Keeping velvet tiki art alive...? TWO PIECES ARE WRAPPED! YEAH!

So good to see you back Robb!!!
Your velvet is just great.
I know I love mine.
Keep em commin.
And Happy Holidays.

Finding that you are back just made my day. I love watching your art take form. It's fun to learn from a master. Wendy

On 2012-12-03 14:15, Robb Hamel wrote:

Another couple of coats to brighten this guy up & he'll turn into a Christmas present!

Oh, you shouldn't have. Now GROG have to go out and buy something for you.
Merry Christmas to GROG! :)

How'd I miss the return of Robb Hamel? So nice to see you post again! Great looking piece too!

THANKS GUYS! YOU ARE THE BEST.

I don't know how back I am, but I'll try to do something every month or two, thanks to the support you guys give me. THANKS.

This is my new piece, it is 11x14" and doesn't have a name yet. It is a small, simple piece but I like that about it.

Thanks everyone!

He looks like he's in deep meditation or thought,Robb!
Beautiful!

Once a month?
i can handle that
but you really should paint more,dear art-brother!
the world needs more great velvet paintins!
:)

Dig it. That's a beaut. Look forward to seeing one next month. :)

Bout time for that monthly post.

Robb Hamel, Robb Hamel, Robb Hamel!

what Lancey said!

Wow! Incredible lighting and tone!

Need more Hamel.

THANKS EVERYONE!!

The craziest thing I know of is painting hard-edged modern architecture on velvet. Ever time I start one I question my own sanity.

I swore I'd never do another one of these, but a very nice guy, Lee, has been after me for some time. He's an architect himself and his enthusiasm convinced me.

I started these sketches last November. Lee wants the bedroom turret from the Albert Frey house.

I did the sketch on the upper left when I was not quite in the mood, so it didn't turn out. The bottom right one turned out better.

Lee has this sketch right now to approve. The tiki is gonna be a different one. It's vague, but that's a pool on the right with a moai on the far right.

That is too cool for school!

You always amaze me Robb! If Lee doesn't like this HE NEEDS HIS HEAD EXAMINED!!! :lol:

Hi Robb, beautiful work, I'm so happy you are back to posting here. Before you do a black velvet painting you sketch it out on black paper with pastels or colored pencils? When I do a black velvet painting I keep a bright light shining on the surface. I also take flash photographs so I can see all the faint areas. Do you do that? Wendy

That's nuts. The small painting looks great though.

Nice work, Robb.

I like the newest one but the tiki one you painted before it is my fav.

Thanks for posting, folks!

Here is what I've been working on the the past few weeks:

For some weird reason I actually like drafting a grid like this to match the 4x4 grid inside of another grid to match the small sketch's grid paper.

Thatsa lota grid squares to draw!! But it makes the transfer a snap.

The roughed in house.

Some reference material I used for outlining the mountains behind the house.

This room caused a lot of hassle. I looked at hundreds of pics to narrow it down to this simple little room.

Taking elements of the real house and making it mine is the real challenge with this design.

Thanks for looking.

Come on ROB!! One more post and you'll be at 1,000!

[ Edited by: GROG 2013-03-06 17:36 ]

GRID-MAN!
My gosh Robb! The amount of care and detail you put into these pieces..
A true MASTER!
:)

Wow
Lota work
Gona rock

Jon

I love numbers GROG, we'll all be waiting for something special on the 1000th post. Fun, Wendy

This is really going to be special I can already tell. I don't know how you do all those grids, I can't draw a straight line even with a ruler to save my life. :)

Wow! This thing is a LOTTA work.

Here is the next two weeks of work:

The 'Ol blue chalk lines - how many times have I seen this?

Crappy pic of bushes. Ech.

Now we are getting somewhere. Masking tape on velvet is interesting. It kinda squiggles around while I'm trying to measure it from every angle.

This room is something I've never quite done before: perspective, furniture, walls, halls, I think this takes b**ls!

Two pics of the easiest part, a simple sidewalk.

I started on the concepts for this in November, and here I'm finally starting to see what I've really created!

Nailed it Robb! can't wait to see it finished.

Pretty awesome so far.

It does take bells! You must have very large bells like maybe the Liberty Bell. It paid off these pieces of furniture look real. I even love looking at the sidewalk and how it changes as it becomes more distant. You are the master and I love learning from you. After I finish the run of severed heads I'm going to try velvet painting again. You've given me the bug, I have no bells. Wendy

Wow
Amazing...

Jon

Robb and Ken both posting new art within 24 hours! :o Is this a sign of the Apocalypse? :lol:
Wendy, thank you for pointing out the sidewalk. As a non-painter I don't pick up well on details like that. The mottled look of the sidewalk is amazing enough for me then I see the yellow light source to the back, the cool white light source in the front, and the relative darkness in the middle - cool!

Clay, the oldest and most divine art media;
"And now, from the clay of the ground, the Lord God formed man" Genesis 2:7
Pirate Ship Tree House

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2013-03-18 21:23 ]

Rob, this is brilliant, man. I cannot wait to see it finished. My background is in architecture, so this is especially exciting for me.

and I should have mentioned the light shining on the last cement pad too. You never miss a beat.

GROG this was 944! Wendy

944? My computer says he's had 1002 posts. Every one a quality posting, too.

GROG surprised you painted the furniture before the walls inside the house. A lot of artists usually paint the farthest background elements before the closer foreground elements. Is that because of the characteristics of working on velvet or is that just your way of working?

[ Edited by: GROG 2013-03-19 11:45 ]

This..just blew my mind.

Man, you are so talented Robb!

Wow. Just wow. Can't wait to see the finished work.

Robb, your ability to capture a mood in your painting is fantastic! Looking at one of your paintings paintings with a good cocktail and some classic exotica I could get lost for hours. Beautiful work.

THANKS FOR ALL THE KIND RESPONSES, this is a helluva big project for my short attention span and you guys are helpin' to keep my spirits up!!

"GROG surprised you painted the furniture before the walls inside the house. A lot of artists usually paint the farthest background elements before the closer foreground elements. Is that because of the characteristics of working on velvet or is that just your way of working?"

Grog, it is part of working on velvet - I couldn't paint around the furniture and then paint them in because the shadow areas of the furniture are all bare velvet, so I had to define the specific shape of the furniture before I painted the walls around them. If I guessed wrong doing the walls first, there'd be no going back.

I'm skipping a TON of masking pics and cutting to the chase: the windows are roughed in and the first segment of roof is looking good!

I've been wondering what the pool would look like!

The tiki is small - about 2 1/2" tall.

This is exciting (sarcasm) - the sidewalk gets its second coat. At least it looks more like real concrete.

The second section of roof is done, without any smears!!!

Keep at it Robb, it's looking great! If you don't finish it no one can! Love that uplit palm.

I don't think is a painting
U took a picture
:)
Holy cow this looks awesome
Stunning
Wow

Jaw drop :)

Jon

Robb, it is breathtaking. The kind of textures you are able to pull out of that velvet is amazing. Concrete, wood, glass, fabric, vegetation and all of it very different and all of it made with paint on velvet.

STUNNING!

Dale

Thanks for helping describe the technique, Robb. U da best!

wolf whistle

Holeee Freaking crap! This is turning out just INCREDIBLE! Love seeing the process. Having only dabbled once in velvet, I am wondering are you using more than just brushes to rub the paint into the fibers? Some of that seems too subtle for just brushes unless you are somehow building up layers? I had a hard time getting the paint to go below the fiber "hairs" when I did it. Is there a way to thin out the paint and have it kind of go on in a "wash", or do you always have to use paint only, and the amount you use controls how deep of a shade you end up with?

I will eagerly watch progress on your latest beauty. :)

Thanks for the comments everyone!

These are the last few steps:

I tried to match Albert Frey's quilted stainless texture for the cupola but it didn't work.

I put a thick layer of paint on and it looks good now.

I added another layer to brighten the curtains and spotlights. I really think the spots look realistic.

I was gonna do the sky like the sketch (this color with grey blue on top), but it wasn't looking too good, so I covered it up.

The chalk lines are showing, but the shadow side of the cupola looks nifty.

The painting is done, whewwwww! Once it dries I'll clean off the chalk and dustspecks, take a pic, and show you guys!

In person this painting must really light up!

The depth is just astounding. The detail so crisp. I just love your work. Wendy

You Magnificent Bastard!!!