mackenzie art

I'M MOVING

2012-01-05T11:07:00.000-08:00

I just started a blog on Tumblr, where I will be posting my most recent sketchbook in it's entirety. You can find my work at mackenzieart.tumblr.com or follow me on twitter at @mackenzie_art . I am planning on posting a spread from the sketchbook once a day.

sketchbook end pages

If you see something, say something.

2011-05-18T14:55:00.000-07:00

Acrylic and Pencil on Paper, 16" x 26"

California Republic

2010-11-04T12:53:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on wood, 10" x 10"

Side detail

The Water Hole

2010-04-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

Ink and Watercolour on paper, 18" x 24"

Phoned In

2010-02-01T11:29:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on wood postcard, 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

This painting is for the Brownstones to Red Dirt Postcard Benefit Auction. The auction was born out of feature-length documentary, of the same name, that my friends and co-workers, Dave LaMattina and Chad Walker made about a pen pal program started between children in the Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn and orphans growing up in war torn Freetown, Sierra Leone. The organizers of this auction have gathered some pretty talented artists from all over the globe to paint postcards. The proceeds of the auction are going to help contribute to building a library for the kids in Brooklyn and a school for the children in Freetown.

Spectrum The Exhibition

2009-09-08T06:52:00.000-07:00

Around The Corner, Gouache on Paper

I have a painting in the Spectrum Exhibition at the Society of Illustrators in NYC. The opening is going to be on Friday, September 11 and the show is going to be on exhibit until October 17th. The show includes over 120 works selected from the past four annuals. A percentage of the proceeds from this exhibition will be donated to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Light the Night Walk.

The Art Critic

2009-08-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

I try to get out to as many gallery shows and museums as I can. I feel very fortunate to be able to live in an area that is so close to so much incredible artwork. Over the past seven months I have had the opportunity to see some great shows with my favorite art critic. His taste in art is a bit more discriminating than mine.

Nara- Marianne Boesky Gallery.

Alex Kanevsky- J. Cacciola Gallery.

He actually was very happy at the Kanevsky Show. I think he was more interested in flirting with the ladies than looking at the amazing work on the walls.

Jacob Hashimoto- Mary Boone Gallery

Jacob Hashimoto's work is absolutely stunning. This show left both of us speechless.

I can't believe he slept when we were going through the room with the Sargent, Zorn and Sorrolla paintings at the Met. This kid has a lot to learn.

He was awake and happy by the time we reached the Impressionists. Unfortunately I decided to push our luck and take him to the Francis Bacon show. He is not a fan of Bacon. I hope this show isn't going to give him any nightmares

Sheprard Fairey, ICA Boston

He isn't much of a Shepard Fairey fan either. We took him to his retrospective at the ICA in Boston but it did not go so well. He slept through most of the show and when he finally woke up, he was not impressed. In fact, he threw up all over the floor right in front of the Fairey's image of Jim Morrison. That's my Boy!

My Sketchbook Process

2009-08-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

My sketchbook and all of the drawings in them are the heart of my work. I keep several sketchbooks going at the same time. Most of them are dedicated to making quick drawings that record a moment in time, while others are the home to those fleeting ideas that must be scribbled down before they escape.
They are sort of a refugee camp for mostly terrible drawings and lame ideas. However out of this compost heap of drawings, grow the ideas I want to develop and nurture. Most of the drawings in my sketchbooks are completely disposable. If I don't like a drawing, I simply start a new sketch or draw or paint right on top of it. In these book, I also have the chance to try new mediums and approaches. I try to embrace experimentation and avoid fussing over technique. The funny thing about sketchbooks is, while I consider the drawings in them disposable, as a whole entity, they are my most treasured belongings.
The top two images are from my sketchbook. They show a progression of how I tend to develop an idea. The bottom image is the finished painting, done on Strathmore 500 Series Illustration Board.

Ballpoint pen, color pencil and ink on paper

Color Pencil on Paper

Acrylic on Paper

The Artichoke Heads

2009-08-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

Color Pencil, Gouache and Brush Pen on paper
Ballpoint Pen on Paper

Noodle Suckers

2009-08-11T08:07:00.001-07:00

Color pencil, Gouache in sketchbook

Escalator

2009-08-04T08:18:00.001-07:00

Ballpoint Pen, Brush Pen, and Gouache in Sketchbook

Hot Dog Vendor

2009-07-28T13:21:00.000-07:00

Ball point pen, color pencil and Acrylic in a sketchbook

Dirty Laundry

2009-07-21T11:30:00.001-07:00

Watercolor and ink in a NY Central Sketchbook

sketchbook page

2009-07-13T09:22:00.001-07:00

Acrylic on NY Central sketchbook

More Paintings from the Monster? Show

2009-07-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some more paintings for Travis Louie's Monster? Show at the Copro Gallery. These paintings were done by a few of my friends. I think it is really great to see the cross section of talent that I'm lucky to work with everyday. If you are interested in purchasing one of these paintings or my "Noodles" painting from the previous post, you can contact the gallery.

Copro Gallery
Bergamot Arts Complex
2525 Michigan Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310.829.2156

"Milkman" by Peter Nguyen Oil on Panel
"My Piano Teacher, Mrs. Asaoka" by Dice Tsutsumi, Oil on wood
Greg Couch, Acrylic on Wood

"los monstros mariachi" by Willie Real, mixed media

"Cubed" by Vincent Nguyen, oil and crayon on wood

"Himmler" by Clayton Stillwell, oil

"Stalkers" by Mike Lee, graphite

Noodles

2009-06-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

Noodles, Acrylic 9.8 x 12.8"

This painting is going to be in a show about "Monsters" at the Copro Gallery in Santa Monica. The opening is on July 11 from 7:30 -11:30 pm. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend. The show has been curated by Travis Louie and is also including work from my friends Peter Nguyen, Mike Lee, Willie Real, Greg Couch and Vincent Nguyen. From the work I have seen already, it looks like it is going to be a great show.

Copro Gallery
2525 Michigan Avenue, T5
Santa Monica, CA 90404

Renaissance Man

2009-04-13T07:32:00.000-07:00

In the fall of 1997, I was entering my final year at San Jose State and I was looking to find a place to live. One week before classes started, I received a call from a classmate of mine, Jeff Biancalana. He heard that I was looking for a place to live and he was desperately looking for a third person to live in the apartment he was renting with our other classmate, Oliver Mendoza. I had been cordial with them, but I would not say we were close. I had a choice to make, live with these two guys I hardly know, in their trashed apartment, which a year earlier they claimed was haunted or live with my parents. I guess it wasn't really that difficult of a choice.

On the first day I moved into "Studio 11", I ran into Oliver and had our first real conversation. Within five minutes, I was told of the time he was at a party and was twice hit over the back with a folding chair. As a sheltered child of the suburbs, I was absolutely riveted by Oliver's wild stories. In the ensuing two hours, our conversation veered over a medley of topics, including kung fu, women, freemasons and his belief that "Babylon 5" was one of the best shows on television. It is safe to say that from the very first time we talked, that I could say Oliver Mendoza is the most interesting person I know.

Life in "Studio 11" was one of the greatest times of my life. Although we were living slightly above the poverty line, in an apartment that was too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter, we had fun and we churned out a ton of artwork. I'd like to think that those guys made me a lot more fun to be around and that I in turn made them work a little harder on their art. It was funny how these guys who I was not exactly close to became more than friends to me. They were the brothers I never had. Somewhere along the way we affectionately started calling Oliver ---F#@king Ollie. It started with a statement like "F#@king Ollie didn't clean his dishes", then the next moment he would be telling us some ridiculous joke that had us all laughing in tears. Soon we would be turning to each other and all we could say was "F#@king Ollie".

After college was over, we all remained very close. Jeff and I eventually became roommates again in San Francisco while we were working in the animation industry and Ollie started to focus on his photography. I think we were all beginning to find our direction. Jeff developed a passion for story boarding, I wanted to pursue a career in children's book illustration and Ollie wanted to photograph beautiful women. Although we had branched out and gone in different directions creatively, we were still close as ever. When I broke my ankle and came down with the flu the following week, it was Ollie who came over and brought lunch and groceries. He was a fixture in our house. Ollie even had a set of keys to our place and would often use our pad as a set for his photo shoots. I recall one more than one occasion, spotting a beautiful model online, and doing a double take when I realized that profile pic was taken in my room. All I could say was "F#@king Ollie".

This past Saturday, Oliver collapsed after a photo shoot on Ocean Beach. He passed away shortly thereafter. His passing has left myself and the rest of our circle in a state of shock and devastation. He was a talented photographer, a larger than life character and a perfect friend. In the last day or so, several people have asked me what he was like. I tell them that if your life was played out on a stage, all of the actors would fight for the role of Oliver and the audience would love him most.

Figuring things out...

2009-04-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

A page from my sketchbook.

Little MacKenzie

2009-03-26T20:05:00.000-07:00

On January 5, my wife gave birth to our son Jackson. Needless to say this wonderful addition to our family has occupied most of my time over the past two months. However I did have time to make some quick sketchbook drawings while he was sleeping.

Sketchbook Pages

2008-12-18T11:39:00.000-08:00

These are several pages from one of my sketchbooks. I have been carrying two books with me lately. One of the sketchbooks is dedicated to developing ideas for future paintings. I have been working on this book for about six months now and have really enjoyed taking my time and giving the pages a lot of care. I'm planning on sharing the pages of this book when the entire sketchbook and the paintings are complete. In the meantime, here are some really quick sketches I did last week . This sketchbook is my tiny "spy " sketchbook, which is used to draw random strangers on the 6 train and Metro North Railroad. I really like having separate sketchbooks; One dedicated to making quick disposable drawings focused purely on observation, and another to organize my ideas and artistic process.

Takeout

2008-12-05T12:18:00.000-08:00

5" x 7" Oil on Masonite

Paint For Print

2008-10-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be in a group show at Columbia College in Chicago. The name of the exhibition is Paint For Print: Contemporary Illustration Traditional Media. It will be hanging at the Glass Curtain Gallery. I'm really excited about the show because I'm a big fan of a number of the other artists exhibiting. The artists exhibiting include, Sterling Hundley, Gerard DuBois, Penelope Dullaghan, John Hendrix, Ofra Amit, Shino Arihara, Aaron Jasinski, Joe Morse and Gina Triplett. The Curator, Nancy Julson Riley has started up a blog to document the show. The reception is November 6. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend. If you are going to be in the Chicago area, you should check it out.

Exciting stuff!!!!

2008-08-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

On september 6, the benefit auction to help save Sayama Forest in Tokyo is taking place at Pixar Animaion Studios. Sayama Forest is popularly known as Totoro Forest, because it inspired the legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki when he wrote My Neighbor Totoro. The Totoro Forest Project is an amazing project that was the idea of my good friend Dice Tsutsumi. He with Enrico Casarosa and Ronnie Del Carmen, rallied together nearly 200 artists from all over the world to produce artwork for this amazing cause. I feel very honored to be a small part of this.

The tickets for the auction are almost completely sold out, however they are setting up an online auction, so that you can still bid on your favorite artwork, even if you can't attend the event in person. They have also started an amazing blog for the whole project, that is updated frequently, giving profiles artist profiles, as well as up to date information about the auction, book and gallery show.

On another topic, I am really excited to announce that my second children's book titled "Fly, Cher Ami, Fly!" has been released this week. This was a really rewarding project to work on and I feel really proud to be a part of it. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of "Fly Cher Ami, Fly!" you can get it here.

Another Monster

2008-08-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

watercolor and gouache

Monsters in my sketchbook

2008-06-06T13:43:00.000-07:00

ink and blue pencil on rag sketchbook

This is for a personal project that I have just started working on. There will be more to follow.

This painting is going to need a home...

2008-05-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

Ink and gouache on paper (17.5 x 20 in.)

I just completed this painting for an upcoming charity auction. They have not announced the event publicly, so I am not allowed to give any specifics on it yet. As soon as the event is announced, I will be sure to share more information.
I hope you like it.

Faces of Out of Picture Volume 2

2008-05-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

It seems like it was only yesterday that I had the chance to make a book with my friends at Blue Sky Studios. It is hard to believe that we started working on the book that became "Out of Picture" four years ago. When I look at all of the projects that I've worked on, O.O.P. has a very special place in my heart. It reminds me of my first few months of living in New York, coming into a dynamic new creative pool at Blue Sky, and most importantly, I met my wife, while I was working on this book.
When the time came to make another Out of Picture, I was really sad that I could not contribute a story. At the time that volume 2 was starting up, I was working on two different children's books, and two different film projects. I could not put the time into O.O.P. that I knew I needed to in order to make something I could be proud of.
Volume 2 is finished and ready to be released in the very near future. I must say that the book is gorgeous. I think that it far surpasses the original, as my friends have really stepped up their game not only as artists, but also as storytellers. I have to admit that I can't help but feel a little bit of regret that I did not contribute a story to this volume, but my friends were kind enough to let me have a little part in the book, by letting me draw their caricatures in the bio section.
So here you go, here are the amazing group of artists that make up Out of Picture, Volume 2.
Dice Tsutsumi is one of O.O.P's founding fathers. He is immensely talented as a painter, but he is just as talented at getting people together and unifying them under a common cause. If it weren't for Dice, we would be finishing up O.O.P. volume 1 in a few months. By the way, Dice's newest story in volume 2 is a tour de force.
Mike Knapp has also served as a indispensable force in the completion of both Out of Picture books. He has been a great leader and also took on the role of book and website designer for the group. I think it is very safe to say that without Mike, we would not have a book. I also have to say that Mike is really difficult to caricature. My favorite part of this drawing, is the logo on his t-shirt because is the proud owner of an evil cat.
Dave Gordon is back again with a very haunting piece in O.O.P. volume 2. Dave is an amazing children's book illustrator. With his work in O.O.P. really exciting to see him stretch creatively and tackle more serious subject matter. In many ways I think his work transcends conventional storytelling, as the final product feels like a fine art series. Dave also happens to be a great person to share an art studio space with. He's an endless source of inspiration.
Vincent Nguyen is back again with a really fun story titled, "The Carnivore". I have had the privilege to sit next to Vince for the past four years and have learned a great deal from him. Vince is a great talent and an even greater friend. He also helped me score a Phil Hale painting, so I am forever in his debt. By the way, in this drawing, it may look like I messed up his shoulders. However, those of you who know Vince can attest, He actually stands with his shoulders slanted this way.
This is Peter Nguyen. He is a very talented color key artist and Vincent's younger brother. Peter earned the proud distinction of being the first person to finish his story on Out of Picture. While everybody was trying to figure out their story, Peter was putting the finishing touches on his story, "The Missive". If you aren't familiar with Peter's work you are in for a treat.
It is very exciting for me to see Lizette Vega's work inside the pages of Out of Picture. Lizette was one of my finest students when I taught at San Jose State University. Her story "Crawdaddyo" is so entertaining, not to mention beautifully drawn. It is hard not to have an ear to ear smile after reading it.
Willie Real is a fellow Northern California artist, who is doing amazing work as a designer at Blue Sky. He is skilled like a samurai with his ever present brush pen.
Kyle McNaughton is also a visual development artist at the studio who contributed an visually stunning story for volume 2. Kyle is a superstar designer who can do it all. He is also our department's resident tennis expert.
Jason Sadler is a character designer and visual development artist at Blue Sky. His story, Sub Plotter is done in a style very reminiscent of the old UPA cartoons. Jason is one of the brightest and hardest working artists I have had the privilege of working with. His approach to draftsmanship and design is very inspiring.
Nash Dunnigan is a man who lives on the edge. While Peter Nguyen was the first to finish his story, Nash was the last. Watching Nash finish his story is not a good activity for someone with a faint heart. I was nervous for him during the entire last month before the deadline but true to form Nash delivered. I love to tease Nash, but make no mistake, Nash is a drawing machine. Nash's layouts are out of this world. If that wasn't enough, his storytelling is top notch.
Benoit Le Pennec is back again with another great story that is going to blow all of you away. His story, "The Youth of Jimmy", is a western drawn in a classic comic style.
Andrea Blasich again shows us another dimension of his ridiculous talent with the story, "Are You the Right Color". When you look at Andrea's drawings, sculpture, storytelling and layout skills, it makes me wonder if there is anything he can't do.
Jake Parker has a wide array of super powers, from the ability to jump over tables and kitchen counters, to the ability to shift drawing styles and story telling genres with extraordinary ease. With the story, "The Antler Boy", He has expanded his range and brought together another beautiful look that we have not seen before. The Antler Boy is some of his best work.
Last but certainly not least is Sang Jun Lee. I have worked with many talented people, but Jun stands out as being one of the most talented draftsmen I have ever worked with. Perhaps you have seen his work. A few years ago he designed characters and costumes for this little independent film called Star Wars episode III. Since then, the good folks at Blue Sky have kidnapped him from the west coast and had him design characters for their films. If his enviable talent and colossal work ethic weren't enough, you would be hard pressed to find a kinder and gentler soul than Jun.

Sketching on the train

2008-05-02T14:08:00.000-07:00

In an effort to reduce my carbon footprint on the world, I have not been using my car very much lately and opted to take the train to work. It has also given me a chance to catch up on reading as well as doing more work in my sketchbook. Here are a few drawings that I have done recently on my Metro North commute.

Fly, Cher Ami, Fly

2008-04-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

This painting is from my next book, which is due to hit stores in the fall. It is titled Fly, Cher Ami, Fly from Abrams. The story is based on a true story of a carrier pidgeon during World War I, who saved the lives of 200 people, by delivering a message. It was an incredibly challenging to illustrate a story that takes place in the middle of a war, in a way that is appropriate for children. I tried to bring a sense of atmosphere, so that the viewers could feel the emotions of fear and horror on a battelfield, without showing every graphic detail. It was a great project to work on and the story was beautifully written. At the time I took on this project, I was completely overbooked. However when I read the manuscript, I knew I had to do this story. Keep your eyes open for Fly, Cher Ami, Fly.

Turks and Caicos

2008-04-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a vacation in the Caribbean and it was absolutely fantastic. When I wasn't treating my sunburns, swimming in the ocean or slurping down tropical drinks, I managed to sit down and make a few small watercolor studies in my Moleskine sketchbook. They are 3x5 inches.

Jack and the Beanstalk is now available!!!

2008-04-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

My first children's book has hit the stores this past month and I can't tell you how excited I am. I have always been captivated by old fairy tales and distinctly remember my mom reading Jack and the Beanstalk to me as a child. So when Sterling Publishers gave me the chance to illustrate a retelling of it, I jumped at the opportunity.
It took me nearly 10 months to complete the illustrations, and it was a tremendous learning experience. For anyone out there looking to illustrate children's books I have to say that it is so much fun, but it is an incredible amount of work and requires a lot of planning and discipline (I also developed a caffeine addiction during the process). However, it is so rewarding to take on a big project and see it to the finish.
If you are interested in purchasing this book, click here. Amazon.com has it for a discounted price.

Some recent paintings

2008-02-19T15:01:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of paintings that I have done in the past few weeks. They are both on 5x7 inch panel, and painted with water soluble oils.

Fly, Cher Ami, Fly

2008-02-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

This is a really exciting time for me. In the last month I have finished work on Horton Hears a Who and I also finished illustrating my second book. The Book is titled Fly, Cher Ami, Fly. It is due to be released later this year from Abrams Publishing. I had a great experience working on this book.
Here is a little sneak peek.

I'm back

2007-11-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

I have been a complete and total slacker when it comes to maintaining this blog, but I assure you that I have a lot of work to share in the coming weeks and will be able to blog much more frequently, now that some of my projects are beginning to wrap up. The past few months have been been pretty crazy. Since I last posted, I have gotten married and have also been working on my second children's book and have nearly wrapped up on production for Horton Hears a Who.
I would also like to thank all of you who have written such nice comments about my work. I apologize for not responding very well, but I promise to be a better blogger from this time forward.
This is an oil sketch I did a few months ago of my father in law Gee You Fung. It was painted with water soluble oil on panel.

Comicon!!!

2007-07-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

If you are going to be in San Diego, for COMICON, I will be with the Out of Picture guys (Dice, Mike Knapp, Vincent Nguyen, Dave Gordon and Peter De Seve) selling, books, t-shirts and prints of our work. We will be at booth 1128, where we are sharing space with all of the talented artists from Flight. Please stop on by and say hi.

demo

2007-07-04T20:46:00.000-07:00

I finally finished all of the paintings for my book, barring any minor changes. It is such a huge relief to have gotten my first book to this point. If ever you have had any desire to illustrate a book, I highly recommend it. I am learning so much from this experience. I have a new found appreciation for this kind of work. Making any image is difficult. Making twenty something images that work together was extremely daunting.

I have been asked a number of times to explain my process, of working, so here it is.
First I develop a sketch. This sketch is actually pretty small. It is about the size of a post- it note. Sometimes it is easier for me to see how my designs are working when they are smaller. After I have the bigger design issues resolved, I will blow up the image and start to work larger.
With this drawing, I quickly scanned it and made corrections directly in Photoshop. I have found it really helpful to work early in photoshop, because it gives me the opportunity to figure out how the type layout will work with the image. It is also helpful to have all of your layouts up on the desktop, because it allows you to look the book as a whole.
Once I'm ready to start painting I usually will make a color comp. On this painting it was especially important, because it was the first painting I did for the book and it was important for me to have a game plan. The time I spent making the comp, was made up for because the final painting went faster.
For my initial lay in on a painting, I treat my paint like watercolor. I work light and extremely wet with my paint. I usually have a bunch of puddles all over the paper and as I lay down the paint, I will usually babysit these puddles, to make sure that the edges of the puddles are not making any "unhappy accidents".
When I am ready to do a final painting, I use Strathmore 500 series illustration board- cold press. I like to experiment with different paper textures, but I often come back to this paper, because it is tough. I am hard on the paper surface because I flood area with a lot of water and remove paint out, with coarse brushest. The board will not warp if you tape it down to something. I have my paintings taped down to a piece of Gator Board, with watercolor tape.
The image above shows my general lay in. I try t think about the temperature of the light and shadows early on. Since watercolor is a process of working light to dark, I try to lay in reflected light and ambient light in the shadows early. for example, even though the Giant has dark brown hair,, I knew that I wanted the highlight of his hair to be cooler. therefore I mixed a lot of cerulean blue into the highlights, before laying in the dark brown tones.
In this picture you can also see how my workspace is set up. Along with my board, numerous reference books, and paper towels to take water off my brush, I keep a test strip taped to my drawing board. This helps me to know what kind of a mark I will make, and whether I have the right color, before I put it down on the actual painting.
I really enjoy creating texture in my paintings. For the background I lay down my paint, and before it was completely dries, I come in with a crumpled plastic grocery bag and pad down the board. After I stop hitting the board, I am left with a pebbled organic texture. I then go in with a brush when the texture is dry and pick out little areas of detail, to make it feel like a stone wall.
At this stage, I am just continuing the process of building up color with sloppy puddles of paint, all the while babysitting these puddles, to make sure that they do not invade my highlights.
I like to allow the puddling to happen because it creates interesting texture and also because it softens unwanted details. I find that allowing an area of a painting to flood, can help me determine my focal points. I will also flood an area of the painting, to lift out paint. This helps me make corrections to areas that I want to change, or to lift out highlights and details. I started doing this after I read Bert Silverman's book Breaking the Rules of Watercolor.
This is the painting at around 75 percent. I found that the print on the giants shirt was really distracting, so I ultimately flooded that area and went into that area wet into wet. I also wanted to get a little more warmth in the painting, so I glazed over a lot of the painting with a warm yellow ochre color. Glazing with water color or gouache is kind of dicey, because you can go over an area and lift out something that you want to keep. When I drop a new layer of paint, there are a couple of things I do. First I let the whole painting dry completely. If an area is even slightly wet, When you glaze it with a layer of paint, you'll lift that area off. I also use soft brushes. I painted this primarily with Windsor and Newton Cirrus brushes, they are 100% sable (The only time I use a coarser texture brush, is when I want to lift paint out.). The other way that I try to ensure that applying glazes don't lift out color, is to be very gentle with the brush. I barely touch the paper with it and I only put a stroke or two down before getting more paint. If you spread the paint too much with your brush, your colors with be contaminated and the paint might lift off.
So here is the final product. Thank you for actually reading this entire post. I hope it was helpful. If you have a different way of working with watercolor or gouache, drop me a line, I'm always curious to see how other people use the medium.

Jack and the Beanstalk sneak peak

2007-06-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

I am into the home stretch on the children's book I have been working on. For the past months, I have been spending my time away from the studio working on books. My first book is a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk for Sterling Publishers. I have been promising a little teaser of my work for some time, so here it is. I have been doing the book in gouache and watercolor. Over the past few years I got accustomed to working in photoshop, so making a switch back to traditional media has been difficult but extremely rewarding. I hope you enjoy these.

This is artwork for the front and back cover. The large areas of open space are for the border and type.

These are a couple of my sketches for the book. In my illustrations, I try to bring a classic or antiquated feel to the work, that is inspired by a lot of my favorite artists and combine that with modern drawing and design aesthetics. Trying to employ this style in the context of a good ole' fashioned fairytale like Jack and the Beanstalk has made this a dream project for me.
I hope that you guys will enjoy the book as much as I've enjoyed illustrating it.

MoCCA Festival

2007-06-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been an entire month since I last posted anything. Life out here has been absolutely insane. I have been hard at work trying to finish my children's book and the production on Horton Hears a Who has been kicking into high gear. However, I'm beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel. I have nearly finished all of the paintings on my book, and should be finished by the end of this month. I will be posting some samples very shortly.

In the meantime, here is a print ad for the upcoming MoCCA Art Festival. The folks at the festival were kind enough to ask The Out of Picture guys to design the promotional materials for this year. I did the painting and Mike Knapp did the type and design work for all of the posters, shirts and ads.
If you're in New York on this weekend of the 23rd and 24th, you should come check out the festival. I have to finish my book still, but I'm definately planning to stop by at least a little while on each day. I hope to see you there.

Charity auction

2007-05-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

This is a gouache painting that I have recently donated for a charity auction. The Auction is being put on by my friends at Maverix Studios and Sketchcrawl. All of the proceeds for this event will go to the charity organization Emergency USA- Life Support for Civilian War Victims. This sounds like a really great charity organization and the auction should have quite a bit of cool artwork. If you're in the San Francisco Bay area on Sunday May 20th, you have to check this out.

More Blue Sky work

2007-03-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

In addition to painting color keys, the color artists at Blue Sky get to work with the materials artists in placing textures on all of the computer models. It is a really exciting part of out work because we are able to work with the character designers and fur and materials departments, to ultimately make the characters and objects in the film look convincing.
Here are some examples of the paintings we do for the materials artists.
I did this series of rough color sketches based off of Peter De Seve's designs. It was very exciting working with Peter on these. I feel like I learned a lot about from painting directly over his designs.
Once we arrived at the the color pattern, I put together a call out sheet for the fur and materials artists. In this sheet or in some cases sheets, I gather as much relevant reference as I can find to help the other artists who apply the fur and texture. I also will occasionally write notes and make additionally paintings to illustrate ideas and details that might not be seen in the first painting. I'm very fortunate to be able to work with a group as skilled as the artist in fur and materials. They never cease to amaze me with their speed, consistency and skill. It is always a thrill to see them plus our designs.
This is a still frame from the film, showing how the Diving Bird ultimately looked in the film.
These two paintings are examples of the paint details that we do in addition to the call out sheets. While, the are not necessarily the most exciting paintings to look at, with their simple lighting pattern and grey backgrounds, they are very important for the production.

Check this out!

2007-03-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

So my lazy ass friend and coworker Vincent Nguyen has finally decided to get a blog together. He promises to post often from now on. His new found motivation is hopefully going to get me off my butt as well. So check out his work. He is going to be producing some pretty cool stuff.

The Giant

2007-03-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

My apologies for being so bad about posting this past month. I really appreciate all of the positive comments I have received from all of you about my work. I have been really busy making a lot of new art for various projects in the past weeks. I am really excited about sharing all of it with you in the coming months. I'm planning to post more work very shortly. In the meantime I have to share with you a really amazing sculpt my friend and coworker Alena Wooten did of my giant design, that I created for the children's book I've been working on. Alena is an extremely talented artist and it was a true pleasure getting to work with her on this.

Europe Chronicles Part 3

2007-02-09T14:31:00.000-08:00

Here is another installment of my Sketchbook drawings from Europe.
This drawing was done in Sevilla. I loved my time in Spain, although this day was scorching hot. I made this sketch as quickly as I could to get out of the heat.
I arrived in Milan after a train ride from Switzerland. I remember that the contrast btween the train station in Switzerland and the one in Milan was dramatic. The trains did not leave quite so precisely and while the train station in Zurich was immaculate, the station in Milan looked like it was covered in a thin veil of soot and ash.
I love to draw the people I see in my travels. There are so many interesting peopl you run across. This was drawn at the World championship for Master Swimming in Riccione, Italy. There were roughly 5,000 Swimmers at this meet, ranging in age from 18-90 something. It was such a great experience. Not to mention a great place to sketch.
I saw this guy on a beach in Portugal and had to draw him. when I was in Portugal, the country was going absolutely crazy over soccer, because the european championships were taking place there. It is not everyday that you see a pot bellied man, wearing speedos and a fanny-pack while he's holding the portuguese flag, and dragging a boogie board. It is moments like this that make me so happy that I remebered to bring out my sketchbook.
Here are some of the English soccer fans that i met in Portugal. I have to say most of them were very kind, only a small minority of them could be classified as hooligans.
This is an exerpt from a coversation that occured while I was riding in the London underground

More Europe Sketches

2007-02-02T13:33:00.000-08:00

Wow this has been a really busy couple of weeks. I have finally gotten myself moved into a new studio space this past week. It is a really cool space that I'm sharing with my two good friends Dave Gordon and Ellie Walsh. It is a short walk from my apartment and right next to one of my favorite buildings in all of New york, the Flatiron. I have also just started going to finish on the illustrations for one my children's books. I'm very excited to share some of those images with everybody out there, as soon as I am able to.

In the meantime, here are some more pages out of my europe sketchbook. These are from the same trip as the previous sketchbook post, however these were done when I was in Portugal.

Old Portuguese

This was one of a number of sketches I did on this trip from memory of people I crossed paths with. This man was always hanging out by our hotel, cigarette in mouth, watching people walk by. He had a great face. I wish I had my oil paints with me, because I would have loved to have painted him. His face was so wrinkled and weather beaten.

Praia da Mira

While spending time in Praia da Mira, I had horrible case of food poisoning. I remember very little about these dark times, except for the part of me lying in my hotel room in the fetal position, waiting to die. Luckily on my last day there I felt good enough to sit outside on the beach and make this drawing.

Big Dog

2007-01-30T13:21:00.000-08:00

...and then Lizette Red Ridinghood said, "My Roxie, what a big Belly you have."

I can't touch the ground!

I have a friend at the studio named Lizette, who is the proud owner of a pudgey Chocolate lab named Roxie. This week she is holding a contest at the studio to draw the best picture of her dog. The winner receives one of these really cool sock puppets that Lizette makes. You can see the other entries on the Blue Sky Challenge.

This is roxie

Here is contest prize

Blue sky Challenge

2007-01-26T12:59:00.000-08:00

So this week's challenge was Star Wars. I felt like drawing Chewbacca, and I have a John Singer Sargent book sitting on my desk right now- so there you go.

Switzerland part 1

2007-01-24T12:06:00.000-08:00

Prior to coming to Blue Sky. I went on an amazing trip through Europe. The reason for going to the trip was to compete in a swim meet in Italy. However I decided to arrive for the meet and spent 10 days with two of my best friends and fellow swimmers, Walter and Jasmine, in Walter's hometown in Switzerland. For ten days, we trained at altitude in the Swiss alps and negated all that hardwork by eating an obsene amount of Swiss chocolate. Oh yeah, I also filled a sketchbook. In the coming weeks I will be sharing excerpts from my sketchbook, chronicling my experiences in Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the UK. I hope you enjoy them.

Rapperswil

Luzern in the rain

Color keys for Ice Age the Meltdown

2007-01-20T16:45:00.000-08:00

One of the best parts of working in the film industry is the fact that each project we work on requires different approaches. As a result, I've had no choice but to expand my skill sets and learn new things. Painting color keys was not something I very experienced at ( I used to fancy myself as more of a character designer). When I first started, I had to struggle a bit because I didn't fully understand the difference between making a pretty illustration and painting a color key. In illustration we can cheat lighting to make something look good. With color keys, we have to try and make images that the lighters can actually use to realise the final look of a film. Painting keys forced me to have a better understanding of the principles of light, shadow and color.
Here are some of my keys from the film Ice Age the Meltdown.
When I work on color keys, I usually have all of them on the same page and go back and forth between the diffent keys. I find that if I build all of them up at the same time, the paintings will work together better as a whole. It's important to think of keys as a whole, because they have to work not only as a progression of shots in a sequence, but also from sequence to sequence, in relation to the whole film.
When I work on these keys one of the biggest challenges for me is to not getting hung up in unneccesary details. I think that good color keys are able to read clearly when they are the size of a postage stamp. The sequence above is from the second act of the film. The world is not nearly as sunny and pleasant as it was in the first act. Our characters were at a cross roads at this point in the story, because they were not really trusing eachother. We tried to design a color and lighting scheme that would complement the mood of the story.

All images are property of 20th Century Fox

As we get to the third act, the story is at its dramatic peak, we tried to make the color and lighting feel ominous and dramatic. We tried to do this by sucking a lot of the warm light out of the keys and using a very cool yellow light that makes the set look less inviting. This is is at the climax of the film and we wanted it to feel epic.

This project was really fun to work on. My job was made tremendously easier, because of the crew that I was lucky enough to work with. Xiangyuan Jie (affectionately called Master Jay) painted a stunning color script that helped guide us in painting our keys. Master Jay is probably the best painter I have ever met (we don't throw around the title "Master" to just anyone). Sitting next to him was kind of like going to graduate school. I also worked very closely with my Art Director/ Painting buddy Tom Cardone. Tom is an amazing painter and is a true student of painting. He also helped me score a Dean Cornwell painting so I am forever in his debt. The other color key artists on Ice Age The meltdown are Vincent Nguyen and Ron DeFelice. While sitting next to Jay was like being in grad school, sitting next to Vincent and Ron is like going back to grade school. Aside from the fact that they are both pretty hilarious, and we enjoy mercilessly teasing eachother, they are also really great painters. If you aren't familiar with their work, you should definately check them out. Vincent is a really accomplished children's book illustrator, while Ron is a great landscape painter (and my nemesis in Ping Pong).

nyc

2007-01-18T07:27:00.000-08:00

I really love living in New york. Although I have had my share of friendly debates with my fiance about what area is better, East Coast v. West Coast (West coast, obviously), I have to admit, that there is no place like New York. It is a gigantic playground for artists and creative types to be inspired by.
These are some paintings that I have done on location in New York City.
This painting was done in the West Village a few years ago. It has a lot of sentimental value to me because it was my first impression on my first day living here. I was still looking for an apartment and was staying with my friend Dice Tsutsmi, when we went out to painting.

This painting of Central Park was painted last spring. It was one of the first weekends when the weather was good enough to wear shorts and a t-shirt. I went to the park with a bunch of friends and we had a picnic, ate food, drank wine and painted. That was a great day.
This is a painting of SoHo, that was done last November. I remember this day well-- it was so damn cold. I believe this was my last time painting before winter started.
This is another painting of SoHo that I did last week. I went out with my friend Tom Cardone, an amazing painter who really needs a blog :) The weather was extremely warm for a day in January. I was painting in a long sleeve t-shirt and it still felt hot. The conditions were very difficult because the light changed constantly, because the cloud cover moving so quickly. I can't complain though, I was outside painting on a beautiful day.

Nice Robots

2007-01-15T18:38:00.000-08:00

These little robots are a little more gentle than the one I posted last week.

Evil Robot

2007-01-11T12:46:00.000-08:00

This is for this weeks Blue Sky Studio Challenge, the subject this week was evil robots. Giant killer Robots are fun to draw. Maybe not as fun as pirates, but they are pretty cool. I am actually working out a story I developed with some friends at ILM a few years back that involves a giant killer robot. This is kind of what I was thinking of . . . a big, scary and ridiculous monster.

beach weather

2007-01-08T12:07:00.000-08:00

I actually didn't paint these this weekend, but the weather is so uncharacteristic of this time of year, that I probably could have. I did these paintings last summer. The image on top is of my fiance, Alice and our friend Ellie on Fire Island. The second image is of Alice and her sister, Deborah on Jones Beach.
I actually did go out painting this weekend in SoHo, and will post the image when it dries enough to scan.

Wizard of Oz

2007-01-05T07:25:00.000-08:00

This is an old image that I posted for one of the Blue Sky Studios Challenge a few months back. I love the Wizard of Oz. Not only is it a great story, It's loaded with really fun design challenges. I think Illustrating a version of this book would be a dream job, I mean who wouldn't want to draw witches, flying monkeys and munchkins.

Pirates!!!

2007-01-02T13:50:00.000-08:00

As those who are close to me already know, I love to draw pirates. Maybe it is because of all the NC Wyeth and Howard Pyle paintings I have drooled over, or because I was fascinated by the them as a little kid, I have no idea. All I know is, there is nothing I enjoy drawing more, than a crusty pack of thieving scoundrels.

Narnia

2006-12-22T08:57:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of winter, I figured I'd pull these images out of my archives. These images were done a few years ago for The Chronicles of Narnia. I did these while I was working at ILM. In my entire time working there, this ranks as one of my favorite projects. I loved reading The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and getting to create some concept art for it was a dream project.

Mr Tumnus

Tumnus detail

In the end, the large share of this project was completed in New Zealand, rather than Lucasfilm, and I did not create much more work on it than what I am showing you now. The dream of working on this film was a very short lived one, but I enjoyed every second of it.

Happy Holidays!

2006-12-19T15:57:00.000-08:00

In honor of the holiday season, the Blue Sky Studios Challenge for this week was to draw something pertaining to Christmas. Have fun safe holiday season.
Peace.

This drawing is my contribution to the Blue Sky Art Dept. gift exchange.

3 o'clock draw off

2006-12-19T07:32:00.000-08:00

So these drawings are a product of a little 10 minute break at the studio. Several of us got together in the common area of the art department and started to make drawings and caricatures of eachother. These are my drawings of Dice Tsutsumi and Nash Dunnigan.

dice
nash

Sneak preview. . .

2006-12-15T12:36:00.000-08:00

These paintings are a sneak preview for my upcoming children's book. These images will not actually be in the book, but I did them to help me figure out the style and color palette, that I will be working in.

I painted this with a limited palette of primarily yellow ochre, cad red light, cerulean, primary blue, and burnt umber. I have been looking at a lot of Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac lately, and want to give the paintings an older fairytale feel, while still having a contemporary drawing and design aesthetic. I hope you like them.

This Little Piggy. . .

2006-12-13T13:09:00.000-08:00

This week for the Blue Sky Studios Challenge, we were suppossed to draw an automobile. I didn't really feel like drawing a car, but I did want to Draw a Pig. So here you go.

The Sketchbook has Landed...

2006-12-11T07:46:00.000-08:00

About a month ago, I was invited to participate in this program called Sketch Travel. It is a really great idea that was started up by an illustrator in Paris named Gerald Guerlais. The general idea is somebody makes a drawing in a sketchbook, and passes the book on to the next artist. Eventually the book will travel all over the world. After the book is completed, there is going to be an exhibition and auction, with all proceeds going to charity.
Well last week the sketchbook that started in Paris and travelled to San Francisco, made it into my hands in New York. The drawings and paintings in it were absolutely stunning. I felt very honored (and a little nervous) to be invited to contribute to this book.
Below is a copy of my contribution.

I am going to pass the book onto Peter De Seve, who will pass it onto Dice Tsutsumi and then this precious sketchbook will be off to Japan.

Blue Sky Challenge

2006-12-06T15:06:00.000-08:00

This is my latest contibution to the Blue Sky challenge Blog. This week's subject matter is to do an image inspired by the classic novel Moby Dick. I hope you like it.

Demos from San Jose State

2006-12-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

These are drawings and paintings are demos I did for my class, when I taught at San Jose State University. Teaching this class was so much fun. It was very inspiring to work so many talented students, who were very hungry to succeed. The whole class read Roald Dahl's story, The BFG, and created a body of artwork based on the book, throughout the semester.

gouache and watercolor demo

pencil tonal demo

color key demo

Old sketchbook

2006-12-01T14:52:00.000-08:00

These are relatively old paintings I just found in a sketchbook I left at my parents house, when I went back over the Thanksgiving holiday.

I used to like pause movies on my dvd player and make really quick color studies. It probably isn't good for your dvd player, but I found it to be a really great exercise in learning how to paint color keys. It also helped me get more accustomed to painting in different color palettes. This study is from the opening sequence of the Godfather.

I did these paintings in a figure drawing workshop. I can't remember how long the sessions were, but I think they took around 10 to 20 minutes or so. All of these are painted in gouache on a Canson toned sketchbook.

France and Switzerland

2006-11-29T19:34:00.000-08:00

I visited France and Switzerland in the not so distant past and had an amazing experience. My time was spent between the Sollies Ville in the south of France, for a BD (comic book) Festival, then onto Geneva, where I met with my publisher, Pierre Paquet, then onto Paris, where myself and the rest of my friends from Out Of Picture, had a show at the Gallerie Arludik. It was two of the most amazing weeks of my life, where I had the chance to meet some amazing artists and equally amazing people. Here are a few sketches from the trip.

In the Latin Quarter

Cafe by Saint Severin

one of several drawings I did of old men on their motorcycles

Diane and the waiter

Out of Picture Drawings

2006-11-28T08:09:00.000-08:00

These drawings were actually in the show at the Galerie Arludik. Some of them are still available for purchase.

Gouache Painting

2006-11-27T13:43:00.000-08:00

This is a more rendered version of the study below. Typically when I use gouache, I will treat it like water colour in the begining of a painting. In fact, I often use the two mediums interchangably. I usually start of painting very light and use a lot of water. I am somewhat reckless in applying paint in the begining, however I try to be careful in preserving the white of the paper for my brightest highlights. While the pools begin to dry, I try to pay attention to the edges, to make sure that they dry the way I want them to. In this early stage I try not to blend too much with my brush. I like to tilt my board to allow the pools colors to run into each other. By allowing the colors to mix together, rather than blending them with a brush, I can preserve the intensity of the colors. As I get further into a painting I will tend to paint more opague (with more pure pigment) and with less water.
In this painting, I actually rendered it tighter and more opaque than I usually do. I find it a really fun challenge to try and find new ways to handle the medium.

Gouache Studies

2006-11-22T11:45:00.000-08:00

I did these studies in gouache, which is a water based medium, which very similar to watercolor, only it can be used more opaque. I really love this medium, because it is so versatile.
The paintings are based loosly off friends I know. The angry looking guy with the fish is my old swim coach Doug. Doug was one of my favorite coaches I ever worked with, eventhough it was not unusual for him to put on a face like the one in this painting. The girl is a friend of mine from San Francisco, who is in fact the owner of a pair of hairless cats.

Welcome to my Blog

2006-11-21T20:25:00.000-08:00

Hello! My name is Robert Mackenzie. I am an artist currently living in nyc. Here are some samples of my work. These paintings for the book Out Of Picture, a project I worked on with some of my friends at Blue Sky Studios. They were done in gouache on Strathmore 500 series illustration board (cold press), I hope you enjoy them.