Sketches and Studies by Craig Houghton

Craig Houghton January 31st, 2007

Here’s another last-minute rush illo for a local online paper. I’ll admit, it’s not the most exciting subject in the world, but at least I finally found a use, as a ref, for the quill in my studio.

• watercolor , illustrations
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Craig Houghton January 31st, 2007

The best thing to happen to me over the weekend was a music recommendation, and I’m glad to pass this on to anyone within earshot. Jacques Brel wrote brilliant songs and performed them with sincere passion. There are plenty of english translations and covers — Scott Walker did a great job, but I’ve thus far only heard him cover some the lighter stuff. Nontheless, go straight to the French.

By the end of this clip he’s completely lost in the music. It’s hard not to follow him there.

and some more

The Infinimentcompilation sounds great and is well-priced for a 2CD import. Amazon will also let you sample some of the tracks. I recommend starting with Ne Me Quitte Pas, Amsterdam, and La Chanson de Jacky.

• music
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Craig Houghton January 27th, 2007

just playing around with some fungal shapes this evening..

-Craig

• graphite , illustrations , plants
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Craig Houghton January 23rd, 2007

Here’s a super-quick-small-right-before-bed-illo for a local paper. The story is on teaching salaries.

-Craig

• charcoal , objects , digital , illustrations
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Craig Houghton January 22nd, 2007

This is a just get-it-on-paper concept for a side-character in a webcomic-ish project I’ll never get around to completing. In other words, this probably isn’t going anywhere, but I might use it as a prelim to paint or properly render.

-Craig

• cartoon , graphite , figures , women , illustrations
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Craig Houghton January 20th, 2007

I’m recommending El Laberinto del Fauno or Pan’s Labyrinth. I think it’s a movie about turning inward to find something painfully beautiful. Here, that process itself is an act of defiance against an external world too horrible to accept — or, in better times, it’s a world too bland to embrace without meeting it halfway. For most of this movie, it’s the former. I left the theater fairly traumatized, but it’s a beautiful film worth watching.

Watch the trailer here.

• movies
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Craig Houghton January 18th, 2007

I hadn’t much time to get this last minute illustration done, so I went with a quick watercolor & pen sketch. I’m not happy with it, but the only priority was getting it done in time. The illustration was for a local paper’s article on a proposed farmers market.

btw, that funky structure is the bandshell near the possible site — the rim towards the front has an upturn, making it look deformed and doing the pic no favors.

-Craig

• watercolor , locations , illustrations
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Craig Houghton January 18th, 2007

Yesterday night, after doing the mockingbird, I needed a break from the avian stuff. Tonight I’ve been working on an illustration for a local paper.

scrap of hot-press watercolor paper

playing around with a quick sp

Thanks for looking!
Craig

• graphite , self-portrait , figures , markers , women
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Craig Houghton January 17th, 2007

Keeping with the Birds across mediums and styles project, last night I tried a mockingbird in the general style of Sonny Liew (worth checking out!). I imagine that I should have done it in pencil and then colored the pencil lines digitally in order to get his particular sketchy style, but I felt like using pens.

Thanks for looking!
Craig

• birds , cartoon , pen , digital
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Craig Houghton January 16th, 2007

I’ve been working on a carving of a bluejay all the long weekend, but that’s definitely not photo worthy. Well, yet (first real wood carving, so read that as ‘maybe never’). So, as I continue the birds across mediums marathon, here’s a Cedar Waxwing in acrylic.

Cedar Waxwing, Acrylic 9×12

Thanks for looking!
Craig

• birds , acrylic
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Craig Houghton January 9th, 2007

I was going through the photos sitting on my camera from over this last balmy January weekend, and although I didn’t manage to get any ‘keeper’ shots, I found these two pics interesting enough to share:

I never had a chance to see a Northern Flicker’s tongue before. It’s much, much longer than this, but all I managed was a delayed and blurry shot.

And, notice the bill on this Downy Woodpecker? The barring on the bill may only be from the shadows cast by the suet feeder, but that beak looks damned good in stripes. I think it suits their outfit. Since there’s a lighter cast shadow there, the striped might actually exist, but it’s not bloody likely. Either way, I’m still hoping some fashion-based Darwinian selection bias kicks in and the striped bill look takes off.

-Craig

• birds , photography
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Craig Houghton January 9th, 2007

Check out the watercolors (I suspect there’s some gouache in there, but I haven’t asked) of Melanie Fain. Her subjects couldn’t ask for a better stage than that fantastic simple subject on stained paper look. I love this hummer I came across on her blog.

Whether you’re into natural subjects or not, her watercolor gallery is definitely worth checking out. I’m not sure how one ends up handling almost everything in just one particular style, but that approach seems to suit some.

-Craig

• other artists
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