Some Kind of Art School

Babies!

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:12:34 GMT

So i've been on a baby kick.

we've got SOME TIME so hold your horses but it's been increasingly on my mind.

After seeing Paris and Prince Jackson yesterday that pretty much sealed the deal.

i also think i NEED a little girl.

All my life i've been told i look like Michael Jackson. whip these genes up with my wife and I'm pretty sure i got great shot at brewing some GORGEOUS children.

Of course comes the inevitable name game.

I decided that all great black men have names that start with the letter M, e.g. Malcom, Michael, Michael, Michael, Martin, Marcus etc

So I gave Robin my suggestions for names and her replies went something like this:

Boys:

Megatron: No (had to throw it out there)

Marious : eeeeh maaaaaaaaybe

Maco: No (yes as in the shark!)

Mercutio: No (wtf why not?!)

Maxwell: Yes

Girls:

Gretchen, Gertrude or Guenevere (NOT GWEN NEVER GWEN!). She liked Guenevere the most but i like Gretchen. She thinks it's too granny but i say HEY that's the point! it's throwback! Told her if we have three girls expect the trifecta

Akasha: She all but refuses! COME ON! QUEEN OF THE DAMNED!!!

whatcha think? it's about time i father some US Royalty!

Now i want a daughter

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:13:12 GMT

oh my goodness. Paris Jackson breaking down at her father's memorial today.

Not a dry eye in this house.

We Are Fragile

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:39:00 GMT

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We Are Fragile, a wrap around album cover for the band Isle Of Thieves
14 x 20
Oil on Strathmore 500 Series Illustration Board
find more illustration at thewhiteleaf.com

this was fun. I'd like to get this one framed.

this painting and the previous Lady Justice helped me to learn to let a painting be a painting.

expect to see more cloud work in the future. i'm getting into it.

Lady Justice

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:18:58 GMT

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Lady Justice, private commission,
16 x 20
Oil on Panel
find more illustration at thewhiteleaf.com

This is a painting I was commissioned to do. The painting will be given to the family of a young lawyer who passed away.

This painting got me thinking in limited colours again and more importantly about speed. I like larger pieces but for the sake of time i'm going to keep tighter deadlines smaller in size.

You'll find detail shots and progress images below.

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Moving, Painting

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:14:19 GMT

We're all done moving into the new apt and have most of everything set up. I was able to post some of the progress of my latest piece. Here's the story.

Gravehaven feedback

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Fri, 01 May 2009 05:21:59 GMT

"People have listened to us solely on our album art."

Gravehaven, the band that commissioned this illustration and album cover.

Well it doesn't get much more flattering than that!

Talk that sexy talk to me

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:18:49 GMT

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Oh boy! according to my Zune i've been taking this album kind of seriously.

BTW does anyone else own a Zune? I LOVE this thing but don't know anyone else to add as a friend.

my handle is thewhiteleaf as you may have guessed.

Presto!

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:27:33 GMT

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I cashed in my credit card world points the other day and snagged a free deep fryer.

This is most dangerous to cool ratio item i own. It gets what i describe as "deadly hot" within seconds.

Keep all the health jokes and comments to yourself because everyone that has seen this thing in action has had the exact same reaction:

Gleeful delight and squealing followed by, "OHMG!" these french fries are awesome.

This thing cooks what i describe as "damn-good-sporting-event-concession-stand-quality-french-fries" in under a minute. Think i'm exaggerating? come on over I'm making spicy crispy chicken wings this FRYDAY!

On the polar opposite end of the spectrum we snagged the crock pot i've been pining for. So far we've made Mexican Casserole and baked four cheese pasta, both with about a 5-7 hour cooking time. The flavour this slow cooker opens up is unprecedented. I've never seen spices amplified like this. My fridge is busting at the seems with food. The Crock makes meals that feed dinner parties. I keep inviting people over and giving away food but there's still plenty left.

I'm currently gearing up for the 10 hour 3 packet pot roast; that's 3lbs of chuck! Who wants in?

Angryblue letterpress print

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:30:42 GMT

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My buddy Justin angryblue sent me a nice care package that arrived today. Gorgeous letterpress on this print.

You can find more of his work here angryblue.com and on the t shirts of people you see on the street if you pay attention.

Studio Setup

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 21:09:26 GMT

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This is something i've wanted to do for a while. We're packing up to move and my wife wanted me to take a picture of my setup...or should i say HER set up.

As usual one day i came home and my life was a lot easier due to my wife's redecorating/organizing gift. She moved my supplies to this tray and put the paints in these buckets. From there our IKEA addiction took over.

Here's the spread and how one can efficiently oil painting in an NY apt.

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:48:14 GMT

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Sometimes i see it coming but more often i don't. Just like a bird that's firing around your house it's better to let it settle before you attempt to get a grip on it.

My wife doesn't doodle she decorates!

The above left photo is a corner of our kitchen. I had no idea what she had planned for those hanging baskets when she picked them up but at almost one year of marriage i've learned to stop asking "what are we gonna need that for." That's rookie talk!

First it held coffee, then something else, then something else i can't remember, then i think wine, then we got a wine rack and now it holds, 4 RED glasses, the current RED bottle of wine i cracked open this week, an empty milk glass with reeds and RED something or anothers. Clearly this matches the RED lunch box on the top shelf and the RED outlined bingo spinner she found online. Oh yeah what's that on the microwave? RED and white vintage S+P shakers. As i'm writing this she says she wishes the cabinets were painted something else but we're not allowed to do that.

In the photo on the top right we have the metal shelf that used to be on the right wall of her sewing nitch. It contains an assortment of ~~old~~ vintage sewing stuff that match. Not to mention the plastic containers that used to be ABOVE the cabinets in our kitchen, I have no idea how she got up there i just remember seeing them up there one day and now they're not.

Finally in the third photo almost nothing you see here was here before and I'm sure it won't stay there before our lease is up in a month. I did get her that Panasonic TNT 8 track player for the win.

What's my point here? I understand how and why everything goes where it does but i sure as hell could never put any of this together myself. There's a reason why rich men have black EVERYTHING in their homes. Expensive electronics are designed by men for men because we have no "real" taste in decoration; all men know this. Save for the few blessed with the gift of Jeffery Lewis <3 most men see organizing as putting things in a nice stacked PILE. We see decorating as throwing up a poster on the wall, framed if you really like it, signed and hard to find if you're trying to impress.

I'm learning though. I'm EXCELLENT at keeping things clean and i'm even getting better at putting things back where i found them. The latter gets difficult when where i found them changes so frequently. Nonetheless I enjoy my living, breathing apt of decor. I realized this when i threw a fit this week when we missed Target's sale on a bright RED crock pot. I NEED TO SLOW COOK POT ROAST OVER NIGHT! Today, i used my old World Points to purchase a deep fryer instead of a DVD or some other typical guy electronic toy. As i flipped through my options i couldn't help but appreciate how many home goods they had to offer. I later questioned what demographic i fit into now that I care more about appliances than portable entertainment equipment.

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:54:40 GMT

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The Queen's Daughter
16 x 20
oil on panel
find more artwork here http://thewhiteleaf.com

I wanted to post this a lot sooner but once the illustrators saw it they suggested some vast changes. Speaking of changes, June marks my one year anniversary of marriage and living in new york. My whole world has spun round but it seem to have landed me in a position for running forward. We're moving at the end of May and I've 6 new illustrations queued up.

I apologize for the delay in posting this and i appreciate your patience. I hope momma bird likes it as much as i enjoyed painting it.

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:49:18 GMT

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holding a mirror

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:29:21 GMT

Why the Japanese Hate the iPhone

THANK you very much doctorobnoxious

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:13:25 GMT

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By the way, the hair is gone.

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 01:39:57 GMT

Johnnie Walker Black on the rocks while I start tonight's painting, "see you in my nightmares."

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 06:56:10 GMT

Soooooooooooooooo i'm thinking atelier.

Grand Central Academy is here in NY:

The Water Street Atelier

Do i really have the time and or money for this?

am i too old?

someone talk me in or out of the idea of becoming one of these Atelier guys.

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:49:15 GMT

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Holy crap!

the wife txt me saying UPS package arrived yesterday. I opened it to find that there's a certain friend out there who wanted to take my oil painting spread up a notch.

We're talkin TWENTY Mother Eff'n Holbein oil colours, 3 fresh tiny brushes, an Atelier drawing book, Williamsburg Cadmium Yellow Extra Deep and a Gamblin shirt that reads, "Galkyd Rocks!"

Hawt Damn!

I have a prejudice against Williamsburg paint of 1950's, deep south proportions. That single tube of paint is comparable in price to my current oils combined so i'll show leniency.

20 Holbein artist colours? wtf man?! That just changed the whole game:

Tri3's Pallet two days ago = minor

Tri3's Pallet today = MAJOR!

The Classical Drawing Atelier book is sick reading. With a buzz word as popular as "atelier", if you're an artist in NY and you don't know someone that isn't up on Atelier you shouldn't be calling yourself an artist. Some suggestions for your new title would be: common house fly, belly button lint, eff'n JOKE!

Atelier isn't the end all and be all of art, it certainly has it's criticisms but demands respect. I admire those that have the privileged of drawing for literally TEN hours a day at least 5 days a week for two years.

With artists like Jacob Collins and Steve Assael peppered through out the pages i'm going to have fun learning from this gift.

To my loving friend who just changed my game, i got your back. just you wait this gift-arms race has but just begun!

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 05:00:24 GMT

I'm not so much a "no excuses" person as much as I am a "just be honest with yourself and others" person.

First of all you're not fooling anyone you're just taking advantage of social etiquette. I personally believe most people know what truth someone's excuse is covering up. We're just too polite to call people out. We also do the same thing ourselves when it's convenient so wouldn't that just be the pot calling the kettle black?

Excuses cover up peoples real feelings because the truth leaves us vulnerable. We should expose our vulnerability. once we admit a weak characteristic we're much more likely to actually do something to change who we are. Hopefully we change into something we want to become instead of fabricating a more intricate excuse.

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:07:22 GMT

I have my Pidge and Hunk models. Concept sketches to come.

I'm thinking 18 x 24 per painting.

Activate Interlock

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 18:47:01 GMT

Hundreds of photos for reference

Countless concept sketches

Six oil paintings

Five lions and pilots

One Defender of the Universe.

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:12:10 GMT

People should stop saying, "I'm too busy to create art" and should start saying what they really mean, "I don't have what it takes to create art."

For now on when people ask me, "what do you do for a living." I'm going to respond with, "Why do you ask?"

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:14:57 GMT

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a couple shots of me in the Brooklyn Lab Brewin up something yummy. As always you can follow the progress here thewhiteleaf

updates later tonight.

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:02:07 GMT

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It's Never Too Late: Spicy Pumpkin Latte
14 x 18
Oil on Strathmore 500 series illustration board
find more illustration at thewhiteleaf.com

So it's been too long! This illustration has taken longer than any piece i've done. As you may imagine i've learned a ton. In the past i worked with light glazed starting in pure black. From there i'd build up thin layers of colour until the piece was done. The problem with working this way is that it doesn't doesn't give the pigments in the oil paint the power they deserve.

Glazing is ultimately an illusion used to shift colour and occasionally value. As useful and sometimes essential this technique may be it can not compare to the raw radiance of working wet into wet and building up your paint.

I treated every inch of this painting as if it were a mini painting unto itself. Each object as though it were sitting in front of me. In the case with the pumpkins and even the curtain, the objects were in front of me. I painted from life up until the last pumpkin finally rotted away. I don't recommend painting exactly like this unless you're a fast painter or have a lot of time on your hands. Nonetheless you can't beat the details of painting from life.

I was able to maintain focus and stamina by pouring myself into each element of the painting instead of trying to complete the painting as a whole all at the same time. Often students are taught to work the entire surface at the same time. This is a great way to teach unity and not get tunnel visioned. Unfortunately you can lose site of what a full level of resolve looks like if there isn't a single area of the painting you allow to reach completion. It's also very easy to get burnt out because you don't get the satisfaction of fully rendered object.

I could go on and on but i guess i'll concluded with what my new colour pallet has taught me. You can't overestimate the power of a colour pallet with a full value range for each hue.

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Here's a detail shot. you'll find some progress shots here thewhiteleaf

I've also redesigned my website. It was time. I'm keeping things VERY simple. I've only included the paintings that exemplify the work I'd like to continue to create. I look forward to filling it up! Take a look here: http://thewhiteleaf.com.

Cheers!

thewhiteleaf@gmail.com — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 02:11:07 GMT

it's unlikely that you'll have any influence on what words are written in my obituary but that doesn't make you powerless. When you speak of me upon my passing I'd like the following included. Context and validity are completely within your discretion.

- "slain"

- "he was the father of all (insert abstract concept)"

- Mutually exclusive interactions of writer, Anne Rice and 80's actress, Mary Stuart Masterson

and most important

- "...found what few remains the sharks deemed unsuitable for consumption."

start practicing. Thank you