Art School: Painting From The Masters.

When I was in junior high, I was told that the reason the Russians didn't have a space shuttle program similar to ours was because they couldn't figure out how to manufacture the heat shield tiles.  They had samples and knew what they were made of.  Identified the components.  Understood the composition.  But they couldn't figure out how to actually make them. How do you take all of these parts and put them together in a manner that mimics the original?

This term I'm taking a "Painting From the Masters" class, and I sympathize with the Russian's plight.  I stare at the paintings I'm copying, and I understand the shapes, and can match the colors, but I still can't make it look exactly like the original.  I have to remind myself that my hand is not their hand.  It's been an interesting process in which I've learned a lot.  I've done two paintings thus far, and have tried to select pieces that are outside my normal style, but contain elements I want to adopt into my own repertoire.

I chose William Merritt Chase's, The Spanish Girl, because I like the deep contrast between dark background, hair and clothing, and the fair skin tones.  I picked Richard Schmid's, Sapphire, because the composition is brilliant, and I love Schmid's balance between amazing draftsmanship and looseness.

Study of The Spanish Girl after William Merritt Chase (Oil on canvas, 9x12").

Study of Sapphire after Richard Schmid (Oil on canvas 14x18").

Flamingo Skull On Published Newsprint.

Flamingo Skull on Published Newsprint (Watercolor and ballpoint pen on printed newsprint, 10x8).

I'm Officially An Artist (Pomegranate).

Pomegranate (Oil on canvas board, 10x8").

In a previous post, I mentioned that you're not officially an illustrator until you've drawn an octopus, and you're not officially an artist until you've painted a pomegranate.  Introducing... my first pomegranate.

Grants Gazelle Skull On Published Newsprint.

Grants Gazelle Skull On Printed Newsprint (Watercolor and ballpoint pen on printed newsprint, 5x6").

Owl Skull On Published Newsprint.

Owl Skull On Published Newsprint (Watercolor and pen on newsprint, 10x8").

The yearly "Best Of" issue of San Diego CityBeat came out and my neighborhood of North Park was voted Best Neighborhood in the city.  Nice.  Did a watercolor this morning.  The paper began tearing in spots so that was my sign to put down the brush.

Sketchbook: Juliana Sleeping On Small Couch.

Juliana Sleeping On Small Couch (Marker in Moleskine sketchbook, 7.5x5").

Art: Charcoal Portrait On Newsprint.

Portrait (Conte 1710B charcoal pencil and charcoal powder on newsprint, 18x12").

 

Autumn.

The first day of Autumn was spent at a pig roast along the beach.  It was a beautiful day in San Diego.

A few recent sketches where I'm working on rendering more....

Morgan In Regency Costume II (Pencil in Moleskine sketchbook, 5x5").

Wolf Skull (Pencil in Moleskine sketchbook, 5x4").



And a few older sketches that I haven't shown before...

Female and Hand (Pencil in Moleskine sketchbook, 4x6").

Grapes (Watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook, 5x7").

Raven Skull On Published Newsprint.

Raven Skull On Published Newsprint (Watercolor and ball-point pen on published newsprint, 10x6").

Walrus Skull On Published Newsprint.

Walrus Skull On Published Newsprint (Watercolor and ball-point pen on published newsprint, 8x12").

I really love painting on this surface.  There's something very liberating about the process.  I painted it before I went to work this morning on the pages of the weekly San Diego CityBeat.

The newsprint absorbs water and darkens so quickly that it's difficult to judge values and color, so it's a surprise to see how it turned out once it dries.  I liked the layout of this page and wanted a vertical composition to fit, so I went with the walrus skull.

Cabrillo's Ship: The San Salvador.

The explorer, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, first entered San Diego Bay in 1542 aboard his ship, the San Salvador.  A month ago my wife and I discovered that they were building an exact full-size replica of Cabrillo's ship here in San Diego, across from the airport.  On Sunday, we checked it out.

Model of the San Salvador.

 

There's a piece of wood that you're allowed to stamp.  It will be placed on the ship once it's built.

The exhibit has several items that reflect Cabrillo's time period.

 

And then there's the progress of the ship itself:

It's hard to believe they had over 100 people on that ship when it sailed.  I can't even begin to imagine what life was like.

It's on schedule to be completed by the middle of 2013, where it will be placed in the water via crane, and make a brief trip up the California coast to recreate Cabrillo's last voyage.  It will then be permanently docked at the Maritime Museum of San Diego.  I definitely recommend checking it out if you're in San Diego.

Art: Julie Standing.

Julie Standing (Pencil on Bristol board, 4x7.5").

Sketchbook: Koala And Elephant.

Koala (Pencil in Moleskine sketchbook, 5x4").

Elephant (Pencil in Moleskine sketchbook, 9.5x8").

As a member of the San Diego Zoo, I receive the bi-monthly Zoonooz magazine. It has some beautiful photos that are fun to draw.

My Blog Is A Fifth Grader.

Last month, my blog turned ten years old.  Where oh where does the time go?  It's been an interesting ten years.  This blog has chronicled artistic progression, travels to three continents, and life changes.  It's recorded relationships that have begun and ended, a wedding, two lay-offs, the adoption of a cat, and my never-ending battle with aphids.

My first lay-off from work provided the blog's genesis.  Instead of returning immediately to work, I decided to take my severence check and enjoy a self-imposed, extended sabbatical.  People kept asking what I was doing with my time, so I decided to start the blog to document my experiences.  My blog gained momentum when I took a month-long solo backpack trip across Europe.  My mom was incredibly worried about my traveling alone.  To help alleviate her fears, I found daily refuge in internet cafes and wrote about my journey on the road so she could follow me virtually from Colorado.  I fell in love with the process of recording life in binary.  Electrons now hold the last ten years of my life.

I never know where this path will lead.  That's what makes it interesting.  Thanks for taking the trip with me.