The Creative Appetite

All artists experience a creative drought at times. Then, as if lightning had struck, you snap out of it, engulfed in a fiery blaze of motivation and hunger. A blood-thirsty hunger to become better, stronger. 
We starve ourselves of the lust to recognize beauty in our world until our minds can no longer live through the withdrawals, and it screams "ENOUGH!" Gasping for air, we realize we need to create to survive.

Keep your eyes peeled for new works...

Cody

"The Descent of Man" for Kat Von D's 'SKULLS' show at Wonderland Gallery

'Hell Hath No Fury' at Rothick Art Haus in Anaheim

 Splendor Device is a new all female artist collective based out of Orange County and are hosting their first group show at Rothick Art Haus titled 'Hell Hath No Fury' this Saturday.
I created this small illustration called "Becoming The Wolf" specifically for the show. 

Inspired by the need to return to nature whilst fighting an inner battle of being a human, I felt the red riding hood and wolf imagery was appropriate. The illustration is colored pencil on 100 lb paper and will be displayed matted in a wood frame.
Details for the event are as follows...

"Becoming The Wolf" by Cody Raiza

Splendor Device show at Rothick Art Haus

Michelangelo's Utahraptor

Here is a graphite sketch I recently completed of Michelangelo's Utahraptor reaching out to Adam as in the famous painting on the Sistine Chapel's ceiling. As this is not a pose a dinosaur would ever find himself in, the  anatomical balance was a lot of fun!

Humanoid Creature Design

Look into those beautiful eyes, makes you melt, right?
I will post this character in an environment as well, but as he had been quite a challenge I decided to go ahead and share him with the world. My main influences were human skeletal anatomy and bones, and anything creepy crawly.

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Seven Deadly Sins show @ Rothick Art Haus , "Hungry Hungry Glutton"

I am a day late and a buck short on this blog entry! Last night was a very successful Seven Deadly Sins themed show at Rothick Art Haus in Anaheim, CA, that I was super fortunate to partake in. I met some new friends and got to spend time with the Rothick family, a good time was had by all. I chose Gluttony as my sin and theme for my 16" x 16" oil painting titled "Hungry Hungry Glutton."

The piece was a culmination of several ideas and influences, one being a video of two hippos in a vicious territorial battle in Kruger National Park in Africa, and a watermelon that I was gluttonous enough to devour in Costa Rica. I love painting animals and reflections so this was a ton of fun, get it? Ton of fun? Okay okay I'm not funny, but I hope you enjoy this hippopotamus!

"Hungry Hungry Glutton" hippo

Rothick 7 Deadly Sins show flyer

"Gilding the Lily" Rhinos for Wonderland

Here is my entry for the "I Want To Be First" show at Kat Von D's Wonderland Gallery. The title is "Gilding the Lily" and it is a fairly large piece with dimensions of 30 inches x 40 inches. 
My artist quote for the painting :  "An international leader in wildlife conservation and animal husbandry, and founder of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick was the first person to successfully hand-rear milk dependent elephants and rhinos. Orphaned due to poaching and left for dead, these animals are given a second chance at life while living at the Trust's nursery, slowly being rehabilitated and introduced back into the wild. With the help of de-snaring projects and patrols led by the Trust, I hope that someday poaching will be a problem of our past and not our future."

The issue of poaching is one that is very dear to my heart. 
It is believed in Asian cultures that rhino horn cures ailments and cancer; this has been clinically proven as FALSE. Therefore these animals are being slaughtered for no other purpose than human greed and traditions. It is projected that if rhino poaching continues at the same rate, we will lose them in three generations, that means that in 30-60 years there will be no more rhinos on planet Earth. What a tragedy. I hope that you will share this image with friends to spread awareness for the campaign and help The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and others that are on the forefront of saving our wildlife.

"Gilding The Lily" framed

"Gilding The Lily" Detail shot

"I Want To Be First" art opening at Kat Von D's Wonderland Gallery

"I Want To Be First," an all female art gallery exhibition inspired by female pioneers, muses, and heroines. Opening Reception is the evening of March 23rd, 2012 and I will have a fairly large oil painting hanging amongst other artists that I admire. I hope you can make it! and please share

Damn-dirty-Ape Concept

I am having a tough time calibrating my monitors, so my apologies if the image is a bit dark.
This was really fun to play around with as I had not done an ape concept before.
If this guy was walking around my hood, I'd be terrified. I want to know what he is thinking!
I'd also like to know what you think...

Succubus Concept

Here is a concept for a succubus that I finished but will be redoing. I thought of her as a young woman that could not age but was centuries old and cursed with a disastrous appearance. Banished to spend eternity alone, she was only surrounded by the riches of men who would attempt to overtake her wealth, only to perish at her hand.

 

Pterosaur - Hornbill concept art (Version2)

As promised, here is the Pterosaur-Hornbill concept Version 2! He is a little more whimsical, less-sinister looking than the first concept.

Pterosaur - Hornbill concept art

This concept was done as homework for Jerad S Marantz ' Creature Design class as Gnomon. This is version one, I will also be posting version two. Enjoy!

Appreciation for birds

There are two sounds that when I hear them I stop whatever I am doing and smile... the "croak" of a crow and the "twip twip" of a hummingbird ♥ Until recently, I didn't realize how much I appreciated birds and how large of a role they play on our planet. Had the women in my family not been birdwatchers I probably would still not understand them


Here is a bird/pterosaur-like creature I am working on. WIP

All the lovely unicorns...

A lot has been going on lately, and I fear I have neglected my blog. I am studying creature design at this moment in time and putting all of my energy into it. That being said, I will be posting some new stuff super soon! Also on the horizon, I am working on TWO paintings for Rothik Art Haus in Orange County for two separate up-coming shows. So I guess you could say this is a teaser post, but to keep an eye out for new schwag coming from this very blog. I am striving to make this year very productive and I have already seen growth in my process and technique.

Here is a teaser photo for a painting I am working on for Rothik...

Green Heron

Green Heron chick, pen on paper

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"Confused of my muse, is it the raven haired girl from the desert, or a demon from another time and place? They both haunt me." -Cody D


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