"Influential Figures" gallery

We now have a page set up where you can purchase any of the original drawings from the "Influential Figures" series. I will be updating the page with new drawings as they're being completed, so please check back often. Each drawings includes a custom frame and is 14x8.5" in size. Go here to see the gallery page.

Kickstarter Project

Hey guys, I've started a project on kickstarter to help fund the production of a collection of prints from the Influential Figures series I'm working on. Here's how kickstarter works:

ALL OR NOTHING--Kickstarter is powered by a unique all-or-nothing funding method where projects must be fully-funded or no money changes hands. So if I don't get the minimum amount I'm asking to produce my project, nothing happens. It's less risk for everyone that way.

REWARDS--Each pledge receives an award, and the more you pledge the better the reward. You can pre-order the print collection for a minimum pledge of $200.

So check it out and hit the "like" button under the video to spread the word!

Influential Figures - Mahatma Gandhi

Casey Childs, Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948), Charcoal, 14x8.5″

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi - Political & Ideological Leader

• Born: 2 October 1869(1869-10-02)
• Birthplace: British India
  
• Died: 30 January 1948 New Delhi, India(1948-01-30) (assassination by shooting)
• Best Known For: prominent figure for Indian independence movement

Gandhi was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement. A pioneer of satyagraha, or resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience — a philosophy firmly founded upon ahimsa, or total nonviolence — Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.

Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women's rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability, increasing economic self-reliance, but above all for achieving Swaraj — the independence of India from foreign domination. Gandhi famously led Indians in protesting the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (250 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930, and later in calling for the British to Quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned for many years, on many occasions, in both South Africa and India.

Gandhi strove to practice non-violence and truth in all situations, and advocated that others do the same. He lived modestly in a self-sufficient residential community and wore the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn he had hand spun on a charkha. He ate simple vegetarian food, and also undertook long fasts as means of both self-purification and social protest.

Influential Figures - George A Custer

Casey Childs, George Armstrong Custer (1839 - 1876), Charcoal, 14x8.5″

George Armstrong Custer - US Army Officer & Cavalry Commander

• Born: December 5, 1839
• Birthplace: New Rumley, Ohio
  
• Died: June 25, 1876 at Little Bighorn, Montana (battle)
• Best Known For: Battle of Little Bighorn, Custer's Last Stand

George Armstrong Custer was a United States army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Today he is most remembered for a disastrous military engagement known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class. However, with the outbreak of the Civil War, all potential officers were needed, and Custer was called to serve with the Union Army.

Custer developed a strong reputation during the Civil War. He fought in the first major engagement, the First Battle of Bull Run. His association with several important officers helped his career, as did his success as a highly effective Cavalry commander. Before war's end, Custer was promoted to the temporary rank (brevet) of major general. (At war's end, this was reduced to his permanent rank of captain.) At the conclusion of the Appomattox Campaign, in which he and his troops played a decisive role, Custer was on hand at General Robert E Lee's surrender.

After the Civil War, Custer was dispatched to the West to fight in the Indian Wars. The overwhelming defeat in his final battle overshadowed his achievements in the Civil War. Custer was defeated and killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, fighting against a coalition of Native American tribes in a battle that has come to be popularly known in American history as "Custer's Last Stand". After his death, Custer achieved the lasting fame that he had sought on the battlefield. The public saw him as a tragic military hero and exemplary gentleman who sacrificed his life for his country.

Influential Figures - Edgar Allan Poe

Casey Childs, Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), Charcoal, 14x8.5″

Edgar Allan Poe - American novelist

• Born: January 19, 1809
• Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts
  
• Died: October 7, 1849 in Baltimore, Maryland (cause unknown)
• Best Known Work: The Raven, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-tale Heart...

Edgar Allan Poe, an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.

Poe and his works influenced literature in the United States and around the world, as well as in specialized fields, such as cosmology and cryptography. Poe and his work appear throughout popular culture in literature, music, films, and television. A number of his homes are dedicated museums today.

And here's the list of "Influential Figures" we've come up with so far:

Dr Seuss, Baden Powell, Frank Lloyd Wright, Howard Hughes, Alexander Graham Bell, Hitler, Walt Whitman, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, William F. Cody, Theodore Roosevelt, JFK, Walt Disney, Robert Frost, Babe Ruth, Helen Keller, Annie Sullivan, Amelia Earhart, Alice Paul, Coco Chanel, Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Wilberforce, Karl Marx, Mary Wollstonecraft, Harriet Tubman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mahatma Ghandi, Sojourner Truth, Custer, Billy the Kid, Old Tom Morris, Bobby Jones, John Singer Sargent, Nicholai Fechin, Thomas Edison, Tesla, Einstein

A New Series and a Question

I'm a big history buff and love to watch pretty much anything on the history channel. And I'm always eager to learn about those people who affected history and have influenced or changed the way our world is today. So with that in mind, I'm beginning a new series of drawings and paintings titled "Influential Figures." And I want your help. I would like to pose this question to all that read this--

Who do you consider to be the most influential people of our time?

Leave a comment and tell me who you feel that person is, or more than one. And I will capture them in a drawing or painting.

But here's the RULE--they have to be deceased more than 50 years. (that way there's no copyright issues of me using a person's image or photo)

Casey Childs, Charles Dickens (1812-1870), Charcoal, 14x8.5″

I've begun by drawing Charles Dickens - English Victorian novelist

• Born: February 7, 1812
• Birthplace: Portsmouth, England
• Died: June 9, 1870 in Kent, England (stroke)
• Best Known Work: Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Bleak House...

Charles Dickens, one of the most popular, productive, and skilled English novelist, was acclaimed for his rich storytelling and unforgettable characters. His moving, critical and sentimental stories are characterized by attacks on social injustices and hypocrisy, and offer an excellent insight into Victorian culture.

Dickens achieved massive worldwide popularity in his lifetime and is regarded as one of the giants of English literature.

Today his works are still widely read and regularly adapted for cinema and television. Over 75 feature films have been made based on his novels.

So leave a comment and give me some suggestions!

Head Study

Head study in charcoal/white chalk...

Documenting the Process of a Painting - Part 1

With this new project, I've begun documenting through video the process of creating this painting in series of short videos. Here's the first...

Documenting the Process of a Painting - Part I from Casey Childs on Vimeo.

This video shows our travels to Carthage, IL to begin researching the painting.

Documenting the Process of a Painting - Part 2

Documenting the Process of a Painting - Part II from Casey Childs on Vimeo.

This is the second in a series of videos I'm putting together to document the process of creating my new painting. This short video shows the behind the scenes of the photo shoot.

Many thanks to all involved in this HUGE project! Seriously...thank you.

the Sketches

I just updated the limited Sketch blog with photos of some of the sketches I've finished. This has been a great project to work on, thanks to all those who commissioned sketches!

Check it out HERE.

limited Sketch

I’ve often spoken with people who would like to commission a portrait but cannot afford one. This left me with a question: how can I create high quality, original artwork for people at a price most can afford?

Here is my answer--it is called “limited Sketch.” From now until November 20, I’ve decided to accept the first 100 commissions for an 11×14 portrait charcoal sketch for only 200.00, including frame and shipping. The normal cost of an 11×14 portrait sketch is 650.00, which means that you can receive the same high quality, original sketch you would expect from me at a fraction of the usual price. These commissions will be shipped by December 10.

After I receive the first 100 commissions, the cost of an 11×14 portrait charcoal sketch will return to 650.00. The limited sketch is now the opportunity to purchase my artwork at a reduced price.

You can see more details about the project here: www.limitedsketch.wordpress.com

New App for the iPhone

Thanks to my awesome brother and his development team, Rogue Team, I've now got my very own app for the iPhone! It's totally FREE, so if you've got an iPhone go download it now...

itunes.apple.com/us/app/artwork-of-casey-childs/

2010 Miss Orem Portrait Sketch Demonstration

2010 Miss Orem Portrait Sketch Demonstration from Casey Childs on Vimeo.

I put this video together from the footage we shot during my live drawing demonstration with 2010 Miss Orem, Bridget Kreis, as the model. The portrait demo was during this last weekend's Orem Arts in the Park event, although we got rained out so the event ended up taking place inside. It was a fun experience sketching Bridget, we started out in the hallway but halfway through they asked us to move so more people could see us.

Thanks to Michael VaughAn, www.mgvaughan.com, for getting all the video footage. And, of course, to Bridget for sitting so still. Thank you to everyone else who was involved in this little shindig.

Enjoy.

Jennifer Thomas McDougall

I found out last week that the sister of a good friend of mine that I grew up with was killed tragically. I felt terrible for her family, so I offered to create this drawing of her. She left behind 3 young children. Sad. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Thomas family...

Jennifer Thomas McDougall. charcoal on paper. 17" x 14".

Lincoln - Prints Now Available

I'm excited to announce my very first run of limited edition prints! We've printed a set of 250 limited edition, signed and numbered (by myself), of my drawing--"Lincoln"--which are now available for purchase on my website. They are listed at a special introductory price of $99 unframed and $199 framed. So buy now! :) All prints are 14"x 11" in size. Go to this link for more info:

Casey Childs Fine Art Store

This portrait of Lincoln was drawn from a daguerreotype (which is an early form of photograph) taken in 1859. I saw this image and noticed how Lincoln's face was so interesting with so many shapes and planes that I really wanted to draw him. I drew it on a toned paper (Canson is the manufacturer) with charcoal (varying softnesses) and white chalk.

Detailed Image of "Lincoln". GO HERE TO BUY A PRINT.

Image of the frame available for this print.

GO HERE TO BUY THE FRAMED PRINT.

Recent Drawings

It's so important to work from life, I know I've already mentioned that in a previous post--but growth as an artist happens so much quicker when working from life instead of a photo. You can SEE so much more in a live model that the camera can't. I think there are some artists out there that shy away from it for one reason or another, but I feel it's really the best way to improve the quality of one's work. Now I'm not saying I don't work from photos because I do, but I'm learning that by working from life I've improved the quality of my work. Especially when I've needed to use photographs.

Here's a few live sketches I've done recently:

Katers. charcoal on paper. 10" x 8". 2009.

$300 USD (frame included)

email me for purchase information

Nicole. charcoal on paper. 10" x 10". 2009.

Jill. charcoal on paper. 10" x 8". 2009.

$300 USD (frame included)

email me for purchase information

So....I'm always looking for willing victims to come sit for me--so if you're interested (and live in the area), write me an email or give me a call!

Life Portrait - My Grandma Sketch

A quick post to show the finished sketch of my Grandma, she came back to the studio for a second sitting. She was a good sport--I'll be working on a painting of her starting sometime in January.

"Grandma Lois". 10" x 8.5". Charcoal on Paper. 2009

Life Portrait - My Grandma

I've realized for some time the importance of working from life but until recently didn't have the space to properly do it. But now with the new studio I do. So in between my many other projects, I've been trying to fit in a portrait of my Grandma entirely from life. She was kind enough to agree to my crazy request and came by today for the first sitting. This photo shows the rough-in for my initial drawing. Once I've completed this drawing, I then plan on creating a painting of her entirely from life. There's nothing better than painting/drawing from life.

(At this stage, I'm only focusing on large shapes and overall proportion)

Drawing Video

I created this video to show my drawing process. It was really boring in real time so I had to speed it up. It's still pretty boring, but not as much now. This drawing I'm creating here is after Nicolai Fechin (1881-1955), his drawings are having an amazing blend of draftsmanship (structure/form) and energetic line work. His drawings are definitely worth checking out. Here's my finished drawing:

A Cup O' Drawings...

This first image is a drawing of our two little boys that I made for my wife as an anniversary gift a few months ago. I've been playing around with lost and found areas (meaning leaving some areas w/o detail) to create visual interest and lead the eye around the image. You can let me know if it worked...

charcoal, white chalk. 13" x 11". 2009.

This is a drawing I created in the studio from a still-life. My sister was in town and wanted to draw with me, so we set this up and drew for about an hour. It was lots of fun, she needs to move closer so we can do this more often--I would post her drawing as well but she'd probably kill me. :)

charcoal, white chalk. 10" x 10". 2009.