Saturday, July 23, 2011

Amy Winehouse

If you haven't heard, Amy Winehouse passed away.

I am a huge fan of her work. She injected the type of emotion into her music that I aspire to with my own art. After you read this post, look for a particular video of her singing "To Know Him is to Love Him," live in the studio. It was a heartbreaker on July 22. She was found dead on July 23rd.

Much like my Lady Gaga piece, seen elsewhere on this blog, I wanted to paint her as an individual, like anyone you might see on the street. Someone you, the viewer can relate to, rather than a celebrity who lives on another plane of reality from you and me.

There are the hallmarks, present, that make her Amy, such as the dramatic eye treatment, tattoos, monroe, and mane of hair, but it's also just a beautiful human face, not far removed from you or someone you know.

I felt black and white was an appropriate palette, for its starkness and the way it forces one to consider the forms and marks without the added variable of color.

Plus, her style was very noir, dark, and moody. I thought black and white would reflect this, nicely.

A portrait of Amy wouldn't be complete without alluding to her troubled ways. I chose to do this through a sense of raw energy as well as fragility within the brush strokes.

A distant look in her eye rounds out the story.

RIP, Amy.

Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Bert Degheri for USD Magazine

Bert Degheri -- a 1961 alumni of what is now the University of San Diego, a significant donor to the school, and the subject of the "Giving Back" feature of a recent issue of USD Magazine, for which I was fortunate to illustrate.

My challenge with this illustration was to keep the color palette more natural, rather than use the pumped up reds and oranges that tend to permeate my pieces. By the same token, I wanted to give the eye something extra to feast on, so I let the radiant warm undertones just peek through between select seams in the composition.

The University of San Diego is a long-time terrific client, for whom I'm always honored to work.

So how are things going, out there? Well, I hope.

How are things with me, you ask?

Things are good, thanks!

Where in the heck have I been, you ask?

Thanks for asking! I've been illustrating, as usual; creating all sorts of creative work for lots of terrific clients, to which I'm always grateful.

I've also discovered photography, and it's gotten under my skin. I'm enjoying the challenge of learning and applying my visual sensibilities to this new (to me) medium.

My illustration work derives a touch of influence from fashion photography, so it was only natural that my efforts at photography take on those same influences.

Here's a recent effort featuring the lovely Melodie, my frequent collaborator.



So, between my many attempts at visual creation, and trying to learn with rabid fervor, I'm afraid my blog has suffered undue neglect.

Thanks, again, to everyone who has checked in and supported this blog and my work. I haven't forgotten about you!

Thanks, as always, for taking some of your time to check us out! Stay tuned...

Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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Long Time No Post

Well, hello there.

I hope everyone out there is doing well.

I wanted to make a quick post to let you know I'm still around and making art at a feverish pace. In fact, as you've no doubt noticed, I've had difficulty keeping my blog posts current.

Thanks for your patience and your continued support of this blog. I'll have some new work to show you, soon! Stay tuned...

Monday, November 15, 2010

The Adventures of Danny and the Dingo


® & ©2010 Fuel TV, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

THE CLIENT

Eyerus + Visual Communication Studio (the agency)
FUEL TV

THE ASSIGNMENT

With a tongue-in-cheek nod to Drew Struzan's Smokey and the Bandit II movie poster, create an illustration reflecting the chaos and craziness of the upcoming 4th season of the FUEL TV show, The Adventures of Danny and the Dingo.

THE CHALLENGE

Create something wild and wacky, with as many visual detours as possible, and a Burt Reynolds/Dom DeLuise-ish movie poster vibe. The 2 main characters would take center stage while the chaos and mini story lines that succumb to the gravitational pull of a Danny and the Dingo experience orbit about their feet.

THE PROCESS

Research

I began by screening some episodes from the show, which stars Danny Kass, 2-time Olympic snowboarding medalist, and Australian snowboarding personality, The Dingo. This helped me get a feel for the show and its characters.

When taking on a job, I like to learn as much as possible about every component, so I feel confident speaking on its behalf -- which is what I'm entrusted to do, in a way.

This project took some initial sketching to find its concept. It started out with more of a Cannonball Run II nod, with the craziness bursting out at the viewer.



The client opted to go the Smokey and the Bandit II route, instead. They liked the storytelling potential of smaller elements swirling around large main characters.



This season takes place, largely, in the snowy climes of places like Alaska and Switzerland. So that sort of scenery needed to form the basis of the illustration's landscape -- setting the tone.

Snowboarders, snowmobilers, wakeboarders, heli-boarders, dogsledders, goat-milkers, fishing-boat-gun-shooters, trophy-truckers, RV-riders, Euro-sports-car-drivers, lederhosen-clad dudes, German-beer-maid gals, police and rescue vehicles, and any other crazy folks we could think of needed to feel welcome in this illustration.

Taking a respectful cue from Mr. Struzan's aforementioned poster, I set out to glean from its humor and general idea.

This type of assignment is a good exercise for illustration students to understand what makes an illustration work. There are a lot of decisions that went in to the making of Drew Struzan's poster, from the placement of the vehicles and the value composition within that swirl of vehicles, to the large figure poses, to the cloud composition, to the color of Bandit's jacket.

Sketches

We tried a few options with the guys in center stage, but they didn't seem to quite cut it.





In what I'm claiming as about a 3rd degree of separation to extra-coolness, Danny and the Dingo were called to a house in Los Angeles for a quick photo shoot just for this project. I was poised at my computer, on-call for when the agency received the photos and sent them to me. I would plug them into the layout and shoot it back for final approval. Upon approval, I would immediately turn my attention to the final, as our deadline was rapidly approaching.

It happened, I did it, and we got it...approval, that is.



The Final

If you are an illustration student, you've probably heard over and over -- there's no substitute for good reference. It's true. Listen to your professor, especially, if you're trying to work realistically. Bad reference will sink your ship, and quickly.

With the help of my intern, Andrew, I tracked down reference for the background: clouds, Swiss Alps, Alaskan fishing boat, Brandenburg Gate/Berlin Wall, Swiss airport, Berlin Tower, wakeboarders, snowboarders, snowmobilers, and dogsledders. I also researched the snowy ground for something non-descript, yet definitely snowy.

Then, it was time for my camera to come out of its bag.

Since this is such an unusual giant's-view perspective, I wanted to make sure the vehicles and people looked correct. So, I shot 'em.

I scoured the toy shops for scale vehicles of all sorts and set them up at the perspective of the illustration, shooting them group-by-group, lit from upper left, on a sheet of white foam core until I had what I needed.

Then, I needed to contact some models to pose as the characters at the guys' feet.

It was a race against the clock, at this point, and Briana (a lovely Southwest Missouri model) and her husband, Daniel, came through for me on short notice and knocked it out of the park. They completely embraced the humor and tongue-in-cheek undertone. Their participation, in my view, solidified this illustration. Look closely to see all the terrific roles they played. My sincere thanks to them for their perfect participation in this project.



Color

Cool blues would have to rule the landscape. But, then what?

Too much color amongst the cars, below, would be too chaotic and distracting. I kept it somewhat muted, with a few flashes of light on the U.S., Swiss, and German police cars.

Why is Bandit's jacket red?

The rest of the Smokey and the Bandit II poster has very muted tones and colors. The red jacket leads the viewer's eye toward the main character and creates, arguably, the primary area of visual interest. Cover up that jacket with brown and the color composition becomes very blah. The red makes it work. And, there's just enough of it below to harmonize it with the color palette.

So, that's what I needed to do, too.

Thank you Mr. Struzan for the lesson.

This was a very complex and involved project, but also very rewarding. The folks at Eyerus are an illustrator's dream with which to work. I'm very grateful to them for the opportunity to help with this very cool assignment.

This ad can be seen in the December 2010 issue of Transworld Snowboarding Magazine (on newsstands as I write). And, the 4th season of The Adventures of Danny and the Dingo debuts Tuesday November 16 on FUEL TV.

Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Howard Nusbaum for The University of Chicago Magazine

Howard C. Nusbaum, Ph.D. is Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago. He's also a trained cognitive psychologist, whose research examines the area of speech research, and, most recently, the study of wisdom. Check out the Defining Wisdom Project for more information: http://wisdomresearch.org/.

Mr. Nusbaum was also the subject of a charcoal portrait I completed for The University of Chicago Magazine, earlier this year.

For some reason, I always feel as if I'm in my groove whenever I'm fortunate to work with the folks at the U. of C., whether I am or am not. The charcoal marks feel just a little more vivacious and my confidence beams just a little brighter.

Charcoal portraits are a large bulk of my workload, and something I thoroughly enjoy doing. It's fun for me to explore mark-making as I sculpt a face.

I lay down large, vague areas of charcoal and, without committing until I have to, pull details out of the morass until my subject emerges, like a Smilodon out of the La Brea Tar Pits.

Maybe not exactly like that, but close. I'm sculpting, over here.

It's always a pleasure and an honor working with the U. of C. and contributing to their thoughtfully-designed publication.

Things have been ultra-busy for me over the past few months with commissioned illustrations and my newest hobby -- photography. Hence, my lack of posting. Thanks so much to everyone who has checked in, looking for a new post. I sincerely appreciate your loyalty!

I have some neat things coming your way, so stay tuned.

Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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Saturday, August 21, 2010

Lady Gaga

Love or hate her, one can't deny the Gaga.

Wild, outlandish, and over the top help define Lady Gaga, pop music performer and current Twitter queen (more followers than anyone else). Her sunglasses and pyrotechnic bra turns her into Gaga and hides Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. I wanted to challenge myself and take a more intimate look at the the human being rather than the public persona.

When looking for reference, one problem I encountered was, she looks an awful lot like Madonna in many of them. At her essence, what makes Gaga, Gaga? For me, it's her facial features -- her nose and mouth, particularly. I needed to reveal her eyes, too. Her ever-present shades only serve to further hide, creating an unwanted obstruction between me and her.

The colors should be mostly muted and kind of un-pretty, speaking to the sometimes un-pretty vulnerable side of everyone. The artistic challenge came in creating something subtle and mostly devoid of color, but still giving the viewer a retinal stimulation and a reason to want to explore the image.

It's a relatively simple composition, so there needed to be complexity, somewhere, as a balance. The brush strokes are kind of interesting to look at, but color needs to play an important role. I decided to use the rouge in her cheek as a focal point and communication tool. Coupled with her subtle, but unusual head wear, the shock of red hints at the vibrant performer side of Gaga.

The cool balances the warmth and adds just enough depth, while keeping the composition almost abstract. A shift in the color palette to a yellow/green slant removes a level of predictability and adds a bit of complexity to not only the color itself, but also to its functionality as a communication tool and how it defines form.

This was also done as a demo with my 2010 intern, Andrew Towler. For the past 2-1/2 months, he's helped run my business and learn about both the art and profession of illustration. I sincerely thank him for his assistance and for being an important part of Allan Burch Illustration.

Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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Sunday, July 11, 2010

ICON 6: News from LaLa Land

Long time, no blog. My apologies for the extended delay. I've been expanding my business in ways that have kept me struggling to maintain a regular posting schedule.

But, I'm here, today, to bring your attention to several things going on in the world of illustration that you should be aware of.

ICON 6, The Illustration Conference, will be held in Los Angeles, Wednesday, July 14, through Saturday, July 17. I will be attending.

Several events will be occurring during the conference. If you are in the Los Angeles area, be sure to check them out!

•THE ROADSHOW
What: a salon for illustrators and invited art buyers to meet, network, and maybe secure some projects
When: 4:30–7:00 pm
Where: the Viennese Ballroom at the Langham Hotel, 1401 South Knoll Avenue, Pasadena, CA
If you are an art director or art buyer in the L.A. area, and wish to attend, drop me a line and I'll get you on the guest list. If you're planning on attending, please look me up. I'd love to meet you!

•THE ILLUSTRATION WEST 48 ART EXHIBITION
What: a select exhibition of accepted work from the Illustration West 48 juried exhibition and annual, held by the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles
When: Tuesday, July 13–Sunday, July 18
Where: the Wentworth Room at the Langham Hotel
Keep an eye out for Black Flowers (above), one of two pieces I was fortunate to have accepted to the annual. The other piece is Peak Oil, seen elsewhere on this blog. Black Flowers will be the only one exhibited.

•ICON6: A LABOR OF LINE
What: a select group of work from this year's attendees, featuring 50 artists in all
When: July 16–August 9, 2010
Opening Reception: July 16, 7:00 pm–11:00 pm
Where: Gallery Nucleus, 210 East Main Street, Alhambra, CA
Keep an eye out for Bruce Springsteen, a piece I am fortunate to have shown at this exhibit.



Follow along with my Twitter feed (link to your right) for updates from the conference, and hopefully, a blog update or 2 from the show.

Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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