Webisode 3: Imagining a Composition

I decided to take a little break from technical issues in this webisode and focus more on my creative process. This is perhaps my favorite part of painting: when I daydream about new narratives and sketch various compositional ideas. Actually making paintings becomes very difficult and arduous; therefore, I think it's healthy to have these less regimented and more carefree periods wherein you can be most creative and focus on the content, mood and effect you want your paintings to have. Also, I'd like to mention that, while the music in this webisode may be a bit over-dramatic, it actually was what I listened to while planning a number of my whaling paintings and therefore influenced the tone of the series.
Those of you who are interested in more technical topics need not worry as Webisode 4 (coming later this month) will be back to business as usual.
Also, you might notice a new "donate" button on the side margin. There is absolutely no pressure to ever donate anything but if you feel so compelled, I would greatly appreciate it. There are some production costs to this series and I have plans to expand it this year.
Hope you all enjoy!
Scott

Anatomy Books

Happy New Year Everyone!
I'm back from my holiday vacation and beginning work on a couple of new webisodes for January. In the meantime, I thought I'd answer another question I've received by email. A number of people were curious which anatomy books I was referring to in Webisode 1, Part 2. They were "Artistic Anatomy" by Dr. Paul Richer and "Human Anatomy for Artists" by Eliot Goldfinger. While I do refer to other anatomy books, these two are what I rely on most often. Goldfinger's book is most valuable to me as an encyclopedia of anatomy. If I want to identify something quickly I always turn there first. Richer's book is where I look when I want to see the various anatomic components beautifully integrated in the French Academic tradition. Richer's plates are all beautiful and inspiring. Together, these books answer most of my anatomy questions.

Please note: I've installed links to these books through the Amazon associates program. For those of you who don't know, this means that if you link through my blog to purchase these books (or anything else at Amazon), a small percentage of the sale comes to me (at no additional cost to you). I felt a little weird just sneaking this in the blog so I wanted to be upfront about it. If you have an interest in supporting this blog and the webisodes this would be an easy, free way to do it (that is, if you were going to buy stuff at Amazon anyway). If not, that's totally fine--the webisodes will stay free because...well...I enjoy making them so much!

Take Care,
Scott