Art History As It Should Be

WELCOME!

2007-09-16T00:29:00.000-07:00

This blog is a brief record of the artistic history of Michael Mercer starting at age 10. It takes you on the visual journey of his development as an artist, the major influences to his artwork, and explains the inspiration behind many of the pieces involved. It is recommended that you use the sidebar at right to navigate to the last post and then move forward chronologically (bottom to top).

I have recently felt (for the first time in my life) that I'm actually an artist and not just a hobbyist. As such, I felt it important to document in whatever small way I could the journey that has brought me here in a clear and concise manner. I plan on updating it in the future as I think of more appropriate things to say at each critical juncture in my artistic history. Hopefully this blog will provide insight into how a person discovers or chooses what their role in life is to be.

In general terms, this blog is a composite and abridgment of information found at my other two blogs 500,000 Bad Drawings and Getting Fancy With The Spices. 500,000 Bad Drawings is the place I dump a good amount of my bad drawings and Getting Fancy With The Spices is my general use and painting blog. It chronicles my painting history quite accurately, as it contains nearly every painting I've ever created.

I hope these websites provide you with interesting (and clean!) pictures to look at, a few laughs, and a better understanding of artists and their place in the world.

Enjoy!

The Portrait Society of Atlanta

2007-09-16T00:26:00.000-07:00

While in school at GPC I joined the Portrait Society of Atlanta and promptly spammed everyone on the list--some 260 artists. I was seeking tutelage. Of the 260 artists one man invited me to his studio--Walter Peterson. I visited him a few times and got into a few Portrait Society shows (not winning anything), but I was eventually disfellowshipped or something for not picking up my artwork on time from the shows. They also got mad at me for the spam. So ironic. Anyway, they left a bitter taste in my mouth and I just continued to do my own personal work, not sure exactly where I was going with it, except that I felt I wanted to be a portraitist. Walt Peterson made a good living from it, and having seen how he works I was certain I could do it, too.

But deep down I knew there was something more for me to do with my artwork. I still don't know exactly what it is, but I knew I would have to take it further than portraiture.

Shortly thereafter I felt inspired to start writing about Rain, that fictional role-playing character I made about 15 years ago. I started writing and I couldn't stop. Not for the whole summer. I typed until my fingers and wrists ached. The first month I hit over 300 pages of material typed (not all story--about half was freewriting). The second month was less, but better quality. And by the third I knew I was in trouble--I knew I didn't have the skills, didn't have the knowledge, and didn't have the willpower to complete what I had started. The story became really big, and really, really cool. I think it is, anyway.

And that's when I got accepted to BYU. I was a linguistics major at first, but discovered they had an Animation program, and I knew I had to get into it, no matter the cost. So that's what I worked towards. Fall turned to Winter and I moved to Utah to pursue my dreams of writing and illustrating a book, or perhaps designing for someone else's stories.

As of this post I've been at BYU for a year and a half and have been in the Animation program for a year. It has been the best experience of my life (outside of the mission of course) and I am really excited at what the future holds for me and for my classmates. I have discovered many new artists that I seek to be like, the top name on the list being Craig Mullins. So I'm moving in that direction. I hope you've enjoyed seeing my artistic history and hopefully it will help you make decisions concerning your own life and artistic pursuits.

The top portrait is myself at age 22. Follwing are my nephew Isaac, a random magazine bride, and a coworker, Andrea Schaeffer.

After the mission - age 21 - 22

2007-09-16T00:07:00.000-07:00

So the story goes that after my mission I had changed a lot. Not sure I wanted to do artwork. I came home in August and the only schools accepting students was the local tech school. So I went. It might sound crazy after having viewed all my artwork, but you know, my father had an influence on me, and to be honest I was trying to stay open minded. I still had my artistic goals--but I was just trying things out. So I went to tech school for a quarter. Then I got a job as a salesman. Then I started my own pressure washing business. And then I decided to move out with my good friend Matt to the University of Georgia and pursue my dreams as an artist. I was going to be a portraitist, and the month I spent at UGA was one of the best of my life. I was still working the pressure washing business at the time and inbetween that I was taking Matt's camera, walking around campus, and getting some photos of random students. Above is my sister (not a random student). Below are the students.

I was seeking to imrove my art so I went to the local bookstore and bought the book with the best artwork in it (in my opinion). It was Tony Ryder's Figure drawing book. (Just google Anthony Ryder if you're interested.) I pretty much learned my technique from reading that book and was able to make a number improvements on my own. Although my life as an artist was short-lived (no one wants to pay money for graphite portraits...imagine that) I continued to realize I wanted art to be a part of my life forever. So I went back to school to get my grades up. I didn't study art, however. I was at a community college and I studied Spanish. Why not art? Because that school's version of "art" and the way they taught it went against my morales and also against my personal understanding of what art is. I didn't want to be taught by more Mrs. V's. So for the next year and a half I worked full time and went to school full time and got my Associates Degree in Spanish from Georgia Perimeter College.

My last drawings before leaving on my mission - age 18 - 19

2007-09-15T23:49:00.000-07:00

Drawn from same NG photographer's book. I loved that little thing.

Same here.

My friend Lucas Mink started this drawing and classically didn't finish it. So I took over. It was from some cologne add I think. Maybe perfume. Not sure. But it turned out nice, except that her face is like a kabuki mask. Oh well.

This poor little girl doesn't like bathing in a bucket. Neither do I. I did it for two years in the Philippines on my mission. It wasn't exactly in a bucket, though, just with one.

Portraits - age 18

2007-09-15T23:34:00.000-07:00

These are portraits copied from a National Geographic photographer's book. Sorry I can't remember his name. It's Michael something...Csomething.

After graduation I started thinking about religion a lot and eventually decided to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Before I left I really enjoyed looking at pictures of non-Americans. I like seeing God's children and their various states. I think many individuals in our country forget to do that too often.

Notice the improved linework and more confident drawing abilities. I spent a lot of time just doodling at this stage in my life. I knew I wanted to do art, but I also knew I wanted to serve a mission--the mission meant a 2 year reprieve from art. But I had faith on a friend's advice that "There is nothing you won't do better after having served a mission." Whether that's true or not I'll let you determine.

I love this drawing. It was out of my head.

I used to like Thomas Kinkade until I met him at the Mall of Georgia once. He is the most egotistical and selfish artist I've ever seen. I will never buy his work, or his designer bed sheets.

Beyond high school

2007-09-15T23:27:00.000-07:00

After high school I worked at an art store and did nothing with my life for awhile. A few works were created during this time period. The above, however, is just a copy of a D&D illustration.

I love dancers, and this is one of my favorite. I think it was stolen from something. In fact, I'm sure of it.

This, however, was not stolen. It was my first pastel painting ever. I think I went over it with Prismacolor after using fixative on the pastels. While at the art store I was influenced by a muralist who's name I can't remember. But she was the one that inspired me to use pastels and expand my horizons. I painted a few murals with her, but mostly just did gopher boy stuff.

This is stolen from a Matthew Sweet album cover, Girlfriend. Also Prismacolor. It's quite large and took a number of pencils and a lot of grinding to finish. I suggest wisely choosing your media. I'm not sure why I stopped doing "creative" works (meaning all my images are copies) but this is a trend that is seen from the time I graduated to the time I went to BYU (a period of about 6 years). There are some creative aspects to them, mostly in color or design, but nothing outstanding. And to be honest, when comparing these works with that of my peers (and of professionals) it makes you wonder why I continued to wan to be an artist.

But I did keep coming back to art. That and to writing, or storytelling. It has always been in my blood and only when I got into BYU's Animation program have I been able to really push my skills to the next level. I hope to maintain this effort consistently for the rest of my life.

Some of my more creative works...

2007-09-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

Art skills regress the minute the sound of music is mentioned. It's true. I'm the black pen. My friend Luke Hoagland, now studying at Duke Medical in NC, is blue.

Luke drew this, but I really liked it. Sorry to all you moms out there. I promise you your kids get a lot worse on the bus, and the cafeteria is living hell for people that like clean jokes. That's a big reason why I played Magic cards during lunch--the talk was clean. It made lunch much more enjoyable. But this image makes me smile... :)

Kind of sad to think a girl with wings is "creative". She's sitting in a pool of water.

My friend Matt Adams really liked this image, and I do too!

Using Photo Reference

2007-09-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

I learned from Andrea Harris that using photo reference improved my artistic ability immensley. Here is an image of Jewel.

Got paid $25 for this portrait of James and Amber. Not worth it. I think I ended up working for like $2 an hour or something. James ended up marrying Amber's best friend's litte sister. Go figure.

Just a girl from a magazine.

Leonardo DeCrapio's Romeo and Juliet movie thing. I never saw it. From what I have deducted I'm not missing much (although some people continue to say it was a great film). I just couldn't get past the first scene. Even I could be a better gangsta than that.

Another lessoned learned from this: if at first it doesn't fit--make it.

More Characters

2007-09-15T22:52:00.000-07:00

Despite Ben's best efforts, I remained quite aloof from the anime scene. This is one exception, nevertheless, she's still wearing highly textured and realistic armor. Textures have apparently always been important to me...

I find this image fascinating. There's so much story behind it that I don't know--I just drew it. Who is he? Why is he sorrowful? Who is his companion? I wonder if I had a story in mind when I drew it. Can't remember now. Whatever the case it shows definitive character in both individuals. Deep character, which is something sorely lacking in most media.

A diTerlizzi copy.

Copied from a Spectrum book. Not sure which one. It had a Dinotopia cover, though. This is one of my first Prismacolor images. It turned out nice, I think.

My only high school art class

2007-09-15T22:43:00.000-07:00

It's true. I only took one art class in high school. I got Mrs. V to let me skip the intro stuff and go directly into the advanced class. But I hated it. I got a C. This image apparently is the only thing that survived (the only thing I did, maybe?). It's pointilism and I apparently went back and shaded stuff in pencil after I turned in the half-finished drawing. I think everything in the interior of the box is made up because the still life was stupid. I put some role-playing books in there and a dice bag and suddenly things became happier.

This class had the potential of getting me started on an art career at the proper age, but instead it hampered me. Tsk tsk. Oh well. At least I'm on the right track now. That counts for something in a world of people that give up on their dreams. And I thank God every day for it.

Stories

2007-09-15T22:35:00.000-07:00

Always loved stories. Above is a map with a made-up language. I don't actually think I made the language up. I think it's mostly just scribbles. Typical. My English is mostly scribbles, too.

This was inspired by Aaron's "Us" book. We once role-played ourselves being transported into a different world--the world of Korpan. My brother's world is really cool. It was always inspiring to me, and continues to be so when I visit it.

This is a copy of some comic book artist somewhere. It is supposed to be Elizabeth Fo'gorn, one of Ben Livingston's characters from back in middle school. She was a traveling companion of Rain's. She evolved into a character that still doesn't have a name--and I recently spoke with Ben after a 2 or 3 year silence and he's doing really well. We both are writing stories with our characters we made up long ago. It's good to hear. I'm so glad he's doing well.

In case it doesn't read well, it's a dragon sawn in half with his guts spilling and a knight is bleeding from the aorta. His nerdy and half-naked squire is witnessing the gruesome scene. Yet another image that exemplifies my sadistic and twisted sense of humor. However, you can se a bit of style to this drawing, which is something I'm only now learning about, at the age of 25. In case you were wondering, I was born in 1982.

A Child's World

2007-09-15T22:28:00.000-07:00

This poem touched me deeply when I was young and you can see its influence in the accompanying image.

Magic: the Gathering

2007-09-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

I think this was a 1/1 green card that sucked. But the picture was cool! If you don't know what I'm talking about then you're definitely not a Magic: the Gathering geek. I would skip lunch and play magic cards with the goths, although I myself remained tactfully normal-looking. I got made fun enough for just playing the game. I have since sworn off Magic altogether and vowed to never touch a card again. I did this after high school when I wasted a lot of time devising new ways to kill my opponent when I should have been doing more productive things--like drawing.

I don't remember this card. Shame on me! I think it was a white card, though. Maybe an enchantment. Unholy strength? Notice the cheap Photoshop texture. I obviously had started using it by this point.

Various Early High School Drawings

2007-09-15T21:51:00.000-07:00

I actually didn't finish a lot of work...and most of the stuff on this blog is the majority of stuff that was finished enough to post, or at least, to scan in whenever it was that I scanned it. A long time ago. I just found these files because of Picasa (thanks Google!) and even though I don't care for several features of the program I do use it to post with.

Anyway, that said, I probably had about one sketchbook a year in high school. Not many. I typically go through a sketchbook or more each month here at BYU (or the equivalent in looseleaf). So in high school I was particularly diligent. I'm not sure why I drew. I can't honestly remember, but hopefully the pictures speak for themselves. The one above was a photo which obviously inspired me, so I decided to draw it.

A wizard and his weird dog.

Another character design. I didn't even know what character design was back then. Much less costuming and everything else. This one was out of my head.

I think I drew flowers a lot because I liked the concentric design. God knew what he was doing when he made flowers. And you don't have to be a girl to like them. Or gay, either.

Literary Magazine - 9th Grade - age 14

2007-09-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity of designing the cover for our literary magazine when I was in 9th grade. I think the shapes could definitely be better, but when you consider it was done entirely without Photoshop, but only a pen, some scissors, and a copy machine, it's not so bad.

I think this flower was inspiration for the design.

A church friend named Ryan Roney wanted me to illustrate his story about a phoenix. I remember thinking the story was stupid, and I didn't like the art I did for it either, but Ryan loved it. I can't remember if he paid me or not...whatever the case, this was my first illustration job, and obviously my first opportunity to be published...oh wait. Just kidding. I actually had a piece in my 8th grade literary magazine, too, that totally stomped everything else in there. It was another grid drawing of a woman wrapped in a blanket...where the heck did that get off to???

This was a personal piece. I still like it.

Andrea Harris - age 13

2007-09-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

So we are definitely into my early high school years now. One of the important stories to tell is that of Andrea Harris. When I get a moment to write it I'm going to, so bear with me...will update soon!

Tony DiTerlizzi

2007-09-15T21:26:00.000-07:00

I copied a lot of Tony's work. I still love it.

Music and my Childhood

2007-09-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

Without exception, all the music I listened to was determined by
Aaron. We had rooms right next to each other in the basement at this
period in my life, so every song he played I would hear. It began with
R.E.M.'s Nightswimming in middle school (it was the first song that ever touched
me--EVER. I had never listened to music for fun before that point in my
life. In fact, my first story was inspired by Nightswimming, and strangely
enough, has elements that I recreated in the book I started 10 years
later. And no, I didn't do it on purpose, it's just the way my imagination
works, I guess.)

This is Smashing Pumpkin's Muzzle from their Melon Collie and Infinite Sadness album. At the time it seemed like music to me, but now it sounds mostly like a chicken in its last death throws (maybe even after the head's been chopped off). **Note: There's always exceptions, of course, and a few songs I would still listen to.

I think if I wrote the lyrics to song it made me feel like part of the song.

Matthew Sweet's Sick of Myself. I had a crush on a beautiful girl that lasted for 6 years. It started in 7th grade. Kim Moulder was in my class, and I was totally in love from the moment I saw her. I was a really shy boy, but I was determined to ask her out. Day by day I conquered my fears. Word by word, gesture by gesture, conversation by conversation. It was not unusual for me to not say a word throughout the day because of my nervousness. But I loved Kim Moulder, and so help me, I was going to be social and ask her out. I think it ended in 7th grade with a friend of mine doing a stupid trick and asking her out for me (or calling her or something) and of course it ended in disaster. I thought that was the end but then in 8th grade I had a class with her again and we sat right next to each other, you know, alphabetically. Not sure I spoke to her much then, but I found out I still liked her--a lot. When high school came and I had a class with her again I started conquering my social barriers--which was really hard, and really slow, and wasn't always successful. But as it turned out by 12th grade we were good friends, even if not boyfriend/girlfriend, and by the time we graduated it could probably have developed into that had I wanted to push it. But I didn't. Nevertheless, I can honestly say that it took more gall for me to become her friend on a daily basis than any other endeavor or act or series of acts, that I have ever encountered. I attribute much of my success to my ability to conquer my fears of failure than to any talent, gift, or god-given opportunity.

If you ever read this, Kim, just know that I'm very grateful and would like to hear from you and see how you're doing. I'd like to help you out the same way you helped me...or at least just thank you for being my friend and helping me through a hard time in my life.

OK! Enough deep stuff. This is R.E.M.'s You and Me.

Cranberries. For some reason I always think of the first Diablo game whenever I hear Cranberries...I guess I must have listened to it a lot as I busted some head...

The Record of Lodoss War

2007-09-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

A profile. I think this one was from my head, too. Pretty sure we're getting into the high school years with this one. Hard to say. But if you study her out I think you will see a lot of aspects from Elmore's elf drawing from the previous post (like the lips), so I think I was just copying, but taking creative license.

My own Record of Lodoss elf. I've always wondered how they can fight for so long but manage to keep their ears intact. It must be like an earthworm in that, if cut in half, the bigger half regrows itself.

Ben introduced me to Record of Lodoss War, a delightful (if gory) Japanese animation staring none other than Deedlit the elf-chick. We had to watch with subtitles (which is how I know the English spelling of her name) because Ben was trying to train me on proper anime etiquette.

Another copy of Elmore's elf. I like this one best, especially the shading on the hair. I'm not certain I could shade like that even now...what happened to my creativity?

Dragon*Con 1996 - age 14

2007-09-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

Another Michel Whelan dragon from a cover of a Pern novel. This one was Moreta: the Dragonlady of Pern, or something like that.

So when I was 14 Aaron took me to a sci-fi fantasy convention in Atlanta called Dragon*Con. I was a bit unnerved by all the pornography and haven't been to a convention since for the same reason. If my parents had known it would be like that they would never have let me gone, and to be honest, looking back on my life, I wouldn't have missed it one bit.

But one fun thing was that we had 11 guys sharing one room and one night someone farted and it got everyone into this 3 hour long flagellation percussion showdown. I wonder what they thought in the room next door...

Another good thing that came from Dragon*Con was that I met one of my heroes at that time in my life, R.A. Salvatore. I think he was just getting established by that time, and I'll never forget standing in line to have him sign my sketchbook. Aaron and I had discussed how cool Salvatore was because of his deep regard and respect for J.R.R. Tolkien, who's Lord of the Rings I read a year before. Aaron counseled me on what to say to Salvatore when I got there, so when it was my turn I politely asked him to write something about our "mutual admiration for the works of J.R.R. Tolkien." I loved Tolkien when I read him, and I continue to do so today. I think reading his books was perhaps on of the biggest life-changing experiences of my life, for it instilled in me a desire that has never left.

Ironically, I have never read them all the way through since.

I also got Larry Elmore to draw a picture for me. He made me promise not to show anyone, but I did, and they got pictures, too! It took him about 60 seconds.

This is probably the first and last caricature you will ever see from me. I'm not a fan. But an old granny in a jumpsuit (cross-eyed no less) is something that I had to post. I added the tint for easiness on the eyes. Almost exclusively I drew on white paper. (Typically in sketchbooks.)

The beginnings of a concept designer and matte painter - age 11 - 12

2007-09-15T20:30:00.000-07:00

This is a 7th grade drawing. My love for sweeping vistas and beautiful lighting is evident here. I think I see the beginnings of what would develop into my dream of being a matte painter. Not sure what a matte painter is? Go here and here.

Here are some of my earliest monsters. I think this one's called a lionphanticorn.

I think this may be left over from my love of Pern's dragons. When they are born they "impress" themselves into a special person who is to become a dragon rider. If you have not checked out The Dragonriders of Pern series I suggest you do. Not sure I would still like them as much as an adult, but I have many early memories of Pern and still remember quite a few of the stories and all of the characters. To this day I still love the reality that McCaffrey infused into her fantasy world. Mine has that same gritty feeling.

Birth of a Legend and Kudos to Ms. Grace

2007-09-15T05:57:00.000-07:00

His name is Rain, originally called "Rainie Dae" because I made him on a rainy day. The origins of his name are often attributed to the shampoo "White Rain" but it was in fact my brother Aaron's cleric that was named after shampoo, Aussie Mega.

Rain began as a 4'6 elf ranger, but he was destined to become my icon and hero. I think every role-player has at least one character that they consider a kind of avatar, and Rain was definitely that character. He's matured, too, over the years, and has become one of the lead characters in a story that currently consists of more than 500 pages. He's not an elf, though, and his name has infinitely more depth than his origins.

Rain was copied from Robin Wood's book The People of Pern.

This is Sharra, one of Ben's characters. She's supposed to be a gnome, but due to the fact that I copied this image, also, from The People of Pern, she ended up looking more like a tall, kind of thick human female.

I'm not sure I hated drawings like this as much then as I do now. It looks like a lot of love and care went into this one--down to the crooked exit sign. I don't tolerate ridiculous subjects very well, and this subject falls under ridiculous. Dragons = cool, school hallways = ridiculous.

Yeah, I drew this one out of my head...but I do think this was the first image I ever got in an art show. This art class in 6th grade was where I first painted, also. I wish I had a copy of the painting because it was quite good...there was a Prismacolor tiger, too, now that I think about it. Kudos to Ms. Grace, my teacher, because I actually have fond memories of this 6th grade class, and I think it would be my last fond memories of creating art in an educational setting until I came to Brigham Young University 12 years later.

6th Grade Science Class

2007-09-15T05:40:00.000-07:00

His name is Cain and he was a halfling character. I'm not sure where I got his name from, but I know it's not what you think.

About this time in my life I became friends with a guy named Ben Livingston and neither of us had any other friends, so we would role-play together as often as possible. Due to the fact that we didn't live near each other this typically meant once or twice a month staying up all night making characters and sending them through a ridiculous story. Enough time passed between sessions, however, that we typically started over from scratch each time we got together. This made for a lot of characters, and is probably the root of my love of storytelling.

A schoolhouse. I vividly recall drawing this during school. I guess I yearned for the simpler life. Not the accurate shadow being case from the building.

My oldest brother Aaron (I have another brother, Adam, who is slightly younger, but still older than me) introduced me to Anne McCaffrey. This is a copy of Michael Whelan's cover of The White Dragon. This was also drawn during 6th grade. I remember one time being called on by my fat teacher to answer a question and I didn't know what was going on. Someone said, "He's drawing dragons," in a way that made it sound as if dragons weren't cool.

One of my first portraits. I'm assuming it's drawn from reference, but judging from the Cain-like eyes (above) she might not be. Cain wasn't drawn from reference. But the teeth on this one definitely suggest it.

Expansion of mediums

2007-09-15T05:21:00.000-07:00

Some people have no respect for artwork, but I did get 100.

Note the mixed media on this one and the volcano that looks suspiciously like the orginial Civilization graphics...

Yes, I read it and loved it.

This one is significant because it was done in oil pastels. You can see I was having trouble obtaining detail.

My sadistic sense of humor was apparent even at a young age. After burning down the house, wiring it with TNT, Santa Clause sets to work chopping off his own reindeer's head. I wonder if he contemplated how he was going to get home.

The Oldest Bad Drawings I Have - about age 10

2007-09-15T05:04:00.000-07:00

I have decided to publish a history of my artistic life as I know it. It has been quoted to me that everyone has 500,000 bad drawings in them. This blog is a small sampling of my baddest (meaning best) work as a child. I'll spare you the really bad ones.

These are some of the oldest drawings I have in my posession. I'm certain I have more at my parents' house, but as of this post I only have a few digital scans of old work. I will someday create another blog with all my elementary school drawings. Everything here is about 6th grade, and I would have been 10 - 12 years old.

This is a copy of a Larry Elmore sketch from one of the original 70s D&D manuals my older brother Aaron had. She was in a sitting position. This may be my first inking job ever. I always did best copying things in my early years.

I drew this one night at my best friend Jerry's house. You are looking through a gate (with portcullis!) to a keep with a dragon flying behind it. Notice the giant sunset and the banner of a dragon with a sun behind it on the keep. I'm not sure exactly what gate we are looking through, unless it happens to be their neighbor enemy's or something, because it obviously isn't the gate to the keep.

A boy flings ice cream and makes a mess. I think it may have been a childhood fantasy I never realized.

This one might be hard to read. It's a leprachaun with his pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Notice the nice landscape vista with forests, a mountain, and the ocean, and the intuitive use of perspective.