“I’m Trying to Study” – Oils on Clayboard – March 2012 – Josh West This one could have several appropriate titles, some of which would better reflect the true inspiration for this image, and others that might be more humorous though a bit more sarcastic than is strictly necessary.  We’ll stick with “I’m Trying [Continue Reading...]

“Thorn Sigil” – Acrylics on Clayboard – Josh West Well this is a prickly one to describe.  It started out as an experimental piece, working with acrylics on Clayboard which I wasn’t sure would make a good surface for acrylics.  Between this painting and Red Dragon, which employed the same approach, I’d say it works [Continue Reading...]

  A Path to Nowhere – By Josh West – 2012 Oils on Masonite Panel Some details that may be difficult to make out are the roses on the bench, two of them, shedding petals that are then turning into small rivulets of blood trickling down the hillside.  The writing on the letter being held [Continue Reading...]

Strange ideas and bizarre fragments of peculiar images are always swirling around in an artist’s head and the constant struggle is to pick out the worthwhile pieces and arrange them into something of a lasting creation .  It can seem like noise to me sometimes, random bits and colors that will never coalesce into anything anyone else would ever want to see.  I wonder if everyone actually has this channel playing in their mind actually, broadcast around the world and picked up by every sub-conscious receiver but only the artists are able to translate the garbled and chaotic streams of data into something the conscious world can use and appreciate.  Sounds better than saying all of us artists are just plain weird.

That process of translating the noise and chaos into a finished piece of art is of course what an artist does, whether that end product is a painting, a song, a symphony, a poem, or an interpretive dance.  My creations are of the visual variety, mostly the single static image type.  For me, the process usually begins with a sketch.  A bunch of quick, rough pencil strokes that start to block in the general concept.  From there I generally overlay more and more detail in the areas where I need to better define what I’m ultimately after, while leaving the more routine pieces mostly unfinished or just lightly implied.

The thing is, sometimes the sketch still ends up being the best representation of the original idea.  That first half-blind attempt to de-scramble the noise is perhaps the closest realization of what was the original source of inspiration.  From there the conscious mind completely takes over and all kinds of other sources of influence start to shape and direct the image, whether I am aware of it or not, willing to admit it or not.

So, perhaps I should post more sketches on my new timeline project, but not as a way of showing you the “behind the scenes” creative process of putting together the final image, but as works that stand on their own.  And on that note:

The Pursuit

This will definitely be the subject of a painting at some point, but for now I love the concept as it is.  It’s a little hard to tell but he’s walking off a cliff…

SS Coffeebreak in Trouble

I’m not sure if I will be putting more comics up here or not, but this image could be part of the next one.  This exactly the sort of image that comes to me while I’m sitting in my cube at work, for some reason.

Passing By

This one is more of a true concept sketch since I actually wrote things like “taller” and “too short” (with respect to her right leg), so perhaps this one is more of a preview of the next painting I’m working on.  Though like all of my projects the final piece probably won’t quite match the original concept, but I think this one will still feature these two characters.

-Josh