THOR... NEW Drink Machine!..a Margarita Maker Painting? Sharing the process...enjoy!

Aloha!

Well... The time has come!! I was commissioned some time ago by some TRULY wonderful people to create a new addition to my "Drink making Machines" series based on one of their personal favorites..A Margarita. I am just now getting to this and getting excited!! OK...so the challenge in my mind was same as you all are likely to be thinking. How to capture the "spirit"(no pun)of why this frozen concoction(I had to say it...dint I?)is close to the heart of many moments of tropical and exotic escapades. My clients have become my friends now who challenged me with this and I hope to create something that hits several key goals and makes them proud owners too.

First, I need to choose a setting for a margarita's character. Almost immediately, we know that a certain celebrity song writer/performer has written a "Parrot-y" on this drink. We have to recognize this..while at the same time, not make this drink's fame because of this only. So..I think I might elude to these things and let the viewer see what they want to. Margaritas, for me were never associated with anything outside of the South of the Boarder flavor...be it more near the beaches there or not. So.... resort places on the South East coast are not really the birth of the Margarita in my mind or what I think of, so..bear with me, I am thinking out loud and sharing here.

For the next week or so, I am going to do as I always do before I paint. I am going to draw and doodle very rough little ideas and play with parts of ideas that are entertaining possibilities. They are just ideas..not fitting together yet. They may even evolve or morph... In the end, these ideas may or may not make it to the end result. The drawing will be refined and drawn out more carefully and accurately. Then of course..it's onto canvas and painted. Here we go.

I know it's fun to watch as an artist ponders and mixes up ideas and notions and I thought this was a good one to post here for a few weeks. Feel free to interject if ya want. I welcome your thoughts and ideas. In the end, It's me that has to put this together and knock out an image that is believable....refined and complete that my friends and collectors will hang in a spot in their home..and I want them to own a thing that never stops bringing them to a place they can look at..and sip a lil'bit of frosty Latin intoxica inside the painting's very own "boarders".

Enjoy! ~THOR

The following are sketch ideas from my sketchbook..... No title for this painting or layout for the machine exists yet.....

cool beans tom. hey, where does that red tinge come from?

Looking forward to seeing it progress mate, thanks for sharing the process with us :D

I just love those loose sketches. Lot's of life and energy and character.
You are an amazing and multi-talented artist, Mr. Thor.

Thanks Pp pants and Hewey!!

PDrake, the red is from the pencil color... I use prismcolor Pencil and this one was one of the red clay like colors...a sienna shade. I like those colors because they have warm tone and feel. It's a great color to paint over too. Norman Rockwell used to do his entire under painting in a color like this called "mars violet" in Winsor Newton oils brand...again because it is just a nice "alive" color compared to a cooler graphite or charcoal tone/line and colors painted over this are nicely harmonized.

[ Edited by: THOR's 2010-03-13 16:40 ]

Great work!

Thanks Zero!! I like your work as well!! Cool stuff!

Tom, lovin' the motorboat mixer and safety harness flip-flops!

Tom!
WOW!
you can feel the energy in those sketches!
the bandido puppet mixin em up is hilarious..
i see a whole series being born of this!
MUCH MAHALOZ for sharing your genius
like this!
even a peep into that brain of yours
is more than most mere mortals can handle!
:)

thanks, tom. i like the sanford ebony pencils, maybe they should make a sienna one. i like a round pencil for some reason.

you can totally see the passion and movement in your sketches. it's fun to see because i can see how you influenced the whole disney movement and how you were influenced by the original imagineers.

your art makes me happy.

These sketches are terrific. I guess my only thought is that other than the great puppet, there isn't much (como se dice) "Mexican-ess" to the sketches that I think of when I picture margaritas. And shouldn't "Speedy" be "Rapido" :) ?

Great sketches. Can't imagine that all being done in one painting, that's gonna be alot of work. Will be a fascinating piece for sure.

Awesome! I love seeing the process from the sketches onward to masterpiece!
Best thing ever! Inspirational! Thanks for posting your creative process!

I love how your mind works, Tom!

Great sketches, and from them will come a masterpiece!

Haaaaa My mind works in way weird ways....lol My clients would like to head this more as a rendition of the song" Margarita ville" and play down the drink machine aspect. This is fine! Customer comes first. But, stay tuned for the development..I need to do some research.

i'm sure your clients a woman and to blame.

just don't go gettin' any tattoos of mexican cutie that you can't remember.

jeeze, thor, thanks for the frickin' ear worm.