The Lost Boys Poster Design

Here is the graphic art I created for The Lost Boys movie poster. Sorry about the watermarks, but work should be protected. The piece is nearing completion, still between a few different fonts, and there are some digital correction needed to be made. In my opinion, Kiefer Sutherland made that movie. He added some real depth to the piece. Even with the films jokey elements and crazy 80's mullets, Kiefer's character remained potent. I mean he was an amazing antagonist in Stand by Me and Flatliners is one of my top 10! This is why I chose to center my design around Kiefer, or in this case "David." I love the part where the boys are hanging upside down sleeping in the cave, so that is how I positioned David. The movie was shot at the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk, which added that great carnival feel! I felt that needed to be part of the poster silhouetted in the background.

More Oil Portraits

Hey guys,
finally finished up this oil painting. I went for Baroque styling on this one with dramatic lighting paired with a delicate Dandelion. Baroque is my favorite art period, so I always try to incorporate that style and emotion in my body of work.

4 dogs oil painting

Hey guys, here is a newly completed portrait of 4 dogs painted in oil for a patron. The pictures show my progression from rough sketch to finished product! I really enjoyed working on this piece and dogs are becoming my favorite subject to paint!

642 Things To Draw...

Thanks to my Wife, I received a book of 642 things to draw. What a great idea for a drawing book. My goal is one sketch for the day, maybe two. I have completed two on the first page, 640 to go! There are so many crazy things to draw in this book so the creative juices will be flowing!

Clerks Re-Imagined Poster Design

Here is my poster concept created for "Clerks" the 1994 movie by Kevin Smith. Other artists along with myself are creating posters based on cult classics which will be shown at http://www.fruitspace.co.uk/cultcinema/
I went for a more retro horror feel with this one. My next creation for Fruitspace will be "The Lost Boys," which is in my top 20 favorite movies!

Munch's Scream

Thought I would share an ornament I was asked to do based on Edvard Munch's Scream. Out of all the ornaments I did for 2011, this one was my fav!

More Paintings

Hey Guys, here is a recent oil completed for a family. I really enjoyed painting pumpkins post Halloween because it's getting me ready for Halloween 2012!

New Little Guitar

Here is the second guitar I did for Bob at LKPro.com. I went for an art nouveau style for this little guy and painted using fine acrylics. I think it looks pretty cute!

Guitar Woodburning

Here is the Martin guitar I've been working on. Had to strip down the finish so I could woodburn the pure wood grain. It was a long process, but I was pretty happy with its unique look. I took my time on this piece because woodburning is tattooing of the wood and there was no turning back if I messed up the design.

Great Horned Owl Chainsaw Art

A few weeks ago I finally finished my Great Horned Owl Chainsaw sculpture. This is my first chainsaw art piece, and there will be many more to come. I've had offers on this piece, but have not decided on selling. It resides now in sunny N.C. and might make the trip to Buffalo if I cut him down. The tree used for the owl was struck by lightning a few years ago and the whole tree was charred black. I thought it looked real cool, but since the house is for sale that it stands in front of, I thought I should clean it up. I like to think the wise owl has supernatural powers since it was struck by lightning. Chainsaw art is something the Cornelius N.C. crowd is not familiar with and the neighbors said it has been the talk of the town, which is nice!

Funeral Plates

Hey Guys,

I've Decided on posting some pics of the funeral plates I get commissioned to do from The Kevin M. Mason Funeral Home. I've been working with Kevin for a while now and if you're planning your final arrangements I would strongly suggest his funeral home. Not only will your family receive a personalized decorative plate in memory of your loved one, but Kevin also has me make personalized glass ornaments for the families at Christmas time. I really do not know any funeral homes that get that creative. Here are just a few of the plates that I do for the funeral home.

I have to use glass paint which is really tricky to use and dries ultra fast. I have to get the plates done generally in 1 to 2 days so they are ready for the wake. The themes are usually based on the prayer card the families pick out for their loved one.

Buffalo Bisons will be hosting a Ghostbusters Night. I will be making some stuff for the event. Here is a possible logo for the event which may or may not be used. Stay tuned to the bisons page for more updates!

New Portrait

Hey guys, here is one of the newer portraits I have been wrapping up. I did not want to display the full painting because this had been commissioned for a wedding gift and I do not want unwanted eyes seeing the full piece before its time "but it should be ok." I enjoyed working on the man's face and the couples hands. The guy had a certain warmth in his gesture that I tried my best to convey even though I only had a pic to work with. It is my knowledge that the couple both passed away, that always evokes a different feeling when I'm working on a piece. I still have not gotten around to painting my father's portrait and he died years ago. I guess I have to get in a certain mindset to work on that one.

More Portraits

Hey you Guys,

I've decided to post a couple more of the portraits I've been working on this week. We have a girl with child and a dog named "Eddie." Eddie was quite enjoyable to paint because the whole time I'm laughing at the pup's expression. The girl and child was more of a challenge. I had a tiny picture to work from that did not have the best lighting and had to make it a 16x20 painting. It is always tricky to paint teeth and smiles, one centimeter off and the person looks deformed. I've got another little girl portrait I'm working on in Baroque style which I'll be posting soon. The Baroque period is by far my favorite in terms of style. I'll be attempting to concentrate on dramatic lighting and expression with this next one, we'll see how it goes.

Oil paintings

Hi guys, been very busy in the art field these last couple months. I've decided to post a portrait of a dog named Sky that was commissioned for a Christmas gift this year. This dog was painted with oils on canvas panel. I'll try to keep posting the other portraits I've been working on because I have been slacking with my posting!

finished mural

The last three days I've been working at The Harvesters church off of Transit and Seneca completing a Children's themed Noah's Ark mural. Just finished this mural yesterday and still washing the airbrush paint off of my body. This mural was created with acrylic and airbrush paints and was designed to match the original mural that was destroyed when the room was renovated. I have to say this was a fun mural, it didn't take too long to complete and it should makes some kids happy. I also got to paint a little portrait of my parrot Smeagol in the design. The funny thing is he is the only animal in that whole mural that does not have a partner. If you know Smeagol, he doesn't get along with many things and would never board a ship with another parrot of his kind. If you are looking for him he is on the up most top of the giraffe's head on the left.

new Halloween mask

Here is a new edition to my Halloween costume collection. This mask should be finished soon and will be for sale in my etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/jdhorst in the next few days, if I don't decide on keeping it for this Halloween. The little pumpkin guys on top light up with tea lights. I still have to name the mask.

back to oils

I had a long run with acrylics and found some great advantages with the dry time of the paint and the ability to do washes and layers. Recently I just ordered over 100 tubes of some really good Grumbacher pre-tested oils to divert away from acrylic and go back to my roots in the oil paint world. I just finished a portrait which was the first oil painting I've done in about 3 years. Now that I have worked with the oils again I don't think I'll go back to acrylics.

Erie County Fair Plein Air painting contest

Thanks to all that came to visit me while I was painting at the Erie County Fair in the Plein Air contest. I had between the hours 11-4 to paint something on the fair grounds. I was going to paint the midway, but thought there may be too many people painting in that area, so I painted the cows. I really never painted cows before so I thought this would be a nice change. I made some nice farmer friends and got to learn a little bit about the behind the scenes of farming. It was way too hot of a day and even a few of the painters dropped out. I battled through the heat and finished a pretty decent cow painting. After all was said and done I placed 3rd which was fine I guess. The painting will be displayed in the creative arts building till the fair ends.

The Weekly Sketch

This had been a busy week in the art world. I've decided to post another finished piece that you may see the next time you visit your local Buffalo based library. This piece was created for Read to Succeed Buffalo, a local organization that promotes reading. I'll try to keep a better track record for my weekly posting, apologies!