You watched it, you can't unwatch it.

Everybody's favourite crustacean, Dr. Zoidberg. I've never done any fan art, except for a drawing of The Maxx on my homework journal when I was in school. So I thought recently what the hell am I doing, there are so many things I love, remaining untouched by my graceful hand (heh heh).

Stephen was suggesting I work straight to paint without an under drawing. This idea intrigued me, I was thinking of loosening up my painting style, which is hard to do with a detailed drawing underneath. Watch out there's more of these loose paintings to come, including a large baboon, a very large baboon. And lots o' naked chicks.

Beautiful and Creepy

Check out this beautiful and creepy video here of a ball joint doll. If you don't know anything about ball joint dolls you're missing out on a whole world of creepy fun and very androgynous boys.

Sketches

I wasn't going to write anything here because I'm tired, so very tired. I've had two late nights and too much pizza.

I've completed a new painting and once we get the big scanner up and running I may scan it and even post it here. I also have photos of the studio, which I may post too. I have great plans. Anyway tired, mucho tiredo.

Acrylic mediums for Glazing

Here are the acrylic mediums I use for glazing. Granted you don't need so many, but I like to experiment to find my favourite. Most importantly all the brands have a gloss and a matte version. This can effect what your doing with the paint, matte's good for drawing on top of and using watered down paint on. Gloss is crisper looking and good for isolation coats, what's an isolation coat I hear you say? What do I look like a walking dictionary!?! Look it up fool!

At the end of the day I keep going back to the Liquitex mediums, the Daler-Rowney stuff's a bit thick and the tub's ridiculous for something of this consistency. The Golden stuff isn't bad, the acrylic ends up looking very delicate like watercolour. The Phoenix and the wolf below were painted with the Golden satin medium.

My New Book: Best-Loved Irish Legends

Here's a preview of my latest book, of course the writer thinks it's her book as does the editor and all the publishing house and maybe even the printer, but really it's my book. Look at it sitting there on my desk, yep, definitely my book!

Aw, I'm so happy with how this came out. Emma did a great job on production. Me kissing up? A little, but it's true all the same. She talks about it here on the O'Brien blog, what a sycophant I am, that is.

It's out on the 7th September.

IKEA and Starbucks? Screw small business!

Here's a little sketch from a few days ago, done while sitting in the local Starbucks. There was a market set up just outside with plenty of opportunities to sketch people.

I went to IKEA again on Wednesday and bought the legs for my desk and a few dribs and drabs that took me about an hour and a half to pick up because of the size of the shop. My Dad and I were waiting in the van minding the dog, while my Mum and brother were inside having a look round, when an alarm went off, this big loud voice announcing that there was a technical fault with the shop. I couldn't help but think of Gremlins 2: "Fire, man's oldest enemy...". As it turned out it was a faulty fire alarm, but maybe because we're Irish or just plain paranoid our first though was BOMB ALERT!!

Anyhoo, the studio's looking great now, we have our two desks pushed up against each other and can walk all the way around them and everything's white like a rapper's crib.