Book of Wyrms have great ideas for songs, like undead pegasus’, ghost drifters and Dust Toads! Which is why I was so stoked to work on this Dust Toad tour poster for the band’s upcoming Premytholigizer tour.

You can hear one of the songs from their last release, Sci-Fi/Fantasy in the speed painting video above. If you like it, you should check them out on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Bookofwyrms/

The process for creating this piece was pretty straightforward. I cut-out a piece of illustration board, to size, at 11×17 inches and then coated it with acrylic gesso. After transferring the drawing using graphite paper, I got straight to work with oils. I did change-up my process this time by mixing all of my colors ahead of time. The upside to doing so is that I was able to work much faster. The downside is that I wasted a LOT of paint. I think next time around I’ll have a better frame of reference for how much paint to actually mix.

A side note: Premixed paint definitely requires good storage. I was able to use these paints for 3 weeks by storing them in the freezer in mini containers with caps (purchased at an art supply store), but I was starting to get some dry spots in the darker colors by the time I did my last sitting. I think any longer than 3 weeks would have been too long for them to be usable.

After completing the artwork, I flash dried it in front of an area heater and scanned it into my computer in pieces (it was too big to scan as a whole). Then I reassembled the pieces in Photoshop and created the final Poster Design using Adobe Illustrator.

I’ve said this before, but I’m a VERY slow painter. I think I clocked about 30 hours on this painting and another 4 to 6 on the drawing (believe it or not, that’s record time for me). Speed, and having adequate time to dedicate to making art at all is a constant struggle for me. I love doing this, but I often find myself questioning the purpose of it all, and am perpetually frustrated and discontented with my own work.

I want to do better… I want to be good at this.

I don’t know what that actually means, or if I’ll ever feel like I’ve actually ‘gotten there,” but lately I’ve found myself really tired and dejected. I’m taking a break from commissions (and maybe from art altogether) for a little while.

When you really love something, by default you give it the power to crush you. Passion is a heavy burden, and I feel like I’m slipping under the weight of it. I need to rest (lest I be crushed to death!)

As always, thanks so much to everyone who has supported my efforts. You have no idea how much it means to me