Richie Pope Illustration

The Last Huzzah

2011-10-11T15:01:00.005-04:00

This will be my last post on this blog.

In 2007 I was at Virginia Commonwealth University majoring in Communication Arts. Ever since I have been steadily growing from a college student to a creative professional, all on public display right here on this blog. Now, I am a freelance illustrator and studying at The Art Department (TAD) in the Career Mentorship Program right here in Richmond, VA. Now that I am moving on into a new chapter of my professional life, I am also moving on from this blog. It will still be up for anyone that wants to reminisce about previous posts, find embarrassing artistic rants, or just see my progress from the beginning.

Thanks again to everyone that followed. My new blog is where we go from here.

See you there.

Process: Panda Bear

2011-06-15T07:27:00.005-04:00

Not too long ago I read a Rolling Stone review of Tomboy, a beautiful album from Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear, member of the critically-acclaimed Animal Collective. In the review, there are several analogies to water, not including his own song titles, Last Night at the Jetty and Surfer's Hymn. The main point of the view is that Panda's choirboy tenor layered into beautiful billowing harmonies is the star of the album.
I decided to make a conceptual portrait that was very watery, yet, also kind of spiritual, evoking the choirboy vocals.

In the thumbnail, I place the sunlight coming through the surface of the water behind him, to give him halo-like spiritual ring around his head.

Final pencils on Arches cold press 140lb (highly recommend this paper!). I changed the direction of the waves at the surface of the water to give it a more rounded shape.

The final. Voila!

I was really happy with how this turned out because I feel like the illustration looks like his music sounds. To get a taste, check out the Rolling Stone review. Listen to the song and look at my illustration at the same time. I dare you!

To go along with this process post, I also have a special announcement. Starting this fall, I will be attending The Art Department (TAD), a new alternative art school that is specifically career-driven. It is created and lead by legends of the ConceptArt.org community and the Illustration Academy. I will be part of the Career Mentorship program, with my own studio space down at the Richmond, VA headquarters at Rockett's Landing, lead by the great Sterling Hundley. I'm super excited for this new chapter in my illustration career and can't wait to be encouraged and inspired by like-minded creatives. Everyone that has supported me so far, I'm super grateful and humbled and hopefully you will continue to follow me. This is just the beginning.

Process: Jishuku

2011-04-14T13:44:00.011-04:00

I read a NY Times article a few weeks ago with the headline "In Deference to Crisis, a New Obsession Sweeps Japan: Self-Restraint." In the article, the word jishuku was used. In Japanese culture, jishuku is a form of self-restraint after a great loss to creative solidarity amongst the nation. After the devastating 'quake and resulting tsunami, businesses are turning down their lights, stores are turning off their jingles and politicians are riding around on bikes for man-to-man campaigns. After reading this, I was compelled to create an editorial piece to go along with the article. I decided to go in the direction of lights and energy, drawing a parallel between the imagery of fireflies (a big cultural symbol in Japan) and light bulbs.

I worked out the thumbnail, paying attention to value, readability and shape.

For the final drawing I used Arches cold press 140lb paper. It had a really nice tooth to it that picked up quite nicely on the scanner.

I finished up the image with a little computer magic, but not without making a few changes. I brought the value of the background closer to a midtone and pushed the grass closer towards a dark, which made the image less about the clash of the background and more about the firefly box.

On a final note, I'd like to share something I learned while working on this piece. Fireflies in Japan have some of the most interesting significance I've ever seen an animal have to a culture. There are firefly viewing trips where the Japanese show their admiration and respect for these creatures. Fireflies have been recognized as the souls of men lost in clan battles and more recently as the souls of Kamikaze fighters from World War II. Their cultural meaning is extremely poetic. Fireflies only live a short time, mirroring the mortality of humanity and how quickly life can end. This couldn't be any more poignant than right now.

Through the Wire

2011-03-28T15:46:00.001-04:00

Graphite/Ink/Acrylic/Digital on Smooth Bristol 10" x 10"

I've been wanting to do a Kanye piece since hearing My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, one of the best albums of 2010. I wanted to reference his car accident back in 2002 which resulted in his jaw being shattered and leaving Kanye close to death. After two weeks of being in the hospital, he bounced back and recorded Through The Wire with a painfully wired jaw. Here is a quote of his that I stumbled upon not too long after the accident:

Well, the only thing this accident's is saying is, "I am about to hand you the world, just know at any given time I can take it away from you." To nearly lose your life, to nearly lose your mouth, your voice, your whole face, as a rapper...and I had to be on TV! My face looks crazy to me now... But I have to just thank God for the situation that I am in... "Through The Wire" is the worst thing that could've possibly happen to me, and now it's obviously the best thing. Look how it exploded!

Inspired by his quote, I literally cut out the shape of his jaw, and inserted an MPC, the drum machine that Mr. West uses to compose his music. A face shattered to pieces was reconstructed and gave the masses amazing music.

3D Gaming for Wired

2011-03-28T14:08:00.008-04:00

I was pretty excited when I got an email from Alice Cho, the art director over at Wired Magazine. I was even more excited when I found out I got to do a piece on 3D gaming for the March issue, as I have been a pretty avid gamer since childhood.

I wanted to avoid any type of technical/circuitry symbols for the image. Instead, I focused on what it really feels like when you're really into a game. You become immersed in it. With the future of 3D gaming on the horizon, gamers get closer and closer to total immersion.

Going in that direction, I pumped out a few sketches involving objects jumping into video games, jumping out of video games and an awesome fighter pilot flying his jet with a game controller.

Alice was really into the sketches and decided to go with the fighter pilot, but instead of having him in an actual cockpit, his chair would be a recliner. It was a great suggestion that moved it one more step towards a better conceptual solution.

Cool addition: For the iPad or any compatible mobile device, the explosions in the back are animated. Cool addition, indeed.

Thanks again to AD: Alice Cho!

The Doghouse

2011-02-02T14:20:00.004-05:00

I recently did the front and back cover to The Doghouse, an album from rapper Darren Hanible. He currently attends Bowie State University where their mascot is the bulldog. We went through a few concepts (of course, a few dog-related ones) and decided on something that was reminiscent of a college crowd made up of shapes and values.

Wolverine: The Best There Is

2011-01-21T15:30:00.004-05:00

Velocity Comics, the greatest place on earth, is having a contest to design your own variant cover. The comic is a new wolverine series called "Wolverine: The Best There Is." I turned it from this...
...to this.I thought I'd make it an opportunity to do something more painterly instead of the traditional comic book cover. I looked up more about the series and there is a new villain for Wolverine called The Contagion. He is exactly what he sounds like: a walking hotbed of disease and viruses that can burn a man's face off with one drop of spit. That coupled with his intelligence over Wolverine could make an interesting adversary for Wolverine. I decided to have The Contagion lurking behind Wolverine, breathing or spewing some disease or virus making an ominous dark shadow across Wolverine's face. The competition ends near the end of this month, so go out and vote for mine if you're in the VCU area.

Speaking of comics, I'm working on 9-page project with local Richmond writer Jared Throne, that will be finished pretty soon, so I'll be posting some updates on that as well.

Quick Painting: Natalie Portman

2011-01-13T17:47:00.009-05:00

Growing up, I always wanted to paint but I never learned how. In 2009, I started to teach myself. With the start of this new year, that learning continues.

The first quick painting is of Natalie Portman (very much Black Swan inspired).

The RVAnthology: This Friday!

2010-12-04T21:55:00.003-05:00

Next friday, December 10th, The RVAnthology graphic novel with be released! I'm ridiculously excited and nervous at the same time. This is the biggest gallery event that I've been a part of. It all started as an idea between a few illustrator friends and continued all the way into a final product. I'm really proud and appreciative of everyone involved, including our close friends that supported us and also helped us let off some steam when we needed it. I can't wait to see everyone at the show! There will be nice and shiny prints for sale (as well as original pieces) music, delicious nom noms, and, of course plenty of copies of The RVAnthology to purchase. Take a couple! They'll make great Christmas gifts! Oh yea, me and the rest of the Anthology Crew will also be there to creepily watch you as you look at our work. Once again, the address is:

The Whitley Gallery
29 N. 17th
Richmond, VA, 23219

Also, here is an updated preview page for my story, "Malaise." Oooooooh, cooooolllloooorrs...

The RVAnthology: Malaise Preview Page

2010-11-08T00:28:00.002-05:00

Here is a preview page for my story Malaise from The RVAnthology. It's a simple story about a cat jumping into a man's window, but what happens after that is far from ordinary. Cat-lovers and cat-haters unite! DECEMBER 10th!

New Sketches

2010-10-06T16:15:00.010-04:00

Here are a few new sketches. I found this really inexpensive composition book at the VCU bookstore with absolutely no lines on any of the pages. It was around two bucks, so I said hello to my new recession-free sketchbook.

RVAnthology

2010-09-29T23:39:00.005-04:00

In the middle of this year, a few friends and I talked about a comic book project. We all love comic book anthologies and wished that we could see something like that in Richmond, where a couple of illustrators create their own stories. We realized that we could do this and more importantly we wanted to do this. This became the start of the RVAnthology (pronounced R-V-A Anthology), a graphic novel composed of five short graphic stories written and illustrated by five different artists with five different personal voices. What sets this anthology apart from others is that all of the stories are inspired by our city Richmond, VA (known as "RVA" for short, hence the title). The stories are as follows:

Rooftops by Chris Visions

Amygdalae by Eric Pfeiffer

Restless by Nate Nelson

Malaise by Richie Pope

Sink Slow Down by Julia Scott

Not only will this book be released as a physical book for purchase, but we will also have a release party/opening reception in Richmond, VA at the Whitley Gallery on December 10th, 6-9 pm. There will be all kinds of good stuff to see including the anthology for purchase, prints, variant covers and original pages.

Below is my version of the promotional poster to be released pretty soon.

We have five versions, one for each of our stories, so they will be a nice thing to collect and hang up in any formation.

I will also be working on a whole new set of portfolio pieces and getting prepared to enroll in the Richmond, VA Pod of The Art Department for the 2011 semester. A lot of things are coming up that I'm really excited about, mostly things that I'm putting my heart and soul into. That's the way an artist should be, right?

Illustration Academy Opportunity

2010-07-15T18:57:00.001-04:00

The Illustration Academy is giving away a full scholarship to their 2011 program. For all my illustration peers and supporters, please take the time to vote for my piece. Here are the voting details:

1. On my submissions voting page, click on the blue "Connect to Vote" button (with the Facebook logo) on the right side of the page. 2. Allow your Facebook account to connect with Talenthouse. 3. Congratulations-your vote has been registered! Don't have a Facebook account? You may still vote via SMS by clicking the green "Vote with SMS" button and texting the information given to the number listed.

Click here for my submissions voting page

The Lost Boys of Sudan

2010-05-14T01:35:00.002-04:00

This piece is for an event hosted by Humanity Helping Sudan called "Kumbaya, Hakuna Matata." Here is the event information:

The Humanity Helping Sudan project will be hosting a fundraiser to generate awareness of the current state of Sudan, raise money to improve access for clean water, address the food shortage by building fishing boats and supplying fishing nets, and creating job opportunities by offering vocational training to the citizens . The founder of the HHS, Manyang Reath, was born in Sudan, but was forced to leave his home because of the war, and had to relocate to a refugee camp in Ethiopia. Manyang hopes the success of this fundraiser will help Sudan and fellow "Lost Boys" who endured similar sufferings to what he underwent.

This "Kumbaya" event is FREE to all! Miss Virginia 2009, CHINAH HELMANDOLLAR, will be hosting the fundraiser! There will be a cookout, a huge display of artwork, African dance performances, and personal testimonies from Manyang, other "Lost Boys" of Sudan, and the wonderful people that helped them settle in America. Media such as PBS, The CW, WRIR 97.3, 106.5 The Beat will be present, to name a few.

Also, if you live in the Richmond area, we will be providing FREE transportation via limousine.

Manyang needs your support to make his dream come true. If you have any questions regarding this project, please contact Manyang at 804.432.3985 or at Manyang18@hotmail.com. Thank you for your help in making a difference in the life of these Lost Boys.

A good friend of mine, Bolaji Oyegunle, asked me to donate some artwork to be auctioned off at the event. I came up with the piece above, inspired by the stories of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys and the loss of innocence. I may or may not make it to the event today, but you should definitely make it out to the event if you are in the Richmond area.

David and Galactus

2010-04-27T12:42:00.006-04:00

Velocity Comic's latest competition was "How I Beat The Sh!t out of...," giving everyone free reign to take down whatever character they want. I immediately thought of Galactus, a god-like being that devours entire planets. He's been killed off in the comics before, but it was always through some type of multiverse collapse or all-powerful weapon. While debating back and forth on how I would take down Galactus, I thought of the story of David and Goliath, a classic underdog tale. I thought it would be a more powerful image if I killed Galactus with something as simple as a slingshot. Below are the final inks and final image, David and Galactus.

The contest ends today, so hopefully the winner will be announced by the end of the week. Until then, keeping the figurative fingers crossed and working on the next project. What will it be? I have no idea. That's where all artwork starts...with no idea.

Monster Drawing Rally? Uh, That Would Be a Definite YES!

2010-04-06T23:44:00.005-04:00

Hey folks! I just accepted an invitation to be part of 1708 Gallery's first Monster Drawing Rally in Richmond, VA. It is a live art event that will feature 100 artists. It is Sunday, May 23 from 3-8pm at 1708 Gallery. It will be $10 dollars for admission and food and drink will be included. People attending can purchase complete drawings to raise money for 1708. In an era where funding and protection of the arts in Virginia is at risk, this will be a great event to show that art will always be an important universal asset to people. Make sure to mark your calendars and come out and support me, other local artists, and just art in general. I'll have an updated post once I find out what specific time I will be working on art there. Later folks!

Pope Awesome Post, Great Job!

2010-04-01T16:21:00.003-04:00

This is a self-promo piece entitled On the Diagrammatic and Mechanical Representation of Tim and Eric. It is inspired by the comedy show Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!. It is a twisted and nightmarish take of television, from it's awkward public access skits to it's questionable infomercials. I wanted to capture the awkwardness and tension that is often used within the deadpan humor of the show. The title comes from a paper, written by John Venn, the creator of the Venn Diagram. The concept is more subtle in this piece, with Tim and Eric's hair overlapping into one ambiguous shape, representing their strange minds connecting together to create the show. The composition and colors are inspired by old awkward photos from the 1960s/1970s

This piece is also a gift to my girlfriend Nicole, who is a big fan of the show. Judging by her MS Paint drawing below, I think she liked it.

Jim Rugg and The Rising 'Fro

2010-03-01T15:59:00.003-05:00

I cropped the piece I submitted for the Afrodisiac contest and colored it for Jim Rugg's group on Flickr. It's an Afrodisiac art appreciation group called Objet d'Afro. Check out my piece and others!

The Displaced French Man

2010-02-20T20:29:00.003-05:00

Today was such a beautiful day in Richmond...and in February of all months! I decided to go out and draw at my usual coffee shop, Crossroads. One of my housemates (a fellow illustrator) and I find a seat outside. I look to my left and I see the man drawn above. The hair. They way he had his legs crossed. The strange yet confident posture. The facial structure and deliberate expression. The way he held the cigarette interchangeably between his mouth and his index and middle fingers. From his striped shirt juxtaposed with a nice overcoat to his tapered jeans with some fresh boots, I could tell he had fashion sense. All I could think was that he was a french man...a french man who had been transported to Richmond, Virginia, but didn't seem to care. A "displaced french man."

He noticed me sketching him, looked over with cigarette in hand and said with a smile and American accent "I want to see that sketch when you're done." . When I was finally done, me and my housemate got up to go back inside the coffee shop. I walked over to the displaced french man and showed him the sketch. He liked it and I told him I was a local illustrator. He also asked if I had a website and I told him. Today may be the first and last time I ever see the displaced french man, but I realized one thing from this encounter. He is the most interesting person I have ever drawn.

The Southern Sudan Project

2010-02-11T09:46:00.003-05:00

Ria Jones, an old friend of mine, contacted me about doing a piece for the Southern Sudan Project to be used on fliers, bulletins, etc. Find out more about it here. When Ria and I were discussing the project on the phone and through email, I kept going back to the idea of Sudan being "broken" or "separated." What came to mind were innocent civilians who had their limbs cut off in senseless acts of violence. Since one of The Southern Sudan Project's main focuses is bringing education, I thought of the most innocent of all victims: children. A lot are them are just born into this, but there is still hope, since they are literally the future of Southern Sudan.

I came up with this quick value sketch. If you look carefully, the child's arms are cut off at the forearm, symbolizing the broken or torn nation, yet the ghostly image of where his forearms used to be is the hope, holding his head up.

Ria really liked the idea/sketch and suggested I add colors of the Southern Sudanese flag. I just cleaned it up a little and added in some of the colors in the back. I took the intensity down so it wouldn't clash too much with the main idea. Red is the blood shed for freedom. Green represents the land. Yellow represents the Star of Bethlehem. Here's the final.

Most of the time I don't fall in love with non-personal projects. This simple floating design has become a meaningful and personal piece for me. It has actually become one of my favorite and proudest things I have ever got a chance to work on. Special thanks again to the Southern Sudan Project for this opportunity.

One Bad Motha-lovin' Process Blog Post

2010-02-06T01:49:00.008-05:00

If you don't know who Afrodisiac is, click on this jimmy jank.

If you don't know what Velocity Comics is, click on this jimmy jank.

Now, story time. Grab some popcorn or something.

Velocity was going to have comic artist/writer Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca, Jim's writing partner, for an in-store signing for Afrodisiac on Feb. 5. I already had a copy, but i was really excited when I found out. Not only that, but Jim was going to be a judge for the monthly Velocity art competition. The theme for this one: Afrodisiac vs. [fill in the blank]. Oh yes.

Afrodisiac's greatest power is the power of seduction, so my first thought was to have him pitted against a strong female heroine: Wonder Woman. I realized, knowing Afrodisiac's power of effortless seduction, it wouldn't necessarily be that much of a struggle. Still debating my final idea a night or two before the deadline, I get a text from my fellow illustrator Josh Graydon. It said:

Afrodisiac vs. Confederacy Man

I immediately burst into laughter until he told me he was an actual character. His name is Captain Confederacy. Then it hit me. I live in Richmond. There are Confederacy statues everywhere. Why not put Afrodisiac against the entire army of the Confederacy?

I started with the following drawings on three separate sheets of tracing paper, taking scale into account.

I scanned them, moved them around in Photoshop and played with the levels until I was happy with the composition. I erased sections of each drawing that were showing through until I got this.

There are three very important things you should take note of:

1. His kung-fu hand makes the realistic sound effect of "CHOP!"

2. To Afrodisiac's left is his Confederate fling.

3. The historically accurate quotes of "HATE! HATE!" coming from the mouths of the Confederate soldiers.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to color it in time. I'm definitely going to revisit it and finish it up.

I got to Velocity, turned in my piece, ran into Chris Johnson, another fellow illustrator, and got Jim Rugg to sign my copy of Afrodisiac.

I also got a free print just for entering the competition. Yeaaaaaa! I have no idea how/when the judging will be for the competition, but I'll definitely include it in the post with the final final, along with another Afrodisiac-related tidbit.

To make a long story short: It was the best Feb. 5 ever.

Oh yeah, check out Jim's blog.

Guys' Eyes #2: Final Drawing

2010-02-02T17:56:00.005-05:00

After living in what seemed like artistic purgatory for a few arctic winter weeks, I finally stopped staring at my piece of illustration board and re-did Guys' Eyes. The first attempt (below) was fine, but I felt it lacked the energy and "happy accidents" that I really love to see in my own work along with art in general. Also, her face was off and too confrontational for the concept of the piece.

Below is the second attempt which is much better and was a lot more fun to work on. The woman is laid back and is not actively engaging the viewer, making her look more zoned-out. Instead of drawing the couch she was laying on, I decided to print out and transfer a pattern behind her to suggest the couch. I put masking fluid on all the parts of the drawing I didn't want the pattern to be. Unfortunately, the transfer hardly worked on the type of paper I was using. Lame. I decided to just print out the pattern and collage it onto the piece instead which I think will work out better in the end. I got my space heater, amazing music from a band called Gossip and an evening of illustratin' waiting for me.

Guy's Eyes Thumbnail

2009-12-22T03:21:00.003-05:00

Here's a thumbnail for another self-promotional/personal piece I'm working on called Guy's Eyes.

Late '09 Sketches

2009-12-08T19:38:00.004-05:00

Enjoy some of my sketches from late 2009. Yeaaaaaa!

Hip Hop Comic x The Itis

2009-12-03T00:22:00.003-05:00

Here are f ew samples from a 4-page comic-in-progress that I'm doing for VCU's Student Hip Hop Organization (SHHO). Special thanks to my boy Arnold Yun, the President of VCU's SHHO, for reaching out to me for this opportunity. I'll reveal the actual finished product and concept once I get the okay from Arnold.

Sidenote: Don't eat at the same fast food joing twice in a day...unless you want "The Itis" for a long, long time.

Ooooh, mysterious!

2009-11-30T15:41:00.002-05:00

Here is a detail from a job-in-progress that I'm working on. I can't reveal too much about it right now, other than the fact that it's music-related. Ooooh, mysterious!

New Sketches

2009-10-23T18:48:00.007-04:00

Here are some of my most recent sketches. You need to listen to 11th Dimension from Julian Casablancas. Now!

Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time #91: The Every Brothers Pt. 2 Phil Everly

2009-10-22T02:16:00.001-04:00

Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time #91: The Every Brothers Pt. 1 Don Everly

2009-10-20T14:48:00.003-04:00

Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time #91: Levon Helm

2009-10-18T20:48:00.002-04:00

Ohger

2009-10-18T17:31:00.002-04:00

I'm still working on the paintings FYI. I'll probably have to scan a few of them at once. Check out my new profile on Ohger, an illustration site for students and recent grads. It has just started but the creator of the site also is the brainchild behind Drawger, another illustration site for professionals. I'm also excited to see one of my college friends Will Godwin on there as well. I'm really excited to see this site take off and I'm very optimistic about the community it's building.

Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time #92: Morrissey

2009-10-15T01:57:00.001-04:00

Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time #93: Annie Lennox

2009-10-13T15:37:00.002-04:00

CerealBreath

2009-10-12T19:58:00.004-04:00

Check out a new art blog that I am a part of, CerealBreath, including Evan "Babyfoot" Sokal, Christopher Carreon and now myself.

Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time #94: Karen Carpenter

2009-10-11T23:15:00.001-04:00

Rolling Stone's Greatest Singers Of All Time #95: Patti Labelle

2009-10-10T20:01:00.000-04:00

This Just In...Once Again

2009-10-09T00:25:00.000-04:00

Check out another feature, this time at The Cover Up, about my recent mixtape cover for "Framed and Unfocused" from Nique. Special thanks to Teddy Taylor, a fellow VCU CommArts alumni for the feature.

Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time #96: B.B. King

2009-10-08T13:24:00.000-04:00

Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time #97: Joe Cocker

2009-10-07T11:51:00.000-04:00

I finally got a new brush. Score!

This Just In...Again

2009-10-07T11:04:00.000-04:00

Check out an interview with me at Lost At E Minor.

This Just In...

2009-10-05T22:35:00.000-04:00

Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time painting exercise will reconvene shortly. Check out a short feature about Nique's mixtape, "Framed and Unfocused" with my illustration for the cover here. Special thanks to chicagonow.com for the feature.

Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time #98: Stevie Nicks

2009-10-04T22:15:00.001-04:00

Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time #99: Steven Tyler

2009-10-03T19:01:00.000-04:00

#99: Steven Tyler
I remember when I was a little kid and I first heard Run DMC's "Walk This Way." I knew who Run DMC was...but I never knew who Aerosmith was until then. If you need evidence of why he's one of the greatest singers of all time, just listen to the chorus of that song.

I'm already feeling some progression with painting so far. I'm getting more comfortable with just putting slabs of paint down...and messing around with values.

Two down...98 to go.

Oh boy.

Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time #100: Mary J. Blige

2009-10-03T13:36:00.000-04:00

One of the things that I want/need to do more is paint traditionally. It's one of the things I've always avoided. Since I was never trained or taught how to paint, it was something that I was always insecure about. I decided I would do a small painting, about every day, so I could get better at something that I always wanted to be good at. Looking for a direction, I looked up Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time list and found the perfect direction. For the next 100 days or so, I'm doing a small 6 x 6 painting of each person on that list, from no. 100 all the way to no. 1. 100 portraits for 100 days (or so). My goal is to be a more confident and natural painter by the time the countdown is over. Also, it will be cool to have 100 6 x 6 portraits lying around that I, or anyone else, can just shift through and see the progression. Gallery show material maybe???...

#100: Mary J. Blige
I'm kicking this countdown off with Mary J. Blige, "The Queen of Hip Hop/Soul." Before her, there was the soul music, R&B, hip hop and new jack swing. Mary J. Blige managed to take all of that and combine it into a sound that really resonated with women, especially Black women, all across the country, and now, all over the world. Her voice is instantly recognizable and you can hear all her pain, struggle and triumph in every word.

Mixtape Update

2009-09-22T18:51:00.001-04:00

It is almost complete. I just got to wait on approval so I can do the CD cover as well. By the way, here is some hip hop that you desperately need to be listening to right now:

Albums:
Raekwon-Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2
Kid Cudi-Man On The Moon: End of Day
Pac Div-Pac Div EP

Songs:
Drake-Killer
Jay-Z feat. Kanye West-Haters
Ghostface Killah feat. Fabolous-Guesthouse

Yo! RWP Blogs Color Study

2009-09-17T19:31:00.000-04:00

Now, its time to start on the ACTUAL painting in acrylic washes. I'm sure there will be unpleasant surprises and "happy accidents." If there wasn't, it wouldn't be painting, would it?

Yo! RWP Blogs Pt. 2

2009-09-16T17:58:00.000-04:00

Here's more progress on the mixtape cover for "Framed and Unfocused" by Nique. Special thanks to Nate Nelson for his semi-crooked scanning job of the back of the mixtape.

I also found the results to the comic book competition. Nate got 3rd or 4th place. I got second. I lost by one vote. Damn you, Tim Giusti! On the bright side, I'm proud that three VCU CommArts kids were at the top of the contest.

Nate and I were also on our way to McDonald's today. We stopped at a stoplight and the car in front of us wouldn't make a right turn when they were wide open to. Nate chose some "colorful" words for them. As we pulled up next to them, we realized it was a car with two nuns.

Apparently, Nate is now going to hell....and I'm going by proxy.

Damn.

Playlist for the Day: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt 2 by Raekwon

Soul Flows Interview

2009-09-14T13:59:00.000-04:00

Check out an interview with me on Soul Flows. You can finally get access into the weird world that I call my mind. Special thanks to Princess at Soul Flows.

Yo! RWP Blogs

2009-09-14T00:18:00.000-04:00

If you got the nod to "Yo!MTV Raps" in the title to this post, then you are officially considered one of my true friends. If not, there's always the next reference. This is progress for my conceptual cover of the upcoming mixtape "Framed and Unfocused" from rapper Nique. He kindly took reference photos of himself that I used for about 5 different drawings of him. I cut them up, as well as the leftover paper that I cut them out of and gesso'd everything down on some illustration board, reading for some acrylic action. I'll save the explanation of the concept and it's origins in the post of the final. Below is the tracklisting.

1.Guess Who
2.Stuntin'
3.Life Is.
4.Purple
5.Stars Ft. SLik d
6.Long Time Comin'
7.Cut My Check Ft. Marion Write
8.Champ
9.Dear Mama
10.One Two
11.West Coast Ft. Blaq Lite
12.When I See Her
13.October 13th
14.Dopeman Dom
15.Embrace It
16.Must Be The Kicks
17.Domanique S.
18.Juice
19.Appreciation

Nique's MySpace Music Page

Barfight, Barfight, Who Wants a Barfight?

2009-09-01T21:47:00.000-04:00

This is a piece for a contest at Velocity Comics, a local comic shop in Richmond on Broad St. The theme was "bar fight," so, I decided to have Sinestro choking the hell out of Green Lantern (John Stewart) with Cyborg Superman looking on. Look, the good guy can't win ALL the time, right?

On a sidenote, I recommend the current Green Lantern storyline written by Geoff Johns. It's siiiiiiiiick!

Emergent

2009-09-01T20:50:00.000-04:00

Go see the solo debut show of a great friend and mentor of mine. See Sterling Clinton Hundley's process blog here.

New Sketches

2009-07-31T17:28:00.001-04:00

Soul Flows

2009-07-23T10:48:00.000-04:00

I'm going to be part of a new site called Soul Flows, dedicated to music, poetry and art. The goal of the site is to bring attention back to art that is meaningful or "soulful." Check me out under the blogroll (a link to this art blog) and under the Art section. A feature on me is coming soon, so make sure to check regularly.

Go to Soul Flows now!

KING

2009-07-22T16:41:00.001-04:00

It Don't Matter If You're Black or White

2009-07-21T21:09:00.000-04:00

Here are the pencils for the MJ piece, tentatively titled "KING" (including the all-caps).

RIP MJ & CMYK

2009-07-13T16:28:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting to do a Michael Jackson piece since the day I heard of his passing. Although he faced immense controversy throughout his lifetime, the impact that his music had on the world will be felt for decades to come. Although the media is doing a number on him (when we could focusing on more pressing world issues), may he rest in peace.

Watching him on television as a kid, trying to mimic his facial expressions and dance moves, I realized I could never be the King of Pop. I looked at him almost as something other-worldy, almost mystical, like something out of a legend or old folklore. During idea generating, I came to the decision that this would be the concept of the piece. What immediately came to mind was Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt , pictured below in all it's awesomeness.

Pictured below are the rough and final thumbnails inspired by this piece.

Although the patterns on the jacket in the rough thumbnail were lost in the final thumbnail above, I'll be bringing those back to make his jacket look almost encrested, similar to Adele Bloch-Bauer in Klimt's piece. Final will be posted in about a week.

Also, make sure to look out for CMYK Vol. 44. My illustration entitled "The Missing Things" is on page 61. I'll also begin working on a piece inspired by the book "Female Chauvinist Pigs" by Ariel Levy, and a series of pieces entitled "Less Than 3," which will be inspired by recent pop artists such as KAWS, Takashi Murakami and recent material by Kanye West.

'Til next time folks!

Scale

2009-06-23T17:08:00.000-04:00

I like to distort, but recently I have been playing with scale a lot in my sketchbook. I've been working on quicker, longer and expressive lines as well. Expect to see some similar stuff to this in final pieces in the weeks to come. Yay-yayee!

CMYK Vol. 44

2009-06-23T09:20:00.000-04:00

CMYK Vol. 44 will be available on June 28. You can find it at Barnes and Nobles or any other book store. Here's the 5 steps you need to take:

1. Pick up a copy

2. Look for my piece, "The Missing Things"

3. Find me on the streets.

4. Say "Hey Richie, I saw your piece in CMYK!"

5. Give me money.

On another note, the right side of my brain has been cooking up some things. Expect some new sketchbook stuff later today...possibly some thumbnails for a new experimental project.

Where Are You Yeezy?

2009-06-06T19:39:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine saw this picture on an art blog. Nice!

Richmond Illustrator's 3rd Annual Juried Show

2009-05-23T20:07:00.000-04:00

It's late notice, but, my piece entitled, "Hound of Mons" will be in the Richmond Illustrator's 3rd Annual Juried Show. It's going to be June 5 at Ghostprint Gallery, 220 W. Broad St in Richmond, VA. Come out and see some good art and meet some amazing artists. Yayuh!

Lynch and Commencement

2009-05-16T10:25:00.000-04:00

This is a conceptual portrait I finished recently for Utne Reader, about the poet, essayist and funeral director, Thomas Lynch.

Also, VCU's Communication Arts commencement is today and I'm really excited. I've met some inspiring friends and mentors throughout these years and I'll keep them with me for the rest of my life. Besides, I think some of them owe me money...

Hecks yes for Illustration!

Ess Owe Eye

2009-05-12T00:02:00.000-04:00

The Society of Illustrators Student Show in New York was amazing! I met some interesting people, saw some great art in person, and wore a really nice black and white ensemble, pictured above. It was my first time going to New York. I LOVE that city and all it's little quirks. I can't wait to go back again for a leisure trip this time, just to take it all in. Who's in?

Blurb, Blurb, Blurb, the Blurb is the Word

2009-04-29T23:16:00.000-04:00

My first illustration portfolio book is one of the staff picks at Blurb.com. Go there right now and check it out. Buy one for you, one for the kids, and one for the Mrs. It makes a nice coffee table read.

Red Hack

2009-04-18T23:48:00.000-04:00

This piece is inspired by reports that Russia and China may have hacked the United States' electrical grid. From what I've gathered, there are Russian and Chinese programs that are in U.S. computers that control electrical grids. If the United States ever goes to war with either country, they may be set off and certain parts of America will instantly lose power. Creepy, right?

This Just In...

2009-04-14T20:23:00.000-04:00

...one of my pieces, The Missing Things, was selected for CMYK Magazine 44. The publication should be out by this summer. Woohoo!

Lightspeed Champion

2009-04-05T18:34:00.001-04:00

Formerly the member of the punk band Test Icicles, Devonte Hynes started his solo project, Lightspeed Champion. He chose this name based on a comic of the same name he did as a child. I decided to include child-like crayon monsters in the background to go with his childhood drawings and inner-demons that haunt him in his music.

Check out his music here.

Generation Diva

2009-03-30T16:01:00.000-04:00

This piece is inspired by an article from Newsweek, entitled "Generation Diva: How Our Obsession With Beauty Is Changing Our Kids." I juxtaposed the bottom half, a classic little girl with a teddy bear, with the top half, a spray-tanned, dolled-up mini-diva, complete with hair paparazzi.

Read the article here.

P.S. Profile views still stuck at 1400.

Sigh.

The Blog Has Stopped...

2009-03-29T01:09:00.000-04:00

The profile view counter on the blog has stopped at 1400. That's right. It's stuck. It won't move. Apparently this is a problem that happens at times, and that the profile views counter does not work in real time. Weird. Well, here are some recent sketches while I wait for the counter to catch up (if it ever does). Eat 'em up!

Animal Collective Alternate

2009-03-23T15:57:00.000-04:00

Here is a my alternate version of the Animal Collective piece based on two sketches. One was a study of their instruments from the "My Girls" video. The other was a study of the members (on the current album). Someone suggested that I combined the two, the cogs started to turn, and here it is. Below is the Pitchfork review mock-up.

Merriweather Post Pavillion

2009-03-22T22:05:00.000-04:00

This is a conceptual/experimental piece for the Pitchfork review of Animal Collective's new album, Merriweather Post Pavilion.

Here is a mock-up of how it would look on the website. If magazines, like newspapers, start going by the wayside and start cutting budgets for art, I think that internet illustration could be an interesting way to go. What do you think?

Read the original review here.

Le Student Show

2009-03-18T22:09:00.000-04:00

Six of my pieces are in Department of Communication Arts: 2009 Student Exhibition at the Anderson Gallery (in red). Check it out here.

Richie and the Cadillac Man

2009-03-15T22:27:00.000-04:00

This is about a homeless writer, the Cadillac Man, who lives under a railroad viaduct in Astoria, Queens NY. He used to have a family and daughters, but is no longer connected to them, having only the streets of NY to call his home. Cadillac's writings are blunt, raw, scary, inspiring, and ultimately real. His book, Land of the Lost Souls: My Life on the Streets, will hit bookshelves tomorrow, March 17. Make sure to pick it up!

Get two copies.

One for you...and one for me!

Read his full story in Esquire here.

Having lived in hotels, homeless shelters, even cars during my childhood, this story touched me personally, bringing a real face to what it's like when you've hit rock bottom.

Sidenote: A higher quality image will be up shortly (once I get to a flatbed scanner). Yay-yay!

Sketches, Egon Schiele and the Progression of the Cadillac Man

2009-03-14T23:28:00.000-04:00

Here are some more sketches from the past few weeks.

I've also been doing some Egon Schiele sketchbook studies. I've always loved Egon Schiele. His lines are so expressive (hence, Expressionism) and seem to really capture moments in time. Not to mention, his hand-drawing skills are ree-DIC-ulous.

The Egon Schiele studies lead to this piece-in-progress about the Cadillac Man, a homeless writer from Queens, NY, who's book, Land of the Lost Souls is coming out this month. I read a story he wrote in Esquire magazine about his life and was compelled to make a piece not only about him, but dedicated to him. If you want to read a heart-wrenching, enlightening, and ultimately uplifting story about one man's tale of survival, read it here.

Site and Sketches

2009-03-08T23:34:00.000-04:00

My website, richiepope.com is up, so check it out! Here's a few sketches from '09 so far.

The Light Years

2009-03-03T16:54:00.001-05:00

This is an illustration for the short story "The Light Years" from "Cosmicomics". It's about a being who sees a sign in his telescope that says "I saw you." Who is "I" and what did he or she see? It'll take him billions of light years to find out while his paranoia and self-doubt eats away at him.

Leaders of the New Cool

2009-03-02T16:04:00.000-05:00

This is a portrait of underground musicians, from left to right, M.I.A., Spank Rock and Santigold. Once again, I tried a different approach with this piece (all traditional versus traditional and digital) and I think it turned out pretty well. I learned a few things that I'll take with me to the next piece.

Sidenote: Spank Rock ended up looking a little like me. Coincidence?

Leaders of the New Cool (Progress Part Deux)

2009-03-02T01:03:00.001-05:00

It snowed today in Richmond. What's going on in this world? I'm going to change some values, buildup the hair, add some schweet line work and I should be done.

Leaders of the New Cool (Progress)

2009-03-01T03:21:00.000-05:00

Here is progress from Leaders of the New Cool, a portrait of underground musicians, from left to right, M.I.A., Spank Rock and Santigold. First, my Colin Powell looks asian, now, my Spank Rock looks like a young Colin Powell. Maybe I have a weird infatuation with Colin Powell. Maybe they're related. Maybe because it's almost 4 am? Yea. That's probably it.

We Are All Businessmen Alternate (Part I)

2009-02-27T14:49:00.000-05:00

This is a sample of the progress so far on my alternate version of the We Are All Businessmen piece.

Strictly Business-EPMD

2009-02-22T16:02:00.000-05:00

Guess who's bizzack? No, not Jay-Z. My computer is back, granted that I have to keep it propped up at an angle to get it working right.

Sad.

I know.

Here's an illustration for the story "We Are All Businessmen." It's about a Sri Lankan man, Ranil, who wants a company scholarship for his son, so to do that, he takes care of an American executive, no matter the cost. The wall and table are very loose and suggestive, as Ranil feels his culture being degraded and decaying. His business side is well intact, represented by his nice shiny suit and pattern.

Computer Update and Dobermans

2009-02-18T21:23:00.000-05:00

Here's a page of dog studies that I did for the Hound of Mons piece. Hopefully, I'll be getting a new cord to turn my computer back on this Friday, thanks to my boy Nathan Nelson.

This weekend, I'll be working on a 3-piece project entitled Leaders of the New Cool. It will consist of portraits of 3 music artists, Spank Rock, Santigold, and M.I.A., that are closely related and popular in the underground music scene.

Bad Newz and School Daze (Too many Z'z!)

2009-02-17T23:31:00.000-05:00

The power adapter to my computer is burned to nothing, so, my computer, with all artwork on it, including one of the original society pieces (Oh Lord!) won't turn on. Hopefully a friend of mine can pull the data off of it by tomorrow, or, I can get a universal adapter so I can just turn it back on. On a lighter note, here's a sketch from today during most of my classes. Don't worry, I was still paying attention and gettin' my learn on.

Hound of Mons

2009-02-16T00:12:00.001-05:00

It's a late night in the library. I just might go to sleep here if I don't go home soon. While I'm still awake, here's the final piece for an article from Fortean Times. It's about the World War I urban legend, the Hound of Mons. Legend says that, as a last resort to defeat the allies, a German scientist went to a hospital, took the brain from a mad man, and implanted it into the body of a dog that was let loose in No Man's Land. SpoOoOoOoky!

Society of Illustrators Student Competition

2009-02-14T20:59:00.000-05:00

Two of my pieces got in to the Society of Illustrators Student Competition. It's one of my first times entering a student competition, so, I'm pretty excited and very humble. Congratulations to all the other winning entries from VCU, including Vikki Chu, Geary Day, Raven Herrera, and Will Godwin. Word.

Side note: Thanks for the IM notification WIll!

Figure Drawing Tonight

2009-02-13T21:33:00.001-05:00

How Much Shall We Spot?

2009-02-10T09:32:00.000-05:00

Here's the spot illustration for "How Much Shall We Bet?," from the book, Cosmicomics. Near the end of the story, the two main characters go from divine-like beings looking overthe world to two old men sitting on their porches. One of the character, in a wheelchair, with a whole rug of newspapers draped over his lap, is ultimately oppressed by his thirst information.

Mother of the Believers

2009-02-07T23:17:00.000-05:00

Samira Ahmed Jassim is an Iraqi woman, nicknamed "Mother of the Believers," who is suspected to have recruited at least 80 Iraqi women to be suicide bombers. When I saw a picture of Jassim in her traditional Iraqi clothing, it reminded me of a matryoshka, or a Russian nesting doll (the doll within a doll within a doll...etc.). The nesting doll is a symbol of motherhood and fertility, yet, it's onion-like structure is very much like modern-day terrorism; terrorists within terrorists within terrorists. Word.

Sidenote: I hope I don't get a fatwa on my life for this...

Original Article of Inspiration

Alternate Vampire Weekend

2009-02-04T00:46:00.001-05:00

How Much Shall We Bet?

2009-02-03T14:59:00.000-05:00

This is an illustration for a book of short stories called "Cosmicomics." It's based on the story "How Much Shall We Bet?," which involves two divine-like beings, having nothing better to do in the universe, bet on what will happen in the future.

The ATE™ Shirts Are In...

2009-02-02T20:12:00.000-05:00

...and they're frikkin' awesome!

They will be available to the public VERY soon, hopefully.

The People vs. Vampire Weekend

2009-02-01T20:20:00.000-05:00

This is an illustration inspired by an article over at Village Voice about the new band Vampire Weekend and how polarized critics were in 2008.

Finally Final Pieces

2009-02-01T20:09:00.001-05:00

I've noticed recently that there is still this unspoken gap between traditional and digital art. This year, I'm trying to bridge that gap. I do both and love them both for different reasons. Both can be used in various ways to replicate the other media. In the end, it's not the media but how you use it and how successful the final result is. This piece is one of the first results. It's a theater poster for Kimberly Akimbo done with a mono-type-transfer technique and digital coloring.

Monotype and Demos

2009-01-30T00:53:00.000-05:00

These are my first experiments with a mono-type-like transfer that Sterling Hundley showed me today during a demo. After he was finished, he asked me to do it too. Here's the situation: I was in front of the whole class. Everyone was staring at me. No one was talking. I had to do this new technique, yet, at the same time, talk about what I was doing without getting my artwork or words all jumbled up. I, Richie Pope, felt what it was like to do a real live demo. To all of those artists that have done demos before, I salute your bravery.

2009-01-26T20:50:00.000-05:00

Vampire Weekend, MGMT, and Clint Eastwood can all exist in one post? Who would've thought?

Incredible Quote

2009-01-26T20:06:00.001-05:00

This is a random quote that I read today.

"The greater the artist, the greater the doubt; a perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize."
-Robert Hughes

Fresh Pair of Dmv's

2009-01-25T01:49:00.000-05:00

I found out about ten minutes ago that I'm on the front page of freshpairofdmvs.com. There is a post about me in the Arts section and Culture section. It's a really dope site about the art, fashion, and culture of the DC/Metro area, so be sure to check it out! I'm pretty excited about this and, as usual, very humbled. More stuff coming soon!

New Batch

2009-01-23T20:15:00.001-05:00

These are just a few sketches from winter break. I will post a lot more of these periodically. One thing I really liked is the texture of this sketchbook. At first, it made the ink blot up and really tore up my pens. I eventually adjusted to it and drew faster, giving me more fluid lines. Plus, the texture maintains through the scanning. It could look really interesting with digital pieces. Ya dig? I dig.

Kimberly Akimbo Poster

2009-01-23T01:04:00.000-05:00

I'm doing a poster assignment for a play, entitled Kimberly Akimbo. It is a dark comedy about a 16-year-old girl who has a form of progeria, in that she ages about 5 times as fast as a normal person. It was well-paced, meaningful and the dialogue felt real. It was the first time I laughed at something I read in a while. I definitely recommend it.

In this thumbnail, I found a connection between the idea of sand, or dust, wasting away with the wind, to the idea of Kimberly "wasting away" in age.

This second thumbnail is a juxtaposition of old versus young, or old skin versus young skin and body language.

I'm keeping the concept of the first thumbnail, add the body from the second one, and make her skin and face both young. The hair and the face wasting away into the wind will be the symbol of "age" while the rest of the face and body will be that juxtaposition of "inner youth" that is so prevalent in the story.

Goodbye O-ATE™

2009-01-06T15:12:00.000-05:00

Well, the new year has begun and I look back at 2008 with a sense of gratitude. I'm grateful that I made it through another year in this rat race of a world. I'm grateful for all the new music I enjoyed. I'm grateful for the new friends I've made. I'm grateful for the most respect and acknowledgment I've gotten as an artist in my entire life, but I have to say goodbye 2008. We had a good run. I'll enjoy the memories, but, I can't have you forever. Besides, I just met a new year. Yea. Her name is 2009.

Here's the FINAL final illo's for ATE.™ When the shirts come out, don't forget to get yours!

I'll be posting some sketchbook stuff I've been doing over the winter break very very soon. I'm also working on a piece about the band Vampire Weekend, so look out for that too. On top of that, while FINALLY finishing up the layout for Radio-Girl, I'm going to be entering some competitions.

2009, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

ADA Gallery Show!!!

2009-01-05T16:09:00.000-05:00