'Situation & Environment' - Week 5

oil on canvas

Today was the final week for working on our in-class painting to be completed in color, pictured above.  I am excited to be working on something new next week!

'Situation & Environment' - Assignment #1 in Progress

I have been working on my painting of Quinn cooking and will be bringing it into class tomorrow from a second 'in progress' evaluation.  Now that I have the monochromatic underpainting (mostly) resolved, the color/glazes will be added to complete for next week.

oil on canvas

'Narrative Illustration' - Editorial Assignment Completion

The images below are the completed pieces for the sketches that were posted last Sunday (2/19) along with details of the assignment and story they illustrate.

watercolor and collage

marker and opaque watercolor on vellum with collage

I decided not to go the literal route so please comment if you'd like some explanation.

Portrait of a Squash

This quick study was done last semester of a grocery store squash using color pencil and turpenoid.  I've been using color pencils for years but never knew it was possible to dissolve them in a drawing with turpenoid for blending and different effects.  The purpose of this drawing was to experiment with this technique.

color pencil and acrylic background on mi-teintes canson paper

Bridal Shower Invitation

The following invitation was designed and created for my friend Valicia's bridal shower just about a year ago.

** UNDER CONSTRUCTION **

'Head Drawing' - Assignment #1

charcoal on paper

I completed the portrait above for the first assignment in 'Head Drawing.  This subject is my classmate Lisa who kindly donated the reference photo.

Nude Figure Workshop - Week 2

oil on canvas

This painting was completed in ~2 - 2.5 hours last Friday and is about 11" x 14" in size.  The photo is not the best, as it was taken with my cell phone.

'Situation & Environment' - Week 4

Today's class continued the painting that was begun last week through the addition of color (glazes), and my progress is shown below.  There is still one more day of work before it is completed.

'Situation & Environment' - Assignment #1

The first assignment outside of class this semester is to paint a figure in an interior space using a single light source.  Quinn very nicely tolerated cooking in the dark one evening while I took his photo for reference to paint the piece below.

I was was inspired by my earlier sketch previously posted, 'Breaded Chicken cutlets,' and the fact that Quinn does all the cooking in the house so it is a scene I see often!

oil on canvas - 16" x 20"

This project is being completed in stages with the first step (monochromatic underpainting) to be reviewed tomorrow.

Watercolor Portraiture

Of all the portraits I've completed, the piece below is the only watercolor.  The subject is my friend Vali's grandmother painted using a cell phone photograph for reference.  I found the poor quality of the older cell phone photo lent nicely to watercolor and was pleased with the end result!

'Narrative Illustration' - Editorial Magazine Assignment

The assignment for class tomorrow was to create B/W sketches for the following story - 8.5 x 11 (Finished size) color opener and 2 B/W spot illustrations.

Appointment in Samarra

(as retold by W. Somerset Maugham)

The speaker is Death

There was a merchant in Bagdad who sent his servant to the market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, "Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me  She looked at me and made a threatening gesture.  Now, lend me your horse and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate.  I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me."  

The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went.  The the merchant went down to the marketplace and he saw me standing the int crowd and he came to me and said, "Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?" 

"That was not a threatening gesture," I said. "It was only a start of surprise.  I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra." 

I have chosen a more modern interpretation using an on-line marketplace instead of the Middle Eastern setting, as seen in my three sketches below.  Collage elements have also been incorporated into all three.

8.5 x 11 color opener

Spot #1

Spot #2

Nude Figure Workshop - Week 1

oil on canvas

On Friday afternoons/early evenings there is an Academy of Art nude figure workshop that I have been attending.  We have the option to work in either oils or charcoal, but I have been choosing to practice my oil painting and the piece above was completed in ~ 3 hrs a week ago this past Friday.  My painting from this past Friday will be posted next week once it is dry.

'Head Drawing' - Week 3

This focus this week was a detailed study of the plane changes of the face.  The drawing below was completed earlier today and is also shown 'in progress' with the shadow and mid-tone shapes mapped out.

Tulip Leaves

Part of the assignment for 'Drawing Plants in Perspective' at Filoli is to draw a leaf with a fold or twist.  I chose a group of tulip leaves from a bunch, which is shown below.

graphite on bristol paper

'Situation & Environment' - Week 3

The painting below will be the first to be completed in color over the next 3 weeks.  The first step is the same monochromatic oil wash in brown that I've posted examples of previously.  This time I chose to not use white paint for the highlights and erased to the bare canvas instead.

oil on canvas

Happy Valentine's Day!

"I give you my heart!" - acrylic and oil on canvas

Although the painting above is one of my older pieces, I feel it is appropriate for the day.  It was completed in 2003 from a sketch done in 2000, and it is still one of my favorites conceptually.

Blue Flycatcher and Fly

watercolor and color pencil on paper

I couldn't post this little guy without also providing him without the snack below, although it is an awfully big fly for a bird that size!

watercolor and color pencil on paper

'Narrative Illustration' - Cliché in Color

Last week in Narrative Illustration, one of the three cliché sketches was chosen based on the group's response to be completed in the medium(s) of our choice for tomorrow.  The raccoon was a big hit and my finished piece is shown below.

acrylic and oil paint on card stock & chip board

Calla Lily in Color

pastel on rives BFK

Most of the work I've been posted recently has happened to be black & white/monochromatic, so I wanted to bring a little color back on this overcast Saturday.  The Calla lily above was completed in 2010 at the Sharon Art Studio.

The giant white arum lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) is common in the Bay Area, albeit an invasive species.  The photo below is of a group of the giant lilies growing in a garbage can in my yard, one of which may soon become a subject of mine!

'Head Drawing' - Eye & Nose

Today 'Head Drawing' was focused on closer studies of the nose and eye before completing the full portrait shown.

charcoal on paper

Tulip

graphite pencil on bristol paper

Continuing the botanical drawing from earlier this week, the tulip above was drawn this afternoon as an example of a flower shape similar to a cup.

'Situation & Environment' - Week 2

oil on canvas

Today's class continued the monochromatic theme from last week, this time with the addition of white.  The painting above was completed in 3 - 4 hours from a live model.

Calla Lily & Magnolia Leaf

Today was the second day of 'Drawing Plants in Perspective' at Filoli and we worked on cups, cones, cup/cone flowers and leaves.  The Calla lily (cone flower) and Magnolia leaf below were completed earlier.

graphite on bristol paper

Round Botanical Objects

graphite pencil on bristol paper

The sphere, grapes & tangerine/grapefruit hybrid drawn above accompany the cylinder, asparagus and stick previously posted.

Thanks to John Walker for his gift of the tangerine/grapefruit hybrid.

'Narrative Illustration' - Cliches

The first assignment for 'Narrative Illustration' this semester has been to sketch illustrations for three cliches of our choice.  Two of my three are shown below...any guesses?

graphite pencil on vellum

graphite pencil on vellum

An Andino Ancestor

Since 'head drawing' class yesterday, I have been looking at some of the heads done in earlier works and wanted to post one of my favorites here.

An older drawing, but a meaningful subject.

The drawing was completed probably sometime in 1999 with graphite pencil on sketchbook paper from an old family photo I'd found at the time.  I am not exactly sure who the subject is, but I believe she is a relative of my mother's father.  

Perhaps my mother can shed some light, but I am going to guess one of his sisters - Vivian, Livia or Clara.

'Head Drawing'

This semester, I will also be focusing on drawing heads with charcoal pencils and vine/willow sticks.  The following was completed in 1-2 hrs this afternoon.

Botanical Stick

Part 1 of my botanical assignment is just about complete, as seen by the addition of the stick to the cylinder and asparagus above.  The stick was found in the parking lot of the Tanforan shopping center.  

'Situation & Environment'

My second semester at the Academy of Art started earlier this week and today was the first day of 'Situation & Environment.'  The class focuses on painting figures as they relate to the space in full color oil paints, but for today we started with the figure in monochromatic brown and my piece is shown below.

Painted from life in 20 sessions, between 2 - 3 hrs