Sean C. Jackson's Blog, page 4

Frames

I made frames to hold my oil study panels. They turned out pretty great.

Frames are pine edge molding, mitered and glued. Glued cloth strips for additional strength. Black acid free matte board sets the painting back from the frame. Glazing points used to hold work in frame. Framed primed and painted with several coats of semi-gloss black acrylic.

Red and Blue Ballpoint

Tackling more detail in these ballpoint mazes.  I make the initial drawing in red ballpoint, then deepen the shadows and paths with blue and a little black Micron pen.  

Mazes in Les Explorateurs

Check out my maze in the September issue of Les Explorateurs!! French Canadian science and nature magazine for kids. There will be new mazes in at least 3 upcoming issues!

Morning Painting

I’m trying to paint every morning.   

All the paintings are oil studies and started around 6am. The scene is facing west toward the Whitestone Bridge and Manhattan. I adjust the horizon depending if I want to paint the foreground water, which is especially challenging. The short term goal is teaching discipline, and, in a couple of months, have enough to fill a really big wall. Long term, I want a better grasp of the medium so I can dump 50 hours on a painting (a maze?) and not be overly disappointed!

The panels are gessoed hardboard, 8”x12”

Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens

In April, I visited the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens in West Palm Beach, Florida. Winding paths through palm gardens and monumental sculptures- it’s perfect. I took many pictures... Norton’s towering Gate sculptures loom out of the foliage or are revealed around bends of the path.

This summer I made a maze based on the gardens. Here is a detail.

You can see the full puzzle on my Twitter!

Collaboration Part 1

I find making circular mazes a challenge. I have  designed a few flat circular puzzles and then redrawn them as steps and buildings, but the results are unsatisfactory. The final work feels heavy and burdensome. They are overly complicated. So when I discovered Henry Cheung’s Instagram feed @henryscheung I was inspired! He photographs the circle mazes he has elegantly doodled in coffee shops adjacent to lattes on warm surfaces of wood, tile, or stone.

Detail of @henyscheung April 25, 2018 Instagram post. 

After liking a bunch of his photos, Henry and I chatted about mazes. He was cool with me trying to convert one of his puzzles into my style! I printed out a few and got to sketching. The first one was a little lumpy. For my second attempt, I laid down some guidelines to keep the isometric under control. This was better.

The guidelines help me translate Henry’s lovey shapes better. I loathe rules, but some structure in the beginning can really help. You can see me marking off parts of the original as I go.  

I’m happy with the puzzle, but I’d like more detail. My original is only a few inches wide, so the stairs are especially gnarly. Upscale the old-timey way!

I drew my version too small. I wanted more detail, so I scaled it up to ink onto larger watercolor paper. I will eventually paint it, but for now I’m happy with the digital coloring. This way I can play with color choices before laying down the real thing!

Collaboration between me and Henry Cheung. The foundation is totally his puzzle. See if you can match how his fits! 

The final result is great. Collaborations are awesome! Follow @henryscheung on Instagram, your feed will be more beautiful.

New Watercolor Maze

The previously posted towers were studies for this new watercolor maze. The colors are more gentle than my earlier trials. 

Simple Towers

These are Strathmore watercolor postcards.  

Apart

Loneliness  

Visit My Instagram

Want something new almost every day? Follow my Instagram! It’s much less formal than this blog. Sometimes I post mazes, but often I post other projects I’m working on. Here are my last three posts: 

I made this especially for IG, you can tell because it is exactly 2:1, taking advantage of the panoramic feature. It’s simple but fun. The statues are based on IG NYC folks I follow.  

Ballpoint practice with White House chief of staff John Kelly. I’m not a fan, just think he has an interesting face.  He reminds me of the cop played by Richard Burgi in the Firefly episode “The Message”. 

Also getting into relief print. I was totally into woodblock as a younger man and have been carving again. You can see that my skills are a bit rusty, but my work translates well. Follow my progress on Instagram! 

Postcards

Last year I printed promotional postcards to share at signings and with bookstores and contacts. I used the online company, Next Day Flyers. One of the folks at the company liked the cards so much, they wanted to do an interview about the book, my work, and why I chose Next Day Flyers! Check it out —>

Next Day Flyers did a great job. I had not had anything printed for a while and settled on them based on rating and price.  Since I had plenty of time, turn-around was not an issue. It was important that the card felt like a traditional postcard to be saved and not like a throwaway advertisement. I did a little research on card weights, sizes, and finishes and found just what I needed in their inventory. I designed my cards in Photoshop and uploaded my art into their template. The template is straight-forward with layers, guidelines and font choices. The cards arrived on schedule.

  I’m glad I did my research and the final product turned out perfect!