the Art of Frank Bonacquisti - Digital Painting powered by Project Dogwaffle

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: all artwork shown here is (c) copyright Frank Bonacquisti or their respective owners. No unauthorized use allowed. Please contact the author.

Hello to all wafflers and artists.

My name is Frank Bonacquisti, I live in Poulsbo, Washington. I was born at the start of WWII. Yep, I'm not the youngest anymore, but I'm still working, for a private defense contractor. And I like to think that I stay young at heart thanks to my art.

I'm also working on improving my digital art skills. I came across Dogwaffle in the Fall of 2007 doing a web search for software paint programs. My first version was the free version 1.2 available here. Many of the images you see here were done with it. I would typically start a pencil drawing on paper, then scan it in, and colorize it in Dogwaffle.

I'm originally from a coal mining area of South Eastern Colorado. I've always been 'into' art, attending art schools and pursuing art education in various forms, including as a musician (vocalist), One of my mentors was well-known western artist Arthur Mitchell.

I went on to join the US Navy Submarine Service Nuclear Power Program, and was selected to participate in the Navy’s Scientific Education Program (NESEP), a four-year college and officer procurement plan. I graduated from the University of Idaho with degrees in Physics and Sociology, and a commission as Ensign in the US Navy. I served 20 years in the Navy’s Nuclear Power Submarine Service serving on various submarines as Weapons Officer and Navigator.

After leaving the service, I was able to continue pursuing my art “hobby” while working in the private defense industry. I am now an artist of various media including oils, watercolor, pen and ink, and scratch art.

My art and style is primarily western orientated pen and ink drawings of wild animals and land and seascapes, enhanced with water color pencil and paint on various paper surfaces including scratch art hard boards. I also render original drawings of all subjects including abstract and cartoon characters enhanced with state of the art software programs.

My goal is to be a serious artist and improve on my techniques of pen and ink applications, watercolor, and pursue the technical applications of computer software programs to enhance any graphic art I create.

I am an artist at heart and do paint when able to find time. I have dabbled in WC (Wet Canvas), oil and pen and ink..I have done some scratch art with WC. My home computer is a desktop PC with Windows XP, 5 years plus old..Needs more RAM for processing and virtual memory (always a problem).

What I like most about Dogwaffle is that it's so versatile, as it has many options and choices of designs that offer developement of creative images when properly combined.

I have tried other Imaging programs. One I like is Arcsoft Photo Studio..(Simple and easy to use).

All work shown here is hand

drawn with ink pen or brush..then scanned into PC. Most images are wild life with some landscape added for flavor. Drawings take about an hour or so..some longer..no real details unless texture requires it..Dogwaffle allows me to quickly color and try different color schemes and values..hues and opacity. Mistakes are easily corrected and little accidents saved..If careful of edges, and use of software enhancements most creations can be quite vivid (sharp) and suitable for printing as semi gloss or mat finish. Most work is 1152 x 850 or so pixels and 600 dpi. I print out 5x7 and 8x10 mostly. For larger sizes I use on line printer company like Shutterfly. On occassion if digital rendering is good..I may paint a picture using conventional media..mostly WC. Dogwaffle allows me to experiment and not worry about mistakes..