Pizza The Hutt Family Portrait

During my blogging hiatus last year I was part of a pizza themed show at The Pony Club gallery here in Portland to which I contributed the above piece. I've always loved Pizza the Hutt from Mel Brooks's classic Spaceballs and I wondered what his family might be like. If there is one Pizza the Hutt there must be others, right? 

This original watercolor painting is framed in a wooden frame and measures 8"x10". It's available for purchase at $150. If you're interested please email me at ischraer@gmail.com!

Below is the sketch I made for reference before I did the final piece. 

Grandparents

I recently got back from visiting my family and friends down in San Diego (and got a nice little break from the cold weather too). While I was down there I also paid a visit to my Grandparents which I always look forward to. At 93 and 92 years of age they are still very much with it and live alone in the same house they've lived in for 40+ years. I also never get tired of using them for portrait studies, so while messing around in my studio with colored pencils a couple months ago I produced these two drawings.

I especially like the way this one turned out and I may turn it into a full scale painting.

I also gave them a copy of the Advanced Style Coloring Book, and a box of colored pencils. I hope they actually end up coloring in it; I'd love to see what they come up with. 

My Grandfather doing his best to hide his pride. 

Happy belated new year!

Hello everyone! I know it's been a while since I've posted, and I honestly have no excuse, but with new years come new opportunities. The Advanced Style Coloring Book turned out to be a big success! We sold out of our limited run of 150 in just under 24 hours. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who bought one and supported the project. There are plans a'brewing to keep that project afloat, but unfortunately I can't say much more than that right now.

Due to the holidays, I've taken a minor leave of absence from creating art, but I'm rested and ready to hop back on that train. I've had a lot of ideas brewing in the interim and I can't wait to get started on them.

For now I'll be posting some images that I've been storing up for a few months. Starting with this one!

"Look away.... I'm hideous!"

This is a drawing that I did for Stephanie as part of her birthday present back in December. It's of Kramer when he starts a smoking club in his apartment and ages 30 years in a matter of days. When Jerry brings this to his attention he describes himself as "craggly" and "crinkly"(hence the title). You can enjoy the clip HERE.

On Sale and Going Fast!

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I'm very pleased to announce that the Advanced Style coloring book is now available for preorder. This is a limited pressing of 150 and there are only 28 left! I'm blown away by the response to this project, especially since we only put it up for sale last night. I can't wait to see these drawings in color.

The book contains 20 original full page illustrations based off the photographs of Advanced Style creator (and old pal) Ari Seth Cohen. Get one while you still can HERE.

Advanced Style: The Coloring Book!

This gent looks like he's ready to ride on into the sunset, and with that protective eyewear we know he'll be just fine.

I'm really excited to be working on the Advanced Style Coloring Book, based on the blog, book, and images of Ari Seth Cohen. 

Advanced Style is blog based in New York City devoted to capturing the street style and vivacious spirit of men and women 65 and older, proving that things really do improve with age. 

Check it out!

I'm currently working on a series of drawings and will post a few more teaser images when I have them. Stay tuned.

Dead Lady Has No Idea What Is On Her Face

I've got piles of old timey portraits lying around and I still haven't figured out what I want to do with them. Here's an experiment using bright colors and a minimal palette. I'm guessing this woman probably wasn't that into face paint in real life. 

Scribble Dancer is All Strung Up

Awhile ago we got a pamphlet from the Oregon Ballet in Portland advertising their new season. I was inspired by the well lit photographs it included of their dancers and decided to use one as an exercise. (Something can only sit on my drawing table for too long before I draw it)

I love when one of my pens begins to run out of ink because it allows me to experiment in "scribble shading" where I can achieve a wide variety of shades, building up thin layers of ink over time. I wish I could figure out how to achieve a similar effect on a much larger scale without using a tiny pen. Any ideas?