Jason Shasteen Design

This was a digital painting I did for my wife for Valentine’s Day.  I did a search for roses on the internet and this was the coolest one I came across.  It was great for turning into good practice at the art of painting in photoshop.  The finished result looked as good, if not better, than anything I did during my studio days at Texas Tech.  It was also nice that it only took me about 45 minutes to do (while the kids were napping) and didn’t involve any cleanup.  Funny how several of the same techniques I used with that medium carried over to this piece.  I still have those memories of my clothes being covered in charcoal when coming back to the dorms my freshman year after another 3 hours class of drawing….good times!  Anyways, I hope to get better at this and maybe start doing pieces for other people in the future…..atleast making some very nice prints for starters

I had a little fun today in Photoshop.  After watching Peter Pan with Jaiden I couldn’t help myself from drawing my own flying ship.  I enjoy imagining the view from the boat and allowing myself to see the clouds come to life.  I think I am remembering how much I enjoyed watching Disney movies as a kid and the importance of imagination and finding that peaceful place to rest.  A Saturday well spent..with friends and family…I hope to make a habit of it.

Well….I have good news!  I am alive…despite my absence from the DAP as of late.  I did decide however to make a post again.  I will understand if my membership is now under review from the high council though.  A few weeks prior, we were given the them of music.  I thought it was interesting that the first song to draw inspiration from was Pyramid Song by Radiohead.  I can vividly remember the summer when this song and related video came out.  I absolutely loved the music video for this song and made a sketch that later became a painting that summer of 2001, I believe it was.  So here is the sketch and I may find an image of the painting.  I unfortunately sold the original painting at a yard sale awhile back….but a metal sculpture developed from this same string of inspiration and is featured in my studio work.

This week I took the time to do a storyboard before I just jumped right into doing my strip.  The week before, I came up with a template for planning out the flow and type of the script.  I started with sketching out the panels, but then tried redrawing the sketches with my wacom tablet over the originals.   I have to admit I liked the new approach…especially trying to establish the color tones and contrast of each shot.  In the end, I had a very cool black and white version of my soon to be full color strip for the week!  Hope you enjoyed a little behind the scenes of my process thus far!

I have to say that nothing is as priceless as reading a book that absolutely transports you back into the wonderment of your childhood.  I know it’s nowhere near Christmas, and whether you are a fan of Santa is beside the point, but this book I got from the bookstore tonight was worth every penny. “(A Wish for Wings That Work” An Opus Christmas Story by Berkeley Breathe) I was suprised at how I knew every page like it was a song from highschool transporting me back to that very vivid moment.  I remember this book absolutely making my day back in 5th grade elementary.  I also can distinctly remember being in awe of the fact that an animated version of the book came on basic television during the Christmas break that year.  As I watched this special I couldn’t help but smile and be overcome with a sense of joy.  I also remember every scene and moment in this memory from watching it 16 years ago.  Even the scenes that didn’t make sense to me then, but do now that I am an adult, still added a special uniqueness to the flavor of this story.  It’s not a “classic” in the Charlie Brown sense of the word, but it is certainly a timeless classic for those who can appreciate the raw heart and quirky honesty of the translation.  So if you want to watch it in its low quality entirety, follow this link and view it in 4 small chapters.  Enjoy…..even if you wait till Christmas to watch it.