Elstabo's Canvas

So right away ass I opened it, I knew this was a scam. No introduction or how they found my work, nothing. got this in the mail the other day. Edwin Brown  (acha1b2c3@gmail.com) To: you   Details Hi, I am interested in one of your Art works within the price range of $500 to $5000 Also do you accept payment via cashier's or bank check? Thank You. I responded with I only accept money orders! Edwin Brown  (acha1b2c3@gmail.com) To: you   Details I can only make the payment via cashier's check and the piece won't be shipped until the check cleared to your account. Thank You. Be vigilant Artists out there, scammers will try to sucker you in with fake checks and processed orders in order to steal any money you have in your accouts .

http://www.blurb.com/b/9072810-my-erotica is where you can purchase my latest book, which looks back at my experience in the erotic art scene, also are included never before seen paintings which were done specifically for this book.

So last year I did a few designs for a client who apparently was working on some  short low budget movies. He paid me for the first 4-5 designs, but the last 3 designs he stoled from me.  He was paying me through PayPal, but the last designs he paid me under another PayPal  account ( which should have been a red flag to me). Later on, the payment was reversed as the account holder apparently belonged to his angered  ex-girlfriend. The job ended up being a lost and a bitter lesson. Now I have received this email... Marie Lyttle  (mlyttle09@gmail.com) To: you   Details Hello my name Marie my kids dad has dealt with you for logos etc. Osha I'd his  name so I wanted a couple of logos done also one is Sugar Carrie wit  a pic silhouette with fancy letters My phone number is 7573671407 Marie I want a logo it's two hands that look like puppet hands with the 🌍 underneath it and I want Mingo World in words going ar...

European Tour I took my first vacation to Europe this year  landing first in Rome,Italy then continuing my adventure to Berlin, Germany. I took in the culture by checking out all the possible museums and galleries, ancient ruins and beautiful wineries. I enjoyed the night life  in both countries with the wonderful people of Europe, it was my first trip over seas but it surely wont be my last.

Part of being a professional artist is being able to deliver on time and on budget. And sometimes your forced to do these things with one hand tied behind you back, (figuratively) Normally I like to shoot my own references for the amount detail that is needed to do the job correctly, but sometimes that is not the way things work out. Take for instance this portrait gig where the person has transitioned away. And the client's only available reference is this small old photo. I never have backed down from a challenge and this particular instance gave me in opportunity to figure out this issue. I could have just said no, but this returning client is a friend and I wanted to make sure she received what she needed. So I had put on my detective hat and dug into my bag of tricks to make out the details of the gentlemen's face in the picture. I used some of the clients personal pictures who is the grand daughter) from facebook to decipher some those details like the mouth and ey...

This be the season where I get the most requests for family portraits, being that its the holiday season. One of the things a professional artist must be ready for is those last minute clients that need it by tomorrow. And you better deliver the quality goods on time and budget, after all its your reputation that is on the line. So of course I say yes to a client a week before Christmas for a family portrait .  All I need is a good reference photo, well like most things in life, things never go as easy as one would like. Three days later the client brings me a print- out of the reference material, Ideally not what I would use but at times like these one has to do what they got to do, plus (I take these type of requests as a personal challenge ). My schedule is all ready tight as it is working a full-time job, but none the less I take the print out and make due with it. Here is the process and the final product which is 12x16 oil on canvas board. The art work took me exactly 30...

This year I will be showcasing my art at the Damned art show in Detroit. 10th Annual DAMNED Exhibition of Enlightened Darkness Art + Performance + Dining + Masquerade October 26th through 28th 2017 VIP 7pm to 9pm - General 9pm to 2am - 18+ Tangent Gallery / Hastings Ballroom 715 E Milwaukee, Detroit, Michigan www.thatdamnedshow.com www.facebook.com/thosedamnedfans www.instagram.com/thatdamnedshow/ www.twitter.com/thatdamnedshow

Yoanny- sketch paper 9x12 I would be misleading you if I said that the muses I collaborated with in my past didn't play a major role in my Life. Regardless if that time has been short or long, they have introduced some experiences that could never be replicated again. God only knows I try and try again, but there were times that pure magic has manifested in front of me. I am always seeking that inspiration, that excitement, that tease, that hunger to recreate that moment, that feeling, that awe of unity with another person. You can some-what reach it with sex, but its only lasts for a moment, The creative process is one that leaves you returning, going over all the details in your mind, collecting all the ideas that spring up from what they do and say. It spills over to other projects, expanding those ideas and fueling that want to create. For me the relationship between an artist and his muse is the most perfect love that exists, from that collaboration, life springs ...

So a few weeks back I was contacted to do a commission of a beautiful woman who was pregnant and wanted a portrait of her self done before giving birth. This was a first for me and I was very honored to do this portrait for her. She had a special location in upstate New York at of a huge body of water near Congo,NY. She was supper excited to have her pictures taken and decided to wear some high heels in the process.Since I had no desire on rushing a 8 month pregnant woman with broken ankles to the hospital, I took the shoes away from and shot her standing in the water. After that was done I completed the portrait 2 weeks later. The painting was done on a 18x24 stretched canvas. She was very happy with her painting as you can see here in this video sent by her lovely sister.

So my mother received this later today. Nothing weird looking about this, with the exception of two thing. A Company like Verizon was sending money back for over charging...red flag #one. Red flag number# two...She doesn't have a Verizon account!. These scam bangs are getting better at their approach, but common sense has to be utilized here people. If you you cash any of these checks that you know you shouldn't be getting, Do not do it because your account will get wiped out once your bank account processes it. And the banks are not responsible either because at the end of the day its your responsibility. And knowing is have the battle!

So I was asked from a friend of mine to do a design for the Brooklyn's chili pepper festival https://www.bbg.org/visit/event/chile_pepper_festival_2017 I designed this for it, and of course it was deemed too sexual....lol one of the things I learned over the years, is when it comes to marketing ( sex sells)...what makes me laugh about this design, is that I actually toned it down from the other ideas I had for it...oh well, back to the drawing board

I always had a thing for them Italian women. Sofia has played a role in that obsession. She had a natural sexuality that can freeze you in your place. I started painted her this week and she is coming along very well..the Italian muse has been fueling my imagination intensely. More of her soon...

So a few days ago..what I thought was a client...reached out to me when he found me on #thumbtack a website that caters to artist. The guy gave me a sob story about being in a hospital as a cancer victim, and that he was moving out of the U.S. and wanted to get his wife a birthday gift for their anniversary. yada yada yada.... he sends me a check I got the check with in a few days of sealing the deal...Fedex- ed to my house! I  was rushing to get to the bank before it closed (Saturday) but something seemed off once I opened the package. 1st. red flag ....was the name of the check...the check was under a different name!. I thought maybe it was the guys assistant which he did mention was going to handle his affairs , (since he was in the hospital..) 2nd. red flag was the check paper it self.. The paper itself felt a little light,, and the signature was digitally printed in a different opacity than the rest of the print type. Being a freelance artist for almost 2 de...

A few days ago I came across a post on invaluable.com on the matter of Art collectors , called How to Start a Fine Art Collection. It got me thinking about my own ideas about this topic. I can not speak much from the art collectors position, but mostly from the art maker and seller. So here is what I can share from the twenty plus years of doing my craft. In my situation there has been two major factors in people who collect my work, those who have shared personal moments with me and those who feel connected or admire the subject of my work. Social functions always played a major role in the sales of my art work, those people who collected my work usually shared some sort experience with me. Example: There was a young woman who would attend frequent art shows I exhibit in, after repeated interactions with her I asked her one day to be part of my art work. Since then she has modeled for me in several paintings and through out that time I have given her 5 of my original paintings ou...

This piece here was 20x24 and an attempt to do an oil illustration with multiple glazes. The main challenge for me here was to fit in multiple figures in the scene with detailed recognizable faces. The faces at this size were very difficult for me, because of how tiny the details were, about the size of a quarter coin. I don't like spending to much time on a painting, so I had to slow down my process. Part of that process was doing the layers of glazes, then having to wait for it to dry before passing over them again. Torture for me, but at the same time rewarding when complete. These photos don't do the painting any justice though, because of the multiple layers, these colors change when you stand in front of the painting.

This piece took about 4 days worth of work, as part of a revamp on some of my pulp fiction themes. This particular painting was done in oil, and here you can see some of the process. I first start with a under painting done in acrylic then I will do a wash over in oil. After laying in key color swatches I will blend the colors in a unified flow. Painting faces and hand tend to be most challenging for me, especially at this small size. The painting is over all 18x24, but the face it self is only 2x3 inches.

Sylvia on youtube

So one summer day I was hanging in Red Hook visiting Donato Giancola and I bumped into this other artist who was doing a a cool drawing of an old trolly that was parked and out of use for a long time. I didnt know it at the time, But this artist was one of the major designers behind the Steve Madden shoes back in the days. Small world! http://www.tommykane.com/ http://tommykane.blogspot.com/