and forces me to strive to capture her pose and essence. I do like the end result, but it would have been nice to have had more time to actually give her a face!

There's something to be said for just piling paint on a canvas. I did this piece in NY before my classes here at the Academy and was just having fun. You know what? I like it. It has a freedom that my newer figures don't have.

Chicago...

2009-10-14T15:08:00.001-07:00

"Chicago Skyline"
Terry Ziegelman
Copyright 2009
All rights reserved.

I went to visit my twin brother in Chicago for Rosh Hashana. It was wonderful to see him, Sarah, my niece Sadie and nephew Max. I had time to really hang out with them and daaaammmnn, kids are exhausting!! And they EVEN have a wonderful nanny to help out! All honors to the single parents out there...My trip also seemed to emphasize the importance of being a team when you raise your kids from who's going to cook and clean to who will be taking the kids to school tomorrow. Very eye opening for sure...

As for the painting, I wanted to go to some place close by, and this was a fairly convenient spot for a skyline view. Being a completely overcast day used to dissuade me from painting because if there are no real shadows, what's the use? But now when I see an overcast day, I think, "no need to chase the light! Woohooo!" Besides, I really liked the fact that the fog began to obscure the view of the really tall sky scrapers.

Overall, I was fairly pleased with the looseness of the piece. A skyline can be very daunting, so a looser painting was the only way for me to approach the subject matter. I hope you enjoy it!

Pappa Z Fishing at Creve Coeur Lake...

2009-10-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

Dad loves fishing. Just always has. I think he wishes that I loved it as much as he does, but it just never caught on with me. He'd take us on fishing excursions at Family Weekends at Camp Sabra, Trout Lodge and a whole host of other retreats. Perhaps it was the whole worm thing. Having to precisely thread the hook under the skin of the worm, lengthwise while the helpless creature writhes in your hand isn't a fun time for me. It's far too easy for kids to give inanimate objects personalities. The stuffed toy with a separation anxiety; the lonely raindrop on the passenger window looking for his family that just headed south. A worm? Fuggedabout it.

Nonetheless, I have always found it an admirable trait for my father. After a lifetime of fitting shoes on restless, crying kids in his shoestore, fishing is about as Zen as it gets. Man and nature at it's most serene. Perhaps that's why I like painting outside. En plein air to be precise. It's my version of fishing. I get to enjoy the outdoors, glory in all that's before me, and hope that I can just capture a modicum of what I see and hopefully, feel. The search for the poetic in painting. That is my goal, but more realistically, I want to spend some quality time with my Dad.

I hope my Dad doesn't mind sharing that he has/had his share of health issues. You name it, yup, he's got it covered. He specializes in heart-related ailments, but has moonlighted with diabetes, arthritis, strokes, etc. He has passed enough kidney stones to design a nice bracelet. So coming in for the Jewish Holidays to spend some quality time with my parents this year was an easy choice for me.

As a kid, I used to watch the TV show, "In Search of". It was an addicting show, with Leonard Nemoy narrating every episode. There were always cool topics. In search of Noah's Ark, in search of the Garden of Eden, in search of life after death. The life after death episode, I remember, had patients discussing their eerie visions they had when they were close to death, and then miraculously, coming back to life. Each person saw something different, but many experienced a long tunnel, the inexplicable pull towards the light, and the sounds of long lost love ones in the distance.

A few years ago, my Dad was in the hospital and his heart stopped beating. He likes to describe it as being "clinically dead." Luckily, there were hospital personnel nearby to begin shocking him with paddles. Every time the electrical volt was administered to him, he thought he was being punched and took a swing at the doctors. I love the irony that the people that were saving his life had to duck away from his punches. I asked him if he had any visions when his heart stopped. Where there any tunnels? Any shadowy silhouettes with familiar voices? No, he said. Instead, he found himself on a small boat, drifting in the water, fishing pole in his hand. Behind him in the boat was some of his worldly belongings. In my mind, I like to add in some long reeds in the distance, the morning sun just starting to illuminate the low lying lake fog, and some random fish causing concentric circles in the otherwise placid water. As far as what the hereafter holds, that image is not so bad.

Tuesday was too beautiful a day to pass up. My last full day before flying back to Los Angeles. The sun was out, and the air was slightly crisp, especially by the lake. My Dad and I went out two days previously to Forest Park, but I made poor choices in my selection of composition for my painting. I intended to learn from my previous mistakes. Instead of simply having my Dad be in my painting, I wanted my painting to be about my father. Focal point and simple composition.

I had only just begun throwing some paint around on canvas when two gentleman appeared over my shoulder. My peripheral vision alerted me that these two strangers would be trouble. Frankly, they were too well dressed to be at a lake. Dress shirts and slacks, to walk around Creve Coeur Lake? I half expected them to be handing me the newest issue of the Watch Tower any minute now. Don't get me wrong, it could be worse, I always enjoyed the cover art on that periodical. Who knew that Jesus could be portrayed in so many ways?

"Mind if I take your photo," the Post Dispatch photographer asked.

This is always a loaded question, but let me say that if you ever want to take a photo of someone, this is the way to do it. Far too many times I have experienced someone taking a photo of me painting without asking. Very rude. However, at the beginning of a painting for me can be a tenuous time. All I ever want when I paint is to be absorbed in the moment, focus on what is before me, and paint. Someone snapping shots from all angles of me and my father is hard on the concentration. But how many times in your life does a reporter from the paper want to take your photo? Assuming, of course, that you are not involved in a major murder investigation or a reality TV show with multiple siblings...

"Sure. Feel free."

My Dad loves to brag about his kids. What father doesn't? This was where he really poured on the heat.
"Terry is a great painter. Well accomplished. He's also in the animation industry. Do you know Ice Age? He's done those. Horton Hear's a Who? Yup, that too. His latest is in the theaters now. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs."

To my Dad's credit, he pretty much got most of the facts right. Close enough for government work anyway. He can be downright charming to strangers actually. I played the antisocial artist looking for some peace and quiet. After a few more random clicks on his digital camera, the two made their exit. My Dad and I laughed about the idea of how slow a news day it must be in St. Louis for us to be "picture-worthy as human interest", but experiencing an odd event together made the day even more special.

The fish were biting pretty well that day. My Dad had gotten quite a few nibbles on the two fishing poles he brought from home. He felt another nibble and jerked the pole, attempting to hook his prey, and it finally paid off. You can tell from the extreme bend of the pole, it was a big one too. Within no time, the fish had surfaced and was close to shore.

"Terry, come over here. Scoop this fish up with my net."

I stopped painting to enjoy the look on my Dad's face when he saw the size of the fish. It was a gar, at least two feet long, and flopping from side-to-side near the edge where the water met the shore. He handed me a net which looked better suited to scoop up goldfish or monarch butterflies, than this crazed fish. I don't know how many are familiar with the gar family of fish, but close-up I couldn't help but notice that they have long prehistoric muzzles with what appeared to be razor sharp teeth. Teeth that were too close to my hands for my liking. Trying to scoop up this fish with the inadequate net reminded me of videos I had seen of people trying to catch a greased pig. Tail first into the net didn't work because he was thrashing about too much, and headfirst didn't work because the the taut fishing line into his mouth was blocking my way. Not to mention that those teeth were getting still closer to my hands. Thankfully, the fishing line snapped around the time my Dad's laughter was reaching a crescendo. His laughter was joined with mine, at my own ineptitude with the fish.

"I paint Dad. I don't fish!" More accurately would have been, " I paint Dad, so I don't HAVE to fish!"

"That's ok, son. I wasn't going to keep it anyway." Whew.

I hope and pray that my father lives to be a hundred and twenty. He's just stubborn enough to do it too. Perhaps not so oddly, I find it reassuring that to my Dad, his idea of heaven is fishing. And when the day comes that I face the great hereafter, I can only hope that I find myself painting, while my father happily fishes. Now if I can only keep his boat from moving too much...

En Plein Air Paintings...

2009-08-24T12:41:00.000-07:00

These en plein air paintings, which means that I did them outside on site, were done from 2003-2008. Whenever I had a few free hours, I'd take my easel somewhere and enjoy the view. Most are from the NY area, Baltimore area, and a few are from Thailand. The paintings are mostly 8"x10", oil on board. Since they are accumulating in my apartment, I am willing to part with them for what I considering reasonable rates. $150-$250, depending upon the time spent on the piece. If any painting catches your fancy, let me know! Thanks! All images copyrighted by me... :)

My Dad's Birthday Painting...

2009-08-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

Well, I am just now starting to archive my work, and after years of Jack Thornton hounding me to start a blog, here goes nothing. Here is a sample piece of mine that I did awhile back during a painting seminar by Jie Xiangyuan. It was a humbling experience for me. I was one of the youngest there, but man, my body just ached after a few days of standing eight or so hours outside. I consider this the only painting worth showing from the experience. I placed way too much stress on myself during that weekend to try to paint something decent and choked a lot. I am not as fast a painter as I would like to be, and this weekend seminar highlighted that for me. I certainly hope to learn to paint quicker, and I am sure that it will come with more and more experience. Whenever I do a painting of a boat, I think that I subconsciously do it for my father because he loves the water, boats, and fishing. He saw this painting and wanted it for himself for his birthday. Happy Birthday, Dad! I love you.