Chapter 170 . New Illustration - Gabin

I always find it challenging to draw kids, the younger the most challenging.
I think it's the expressions that are so difficult to catch...
It sounds right to say so...

Anyhow, recently, as I said in my previous post, I drew my niece Amber, she's 8, and that wasn't too bad.

This time, it's my wife's nephew, he is 3.5 years old.
And, it wasn't that difficult either...

I am pretty sure that the new tablet has a great deal to do with that ease I have been drawing with recently!
I love my new tablet, smaller but stronger, and such a smooth feeling, such a pleasure to draw with it!
- smile -

Here is the new illustration:

Gabin

I don't know for how long I am going to keep drawing portraits, but for the time being, it is truly a real pleasure, so, we'll see... Even though, I am starting to seriously miss the comic book, so, there will be something to do there... Maybe an illustration about the Youth of the main character, we'll see, as I already said...
- smile again -

In the meantime, I have been working quite a lot on my new website, among the other things of life, and this is going good! In fact, it is almost completed, one last little section and it'll be ready!
I also have to get those comics printed, and then, it's business time!!!!
Stay tuned, I'll keep you updated.
Here are some images of certain pages of the site:

Home Page

Buy The Comic Book Page

Buy The Posters Page

New Blog Page

Portfolio Page

and

The About Page - Terms & Conditions

OK, I guess that's all for today, just a little post to keep you informed!
Take care of yourself, and have a great time!

Sincerely,

Serge
11th August 2015

Chapter 169 . Two New Illustrations & Few More Thoughts on the New Tablet

Productive, I have been...

Is it due to a great source of inspiration, a new step in my life, a new fluidity or the new tablet acquisition?
I would say, a little of all of that.
- smile -

Fact is, I have been drawing, among other things, every day, and, as always, it pays!!!!

I'm into drawing portraits.
Just little doodles, sketches, nothing too advanced, but the point is to grab the personality of the models...
Always...

And, I am trying to represent images that I would have not done, not that long ago.
And by this, I mean represent people as they are, show a piece of life, so to speak.
I am into reality those days, therefore, I'll take a little break from super heroes, crazy images, and imagination at it's best.
Instead, as I have already stated, I want to show the reality, what truth I see in people.
And so, I do simple portraits.

Note that I have also put colouring aside, for a while that is, and went back to black and white illustrations.

So, this said, here is the first one of the two new drawings:
Amber, my little niece, with her lovely smile:

Amber

Simple, I'm trying to be simple.
An attitude, a smile that defines the model, this is what I am presently interested by!

The second illustration is of a good friend of mine, someone inspiring, my friend Christèle:

Christèle

Smooth and peaceful, the lady and her thoughts!
What else can be said?

Yes, I believe I will do more portraits, until I reach the next step, the next plateau...

One thing I would like to add, is a note regarding my new tablet, the Huion 610Pro.
Since I have acquired it, I am able to draw faster.
I guess that's normal. Still, it's impressive!
It does exactly what I ask it to do, no more, no less.
The precision of the pen is fantastic, and it allows a flow I couldn't achieve with my old Wacom.
One thing I noticed is that, the tablet is not as fluid when I use Photoshop.
But being that I use Illustrator 97% of the time, it is more than fine with me!
So, unless you are a PS fan, I would highly recommend it, and if you are a PS fan, do some researches, dig a little more and take the appropriate decision!

On a side note, another one, Website is happening and growing fast, I have few more sections to complete, get the comic printed and sell it to the world!
It's a time of change, and I embrasse it!
Change is good, especially if you feel you are going places.
And I believe I am.

So, more news to come soon, new illustrations I hope and all that sweet jazz.

To finish, just a little image from a car show we went, the wife and I, admire yesterday in Oak Bay, beautiful lines, perfection at it's best!

Car Exhibit in Oak Bay - Victoria BC

This said, I am going to wish you a good week, and we'll talk soon.

Sincerely,

Serge
August 10th 2015

Chapter 167 . An Evening in a Life

It's hot...

The fan is working almost 24/7, and it's hot the same...
Most people think that it's always cold in Canada, but it ain't. In fact, it's bloody hot in the summer, except here, close to the ocean, continental weather, which allows the islander to have a warm but not heat wave type of summer.
But, once every few years, it's hot...
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a bit. I come from a place where it's scorching hot, so, summer for me has to be hot to be a real summer.
I'm certainly not complaining, but barely stating the facts.
-smile-

Nevertheless, it's hot...

My fiancé is playing some music which is supposed to keep us cool...
She's in full activity mood, organizing her workshop, discovering forgotten old friends...
And I'm sweating...

The good news is, it should be cooler in the evening, as soon as the sun sets, the breeze and humidity from the Ocean bringing down the temperature to a more enjoyable level.
It's the perfect time to do anything you have to do outside.
In our case, it goes from getting grocery to having our daily evening walk.
One day we go to see the ocean in Oak Bay, another one we climb the Fairfield Bluff to admire the sunset. Another one, we go to Dallas road, and chill while the light fades...
Yesterday, we went to The Bluff.

We arrived, this time, quite before the sun disappeared behind the hills.
The light was gold, the heat not too bad.

Steph Climbing Up the Bluff - Fairfield - Victoria BC

The sky as blue as it could, not a cloud in sight.

Victoria BC

The horizon was bathed in a sort of peachy/pink colour, with the blue of the sky and the reflection of the ocean, once again, it was magical!
I had never seen the mountains from the States that clearly, you could spot details, little houses, life...
And the majestic mountains, immuables, they seemed eternals...

On the opposite side, the Sun:

Sunset - Victoria BC

The lines of the hills, clear and blurry, waited like they had done so many times before.

We sat.
Let the last warmth of the day paint our bodies red and gold.
Listened to the sound of the city, right below.

Slowly at first, the colours started to change:

Victoria - BC

A white almost full moon showed up, the contrast in between the land and the ocean, and those purples who started to appear.
We became very relax, I felt like being part of it all.
We smiled.

Stephanie

The Sun, on it's last legs, was still giving as much heat and light that he could, but the gold was becoming older with every minute passing by.

Us - Victoria BC

The colours kept on changing.

Sunset - Victoria BC

The contrasts increased.

Sunset - Victoria BC

The different levels of mountains, each of them with a very specific shade of blue or purple, changing every second now, we're getting close to the last light of the day...

I got up and stranded on the tip of the Bluff.
Around me, pure beauty was in action.
I marvelled to the simplicity of it, with an incomprehensible complexity...
I thought one had to be crazy to even attempt to reproduce what I could see.
Then, I looked at my fiancé and smiled again:

Stephanie - Victoria BC

She looked at me and got up.
We looked around one last time.

Sunset - Victoria BC

The sun disappeared, and the humidity kicked in almost immediately.
Even without the help of the direct sun, the sky will continue to have some astonishing colours for quite a while.
We climbed down, and started to walk home.
Played in the kids park, looked and commented on people's garden, talked philosophy a little, and enjoyed the breeze.

Right before our arrival, the sky had turned dark blue and yellow and pink, and purple.
I stopped, wondering how this could be possible, then remembered that I never understood this kind of things.

Sunset - Victoria BC

Finally, we arrived home, it was starting to get cool.
Inside, it was 33 degrees celsius.

Serge
30th of June 2015

Chapter 166 . Skies & Water in the City I Live In

Where is the inspiration coming from?
...

Is it our surrounding?
All of it?

Without a doubt, the answer is:
-" The surrounding is part of it."

I find myself, more and more inspired by my surrounding, physical and metaphysical.
The place I live in has a "powerful nature", and by this, I mean the nature has an amazing power towards all and everything.
It is omnipresent, it is everywhere, from the little flowers by the side of the road, to the great and immuable ocean.

Yes, that's it, skies and water!
I live on an island.
Water surrounds us all.
It's not easy to leave, nor to come.
It's an island.

The good part of it, one of them at least, is that we get to see a lots of water, especially that I live in a port, at the edge of the southern part of Vancouver Island.

The summer creates amazing colours in the sky when the sun rush to disappear, and the ocean, its water, makes marvels at reflecting those skies and colours.

Maybe inspiration comes from there, in a great deal, maybe...

Here's a sunset from The Bluff on Fairfield, some kind of hidden place, not a popular one yet.
No water here, but the sky, the city and my wife facing the sun:

From The Fairfield Bluff - Victoria BC

Then, we go to the opposite direction, where the sun sets in our back, Haynes Park in Oak Bay:

Haynes Park - Oak Bay - Victoria BC

The calm of those images is real, it exists.
And that is the real beauty of this place, and, like many other places, the place makes the people, the moods...

Yes, we have to be honest and recognize it, some of us are indeed lucky...
Yes, we are lucky to have made the decisions we have made.

Have a great day folks,

Sincerely,

Serge Foglio
July 29th 2015

Chapter 164 . Mad Mr. Hyde, Sooke Scoop Local Magazine Update & Norah Jones in the UK

Kyle MacLachlan's Calvin Zabo

Good day,
It's been a while since I was here last!
Gosh, times fly.
What else is new?!

I have been busy...
-smile-
There is few things I want to talk about, so, let's start immediately with my latest illustration, a poster of the infamous Calvin Zabo, aka Marvel Mr. Hyde.
I don't know if you're following the TV Show Marvel Agents of SHIELD, and regardless of the show itself, there is a character played by awesome Kyle MacLachlan, who is worth watching!
Back in the days when I was a boy, there was that Marvel character, which I had, but he way, completely forgotten, named Mr. Hyde.
It was a brilliant surgeon who did experimentation on itself and become Mr. Hyde.
The story is old like the the world itself.
However, Jekyll and Hyde are two amazing characters in general, maybe a character  in which we can all recognize ourself...
Maybe...

Anyway, they brought the character to the show, modified him intensively, and gave the role to Kyle.
The result is nothing short than awesome!!!!
His interpretation of the character is so subtil, you'd up liking quite a lot the mad murderer...
And so, it was most definitely worth an illustration.

Presently, I'm into posters, so, the plan was to make a Calvin Zabo poster, and so, I did...

First, here is the original one created by marvel:

Marvel's Mr. Hyde

Here is also a sweet cover from a Thor album when he has to fight The Cobra and Mr. Hyde:

Thor vs The Cobra & Mr. Hyde

And now, here is my own interpretation of Cal Zabo/Mr. Hyde, adjusted to 2015:

Kyle MacLachlan's Calvin Zabo

I like the darkness of the illustration, and still, there is some kind of uncanny humanity within the character...
I like telling stories.
This image tells a big story...

Here is a detail worth watching:

Scalpel and Flowers

On a side note, the technic I use with this medium is in constant evolution. It's kinda odd as, I am always surprise how there is always room for improvement...
It's wonderful and terrible at the same time...
Guess I'm stuck in the middle...
By chance, I am with her, he he he...



Now, I would like to talk a little about the Sooke magazine I quite like, the Sooke Scoop.
Frankly, if you live in the Sooke area, it is insane if you are not reading that Mag, and supporting the creators at the same time!
First of all, it's awesome, second of all, it's of high quality, and third of all, it feels great to support a good cause!
Does't it?
-smile-
The mag is sold $5 at the Stick in the Mud I believe, go there and pick up yours, the second edition is out!

Sooke Scoop 1st and 2nd Edition

Sooke Scoop 1st Edition

Sooke Scoop 2nd Edition

And, also, thought I would mention that, the Sooke Scoop are publishing my comic book, The Case of the Chinese Cemetery, so, you also get to ready some comics, he he he...

Sooke Scoop Comic Pages

On a side note, the comic will be available in very few months to order in a beautiful format!
More to come about that, stay tuned Peeps!

And, go get the Sooke Scoop!
-smile again-


Last, but not least, there is another illustration I did.
but the truth is, there is two new illustrations I did on top of Mr. Hyde, Mme Norah Jones.
I want through a while without drawing, after the Avengers poster, and one day, Norah called me, so to speak.
It had been a while I wanted to do an illustration of her, but... Well, you know, I like to tell stories, and if I have nothing to say, then, to me, the illustration becomes irrelevant and a loss of my personal time.
That is the very reason why it takes me, sometimes, so long to do a specific drawing, I need to have a story to tell.
Also, that is why drawing comic books are what I like doing the best!
Bla bla bla...

And so, I decided to draw a poster, for a UK tour, with Norah Jones.
As always, everything is overly thought about in the illustration, there is a fair amount of hidden messages, and inside jokes and what's not, the pub is a darn real UK pub, and the feel of the illustration, I believe, is what I was trying to do.
So, in short, I sat down, worked y composition, and drew.
Black and white, pure like back in the days...

Norah Jones Black & White UK Tour Poster

And it was done.
And I was happy.

Then, another idea came.
What about colouring it, but not like adding colours to the same image, but instead, working it as if it was a different image all together.
It's a state of mind that changes everything...

I wanted to play with two colours only, Orange and Blue.
And, after much work, here it is:

Norah Jones Coloured UK Tour Poster

And again, I liked it, some kind of lovely melancholy going on, only partially controlled...

And here is a detail:

Norah Jones Poster Detail

Et voila...
Plenty of other things to talk about, but that will be all for now.

More surprises coming soon.
Have fun and be good Folks.

Sincerely,

Serge
7th June 2015