The Art Of Chris Hack

Geordi La Forge...

4 down and 3 to go. Really getting into the groove of finishing this mini project. Just got Dr Crusher, Troi, and Data to get finished. And it's a real shame that I've finished watching all the Star Treks. I watched the last 2 Next Gen movies last weekend while I was working on Worf. So now I feel like I'm still drawing without the constant inspiration of the show in the background. Anyway... On the home stretch now. Hope you continue to enjoy my ballpoint pen artwork. I promise I will be doing some different things after this run of portraits.

A Matter Of Honor...

3rd drawing in my Star Trek: The Next Generation series. and one of my favourite characters. Mr Worf fast developed into one of the best characters in Star Trek. And is the most featured cast member. Crossing over from The Next Generation to Deep Space Nine.

So that's 3 down. 4 to go. And I'm well on my way with the rest.

Number One...

So here we are with another Star Trek: The Next Generation piece. First Officer Will Riker. Again it's ballpoint pen on illustration board. I'm really enjoying these pieces. And can't wait to have them all done so I can see the set for myself. Not much else to add really. I'm already working away on drawing 3 and 4 in this series. So best get back to them.

Make It So...

So I took a little break from blogging. Been pottering around with a few things and making some plans. But I'm back now!

Over the past few months I've been on a bit of a Star Trek marathon. Which today ended with me watching the season finale for Star Trek: The Next Generation. So it's only fitting that I finally finished one of the drawings I've been working on this past 2 weeks. And here it is. Patrick Stewart as Captain of the Enterprise, Jean Luc Picard. Ballpoint pen on bristol illustration board.

I Am Not A Merry Man!

Sometimes it's nice to just get a piece of paper. Grab the mechanical pencil. And just draw something without any concerns about where it's going to end up. I've spent a fair amount of time lately working on larger more complicated and polished pieces. So I've vowed to also find time for rougher, hopefully more energetic drawings. It's an attempt to improve on the most basic artistic level. Pencilling. Something there's always room for improvement in. And I'm starting this new trend with Mr Worf. And will probably continue with more Star Trek: The Next Generation drawings. As I've currently just started rewatching Season 5! And am well on my way to getting through the entire series! This also goes hand in hand with my general feeling lately that I'd like to blog more often.

Where No One Has Gone Before...

Over the past few weeks I've started to grow frustrated with my progress. I seem to be improving with nearly every drawing. And the act of creating art has never been more fun. But my attempts to turn this into more than a glorified hobby have barely got off the ground. I've tried selling prints. I've tried selling original art. I've tried offering my services for commissioned art.

Now baring a few very appreciated commissions barely anything else is really working.

So leading up to Christmas I'll be finishing up some things I've started. Then when I break for the Christmas holiday I'm changing my priorities. I'll continue sharing art of course. And will still offer my services to anyone that would like a drawing. But I will no longer be putting all my eggs in this basket. It's too difficult and doesn't seem to be getting the interest I hoped for. I think it's time to do some of the things I've always wanted to do.

So keep your eyes peeled over the coming months. Many exciting new things planned. And if anyone ever has an interest in buying a print or a piece of art. They can come to me. I'm tired of jumping up and down going "look at me look at me!" LOL!

So enjoy the art. Say hi if you're a fan. And hopefully more will come of all this if I just take a step back. It's a new beginning. Starting with a rare coloured pencil piece by me, of Captain Jean Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Now I'm a bit of a Trekkie. And I'm intrigued by adding colour to my work. So this is another new chapter.

Live Long And Prosper...

So finally I finish this little trio of portraits with Mr Spock. Who has the unfortunate job of being on the fold of the spread! Still looks pretty cool though. And with this and a commission I've just completed I can finally breath! No more having to get things done by a certain time. I'm going to make a point of enjoying taking my time with the next 2 drawings I'm working on. I hope you liked my mini project boldly going.

Captain's Log...

Following on from Saturdays Bones... Here's drawing number 2 in my Star Trek spread. Captain James Tiberius Kirk. All 3 portraits are of screen grabs from actual episodes. As I wanted to try my hand at slightly different types of portraits. The McCoy one was less noticable. But this one more so.

I'll be back later in the week with the logical final drawing of the 3. And then ending with the finished polished 2 page spread probably a day later! As I want to find a way to unify the 3 sperate drawings. Maybe a border of some kind.

Dammit Jim, I'm A Doctor Not A Bricklayer...

So this is page 2 of my new Ballpoint Pen Moleskine. And any Trekkie's out there will immedietly recognise this as a drawing of Leonard McCoy, from The Original Series of Star Trek. This is also an exercise in being more productive. As my plan is to do smaller drawings as much as big 2 page spreads. My thinking is I can logically fit 2-3 portraits across this 2 page spread. Which mean 2-3 blog posts. So I thought I'd start with the original and best of all the Star Trek series! I wonder who the other 2 portaits will be of!

Here's the full 2 page spread if your interested. I will be adding to it as the week goes on. Drawing the other 2 portraits. And the maybe pulling the 3 images together somehow with some kind of border or background!

To Boldly Go...

Today I'm taking my first steps into technicolour!! Exciting stuff. I always planned to introduce more colour into my work at some point. I just never got around to it. And when I was working recently on my Kirk drawing, it dawned on me that another Star Trek piece would be a great first subject. The wonderfully coloured shirts. The 60's boldness. Great material for experimenting. So here's my first attempt at something else. Coloured pencils and ballpoint pen in my Moleskine. Basically I drew it in ballpoint first. Then built up the colours. Then worked the shading in ballpoint on top.

I've also spent some time thinking about what this blog is for. Most of the artists I've seen with similar blogs share all kinds of work. I've wrestled for a long time with the level of art I want out there in the world. I don't want to have anything representing me that isn't as high a standard as possible. As I'm rubbish at living with lesser drawings. This causes a few issues as I then don't get to  experiment enough. Which probably leads to not growing as an artist as quickly as I'd like. So I've decided to relax a little. Not be such a pain in the arse perfectionist! Or try at least. Putting drawings up that are different or experimental is a bit scary! But it's something I hope to do more of as I play around with different tools. And I'm sure I'll go running back to things I'm comfortable with inbetween! So this is my first go at something different. And I'm already looking forwards to using these tools on something else.