Michael Nolan

The Aegis Solution

2011-11-12T15:33:00.010-07:00

I have just completed my sixth cover for Starsys Publishing ... seriously, I submitted both versions to get uploaded to the printer like an hour ago. This is also my third cover for John David Krygelski, the author of The Harvest and of Time Cursor. The newest novel is entitled The Aegis Solution.

Below are both the hard and soft cover versions. Here is the link where you can pre order the novel, The Aegis Solution - http://www.starsyspublishing.com/

Soft Cover Version

Hard Cover Version

Finally, some new work....

2011-09-10T08:50:00.004-07:00

This Heart is on Fire - I am Feeling Much Better Now. Oil on Canvas - 36" x 36"

God Damn It: The Domestication of an Anteater by a Polar Bear. Oil on Canvas - 30" x 57"

Sabino Canyon in June

2011-09-01T21:22:00.002-07:00

This is my pretty pretty landscape. If you look hard enough you can see Chuck Norris in the background. The end.

Eventually, I'll have to go to sleep....

Oil on panel - 11" x 14"

Figure Sketchbook Update - Acrylic

2011-08-25T21:13:00.013-07:00

Figure Sketchbook Update - Watercolor Pencil

2011-08-25T21:09:00.007-07:00

Figure Sketchbook Update - Watercolor

2011-08-25T20:53:00.018-07:00

Teresa Engle Moreno Portrait

2011-05-07T15:21:00.006-07:00

One of my esteemed colleagues, Teresa, asked me to paint her portrait. In return, she proposed that she would make me lunch for the whole semester. Teresa bartered with her homemade food because she did not approve of my eating habits. At the time of the negotiations, I was eating a microwave bean burrito from the vending machine of which I still don’t see what the big deal was. They are moderately edible and reasonably priced.

Anyway, she made me lunch every other day for the whole spring semester. She is a fabulous cook and the meals were awesome. And from what she told me they were a lot healthier than that said burrito. It might have been the best deal I have ever made….but, I think next time I will charge the cash-money for a painted portrait.

Well, at least I have temporarily averted that whole mo’ money mo’ problems thing for a while longer.

Oil on Canvas - 36" x 24"

Snow is not just white...

2011-04-13T23:58:00.003-07:00

Back in late February I went up Mt. Lemon and did some oil painting. Plein air is tough and at the time it was super cold. I will get a hold of it someday...and on that day it will be warmer.

Portrait-A-Day Part 2

2011-04-13T23:34:00.013-07:00

Well, way back in August, I was shooting for 50 maybe even 100 straight portraits in as many days…. I got to thirty. I guess that’s better than nothing. Here are the final ten portraits I completed. August was a rough go to say the least.

Sketchbook Update

2011-03-20T18:35:00.005-07:00

Casein 20 minute life drawing studies

Elijah

2011-03-20T16:34:00.002-07:00

This is my portrait of Elijah Baker – the newborn son of my good friends David and Erika Baker. I am so glad they liked the portrait…or at least they had the good graces to lie about it.
Oil on panel – 14” x 11”

The Verge of Transcendence

2011-03-20T16:21:00.003-07:00

Started this painting over a year ago... just finally finished it a month ago.

Oil on canvas - 48" x 36"

Theft of Innocence - Updated cover

2011-03-20T16:07:00.003-07:00

I had been meaning to post this forever… well, since January. So anyway, when I submitted the original cover to the printers they sent it back saying I had used too high of a saturation of blacks. After figuring out what that meant and making the correction I got a chance to revisit the type for the title.

I was never really happy with the original glow around the type. So getting the cover kicked back to me turned out to be a good thing… although, it sure did not feel like it at the time. I am much happier with the slash and no glow. Slash yes glow no…

Theft of Innocence

2011-01-04T16:37:00.008-07:00

So I took another little mini sabbatical from posting after my last super-tiny sabbatical from posting... Nevertheless, I am confident that I will…try to post more often in 2011.

Here is the newest book cover I’ve completed for Starsys Publishing and my first for author C. Vance Cast. The book is entitled, “Theft of Innocence.” It should be due out in about 3 weeks to a month.

The cover was a lot of fun to create. I wanted the front cover image to convey the heartache while simultaneously capturing the hope from the story.

I am going to need some more blue oil paint…

Full Cover

Oil Painting - 18" x 24"
To get your copy of "Theft of Innocence," go to http://shop.starsyspublishing.com/

Time Cursor

2010-10-24T19:26:00.004-07:00

My mini sabbatical from posting is over. I have been painting and drawing like crazy over the last few months and have ton of new work to post. I will start with the newest book cover I have completed for Starsys Publishing and my second cover for John David Krygelski, the author of The Harvest. The novel is entitled Time Cursor. Below are both the hard and soft cover versions. It was lot of fun to work on but only in hindsight… I must have reworked the cover images easily at least 10 times. Basically, the final version is a mix and match of all of the previous attempts.

They work so much better combined.

Below is the link where you can pre order the novel, Time Cursor - http://shop.starsyspublishing.com

Hard Cover Jacket

Soft Cover

Portrait-A-Day...Batch 1

2010-08-10T19:11:00.026-07:00

I thought I would join my painting class in their portrait a day exercise. Well, for me, it was really more like 5 portraits every 7 days. Anyway, they're all done in oil on 8" x 10" canvas panels. Each one took around 2 hours to complete. I started with the Zorn palette and slowly expanded it. Here is the first batch of 20. I'll see how far I can push it before I never want to look at myself in the mirror again. My goal is at least 50.

We also did a class theme for one of the portraits, a zombie portrait. My first attempt looks very unzombie like. So I did two. The second looks more zombie… I watched the remake of Dawn of The Dead while painting it, which so helped.

Zombie #1

Zombie #2

#20

The Ghosts of The Copper Queen

2010-07-31T23:24:00.004-07:00

This is my latest book cover for Starsys Publishing. It is a very cool book of real life ghost stories from the Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee, Arizona. The stories are from the actual journal entries written by the folks that experienced them. So I wanted the front cover to have that eeriness and still feeling of right before something happened. And then I wanted the back cover to portray the after with the written account of the haunting. I personally think the pen on the back cover makes the whole image. It was my Grandmothers from the 30’s. It is just too cool.

Anyway, I wanted to mix it up for this cover so I used photo and collage to build the image. I hope you enjoy.

The book will be available in a month. Go to www.starsyspublishing.com to get your copy.

Final Option

2010-07-11T10:11:00.003-07:00

This is the newest book cover I have completed for Starsys Publishing. The novel is entitled Final Option and it’s due out in a month or so. The story is about a female serial killer, who is quite beautiful. This made the cover was a blast to work on but also a little difficult. Painting beautiful female faces is about the hardest thing to do in art… in my humble opinion, of course. So I got some great references (Thank you Rachel) and started with a black and white painting of the face which was done with caseins on board. Then I scanned in a bunch of elements and manipulated the whole collage in Photoshop. But I did turn my studio red trying to get that splash of red to look just right. Even after a lot of cleaning, the studio still kind of looks like a scene from Shaun of the Dead.

“You’ve got red on ya…”

Below is the link where you can pre order the novel, Final Option.
http://shop.starsyspublishing.com

Final Option - Full Cover

American Illustration 29

2010-04-17T11:15:00.003-07:00

I just got accepted into the American Illustration 29 Annual... well actually, Mr. Sheep did. The annual comes out in November. Even after hearing the good news, Mr. Sheep is still seemingly indifferent.

"Was that the Doorbell?"

Oil on Canvas - 30" x 48"

The Harvest

2010-03-29T17:55:00.010-07:00

Front Cover

This is the painting I made for the new novel entitled, "The Harvest" by John David Krygelski. I painted it in oils and the original size is 18" x 24". In order to create the crowd, I had to use a lot of friends and family as reference. Thanks friends and family. Also, I designed the back cover of the novel with no help from friends and family. Thanks friends and family.

Original 18" x 24" oil painting

Back Cover

Here is the link to buy your copy... only if you want to... maybe you should... go ahead and treat yourself... you have most certainly earned it.

http://shop.starsyspublishing.com/

Please welcome... Mr. Benjamin Flagg!

2010-03-03T18:12:00.002-07:00

Summer Landscaping

2010-02-28T23:52:00.022-07:00

These are some of my plein air highlights from this past summer aside from sitting in an ant hill and nearly falling off a mountain. Most of them are quick (not usually longer than half an hour) watercolor and casein gestures from Madera Canyon and Sabino Canyon.

I am still trying to learn the watercolor. I keep hearing that the rule of thumb with watercolors is that you have to paint one hundred of them before you’ll get a decent one… well, I’ve got about fifty more to go.

Older news is still good news...

2010-02-22T23:19:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my clippings from 2009.

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/multiple-strands/Content?oid=1260060

http://tucson.metromix.com/events/article/arizona-biennial-2009/1309782/content