Today's Post Was Brought to You by the Number 3.

Just a quick blog post before I call it a night - er, morning. Today (that is, Tuesday) marks my 313th straight day of creating art. I did almost break my streak in the last couple months, though. I was so caught up in work-related stuff one day that drawing barely even entered my mind. Fortunately, I happened to do a quick 5-minute thumbnail in the middle of all the madness, and so that day was saved.

There's another place that the number 3 factors in - today I wrapped up a couple more cars for the book. The total number completed is now 30. Yep, we're 60% of the way there. Without further ado, here are the cars in question:

 

That one's a heavily-modified '69 Chevy Z28 Camaro. I call it the Z28 Speedster.

And that one's a '63 Ford Galaxie. Initially started for a commission that's apparently fallen by the wayside, but at least a decent illustration came out of it. There's also a version of it in my calendar.

As always, thanks for reading.

Bret Taylor
November 9, 2010

Hot Rods Calendar.

It's done:

Up to Date.

Hey. For those kindhearted souls still frequenting this blog, I've got something on my mind. I mentioned recently that half of the hot rod book is done, but at the rate I'm going, I'm probably a good 8 months away from the big finish. And people have indicated they're interesting in buying some of the new art now.

The other day it occurred to me that a hot rod calendar might well be the answer. Poked around the internet today to look at my options, and I've settled on RedBubble. Which leaves me in a bit of a quandary - should the calendar be a standalone piece, or could it overlap some with the book, in terms of content? I certainly don't wanna stop doing the automotive art anytime soon, but at the same time, if I have to do 12 more cars on top of the 50 in the book, then the book release will be that much farther away.

I'm also looking into magazine options from Magcloud. Maybe take the same cars that are in the calendar/book and show a bit more of the creative process - initial sketches, maybe some discussion of the different directions a piece might've gone in.

I dunno, a lot to think about here. I'll have to make a decision fairly soon to cash in on the Christmas market, but some feedback would come in handy at this juncture. While you're thinking about it, feast your eyes on some eye candy:

What say you?

Miscellaneous Updates.

Kind of a catchall entry this time around - no specific theme, just a few updates and tidbits.

First off, two more of the car pieces are finished. A 1929 Ford Model A Tudor Coupe:



And a hodgepodge vintage racer that I just refer to as "Lucky Seven":




It occurred to me recently that matching art styles with vintage cars would be an interesting exercise. It immediately got me thinking about drawing some drag racers from the late-60s psychedelic era in their full mind-blowing day-glo glory. Hell, that could almost be a book in itself. So far I'm leaning towards some type of Mopar funnycar at night, foot-long flames shooting out of the zoomies. Or maybe a lace-painted Corvette with a rocket engine.

Next on the blog agenda is this 54 Chevy:



I'm seeing this one in my head as being inked with a brush, and then coloured with watercolour paint splashed all over the place. As I've indicated before, inking is a real chore for me, so obviously I need to do a lot more of it.

In other news, I just shipped a commissioned piece that I've been cleverly referring to as Top Secret Painting. Once the lucky recipient gets it and I know everything's cool, I'll show the whole piece. In the meantime, here're a couple of macro detail shots:



The skulls are just a minor background accent; unless the light hits them just right, they're practically invisible. But I think they really make the piece.



This glossy green bit is a more significant part of the painting. I used a faux-encaustic technique to add depth, and as is often the case, it resulted in something I couldn't begin to capture with a camera.



This last shot is of a green pearl paint I mixed for this piece - a mix of Tri-Art Liquid Mirror and phthalo green, with a subtle touch of interference green.

Finally, I wanted to mention that I may be participating in a group art blog with some artist friends of mine. Things are still very much up in the air right now, but I think it's an idea with some promise. More info to come once things get finalized.

And now I think we're up to date. What are the rest of you people up to these days?

Jesus Built My Hot Rod.

Well, I think the next book's off to a fine start. The last few days have been extremely productive:







All I did today was be creative. It's a pretty good feeling. (All of these are just the preliminary stages, of course. Stay tuned to see where I go with them from here.)

My Next Book.

So I dunno if you heard, but I published a book in December.

What am I saying? Of course you heard; all the cool kids know.

And now what am I doing with my spare time, you ask? Well, I've started another book - this one will be all cars. I'll be pulling some old stuff from the archives, but mostly it'll be new material. Here's the first one:



Still lots to be done yet - more engine details to be drawn, etc. Plus I'll eventually be eliminating that black linework altogether.

Wish me luck?