Santiago Uceda/Jon MacNair Sketchbook Collaboration - Part 1

So I think I have mentioned this before, but I am doing a sketchbook collaboration with fantastic illustrator, Santiago Uceda. Santiago came up with the idea and I suggested we trade sketchbooks so we could work on them simultaneously and each have one to keep. Because we are both pretty busy working on paid projects etc, this got pushed to the back burner for a long while, but I finally got a bit of time to work on it, and I pretty much went full speed ahead. Once I started, I had a lot of fun with it. I played with a lot of color and used acrylic paints, something I don't do too often. I think the nice thing about a collaboration is you already have a starting point when working with the other persons share of art. It's also really cool to see a melding of two styles. I'm posting some before and after pics on here. Since this is Santiago's book, the "before" pictures are his work and the "after" pictures are mine. I have a whole bunch of pages done, but I will be posting a few pics at a time. Hope you enjoy!










http://santiagouceda.com/

Works from "Nature of the Beast" show are now available for purchase!

I already posted the flyer for the "Nature of the Beast" show @ Flatcolor Gallery (for which this image was used), but just figured I'd post a better image of this piece.

Also, all the pieces from the show are now online and available for purchase! Check 'em out! http://flatcoloroctober2011preview.blogspot.com/#!/2011/10/nature-of-beast-group-show-october-6th.html

New work - "Ravished"

This is a piece I completed last month for the "Nature of the Beast" show at Flatcolor Gallery in Seattle. I had a few small works going into the show, and I thought I should also have a larger more intricate piece as well. Something you could really spend some time looking at. It took a while to get the whole composition figured out, and finalize all the details of the various creatures. I had an inspiration for this piece, which was the temptation of Saint Anthony. If you have seen images of this in art, you'll know what I'm talking about. Often this scene consists of a bunch of demons clawing and pulling at Saint Anthony in mid air. A pretty striking image. I've always remembered it and wanted to pay some sort of tribute to that. This was a fun piece to do despite the time crunch I was under. I had a lot of textures to draw, so that was probably the main thing I had to consider, next to the composition. It's a lot of figures and they are very much interlocked together, so sketching it out was my least favorite part. If you live in Seattle, head on over to Flatcolor and have a look :)

details below:

purchase this work here: http://flatcoloroctober2011preview.blogspot.com/#!/2011/10/nature-of-beast-group-show-october-6th.html

Tarot card drawing for the "Bewitching" show at Stranger Factory

Here is one of my new drawings I did for the show. It's based on the 'Devil Card' from a Tarot deck. It's an iconic image that has been illustrated in many ways throughout history. This is my version. He should really be holding the torch in his left hand, but for the sake of the composition, I put it in the right.

this piece is for sale: HERE


below are some tarot card examples I looked at for the design:

A busy month

I've been really busy this month! Not only did a take small trip to Louisiana to visit relatives, but I've been occupied with a multitude of projects, shows and freelance jobs.

I just finished a freelance job for Computer Arts. I'll be excited to see how it all comes out. They are combining the tutorial I did with another tutorial done by an animator. Pretty cool.

I also had three shows open this past week in Portland, Albuquerque and Seattle.

I completed a commission that had been on the back burner for a while now (see "Saints Commission" blog post)

I finished a piece for a skateboard art show where I painted a blank deck with acrylics. I don't usually work with acrylics or paint on wood, so it was a different experience for me. It kind of got me in the mood for painting on more wood, so maybe I will give that wood panels I have a try.

I've been working on a sketchbook collaboration this week. I've had the sketchbook for a while but haven't had much time to work on it. But this week I dove in and am having fun with it!

I have some more shows coming up that I need to create more work for. One in Culver City and one in Albuquerque. I'm also working on another piece for the annual Postcards From the Edge show in NY (early January). I always participate in that, and I figure it doesn't hurt to get it done early. Things get crazy around December.

I am also waiting for some projects and publications to be released. There is a record album I did the artwork for that should be coming out this fall.

And most recently I have been asked to do a tattoo design commission and a comic strip panel. So there is a lot of stuff going on right now. And I'm sure I left out something in that long explanation. I'll probably think of it later......

Monsterbation 2 Show: Monstrously Erotic

Just wanted to post some pictures of the recent "Monsterbation 2" show at Pony Club Gallery in Portland. Jason Fischer has assembled a great group of artists once again for an erotic art show of monsters and creatures.









Here is a scan of my piece for the show. I paid homage (or parody?) to the famously bizarre painting "Gabrielle d'Estrees et une de ses soeurs" by an unknown artist. Ironically, the painting to which I am giving nods to has nothing to do with eroticism, but more fertility and motherhood. You can read more about that HERE if you are interested. Below is what the original painting looks like.


To see more pictures of the show, go HERE.
To purchase works from the show, go HERE.

Upcoming NY show

This is the flyer for an upcoming show at the end of this month in NY. It's an exhibition of artwork on skateboard decks (definitely new territory for me). I had fun painting my deck and am excited to see what all the other artists came up with. All the boards will be auctioned on ebay, so if you have any skate art enthusiast friends, give them a heads up!

http://www.corpsecorpsboards.com/
http://www.coatofarmsnyc.com/blog/

Saints Commission

This is a drawing I was commissioned to do by a relative. He wanted an image of Saint Francis and Saint Clare, with specific symbolic elements included. The bricks and the birds are examples of this. I looked at many different references for the figures, including statues and paintings of the saints. With the trees, I wanted to create a reference to the medieval arch that appears in much art from that period.



"Saint Francis and Saint Clare"
India ink and watercolor on paper
8" x 10"
2011

Shows! Shows! Shows!

Just a reminder that 3 shows are opening this week. "Monsterbation 2" show opens tonight in Portland, as does "Nature of the Beast" in Seattle!

Tomorrow "Bewitching" opens in Albuquerque.

See previous posts for details and info.

My work in Blanket Magazine's 1st printed issue!

I got this in the mail today! Bec Brown did an amazing job of putting it all together, and I am very grateful for having been included in it! Can't wait to see future issues :)













http://blanketmagazine.com/

UPCOMING SHOWS

Just a quick post about some upcoming shows/receptions:

Monsterbation 2, Pony Club Gallery, Portland, OR - Oct 6th - 6-10 pm (I have 1 piece in this show)

Nature of the Beast, Flatcolor Gallery, Seattle WA - Oct 6th - 5-9 pm (I have 4 pieces in this show)

Bewitching, Stranger Factory, Albuquerque, NM - Oct 7th - 6-9 pm (I have 3 pieces in this show)

"What a Strange Thing to Say" - SOLD

This one found a home :)

Got my work cut out for me

Been drawing like a madman lately, usually about 15 hours a day. I think it may be taking a toll, but it won't be for much longer so that's good. I sent off two shipments of art today. One box is going to Oregon and the other is going to New Mexico. I just finished a pretty intricate piece today for a show in Seattle at Flatcolor gallery, where I have enjoyed showing before. So pleased they asked me back! I will be sending then 4 pieces very soon (probably another trip to UPS on Monday). So I still have to scan this sucker and I already cut plexi glass for it (not risking it with the real glass this time). I have been hurrying to get it done because the show is quickly approaching. In fact, the three shows I have mentioned are all in the first week of October (two on the 6th and one on the 7th I believe). Not only that, but I got a freelance job to work on this past week and I knew I would have to get this gallery stuff done first because it has to travel across country. But the freelance job deadline is pretty soon too, so I guess I have my work cut our for me after I finish scanning and framing this piece. By the time that freelance job is over, I should be just about ready to leave on a trip for Louisiana. I hope that's how it all works out anyway.

Post on "Ballad of..." magazine

Thanks to the lovely folks over at 'Ballad of...' for showcasing some of my work! I have some stuff coming up in the print issue as well, so stay tuned for that.

http://balladof.co.uk/2011/09/jon-macnair/

Interview on BLKFRMT

I did this interview with BLKFRMT recently. It's an awesome illustration/design site with lots of good interviews with other artists. Be sure to check it out if you have a chance! Thank you to the kind folks at BLKFRMT :)

http://blkfrmt.com/interviews/interview-with-jon-mcnair/

My Illustration Mundo Interview

I'm excited to share this interview I did recently for Illustration Mundo. If you're an illustrator, it's damn near impossible that you have not heard of this site before, as it is a great resource for illustrators. Nate Williams sent me an email and asked if I'd like to do the interview. I of course accepted. A big thanks to Nate!

Hope you find the following an interesting read.

http://www.illustrationmundo.com/wp/7787

Sneak Peek of piece for Oct show

This piece is already finished, but I though you'd like a sneak peek of it. It's going to New Mexico this month. Stay tuned....

Things have been so crazy lately with projects. And it doesn't help that I have been getting these waves of afternoon sleepiness where I just want to lay my head on the pillow. And there's no good reason for this. Maybe I have a vitamin deficiency (even though I take vitamins). I've been invited to partake in quite a few shows lately, with a bunch coming up in October. Perhaps this is because it's the month of Halloween and a lot of these shows have kind of dark themes (?). I'm grateful to be in these shows, but I just need to put the nose to the grindstone to get the work done. I always do in the end, so it should be fine.

Debut of my brand NEW website!

Alright folks, the time has finally come to let you know that I have a new website up! It was WAY overdue, and after about 2 years of feeling guilty for my sadly outdated and dead looking site, I got it together and worked long and hard to put this new one up. I had a ton of help from my friend Reid who thankfully knows all about these things. Thanks Reid! We live in different states, so we were doing this all on the phone and via skype. But after about 6 sessions we finally wrapped things up late last night.

I made a site years before, but that was purely in the design view of dreamweaver and there were many little things that were never quite right. I was also using some horrible tables and framesets, pop-up windows, and bad fonts.......ugh, the list goes on and on. Every time I would see that I was getting traffic to my blog or flickr from my site, I would cringe a little. Not only did the site design need to be updated, but the content did as well. Here is what the old site looked like (note the outdated pop-up window):

The challenge with making the new site was learning styles, html and getting comfortable looking at code in general. It wasn't my cup of tea for sure, but I did learn a lot in the process. That said, I don't need to hear the word "div" for a while.

I have a lot of new content on the site. The illustration page (which is the homepage) pretty much has all new content on it. The info page has a bunch of links to interviews I have done and sites of nice people who have featured my work online. There's also a few links to places where you can buy my work as prints, a flickr link, and a totally updated resume you can download. The overall look of the site is very simple. I wanted it to be easy to navigate and streamlined, with a white background to make the artwork the focus and plain black and gray text. No frills.

As soon as I get some more content I am going to switch out a few of the illustration pieces, but I am pleased with the way it looks at the moment. At least my phone number is correct now!

Here is what the NEW site looks like.

By the way, the "coming soon" piece in the upper left-hand corner is an album cover that is soon to be released. I will of course post about that on here when it comes out.

In the meantime, please check out the new site! www.jonmacnair.com