Order of the Fly

"Order of the Fly" (July 2014)
Ink, Gouache, and Digital

Damned

"Damned" (July 2014)
Ink, Gouache, and Digital

GRIMOIRE

I just posted two versions of GRIMOIRE in my etsy shop. Both versions have 26 black and white illustrations inside focusing on witchcraft, paganism, and the occult, but the Deluxe Edition comes with an 8.5" x 11" black and white commission on the inside back cover of any subject matter you would like. The first printing of 50 books come hand signed and numbered on the title page. Swing by my etsy shop (www.etsy.com/shop/workweak) to see both versions of the book.

Another batch of Red Masks Illustrations

I'm putting the finishing touches on The Red Masks part 1.

The book should be printed and in hand by Boston Comiccon

(August 8-10 at the Seaport World Trade Center Boston, MA).  

In the mean time, here are some of the final illustrations from the first part of the series.

New spot illustrations from an upcoming book

Reworked images from The Red Masks

I'm in the process of reworking some Red Masks images to fit with my current portfolio. These pieces were produced in a variety of media (watercolor, gouache, ink, etc...) over a couple of years, and needed something to bring them all together. They will all be in black and white for the book, but I will have a select few designs for sale as 12"x18" full color prints at Boston Comiccon this year (August 8-10. 2014 at the Seaport World Trade Center).

A couple of recent commissions

Some recent work commissioned by a local band.  I will share more info (band name, release info, etc...) as I get the thumbs up to share it.  It will be released on vinyl, so the art will be nice and big on the cover.

The Crystal Ball

"The Crystal Ball" (May 2014)

8"x10" Mixed Media and Photoshop

The Wand

"The Wand"

One of the spot illustrations from the zine collecting my yearlong thesis project on witchcraft, paganism, and the occult.

Hop Toad

"Hop Toad"

Another reworked image turned into a spot illustration for a book collecting my yearlong thesis project on witchcraft, paganism, and the occult.

The Familiar (part 2)

"The Familiar (part 2)"

  Another reworked image turned into a spot illustration for a book collecting my yearlong thesis project on witchcraft, paganism, and the occult. 

The Wizard

"The Wizard"

This piece started out as an ink and acrylic painting that I worked up a few months ago.  I was trying to flesh out my portfolio with with some smaller pieces, but I was told that it seemed out of place since I don't paint much.  People seemed to like it, so I thought I would revisit it to fit with my current body of work (colorized lines, halftones, flat color, etc...).  This version will appear in a book I'm working on collecting my thesis illustrations and some new work following a similar theme.

The Druid

"The Druid"

One of the spot illustrations from the zine collecting my yearlong thesis project on witchcraft, paganism, and the occult.

Sentry

"Sentry" (May 2014)
12"x18" Mixed Media and Digital

The Familiar

"The Familiar" (May 2014)
12"x18" Mixed Media and Digital

This was originally a rejected sketch from my 2013 thesis project researching witchcraft, paganism, and the occult.  There were a couple of small issues that needed to be fixed, but at that point in the semester it seemed quicker to just shelve this piece until I had more time to play with it.  The model for this piece was my friend Stacy.  If you are an illustrator and you don't draw your friends talking to ghost cats then I honestly don't know what you are doing with yourself.

Selfie

My last illustration homework assignment.  We all had to do small self portraits for the portfolio open house this Wednesday at MassART.  There will be a whole wall of them for the reception from 6-8 in the President's Gallery (11th floor of Tower Building).  

Be sure to stop by if you are in the Boston area.

Grimoire spot

We had our final portfolio reviews last week and one thing that was mentioned by multiple reviewers was that I should produce more spot illustrations. I have quite a few spots that I created for the black and white zine collecting my thesis project, so I thought I would color some of them and add them to my portfolio. People seemed to enjoy this piece when I drew it up a few months ago so I thought I would share the colorized version. I'm in the process of updating my online presence (website, facebook artist page, tumblr, blogger, etc...) so be sure to check out those sites for even more illustrations. The links to all those other pages can be found at www.davemahanart.com

Veteran

Another full color page from The Red Masks.  

The black and white book with text and supplementary images is at the top of my to do list for the summer (with my thesis zine being a close second).

Sanctuary

School is wrapping up in a few weeks, and after that I can finally turn my attention back to the comic and zine projects I have been slowly picking away at.  Here is another page from the Red Masks comic without any text.  I will be exhibiting at Boston Comiccon this August, and this book will hopefully be done by then.  The final reproduced version will be in black and white, but I worked up color versions of these pages for my online portfolio.

London 2: Jaguar

"London 2: Jaguar" (April 2014)
10"x16" Mixed Media and Digital

London 1: Pharaoh

"London 1: Pharaoh" (April 2014)
10"x16" Mixed Media and Digital

One of a new series of drawings based on my travels in London.

The Monster

"The Monster" (April 2014)
12”x18” Ink, Pencil, Gouache, Thread, Acrylic, and Photoshop

The Wild Hunt

"The Wild Hunt" (April 2014)
12"x18" Mixed Media and Photoshop

Fog Cutter

"Fog Cutter" (April 2014)
12"x18" Ink, Pencil, Gouache, and Photoshop

12"x18" High Quality prints of this piece are available in my etsy shop (www.etsy.com/shop/workweak).

Scorpia

I just finished up this album cover for Boston based musician Scorpia. I did a bunch of photography and other experiments for her, and had freedom to do whatever I wanted for the cover. That sort of freedom can be a blessing and a curse sometimes, but it was a fun project to work on as I’ve been spending so much time and energy on school work.

The Hag

"The Hag" (April 2014)
12” x 18” Ink, Acrylic, Gouache, and Photoshop

Berserker

"Berserker" (April 2014)
8” x 10” pencil, ink, gouache, acrylic, and photoshop

Insult to Injury

"Insult to Injury" (March 2014)
9” x 12” x 2” Mixed Media on textured canvas

Under Pressure

"Under Pressure" (February 2014)
12” x 18” Graphite, Ink, and Photoshop
Sometimes being in art school feels like fighting a giant sea monster in a sinking submarine.  You are stressed out all the time, and even though the submarine looks cool it’s full of smelly weirdos.

Nero

"Nero" (February 2014)
8” x 12” Graphite, Tape, and Photoshop

This illustration was produced for a new batch of promotional materials (business cards, postcards, etc…) I will also have prints in my etsy shop (www.etsy.com/shop/workweak) once I run some test prints.

Crystal Castles

"Crystal Castles" (February 2014)

Ink, Pencil, Gouache, and Digital

Passengers

"Passengers"
Ink, Xerox, Acrylic, and Tape in sketchbook.

Red Phantom

I have been working away at the first Red Masks comic.  The printed book will be in black and white, but I am colorizing the pages for my portfolio and online display.  Here is the one of the complete pages without text.

The Watch

Here is a piece I just wrapped up for a client.  The final version will most likely be cropped in quite a bit.  I like the overall composition of this one, so I thought I would post the full piece here.  I will post more info on release info when I get the thumbs up to share it.
Digital prints of this piece are available at www.etsy.com/shop/workweak

Black and White Thesis Illustrations

"Descent to the Zenith"
“Ritual Knife”
“Flying Ointment”
“Drawing Down the Moon”
“Divination”
“Cottage Witch”
“The Horned One”

I have always been a much bigger fan of black and white art than I have color work. For everyone else who shares my tastes, here are the original black and white versions of the 7 main pieces from my year long thesis project. My thesis was an investigation into witchcraft, paganism, and the occult. The final colorized versions of these pieces all came out well, but there is something about the black and white versions that doesn’t come across in the color versions.

All of these pieces were produced between August and December of 2013. They are all 12”x18” mixed media on illustration board or paper.

Digital prints of all these pieces are available at www.etsy.com/shop/workweak