#wings strings
“El Vaquero Mullido”
A portrait painting for @seinfeldt of his character in Mexican attire.
Formal character portraits like these are my specialty, so whether human, anthro, or just a regular ol’ critter, if you have a character that you would like to have painted in this style, order yours today!
More info available at wings-and-strings.tumblr.com/commissions; Inquiries can be sent to [email protected]
–Wings & Strings
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![“The Intermission, Part II” [Click Here for Part I]The next installment in my series of StarFox 2 pa](https://64.media.tumblr.com/5667dbe0e1bda20aaca2c60f90d82c0c/tumblr_ost2vddYvZ1snwht4o2_r2_1280.png "“The Intermission, Part II” [Click Here for Part I]The next installment in my series of StarFox 2 pa")
![“The Intermission, Part II” [Click Here for Part I]The next installment in my series of StarFox 2 pa](https://64.media.tumblr.com/cc5e66663f57e74b1887b1cddc770e31/tumblr_ost2vddYvZ1snwht4o3_r2_1280.png "“The Intermission, Part II” [Click Here for Part I]The next installment in my series of StarFox 2 pa")
![“The Intermission, Part II” [Click Here for Part I]The next installment in my series of StarFox 2 pa](https://64.media.tumblr.com/2ae2c86865ec2f8b00de467238559726/tumblr_ost2vddYvZ1snwht4o1_r2_1280.png "“The Intermission, Part II” [Click Here for Part I]The next installment in my series of StarFox 2 pa")
“The Intermission, Part II” [Click Here for Part I]
The next installment in my series of StarFox 2 paintings, highlighting the unsung tasks and interactions with their assortment of technology between flights. Continuing the theme of arwing maintenance, Fay Spaniel channels the spirit of Rosie the Riveter, fearlessly coercing the white-hot metal into shape. While the arwings may have left the factory as state-of-the-art technology, this team of mercenary pilots in the depths of space has to scrounge up whatever they can find to keep their ships going. Sometimes the old tech is all that’s available, but often it gets the job done just as well.
If you would like to order a painting in this style, I am currently open for commissions of portraiture, landscapes, critters, and industrial tech! More info available at wings-and-strings.tumblr.com/commissions; Inquiries can be sent to [email protected]
–Wings & Strings
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“The Intermission, Part I”
It’s extremely surprising to see Star Fox 2 finally get an official release over a decade after the game was scrapped, so here’s my first in a series of SF2-themed paintings to celebrate. Miyu Lynx, a new recruit, toils away in the small hours during a scheduled overhaul between missions. Like any machine, an arwing would demand regular maintenance to keep it operating reliably, and skilled paws are at the ready to rebuild them better than new. EDIT: Fixed her boots slightly.
If you would like to order a painting in this style, I am currently open for commissions of portraiture, landscapes, critters, and industrial tech! More info available at wings-and-strings.tumblr.com/commissions; Inquiries can be sent to [email protected]
–Wings & Strings
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“The Slim Princess”
After ten long days and 60 hours of work, I’ve finished this painting for a very special occasion. @thesunsetempire and I will be heading out on July 3rd to see this locomotive, Southern Pacific No. 18, steam up for the first time in over 60 years. I will be presenting this painting to the team of Carson & Colorado Railway volunteers who restored this relic at the Eastern California Museum in Independence, CA, right in the heart of the Owens Valley where these little giants toiled in the scorching sun for half a century.
If you would like to order a painting in this style, I am currently open for commissions of portraiture, landscapes, critters, and industrial tech! Inquiries can be sent to [email protected]
–Wings & Strings
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Another work-in-progress of the next painting. As aforementioned, I am planning a road trip with @thesunsetempire to Independence, CA, for the first public steamup of Southern Pacific’s No. 18, the only one of the three surviving SP narrow gauge steam locomotives to be restored to operation. I’ll be presenting this piece to the Carson & Colorado Railway’s museum once it’s finished. More updates to follow…
–Wings & Strings
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“Harford Wharf - Unfinished”
Just a quick little painting study that I never got around to completing, but I decided to post it in its unfinished state. I really ought to work more with lighter, softer color palettes to give some tonal variety to my work.
–Wings & Strings
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“Nigel Gresley’s Flying Circus”
EXCLUSIVE FUNDRAISER ART PRINT AVAILABLE!
I’m excited to say that I’ve been coordinating with Chris Eden-Green, producer of the railway video series “Steam Locos in Profile,” to create this commissioned painting, combining iconography of Sir Nigel Gresley’s famous streamlined locomotives and a subtle nod to Monty Python’s title cards.
Chris aims to travel with a small film unit to Germany to film special content for Season 3′s DVD release. Anyone who donates £20 or more to http://www.e-gmedia.co.uk/slipsingermany will receive an exclusive A4-sized print of this painting, signed by the SLIPs crew. Even if you cannot afford the print, I encourage viewers of the show and other steam enthusiasts to donate smaller amounts if they can, as even a one-quid donation will get Chris and his film unit a bit closer to their £3,000 goal.
–Wings & Strings
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Tried my hand at some 3D modeling this week to explore the possibility of making 3D drawing references for my dragon critters. I’ve never used a 3D program before Tuesday and my first attempt was pretty rough, so here’s my second completed model of Gen, a grumpy goaty gal.
Modeled in Sculptris and then exported to Zbrush for painting directly on the model, no bump maps or textures used because I don’t know how those work yet.
–W&S
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“Passersby”
The last piece of this painting batch, a somewhat looser painting style with more vivid colors. A traveler in a ‘55 Ford Fairlane dips under the mainline as the Santa Fe Super Chief storms through the Arizona desert with a steam helper in its final year of service, a fleeting encounter bookended by miles of sagebrush and solitude.
With all scheduled commissions finished, I’ll be taking a brief hiatus to work on portfolio pieces and personal projects; I plan on re-opening for a transportation-themed commission batch at some point in May, open to commissions with a railroad, aviation, automotive, or nautical theme, followed by a couple of standard commission batches in the summer. Stay tuned for updates!
–Wings & Strings
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“A Space Pawdyssey” - Commission
Another commission painting from this batch, for twitter.com/spacepawdyssey’s paperback edition of their webcomic. The painting’s a very blatant spoof of posters for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey of course.
Commissions are still closed as of 4/24/2018 but I’ll be re-opening soon, so be sure to check back or follow along for updates and more art!
–Wings & Strings
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A special commission from this batch, an event poster for one of FoxTrotClub’s upcoming shindigs in Denver! I returned to my JC Leyendecker-inspired painting style for this set, featuring @seinfeldt‘s tigress character on an old Gibson 3-point mandolin.
Dates are still tentative and may change by a week or two; for the most up-to-date information, please visit https://twitter.com/FoxTrotClub if you’d like to attend.
–Wings & Strings
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“A Drink at Dawn” - Commission
One of the commission pieces from this batch, an anachronistic mash-up of prehistoric, turn of the century, and retro-futurist ideas, loosely inspired by James Gurney’s Dinotopia series. A friend had given me his book on color & light for realistic painting, so it was fun to get the chance to paint some dinos soon after.
Commissions are closed as 4/24/18 but I’ll be re-opening soon, so be sure to check back or follow along for more updates and art!
–Wings & Strings
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“A Las Tiendas”
A newly-finished painting of engine #67 of the Ferrocarril Interoceánico de México, drifting somewhere through the streets of the Mexican capital in the late 1960s. This narrow gauged steam locomotive is now on static display at the Monument to the Revolution. This piece was done as a painting study of a period photo taken of the engine while it was still in service on the NdeM which had absorbed the FCI by this point.
Still closed for commissions but I’ll let you know when I’ve re-opened for my winter sale!
More info available at wings-and-strings.tumblr.com/commissions;
Inquiries can be sent to [email protected]
–Wings & Strings
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“Rainhill Triumph.” (Commission)
First painting of the new year, a 30-hour piece for https://www.furaffinity.net/user/ddoc13/ of their dog character on the footplate of Stephenson’s Rocket. In 1829, the Liverpool & Manchester Railway hosted the famous Rainhill Trials in search of an improved steam engine design, where the Rocket met all requirements with flying colors. One of my earliest memories is of doodling this locomotive on a restaurant napkin as a child, and now, twenty-something years later, I’m painting it as a freelance artist.
As of 1/3/18, I am still currently closed for commissions so that I can work through my queue, but I will be re-opening shortly for my winter holiday sale, so be sure to follow along or check back often for updates! Critters, portraits, machines & more will be available.
More info available at wings-and-strings.tumblr.com/commissions;
Inquiries can be sent to [email protected]
–Wings & Strings
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Some selected works from the past 12 months. 2017 was a raging dumpster fire of idiocy & fascism, but hopefully I made some decent art while the world went to shit… except in August. August was exceptionally shit.
Commissions will be re-opening soon for my winter holiday sale, so keep an eye out for that if you’ve wanted a commission piece but could benefit from the discount. But before that I’ll be holding a small portrait raffle on Twitter in the coming days, so if you have an account there, I’ll post a link for Tumblr users to participate.
–Wings & Strings
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‘Warring on Paper” (Commission)
If you’re wondering where I disappeared to in the last couple of weeks, I’ve been working on this painting commission between several wildfires. It depicts a fictitious naval battle in the early 1800s between the USS Ohio, HMS Prussianti, HMS Duke of Kent, and La Vestale. The Duke of Kent and the Prussianti–listed as an unnamed 160-gun ship of the line–were drafted by the British navy but never built, so for this painting I had the interesting task of studying both the drawings and other contemporary ships of the line to flesh out their details. The client was especially helpful in providing the plans, models, diagrams, and other historical information to help this painting take shape.
As of 12/19/17 I am still currently closed for commissions so that I can work through my queue, so follow or check back often to find out when I will reopen for a new commission batch! Critters, portraits, machines & more will be available.
More info available at wings-and-strings.tumblr.com/commissions;
Inquiries can be sent to [email protected]
–Wings & Strings
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“Playing to Lose” - Commission
A piece painted for https://www.furaffinity.net/user/darkriderx/ of their wolf character, an ex-train robber and blackjack gambler who outlived the wild west as little more than a rumor and a name. In the distance, an ex-Rio Grande Southern C-19 steam locomotive enjoys a more comfortable retirement.
As of 11/8/17 I am currently closed for commissions so that I can work through my queue, so follow or check back often to find out when I will reopen for a new commission batch! Critters, portraits, machines & more will be available.
More info available at wings-and-strings.tumblr.com/commissions;
Inquiries can be sent to [email protected]
–Wings & Strings
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“Bubsy the Bobcat, 1944″
Do I even need to explain this one? Wolfenstein & Bubsy have new games coming out this week so I painted Bubsy beating the living daylights out of some Nazis. Enjoy!
If you would like to order a painting in this style, I am currently open for commissions of portraiture, landscapes, critters, and industrial tech!
More info available at wings-and-strings.tumblr.com/commissions;
Inquiries can be sent to [email protected]
–Wings & Strings
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“Appalachian Autumn” - Commission
Just completed this 10-hour painting of a bull moose and yellow-winged warbler basking in the sun of a crisp fall morning. I’ve been on a bit of a rim-lighting binge ever since I started doing light & value studies more regularly.
If you would like to order a painting in this style, I am currently open for commissions of portraiture, landscapes, critters, and industrial tech!
More info available at wings-and-strings.tumblr.com/commissions;
Inquiries can be sent to [email protected]
–Wings & Strings
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“Cutting Edge Travel.”
Birthday painting for @thesunsetempire depicting them as an otter, based on a photo I took during our July 4th trip to the Nevada State Railroad Museum. The knife-edge nose, brass porthole windows, and art-noveau vector art of this McKeen Motor Car provided a regal experience for passengers, though the finicky and unreliable mechanical setup doomed the McKeens to an early scrapping, their duties passed pack to more conventional passenger trains hauled by steam locomotives within a few years.
If you would like to order a painting in this style, I am currently open for commissions of portraiture, landscapes, critters, and industrial tech!
More info available at wings-and-strings.tumblr.com/commissions;
Inquiries can be sent to [email protected]
–Wings & Strings
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“Black Shiba Inu” - Leyendecker Study
Another painting study to shake things up, this time I actually managed to create something that looks similar to the Leyendecker style. Enjoy a dapper black shibe in a heckin paint.
If you would like to order a painting in this style or in my usual Rembrandt-esque style, I am currently open for commissions of portraiture, landscapes, critters, and industrial tech!
More info available at wings-and-strings.tumblr.com/commissions;
Inquiries can be sent to [email protected]
–Wings & Strings
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“Wolves of Walhalla” (Commission)
Newly-finished painting for http://www.furaffinity.net/user/gothwolfie/ of their wolf character at work on the Walhalla Goldfield Railway in Victoria, Australia.The exported Baldwin steam locomotive is of the NA Class, a type which has become synonymous with the Puffing Billy Railway and other Australian narrow gauge lines.
If you would like to order a painting in this style, I am currently open for commissions of portraiture, landscapes, critters, and industrial tech!
More info available at wings-and-strings.tumblr.com/commissions;
Inquiries can be sent to [email protected]
–Wings & Strings
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