Time Looking Up at the World

I've been out of circulation a bit recently...tied up with house & family stuff, etc. Here is a new drawing to finish off the old year:

Time Looking Up at the World, 2011, brush & ink on paper, 11" x 8.5".

Shadow Bay now searchable on Amazon

Another update in the Shadow Bay (noir visual crime novel collaboration with writer Donald J. Rothschild) saga — the Amazon listing now has the "look inside" option enabled, allowing viewers to get a feel for the inside of the book. An exciting moment in the history of publishing, for me at least. Please click here for the Amazon page.

3/4 Profile

Head in 3/4 profile drawn again with the liquid graphite pencil, which is a much better idea in theory than practice...

3/4 Profile, 2011, liquid graphite on paper, 11" x 8.5".

Shadow Bay goes global

Below is a partial screenshot of Amazon Japan—we may sell zero copies in Japan (I hope otherwise), but I still get a kick out of seeing something I've worked on displayed like this, on a web site in a country I've never visited and in a language I don't understand...it's a small world after all, as someone once said.

The Liquid Eternal

Done with a Sharpie "Liquid Pencil", which is a liquid form of graphite. The idea is that it doesn't smudge (much) & can be erased like a normal graphite pencil...however, it tends to blot & has problems making a line without skipping...so, not a complete success, technically speaking. The drawing came out quite well despite that, though...

The Liquid Eternal, 2011, liquid graphite on paper, 11" x 8.5".

The Alchemist Observes & The Alchemist Bleach'd

2 versions of the same small drawing, one digitally altered:

The Alchemist Observes, 2011, brush & ink on a scrap of cardboard, 7.75" x 7" approx.

The Alchemist Bleach'd, digitally altered version of the image above.

UDHR Article 4

From the UDHR series of paintings...International Human Rights Day is December 10.

UDHR Article 4, 1991, acrylic on paper, 25" x 20" approx.

"No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and
the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms."

Shadow Bay posters

These are some 11" x 17" posters of the Shadow Bay cover I had printed at Staples the other day to put on my studio wall -- we had a cocktail party the other night. Still waiting for the cover image of the book to show up on Amazon...

We shall be doing a reading of Shadow Bay in January, probably at Oblong Books in Rhinebeck. More info on that soon.

Shadow Bay available now from Amazon

The noir visual crime novel collaboration with writer Donald J. Rothschild has just become available on Amazon. The book & blurb are listed, but due to the process involved, the cover image will not appear for a while, so here it is again, below.

That's the whole cover tamale, front & back...click here to find the book on Amazon.

"Fueled by their mutual addiction to gambling on horse racing, a seemingly innocent twice crossing of paths by Long island sportswriter David Fisher and clam house owner Joann Landy leads them to lust and murder. Shadow Bay takes you into a neo-noir world where the morality of everyday life is compromised. Shadow Bay is a story told with the graphic twist of three hundred and eighty illustrations."

Fair Narcissus

Another entry in the occasional Narcissus series. This one was drawn with the pen brush, which had run out of ink, so I used it as a regular brush, dipping it in the ink pot. It gave a slightly ghostly, ethereal effect.

Fair Narcissus, 2011, brush & ink on paper, 11" x 8.5".

And here it is again, aged a few centuries in Photoshop:

Shadow Bay proof copy

Here is a photo of the proof copy of Shadow Bay, currently the only copy in existence. There are a few small issues we need to fix, which explains the four or so sticky notes peeking out there...

Shadow Bay is coming soon...

We still seem to be in the phase of squashing bugs & fixing typos, but Shadow Bay should be released in all its glory quite soon. We have a proof copy, which looks very good with its matte varnish cover...better than glossy... In any case, here is the cover again & a few interior images...some of the images in the book don't work so well without the text, but these seem to stand alone quite well.

The full cover.

David Fisher (main protagonist) keeps an eye on the horses in chapter 3.

David Fisher comes face to face with a big scary (dead) fish in chapter 2.

Fisher gets a fleeting glimpse of the normal life that passed him by, from chapter 5, Shadow Bay, written by Donald J. Rothschild and illustrated by myself, will be available soon. Please check back in a week or so.

Here is the back cover blurb:  

He had felt it from the moment she looked back at him... they were the same, they had the same hunger, had taken the same hits, they’d been told to stop it, shape up and step up, but the hunger still remained. “Somehow I missed that train,” he said. “That everyday normal train. Somehow it pulled out without me.” She took a drink and slid below the covers... “I guess I missed that train too.”

Emergence & Sleeping in the Hall of Silence

A couple of new ink drawings:

Emergence, 2011, brush & ink on paper, 12" x 12".

Sleeping in the Hall of Silence, 2011, brush & ink on paper, 14" x 12".

Leonine in Amber

This is a drawing of a head that I wasn't sure about...however, digitally amberized it seems better...

Leonine in Amber, 2011, digitally altered drawing (original is 12" x 12").

Creature from Another Realm

A drawing of an angel or similar...

Creature from Another Realm, 2011, brush & ink on paper, 12" x 12".

The Conspirators

They look like conspirators to me...

The Conspirators, 2011, brush & ink on paper, 12" x 12".

Angled Head

New ink drawing of a head that has some sculptural properties that I like.

Angled Head, 2011, brush & ink on paper, 12" x 12".

Sappho Descending

A new large-ish ink drawing from a series of heads...

Sappho Descending, 2011, brush & ink on paper, 24" x 19".

Shadow Bay Final Cover

Here is a JPG of the final cover (front, back & spine) of Shadow Bay, the noir visual crime novel collaboration with Donald J. Rothschild. The book is basically done & the files are being sent to the printer. We should have a proof version of the book in our hands in a couple of weeks. After that, another couple of weeks or so should see it widely available. Thanks especially to Georgia Dent for her work on the layout of the cover.

More details to follow. Please check back.

The Evolutionist

This was a drawing from around 2008 that I don't think I've put up online before. I also, just the other day, did a digitally colorized version, so I'm putting both here below.

The Evolutionist, 2008, brush & ink on paper, 14" x 11".

The Evolutionist is Blue, 2011, digitally altered drawing.

Ancient Orpheus in Amber

Here is an "amberised" version of the preceding drawing. I did this digitally, of course, as it's non-destructive as opposed to staining & artificially aging the orginal drawing...I like the appearance of the passage of centuries on the surface of the drawing...it gives a greater sense of depth & history...

Ancient Orpheus in Amber, 2011, digitally altered drawing. And here, for my own amusement, if nothing else, is the "Leda" drawing treated similarly:

Leda in Amber, 2011, digitally altered drawing.

The Old Age of Orpheus

Another mythical ink drawing in the Orpheus series:

The Old Age of Orpheus, 2011, brush & ink on paper, 24" x 19".

Leda of Delft

This is a digitally reworked version of the preceding drawing that I modified in Photoshop. The final result reminded me of Delft blue pottery, hence the title. Delft is also the city of Vermeer, of course.

Leda of Delft, digitally modified drawing, 2011.

All the Mysteries in All the World

A Leonardoesque head...loosely inspired by his Leda drawings:

All the Mysteries in All the World, 2011, brush & ink on paper, 24" x 19".

The World Made Whole Again

Another small drawing for the World series:

The World Made Whole Again, 2011, ink & acrylic on cardboard, 10" x 8".

Breughelesque Head on Pink

I had been looking at some Leonardo drawings of heads via Google...so, thus inspired, I went into my studio to draw a head, perhaps. The result reminds me more of Breughel, which is still not bad...

Breughelesque Head on Pink, 2011, brush & ink on construction paper, 12" x 12".

Below: the same drawing with the pink tint of the paper digitally removed.

The Immortals

New monochrome acrylic painting for the World series:

The Immortals, 2011, acrylic on plywood, 48" x 48" approx.

Below is the working sketch for the painting, which was pinned to the wall next to it as I worked. I don't often use preliminary sketches, usually working on a piece from an idea I have in my head & letting the image take shape organically, but this time I had a sketch, which did change quite a bit:

The Immortal (working sketch), 2011, brush & ink on paper, 11" x 8.5".

Where Everything Connects w/Eyes

I wanted to try out the preceding image below with the eyes painted in, so here I've added them digitally...

Where Everything Connects, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 48" x 48", digitally modified. I'm leaning towards painting the eyes in, but I'm going to sleep on it.

Where Everything Connects | She

This is a new large painting that relates to the Yggdrasil/World Tree series, as well as containing references to Medusa, the Minotaur, and several other images & themes from over the years. I was intending to keep this quite minimal, but it did grow to be a bit more complex than I originally imagined.

Where Everything Connects | She. 2011, acrylic on plywood, 48" x 48" approx.

The Boy From Atlantis

This is a new smallish color acrylic painting...I've long been fascinated by the idea of Atlantis as discussed by Plato, and possibly even more so by the seemingly futile attempts of humans to find it...

This painting was done specifically for the Journey to Somewhere collaboration on Flickr with Barry Farmer.

The Boy From Atlantis, 2011, acrylic on board, 14" x 11".

Mondo Tondo

A new tondo (circular painting/artwork) on cardboard for the World series:

Mondo Tondo, 2011, brush & ink on cardboard, 11" diameter.

Ayton.net home page redesign

I've just reconfigured my main web site (www.ayton.net) home page to make it more user-friendly and attractive. I think the new version now makes more sense from an end-user perspective & leads the eye around in a more logical way. Here it is in Google's Chrome browser:

I've been working on my web site for around 10 years now, adding more and more to the original code & updating it where possible. It now comprises hundreds of pages, & even I am not sure of all that is on there...

Apostle

A new large-ish ink drawing, that has a few flaws, but is still worth putting up here, I think.

Apostle, 2011, brush & ink on paper, 23.5" x 18".

The Boy Who Created Darkness

Another head drawing:

The Boy Who Created Darkness, 2011, brush & ink wash on paper, 12" x 9".

Sketch of a Man's Head

Another loose-ish brush & ink wash sketch:

Sketch of a Man's Head, 2011, brush & ink wash on paper, 12" x 9".

Sketch of a Woman

I'm currently working on large-ish monochrome paintings (see recent posts below), so it's useful from time to time to do a smallish drawing to keep in practice, as it were.

Sketch of a Woman, 2011, brush & ink wash on paper, 12" x 9".

And the World Gave Birth to War

A new monochrome painting, this one done over a color painting that didn't work out...however, it bleeds through in places, and that works in the context of the piece. For the World series, it also fits in with the War Room anti-war pieces.

And the World Gave Birth to War, 2011, acrylic on plywood, 48" x 48" approx.

Re-Creation of the World

A new color acrylic painting for the World series.

Re-Creation of the World, 2011, acrylic on plywood, 19.75" x 19.25" approx.

Working Sketch

I'm currently working on some quite large monochrome paintings (see postings below). Here is a working sketch for an upcoming one:

Working sketch for a painting, 2011, pencil & ink on paper, 9" x 9". It will probably change significantly.

The World & All Its Souls

This is another quite large new painting, for the World series:

The World & All Its Souls, 2011, acrylic on paper on plywood, 48" x 33".