Lisa

Lisa
30" x 40" Oil on linen

This was a portrait I did a few years ago of a friend of mine named Lisa. I loved working on this piece for several reasons. #1 she is beautiful inside and out and was so easy to work with because of her easy going personality. #2 I was allowed to do the pose that I wanted with no restrictions and #3 I was able to add a complex background that actually added to the beauty of the piece without being too distracting. This may  be my favorite portrait I have ever done.

Moody Blue

Airbrush acrylic and colored pencil

This was an experiment for me to see if I could paint two images into the same pic with overlapping. Very difficult to do using an airbrush. I called this one Moody Blue because that was the name of Elvis' last album.

Elvis4

Elvis Face
Airbrush Acrylic and colored pencil
Approx 24 x24

I wanted to see how little of Elvis' face I could render and still be able to tell who it was. It was faun challenge.

Elvis1

Elvis1
Acrylic airbrush and colored pencil

I love Elvis, always have. That is why I did a series of portraits of him... just for fun. I did the series of 4 several years ago and this was the first one I did. I will post the other 3 in a later post.

Tree of Light

Tree of Light
Oil on canvas 48" x 48"

I did this painting probably nine or ten years ago to display in a home that was to be put on display for the public. After that "house" show was over I took it to a private school art show here in Nashville to sell. It was my first year to do that show and as luck would have it the school actually bought it from me to hang in their school. I was quite honored because they had hundreds of painting there to choose from to purchase.
This was a pretty ambitious painting for me to do mainly because of the sheer size of it. I usually like to paint fairly small but this one was a rare exception.

Hay Wagon (small)

I have always been drawn to old photos of horse drawn anything. I loved the simplicity of this scene and the simple beauty of another time. This was oil on masonite 12" x 12" so the figures were pretty small. I mainly just wanted to paint it quick just to get the mood of the scene.

Rolled Gold

Oil on masonite
9" x 12" (I think)

Every once in a while I run across a photo that just begs to be painted and this the case for this one. I wanted to keep it simple and loose and mainly just try and capture the feeling of the light that came from this scene. I sold this piece at an art show in Nashville.

Graham

Graham
Approx 16"x20" Acrylic airbrush and colored pencil

This was a portrait of my nephew Graham that I did as a gift. He is an awesome intelligent kid who loves anything to do with the outdoors.

Colton

Colton
Approx 16"x20"
Acrylic airbrush and colored pencil

Another example of my "sepia" style. This was a portrait I did of my daughters boyfriend at the time. I love this piece because it was so casual which was him. I also love the idea of him not looking at the camera which in a weird way kinda draws the viewer in and wonder what he is looking at.

Fresh Strawberries

I did this little oil on masonite painting a few years ago for an art show and it quickly sold. I think it was probably around 6"x6". I enjoy doing small paints like this because I can explore doing just the details and not worry so much about the background.

Dapple Draft

Oil on masonite 24" x24"
I usually don't like to paint draft horse but this one just need to be painted. I did this one several years ago and I ended up donating it to a auction to support a college scholarship. It ended up selling for a fraction of what I normally sell these type of paintings for because there were so few people there to bid. I almost bid on it myself just to get it back. Can you tell I am still bitter??? :-)

Shedder

Oil on masonite 24x36"
I don't know the breed of this dog but he was beautiful and very regal. I did this portrait for a client in Atlanta. I remember going to the clients house wearing dark brown corduroy pants and leaving there with white furry pants! This dog was awesome in every way but he shed like no other. I chose to do a simple background just hinting at something in the background to make him the center of attention.

Double Dog dare

Another example of my sepia airbrush style. This was for a client in Lexington, KY. Although they look just alike they were actually two different breeds. I wish I could recall the name of the breeds but I can't. This portrait posed a new problem for me in that I had to do two dogs in one portrait. It was impossible to shoot them together because they would just not sit still long enough. So, I had to shoot them separately and come up with some kind of pleasant composition. The client was thrilled with the result.
This technique is actually pretty easy to do but is very unforgiving if you make a mistake.

Biscuit Lab

I love painting animals especially horses and dogs. This was an oil on masonite 24" x 24"biscuit colored lab sample I did to show clients. In the past I did oils on canvas but over the years I have developed a technique that I do on masonite that I just can't duplicate on canvas. The background for this piece is a perfect example of that. It almost has an antique leather look to it.

Whippet Good

This was a fun piece to paint. I did this Whippet a few years ago just as a sample for my portrait broker and later sold it to a client. It was done using airbrush acrylic and colored pencil. I call this my sepia style. I will show other samples of this technique in later post.
This particular head was unusual because it was done much larger than life-size. It was and still is one of my favorite pieces I have ever done and to be honest with you, I wish I had it back. Oh well, I guess I can always paint another one. :-)

David Sketch

Here is a little job I did today of David (of David and Goliath fame) for a children's Sunday School product.  As you can see, my pencil sketch for this was pretty simple. I scanned it in and finished it in Photoshop using my Cintiq.

20 Cents

Over the years I have literally done hundreds of paintings but believe it or not, this was one of the most difficult ones I ever tackled. It is much harder to paint the everyday, common object than something that is totally made up. Everybody knows exactly what a dime looks like so it had to be dead on or it would just not work.
This was done in oil on masonite and the  dimes are actual size.
It was a fun challenge!

London Calling

I have a book that has tons of pen and ink illustrations in it of what people wore through the different centuries. I did a sketch of one and put my own flair to it and this is what I came up with. I finished it in Photoshop.

Magic Rabbit sketch

Rough pencil sketch closeup of a music CD cover that I am working on. I will show the final art when I can.

Herman (Munster) Cain

This was a lot of fun to do. As you can see from my previous post, I added all three elements together to form the ultimate Halloween monster!!! A compilation sketch was done, then scanned, and then finished in Photoshop.

Herman (Munster) Cain in the making

Here are the three elements I gathered from the internet to use as reference to make my monster. I actually like Herman Cain a lot. However, it was close to Halloween when I decided to do this and it just kinda happened :-)

Trudy's Birthday

Fun With Co-Workers!!!
This was a quick caricature I did of a friend I work with for her birthday. Quick pencil sketch, scanned, and then finished in Photoshop.

Newt sketch

Pencil sketch of Newt. I scanned this in and did the final art in Photoshop.

Newt

I love laughing and making fun of people and I always have. Maybe that's why I love doing caricatures so much. I have always thought it was a high honor to have someone spend hours and hours doing a portrait of you even if it brings out your most noticeable characteristics.
Here is a good example of just that. I like Newt Gingrich a lot. However, I also like to have fun so here is my tribute to him.
This was done in Photoshop on my 21 inch Cintiq.

Welcome!!!

Welcome to my new blog!!! First off, let me introduce myself. My name is Michael Lang (most people just know me as Mike). I have been an artist as long as I can remember and have enjoyed  knowing who I was and what I was made for since I was around 6 years old. I will never forget the first time I was asked to draw in Kindergarden and I drew a dog. I thought it was really good but then again, everyone else in the class thought their drawing was good to. However, something happened that day that changed me and forever set my course of who I was to become in life. My teacher Mrs. Duncan went on and on about how good my drawing was and I remember thinking how good it made me feel to receive compliments for something I had done. After that, I was hooked and I set about to be the best artist I could be by drawing all the time.

I was born with a heart problem which kinda hindered what I could do as a kid. I could play with my friends but it became increasingly more and more difficult to keep up with them as we got older. For that reason, while others would be out playing I spent many hours inside drawing just to pass the time. I believe that everybody has a gift and God gave me the gift of art.

I have been a professional artist/graphic designer/illustrator for 28 years now and I am more excited about art now than I have ever been. I love doing all kinds of art and you will see form my post that I have done a little bit of everything as long as it artistically challenges me.

I hope with this blog I can share my work and passion for art to the world so that you may become in love with art as well.

P.S.
I am a working artist. If I don't work, I don't eat!
If you see something you like or if you want to commission me to do a piece for you just give me a call.

Blessings,
Mike