supplies or a suitable drawing
table. It’s not as well lit as it should be.
I don’t have enough space to work on
large canvases. I have wooden floors
that need protection every time I
break out the paints. I have a glass
desktop that doesn’t take kindly to
metal objects such as X-Acto knives
or screwdrivers.
Overall, it’s kind of a delicate room
that requires caution and calm, as
opposed to a proper creative space
that would enable me to throw paint
around and bang out clay sculptures.
GETTING THE JOB DONE
However, I love the space I do have. It’s
a haven for me with all of my reference
and art books, sculptures, CDs and
small original art collection. And when
I finally have the time to sit down and
do some work, I have my essentials to
get the job done. I’ve got a 24-inch
Wacom Cintiq Touch for all my digital
work, utilising Photoshop almost
exclusively. And I’ve got my go-to
easel that can easily handle small to
medium-large canvases. I do end up
having to do most of my sketching
while lounging on the couch in the
front room, but that’s been my natural
sketching location since day one.
Until very recently (three days
before these pictures were taken, as
it turns out), I still had a few large
moving boxes of essential supplies and
various knick-knacks camouflaged as
end tables, but I finally had a custom
cabinet made to hide away as muchstuff as possible, as well as provide a
proper shelf for some sculptures. This
addition has been one of the final
steps in pulling together my studio into
something that really works for me, as
well as something my spouse isn’t
embarrassed to show visitors. Which,
of course, is the goal of all artists.
Daren has been a video game art director for
over 25 years, and has maintained a
freelance career the whole time as an outlet
for his digital and traditional art. You can
see his work at http://www.darenbader.com.My interpretation of the
classic Mesoamerican
mythology of
Quetzalcoatl. I may
have to redo this piece
at a larger scale to truly
make the impact I was
shooting for.This is my ‘corner of good vibes’, with my
Spectrum gold award and some original
art by a few of my biggest inspirations.
I’m particularly fond of the painting by
Chris Moeller, as it was done as a pin-up
for my Tribes of Kai book.I have wooden floors that
need protection every time
I break out the paints
ImagineNation Artist in Residence