New Painting: Leadbelly (Commission)

This painting isn't for sale as its a commission piece.  Its a one of early blues legend Leadbelly over the course of 2 days. What made this painting interesting was the fact the canvas was to big for my easel, so it meant I had to paint the whole thing sideways! (This is show in the process below).  This created its own special kind of hell as it meant painting a lot of the time with my head bent sideways meaning I have one helluva sore neck today lol.

My neck hurts so much from this!

I still have 1 or 3 paintings to try and fit in before Xmas for presents yet, which will be tight but I should manage it.  The worst thing is my mother wants one of her done for her Xmas present....but my mother hates having her photo taken.  plus due to her 'advanced' age there is no chance she could sit for the length of time it would take.  So I may have to frog march my mother in front of a camera lol.

This painting was seen by the person who commissioned it last night and approved, so I can now show this one (it was finished about 8 pm last night), it gets delivered this evening by which time the paint should be dry enough.  

If I don't get a chance before Xmas to post another blog...I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

New Painting: Sid James

As a kid the actor Sid James was a total hero to me.  Something about the characters he played just made me think he was awesome.  While he's best known as an actor in many carry on films and Hancocks Half hour, he did a whole lot more and had a long and varied career before his life ended on the stage of Sunderland Empire (which is about 13 miles or so from where I live at the moment).

This painting is already spoken for, and it was painted over 3 days with acrylics on a 50x60cm canvas.  I put a number of progress images on my facebook account, as people have asked me if I use stencils for my paintings.... my reply (while usually contains many swear words) basically comes down to 'no' as that would not to me be 'art' but more like colouring in you do as a kid.

Sometimes I block out a piece digitally and then use this as a reference when painting, other times I freehand it. In this one for example my mind wandered during the 1st session and I badly screwed up one of the eyes which I spent most of today putting right.  The hardest trick if I am 100% honest is making sure the edge lines are correct and also as sharp as can be....  This can be very tricky on a canvas these sizes that you cannot lean on.

For anyone curious the workflow I used in the time lapse of the Robin Williams painting is about the same as I use now, although I do vary it depending on how I feel and what the subject matter is, but the main constant is I paint them...by hand....  I usually paint alone in my art room in total silence... I have tried putting music on but it distracts me i find. I paint best in mid afternoon and evening...mornings are a no go as my hands are usually shaking from the massive load of coffee I need to wake up lol.  Obviously this isnt good when you are trying to keep clean sharp lines.

New Painting: Russell Brand

Ebay Auction Link

By now you may have worked out unless you have brain damage that my paintings are following  themes.  My personal heroes cover most of them (such as the obvious ones like the painting of Harry Houdini, My dad, Hunter S Thompson, Robin Williams and Michelangelo (hence why I did the Pieta ;) )

So in what I fully admit is a 100% cynical effort, purely intended to both raise enough money for my 2 kids for some decent Christmas prezzies (This buggers going Ebay), and also to raise the profile of my painting somewhat I decided to add Russel Brand to this series.

The reason for 'doing him' apart from the obvious one that he's rather in the news of late (plus I figured with attempted 'character assassination' stuff in a certain newspaper, that maybe he might be due to something that's not bad news), is that I have 100% respect for what he is trying to do outside of his comedy.  People who truly try with all their being to change things always end up making themselves targets. History has taught us that much.

I'd urge you to give his YouTube series 'The Trews' a listen and maybe realize that there does against all expectation by certain types in the establishment seems to be a brain in his head capable of quite interesting thought. ;)

So while according to the sun newspaper I am allegedly one of the few people who find him both funny and not a total tosspot, This painting is included due to his recent attempts to change the way the world works, the way people think about things and maybe he helps shake things (and people) up a bit.

So anyway now onto the obligatory sales pitch  as some point tomorrow this is going on eBay so I can buy an extra prezzy for my kids this xmas.

Tomorrows Epic Ebay Advert:

Do you like Russel Brand?

Do you hate him with a passion normally reserved for warring nations?

Are you a female (or male?) who would like to have Russel Brand in your bedroom , dining room or even barely functional outside toilet?

Or do you truley want to give him a damn good slap/ shout at him in a nonsensical way?

Would you like to own a painting by a mad Geordie bastard who worked at some rather interesting firms over the years?  (No?...well... cant say I blame you really lol.)

Well now with Wayne Robson's Blatant Cynical Xmas Cash Grab you can do any of these things and more!  So wether you wish to grind you crotch area into the painting like a demented dog in heat, or simply set fire to it... it's all yours if you win the ebay auction!
Perfect also for single blokes to tie to their head to improve their chances with drunken females in ngihtclubs.  Also can be used to scare small children and furry mammals.  At 60cm x 50cm its a perfect size for all your russel brand needs.

All proceeds go to the 'Waynes Fucking broke and needs to buy his kids an Xmas Present' charity ;)

New Painting... no title

Another day...another painting. This time a tweaked workflow with the ref created in Mudbox (a very old sculpt as still no Wacom tablet after the last one melting), and then painted on 70cm x 50cm canvas in acrylics.

So the workflow is solid.

New Painting: Demon (Workflow 3Ds Max to Mudbox to Canvas experiment)

Something a bit different for this painting (i.e. something that doesn't exist).  I wanted to test a new workflow for my paintings that will allow me to combine the skills I already have in 3D and digital sculpting with my painting.  The idea is very simple and involves basically sculpting your own reference image.

A I am still without a Wacom tablet, it was a matter of taking an ancient model of mine (that autodesk used in a couple of demos if memory serves) doing a bit of mouse sculpting mudbox and then lighting it in mudbox and using the screen capture as my reference.

This should open up a whole new world for me in my paintings once I have a bloody Wacom tablet again.  So please treat this painting as what it is...a experiment only. (You could nearly put this under the heding 'Waynes Crazy Experiments' in fact LOL).

For those interested in technical stuff, the canvas is 60cm x 50cm and painted in acrylics (as usual as oils take way too long to dry for this impatient old bastard.) using a 'drizzle / drop by drop technique....which takes fucking ages but is worth it I feel. I might do a few tweaks to it tomorrow if I feel it needs it when viewing with fresh eyes.

Wayne's Crazy Experiments: Google cardboard

Click on image to get full size 4k pano and save to your phone.

I've been messing around with google cardboard VR at the moment So thought it fun to share a spherical panorama of the old Durham cathedral interior I did when teaching one of the FXPHD courses a few years back.

So simply load it in by clicking on the above image and saving to you android phone and loading up in cardboard.  Its rather groovy.

Also its very easy to render out a spherical pano in 3DsMax. ;)  I should point out this is one of the older versions and not the final cathedral version of the interior I did  (as I cant find that at the moment).  Hence why samples etc are low.

I'm adding this test image as its freaky as hell to load up... wouldnt want to do it when drunk lol

New Painting: After Pieta

I decided to do another painting this evening.  Its probably one of the hardest ones so far as its not every day you decided to do a painting of Michelangelos sculpture Pieta lol.  I painted it in a single session (something I don't do often, as I prefer most times to spread it over a day or three).  Now I have no idea what I'm actually going do with this painting as i already have enough paintings to decorate my flat lol.

Although after doing this one it does mean I shall have to go and stock up on my paint as I'm running low....still have plenty of canvases left though.  The dark smudge on the wall to the left, well thats paint I tried to clean off...I'm a messy painter.

Enjoy

New Painting: Hunter S Thompson (The King of Gonzo)

Painting of Doctor Hunter S. Thompson

Right now I have more canvases sitting in my art room  / spare bedroom than I know what to do with.  I bought a load of them before I moved away from Edinburgh, and a good mate of mine Steve Harris suggested a painting of Hunter S Thompson. I loved that idea as HST is a hero of mine when it comes to writing.  He always managed to hit the right balance of fact and entertainment.  In fact those with a bit of HST knowledge may recognize that's where the title of my album ;'This is Bat Country!' came form ;)

If you have never read any of his work then I urge you to do so, similarly go and see 'Fear and loathing in Las Vegas' if you haven't already seen it.

The process...and point it nearly all went pair shaped.

This is the largest painting I've done, at 3 feet long and over 2 feet high and I have to admit that about mid way through I seriously was convinced I had miscalculated the mouth and chin area.  Luckily it all came together in the end.  Its a very imposing piece as you can see from the shot to give you a  scale ref below (sorry for the blurriness, but selfies in a dimly lit room are not my forte lol.)

Size reference,... with my best HST pose lol

So as Doctor Hunter S Thompson would say "Buy the ticket, take the ride"

New Painting: Harry Houdini

My painting of Harry Houdini who died on Halloween 1926

In my Pre 3D and art life I worked for many years all over the world as an escape artist. in fact over on the main site there is even a very frank video on that time with some the TV spots I did over the years for those curious enough.

So it might not come as a surprise that for my next painting I decided to do one of Harry Houdini.  He died on 31st October 1926 (halloween), and originally I was going to hold making this painting public until halloween but alas as I am in the middle of moving from Edinburgh back to my home town I won't have a bloody internet connection then, so I'm having upload this a day early.

So this one is a bit more personal than I usually do as HH was always (and still is, in fact I still have an extensive collection in storage, along with one of his original escape trunks)  one of my big inspirations.  He was a remarkable man who ended up the biggest star of his day and arguably more famous back then than any star is these days.  So I picked what was always my favourite photo of him which I think captures the intense side of his character.

I'm not putting this one up for sale (barring anyone making offers of a shit load of money lol) as its intended for the wall of my new flat.  In fact I still have another painting or three to do to save on buying paintings and shit to decorate it lol.  plus I still have a on my two kids requested of Batman, which I have sort of been putting off as a lot of very god artists have done 'batman' and so I treat it sort of as a poisoned chalice lol.  

3D wise, now I am back freelancing expect to see new 3D art and videos once I am back on my feet and sorted out in my new place.  In fact i do have rather a lot of good ideas.  (...and maybe one or two for new apps.) 

I have no idea how long it'll be until I have a decent internet connection, but thankfully I won't be completely out of touch as I do have  rather nifty internet dongle. :)  So I hope you enjoy the Halloween painting of Harry Houdini and its dedicated to my old escapology friend and teacher Norman Bigelow who is going through some very hard times on the health front the moment.  (Stay strong old friend!) 

Maybe I' even start hunting out my old escape gear for storage at some point ;)

New Album Out Now: GSMA - Super CopperNanotube

I'd actually forgot to mention that my latest album released under the name GSMA called 'Super Copper nanotube' went on release last week.  So you can now find it on Spotify, on amazon, on iTunes and a shed load of other places.  So give it a go, its an album of  Dark Techno and features a few special guest 'voices'.

Spotify Link

Amazon link

iTunes Link

New Album coming soon: Super Copper Nanotube released under the name 'GSMA'

My new music album released under the name 'GSMA'

I've just Submitted my 6th album in 12 months a few minutes ago.  I'm releasing this one under the name GSMA and its entitled 'Super Copper Nanotube'.  Its a dark techno album, so I decided to separate the different styles of music I release into different artist names to save confusion.

It has a running time 1 hour 30 mins, and you may notice one or two well known voices once it is released. ;)  As you can see I couldn't resist some terrible puns in the song titles...


The Track listing:

1 - Deathsticks (Junkie Wan Kenobi Mix
2 - Amnesiac
3 - The Manson Prototypes
4 - Techno Pills
5 - Techno Time Off 
6 - Techno Pity (Digeri Dont You Fucking Dare)
7 - Funky Notation
8 - Techno Calls
9 - Techno Prisoners
10 - Techno Substitutes
11 - 8 bit Boobies
12 - Countdown (The Generator)
13 - Gimp Suit
14 - Super Copper Nanotubes
15 - G.S.M.A.


The red GSMA logo was designed by my good mate Eric de Broche of Luxigon Paris, the cover itself sketched out on my phone in Cafe Nero during my lunch hour today.  The album should be out as soon as apple, google, spotify etc all pull there fingers out.  (So say any timeup to a month lol)


(Now the chemical symbol for copper is 'Cu' and nanotubes are usually abbreviated to 'N.T ...but I highly doubted I could have got away with releasing an album called Super****' lol.)

I'm Leaving Rockstar North

Finally some 3D news from me for a change! (Yes it has been a while hasnt it? )

I made the decision a couple of weeks back to leave Rockstar Games,  As you may be aware I've been working as senior environment artist at Rockstar North in Edinburgh since march.  The decisions to leave is mine, and it is for very personal reasons.   What I will say is that it's in no way due to anything in any way to do with Rockstar or my job, or the people I work with.  I've had a wonderful time  at R* and  I am very sad to have be leaving.

But this is for a very private & personal reason that I will not be discussing. Period.  What I will say is it is not related to my health before any Chinese whispers start.  (I'm still the same irresponsible crazy bastard I always was).

I've had a wonderful time at Rockstar North and have made lots of new friends and spending time in Edinburgh.  So I'll be going back to freelancing for a while (into next year at the very least, maybe longer.)  This gives me time hopefully to sort out some personal things that mean I could not confidently give 100% to a  full time position.  I was intending to keep this very low key, however the fact I do wish to eat means I have to make it a little more public than I would ideally like to lol.

So... 'Hi Ho, Hi Ho, its back to freelance we go!

My last day at Rockstar North will be the 24th October, then I shall be moving back to Consett once more and will be #starting looking for freelance work from the start of November. I'd like to wish everyone at Rockstar North all the best for the future and say how much I have enjoyed my time there. 

So the many of my old freelance clients... take note, Wayne's back on the scene again for all those crazy jobs no one else thinks they can do.   ;)  

Re-releasing the 90's

The early and mid 90's were a mad and bad time for me.  I had no direction in life, I'd been homeless for a while and basically did very little of note in that time.  However one single 24 hour period stands out  It was either 1997 or 1995 (I'm actually not sure which but I'm going with 95 as its the later date, I could work it out precisely but that stuff isn't at my place in edinburgh).

I woke up one day and decided I was going to write and record an album.  At the time I had just got a house to rent after being homeless, I was let's put it politely a 'troubled individual' (as you see things when homeless that never leave you.)  I sat down and in what was probably the most musically creative nonstop 24 hours of my life I wrote and recorded an album that I later released.

It was called 'Hobbs Lane' and only featured  me on guitar, me on bass and me on drums.  No electronic stuff... just each instrument played live in a single take.  At least half the songs were written while I was recording them...I'd lay down a guitar track then work out what the bass was doing..what the drums would be doing and what the lead would be lol.

So to cut a very long (and probably boring story to everyone else) short, I decided as its now either 17 or 19 years old that it deserved a proper full remastering and release.  In fact my intention is to release two version ... one will be a vanilla full remaster I've done myself (one of my many skills).  While the other will be putting in all those instruments I wanted to at the time but couldn't play yet. (Now I can it only seems right to finish the album properly lol).

So I've uploaded 3 tracks from the Hobbs Lane remaster.  Enjoy...because in many ways at was at this point that not just my music...but also my 3d were born (as I had literally just started doing 3d a few weeks before) I recorded this album in my house with very little furniture and no carpets on the floor.  24 hours I remember very fondly...even if I can't remember the exact year lol.

It reminds me of how far I have came ..and to never forget where I started out.

The Auction raised £102

For those of you that are wondering, the Painting I did of Robin Williams raised £102 for the Samaritans and is currently on its way to them. As I'm not sure if they wish to remain anonymous, I'm assuming that they do unless I hear otherwise.  The independent 3^rd party has been kept in the loop the entire way and now the only steps left are the actual arrival of the painting and eBay giving the money to the Samaritans.  I’ll keep everyone informed once both this events have occurred.

Robin Williams Portrait Painting auction is now live to raise money for the Samaritans

The auction of the Robin Williams painting of mine to raise money for the Samaritans is now live for the next 7 days.  So show you have a heart and bid on it.  I fully expect every company I have dealt with to share this as this is an IMPORTANT issue, if you do not then you are showing that you are no friend to the great many who suffer from depression and depression related illnesses.

If everyone can share this as much as possible that'd be great, if it makes you feel more comfortable, even leave out my name...after all its not about me, or you or Robin Williams but for a greater good.

Sorcha Ní Mhaonaigh has agreed to be the independent 3rd party to ensure that everything remains fair and above board. 100% of the money is going to the Samaritans.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=331291238306

BTW ignore the Buy it Now price as I had to put something and thought 'screw it lets aim high!' (If tracey emin can sell a fucking unmade bed I'm sure a painting of mine has to be worth something. lol)