Monday, February 27, 2017

Trump Tweets too much

 Here is the process of on of my political cartoons. First I think of the idea and sketch something real fast to see if its readable from a distance. Then I directly draw with a saft pencil on the watercolor paper
Next comes the ink. I make sure I lay out the words and draw around them

Here I am adding color. I always start with yellow and then light blue.
 Here is the final piece. It would looks sleeker if I used a computer for the lettering but I like the analog feel of the hand drawn letters.


Thursday, February 16, 2017

Pollera


I paint over unsuccessful painting all the time and people think I'm nuts. If I don't like, then I don't want it out in the world representing me. This is one of those cases. This last image is about two sessions away from being completed and I like the way its turning out. There are some nice transitions where its very "buttery" and I like that!




Wednesday, February 8, 2017

The Devil Wears Prada,...Gucci


Evolution of a political cartoon.
I am so upset with the current lies being spread by the current administration that I felt compelled to react by doing some satirical cartoons. Kellyanne Conway was against Trump and said so on TV several times while running Ted Cruz political campaign. Now she is pro-Trump and any inane thing he comes up with. This type of flip flopping shows a lack of principals. It seems like America is asleep!! #trump #KellyanneConway #Dumptrump #thedailyshow

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Stella. Painting over an older piece



Another painting where I work over an old piece of art that I was not very satisfied with.  Once again, I end up with something much nicer than what I am painting over.I have simplified my palette to 3 primary colors, a white and a Burnt Umber.  1st sitting
This is the end of the second session... and I can see that I made a mistake. I kept thinking that the legs where too long, but upon looking back at my last session I am thinking that I had a better sense of proportions. The model also kept shifting ever so slightly and I kept adjusting but that should not be an excuse.I got caught up in getting the color temperature right and lost sight of the proportions.
Here is the final piece. I need to figure out what to do with the background and clean up here and there but the colors are pleasing in person. here they appear a bit oversaturated and the shadows too dark. 

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Pastel

 Same pose, but I decided to change it to Pastels and charcoal 


Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Evolution of a sitting pose

Quick color block in. I started with a limited palette of Ultramarine blue and Alizarin, white and oche. This helps me establish quick values. 

This is the first stage. I had some difficulty with the head. The angle proved difficult and the paint was lifting/smudging around so I will tackle it next session
 This is the second session. Adding layers of pain.
When I got home I painted a new head as I could not see very well , however I am not very happy with it.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Ink Drawing of a Samurai

This is an ink drawing I did with a Japanese brush and Windsor & Newton black ink. I do this without a preliminary drawing to sharpen my concentration skills. 
Youtube:

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Quick Drawings

 These are quick sketches done at the studio, live from the model. They are 2, 5 and 10 minute poses. They are all in my sketchbook as an exercise in concentrating and trying to capture a gesture in the most economical way.


Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Life studies


I encourage every artist that wants to evolve and improve, to draw from life. Even ...or perhaps especially if you create from your imagination, These are quick studies done with regular pencil. I noticed that you don't have to define every edge of the figure. In fact, if you draw "everything" you see, you leave little to the imagination and my interest is in transmitting a feeling rather than depicting exactly what is in front of me.Working from life makes you work fast as the model tends to shift slightly.





Monday, November 14, 2016

Rodin

Sometimes I just want to try out some new brushes or pens so I pick an image that speaks to me. This is supposed to be Rodin, but it looks more like Rasputin or Hugh Jackman, so a great portrait it is not. However I did learn how to use the new materials. Also of note in this piece is the use of sandpaper to achieve the texture in the background and in some of the beard.
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This other piece was done very quickly as well, again, just to try out the 2 brushes I just purchased which are included in the picture.This image is of George Frederick Watts. 


" "Evening of the Blue Heron" Oil painting on board. Available through my gallery in St Michaels