invasion earth

[foster]

tried to revamp an old speed painting. not quite done but i am getting a little lost.

but i had fun.

painter and photoshop.

[I.was.ink]

Damn, this is nice!

I like his expression, and the flying saucers

[Wednesday]

mmm robot :]

beautiful as always

[REAU]

Jon your work is alway amazing even when your not quite done and getting a little lost I always learn something new when you post, and cool robot!

[Eyal]

thats just a lovely painting

[Loga4]

Awesom design,foster!
Great jop!

[foster]

thanks guys, this one is much more of a personal piece. not that it has any deep meaning only that it has much more of me than other illustrations.

i will come back to it and clean some things up and possibly mess other areas up. what ever makes it feel right. it's great to have that freedom "what ever feels right" other times it's what makes the art director feel right. or sometimes you impose your own strict rules as to what is right for a job even when you are given allot of latitude. that comes from trying to second guess your audience. don't do that.

jon

[MisterE]

Awsome Jon! Can't wait to see it finished.

[bwkeough]

The machine wishes he were a boy dreaming of being a robot. Lots of Fun! composition and expressions are excellent and I love the flash gordon shapes in a fresh representation.

[hawkprey]

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh!

I give up! I just cant get this quality in my stuff. crap.

Frustration.

kickass man. One of my favorites.

[endregan]

thats what i like to see. you having fun is the greatest gift to us :)!!

[Ant4d]

you have a madmans imagination.
:electric:

[foster]

Hawkprey and everyone that wrote in for that matter, I wish I could draw as you do. the thing to remember is that we all have a unique approach to what we think is interesting, pertinent or just cool. I have to fight off the desire that builds in me each time I see something that I just think is gorgeous. I automatically compare it to what I am doing and see all of my short comings. but the truth is, this thinking is a bit like comparing apple s to oranges. we are never satisfied with our lawns, girlfriends, art, we think that someone else has it better, but they just have it different. keep pushing your art in the direction of your passion, what you see it becoming when you are quiet in mind and full of energy and not influenced by something you just saw. you probably did not really need all of this but I thought it was a common condition for artists especially younger, so thought I would expand on the subject.

I am getting a little tired of straight narrative. what I would like to do is find something else, some other direction to push. I have always felt on shaky ground with graphic design, how to bridge the gap between the representative the abstract. to make pattern work with volume and form. oh well I am rambling.

thanks for checking in.

Jon

[behemot5]

i love your work..... it's unique....stay the same

[marc-pierre]

nice pic - but i just don't get what the white circle thing behind his head is supposed to be?!!?:confused:

[Aidan]

Maybe it's supposed to be, what you think it is. ;)

Foster: What I like most about this picture, is the style you managed to create.
That green-orange-contrast with that strange halo/balloon-thing over the guys head and the parallel arranged saucers in the background arbitrate the impression of a strange world. Not another planet or something...more like...another dimension...
And it looks like a mix of comic and reality, wich still intesifys the impression of it.

Pretty different to the other stuff ive seen from you.

Too bad you don't post more often..

[marc_taro]

great expression ! - seems like the kid gets the better deal out of this head swap...:)

funny, how you say your moving away from narrative, but this has such a great open-ended storytelling quality....is it really more like some of the narrative work a guy gets paid to do is just too thin to be satisfying...??

I figure, a guy oughta be MORE narrative - but take control over that - not illustrate, but author!

anyway I dissemble......keep em coming - it's a pleasure to see your juicy painting!

-m

[foster]

Hey Mark, you at work? I hear you guys are in a crush.

Have you had time to do some things for yourself? Your elf concept work was awesome by the way. You did not need to go out side for sources after all.

Now that you mention it you are right about the narrative qualities of this piece. Perhaps I need to just push how I want to tell a story or how much of the story I want to tell. But I want to inject contrasting abstractions or symbolism into to pieces. Not be confined to a representational world. Tomorrow I will probably want to paint just like Norman Rockwell so ignore all this rambling.

I still owe you a lunch, I hope to come up and visit soon.

Jon

[Lung_bug]

hey, i remember this one. interesting push. "great open-ended storytelling quality" is exactly what i thought too. always enjoy when i need to think a bit, not just say "um, pretty." ;)

nice to see more of you around lately

[liquidwerx]

Beautiful work there, foster. :)

Was the old school robot design inspired by Imphead's work in any way? It seems kind of similar, but not...

Anyways, wonderful stuff, I love your brushwork.

~Malachi

[WildSpruceMoose]

This sure is cool. I am slightly confused about something, but the work is very thought provoking and emotion evoking. Great brush strokes and colours. I think your robots are incredible and this case is no different.

[Living Rope]

:realmad: :rock: that's what I call R&R baby !!!

I understand pretty well what you mean when you say you wanna find different ways to tell a story. Design is a powerful tool for it but it is also a great source of inspiration.

[Lono]

that is brilliant jon.. and horrably clever from my perspective..

its been really interesting to read your conversations about narrative.. its not something people openly address too often.
artists usually guard there directions and intentions with cloak and sword in order to keep things open ended and allow for more forgiving interpretation.
being truly effective in your storytelling is a completely different art all together... saying the most with the fewest ammount of words..

i personally find your work to be highly effective.

-Lono

[Skank]

Originally posted by foster
Hawkprey and everyone that wrote in for that matter, I wish I could draw as you do. the thing to remember is that we all have a unique approach to what we think is interesting, pertinent or just cool. I have to fight off the desire that builds in me each time I see something that I just think is gorgeous. I automatically compare it to what I am doing and see all of my short comings. but the truth is, this thinking is a bit like comparing apple s to oranges. we are never satisfied with our lawns, girlfriends, art, we think that someone else has it better, but they just have it different. keep pushing your art in the direction of your passion, what you see it becoming when you are quiet in mind and full of energy and not influenced by something you just saw. you probably did not really need all of this but I thought it was a common condition for artists especially younger, so thought I would expand on the subject.

im glad you touched on this, i struggle with this on a daily basis after looking at all the amazing work on this site, and i find my work suffers horribly because of this mindset.
its kind of odd that inspiration can hinder like that, but i guess its all how you look at it.
im glad you take such an active role in this community jon, your posts are always uplifting and insightful.
thanks for sharing!

[bwkeough]

jon- in regards to your narrative/abstration comments: in your book I had seen a sketch that reminded me of Barron Storey's work which led me to think you were already familiar with him. to me, it is his work (as well as Bill Sienkiewicz's) that pushes narrative art into abstract conceptual composition the most.

Both Artists were featured in a recent Vertigo collection called "the Endless" (I think). Storrey's "marat/sade journal" and Sienkiewicz's "moby dick" are also excellent.

[foster]

those are great references bwkeough. you are right, i am familiar and also quite the admirer of both. dave mckean also was influence by barron storey. you can see some of the direct influence in earlier sandman covers. dave is also a great resource to study for this kind of open narrative.

thanks again for those who wrote in, much appreciated.

skank. i am constantly at battle with myself over the direction of my art. i get pulled in so many ways but i try and filter out the wow factor and let the rest settle before making changes. it does not go away but you learn how to listen better.

jon

[fukifino]

Hey Jon, I just wanted to say thanks, not only for sharing your work with us, which is immensely inspiring in and of itself, but also for sharing your insecurities (although that may be too strong a word) about your art. It's very helpful to those of us still taking our first steps on the path to see that those we admire still often struggle to bring their own vision to the canvas/screen/etc... Too often I see great works and feel like it's not even worth it to try, but hearing other artists talk about it I realize it's that constant struggle that has made them as great as they are and it helps encourage me to continue the struggle in my own work.

Anyways, just wanted to say it's great of you and all the other artists who take the time to respond to the feedback/questions/etc.. that you get on these threads.

(Oh yeah, and thanks for linking to the Wasted Lands stuff on your site. Tell Dorman and his crew to make more stuff! Then you can do some covers too. :D )

[Main Loop]

well i dunno how you do it, but you do it.. really good

oh yea, it is nice to see the top-notch artists in the biz have "insecurities" like fukifino said... gives hope to the rest of us

[TARGETE]

Looks like your having a great time..glad to see you doing stuff for yourself..its very liberating, thats a great face.

JP

[beet]

hey John

I like the piece, it's a much more personal image than some of yours recent bookcovers, for sure. As someone said here, it has a distinct narrative quality to it - grabs attention for a couple of seconds, and drive one's imagination to work the image/ the story further - it's not a small achievement.
Just a personal opinion, don't take this wrong, but I can't stop thinking that piece could have stronger if u did it with oils, or at least Mix media, wich I believe have often led to your best pieces. that's pretty much a stupid remark to do, as I understand this one's was a fun experiment for you, and digital's great for these moments of joy ... Just take it as a wish to see you back to the easel, why not for some of these new images you have in mind. Looking forward to see them. Talking about meals, I also own you one, and the drinks :)

edit: thanks to bwkeough for mentionning Barron Storey, I didn't knew his work before.

[foster]

hello and thanks targete.

beet, great to hear from you. would love to see what you are doing now a days. you are right about the paint and i have been thinking it would be a great idea to get back into oils again. i have grown too lazy by the convenience of my computer. i am glad you expressed this, it will echo around in my head.

main loop, thanks. sometimes i am less forthcoming about these things but when i get over myself and have the desire to share i am glad that it can make a difference to someone. i know that this kind of thing, little as it may seem, can make you feel you are in the right place and heading in the right direction.

fukifino, thank you for your kind words and i thank you for voicing that it made a difference to you. i love the wasted lands work. in large part it is due to del stone jr. the writer. he just kicks butt, plain and simple.

jon

[boehmke]

Hey jon,

When you do a personal piece such as this digitally do you work on them with the intent to print them or just leave them digital? And if you do print them at what size ranges do you like to print your digital work?

Since there are so many variables in how well digital art can be printed (quality of users machine, quality of printer or printshop, quaility of paper, money) it just feels like so much could be lost in a gallery show of ones work is done digitally as compared to seeing a 7 foot tall oil painting.

Not sure if that made anysense...it all felt good sitting in my brain...but expressing it i may have lost somthing in translation.

boehmke

[Stitchface]

One of my favorites, Mr. Foster.
Always look forward to seeing your posts, its nice to read about your thoughts on your work, and how you work. Your not just name on an art book or a website, you are gracious enough to reply and share your opinions.
Also, I just picked up your book, very inspirational!!
You can always find areas to change and/or improve upon in your own work( I suffer from this alot), but when I first opened this thread my intial reaction was "Wow, this is simply a great piece of art." , and in my opinion it will remain that.
I hope to see more in the future.

stitchface

[Dan Milligan]

Hey Jonny,

First i thought this was awesome. then i thought, "Dude you're sic!' But after looking at some more I can only say "I DIG IT". yes Jon "I DIG IT!!"

Peace & love
dan

[el coro]

yes, i agree with dan. dude you are sick....and i agree with beet. i wanna see you break out with some oils dude! i miss your oil digital hybrids. keep em coming.-c36

[MindCandyMan]

awesome jon!

[Capprotti]

First I have to say, although I hate repeating something that's been said before but, I MISS YOUR OILS!! Every artist on this forum can obviously appreciate the digital medium. It's an amaaazing medium that has opened peoples imaginations in ways that we might not have expected. So I think it's safe to say that there aren't many (if any) "ignorant" digital bashers here. Ha ha, I've actually just become addicted to my new wacom. BUT!!! I think with that said, you trust the opinions or advice of your peers pertaining to your oils. They are rich and beautiful in every way. They are eye candy, pure and simple. And when we go so long with out candy, we go NUTS :D Please don't fall too far from your oil work. You were a serious driving force in my decision to approach and tackle oils, and push my artistic ability in general. The Spectrums and Progressions are fuel that feed my fire (and I am definitely not alone). So bottom line, whatever you do, do it from the heart, and we'll support you all the way. But if oils is still a part of that heart, than bring it back with a vengeance!!!. Thanx for the your time and the inspiration.

Mike

[Cassandra]

Mr. Foster, I agree with you about following our own passions, forgeting what other people do. I like this image you posted, the surrealistic composition, and I like when the artist forgets simple narrative and looks for another ways to express what´s inside his/her mind.

Sorry if my english isn´t very clear :D

[tegehel]

yay! jon's back! :nana

What can I say that hasn't been said before? I can't, so I won't.

C.

[CENOBITE]

Yes, Foster. The human species is here today i think in part because we can't ever be totally satisfied whith what we have... this condition has drivin us mad with the obsession to explore and create.

Also, along with this never ending drive, i see artists who start defining everything literally in an illustration blatantly and in front. however as time goes by, there can be a slide into finding that less is more, that ambiguity can cause the viewer's own mind to create the story.


i think this is the mental land where i am going.

[CENOBITE]

oh yes... and while some miss your oils, we all have to remember that there can be romantic stigmas attached to mediums. this is a big reason why art is actually behind. it would be like if people still rode horses or kodac not switching to digital or never leaving spain to visit the orient. the medium is just a means to an ends, a tool. dont get too attached or you will be left in mediocrity.