Woodcut art style -- Behind-the-scenes

Surreal ink artwork pics are located throughout the drawing gallery!

Hello? Hello? What are you doing up there?

Some of the pen & ink drawingss feature three seperate inking fields: crosshatching realism, pointillism and contourism!

NEW ART AS IT IS CREATED...
WOODCUT ART STYLE-- BEHIND-THE-SCENES
This original work of art (in the woodcut art style) has been commissioned for an Indie release, acoustic CD. Seemed like a simple thought and somewhat of a quickie...until the actual work began <g>. That's when I realized that the simplistic woodcut art style is kind of the opposite of a baroque approach (it's like going from a six string guitar to one with only three strings). Hmmm... this is going to be interesting.

TITLE: "In the Weeds" © Chris Eisenbraun 2004.
Click here to go to the beginning of the behind-the-scenes stuff.
Click here for a close-up of the woodcut style artwork.
Click here for a close-up look at the graphic design, CD packaging, etc.
Click here to get to the fine art studio drawing gallery page.

Updated Oct. 10, 2004: There was a BIG gap between putting the artwork together for an initial proof and then going back to finalize things (4 hurricanes = one heck of a gap <g>). Something was missing from the cover art. Sometimes the theory of a design is fine but bringing it into the real world is another thing altogether. This was such a case. Everything worked GREAT, except the cover. Once I put the design into the plastic case, I knew it wasn't done. So I went back and played with it some more. Now here we are, four hurricanes later, and NOW it's done :)

Posted Aug. 28, 2004: I've included this note for those curious about how the entire package turned out. Links above run the gamut, from fine art close-ups to the graphic design side of the website and close-ups from that perspective. You have options, and options are a good thing :)

Posted Aug. 28, 2004: It feels good to get another one done. BIGtime. I drew up a quickie for the back end, but that was more like drawing clip art (no big deal). The main work went into the cover art for the CD. The really cool thing? It means that there is a frameable piece of fine art to go with the deal. Very cool. It is VERY rare that I do anything up fine art wise for a commercial art endeavor. So, instead of doing a painting...I did a pen & ink for Gary instead <g>. I'm sure the painting will come along eventually. Right now I'm in an inking mood :) Expect to see another one started next weekend sometime! Seven baby! That's the new number. Seven.

	Posted Aug. 07, 2004: The main sketch is finally done. This pen and ink drawing, a la woodcut engraving style, was a new approach artistically speaking...BIGtime :) It's a good feeling, when you stretch outside your norm...and the feeling of accomplishment makes all of the cussing worthwhile. The really cool part? The client is really happy about the original artwork for his CD...and the fact that the main image can be framed and displayed (the extra effort was DEFinitely appreciated :) It's really cool but it's getting easier and easier to pick up the pen and just draw nowadays. I took a look at the "new artwork" page...and it's starting to fill up. YEAH!!!!

	Posted Aug. 02, 2004: I'm REALLY cutting out the detail on this one and that's helping. It kind of drives me nuts to see all of this detail and have to refuse to put it in <lol>. Too funny. The guy's clothes and the wheat field came out better than expected -- this is the exact OPPOSITE of my normal drawing style so sketch time included: two headaches and a LOT of cussing. I'm still chicken about working on his face and hands <g>. Instead of looking AT the wheat, I'm actually focused on the negative space and it's working -- yeah! I guess we'll just see what happens with the rest of it, eh? :)

Posted Aug. 02, 2004: I have a prerelease copy of the CD to listen to (when I'm working on CD cover art I like to play the CD throughout the entire process so I can keep in tune with the musical vibe <g>). So far this is the third start on the drawing. Ink is unforgiving and I started with the guy the other two times (and messed it up both times). The initial sketch was done the old fashioned way, the copies were made on my homemade light table (one of the advantages of being both a commercial AND fine artist <g>). I NOW know that I have to rethink my approach to the fine detail areas (the guy and the wheat field). Oh boy. This is a LOT harder than I thought it would be... I think I'll work on the sky for a bit <g>.

Posted July 21, 2004: This is one of the very rare, commissioned works of art in the fine art gallery (commercial graphics is another thing entirely <lol>). This work of art is being crafted for display on an Indie release, acoustic CD. The request: black and white artwork; rural, rustic, simple; include a scythe and wheat field. So the thought "woodcut style art" came to mind. Seems simple enough....so I went out on the internet and spent the evening gathering TONS of examples to choose from. When I was a kid I think I did some woodcut engraving but that was once AND a VERY long time ago <g>.

Look into the mirror...how deep does it go?

Dada was a protest by a group of European artists against World War I, bourgeois society, and the conservativism of traditional thought. Its followers used non sequiturs and absurdities to create artworks and performances which defied intellectual analysis.