muddy colors - death dealer - petar meseldzija
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7/30/2019 Muddy Colors - Death Dealer - Petar Meseldzija
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Saturday, October 15, 2011
Death Dealer commission
by Petar Meseldzija
A few weeks ago I posted a series of entries on my blog that were showing the progress of a
recent commission. Each time I did a sketch, or a preliminary drawing, I posted it so that thepeople who visited my blog could follow the developments. For all of you who are not aware of
the existence of these posts, I have put together all of the entries previously posted on myblog.
----------------------------
Day 1
For you who are anxious to know what is going on on my drawing table, I decided to post a
series of entries that will follow the development of a commission I am working on at this very
moment. It is a Frazetta’s Death Dealer drawing commission, inspiring on one hand,intimidating on the other. I find myself on the Master Frazetta’s grounds. This is enough to give
me a feeling of inadequacy, which is not a very good mental state to start a commission with.
However, in the next couple of days I will try not to embarrass myself and hopefully produce
something that will do justice to this famous character and his creator.
At the same time I am offering you for the first time a seat in the front row and hope that you
will enjoy the show, although at the moment I do not know what kind of show you are about to
see; an embarrassing comedy, a disappointing horror or an inspiring adventure story. Well, we
shall see…
This is the first rough thumbnail drawn quickly on an envelope.
The next quick thumbnail made with pencils on a proper sheet of paper.
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First two rough sketches based on the thumbnails. The idea about the future composition
starts to develop itself and the more concrete forms start to appear.
Apart from a few reference images of Death Dealer, this is the only reference that I use at thisstage. It is a drawing of an athlete that I did some years ago. It helps me focus on the anatomy
and the movement.
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Day 2
Yesterday I did the further study of the character and tried to explore the possibilities of the
chosen pose. I intentionally left out the remaining compositional elements in order to focus on
the Death Dealer only, and to squeeze out the maximum of the dynamic movement from thisrelatively static pose. This is the big trick and the most important objective of this composition,
and I am not yet done with it.
Day 3
Here is another version of the same pose. And I’m still searching…
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Day 4
Yet another attempt to get the right posture, with just the right amount of explosiveness. Nottoo much, not too little... And although I liked the subtlety of the pencil work of this drawing, I
had to abandon it because it still did not feel right.
Day 5
I think I GOT it right this time…This evening, while waiting for my diner to be ready, I did thislittle sketch. Although I gave myself free today, I could not forget about the drawing and I kept
seeing Death Dealer in my mind. One of these inner pictures showed me the way…However, I
think I should wait until tomorrow morning, for the morning is wiser than the evening, in order
to see whether I actually have captured the right movement, or not…If yes, the rest of the
drawing shouldn’t be a problem… I think…
A-
B-
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Day 6
Well, I don’t like Monday. You never know what Monday is going to bring you. Last Monday
brought me this sketch which, as a composition, is embarrassingly close to Frazetta’s Death
Dealer 2 painting.
I could not resist the temptation and had to try my inferior hand on this iconic pose.
Day 7
Due to a very urgent business I had to abandon the Death Dealer commission for a few days.
But today around noon, when nobody was watching, I went to my studio and did another quick
sketch…
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Day 8
Yesterday I received this interesting email and I thought you might want to read it…
-----------------
Hi Petar,
You don't know me. I'm Henrik Pettersson (carnalizer on the internet). I've been watching your
Death Dealer sketches closely as I'm a fan of both you and Frank. I have no idea if you feelyou need or want feedback, but I just wanted to show what I thought was "not so Frazetta"
about you sketches. They are awesome in their own right and if anyone can pull of a good FF
these days it's you.
Here goes. Sorry about the abuse of you sketch. First is how I perceive your Death Dealer
sketch(es), second is how I feel FF got it.
I'm sure you are aware. I can sense you're after a very specific moment of tension. The poseis good and the anatomy fantastic, but I don't think it's what Frank would have chosen.
Please don't be offended by my mail. It is in utmost well-meaning.
Best regards,Henrik Pettersson
Day 9
Today I have tried to put all the elements together, and although the composition is not yet
entirely to my liking, I hope that this will be the last preliminary drawing.
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Day 10
(Com)mission completed!
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Posted by Petar Meseldžija at 12:01 AM
Afterword
While I was working on the Death Dealer commission many people were reacting on the
posted sketches. Some comments were positive and encouraging, other were critical about
one or another aspect of the sketch and often very much attached to the personal taste of thecommentator in question. Nevertheless, all of them were useful in one or another way and they
contained an important lesson.
While the work on this commission was going on, I decided not to react to the comments
because:
Firstly, I did not know how this commission will turn out (the possibility of a failure was hanging
above my head, and I think I was the only one who was absolutely not sure about the outcome
of this commission. I think most of the people who left a comment where sure that the final
result will be “fantastic”. I wish I had the same amount of optimism about my own work as they
did).
Secondly, I was hoping that the posted sketches, and the final drawing, would give the best
answer to most of the questions and comments.
All in all, this was a very useful experiment and a great experience. Apart from the insights that
I have gained about the way others perceive us and our creations, as well as becoming more
aware of my own faults, the most important conclusions of this commission were the following
two things:
Am I satisfied with my own work? Did I achieve my own objectives?
And, is the client pleased with the results?
Well, having in mind that I was drawing somebody else’s character and have been “visiting”
somebody else’s world, I must say that I am satisfied, although I realize that there are a few
things that I could have done better.
As for the client ( in this case it is Gregg Spatz from the US, an art collector with great passionfor art and a sophisticated taste), upon seeing the final drawing he wrote to me: “…the drawing
is exactly what I had expected from you and maybe even more…”.
At the end I would like to point out an important thing. Because Death Dealer is a famous
Frazetta character, some people expected me to approach the drawing as Frazetta would do.My Death Dealer drawing is in fact an homage to the Master, rather than a copy of his
character. I am not (and don’t want to be) an epigone of another artist. I am an independent
creator with his own vision, and his own abilities.
I think it is better to be a lesser-Meseldzija, that a lesser-Frazetta. One Frazetta in this world ismore than enough. What we need ( generally speaking) are new visions, new approaches,
new roads that will lead us to Rome, so to speak.
Have a great day!
10 comments:
Anonymous October 16, 2011 7:06 AM
This is an excellent post (as usual). The walk through of the process of 'finding' the final image is
fantastic. Non-artists don't appreciate the work that goes into composing an artwork and I foolishly
sometimes count the amount of 'searching' I do against myself. It's so good to see professional
artists confidently showing the world this is how it's done. Thank you. Inspiring.
Reply
bill October 16, 2011 9:14 AM
It was tremendous fun watching this drawing grow. Perhaps the best part was observing how you
dealt with comments and suggestions. It is a great lesson for students especially those who try to
take and implement every suggestion given. It is rarely possible. You accomplished this with your
usual good grace and finished a wonderful drawing.
Reply
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Friday, October 5, 2012
Another homage to Frazetta
-By Petar Meseldzija
About a year ago I posted an entry about the making of the Death Dealer drawing, which was my first
homage to Frazetta. Upon seeing the finished piece, the client who commissioned the drawing asked me if
I would be willing to do a painting of the same composition. I accepted but shortly after I realized that this
might be even a bigger challenge, because the inclusion of color in the process will increase my anxiety,
for now I will be working in the shadow of the full scale of Frazetta’s talent. The question about the actual
meaning of a homage, and the purpose of such a venture appeared in my mind. To be honest, I never
liked the surrogates and epigones. I always greatly appreciated the integrity and the uniqueness of the
artistic expression. Therefore making just a simple copy of this iconic character was out of the question.
I have to say that making copies of other artist’s work is not strange to me. During my studies at the art
academy I did a few copies of the old master’s paintings. The purpose of it was sheer practice. In this way I
hoped to learn something that I could not get from my art teachers. Although it was not done by the book,
so to speak, for I painted the copies from the reproductions, not from the originals, it was highly satisfying
and useful, and I collected the knowledge that I was not able to find anywhere else back then.
Serge Birault
Tim Bruckner
Dan dos Santos
J esper Ejsing
Arnie Fenner
Eric Fortune
J ustin Gerard
Donato Giancola
Gregory Manchess
Petar Meseldžija
J ohn Jude Palencar
Paolo Rivera
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When it comes to my Frazetta Death Dealer interpretations, my objectives are quite different . Although I
have to “copy” the master’s character, I don’t intend to copy his technique or style. I am supposed to take
his character as a starting pointing and then bring it into my world and reinterpret it so that it gets a
distinctive flavor of my style and my thinking. But still, a heavy shadow of the master's abilities is hanging
above my head and making me feel a little incompetent. Of course I knew that Frazetta was truly unique
and marvelous, but only when you try to make a Frazetta painting, you realize how damn good he was. He
was, and still is, the Michelangelo of Fantasy Art!
Anyway, here is the underpainting of my new Death Dealer piece. At this moment I really don’t know how
the painting will evolve. I have some vague ideas about the direction I want to go, but it’s more likely that
the forthcoming battle with this demanding piece will define the final results. I have to wait and see, just
like you…
Milk Maid, after Vermeer, 1991.
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