First New Art Pieces Of 2021

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Once again I've neglected my blog for far too long, but not for lack of work ethic. I've been creating new art, new products that feature my art, and traveling for various reasons, both good and bad. As we enter the month of March in 2021, I have five new pieces to share with you. Honestly, five pieces in two months is more than my usual, but I did start one of them a while back. More on that in a moment. First up is this Underwater Skull with Flame Angelfish. You probably know my love for all things aquatic, and I've been contemplating a couple of underwater pieces that I've not yet been ready to tackle, so I started with this 5"x7" acrylic painting to begin exploring ways I might move forward on the larger pieces. You can check my Etsy shop to see if the original is still available HERE.

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This Anglerfish is the tenth official piece in my series called Funky Fish. (There are two unofficial pieces that were created for a commercial collector, and are numbered separately.) It's also the piece that I mentioned earlier, which I started painting a while back. Since I finished it in 2021, it's included in this set of new art. At 16"x20", this is the largest Funky Fish painting ever offered publicly and is available in my Etsy shop if you're so inclined. There are prints available in three sizes as well. Shop my Etsy.

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Next up is this Seahorse mixed media piece, made with colored pencils and watercolor. It's intended to match an octopus and jellyfish that I have available as prints. Threes always look good together. This piece is, as you may have guessed, available in my Etsy shop. If the original is sold, then prints will be available. For either, click on over this way.

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Of course, my love for The Nightmare Before Christmas surfaces again, as I've added Jack's dog Zero to my print offerings. This piece was created with colored pencil and watercolor on gray paper, and measures 5"x7". The original was a commission, so it's sold, but prints are available on both high gloss photography paper and texture matte cotton paper in, yep, my Etsy shop.

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Lastly, we have this fun little Vaporeon. All of my Pokémon friends have been asking for more, so I chose to add to my Eeveelutions, as I currently only offer prints of Eevee and Umbreon. At the time of writing this blog post, I just finished Vaporeon last night, so if you check now, you may find the original still available, but either way, I listed prints immediately due to a high demand. The original is 5"x7" colored pencil on tan paper, just like 99% of my other Pokémon drawings. Grab one for yourself HERE.

My next in-person show is Collective Con in Jacksonville, FL March 12-14. This promises to be an exciting, fun, safe experience for all. Please come say hi. I haven't seen some of you in WAY too long. Get tickets and info at CollectiveCon.com

See you soon!

Bryan

Funky Fish House Art

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Here’s the first full reveal of piece 1 of 2 Funky Fish. They are for a client who builds what he calls Funky Fish Houses. They are bright and open Key West style homes. 18x24 acrylic on wood.

A post shared by Bryan Collins (@useeverycolor) on Feb 11, 2019 at 5:23pm PST

If you've been following on Instagram the past couple of months then you've seen the progress images of these two Funky Fish paintings as they have rolled out. Being that they are the largest pieces I've made in quite some time, painting them was like trying to catch a giant greased beach ball after playing catch with a golf ball for a few years. I had many moments of feeling overwhelmed. Just when I would see some progress, my eyes would fixate on the vast portions yet to be completed. I questioned many of my choices in color and design, particularly since they were commissions. In a create-on-demand situation I want to be able to read the client's mind, but the best I can do is take my guesses and hope for a winner. In the end both the client and myself were pleased with the outcome.

Both fish have been made with acrylic paint on wood and the finished surface has multiple coats of semi-gloss varnish. The sides of the wood cradle are painted black.

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Here’s the second Funky Fish commission for the custom home builder in Cape Coral. Just like the first one, it’s 18x24 acrylic on wood.

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Some of you have already been asking about prints. This is one of those very rare situations where I will not be making prints. There are some Funky Fish prints available in my Etsy shop at www.bryancollins.etsy.com and more Funky Fish originals will be posted there as they are created.

If you have any questions, please feel free to post them in the comments. I will reply as soon as I can. I'll just need to put my coffee down and get the paint off my hands. Thanks again for your continued support.

Bryan

The Story of Funky Fish 6

Funky Fish 6 ~ Available at www.useeverycolor.com

During my last show at the Riverside Arts Market I met a mother and daughter who were looking for art for their grandbaby-slash-baby respectively. They wanted to put something fun and colorful in the baby's room and spent a while looking through prints. The grandmother connected with the Funky Fish 4 and 5 originals (seen at the bottom of this post) and decided those would be the winners. They also took home some prints, but it's always a great joy when someone takes home an original piece or two, with the intentions of inspiring young humans.

Sometimes when I am creating (and you can ask my family about the nightmarish whining I do) I struggle with whether or not there is a point to the piece. Some art has great meaning while some is just pretty to look at. This mother-daughter-child trio reminded me that "just pretty to look at" is sometimes more than JUST anything. An infant or child does not have the life experience to interpret the deeper meaning in complex art, but a simple and fun piece can inspire the young to create deep and meaningful art themselves later in life. The Funky Fish may be mere eye candy to some, but eye candy to a child is mesmerizing and could lead to early brain activity that blossoms an artist greater than I will ever be.

Therefore, since the two Funky Fish I had available went on their way to be viewed by this precious little one, I created the next piece in the series. Number 6 is the largest Funky Fish so far at a whopping 6"x9". (Hey, the other ones were 4"x4" and 5"x5"!). The original has been listed for purchase at www.useeverycolor.com or by clicking any of the fish.

How do you feel? Do you agree that eye-candy is always more than it seems? Share your thoughts in the comments section. I look forward to reading them.

Funky Fish 1 and 2

Fish have always captured my attention. I've been an aquarium keeper for over half my life and have always loved to go fishing or just be on the water. It's no wonder then that I have started a new ongoing series of colorful fish. These Funky Fish are being made on wood with colored pencils and the backgrounds painted with acrylic. They are being added to my Etsy shop as they are completed. See which ones you can catch HERE.



Bryan