Going back a layer on the mask before moving foreward
Posted by Jos. A Smith at 2:24 pm on December 4th
top view of armature
Here are three shots of the first mask in its beginniing stage that drawger Dave Gothard took before I started to sling the Sculpy. I decided to insert this into the thread on the Avers Sefira masks before adding later stages to the development in case any of you drawgers want to play around with this kind of play.
This way, when I put it in the oven and it explodes, you will be able to figure out why and avoid a similar outcome.
First step: I constructed this armature out of baling wire and aluminum screen. The third shot shows me modelling the frame for Dave. I included this for scale, and becase it makes me look younger.
(Back from the Dead) More for "my" Black Metal group
Posted by Jos. A Smith at 1:41 pm on November 20th
partially finished side view of the raven. The final state will be in various shades of black.
This time around, my cover work for the group's new album will be "persona masks". Each one has chosen a bird that represents something personal to him.
these are not to be worn while performing, but just for a cover photo. This way I have no restrictions other than that it fits over the upper part of the face.
I built a frame from steel wire and aluminum screen and am working over this with Super Sculpy. It's great to be drawing in 3-D.
My Black Metal Group
Posted by Jos. A Smith at 5:30 pm on June 8th
Wrath updated. He now has eyes!
Here is the latest incarnation of the Avers Sefira group. Their sold-out night at BBKing's is now history although they will be performing in Philly in the near future.
Here's looking at you!
And now, the vocalist/guitarist. I closed his mouth and opened his eyes but retained the roots. Now each of these sveldt gentlemen has two images from which to choose.
The bloody drummer (not to put too British a term on him).
Last but not least, is the drummer. In my May '07 archive posting, he appeared only as a rough pencil sketch. My references were too vague to work from as he had grown a full beard in the meantime and the performance photos were a bit too atmospheric to give me the kind of info that is needed for pen and ink ( charcoal would have been a breeze).
A CD In The Making
Posted by Jos. A Smith at 11:58 pm on May 20th
This is WRATH, my buddy.
Over a year ago I received an e-mail from a fellow in Austin TX. He was inquiring about a drawing of mine that was reproduced in an article about me in the July 1988 American Artist Magazine. We started a regular correspondence.
I learned the following: a) He is a member of a Texas Heavy Metal group named Avers Sefira. b) In the time I have known him, they are beginning to hit it big. c) They are composing a CD inspired by my drawing. d) It will be used for the album cover and posters. e) They have a two-year tour coming up. e) A piece of one of my illustrations from WITCHES by Erica Jong, was used for the logo for the group BATHOR which is regarded as the "father" of this particular sub genre of heavy metal. f) A west coast publisher of esoteric books has two of my drawings tatooed on his arm and leg.
There's more but you get the idea. My work has had a hidden life that I had no idea about. I seem to have dropped into this world with a certain amount of pre-established cred.
Avers Sefira will be performing at BB King's on 42nd St. next month. I invited any interested drawgers to don their black duds and join me. I'll post the time later.
Here are two of the three gentlemen in the group. These pics will go on the interior of the CD album.
This is another guitatist, the drummer is still in sketch form. I'm awaiting some info on him before I start inking him.
An Open Record of a New Painting
Posted by Jos. A Smith at 10:09 pm on April 13th
A photocopy of a drawing that will serve as my jumping-off point for a new painting.
Now that my exhibition at the Huntington Museum of Art is safely ensconced and my master workshop is behind me, I can relax and start a new series of paintings.
My paintings go through so many transformations as they develop, I decided that I would open the process from first sketch to completion (or scrap pile ,if it doesn't turn out). This should keep an interesting bit of tension in the mix since I know there is someone looking over my shoulder. Normally we hide this part in the privacy of our studios.
I started with a rather poor quality photocopy of a pencil sketch done on a piece of TwinRocker 5" x 8" paper. The original, I sold before I could get around to doing a painted version but this is fine for my purposes.
I will post each step every few days.
After two days of work on the underpainting.
The painting is being done in oils on a gessoed wood panel. I first laid a ground of Cypress Green. Over this I did a loose brush drawing to estaablish the position and scale of the bird on the panel.
This is followed by a gradual filling-in of the twisted forms that will make up the feathers. At this stage, I am just rendering the image in an underpainting made of a mixture of three and four colors. This has no indication of the final colors I will develop through a series of layers of transparent glazes. The picture shows the underpainting after two days:
Same painting, same degree of finish, just moving in closer.
Since these pictures are so small, I decided to throw in a closer view of the wing at this stage of development. That's for you drawgers who have ruined your eyes working like I do.
Progress at the end of the fourth day. Still underpainting.
Here is an update at the end of the fourth day of painting. I had to break for a couple of days while I became a grandpa for the third time. This one is a little girl named SooJin Emma (not the painting, my new grandaughter). She was born a week ago. I'll put in her picture later. For now, you have to settle for the bird.
My upcoming exhibition and workshop
Posted by Jos. A Smith at 1:17 pm on March 13th
For more information on Walter Gropius Master Artist Series workshops and Joseph Smith, please visit our website: www.hmoa.org
To register for this worksho or for free information, call (304) 529-2701, ext. 21. bboston@hmoa.org or kcox@hmoa.org
My humble apologies to all drawgers. I have been completely out of the loop again. This time I have been preparing for my upcoming exhibition and three-day workshop at the Huntington Museum of Art in Huntington, WV.
This has entailed finishing some new paintings, staining frames, cataloging and packing 29 paintings and drawings, plus listening to hours of cds to select music for a visualization workshop that will in part be done in a trance state.
How is this for just plain weird? I just came back to my site and realized that I had already posted this announcement. Just goes to show how long I have been away from here.
How is this for weird? I added a posting that I already put up last month. This shows how long I've been out ot the loopl
Looong time coming!
Posted by Jos. A Smith at 5:30 pm on February 9th
Once there lived a witch in the woods...a mean, horrible witch. She was wicked and creul and absolutely heartless, aand her name was Rosina.
Here it is, finally! After posting the sketches for this illustration last summer, I decided that the article needed closure. Here is the finished state as it appears in the book.
The book has been retitled. It originally was: ROSALIE. it now has the more informative title of: THE WITCH'S CHILD. The very gifted author in his wisdom has kept the name of Arthur Yorinks, and the publisher has likewise decided to stick with the Harry N. Abrams moinicker.
Working for Racy Magazines
Posted by Jos. A Smith at 6:01 pm on January 18th
april 1974 issue
Here's a job from another era.
When the art director called, he was actually apologetic. I asked him to trust me, I didn't want to read it. I would just do whatever i wanted. He was a good sort and a risk-taker.
The magazine carried the kind of articles you read with sweaty palms and heavy breath. It had snappy articles like: SEGMENT DISPOSITION: IMPLEMENTING APB OPINION NO. 30.
This led to other jobs in the porn industry, like the Federal Reserve Bank.
My Doppelganger?
Posted by Jos. A Smith at 4:46 pm on January 14th
This cover illustration for THE HITCH HIKER went someplace I never intended
About twenty years ago + or -, I did this drawing for the cover of a novel that was published by Little, Brown & Co. They liked my pencil sketch and went ahead and printed it. I neglected to save a copy of the book (as I have often done over the years) and I no longer remember the title (I think it was THE HITCH HIKER but that sounds too logical)or the author’s name, however, I will never forget this cover.
The book was a story about a man who lived in Baltimore until he started hearing screams. When he could no longer stand the screaming, he fled the city and hitch-hiked to another city to escape the sound. He settled down in the new city, but soon the screaming started again and he was forced to flee once more. This went on and on going from city to city getting worse and worse. At the end of the book he realizes that he is the one who is screaming.
I put myself on the cover as the hitch-hiker. No shrinking violet, I.
About a month after the book was in the stores, I received a letter forwarded to me via the publisher. The envelope was soiled and there were enough stamps to have mailed a package, but I figured "who knows what goes on at the Post Office". I opened it.
Inside the envelope was a single sheet of wrinkled paper. It was a densely-typed, single-spaced block of typewriting, one long paragraph with dirty fingerprint smudges, words and whole sentences crossed out in pencil – it looked like it had been through a war. It was from the author of the book.
After identifying himself, he launched into a long effusive thank-you letter saying that I had restored his identity. It seems he had had some kind of falling out with the publisher. He claims that they tried to destroy him by not printing his picture on the back cover. BUT, get this, I had restored his identity (by an act of God or extraordinary ESP) by putting his picture on the front of the book. He would be eternally indebted to me.
He closed the letter with a p.s. : “I forgot to put a carbon paper in the typewriter. Please make a copy of this and return it to me immediately.” The return address was in Baltimore.
Now I admit I am not proud of this, but I never sent him a copy. There you are. My social flaws are exposed to the world.
