Diamond's Blog

Trees Plus

2012-02-14T04:54:00.000-08:00

Couldn't help myself. More trees done with pencil crayon and water colours.

Again With The Trees

2012-01-20T04:29:00.000-08:00

More trees for this Friday morning. My kids and I were just drawing together and this is what stemmed out of that session.

Trees again

2012-01-13T07:40:00.000-08:00

Trees done in water colour. Scans are kind of crappy, but so was the paper. It was my kids cheap paper. Looks like I'll have to upgrade there art supplies.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-21T04:56:00.000-08:00

Pencil crayon and marker sketches, for the Christmas card I was to use for a greeting card block print.

Acrylic Paintings on board

2011-12-14T13:18:00.000-08:00

Here some paintings based on the last post published. Just in time for Christmas.

Colour Pencil Sketches

2011-11-24T05:15:00.000-08:00

Here are some coloured pencil sketches, for an upcoming show I'll be participating in shortly. Last night I painted 2 acrylic pieces, which I'll post soon.

Trees Please

2011-11-16T04:49:00.000-08:00

Trees done with water colour and pencil crayon. The outer trees are digitally altered versions of the centre tree.

The Mole Sisters

2011-11-08T05:19:00.000-08:00

Here are some pencil drawings done for a show call 'The Mole Sister' back in 2003. They were drawn rather small; just a bit higher than a business card. They were location designs that would be later painted without line in Photoshop. I drew them using a mechanical pencil, on a vellum type paper. There were no 1st pass roughs, just the clean rough.

Water Colour Sketches

2011-10-24T09:20:00.000-07:00

A couple of colour studies with water colour.

Stella and Sam Colour Keys from first season

2011-10-11T04:44:00.000-07:00

Using Photoshop as my primary tool to paint these keys, I had scanned in water coloured textures, to help match the books by creator Marie Louise Gay.

The marker sketch of an angle on the easel, was done by my daughter Madeleine.

Before Moby became a Dick

2011-09-26T09:04:00.001-07:00

Here is the piece I had submitted for the art show 'Night out at the Movies'. It was a great turn out and most of the pieces sold that night. The show runs in conjunction with the Animation Festival here in town. Pop by to see them displayed for another week.

I had the idea of showing Moby Dick, in a more serious manner. See pen sketch below.

Then I thought about what it might be like with Ahab and Moby before the 'incident'. So I had them sharing a beer together.

In the end I thought it might be wiser to just have them play a game of shuttle cock together. I mean they are sea fairing lads after all. So the sketch below was in the end the final result.

Night Out at the Movies

2011-09-15T16:48:00.000-07:00

Hey all! If your in the Ottawa area, come check out a fun event in its 2nd year in a row; hosted by the brilliant Kyle Marshall. Come enjoy some Art, drink, and rousing conversations. See poster for detail. See you there.

Shot in the Attic

2011-08-11T04:32:00.001-07:00

Early development pieces, done in pencil crayon, with digital rendering.

Brown Pelican

2011-07-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

I painted this picture a number of years ago now. I was in Florida with my wife and kids, and painted it from a picture book of Florida's Water Birds

Emmy for Toot & Puddle

2011-07-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the Location Designs I submitted for the Emmys this year. It was a great show to work on, and will be a memorable experience because of the great people I worked with . Particularly Christian Larocque, Tom Pajdhauser, Alan Stewart, and Bryan Popowich. Thanks lads.

Emmy

2011-06-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic of the Emmy I received at the Emmys in L.A. last week, for Individual Achievement in Animation. In addition Kas Aizawa, Christophe Vacher and Vincent Toyama were also recognized by the Academy, in this category. It was quite an honour, and I got to meet some cool people in the biz. My first time in L.A. and the people were great. Photo courtesy of Tomas Pajdihauser

Lino Block Print inspired using Digital

2011-06-13T05:38:00.000-07:00

Here is a little kitchen scene, using Photoshop, and a negative line inspired lino print.

Rusty Stove in Watercolours

2011-06-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

An old rusty stove done in watercolours. An original idea I know.

Water Colour Stove

2011-04-18T05:17:00.000-07:00

A water colour sketch of a rusty stove.

Colour Sketch

2011-03-30T06:37:00.000-07:00

A water colour sketch with spring colours in mind.

'Winter Tracks' Linocut

2011-03-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

Judging from the weather out there winter is on it's way out. Here is a block print inspired from my property,

Winter Tree Water Colour

2011-03-15T05:55:00.000-07:00

A simple water colour sketch, from the old sketch book.

Winter Brook Pencil Sketch

2011-02-28T11:47:00.000-08:00

A pencil sketch for this Monday morning.

Mackenzie King Estate Ruins as Linocut

2011-02-03T06:53:00.000-08:00

A linocut based on the sketch below.

Mackenzie King Estate

2011-01-27T05:19:00.000-08:00

A quick sketch of the Mackenzie King estate ruins, near Gatineau park, Quebec. I'm planning on making this a reduction print (lino cut).

Behind the MacKenzie King Estate

2010-12-17T09:12:00.001-08:00

Here is an oil painting on plywood. I don't normally paint on this kind if base, but liked the smoother effect the plywood gives.

Airport Background

2010-11-23T13:52:00.000-08:00

A digital bg of a drawing from a previous post.

Mischief City

2010-11-12T05:05:00.000-08:00

This is a development piece I did in early 2000. It was for a show called Mischief City, and we had done a ton of drawing for the early development stage. This piece is done with india ink and paper tissue with decoupage. It was originally done on a white background, but I added a water colour bg sky for this post.

A Couple of Oils

2010-11-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

The painting above is an oil on canvas, and is a subject of a lake my family and I enjoy canoe camping on, called 'Crotch Lake'; named by a guy with a scene of humor. The paintings below are oil on masonite. They are the subject of a Quebec scenery on 'Lac la Peche. The very bottom painting was done from the canoe about 6 in the morning.

Gatineau River

2010-10-21T05:12:00.000-07:00

This is a gouache painting of the Gatineau River; the colours in this area, as usual are quite spectacular.

Airport Drawing

2010-10-05T09:41:00.000-07:00

A pencil crayon drawing of an old style airport.

Bridge Over Calm water

2010-08-31T09:14:00.000-07:00

A pencil crayon drawing for this Tuesdays post.

Antony Ant Location Design

2010-07-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

Some early Location Designs for a series done back in 1993. Whew. That was a while ago. They were meant to be a clean rough and to aid board artists. All done in marker with a bit of pencil.

Landscape Marker Sketches

2010-06-21T09:37:00.000-07:00

Marker sketches done for some future landscape paintings, and or just plan compositional studies

Acrylic on Canvas

2010-06-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

A sample of work I'll be bringing to the New Art Festival. Hope to see you there.

The New Art Festival

2010-05-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

Once again, the New Art Festival will showcase a variety of artists and mediums. So come look and support the artists. I'll be at booth number 1, on the north pathway. Come by and say hello.

The Bighouse

2010-05-05T04:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a marker sketch for a location on a series called Mischief City. A water colour tex added for good measure.

Mackeral Linocut

2010-03-29T05:05:00.000-07:00

I started using a different lino product, and it seems far superior to the usual clay stuff. The lines are crisp and it's easy to work with.

Winter Sketches

2010-02-17T17:25:00.000-08:00

I did these sketches with water soluble pencil crayons. The one on top is on crescent board, and the one below is on masonite.

The Letter F

2010-02-06T05:22:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist adding another letter.

Winter Paintings

2010-01-31T19:38:00.000-08:00

The Letter B

2010-01-20T16:58:00.000-08:00

A page out of a children's alphabet book I'm currently working on.

Jimmy Two Shoes

2010-01-05T05:38:00.001-08:00

Pencil crayon sketches based on a traffic jam in hell. Top drawing I used a little Photoshop action. I like the use of pencil crayon because you can be really loose and still get a somewhat accurate view of what you want to convey.

As you can tell by the date these were early development on first season.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-10T05:50:00.000-08:00

I know it's not Christmas yet, but was inspired by all the snow at this end of the world. Here's a little Photoshop number as if you couldn't tell.

Water Colour Thumb

2009-12-03T06:28:00.001-08:00

A water colour thumbnail sketch. With a little pencil crayon for good measure.

Pencil Crayon Sketches

2009-11-24T06:10:00.000-08:00

Some pencil crayon sketches. I'll probably turn some of these into block prints or paintings.

Toot & Puddle abroad

2009-11-01T09:43:00.000-08:00

More sketches from the series Toot and Puddle.

Development

2009-10-13T05:57:00.000-07:00

Some early development here. The top piece is a xerox of a drawing, rendered with india ink, and the bottom is coloured with ink as well. Although the colour choice is not singing; I liked the effect the ink had with the cresent board

Water Coloured Squashes

2009-10-05T05:15:00.000-07:00

This is my wife's favorite time of year for cooking. I grabbed a couple of her squashes and a pear for good measure, and painted them all in water colours.

Digital Sketch

2009-09-30T14:07:00.000-07:00

A sketch done in Photoshop, for a show I worked on called 'Gerald McBoing Boing'; 1st season.

Toot & Puddle Marker Sketches

2009-09-10T04:11:00.000-07:00

If you can believe it, Toot & Puddle actually went to Nunavut. Here are some of the locals they got to visit. I used markers for these but also added a little water soluble pencil crayons.

King Weirdo early development

2009-08-28T05:18:00.000-07:00

I did some early location development on a show called 'King'. It was originally called 'King Weirdo' and the name was changed to King. I guess the later was to much of a mouthfull.

East Lake Oil Paintings

2009-08-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

I was away on vacation at a cottage on East Lake for a week, south of Algonquin Park. We had spectacular weather. I managed to do a few plain air style paintings as well as a couple of more graphic ones.

Anthony Ant

2009-07-24T05:44:00.000-07:00

Here is a throw back. I did this development marker sketch for a show called 'Anthony Ant' back in 93'. Ouch, that's 16 years ago.

Insulation Prints Continued

2009-07-13T04:44:00.000-07:00

I was trying out more insulation prints this weekend. The blocks themselves were about 6 X 8 inches, roughly.
An old fish fossil?

Insulation Print

2009-07-09T05:04:00.000-07:00

I made this print with a series of insulation pieces. I used acrylic paint on regular print paper.

Wallspace

2009-06-30T05:42:00.000-07:00

If your in the area pop by. would love to see you. Invite your rich art loving friends.

Start to Finish

2009-06-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

I took this video of an oil painting on masonite, I did last night in the shed. It's not the best quality, but you get the idea.

Rainbow Fish Development

2009-06-10T17:34:00.000-07:00

Marker sketches done for early development on a series back a number of years now.

The New Art Festival

2009-06-03T10:17:00.001-07:00

If you happen to be in the fine city of Ottawa; Canadas capital, do your soul a favour and come look at great art. Did I mention I'd be there too. I'm at site 8 on the north pathway. Check out the map below.

New Work

2009-05-28T03:32:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to my buddy Kyle Marshall. It has been a spell, and I've actually been distracted by a couple of art shows coming up soon. I've been trying to paint every night after work. Here are some samples of oil paintings for those shows.

Mischief City Early Concept Designs

2009-04-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

Marker and pencil sketches for early development and preliminary design.

Rough Waters, with rough pencil sketches

2009-04-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

More thumbnail sketches of tanker done with pencil and imported texture.

Pier Thumbnail Sketches

2009-04-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

These are some thumbnail sketches of Piers. Not sure what brought this on.

Wine Labels

2009-04-06T09:20:00.000-07:00

A friend had given me the idea to create wine labels; using some of my paintings. Of course the intent was to go to the actual vineyard and paint plein air style. For these examples I just used some out door paintings (not wine related). In the end the result was my paintings are a little too big on the label. The vineyards name probably should be more prominent. The names and info on the labels are bogus of course. They were used as sizing examples , and font type only.

Landscape Compositions

2009-03-27T06:36:00.001-07:00

These thumbnails were done in prismacolour. They are a little small but still read somewhat.

Toot & Puddle in Colour

2009-03-24T05:33:00.000-07:00

It seems unfair not to show you the finished colour versions of these bg's, based on last two posts. These paintings; done in Photoshop, were created by the masterful Teo Kiriakov, a friend and colleague. You must do yourself a favor and visit his blog to enjoy some of his other great works. For now, enjoy Paris. (psst, until I figure out how to link his name, please go to the link column and click on Teo's name)

Toot & Puddle in Paris

2009-03-17T06:22:00.000-07:00

These are the finished Production or Location Designs based on sketches from last post.

Toot and Puddle

2009-03-11T17:04:00.000-07:00

These marker sketches were the first sketches of the first episode of Toot & Puddle. If you haven't seen the series yet, check it out on National Geographic Kids and Tree House.

The drawings themselves are rather small; judging from the date stamp above, you'll see what I mean.

Undergrads

2009-03-11T07:15:00.000-07:00

Marker sketches with a little air brush on the top one. No Photoshop used then.

Kratt Brothers Demo Sketches

2009-03-07T13:46:00.000-08:00

These marker thumbnail sketches were done around January of 2006.

Iceberg Sketches

2009-03-05T06:52:00.000-08:00

Icebergs for no apparent reason. Sketches done with pencil crayon.

Darth Vader

2009-03-03T05:49:00.000-08:00

I just had to share this drawing with you. My 6 year old son drew it. When I told him how much I liked it, he said he wasn't satisfied with the result. He said he should have added the cape. But I love the gesture and the weight of the pose, as well as the casual light saber over the shoulder. Enjoy.

Concept Art

2009-03-01T06:55:00.000-08:00

Not every idea gets past the development stage. I had fun however working on these thumbnail marker sketches. I used Photoshop to colour.

Marker Sketches

2009-02-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

All of these sketches were done with an idea in mind. They are all relatively small; just over a business card size. A couple of them I have added some pencil crayon. Photoshop work will be apparent on a couple of them, including the sky in the sketch above.

Pencil Crayon Thumbs

2009-02-13T14:46:00.000-08:00

These are some pencil crayon sketches.

From Sketch to Finished Painting

2009-02-09T14:23:00.000-08:00

All of these paintings were done in acrylic. I work mainly in oils now. It's interesting to see how much more vibrant they are than my oils though.

For me sometimes it's all in the rough sketch. The composition and a little tonal sketch are all that is required.

Gerald McBoing Boing

2009-02-07T07:13:00.000-08:00

Some early development on the television series Gerald McBoing Boing.

"Molly Jean" development

2009-01-25T10:55:00.000-08:00

These images are done mostly with Photoshop. Just playing around with graphic shapes. The written text in the clouds is french incidentally.

The character design was done by Phil Postma, and you can take a look at more of his designs on his blog. See right hand column.

Production Design on WILBUR

2009-01-15T16:56:00.000-08:00

These location designs were done with pencil on velum paper; imported into Photoshop, coloured and some texturing applied.

Happy Fish

2009-01-09T05:50:00.000-08:00

Fish done with marker and Photoshop texturing.

A Whale of a tale

2009-01-07T17:25:00.000-08:00

A little Photoshop and watercolor background

Lets get Digital

2009-01-05T16:53:00.000-08:00

Some random images done with Photoshop.

The Big House

2008-12-18T18:51:00.000-08:00

A marker sketch with a Photoshop water colour texture.

Christmas Cards Linocuts 2

2008-12-11T07:34:00.001-08:00

Some more Linocuts and sketch. Cuts were around 4x5 inches

Christmas Card Linocuts

2008-11-30T12:42:00.000-08:00

After a couple of pencil sketches, I choose this one above, for a linocut print.

The unused pencil sketches.

Christmas?

2008-11-26T16:13:00.000-08:00

All this snow got me in the mood.

Jimmy Two Shoes

2008-11-24T17:55:00.000-08:00

These are some Colour Keys done for the series 'Jimmy Two Shoes". The line art was provided by Josh Gay.

Gouache Study

2008-11-16T17:55:00.000-08:00

This is a gouache study, done on cresent board around 8''x7''

Jimmy Two Shoes

2008-11-12T06:02:00.000-08:00

Here are some early development pieces from Jimmy Two Shoes. They were a lot of fun to do. A little combo of drawing and Photoshop.

pssst,...crocodile rug provided by the infamous Phil Postma.

Yukon Stories

2008-11-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

These backgrounds were done for a series based on stories of the Yukon. This particular set was from the story, 'Sam McGee'

Iggy Arbuckle

2008-11-03T12:08:00.000-08:00

These are all digital sketches, done with Photoshop. They are all from early development, and were meant to be used for the Iggy demo.

Pencil Drawings

2008-10-30T17:54:00.000-07:00

This was a development piece from a show called 12 Swans- I think.

From a show called 'King Weirdo'.

some sketches from the Rockies-from photo reference.

Blue Plein Air

2008-10-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

Some plein air paintings done this fall, on Lac le Piech, Quebec. All are oil on masonite.

It's a Jungle out there.

2008-10-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

More marker sketches, and a couple of ballpoint pen drawings as well.

Marker Sketches

2008-10-15T06:12:00.000-07:00

Here are marker sketches for director approval, before finished Location Design.

End Credits

2008-10-09T05:16:00.001-07:00

A long time ago my brother and I came up with an idea for a short, but as these things go, it became somewhat ambitious and died after a period of time. But we had a lot of fun drawing and coming up with scenarios. This is an acrylic and gouache painting on water colour paper.

It was to be the end page and the credits would roll over it. For fun I added 'The End'.

Space Ships 01

2008-10-07T17:40:00.000-07:00

More development bg paintings.

Top painting is gouache and pencil crayon on crescent board, and the bottom is an acrylic painting on board.

An old development piece

2008-10-05T11:31:00.000-07:00

gouache on paper

Deputy Diaper 02

2008-09-29T07:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some more Deputy Bg designs.