No. 3: It's A Groove

"It's A Groove," by Tom Wills, 2010

If I can pick favorites, No. 3, "It's A Groove," from 2010, would be one of them -- even though there is so much technically wrong with it that I sometimes cringe.
Even so, I like the grooves in this one.

This study in shapes and shadows is among the earliest of my work. Of my first 32 pictures, only two are not canines. I guess you could say that I made a bunch of dogs, early on.
So why does this one resonate with me?

It's because I grew up in a house full of records. We had a stereo in the rec room and I'd sit on the steps when I was 3 just to reach the thing.

I used to drag my dad to Kresge's and Trumbull Camera and Hobby to buy '45s and, rarely, expensive albums. Every year there would be more and more, and that continues today. There are mountains of vinyl here and just as much equipment. And I'm the guy who dusts it all.

Drawing this one took a long time, mostly due to inexperience.  There was a lot of learning as I went along, and there still is. I kept adding more and more piles of records to flesh out the image. It is huge.

At first this thing had a rather nasty green frame.  I had always hated the lettering so I did go back in 2015 and touch that up. I still hate the lettering. I re-framed the piece this year, putting it into a seriously proper, heavy frame and under a nice mat.  This morning I put a nice backing on it, stickered and signed it, and re-wired it.

I guess the image as a whole defines me, in large part.
If you find your groove, make it a deep one.

 

No. 391: 'The Quintet' - A Canine Compilation

"The Quintet" by Tom Wills, November 2017. SOLD

I recently received a simple text message, asking: “Can you put five dogs together in a drawing?” It was followed by a flurry of iPhone pictures.

Hanging out, and over, at home.

Three weeks later, you are now looking at a drawing of five dogs that was created from 10 photos selected from among 15 shots. “The Quintet,” No. 391, is a canine compilation!

Hand-rubbed stain, oak frame.

These boys and a girl all were rescued or re-homed by a caring woman who has, over the years, networked with a handful of Mahoning Valley agencies that save pups. Over time, one by one, she has thoughtfully and carefully assembled her canine crew.

"Where's the treats?"

It hasn’t been easy and, with five "kids" there have been mishaps a-plenty. Though they are all members of the genus Canus and related on a basic level, each has a distinct personality. Clockwise from the top of the drawing are:

AKA Ralston Purina

Rawlie, or Ralston Rufferford, the first to walk through the door, 13 years ago, from Angels for Animals. http://www.angelsforanimals.org/ He is the old man who over the years has grown tolerant, or even resigned, to mom’s parade of four-legged guests. He’s pretty laid back, though kind of a whiner.

A start ...

Rawlie was a little tough to see in the photos, being at the back of the line, so I requested and was sent three more pictures, so that I could get his eyes and floppy ears right.

More details ...

Georgie, rescued from the streets. He loves only his human and is wary of everyone else. Whatever happened to this boy before finding a forever home was certainly bad.

"I love her. You, not so much."

There were two photos of George that I used, to get his antenna ears as accurate as possible.  They have flyaway hair and always seem to always be on high alert.

"What are you looking at?"

Rebel, from Legacy Dog Rescue of Ohio. http://www.ldrofohio.org/index.html This guy was half-starved when rescued but has since bulked up considerably. Some of his consumption has involved furniture, notably the couch that they are all on or around. He is described as a “doofus.”

I only needed the one picture of Rebel, who has a distinctive look. And yes, his head is that big.

"I didn't do it.  OK, I did it.  But I'm blaming the other four."

Boots, earning his place as the new guy, also from Legacy Dog Rescue of Ohio.  http://www.ldrofohio.org/index.html He’s a Puggle, a mixture of pug and beagle, a breed that retains the worst characteristics of both. Handsome boy, sweet of course, but kind of an asshole.

" ... and, I am not an asshole."

Boots needed a little extra work once I had the picture nearly finished: a nose job. Once that was fixed, he was ready to play.

The Gatekeeper

Gracie, the boss, from Northeast Ohio Lab Rescue.  http://awos.petfinder.com/shelters/OH684.html No one comes through the door without an audition with Gracie first. Keeping the crew in line is a German Shepherd thing.

"My conduct is impeccable. Mostly."

It took three photos to get Gracie’s eyes and nose right. If you look closely at the two Gracie pictures above, you can get an idea of how I combined them.  Light-colored dogs are always a challenge because they have to be dark enough to show details.
German Shepherd breeds, even mixed breeds, come across as hard asses.  But actually they are very sweet.  I have one, so I know.  It’s just that they are no-nonsense dogs, and they prefer to be the leader of the pack.

Floating.

I decided to add the furniture after finishing the dogs, because they looked as if they were floating. Adding the couch gave their bodies weight and depth, and the fabric pattern (whoa!) highlights their five bodies.

Stripes!

This is not the first time that I have been asked to combine various images of pets or people into one. It’s always a challenge and involves a lot of sketching and tinkering — no Photoshop involved. But this one, I feel, looks natural.  The crew looks assembled and posing for the camera, in one shot, as if waiting for a treat.

(Mom ate them.)

Probably Doritos.

HIGH FIVE!

Happy Thanksgiving from Tom Wills Productions. Holiday orders are drawing to a close.  But for 2018, contact me at willstom01@gmail.com -- or message me on Facebook!

No. 387: A New Look

This quick writeup is called "A New Look" for two reasons:
1. This is the third time that I have drawn the iconic Vindicator building in downtown Youngstown. Each one is slightly different.  It is the only drawing for which I will violate my "Consider An Original" standard. I won't make a print, but I may draw it again.

ROBERT McFERREN | THE VINDICATOR

2. Today The Vindicator, my newspaper employer for 32 years, gives its readers an advance peek inside of the reborn building, repurposed by the Youngstown Business Incubator as part of its Tech Block downtown.

Although I do urge you to venture out and buy the newspaper, and keep all of us in business, I will share The Vindicator building's latest chapter here, to help this story along:

http://www.vindy.com/news/2017/nov/05/former-vindy-building-now-ybis-newest-addition/

Vindicator No. 3. This illustration is SOLD.

The sign is staying on the building. And the sign is what draws the eye.
This drawing, No. 387, benefits from darker lead and a surer hand: I have been here before.  You may read about my first illustration of this building here:

http://tomwillsproductions.blogspot.com/2013/04/no-195-ink-inc.html

I wrote that blog in 2013 and I'm still there, but some of those young'uns have left and been replaced by younger ones. The future is still unwritten. And I still take the stairs.

ROBERT K. YOSAY | THE VINDICATOR

It is a beautiful building. Rough and solid, just like the people who worked inside of it. I hope its new tenants are made of strong stuff, too.  I suspect they will like the place and its cavernous spaces.

Here's how old stone face looks from the outside now:

ROBERT K. YOSAY | THE VINDICATOR

I look over at the old building most days, fascinated by its rebirth and its new parking lot, filled with cars more expensive than mine. Something good must be going on inside, I think.
The Incubator people did an amazing job cleaning up the place. I know for a fact how deeply the ink permeated those old floors. Ink is like that, if you're a writer. A whole houseful of us will make a mess.

Two of the three Vindicator drawings were requested by former employees, both reporters who put in many years of good, hard work before moving on to other professions. Skill acquired from their Vindicator colleagues proves useful every day, I know.  Like that ink on the floorboards, it sinks in.

No. 384: Colorized!

No. 384, watercolor and colored pencil, October 2017.

This was a successful and interesting project that just might open up a new niche of business: Taking an old, black and white family photo and “draw-painting” it in color, using both memory and imagination.

I was presented in October a black and white shot of a brother and sister, from the 1960s, and asked to recreate it in color. Luckily it was a nice and clear Olan Mills-type photo, and the little boy has a good memory as a 56-year-old. We wrote out colors for clothes, hair, eyes and skin and I decided the best way to approach this was to watercolor paint in the basic colors, and then draw over them with colored pencils.
I had used this approach before on my paintings, to bring out fine details, but subtly.  This work is far more overt:  I’d say it’s 40 percent paint, 60 percent colored pencils.

The first step was to pencil in the shapes, and then to fill them in with watercolors of tan, brown, yellow, pink and red.  From there I penciled in the eyes, mouths and lips with a regular No. 2 lead pencil, and then colored and shaded them with the colored pencils.

I have acquired a large box of colored sticks from many sources and manufacturers and, for the record, the Crayola colored pencils are the strongest and most vibrant. The reds here, however, are a mish-mash of quite old pencils from the U.S. Steel Corp. that were used to mark drafting papers or perhaps metals.

It was the reds that took the most time: Her dress was not quite pink, his suit was not quite maroon and definitely not brown.  There were folds and fabric patterns to contend with, some shadows and a kerchief or medallion by his pocket.

We tinkered at the very end with sister’s eyes and then I decided to redo both of their lips. At the end I was told that I “nailed it.”
Actually I drew it, painted it, colored it in and blended it.

And we’re all happy with the result, including the mat matching the “draw-painting.”
An old family heirloom is now a new one for this particular family, for whom I have done several other pieces.

Can I do one for you sometime?
Contact me at willstom01@gmail.com or find me on Facebook or http://tomwillsproductions.blogspot.com/