Agnolo Bronzino Portrait of a Bean

One more to the Bean Series I'm putting together for my Mr. Bean / Rowan Atkinson fans. I know I just used this painting in the Bono post previous to this but I couldn't resist. This series will be an attempt to bring a little life back into the now retired Mr. Bean character and contribute a little to the memory of this great character as well as paying tribute to an iconic comedian.

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Ode to Bono ~ a long forgotten Image

Tonight's post is kind of random. This is a long forgotten image of Bono that never made it into my blog. It was an old freaking News Photoshop contest entry, so for any Bono fans out there, this one's for you! I'll be getting back on some caricature work as soon as I finish a commission I'm working on. Goodnight folks!

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Russian Super Model Natalia Beanovich

A quick Sunday Doodle for your viewing pleasure. I was really bored. :)

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Bean The Gladiator

Tonight I'm posting a regular photo manipulation of Rowan Atkinson as "Been The Gladiator". It seems that no matter what I do, Mr. Bean is still the most popular character I have. Now with the official retirement of Mr. Bean, I'm going to make it my mission to bring him back to life with a small series of manipulations. Standard photo manipulations without caricatures are really fun and relaxing and great for practicing blending, textures etc. I've posted the source image below as well as a video of the Bean in action. I have another Rock Band group caricature planned so I'll hopefully have that up in a few days.

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My Official Google+ Business Page Launched

Tonight my post is about my business and one of the things I'm doing to promote it. "Rodney Pike Humorous Illustrator", my Official Google+ Business Page is up and running. I have had a G+ account for several weeks and it's doing well with over 15,000 followers. Last night I launched my business page which is partially shown above. This is the "Photos" page. Clicking the image above will lead you to this page. Simply click the "posts" link to see my lates updates. I think this is going to be a good thing once the kinks are worked out. There's a lot of development ongoing. In fact this business page option was just made available last night. Businesses are being added at an amazing rate. If you're a Gpluser, be sure and add my page to your business circle. You can also add my personal profile @ +Rodney Pike. I've spent some time today connecting some dots and spreading this link around to some of my sites, and I have added two widgets to my blog on the right so you can add either me or my business to your circle without even going to the site, or you can add both. I have had tremendous support with my work everywhere I have created an account and I appreciate all of you who follow my work and support my blog. I'm sure the support will carry over to this site as well. The page already has several hundred followers. 

15,000+ Google+ Followers

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Thom Yorke ~ A Study in Grayscale

Tonight I'm posting the finished Thom Yorke I've been working on in grayscale, well not actually grayscale. It's RGB desaturated. I'm not sure about it. This one was tough. There a lot of extreme exaggerations in the body and that's hard to do and maintain / create detail. I don't know, it just looks stiff to me. I always had that problem when I painted. The sketch always captured the feeling I wanted and the final painting ended up stiff. I think when I start incorporating digital painting into my work it will get better. I really think I like the sketch better. Oh well, it is what it is and I'm done. On to the next project. I did learn a few things. That's the important part. I've posted the rest of the project below. I'm going back to concentrating on the face. Faces are what I do best and if I get that right the rest follows.

 

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Andy Rooney Remembered

Tonight I'm posting a manipulated caricature of Andy Rooney as a tribute to a true writer. He wrote until the very end. He will be remembered.

Andy Rooney - JANUARY 14, 1919 - NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Andrew Aitken "Andy" Rooney (January 14, 1919 – November 4, 2011) was an American radio and television writer. He was most notable for his weekly broadcast "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney", a part of the CBS News program 60 Minutes from 1978 to 2011. His final regular appearance on 60 Minutesaired October 2, 2011. He died one month later, on November 4, 2011, at age 92.

Television network CBS announced this morning that 60 Minutes news commentator Andy Rooney died yesterday evening in a New York City hospital, after complications from a minor surgery. He was 92. 

Rooney became famous for his final commentary at the end of each 60 Minutes news program. A beloved curmudgeon, he often served as the voice of the contrarian in popular culture. After more than 30 years on the show, Rooney announced his departure as a regular contributor in October of this year. He insisted, however, that he would still be creating occasional pieces for the network as long as he was able. "Andy always said he wanted to work until the day he died, and he managed to do it, save the last few weeks in the hospital," his 60 Minutes colleague, correspondent Steve Kroft, told the AP. 

Here's a look at Rooney's final segment on 60 Minutes. Only Andy could find a way to say thanks, while still coming off just a little grumpy about it. You will be sorely missed, Mr. Rooney.

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