Classic Examples: Phantom And Phibes

In my last post I mentioned Lon Chaney's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and Vincent Price's ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES as two characters that we classic monster artists love to sketch and paint. Here's two recent additions. The Phantom is done in oils, Phibes in watercolor...

The Almost Last Painting Of The Decade

As the decade draws (yes, pun intended) to a close, I want to thank all my friends and fans for continuing to support my work. Without you folks, all this artwork would be for my eyes only, and that would be not nearly as fun.

I still have a few days before the ball drops (uncomfortable expression, isn't it?), so I may have time to finish one more oil painting...but in the meantime, here's one that I finished yesterday. I wanted to capture that moment, just after Mary Philbin snatches Lon Chaney's mask from his twisted face, and he turns and glares at her in accusational rage. The shot in the film is slightly out of focus, which somehow makes it more nightmarish.

The "soft focus" effect here is easily accomplished. While the oils are still wet on the canvas, I take a fan brush and very lightly drag the brush over the paint. I dry-wipe the brush clean after each stroke. I work in one diagonal direction, and then the other. The key is not to put any pressure on the brush as it sweeps over the paint, just let gravity do it's thing. The result is an eerie, soft glow, which is a pretty cool effect.

I use this technique on almost all my oil paintings, usually after the tones have been laid down. It helps me see that the general shapes of the tones are correct. In most paintings, however, I continue to refine after that. This PHANTOM OF THE OPERA didn't need much else, except a little tweaking in the eyes.

Happy Holidays!

Havoc Swims Unpainted

HAVOC SWIMS JADED, by David J. Schow. A collection of short stories. David wanted something Black Lagoon-esque. My task was to create a cover image that evoked the essence of the Gillman's world without infringing on any copyright of trademarked properties.

The atmosphere of the piece was the most important element. We needed the gloomy, murky feel of an underwater lair, with just enough light to showcase the character. I used a combination of Prussian Blue, Ultramarine Blue and Viridian Green as the main colors, with Burnt Umber and Titanium White to bring out the darks and lights.

Keeping the Creature "soft" was paramount in achieving the ghostly quality of the painting. I kept most of the edges soft, picking only a few "hard" edges to define important areas.

Below is the final painting, which Mr. Schow has hanging in his home.

And here is the actual cover of the book...

Building The House Of Dracula Part 5

After giving myself a day away from the painting, I came back to it with a fresh perspective - a new set of eyes, if you will. I noticed a couple of small changes I wanted to make and took care of them. You'll notice these if you compare the two images. I am now satisfied with the painting and have signed it.

In the end, I am much happier with this version than I was with the first attempt at this same image. This one is moodier, richer in atmosphere than the previous painting. I want to thank Kirsten Perez for giving me the opportunity to reimagine this iconic image, one of my favorites from all the Universal horror classics.

There is one more step involved, but isn't worth posting here. Once the paint is thoroughly dry, a thin coat of retouching varnish will be applied, which will enhance the paintings luster in the tones and colors.

Now, back to the drawing board!

"I believe you're in the house of Dracula right now!" - Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) from ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN.

Building The House Of Dracula Part 4

Now I begin to really breathe life into the painting. I start with the larger areas and work my way down to the more detailed parts. I try to use thicker paint on in the "foreground" areas, thinner paint in the background. This adds to the illusion of depth.

For those interested, these are the colors I used: Ultramarine and Prussian Blues, Veridian Green, Sap Green, Cadmium Orange and Yellow, Alizarin Crimson, Raw Sienna and Titanium White. I did not use black of any kind, and the fact is that I never do. I don't even own a tube of the stuff. I always prefer to "create" my own blacks, which are never really true black but a mix of colors that have a similar effect. Pure black from the tube always looks "flat" to me. It's a personal choice that I have stayed with since I started oil painting.

So this piece is just about finished. I don't want to over-work it, I want to keep it "painterly" - meaning a little loose and not quite so illustrative. I am actually liking this new painting much better than the first piece I did of the same subject.

The next step: The Final Step!

Monsters In Progress

Here's a sneak peek at two other oil paintings that are "in the works." The CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON piece is an image I had previously rendered in Prismacolor markers, but I am so taken with that moment from the film that I wanted to capture it in oils as well. The CURSE OF THE DEMON is such a startling character, I've wanted to paint him for quite a while. Both of these I'm doing without a rough sketch, just jumping in with tones and color. It's a little more challenging this way, but a bit faster and really fun!

Building The House Of Dracula Part 3

Now I've begun to apply thicker paint to each area of the painting. The colors are stronger and more defined, but I'm still holding on to the tones I created in the previous step. I work my way around the entire piece, never spending too much time on a particular area. This keeps the painting consistant, and keeps me from "finishing" one area while the others are ignored. I finished this session by taking a fan brush and lightly softening everything.

Fanning sets up the next step, which is to dig into the more detailed areas. I'll be using smaller brushes from this point on.

The next step: Finessing!

Building The House Of Dracula Part 2

After the sketch has been sprayed with fixative (an important step, otherwise the sketch will be destroyed by this phase!), I begin painting in the tones - light, middle and dark values - which will help me keep the depth of the painting throughout the process. Again, no details required at this point, they'll come later.

I've added just a hint of dulled-down color here, but the real goal of this step is getting those tones in. As I progress, the paint will be applied thicker and the true colors will be introduced.

The next step: Thicker paint!

Building The House Of Dracula Part 1

I've been commissioned to recreate an oil painting I did several years ago, the castle from ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN. This is a perfect opportunity to show you the process, step by step. So first up is the charcoal sketch, done on the canvas. I use vine charcoal, which is very easy to correct - that is to say that it erases easily. It also smudges easily, so one has to be careful not to rub an elbow or palm against it until it is sprayed.




You'll notice that the sketch is rather rough. Details are unnecessary at this point, because later I'll be covering all of this with paint. The sketch is just the foundation on which to build. It's important, however, to get the proportions correct at this stage. They're easier to fix now rather than later.


The next step: Painting in the tones...

Not JUST Monsters...

Believe it or not, occasionally I paint something that is NOT a monster or an actor who played a monster! Below are two examples of what's known as "Fine Art."

This is a simple still life done in oils. The challenge here was creating the illusion of the bottle being clear glass.

This was a Monet duplication. The idea is not to "copy" what you see, but to "imagine" what is was the artist was looking at when he painted it. There's a lot to be learned from the Great Masters...and the Great Monsters!

The Terror Of The Tones

In oil painting, getting your tones locked in early, and then maintaining them as you proceed is a good idea. It keeps you from getting lost, and gives you an better idea of what your final painting will eventually look like.

Here's a look at the initial tones puts down for my painting of the incredibly sexy Andree Melly from THE BRIDES OF DRACULA.

And the final painting, with the oil paint loaded up nice and thick, but the tones still holding.

Love that Andree...

Re-Wrapping The Mummy

A little lesson on why it is sometimes worth the effort to go back and re-examine a piece that just didn't work out the way you envisioned.

This oil of Boris Karloff as Ardath Bey, a.k.a. THE MUMMY, was my very first classic monster painting. It seemed fine while I was working on it, but I was still learning the process at the time, and so I rushed it. I didn't listen to my inner Gogos, and was too much of a hurry to see the final result. It wasn't until is was "finished" that I noticed the problems with the sketch itself - the proportions were way off, so the likeness suffered.

For almost a year that painting sat on my studio floor, and every time I passed by it I would grimace. Finally, while in the middle of another painting, I had had enough. I put the new piece aside and put this one back on the easel. Within an hour, I had captured the image I had always imagined it would be. Suddenly I loved the painting I had shunned for so long. In fact, I now liked it so much I decided to take it a step further, and glazed color onto it's Burnt Umber and Titanium White tones. The result was so worth the effort, I was only sorry I hadn't resolved to fix it sooner. See for yourself...

The original painting...

The revised version...

And the final, glazed painting.

Lesson learned.

How To Make A Monster (Again!)

Here's another example of the three main steps in creating a glaze oil painting. Luckily I "documented" these steps while creating these paintings, so that I can actually show the process instead of describing it. A picture is worth a thousand werewolves. I mean words. The subject this time is the iconic, craggy features of Glenn Strange as the Frankenstein Monster, specifically from ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN.

The sketch and simple tones are the most important steps. This is the time to make corrections regarding proportions in particular. It's a lot easier to fix drawing errors during these early stages than it is to fix later.


Next is the application of thicker paint - just Burnt Umber and Titanium White - to create a tone painting. Since it will be glazed, we'll keep the middle and dark tones about two shades lighter than normal. Corrections can still be made at this point, but you'll wish you had done them earlier!

Once this monochromatic stage is completely dry, the glazing stage can begin. Using "transparent" colors such as Ultramarine Blue, Alizarin Crimson and Indian Yellow with a glazing medium, the color is layered on the existing tones. The result is quite striking, and very different from a traditional oil painting.

If you're wondering why my signature is so big...it is because the painting was so small! The actual canvas was only 5 x 7 inches, and was sold during my Gallery Show in October 2006.