Ben Rumback's Art Blog

Friday, May 29, 2009

UPDATES!

For anyone interested in seeing my 'Pretty Things' in better light and such, check out my website, which I just updated with a new batch of photos I took last weekend to better represent the paintings. I set up in the back yard to get even light with little or no reflections. Check it out! Also, I'm posting about the upcoming show again, just so it will be here, at the top of the blog!

Monday, May 25, 2009

It's a little POTTERY...

Any one who's ever talked with me for more than a word knows that I am a geek. I'm a geek in the truest, most devoted sense. I'll grab onto something, be it Star Wars, Stephen King , Tolkien or zombies... and INDULGE on it until I am satisfied or exhausted. I've researched the speed classes of imperial fighters, watched ALL of the extras on the LOTR extended editions, and, here it is... read the Harry Potter books at least three times each. Don't even get me started on Batman.
The current obsession is, for the umpteenth time, Mr. H. Potter - the fella' in the cupboard under the stairs. I've just audio-booked my way through books six and seven and I'm back to the Sorcerer's stone. The thing that always happens is , when I get completely inundated in some fictional world, some collection of work, be they books, movies, illustrations... It directly affects my sketchbook. Seriously, check it out: below, we have the man in black himself, Lord Voldemort! And BOY does he look fussy!

Next is the cutest of cute, Hermione Granger. These are all on the same page, a series of sketches I made with thoughts of a series of paintings. Please ignore the crabby L.V. in the upper-right-hand corner...

And here's the prize winner - the sketch that nabbed the honor of becoming a painting. What you can't see in the sketch is the original idea for the title, 'Ouch.' I don't know if that's going to last, though, might be too vague.

This was the first effort - what I consider an 'advanced sketch' or a 'trial run'... I wasn't happy with it, to be honest. The colors are too shallow, and I thought our one-year-old Harry Potter looked a little too much like an indignant forty-year-old man who's just smelled a fart in a public place. Also, the smoke on the freshly seared scar looks too loose and wispy for my tastes...

Now THIS, on the other hand, is what i had in mind! A cute little baby Harry, just after the killing curse bounced off of his pudgy, little forehead, looking singed and more than a little freaked out. The details are there, from the Gryffindor pajamas to the owl snuggly... This is what I was aiming for. I hope y'all like it as much as I do! Look for more Potter-y here in the near future!

Friday, May 22, 2009

SHOW FORTHCOMING

Here's a postcard for an upcoming show... If you're in Chicago, I hope you can make it!

Felt-a-palooza III

Here's the latest flyer for The Felt Show's talent/comedy show FELT-A-PALOOZA! I recently discovered that I have been spelling flyer wrong my whole entire life... I'd been saying 'flier' all over the place, until a helpful cousin talked smack on facebook. thanks Margatroid!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Strengthening My Online Presence...

I've long considered this my website, but wanted something more to show my stuff online. I answer a lot of emails and craigslist ads with a link, and the problem with a blog is that the 'front page' is whatever was last written, and that's not always, well, good representation. So now, behold the mighty www.benrumback.com! It's a stable outlet for my portfolio and such, and this here blog can continue it's ever useful blogginess! Here's the screengrab - hit the link to check it out in real-time.

Monday, March 23, 2009

A return to old comforts...

It's been two years, almost to the day, since I started drawing superheroes and video-game characters for a collection of work entitled 'Heroes and Villains of a Devoted Youth.' It was the most fun I'd had thence (thus in past tense?) far, and it sold pretty well too! My friends and acquaintances enjoyed it, too, and I recently started selling prints. This return to older wrk got me going again, and I'm officially started on 'Heroes and Villains II,' and thought I had better share some peeks at the new stuff. I feel like the style has matured a lot in the years passed... what do YOU think, reader? I'm assuming there, that there's only one reader... maybe a little too honest...

Here is a look at the Superman piece I started a few days ago. Once colored, I think it will be more clear that he's ditching his clothes at top speed. No title ideas yet...

This one is tentatively titled 'The Call.' It's the first finished for the new series, and has waaay more story than the art from the last collection. They were mostly portrait style - very little background, which is what I'm trying to use to differentiate the two collections. Details below...

This is the beginning of a painting that MIGHT be called 'Bad-Ass.' I can't decide yet, though... I'd like to name it something with a little narrative, maybe from the perspective of the viewer, as a thug, who's just been cornered...

Pretty NEW Things

These are the four new pieces that I finished in time for the show last month. They added to the 'Pretty Things' collection, and the most recent one, 'Goldfish Are Friendly' became my new favorite. Here are some pictures. Oh - and I painted a boy this time too!