More Armored Bees

"Armored Bees Need Walking Too"
These faster paint/drawings are different kind of fun than my more intense paintings. This is a commission 11x14 inches on paper. I love what I do.

NY Photos

 Check out a few more photos from my NYC trip on my FB page:
MY PAGE

Images for Foibled Online Now

The show at AFANYC is now online. Come and check out the work. I am here in the city and will be thinking about you.

Images Online for my show "Foibled"

Little Drawings

Been doing these little drawing over on FB. Look kind of cool all together.

Catwoman

"Milk Bath"
I think we'll call this finished. You know these superhero commissions can be really fun. I think we need some comic book covers from Bill Carman.

Foibled

Opening December 14 is an invitation only affair. Pretty swanky. Hope some of you can make it to the show.

Nearly Ready for my Soho Show

"Shared Eyewear"
I finally have to stop on this painting. This is one of those pieces that has put me back on a good path. Varnishing packing and hipping is in my future. Maybe one more painting for the show too.

Class Demo

OK, OK, OK, I have to honor the halloween. This is demo for my illustration class. If my wife's mini wiener dog wore a mask this is what it would be. He told me. Plus I wanted to remind digital speed painters that we traditional people can speed it too.

More Fuzzy Things

A few things to clean up yet (claw coming out of the rat's ass) but we'll call it done enough to post here. Last fuzzy bear for a little while.
"There's a Bird in My Hole;There's a Hole in My Bird"

Fuzzy Things

This bodes well for more Fuzzy Bear things on copper
"Sudden Narbomb Burst"

Fuzzy Bear Thing

I was just scanning some sketchbook stuff to post and saw the little bear sketch (see red arrow) and thought, 'It's time for more fuzzy bear thing pieces.' (See attached drawing) So I do believe that I will do at least one fuzzy bear thing piece for my December show. Agreed?

Sorry Again for the Wait

Sorry for the wait. Too many paintings to do and I can't seem to keep track of my posting and social media stuff. 12x16 inches acrylic/oil on panel for my NYC show.

"Stunted"

Mood Sketching

I apologize for the sparse posting as of late. Life is bloodying the nose again. Maybe my mood shows up in the sketchbook. I'll try to post again before I go out of town nest week. Try.

It's amazing how these little textural improvisations recharge the ole batteries. These are the last two for now. As I was doing the second I couldn't help but remember Lovecraft's birthday. Yesterday or the day before. I can't remember the last time I did an actual monster monster. You know kind of scary not funny or caricatured. Now back to some larger paintings.

Little Experiment

A little experimentation. Trying a mix of things. Recognize the inspiration for this?

New Painting for those who want to know how to become famous without doing anything cool

"Teeter Toter" or If you want to be famous have a good publicist and show some teet. I finally just had to stop with this piece too. I'm trying to keep things a little looser in places. Let my fingerprints show a little more. Anyway I could keep noodling on this painting forever like many of my pieces. But I want to start something new.

INTERVIEW

Check this out. These guys are great interviewers and take things in unexpected directions. The problem with doing recorded interviews it that there always seems to be places where I should have said something more or better, Oh well.

SideBar Nation Interview

Dehydration

I'm kind of proud of myself for stopping on this painting. I was tightening and adding then just stopped. Love the feeling and potential narrative.
"Dehydration"

New Myth

I won't tell the story now but uncovering this here to for unknown myth was a proud moment for me.  Meet Fredusa, Medusa's little know brother.

Harmonious Commission

Latest commission:  "Canine Beat"

New Puzzle

http://www.artifactpuzzles.com/Bill-Carman-Golden-Whistle-Wooden-Jigsaw/M/B00ASI5YYG.htm

The Golden Whistle Jousting Hippo piece is now available as a high-end jigsaw puzzle. These people really do it right, right down to the packaging.

Spontaneous is Good

Spontaneous little wonders are good.

"Bee Prepared"

Little Commissions

These little spontaneous drawings keep the juices flowing and the motor running.

"They carry the Past, Present, and Future"

Play Date

If I couldn't have these little play dates with myself, like this one on clayboard, I wouldn't make art.

"If I were to choose a Hat it would be a Top Hat"

New Piece on Copper

This painting reminded me of my love for copper. Once in awhile I do something that works out pretty well.

"Family Ties"

Quick Piece

Just posting a quick piece on clayboard. Fun surface to work with.

"Disguised Albino Pigs have little or no Tusk control and also make a good Snack"

Flight

A Sketch with some color.

End of an Epic Journey

This was an epic and incredible journey. The painting took me to many different places and finally I just had to get off the ship. But it turned out pretty cool. I've included some process shots just for kicks.

"Birth and Bell"

Spectrum Fantastic Art Live Travel

My 4x4 business kind of cards, front and back. I made these for the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 conference coming up next week in Kansas City. This is something I have been looking forward to for a long time especially since I had to miss the inaugural event last year. I will be mostly meeting people and painting and having fun. I'll bring back a report and maybe entice some of you to come meet me there next year.But there's still time to consider a spontaneous trip this year.

The first part of next week will be spent in Portland jurying a student show and presenting. So it will be a busy week. Not sure how much posting I'll have time for.

Spectrum Live Site
Spectrum Live FaceBook

How about some jewelry?

Here is my latest. 3x3 on copper. it's done diagonally because the client will make a necklace out of it. This is a first and I'm excited to see how it goes.

"Great Vision"

Microvisions Bidding

Done.


Microvisions ebay auction

Microvisions Info

Carman Relief

Latest Carman relief piece. And now it's in the home of a friend.
"Exits Red and Flows Gold"

Show Closing and NPR Interview

"Well, It was on Fire"
My show at Brumfield Galleries in Hyde park here closes on Sunday April 28. This painting along with other pieces are still available.

http://www.brumfieldllc.com/

And check out my interview at Boise Public Radio/NPR.

http://boisestatepublicradio.org/post/idaho-artist-bill-carmans-paintings-create-flights-fancy

PRINTS

More and more I have been getting requests for prints or posters. I haven't done them because they are, quite honestly, more trouble than they are worth. But because of the steady requests I will run an experiment one more time, I did something similar once and it didn't work out too well.

I will offer the image posted below, "18" with the provenance of having been use as the call for entry posters for Spectrum 18, for a couple of days. It is 16" x 20" printed really beautifully on heavy stock with a satin finish. There is Spectrum info across the top which can be easily trimmed or kept. I will sign it, though that might devalue the poster, and ship it in a tube for the purchase price of $20. (International people will need to pay a little more for shipping). If this works out, say 20-30 sales, then we can maybe offer the first ten images asked for by you all for prints on a limited basis.

Again this is an experiment to re-convince me that prints are a viable direction in the future. Please email me at: bcarman@boisestate.edu to cement the deal.

15 in 15

The illustrators over at Drawger.com are doing this exercise called 15 in 15 minutes. 15 artists that have shaped your visual thinking. Here are the rules that Yuko Shimizu has set up: "The Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen Artists who've influenced you and that will ALWAYS STICK WITH YOU. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes." 

I believe this is a great challenge that every artist should go through so I took a few minutes to gather my 15, very difficult because there seem to be so many.

Unknown: My mother had several of these beautiful Korean dolls around the house. I had wonderful nightmares about them coming to life and chasing me around the house with knives when mom was gone. She was the only person who could stop the dolls.
Arthur Szyck: These book covers have stuck with me since I was a child. I only recently learned the illustrators name and have enjoyed looking at an expanded view of his work.


James "Flournoy" Holmes: The Allman Brothers' album "Eat a Peach" and album artwork, inside and out, had a profound effect on me when I was young.


Roger Dean: And of course other albums and album artists further fueled the fire.


Wayne Anderson: The first children's book I ever bought was "The Magic Circus". Wayne Anderson's work is still influencing me to this day.

Frank Frazetta: Not many young artists went unaffected by Frazetta. I might have been affected more by his ink work than his paintings.


Brian Froud: When I stumbled upon the work of Froud a whole new world was opened to me. And although I didn't discover his work until much later Froud opened the incredible door to Arthur Rackham's universe.

Jan van Eyck: When I first opened an art history book "The Ghent Altarpiece" was burned into my psyche. I have a bucket list goal to see it in person.

Rogier van der Weyden: Then when I finally left the house and visited a museum I marveled, yes I said marveled, at this tiny "St. George and the Dragon". I couldn't believe that someone could paint that beautifully so small.

Jan Vermeer: I had my first physical experience with art in front of three nearly perfect Vermeer's hanging in the National Gallery.

James Christensen: My teacher and mentor was the person who most influenced and affected my career as an artist. It's his fault so stop blaming me.

Brad Holland: As James and others started opening my eyes to the world of illustration huge influences started piling on.

Alan Cober: One of the most intuitive and sensitive illustrators ever.

Ian Miller: When I first discovered Ian's work I was in junior college. It just blew me away. His work is every bit as influential to me today and continues to blow me away.

I'm cheating a bit on this last group. These are a few artists I discovered in school whose compositional cues I wish I had the courage to follow. I couldn't choose just one.
Degas, Sargent, Wayne Thiebaud, Richard Diebenkorn.

Now these were profound influences up to and including my time in school. The list iswoefully incomplete but the first I could think of. I had fun doing this so at some point I'm going to put together another list of influences after school. I enjoyed this and maybe you learned a little about me.