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

GROG really enjoy these sketches, Robb. GROG love Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Cole, and Frederic Church. Hudson River School ROCKS!!

Paipo - I was wondering who did those paintings. I was wondering if any of the old master-types had done Polynesia... I guess so!

Ken - these sketches were inspired by YOU! They are my way of cutting loose until my next velvet, those don't let you play much.

Mike - that's my favorite too. None of these look that tropical to me yet, but I'll get there.

Grog - Hudson River! I'm a big fan too, Bierstadt ROCKS. That is the way I'm headed in the future.

"Margsketch 4" - 5.5x8.5" - acrylic on watercolor paper.

This sketch DOES NOT PHOTOGRAPH WELL!! In person this one is very atmospheric, it looks like a mess here.

This is my favorite area of sketch 5.

Although this is simple and improvised, I like the feeling of distance.

Here's my little 1 1/2" boat... I like it!

"Marqsketch 5" - 5.5x8.5" - acrylic on watercolor paper.

This pic is okay, but I needed to show the closeups to give a feeling of the detail.

The finished series!!!! It took a lot longer than I thought it would, but I feel more prepared for what I'll be doing early next year!

I really like the "sketches." Damn. I think your art embodies tiki (as I like to see it) like no others. When I drop in, I look for your thread right away. I'm never disappointed and always impressed.

Nice series, Robb!! Love the atmosphere in these, very very mysterious and kinda creepy but beautiful at the same time...

These are little JEWELS!! GROG LIKE!!! Two semi-opposable thumbs up.

I am totally amaze about your sketch! you definately have this impressionnist sensibility. That's give me the feeling that Monet is in your hand.. unbelievable..!! when do you expose at musée d'Orsay? :wink: Thank you Robb to open the door to this kind of art in the tiki mouvement.
your "sketchs" (I rather say Oeuvre d'Art) is so delicate, smooth, sensitive... Beautiful! You are an impressionnist! excellent!

Beautiful work Robb! They have such an "otherworldy" feel to them!

foamy: Wow! I've never heard such great words said about my work. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

TikiG: That's just the mix I was going for! THANK YOU.

GROG: Semi-opposable, HAH!! Mucho thanks for the laugh.

Tiki Bai: I really appreciate you tuning into what I'm trying to do. The comment about "Opening the door" effected me deeply.

Zerostreet: Big Thanks - "otherworldly" is what I'm trying to get across.

Man, the DETAIL in such small areas is amazing! I'm still your biggest fan!

Finally I'm back. My computer crashed and so on...

There was a Christmas art show at DaddyKatz a coupla days before Xmas with top notch jams by The Rubbles.

A bunch of artists dragged gear and displays in.

I took the moai from the canvas painting I've been working on and thought I'd see how he fared in a small velvet.

The Moai took about 4-5 hours.

"Rano Aroi goes supercritical" - 11x14" - velvet on bristol board.

The landscape was the fun part BECAUSE IT WAS IMPROVISED - always a DANGEROUS thing to do on velvet, but fun when it works out.

I stubbornly refused to put highlights on the moai's face or his pukao from the volcano. It seemed too PREDICTABLE. If there is ANYTHING I HATE TO DO IT'S TO BE PREDICTABLE.

Here is the moai canvas that I got the above moai from. It's upside down so's I can give it a fresh look.

On 2011-02-06 08:43, Robb Hamel wrote:
I stubbornly refused to put highlights on the moai's face or his pukao from the volcano. It seemed too PREDICTABLE. If there is ANYTHING I HATE TO DO IT'S TO BE PREDICTABLE.

Here is the moai canvas that I got the above moai from. It's upside down so's I can give it a fresh look.

Who are you kidding? You were just too lazy and didn't want to work on that painting anymore----that's the real reason you didn't put the highlight on the Moai's face and topknot! :P

You can also look at in a mirror to get a fresh look at your art. In animation we flip the drawing over and look at it with the back light on.

P.S. Nice Job, Robb.

[ Edited by: GROG 2011-02-06 11:15 ]

Grog - I use mirrors too. My favorite is to take a PICTURE and then look at that. What I see often scares me!!

It's off the subject, but I've gotta share this:

Believe it or not, this FREAK OF NATURE is my dog!!

Love the Moai Robb, always good to see new work from you! I can't make heads nor tails of that dog :lol:

PS - nice sig line :)

Wow! Love the "Rano Aroi goes supercritical" velvet Rob!

I get the whole hanging the piece upside down. After looking at something for so long you stop seeing things.
Sometimes I'll hold a piece up to a mirror or just cover it up and not look at it for a day or two then keep
working on it or toss it in the trash, ha.

I thought that was a hairy turkey. Love the Moai, Wendy

Beautiful "Rano Aroi goes supercritical" !

Always the eternal artist,Robb
seeking and improving...
Rust never sleeps eh?

but that genetic engineering stuff
you've been doing on that dog is creepin me out...

Good to see you diving into the thick of things again!

Great piece Robb! Your velvets are superb and the canvas piece is CLASSEEEE! Nice dog? Appendages on the canine would help that twisted painting... oh wait... that's real!? WTF!

baM

upside down - Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

The landscape was the fun part BECAUSE IT WAS IMPROVISED - always a DANGEROUS thing to do on velvet, but fun when it works out.

I DIG it big daddy!

Thanks everyone!!

Here's an update on the Classic Art Moai piece:

The pukao's painting style is based on artwork I saw at the Cincinnati Museum of Art.

The sky is looking ominous. I'm liking it.

More ominousness.

The pinnacle looks kinda like a biblical painting.

Love the update Robb. Stellar.

Phenomenal Phenom Hamel!

Thanx, guys.

I've got several new things cooking I can't wait to reveal, but for now they are a SECRET. Are you supposed to ALLCAPS a secret??

Here is what I did to an IMPROV sketch I did a year and a half ago:

This is the whole painting at 12x16". I didn't like it "full frame", so to speak - it's too loose.

I'm mounting it using Gorilla Glue to a 9x12" painting panel.

Here I've cut it down and think the composition looks much better. I took it to a DADDYKATZ Kruse In a coupla days ago and have started to rework it.

This one is fun to work on, so I think I'll play with it for a bit and see if I can get it to really sing.

it's already SINGING,Robb!

Grog - SOL!

Kenmeister - thanks, I wish I had a scanner, it's not photoing well.

Here is the latest place I worked on this piece:

This is the Cincinnati Art Museum. They have several top pieces by Hudson River School painters, which was America's first unique school of art. Up til then, Americans had been knocking off the various European schools.

The two canvases in the background are by Fredric Edwin Church and Albert Bierstadt, two of the three top Hudson River School artists, along with Thomas Cole.

This is a side view showing the size of the area I was working in.

I like the ceiling here, but didn't get to look at it much.

GROG ALERT: what can you do to this pic to sabotage it??

The T.C. community is a lighthouse in a wicked storm.

http://www.robbhamel.com

[ Edited by: Robb Hamel 2011-05-21 18:47 ]

Robb, it requires big coconuts to set up an easel and paint in a major fine art museum! But you and your work both look like they fit right in there, BRAVO!!!

a true master.....

Looks like fun Robb!! Great work.

I love your insperation; Fredric Church is one of my all time favorite painters.

Your a class act sir.

Thanks, Mike, Ken, and Babaloo.

I won't go into it here ('cause no one would want to read it), but the Museum ended up being an ordeal, enough to give me second thoughts about going again!

Thanks, Mike, Ken, and Babaloo.

I won't go into it here ('cause no one would want to read it), but the Museum ended up being an ordeal, enough to give me second thoughts about going again!

Robb, very inspirational!

I had a Robb Hamel day yesterday -

Bought Tiki Vignette #2 (limited ed) from eBay for a great price, (planning to save up and buy some more from Robb himself down the road) and was so inspired by my eBay find that I submitted Robb's web site to boingboing where it was accepted as a submission and sits on the front page at this moment.

http://www.boingboing.net/2011/06/29/brooding-beautiful-b.html

Hi Mr. Hamel, I love your art. I've just done a couple of velvets and it's not easy. You are a master and as I attempt to do these you are my inspiration. Thank you for posting here, I have looked at every page. Sincerely, Wendy

Tiki Shark - thank you, maestro of maestros.

tiki moon - That was very cool of you, I will check it out. Enjoy Vig. 2, it may be the tightest design I've done.

danlovestikis - thank you, Wendy, those are some very kind words and much appreciated. Good luck with this weird medium. Also, I can't believe you looked at EVERY page!!

THE FOLLOWING IS FOR CORY IN LONDON:

Thanks to the 100 degree temperature (38C), scorching sun, and FREAKING INSANE humidity, attendance at tonight's DaddyKatz ( Ohio's only hotrods, midcentury, tiki shop) cruise-in was scarce.

I chose a corner where I could feel the A/C. and started the second copy of Tiki Vignette 4 tonight (shrunken heads!!). You have to Love the red rod.

I worked till 10:15, and got the red lighted areas just bright enough to see.

Yesterday, thanks to bad inventory pratices at local art supply stores, I spent hours driving around gathering materials, then working until 12:45am stretching and prepping the velvet so I could begin painting tonight.

Note to self: start keeping an inventory of stretcher bars.

About damned time you posted again!

Thanks for the teaser Robb, don't forget to post the finished work! Will paint dry in 300% humidity?

Every page and what a help those pages have been. What I have discovered is that it takes a dozen thin layers until the color shows up. I see on your latest post you mention that. Please keep us up to date. A few more photos of a dog on your head would be fun too. Cheers, Wendy

Yay! Keep up the brilliant painting Robb - always fun to see your new projects posted here - Thanks!

Grog - it IS about time! I was dealing with a case of LIFE again!

Mike - NOTHING dries in 300% humidity, and only dandelions and mildrew grow.

Wendy - I LOVE that pic, even though I took it! Thanks again for the kind words.

TikiG - thanks so much. This one will be familiar to some, but I'll have new stuff ASAP. This shrunken head piece is a tough, but refreshingly differrent one.

Robb!! I know the feeling!! I have been distracted by "LIFE" and far less time or passion for fun projects like velvets... Great stuff though as always there buddy!! Wish you were closer to LA....we all need a good Velvet Painting club to let out our qualms in life and bond through the velvet "realities" we all conjure!! ~T

THOR - IF I COULD DROP IT ALL AND MIGRATE TO L.A. I WOULD DO IT RIGHT NOW (he says with fingers crossed).

Here's my progress on Vig.4 number two. I'm gonna be a little self indulgent and show more of my world.

Sunday session number one, 10:00am:

I don't remember showing my studio before.

I'm just beginning to show the main lighting. Everything is crude at this stage but I'm defining where things are so I can spruce them up later.

These are the hibiscus shrubs outside the studio window.

Sunday session number two, 8:00pm:

In the foreground is one of the hisbiscus shrubs. The studio window is near my right shoulder.

We finally got a heavy rain shower.

I've got a halloween wig on a tripod to help me do more realistic hair this time.

A recent pic of a similar subject

This is two weeks ago while I was finishing a copy of Vignette #2 (the last of the series). I'm using fake plants as reference. Anything to add a little more realism.

I want to thank anyone who looks at this. It is nice to show some of my surroundings because I like seeing those of other artists and thought I'd share mine. There's even a magazine dedicated to showing artists' studios.

I personally love seeing pics of artists studios and the works as they progress! Thanks for posting these!

I personally love seeing pics of artists studios and the works as they progress! Thanks for posting these!

Robb, this is fun. I'd never thought of using silk plants for reference. I have a lot to choose from. I can use plants from Dan's tiki jungle room. So far I've just used photos from trips. I carry my camera every where we go in case I can use something I see. A terrific tip! Wendy

A small cornor of Dan's tiki jungle room.

Robert - Me too, I like knowing what world someone has created to help them create.

Wendy - If I followed the plants really, really closely, I'd spent an extra dozen hours on a painting, so I use em as helpful reference and let my imagination run with what I see.

Monday - 9:45pm:

I worked in my living room for a short session with the hair.

Tuesday (day off) - 10:00am:

This is a park near me we call Lake Mistake, along the Miami River.

I paint under the AK Steel Canopy. While I work the rising sun causes the metal to expand and pop and ping softly.

This color is unintentionally exaggerated, but you can see that the wrapping on the spears is looking pretty good now.

For Ohio this is pretty good scenery. That, and the peacefulness of the area draw me in.

Vig.4 is looking together now. All I have to do from now on is BRIGHTEN and REFINE.

I've been really jamming on this piece because it is a birthday present for someone, and I was very slow to get the email requesting it. My goal is to wrap it this Friday at the DaddyKatz Cruise In and ship it next Tuesday.

Thanks, everyone.

Using FAKE plants to add realism. That's funny!

Looking good, Robbers.

Vig.4 is looking beautiful so far! Somebody is going to be really happy receiving it as a present :)

TikiG

tiki since '67!

[ Edited by: TikiG 2011-07-26 11:35 ]