jeffzachowski.com » portrait

Alfred Julius

jeff zachowski — Thu, 28 May 2009 03:59:57 +0000

Worked this in Photoshop during the afternoon. I had posted the sketch a couple weeks back.

DWright Likes my Art

jeff zachowski — Fri, 15 May 2009 04:21:41 +0000

Well, I teased it on Tuesday, and here it is. My darling wife was able to take part in a meet & greet with Mets third baseman David Wright, and I finished a special portrait for the occasion. Check out the gallery below for photos from the event.

For those keeping score at home, this is the second portrait I’ve painted this year that I’ve been able to have signed by the subject. In the first instance it was my literary hero Neil Gaiman, and in this instance it’s my athletic hero DWright. There aren’t too many people better than me right now. Maybe a couple, but not too many.

David

jeff zachowski — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:38:30 +0000

Much excitement in Jeffville today. Just a short two months after my brush with Neil Gaiman, I was able to get another of my portraits signed by the subject, in this instance, Mets third baseman David Wright. No, I didn’t get to meet David myself, but my wife was able to take part in a meet & greet this afternoon and Mr. Wright was kind enough to sign a new painting I whipped up for the occasion. I’m pretty pumped and can’t wait for her to get home so I can scan it and post it. In the meanwhile, here’s the portrait.

Click to enlarge.

And here are the original sketches, pre-photoshop-paint-job. Click to enlarge.

Resplendent

jeff zachowski — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:49:28 +0000

Yes, she’s that beautiful and no, I don’t deserve her.
Original sketches here.

Click to enlarge.

Day of Wonder

jeff zachowski — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 05:57:24 +0000

On Saturday, Books of Wonder held a fantastic event to celebrate the release of Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess‘s collaborative effort Blueberry Girl. I’m fortunate in that I live just six blocks south of nyc’s “oldest and largest independent children’s bookstore,” so I was able to retreat to my apartment and grab some lunch and fortification. I finally shook Neil’s hand roughly five and a half hours after I had first arrived and received my number (#350).

It wasn’t until a day later that I learned that Neil had very nearly missed the event altogether. Neil’s father had died suddenly that morning, and certainly no one would have faulted him had he cancelled. You can read some of Neil’s thoughts here and here.

I’m truly staggered. For eight hours, Neil greeted fans, signed several hundred books, and all the while maintained his smile and good humor. As a person in attendance, holding a number, gleeful at a few moments of conversation with one of my idols, my sense of appreciation for what Neil did on Saturday can’t be expressed here adequately. It means the world to me.

It’s slightly embarrassing in a way. As a fan, you can hardly feel worth the effort. Thank you again, Mr. Gaiman, and my sincere condolences.

Irene Gallo, art director for Tor Books, has a great blog up on the event here.

Some photos (Thanks to my wonderful and patient wife):

Death to Erasers!

jeff zachowski — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:38:35 +0000

I’m an artist who never gets it right the first time. Or the second for that matter. When I was a kid, I used to tear through my paper with my eraser. That’s why I love Photoshop. Mouth too big? Nose too small? No worries, I’ll Fix It In Post! Death to erasers!

For instance, here’s an example of the evolution of a sketch of my beautiful wife.

Click to enlarge.

OBAMA redux

jeff zachowski — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:34:50 +0000

Old sketch, new image. You can find the previous version here.

Click to enlarge.

Stranger Than Fiction

jeff zachowski — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 06:02:38 +0000

update: I’ve changed the image of Neil quite a bit (and hence the collage of Neil and Susanna as well). Check it out.

If you haven’t read Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell – What the hell are you waiting for? It ain’t gonna read itself! End public service announcement.

Meanwhile, here’s another portrait. Along with Neil Gaiman, Clarke is one of my absolute favorite novelists writing today. Cheers!

Click to enlarge.

Pretty, Witty and Gai

jeff zachowski — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:48:05 +0000

update#3: Neil has since changed his avatar, but for those interested, here’s a screenshot of my image in use.

update#2: I’ve changed the image quite a bit. It was really more of a “work-in-progress” before. I hope you guys dig it!

update: I was stunned and flattered to receive an email from Mr. Gaiman this evening. Neil enjoyed the caricature and requested to use the image as his avatar on Twitter. Naturally I’m excited and honored. To Neil’s friends and fans: Welcome! Please feel free to poke around the site, and don’t hesitate to contact me. Thanks again, Neil!

My hero, Neil Gaiman, author of Coraline, Neverwhere and a zillion other modern masterpieces of fantasy fiction.

Click to enlarge.