Showcase #4 - Cover Replica

Showcase #4 - Original by Carmine Infantino and Joe Kubert

This was a cover recreation that Jim wanted personally for his home and was yet another proof of concept.  The size was larger (20" x 30") than the Spidey one (18" x 24") previously posted.  In this case, I used a thinner hardboard (1/8" as opposed to 1/4"), however, I was worried that the tempering of the board would be too slick and not hold the paint very well.  So, I stole--er, "borrowed"--a good idea from fantasy artist Todd Lockwood (who "borrowed" it from Donato Giancola) and decided to glue a large sheet of paper to the hardboard.  That way, rather than having to worry about paint not sticking to the tempered hardboard, if the board is too slippery all that happens is that the paper detaches and the painting is still intact.

In this case, I mixed size (glue) and gesso and used it to glue a sheet of Stonehenge paper (100% cotton paper normally used for printing) to the hardboard, and then used the same mixture to prime the board for penciling and painting.

Here is the process.  Once again, due to the size of the paintings, my camera did some funky stuff with the coloring and light/dark.  As always, click on the pictures to embiggen:

STEP ONE:  Prepped with size and gesso, I gridded out the drawing and did the lettering (did I mention I **HATE** lettering in paintings? :-) and got everything planned out.  I now save all lettering for last, btw, which saves me quite a bit of time--particularly on paintings which have graduated colors.

STEP TWO:  Painting, painting, painting.  The most difficult part was trying to get the graduated tones around the Flash.  Particularly around the lettering.  Bleh.

STEP THREE:  Here it is, completed.  I finished all the painting and lettering.  For the lettering, I used a Sharpie Marker.

20" x 30" Acrylic painting (with an assist from Sharpie) on Stonehenge paper glued to 1/4" hardboard. 

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