Friday, August 26, 2011
Art: Crow.
Crow (Oil on canvas board. 9x12"). I had originally painted this to enter into the Black & White juried competition, but couldn't get it to photograph correctly and held it out. After playing with my camera settings, I was able to finally create a suitable reproduction. And when I say "play with the camera settings," I mean constantly tune the manual settings to get bad results, eventually settling on the "auto" setting which created a great picture. Ugh.
Jury.
My artistic goal is simple: To be good. I don’t have a career motive. I just really enjoy the artistic process, what it brings to my life, and want to be great at it. I work hard to improve. Because I’m not concerned with money, I draw and paint whatever subject matter I want, without concern for marketability. However, without financial motivation, I also don’t have the provocation to do full-scale pieces. Nearly all my work consists of practice -- developed in sketchbooks, or on newsprint, or small painted studies. To get out of the practice mode, I decided to enter a juried art competition. It forced me to create a fully-formed work in a finite amount of time.
A week ago, I submitted my piece to the La Jolla Art Association Black and White juried competition. The rules required that the art be rendered in any medium as long as the only colors involved were black, white, and pure greys. When I hear black and white, my mind immediately shifts to one of my favorite mediums: ink. I decided to build off an earlier ball-point pen study and blow it out. I wanted the image to look imposing and menacing.
Walrus Skull (Ink on illustration board, applied via W&N Series 7 #2 brush. 6x12”).
The results of the competition will be announced on September 5th. Wish it well.
Sketchbook: Comic Con Booth Girls
All drawings were done in a 5x8" Moleskine sketchbook.
Pencil.
Ball-point pen.
Watercolor, colored-pencil, and ink applied with W&N Series 7 #2 brush.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Art School: Beginning of Summer Term
I'm taking a Head/Figure/Quick-Sketch combination class this term at Watts , taught by Lucas Graciano. It's been over three months since I last picked up the Conte 1710B pencil. I was worried about the ramp-up time due to its idiosyncrasies -- but it hasn't been too bad. Generally speaking, I feel like my draftsmanship is good, so my focus this term is working on shape design and nuance. Those are tough things to learn because they can't necessarily be taught. To help, Lucas recommended that I do some master studies this term. I'll pick out a few artists I admire and work on those over the summer.
Here are my first two weeks of class.... Each was drawn from a live model in a little under two hours.
Laurel (Conte on newsprint, 14x20").
Sherman (Conte on newsprint, 18x20").
Here are my first two weeks of class.... Each was drawn from a live model in a little under two hours.
Laurel (Conte on newsprint, 14x20").
Sherman (Conte on newsprint, 18x20").
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
I M_DE _ MIST_KE
One of my favorite places in San Diego is Newbreak Coffee Shop in Ocean Beach. Located along the beach, it's a welcoming environment with incredibly kind baristas and friendly locals. It has a great vibe.
I'll bring my sketchbook and pens, get my large coffee and bagel with pesto cream cheese, and take refuge at a small table drawing. I carry a small stack of 4x6 photos with me to use as reference. I flipped through my photos yesterday and just didn't feel excited by any of them. I looked out the window and found my subject matter... a palm tree, the lifeguard tower, and Newbreak written on the window itself.
I went straight-in with pen for the tree, but wanting to capture the font of the lettering, I opted to first draw the script in pencil and then go in with a pen. I drew guidelines and then carefully crafted the letters, and once satisfied, I went over each letter with pen. I added color using my watercolor pan set and water brush. I felt generally pleased with the result. Not perfect, but I felt like I captured a moment.
Later in the evening I opened my sketchbook to review my work and my lettering. Oh crap.
Out the Window (Pen and watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook, 5 x 8").
I'll bring my sketchbook and pens, get my large coffee and bagel with pesto cream cheese, and take refuge at a small table drawing. I carry a small stack of 4x6 photos with me to use as reference. I flipped through my photos yesterday and just didn't feel excited by any of them. I looked out the window and found my subject matter... a palm tree, the lifeguard tower, and Newbreak written on the window itself.
I went straight-in with pen for the tree, but wanting to capture the font of the lettering, I opted to first draw the script in pencil and then go in with a pen. I drew guidelines and then carefully crafted the letters, and once satisfied, I went over each letter with pen. I added color using my watercolor pan set and water brush. I felt generally pleased with the result. Not perfect, but I felt like I captured a moment.
Later in the evening I opened my sketchbook to review my work and my lettering. Oh crap.
Out the Window (Pen and watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook, 5 x 8").
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Sketchbook: Walrus Skull.
It’s always satisfying having created a good piece of artwork regardless of the medium. However, for me, there’s something especially satisfying if the medium was pen and ink.
There are probably many reasons for this. One is the level of difficulty. Rendering an object and showing its forms using two values and organized scratches is a tremendous challenge. It’s also permanent. There are no do-overs.
I love its aesthetic. Few things look cooler than a good pen and ink drawing.
And there is a minimalism that I relish. It doesn’t get simpler than a pen and piece of paper.
For the majority of my pen and ink drawings, I go straight in with pen. I don’t lay-in with pencil first. I either begin in a spot and work my way out, or do a loose and light contour drawing and then jump around to different areas.
One thing that I find fascinating about seeing other artist’s pen work is that each has a unique approach to rendering forms. I’ve been playing around with different techniques, focusing on edges. To make a piece come alive in drawing and painting, edges play a crucial role. In pen, edges are usually the first to go. I’ve been trying to find a way to maintain these transitions between shapes. It’s tough.
The following two sketchbook drawings were based on photos I took at the Chula Vista Nature Center a few weeks ago. They had a walrus skull on display. Very cool.
Walrus Skull I (Ball-point pen in Moleskine sketchbook, 4 x 7 1/2").
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Walrus Skull II (Ball-point pen and watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook, 5 x 8").
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There are probably many reasons for this. One is the level of difficulty. Rendering an object and showing its forms using two values and organized scratches is a tremendous challenge. It’s also permanent. There are no do-overs.
I love its aesthetic. Few things look cooler than a good pen and ink drawing.
And there is a minimalism that I relish. It doesn’t get simpler than a pen and piece of paper.
For the majority of my pen and ink drawings, I go straight in with pen. I don’t lay-in with pencil first. I either begin in a spot and work my way out, or do a loose and light contour drawing and then jump around to different areas.
One thing that I find fascinating about seeing other artist’s pen work is that each has a unique approach to rendering forms. I’ve been playing around with different techniques, focusing on edges. To make a piece come alive in drawing and painting, edges play a crucial role. In pen, edges are usually the first to go. I’ve been trying to find a way to maintain these transitions between shapes. It’s tough.
The following two sketchbook drawings were based on photos I took at the Chula Vista Nature Center a few weeks ago. They had a walrus skull on display. Very cool.
Walrus Skull I (Ball-point pen in Moleskine sketchbook, 4 x 7 1/2").
Walrus Skull II (Ball-point pen and watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook, 5 x 8").
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Because Every Illustrator Eventually Draws An Octopus
I’ve joked in still-life painting class that you’re not officially an artist until you’ve painted a pomegranate. There is subject matter that eventually pops-up in every artist’s work. If you walk through enough museums, you’ll see that seemingly, all artists have painted a pomegranate. I’m still waiting to join the pomegranate club, but it will happen. It has to. It’s subject matter that has gravity. A trip to the farmer’s market and blank canvas will see to that.
For illustration, every illustrator will eventually draw an octopus. It’s inevitable. There is something about that creature that lures artists to take pencil to paper. It’s a rite of passage. Finally, I have included it in my oeuvre.
Octopus (Pencil in Moleskine sketchbook, 5 1/2 x 3”).
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I’ve been dying to draw an octopus for a while, although I wanted to use my own reference. Finding opportunities to take pictures of an octopus proved to be tricky. They’re not like the ubiquitous pigeon. Even in aquarium settings, they tend to be elusive, or so squished into an alcove, that the majesty of their form is not revealed.
Fortunately, a trip to the Chula Vista Nature Center (5 miles south of San Diego) last weekend helped me out. An octopus sat on display in a cylindrical, acrylic case that offered complete visibility around the entire enclosure. The octopus had spread out against one side of the enclosure to eat a crab, providing full, albeit distorted views (due to the curvature of the tank) from the opposite side.
Drawing an octopus creates an interesting challenge from a design standpoint. You have to figure out ways to make the elaborate form apparent and attractive and manage all of those legs to enhance the design. I look forward to creating many more pieces. It becomes its own un-instructed illustration class.
For illustration, every illustrator will eventually draw an octopus. It’s inevitable. There is something about that creature that lures artists to take pencil to paper. It’s a rite of passage. Finally, I have included it in my oeuvre.
Octopus (Pencil in Moleskine sketchbook, 5 1/2 x 3”).
I’ve been dying to draw an octopus for a while, although I wanted to use my own reference. Finding opportunities to take pictures of an octopus proved to be tricky. They’re not like the ubiquitous pigeon. Even in aquarium settings, they tend to be elusive, or so squished into an alcove, that the majesty of their form is not revealed.
Fortunately, a trip to the Chula Vista Nature Center (5 miles south of San Diego) last weekend helped me out. An octopus sat on display in a cylindrical, acrylic case that offered complete visibility around the entire enclosure. The octopus had spread out against one side of the enclosure to eat a crab, providing full, albeit distorted views (due to the curvature of the tank) from the opposite side.
Drawing an octopus creates an interesting challenge from a design standpoint. You have to figure out ways to make the elaborate form apparent and attractive and manage all of those legs to enhance the design. I look forward to creating many more pieces. It becomes its own un-instructed illustration class.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
I Don’t Believe In Conspiracy Theories (Except One)
Okay, I’m going to rant.
I don’t believe in conspiracy theories. They take too much energy and quickly disintegrate after the first two obvious questions are asked: Who's responsible? What’s the motive?
I’m also not sure what to do with the information and how to assimilate it into my current world view. My life would be needlessly complicated if I had to sustain belief that there was a chance 1 + 1 wasn't actually 2, but instead pi (because the government was behind a mathematical conspiracy against pi and wanted to promote 2 instead).
However, there is one conspiracy that I know to be true. It is one I developed after careful observation and logic. It has a conclusive answer to who and why.
In the urban and beach areas of San Diego, where housing is dense, people rely heavily, if not exclusively, on street parking. And on every street, there is a sign that reads:
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My conspiracy theory is this: The existence of street sweepers is a front to enable the city to write tickets for violating the street sweeping parking rules.
Have you ever seen the result of a street sweeper? They do absolutely nothing. They leave behind the same wake of trash and dirt they approached, except now it’s wet.
Their purpose is not to keep the storm drains clear. It rains six inches per year in San Diego. The only areas that flood in San Diego are those streets that have no storm drains or the street concaves below the storm drains’ effectiveness. The street in front of Newbreak Coffee shop in Ocean Beach notoriously floods each time it rains. Every shop along Newport Avenue and Abbott Street has sand bags lining their entrances. And let me say this, all streets are barraged with street sweeper parking signs. If the street sweepers run so frequently and are so effective, why do you need to wear waders to walk across the street?
People that park on these streets have to do the weekly dance of bouncing their cars from one side of the street to the other, often finding the only available spot far away from their residence and having to walk through neighborhoods that are not the safest. In times of desperation, one is apt to leave his or her car parked in a spot that will violate the law when the sun rises, in hopes of waking up before then to move the car. A missed alarm results in a ticket. And what do you do if you go on vacation for a week?
In a previous post, I wrote about visiting a coffee shop in the morning to draw without distractions. I park on the street in front of the entrance. On one side of the street, you cannot park on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month. On the other side of the street, you cannot park on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month. So at the beginning of each week, I idle in the street and get out my calendar to determine whether I would violate the rule. It’s absurd, and I believe that the city relies on its absurdity to write more tickets.
This is the view of the street yesterday morning:
![]()
Of course, there’s no need for parking in front of a coffee shop on a Monday morning before work. This morning I had to circle the block twice because there was no parking due to half of it being off-limits.
And both mornings I saw the city worker walking down the line, writing tickets. Often, the street sweeper never arrives. Why does the city have a department called “Storm Water?” Again, it rains six inches a year in San Diego. A hill separates San Diego from the desert.
![]()
Why do you rarely see street sweepers in residential areas where there are many more trees, but people park in driveways and garages?
Here is the truly enlightening element of this rule. I have heard from different people that they have watched the street sweeper pass and then parked on the street. They still received a ticket, even after explaining to the person writing the ticket that the sweeper had passed and the ticket writer acknowledging it had gone by. Certainly this violates the spirit of the law, and says something about its intent.
I don’t believe in conspiracy theories. They take too much energy and quickly disintegrate after the first two obvious questions are asked: Who's responsible? What’s the motive?
I’m also not sure what to do with the information and how to assimilate it into my current world view. My life would be needlessly complicated if I had to sustain belief that there was a chance 1 + 1 wasn't actually 2, but instead pi (because the government was behind a mathematical conspiracy against pi and wanted to promote 2 instead).
However, there is one conspiracy that I know to be true. It is one I developed after careful observation and logic. It has a conclusive answer to who and why.
In the urban and beach areas of San Diego, where housing is dense, people rely heavily, if not exclusively, on street parking. And on every street, there is a sign that reads:
My conspiracy theory is this: The existence of street sweepers is a front to enable the city to write tickets for violating the street sweeping parking rules.
Have you ever seen the result of a street sweeper? They do absolutely nothing. They leave behind the same wake of trash and dirt they approached, except now it’s wet.
Their purpose is not to keep the storm drains clear. It rains six inches per year in San Diego. The only areas that flood in San Diego are those streets that have no storm drains or the street concaves below the storm drains’ effectiveness. The street in front of Newbreak Coffee shop in Ocean Beach notoriously floods each time it rains. Every shop along Newport Avenue and Abbott Street has sand bags lining their entrances. And let me say this, all streets are barraged with street sweeper parking signs. If the street sweepers run so frequently and are so effective, why do you need to wear waders to walk across the street?
People that park on these streets have to do the weekly dance of bouncing their cars from one side of the street to the other, often finding the only available spot far away from their residence and having to walk through neighborhoods that are not the safest. In times of desperation, one is apt to leave his or her car parked in a spot that will violate the law when the sun rises, in hopes of waking up before then to move the car. A missed alarm results in a ticket. And what do you do if you go on vacation for a week?
In a previous post, I wrote about visiting a coffee shop in the morning to draw without distractions. I park on the street in front of the entrance. On one side of the street, you cannot park on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month. On the other side of the street, you cannot park on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month. So at the beginning of each week, I idle in the street and get out my calendar to determine whether I would violate the rule. It’s absurd, and I believe that the city relies on its absurdity to write more tickets.
This is the view of the street yesterday morning:
Of course, there’s no need for parking in front of a coffee shop on a Monday morning before work. This morning I had to circle the block twice because there was no parking due to half of it being off-limits.
And both mornings I saw the city worker walking down the line, writing tickets. Often, the street sweeper never arrives. Why does the city have a department called “Storm Water?” Again, it rains six inches a year in San Diego. A hill separates San Diego from the desert.
Why do you rarely see street sweepers in residential areas where there are many more trees, but people park in driveways and garages?
Here is the truly enlightening element of this rule. I have heard from different people that they have watched the street sweeper pass and then parked on the street. They still received a ticket, even after explaining to the person writing the ticket that the sweeper had passed and the ticket writer acknowledging it had gone by. Certainly this violates the spirit of the law, and says something about its intent.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Sketchbook: Tamara Standing.
Tamara Standing (Watercolor and gouache in Moleskine sketchbook, 5x8").
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Saturday, June 25, 2011
Sketchbook: Tamara Crouching.
Tamara Crouching (Pencil and watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook. 5x8").
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Monday, June 20, 2011
Sketchbook: Coffee Shop Chair.
To combat my lack of productivity and focus in the evening after a long day of work, I decided to start waking up an hour earlier and begin my mornings at one of my favorite coffee shops drawing. This has been my routine for the last month and it’s been working well. I usually bring my own photo reference, but every once in a while, it’s fun to just draw what’s in front of me….
Coffee Shop Chair (Pencil in Moleskine sketchbook, 3.5x5").
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Art School: Last Class of Term.
Virginia (Oil on canvas board, 11x14). I was out of 9x12" boards so I went up to the next size I had available. I find 9x12" to be a comfortable size to get done in the limited time, but I enjoyed having the extra room to work -- especially getting the shoulders in. I violated every rule having kept the background white, but I like it. I'll live with it for a few days before deciding whether to return to it and add color. It was a good term -- I learned a lot. Many thanks to my instructor, Ben Young, for all of his help and advice.
Here are some progress shots -- each taken with my iPhone after a 20 minute session....
Saturday, June 04, 2011
Art School: Last Two Weeks.
Here are the results from the last two weeks of my portrait painting class at Watts , again conducted under the expert tutelage of my instructor, Ben Young.
Jonah (Oil on canvas board, 9x12"). Painted from live model in around two hours. This pose had two light sources (one from the top left and another from the right). These last two weeks I've started a new approach -- laying in thicker and looser tiles -- worrying more about temperature (warm vs cool) than absolute color. Our model didn't show up, so one of my peers modeled for us. He did a great job. Being on the other side of the easel can be a challenge.
Brian (Oil on canvas board, 9x12"). Painted from live model in around 2 1/2 hours. I kept trying to get the back of the turban to read in short-hand using quick and loose brushstrokes, but unsatisfied with the results, kept wiping it out. Eventually, I just ran out of time.
Jonah (Oil on canvas board, 9x12"). Painted from live model in around two hours. This pose had two light sources (one from the top left and another from the right). These last two weeks I've started a new approach -- laying in thicker and looser tiles -- worrying more about temperature (warm vs cool) than absolute color. Our model didn't show up, so one of my peers modeled for us. He did a great job. Being on the other side of the easel can be a challenge.
Brian (Oil on canvas board, 9x12"). Painted from live model in around 2 1/2 hours. I kept trying to get the back of the turban to read in short-hand using quick and loose brushstrokes, but unsatisfied with the results, kept wiping it out. Eventually, I just ran out of time.
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