HOME | DD

Description
Upon starting this interview I noticed that after two years of being on deviantART, Mr. Langdon's page-view counter was about to break 50,000.  Looking back, he notes “it seems a lot longer than that but I am well chuffed to see people are still liking the old school forms of art.

     The last two years have been a mixed bag on DA as when you let a lot of people see your art you can never satisfy everyone and a few [pictures] I have done have offended a lot of people (like the date rape picture).  But if you do a so called ‘risky picture’ then you have to be prepared to take a few hits after…  I have to say on the whole - everyone has been very kind and generous with their comments.”  A busy man, Langdon doesn’t let the comments, feedback, and exposure effect his “part time hobby” in painting.  However, that isn’t to imply he’s not vulnerable to influences such as Borris Valejo whom Langdon claims “is a master.”  Langdon also finds inspiration “can come from anything.  Most of the time, I will see something on TV or when trying to get sleep...  I still replicate a lot of artists’ work so I can see how its done.” Many people recognize the Pino replicas www.pino-artist.com/pino-art-c… and some have criticised him for not giving a proper by-line in the title description.  Langdon's popularity has not been phased by his critics one of which became the target of many negative comments shortly after this article was originally released.  Langdon doesn't take poor criticism lightly but, in the end he doesn't let it effect the progression of his art.

     Langdon’s DA gallery features paintings of the traditional and digital variety.  He describes his digital paintings as being “so much easier and quicker than oils or paints…  It’s hard to explain but you can see an image on your screen and if you are lucky, pay for a nice big print out.  But even then, to me, it still doesn’t look or feel the same.  This may sound harsh, but digital art to me is like a disposable camera, the result is ok, but when you’re done you put in some draw or throw it away and forget about it.
      “Oils take about ten times longer, I would say, so I think more of you gets left in the image and the picture is much more touchable and has much more of a romantic feel to it.”

      Although most of his oil paintings seem to pay homage to Pino’s old fashioned sense of style, his digital paintings seem to explore the styles and fashions closer to our place on the time line.  Rose www.deviantart.com/view/964955… is an oil painting which brings both worlds together in a stunning display of skill, grace, and beauty.  Langdon found the image used for Rose in another DA gallery www.deviantart.com/view/254102… .
“the pic was amazing so I thought I would make my own representation of it…  I sketched it up and then made my own changes, like different hair and made it color, of course.”

     If you’re like me, then you gawk in amazement when a figurative artist renders a convincing flesh tone.  The mind reels at all the different possible combinations of blues, umbers, and ochres that must have been painstakingly blended and layered so perfectly.  “I’m going to disappoint you with the skin tones,” he warns “I buy it already mixed, then I find if you add small amounts of orange, yellows and browns you can get some very cool looking flesh tones.  The hair on Rose was [done] just in two layers.  One was the dark brown, then I added the slightly lighter tones on top, left that to almost dry then finished off with the lighter tones…  I did the third layer with just the high lights … shining off her hair.  This was all done from the same palette I kept moist in an air tight box.”  Langdon’s palette is basically an “old bit of slate I found which is about one square foot.  It’s perfect for mixing large amounts of color.”

When it comes to applying the paint in layers, Langdon’s awareness of lean layering is evident in the color layering, “the whites are always the last layer… I always use an off white so it is either very slightly grey or cream.  I always think pure white always makes it look a little fake.”

     If you’ve ever wondered how long a painting like Rose takes him to accomplish, here’s a hint: Langdon reports he usually waits a week or two between layers.  How many layers are there?  About ten.  According to my math thats 2 to four months a painting.   Where you can buy one of his paintings?  Unfortunately, they're not for sale.  Langdon says he isn’t worried about making money and prefers to just give most of his art to friends and family.  Like many of us he appreciates the kind words and supportive comments he’s received on DA (whom he’d like to thank for providing such a great site) and like many more of us he considers himself an art student - still learning and still trying to improve.