Validation By Camera.

Here's a sketchbook study I did of Lucia....

Lucia With Green Background (Watercolor and gouache in Moleskine sketchbook, 5x8").

I bought a Sony Cyber-shot camera a few months ago.  It's small, convenient, and takes great pictures.  When I pointed the camera at my drawing, it identified the face and framed it.  There's a certain validation that occurs when the camera interprets a portrait I drew as an actual person's head. It's technical confirmation that I'm getting something right.

After I took the picture, the screen displayed a funny, yet impressive message.  The camera alerted me that the person had blinked.  Smart camera.

Sketchbook: Parrot On A Branch.

Parrot On a Branch (Watercolor and pencil in Moleskine sketchbook, 5x8").

I took a picture of this heavily opinionated bird at the Charles Paddock Zoo in Templeton.  This sketch is based on that photo.

[UPDATE: 2/16]

I decided to render the branch and add a background.  I painted this in a Moleskine sketchbook and while it does reasonably well with various mediums, there's a point in time where the paper just gives up.  That's the sign to stop.

Watercolor, acrylic ink, walnut ink, gouache, colored pencils, and ball-point pen....

Sketchbook: Lucia In Pink Wrap.

Lucia in Pink Wrap (Watercolor and acrylic in Moleskine sketchbook, 5x8").

Sketchbook: Tamara Surrounded By Tiny Eights.

Tamara Surrounded by Tiny Eights (Pen and marker in Moleskine sketchbook, 5x8").

 

I filled the background with a lot of little eights. I used a brush pen marker to fill in the larger black areas.

Sketchbook: January Sketchbook Work.

Lucia in Black Dress (Watercolor and acrylic in Moleskine sketchbook, 5x8").

Lucia with Scarf (Watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook, 5x8").

Skunk Skull (Watercolor, pen, marker, and Pro White in Moleskine sketchbook, 5x8").

Julie with Pink Background (Watercolor and acrylic ink in Moleskine sketchbook, 5x8").

Sketchbook: Tiger On A Rock.

Tiger On a Rock (Watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook, 5x8").

Over Christmas break, Juliana and I traveled to the Central California Coast.  We love the area and try to get up there a couple of times a year.  On this trip we wanted to throw in a few new excursions.  With a little research we discovered two enchanting places: the Morro Bay Museum of Natural History and the Charles Paddock Zoo.  We had a great time.  The zoo had a beautiful Malayan Tiger named Menderu on display.  I painted this watercolor based on a photo I took.

Sketchbook: Lucia In Blue Shirt.

Lucia in Blue Shirt (Watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook, 5x8").

 

While I wrote earlier that I wanted to explore backgrounds with my newer drawings, this piece feels content without one.

Sketchbook: Lucia With Purple Hair.

Lucia With Purple Hair (Watercolor and ink in Moleskine sketchbook, 9.5x7.5").

Sketchbook: Lucia With Red And Blue Background.

Lucia With Red and Blue Background (Ink and watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook, 5x8").

 

 

I began a new Moleskine sketchbook over Christmas and for this sketchbook I want to push and develop the backgrounds more while rendering the foreground object in interesting and emotive ways.  Hopefully it will be an engaging one-hundred pages.  In many ways, I simply want to trust my skill set and let go -- to be less cerebral and more instinctive.

Art Class: Painting From The Masters III.

The Bad Blonde after Robert McGuire (Oil on canvas, 9x12").

This is the last piece I painted this past term.  I'm a big fan of Robert McGuire's work and thought it would be fun to copy this piece which is also the cover of his fantastic book, Dames, Dolls, and Gun Molls: The Art of Robert A. McGuire.

I turned out five master studies this term which is more than I had anticipated.  I leaned an incredible amount from these master studies and have already seen these efforts infilitrate my current work.  Many thanks to my instructor, Lucas Graciano, for his help.

Charcoal Sketch of Lucia.

Lucia (Conte 1710B charcoal on newsprint, 14x18").

This past weekend I had a photo shoot with an amazing model named, Lucia.  The photos are beautiful, and I'm very excited to start translating them into artwork.  Here is my first drawing of her.  After I've shot the photo reference, I usually begin with some charcoal and pencil studies so that I can get a feel for the model's personality and features before engaging in larger pieces.

Sketchbook: December Sketches.

Portrait Based on Sephora Ad (Watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook, 4x7").

Owl Skull (Ball-point pen in Moleskine sketchbook, 4x4.5").

Colobus Monkey (Charcoal and chalk, 8x10").

Polar Bear (Charcoal and white chalk, 6x5.5"). Based on photo in Zoonooz magazine.

Pocket Mouse (Charcoal, 6x6").  Based on photo in Zoonooz magazine.

Art Class: Painting From The Masters II.

Here are a few more master studies from this term's "Painting From the Masters" class.  Many thanks to my instructor, Lucas Graciano, for his help.

Princess after Richard Schmid (Oil on gessoed Crescent illustration board, 12x17").

Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May after J.W. Waterhouse (Oil on canvas board, 12x16").

Charcoal Study of Angela.

Charcoal Study of Angela (Conte 1710B charcoal on newsprint, 12x16").

Before commencing on larger paintings, I like to do studies of the reference to get a feel for it.  I did a photoshoot of Angela a while ago and thought this particular pose would make for a good painting.  I don't have any particular recipe guiding which medium I'll use for a study.  It's simply based on whimsy, and for this, I decided to do a charcoal study.