J.B. Sommerset

I don't usually run my art through filters, it makes it less authentic. It's hard for me to view things like A.I. as tools because they do all the heavy lifting for a person, making the creation of art nearly thoughtless. This is not what art is about, art is about the product of something new and unique to a person's tastes. It can tell a story or make a point. I can have a deeper meaning, or just be shallow and enjoyable.  As much as I would like the world to stay the same, it isn't going to. So I have been trying to dip into it and see how I can combine it with my work. I have used this filter before but never on my works from Umbria. Here is the result, I like it and I hope you do too. This one is called " The Bridges of Taebora- Redone ".  Also, that A.I. conversation isn't over yet, I will revisit it. Cheers, and keep on creating!

So, my wife loves gnomes. No joke, our house, is crawling with them. It's like the elf on the shelf, but instead of that, it's gnomes in the home. Those little bastards are everywhere. Hiding behind dishes, under the sink, on the TV stand, behind the toilette, under the pillow- on and on, ad nauseam. There's not a day that goes by that I don't find one in some strange corner of my home... staring at me, plotting something.  The thing is they make my wife happy, and that's important to me, so we will keep on collecting them. Maybe I can befriend them and turn them into an army or get them to serve me, who knows?  But it got me thinking, they look easy to draw, and there's not much to them. I thought maybe I could score some points if I draw them and then make some art for her. So I did a few gnomes, it was fun, easy, and surprisingly cathartic. I liked it so much, I decided to post them here, for all of you to enjoy. Cheers, and keep on creating! 

So, with my posts, and time, growing thinner as we enter into the "decorative" seasons- yes I will be on rooftops setting up decorations soon... I thought I would schedule my blog time for early in the mornings and try and get some posts out before my house comes alive. Not all of these will be posted in the gallery because most of them are purposed elsewhere, but I will be posting them here on the site. This one is called "The House of Kerinth". I hope you enjoy it... Cheers, and keep on creating!

I love the cover of my last book "The Lost Pilgrim", but I always thought I could have drawn a more detailed picture for it. I went back to my old notebook and reworked the original image. I filmed it so all of you could enjoy it and see how my work gets done. Here is the video, and the finished image, I love how it turned out! Here is the video! And here is the image! Cheers, and keep on creating!

Here is a recent work of art I posted to the channel, it is a rework of an older piece I did years ago. I am hoping to post it on the store soon and, of course, include it in the gallery. I hope you all enjoy it, the video will show most of the work, I clipped some of the boring repetitive parts and brought it down to a reasonable length.  Here's the 720p version for all who just want to see it: And here is the video, for all who are interested in how it's done: Cheers, and keep on creating! 

As promised, I will continue to upload videos of my art for all of you to enjoy. This one is of me brushing up on my knotwork for an upcoming project- I hope you all enjoy it! Cheers, and as always, keep on creating!

I promised you all more uploads and content, and I will deliver. This time it's one of my longer works called "The Eyes of Iskander" from my IP "Umbria". This one was kind of an experiment in the way I draw certain objects. I hope you all enjoy it and the end product which is getting put in the gallery (within the week) and my online print store  (also within the week).  Cheers, and keep on creating!

Here's a quick peek at some of the stuff I am working on for the "Codex Umbria". Cheers!

 A lot of the art I have uploaded recently has been old art, with of course the exception of the last one. Alithaer: The Grandfather Tree  was an experiment in filming my process.  I must admit, I liked the process and the outcome. I will be doing more and more videos, and maybe down the road, some readings of my works accompanying the sketches. Most of the artwork is connected to my work, so there are stories behind them. Especially when it comes to Umbria. After I posted the picture and the video, there was a lot of response and a number of requests for more. So, last week, I did another one. This one is called Daldune: The Monastery on the Mountain . Below is the finished work- Click the picture or the link to hop over to my Youtube Channel to see more, and as always I will be posting it in the gallery.  Here is the finished image... And here is the video... Cheers, and keep on creating!

A number of my friends have been asking me to do this for a while, but finding the time has been difficult. However, I realize that it's not the finding of the time that's difficult, it's the making of the time. If we wait around until the time is free, we will never have time to do anything- we must make time for the things that are priorities in our lives, for me, this is one of them. After much begging from family and friends, I finally did it, and I must admit it was both a learning experience and also a very enjoyable project. Below is the full timelapse of the last work of art I drew ( Alithaer The Grandfather tree from Umbria ). The whole project took about three hours. I did it in fifteen-minute chunks over a number of days. The hard part was finding the right software for the job (I will be posting a review on that someday soon).  When all was said and done I had about ten videos, fifteen minutes each. Once I got the hang of the software, the rest was history. I th...

This year started off really busy. I have been scanning more and more art, I have been updating my manuscript, and I have been indulging, and educating myself in the world of laser artwork. Some of that art I scanned has ended up on cutting boards, which look great now! Nothing like a good sanding, cool burned design, and new finish to bring them back to life. I have also been working on some videos too, but we will get to that as the year unfolds. Keep an eye out for those.  Right now, I want to take some time and say "Welcome to the new year, we have high hopes for you, don't let us down 2022." To start off this year here is some of my artwork for you all to enjoy, and as always it will be posted in the gallery. Cheers my friends and keep on writing!  

First off, welcome to 2022! I hope this year is better than the last one.  Normally, I don't really feel the need to post what I got from friends and family during the holidays. This year there was a winner, something I will use and fully enjoy. Something I have wanted for a long time, and have had plans to get when the time is right. Christmas time, I guess, was that time! This, my fellow creatives, is my first dalliance into CNC laser burning and cutting. Good things are coming!      Cheers!

Here is some more art for the gallery. I really like this one but the conversion for high res prints didn't come out the way I wanted, so I am still refining the digital master image. Nonetheless, I still think it's worth a post. This one is called " Between the Aspens" , it's from my IP "Umbria", which I am aiming to write more novels and do more art for.  " Between the Aspens" Cheers!  

So, I have a new piece of artwork I made during breaks at work. This one is all new. The scan didn't turn out as good as it could have been, but I feel it still captures something... ancient. I like this one, and I think I will continue to draw during breaks- I don't think there is anything more relaxing than escaping in such away. Stay tuned, there will be more of these ink-work pieces. As per usual, these will be posted in the gallery.  Cheers, and keep on creating!

I finished scanning another piece of art. I am particularly fond of this one for some reason, (just like all the rest). This one is newer than some of the other ones I posted, I drew it on breaks at work and it turned out better than I expected. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. And as always, it will be posted on the gallery page! Cheers, and keep on creating stuff!

Here's a scanned piece from the archives. This one goes a little ways back, it was redone a couple of months ago. It's a picture from my fantasy world; Umbria. This is a picture of a race of people known as the "TollenVolke" which means the people of the wrinkles in the mountains. They are very fond of dogs and wine.  As always this will be added to the gallery.  Cheers, and keep on creating!

A number of people who read my last book " The Lost Pilgrim"  wanted to see the whole map of Umbria. It's the one on the cover but it's mostly covered up (it's also in the back of the book too, but it's small and a little hard to read). I was asked to upload the image and decided it would be nice to show off my work (shameless self-promotion).  There are two maps, a rough and a final. The first is the original I created by hand (except the border). The problem was that it didn't look good on the pages of the book. It was too small and I needed a map I could use across multiple books. I decided to upgrade it.  The new map (the second one below) was created with a layering program named Ikarnate. I chose it because it can render in 4k (super crisp and clean). It was made with tiles and some hand-drawn images. I hope you all enjoy it! This is the rough original I had in the back of my novel. And here is the updated one I used for the cover of my book. There a...

Sometimes I redo some of my art because I am not satisfied and sometimes the new ones are better, sometimes they are not. I always keep both pieces to see which one I like more or to look back and see how much my skill has improved. Here is a redo of the "Tree of Yrk", I can't decide if I like the new one or the old one. So I am going to post both in the gallery. I hope you all like them both. Cheers!

This process of scanning and uploading all the pictures I have done over the years is difficult and time-consuming. I had forgotten how many years some of them have aged. Some are in bad shape, crinkled, creased, and stained (I was surprised at the number of coffee stains on them- many of which came from some of my favorite and now-defunct bistros and bakeries). So, I scan them, I edit the damage out of them, and I reformat them in high resolution, at least those that aren’t damaged beyond repair. Some, of course, will never get posted because they are too damaged. However, all of you can expect the rest to be posted here.  In fact, here is a new one, well new to digital- it's actually one of my earliest drawings. I hope you enjoy it! (It will also be added to the gallery ).  Cheers!

Here's another scan for the fans, hope you all enjoy it! This one is called " The  L akes of Azry'azael" , Once again this is posted to the gallery page where it can be viewed at any time. Cheers!