My New Obsession

Once I got a hold of oil paint my world was turned upside down. I loved it! I have been into art since I was a tiny kid but always been intimidated by oil paint. It took me 21 years to finally start working with it. It is the most versatile medium I have ever used. There are so many things you can do with it. I feel like I have missed out on so much because I was scared to use it. Lesson learned!!! This is my first head study I did with black and white oil paint.

I have an awesome professor that I have learned so much from. This was my second oil painting where my professor gave everyone a random magazine portrait and gave us a half hour to sketch, layout, and paint a finished piece. I got Obama and this is what a half hour gave me. Fun assignment though. Oil on scrap canvas.

This is work in progress. Such an interesting concept. love it. Oil on canvas.

This was a final project in one of my classes. We got to choose any material we wanted so I had to do a painting of Heath Ledger. Easily one of my favorite roles that anyone has ever played in a movie. Oil on canvas.

This is my favorite oil painting I have done. I have always loved tattoos and the art that is involved in tattooing. People dont give credit to the talent it takes to give a good tatoo. I have all the respect in the world for these artists. This is a hand study of my friend Stevie. If anybody has any good tattoos please e mail me! I would love to start painting more pieces like this.

Skateboard Design Contest and Commision Piece

I recently got a call from my little brother Corbin telling me about a skateboard design contest for a local skate shop. Well the Deadline was the next day and i decided to go buy the deck. I sqeeked out this piece with an airbrush and some acrylic paint. I ended up taking first place so i was super stoked! Nothing like a first place prize and free snowboard gear.

This longboard was a commisioned piece I did for a friend. I loved it because he told me an idea of what he wanted and let me do the rest. I love pin-up art so I was excited to do this piece. He asked for a pin up on a bomb. Its not an original piece of mine but i am very pleased with it. Its acrylic on wood.







Detail

Bob Marley

This is a quick painting of Bob Marley. I usually do my paintings with spraypaint, but I have started doing these posterized pieces in acrylic to improve my sharpness with a paintbrush.


Bob Marley speed painting from Jonathan Olson on Vimeo.

Einstein

I Love drawing people with distinct features. "Different" is always more interesting to study and sketch. This is Albert Einstein with a Black Ballpoint pen.

Betty Page

This is a pen and ink drawing of Betty Page. Ball point pen and heavy weight paper. She is one of my favorite people to paint and draw.


Untitled from Jonathan Olson on Vimeo.

Spraypaint

One of the main reasons I made this blog is because I constantly have people asking about my art and where they can buy it, etc. These paintings are kind of how I have made my name. These are done purely with spraypaint on a 2 foot by three foot canvas. They are original pieces that I often sell . Most of these are portraits I have wanted to do, but a couple are also commisioned work. I have about twenty five different portraits so this is only a few.

Marilyn Monroe copyright 2008

Elvis Presley copyright 2008

Madonna copyright 2008

Betty Page copyright 2008

Marv- Sin City

Edward Scissorhands copyright 2008

Airbrush

I decided to take an airbrush class a few semesters ago and I absolutely love it. Anyone who is trying to learn how to draw should pick up an airbrush. There are so many things that I have improved upon in my drawing technique because of my recent use of the airbrush. I plan on spending alot more time on it in the future. Here are my first portraits I have played with.

Clown

Salvador Dali

Abraham Lincoln

I did this painting for my grandpa Calvin. He loved John Wayne. I was never able to give this painting to him.

The Shining

Zombie

Eye Study

Art Show

Thank you to everyone that supported me at my art show last year. I got a very good turn out out. I got to talk to over three hundred people about my art I had been working on for the last few months. Im planning on doing another one this summer. Here are some pictures from the show.

My beautiful wife

A few pieces from the show. Marilyn Monroe, " The Shining", Elvis, Madonna (back to back), Big Black, Audrey Hepburn, John Wayne.

This is a simple piece I did with India ink and watercolors. I wanted to portray the primary colors in an interesting way.