Anita's Rickety Easel

Laguna Beach Heisler Park

2012-02-10T12:10:00.000-08:00

Starting a beach scene from reference photos my son and daughter in law sent me. Using the ala prima method, but am going to spread it out over a couple of sessions because I still have to do my day job. This is session one.

Sowa Studio

2012-02-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

I attended a great Ala Prima workshop in portland oregon in late January with Thomas Jefferson Kitts. The location was Kat Sowa's fantastic studio in north portland beneath the St. Johns Bridge. Good old Oregon, very "Twilight" like....Her studio is every artist's dream.

Notan

2012-02-10T11:53:00.001-08:00

A notan is a black and white composition study using in this case, five values. The idea is to clump things into five value masses and compose those masses into interesting abstract shapes with lost edges, hard edges and descriptive brush work. Ala Prima means to do a complete painting in one session, with no sketching, or 'cat licking' of the canvas. You premix your five paint values on your palette and apply the paint with confident strokes. Thomas said " A confident stroke is more important than being right." The method of applying paint communicates to the viewer. Then, since it was not the end of the day and I had more time, I added more details and took it to a finished level. Thomas listened to my detailed plan of attack and said to me "stop overthinking everything!"

My color Ala Prima

2012-02-10T11:50:00.000-08:00

Here is my ala prima still life. About three and half hours total time.

thomas' notan

2012-02-10T11:48:00.000-08:00

Thomas Jefferson Kitts workshop

2012-02-10T11:39:00.000-08:00

Notan demonstration. Link the five values into five masses. The abstract shapes of these masses have to be interesting....no cloning, lots and lots of composition issues to deal with as well as lost edges, hard edges, eye flow etc etc. etc. I am seeing 'notan' in everything now. Very interesting.

Notan

2012-02-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

We worked in a five value Notan using Raw Umber and white. The idea is to premix your five chosen values and not intermix any of them on the palette or on the canvas. Use expressive brushstrokes and above all, do not 'cat lick' the canvas. Put the stroke down and leave it alone. Thomas said "a confident stroke is more important than being right." Dab dab dabbing reads as tentative to the eye.

Ala Prima workshop

2012-02-10T11:33:00.000-08:00

Here is the color ala prima painting of the still life

Great Photographer

2012-01-21T15:25:00.000-08:00

I have found a wonderful professional photographer here in Spokane who does stunning commercial work and high resolution photos for giclee prints for artists on canvas. I can now offer very large prints of Modern Day Mother in Zion, as well as Receiving Divine Grace. His corporate client base locally and nationally is pretty impressive. I am so grateful to find him.

check out his work at deandavis.com

Final Rounds of Judging

2012-01-21T15:20:00.000-08:00

My Receiving Divine Grace painting made it past the first round of judging (shown framed in the background) and I have shipped it off to the art museum for the last round of judging. Wish me luck! Here is my wonderful student, Karley. She was the model for one of the hands in the final painting. Thanks Karley for being a great model!

Oil Painting Commission

2012-01-21T15:01:00.000-08:00

I received an oil painting commission to paint a large landscape of the Wallowa Lake and Chief Joseph Mountains in eastern Oregon. The client requested I combine the view from the photo on the left with a macro view of the mountains (the small color sketch I did on the right). After a google earth search for reference photos of the combined mountain range, it became clear that the composition was going to be a challenge! First of all, combining the two views meant that the entire mountain range needed to be shown. This particular range is fronted by two equal sized range of foot hills. Soooo, the mountains and two foothills create a tootsie-roll effect of three long horizontal bands of equal size and length. Hmmmm... Not visually appealing for a painting at all. The client requested the lake be dominant as well, with lots of blue in the sky and water. Hmmm....ok, this presented some challenges. Since the mountains were in the far distance, and panoramic, and the lake is large and BLUE, I needed to create a visual eye-path so that the viewer can wander about the painting and be entertained in an orchestrated manner. Usually, artists like strong focal points and dramatic lighting to create their visual interest. In this case, it needed to be a portrait of the entire mountain range ( in the far distance, so colors and edges will need to be muted for aerial perspective) yet still give the lake its fair square footage...all the while not overpowering the viewer with blue blue blue. So, I created fog in the foothills to cut down their strong horizontal banding effects and wind and fog patterns on the lake to direct the eye and give some interest to the massive blue expanse. I also invented a small peninsula on the left side and a foreground of snow and shrubs to further direct the eye, and to unite the entire painting with the colors of the rocks and snow shadows on the mountains.

color sketch

2012-01-21T14:59:00.000-08:00

water color and colored pencil sketch to show client the final composition and mood we agreed upon. 6 x 4 on paper.

2012-01-21T14:56:00.000-08:00

Here is the first lay in of color in oils. The clouds and fog were darkened in value so that they would not compete with the snow on the mountains for attention. At this point, it feels more like watercolor painting than oil painting, but I need to save my most expressive brushstrokes and thickest paint applications for the foreground.

close up left side

2012-01-21T14:52:00.001-08:00

This was done ala prima with a burnt sienna layer showing through loose brush strokes. By far the most fun part of creating this painting! Lots of thick rich colors with dry brush edges. It feels more like sculpting than painting to create. I'm definitely going to head off in this direction of paint application for a while and see how much control and emotion I can generate with my brushstrokes....

finished commission

2012-01-21T14:43:00.000-08:00

Finished size 36 x 24 without frame. oil on canvas. Still not happy with the way the color is processed on the camera...it shows too blue, but you can still get the idea

Entry for LDS International Art Competition

2011-08-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that the deadline for the 9th International Art Competition of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons) is here again. The entries will have a two round judging and elimination phase. If the painting makes it past the first round of cuts in November, then I will get it professionally framed and ship it off to the church art museum for the last round of cuts. The entire process takes about six months, so its a long time to wait.
This painting is titled Receiving Divine Grace. My concept is that the woman is living in a modern world full of challenges and adversities (represented by the rough textured and splotchy dark wall behind her). The flowers represent the Love of God. There are many evidences of the Love of God falling around her, and yet she has been oblivious to them. Some of them are easily visible, yet ignored. Some of them are more in the shadows and harder to see. One Divine touch comes in direct contact with her hand and she is overcome with the sacredness and the utter profoundness of feeling the Love of God.
The painting is 24 x 30 inches. artists acrylic on board

updated cherries

2011-08-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

At long last here is phase two of the silver pitcher and cherries.

Cherries in Pitcher

2010-05-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

Second stage oil on glass-like gessoed masonite. I'll let this dry for a couple of days then glaze in the table cloth. Then I'll finish the pitcher and the last cherry.

Manito Park Finished

2010-05-25T14:10:00.001-07:00

8 x 10 oils on canvas

Manito Park stage two

2010-05-08T10:58:00.000-07:00

working in two layers: a washed in thin layer to establish value and hue, then a thicker impasto on top. Background and middle ground nearly done. Its a very Thomas Kincaid subject, but I'm trying not to go there. The foreground will be large strokes of paint and I'll use palette knife and watercolor brushes for the lawn to give variety to the brushwork.

two new step by steps

2010-05-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

It's time for a personal challenge. I'm going to post two paintings that I am starting and post the progress steps on them here. The first one is a landscape from a local botanical gardens. This one will be done like the last two landscapes in oils on canvas. The still life of cherries in a silver pitcher is on masonite with an extremely smooth finish. I haven't tried oils on masonite yet, and it is very different so far! Its like trying to paint with mayonnaise on a chalk board. It will be hard to blend wet on wet on this surface, so I will have to lay the paint on side by side and do soft brush blending, working with out medium and keeping things on the dry side. I'll have to let it sit between sessions and dry out, too. The smooth surface makes the paint 'lift' if you repeatedly stroke the brush, so it will be interesting to see how I like this support for the oil medium. Piece of cake with acrylics, but totally different with oils. The idea is to have very little surface texture to deal with.

Ala Prima Study

2010-04-27T13:25:00.001-07:00

Here is a small ala prima sketch. Ala Prima means to paint the entire painting in one sitting, with no underpainting to speak of, and no sketching. The idea is to figure out the value (the relative light or dark or graytones), the hue (the color) and its temperature on the palette, then lay the stroke down on the canvas in one expressive stroke...no do-overs. It's harder than it looks!! You have to take into consideration what the stroke will look like sitting next to or on top of the paint already on the canvas. Things looks dramatically different on the pallet than they do on the canvas. Color reacts to its surroundings tremendously. I tried to push the color as well, because it was a white and aqua tea cup with an aqua interior on a beige cloth, and I love color. 6 x 4 oil, two hours, no mediums used.
What I learned: This method is saucy and is great fun to do. Learning to accurately see values is crucial. It uses a ton of paint. I won't be able to afford to do many paintings in this style, even though it suits my temperment because you can't be miserly with the paint.

Greenbluff cabbages

2010-04-26T11:40:00.001-07:00

From a plein air sketch last fall. 8 x 10 oil

Spokane River Summer Morning

2010-04-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

Finally finished the plein air field sketch I started last fall. Its good to be back in the saddle again! oil on canvas 8x10. Available for purchase

Plein Air Field Sketch

2009-10-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

Today I met some artist friends at the local farm area called GreenBluff. Its right up the hill from where I live. This is a rough two hour sketch of the fall fields of cabbage and corn. I am taking tons of photos, trying to squirrel away reference photos for winter time work when we are snowed under with five feet of snow. The locals are all saying it could snow anytime now. sheesh...I'm not ready!!!

student works at Terry Lee's Studio

2009-09-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of snapshots of the interior of Terry Lee's studio in Coeur D'Alene Idaho where I am painting and drawing from live models. He teaches sculpting and does bronze work for galleries in addition to his huge animal paintings. Check out his website www.TerryLeeArt.com

Plein Air Study

2009-09-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

I am meeting with a group of plein air painters once a week and this is a field sketch from a beautiful park in Idaho called Corbin Park on the Spokane River.

Firstborn galaxy and sky

2009-07-02T16:07:00.000-07:00

My teachers at IMC shook their heads sadly at me when I told them the sky was done...oops! So, I refined it further now that I have been able to finally put some time into it! The galaxy sky and the observatory dome are done. I assumed that the painting didn't need to be refined to a smooth state as it is intended to be reduced to the size of a paperbag. "We ALWAYS refine the painting even if it is to be reduced. The end painting is what matters." I was told. I have to let it dry so I can go back and glaze in the holograph glows on the far swoops. I reposed Jack in a white shirt so now I can more accurately begin painting Dennison's uniform. I had his arm all wrong, so now I will work on that while the sky dries. It will still be a while before I can finish this though because I will be playing chauffeur for the next two weeks while Jack does a church camp and a pole vaulting camp out of state... on the road again....

Firstborn half done

2009-06-20T00:08:00.000-07:00

I'm done with the spacescape and the dome. Today I did the face and some of the holograms. I couldn't figure out why the holograms looked so wrong, but I found an illustration in a children's book by one of our teachers that showed me that holograms glow on the outer edge, not the center. A center glow makes neon lights! haha, no wonder it looked weird. I really picked a challenging composition with this one. How to get references for all this wild reflected holographic light? Right now the composition looks jumbled. I will have to let quite a bit of it completely dry before I can add the smaller action elements like fighter ships and projections on the holograph screens. Tomorrow is our last day to paint here in Amherst. We have had two or three lectures everyday and atleast one demonstration to watch each day too. We are painting until 3 or 4 am each night to get our stuff done for the group show on sunday. There's no way I can finish it in time, but I have plenty of company, so there is no rush.

Lighting Demo Illustration Masterclass

2009-06-17T22:05:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of the teachers demonstrating their typical setups for lighting for reference model shoots. These lights and power packs are a mere $1,500. There are strobe lights, power packs, reflective light umbrellas and stands, remote signal sender thingy for the $2,000 camera and $1200 lense. I'm using a $120 canon smart shooter and no flash. lol

Firstborn underpainting

2009-06-17T21:59:00.000-07:00

Here is the nearly finished underpainting in acrylics. The camera just can't compensate for the florescent lights in the room: the real colors are neon bright green for the hologram ring, dark black navy blue for the starry sky in the dome and bright deep red pink for the asteroid belt and neon aqua blue for the screen projections. But, you get the idea. Tomorrow I will finish the underpainting then start in on the oils. This puppy will most assuredly not be done by the time the last class is over on sunday.

Real Armor

2009-06-17T21:54:00.000-07:00

This is the Art Editor for Tor Books, Irene Gallo, trying on a set of armor that Lawrence Allen Williams brought. She is the business teacher at IMC. She makes a great model for Joan of Arc....hmmm...great painting idea!

Pencil final of Firstborn

2009-06-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

At the teacher critique, I was told to change the pose of the model. In the story, the lead character, Dennison, is unsure of himself and has low self esteem because he is a constant failure at the space battle hologram that he is in charge of. I figured Dennison would be portrayed best by being static in motion and have the tension come from the hologram itself. The teachers said that even though that idea is more true to the story, it makes for a better picture artistically to make the pose more dynamic. So, here is the redrawn pose. Its much better, isn't it? Teachers are right again! I had a great pose that they liked from a photo shoot I had done with Jack before I left. The only problem was, it was too out of focus to get a good painting with, so I had to ask three separate students to pose for me as I reshot the reference photos of their hands and faces to get the details right. Since I don't have a printer with me, I had to use the computer screen on my laptop as a reference of the photos. Ah, the benefits of technology!

The Legendary Michael Whelan

2009-06-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow, We got to watch a demo and presentation by a living national treasure: Michael Whelan. I've been a fan of his work since the mid 1970s. If you have read a book by Isaac Azimov, C. J. Cherryh or any Anne McCaffry, you have seen a cover done by him. He is a quiet and reserved man, and generously shared his methods with us. We even got to paw through a pile of his art prints to take home. I got four signed!!

Value Sketch for Illustration Masterclass

2009-06-09T15:54:00.000-07:00

Here is my small value sketch for an assignment for the upcoming Illustration MasterClass in Amherst Mass. this week. The book is called Firstborn by Brandon Saunderson. (It is about to be published, this is just a class assignment). The subject is a young man who has been raised to be a spaceship battle strategist for a sci fi galaxy federation. He manipulates a 3-D holographic projection of battleships like in StarWars. He is dedicated, unsure of himself and fails at every simulation he engages in. Ultimately, he ends up saving the galaxy from his much older and impervious evil brother who commands the entire starfleet and attempts a military coup.

Our first day of class will be spent listening to the instructors tear our sketches apart. The second day is redo time with possibly new photo model shoots and starting from scratch. A very good learning experience! I will post the progress so you can follow along. Wish me luck!

Rats!! Deseret Books rejected my children's book

2009-05-06T00:07:00.000-07:00

Well, the best laid plans.....Deseret rejected my children's book. The very nice rejection letter said that they are too busy with editorial duties to specify why it was rejected. The good news is that now I can share some of the color images from the non-existant book! Here is a two page spread of the temple at Temple Square in Salt Lake City during the Christmas season. The orange area on the lower left is for the location of the words. All the art for the book was done on Wallis Art Paper (like a sandpaper) with dry pastels. I used them because they give intense, vibrant colors and reproduce wonderfully....no glare! The colors seem to actually leap off the page at you. I also enjoy the roughness of it- the idea is to see the artist's hand in the work: strokes, blurring, and dabs of color. Sort of reminds me of a bullfighter dashing his cape around a bullfight. The down side is that they are very, very messy and fragile.

My story is about a mother who takes her small son and baby daughter to visit temple square for the first time and it just happens to be during the Christmas season with all the lights and Nativity. They visit several of the land marks there and learn more about Jesus Christ at each one. At the conclusion of the story, the boy learns that his feelings for Jesus Christ have grown and that he can take the wonderful feeling of temple square home with him by reading the scriptures. It was supposed to be a children's book and temple square souvenier book all rolled into one. Atleast my someday grandkids will have a book about Temple Square to read when they come to visit grandma.

Interior two page spread

2009-05-05T23:22:00.001-07:00

This image is of the two main characters walking down a neighborhood street at Christmastime. The mother is taking her small son and infant daughter to Temple Square in Salt Lake City for the first time. The blank area on the right side is for the words in the book.

book dummy

2009-03-23T19:04:00.001-07:00

OK the book dummy is finished and in the hands of the publisher. I'm waiting for the dreaded rejection notice...I can't really post the art work until then. sigh. Many thanks to Mel and Eli for posing for the art! It was great fun.

my son Steve and I at the art exhibit opening...and here it is at the show!

2009-03-23T18:49:00.001-07:00

Contest Update

2009-02-27T23:03:00.001-08:00

I am flabbergasted and amazed to report that this painting actually made it to the finals of the international art contest for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Salt Lake City. For a somewhat good photo of the painting, please scroll down to the posting for Oct 7th and double click on the image for a bit of a closer up view.
It will be on display in the Conference Center on Temple Square from March 20 - Oct 19, 2009.
If you get to visit Utah and take in the show, let me know if you can find it somewhere in the crowd! If not, it should be posted on the church's web site on line after March 20 at www.lds.org/museum

Int'l Contest Entry

2009-01-10T13:40:00.000-08:00

Here I am with my painting about to be shipped to the LDS Church Art and History Museum. Sorry about the glare and the florescent lighting, the FedEx lady snapped the picture for me. Will I do this again? Probably yes, when the church has another competition again in 3 or 4 years. It was costly, however. $240 for profressional framing, about $45 in art supplies, $50 for professional photograph of the artwork for submission and $75 in shipping, packing and insurance. gulp. Not exactly the right time to be spending money! Makes me wish I lived in Utah so I could have just dropped it off. I learned a ton doing this, however, which is priceless. For one thing, I would not do a darkly lit subject in oils again. It is nearly impossible to photograph well and shows every imperfection in the canvas imaginable. Oils need so long to cure before final varnish, it is really problematic unless I use a new fangled medium and varnish. I wanted to do a heavier layer of paint on the figure and torch, but it would have taken much too long to dry for shipping. All this needs to be considered at the idea stage. I am really thrilled to have made it so far in the competition, as I never expected to make it to the first round of cuts. It has encouraged me to keep pursuing my dreams. Compared to perfecting a piano performance, college studies in geology or childbirth, this art thing is just really, really difficult! Worth it, but very hard to do well. I push my abilities to the limit with each painting, as that is the only way to progress. Frustrating, maddening, disheartening, humbling, exciting, thrilling and satifying. What a rocky road I am choosing to drive on!

Next up I am creating a children's picture book for the lds market that I hope to get published someday. The 'dummy' (a true scale mock up of the book done in pencil and a couple pages of colored paintings) will take up all my time for the next two months. Sorry I can't share it with you: gotta protect my art/idea for copyright issues. Its a big bad world out there. In the meantime, I will start working on the oil portrait of the little girl. And no, it will not be a dark background.lol

Child portrait

2008-12-16T20:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, I have revisited a portrait of an eight year old that I started and never finished from several years back. I think my skills have improved enough to tackle it again. So here is the preliminary sketch. Now I need to get to the store before I can apply oils, and we are having an ice/snow storm all over the state, so this puppy will have to wait for a week or so before I can start the paint process. So, all you folks who know this beautiful girl: does this look like her?

By the way, I heard from the art competition, and I made it through to the first round of cuts! Now I have to frame and ship Modern Day Mother in Zion to the church's museum of Art and History by January 24th for the next round of judging and eliminations. Wish me luck!

Modern Day Mother in Zion

2008-10-07T13:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, here is the finished painting. What I attempted to portray is a modern day mother struggling to keep herself and her children safe in a wicked and dangerous world. We all know the family is under attack as never before and that as parents we get battle scarred and weary with the skirmishes that the world throws at us. This mother has been in a recent battle of some sort. She is grimy, shows fresh wounds and is tired. She remains undaunted however, and leads others onward with the torch she carries, symbolizing Jesus Christ the Light of the World. She wears armor, symbolizing the gospel and carries various weapons symbolizing the Priesthood. She is protective of her children, who look to her for hope, safety and guidance.
I wanted to realistically depict the difficulties mothers face in raising their families. It was important to me to show that she is leading out, but not obviously surrounded by people and human assistance. Our personal battles often feel as if we are very much on our own, and I tried to show that even so, we are capable and strong while being sustained in our vital work of the the last days.

Modern Day Mother in Zion

2008-10-07T13:41:00.001-07:00

This is a close up of the flame and her arm

Modern Day Mother in Zion

2008-10-07T13:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a close up of the face.

Mother in Zion

2008-09-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

Here is the first layer of colors in oils. I applied the paint very loosely and tightened up a bit in the face. I will keep the areas surrounding the woman very loose and brushy with lots of texture. It is about 30% done at this point.

mother in Zion

2008-09-09T11:17:00.000-07:00

O.K, this is a big leap of faith for me, but there is no sense in dawdling, so here goes: I decided to try and create a painting for my church's art competition. I've had this idea for it for five months and it won't leave me alone, so despite my obvious lack of skills, I am going to create this beast even if it doesn't turn out good enough to submit to the contest.

The subject is a modern day mother in Zion. She is carrying a torch and turning back towards the opposite direction to show the way for others to follow. She is sweaty, obviously been in a few battles, and carries a few scars and recent wounds. She is tired, confident and determined. She carries a sleeping infant on her back and a small child clings to her left side. She will have leather cuirrass (chest armour) and a spear in her right hand, symbolizing protection and weapons of the gospel. Lotsa symbolism going on in this one.

I have gotten my photo references and messed with sketches that keep turning out horribly and not at all what I envision in my head. But, when I did a color thumbnail (a very small color rough for values, line and composition about 3 x 4 inches) I felt more encouraged. I think I'm going in the right direction now. I'm going to forge ahead and paint the thing ala prima....which means no detailed sketch, no layers and layers of color. It will be very loose and painterly...my favorite way to apply paint. I will go for mood and emotion, not details. gulp!!!

Posting it here commits me to finish it. This blog is a good task master. Nothing like making things public to keep a person driven and honest! Wish me luck!

Desert Assassin finished again

2008-09-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, I had to post the little change that I made to the desert assassin piece. My friend and cohort Kimberly Kincaid Garfield suggested I make her scarf a green patterned fabric. I should have figured this out, but alas, it eluded me. Of course green made the figure pop because it is the opposite of orange on the color wheel, and this piece is loaded with orange! So many things to remember!!! arg. Check out her wonderful site: http://www.thetwirlingdragon.blogspot.com/ and http://www.artbykimkincaid.com/

Desert Assassin finished

2008-07-31T16:37:00.000-07:00

Here is the finished illustration. I'm content with the face. It isn't Genevieve exactly, but the character does have the expression I was striving for. I learned a lot about using models, color temperature and paint application on this one. I also discovered most of the colors I chose to use were too transparent and fought with me.

90 min sketch

2008-07-25T14:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a short portrait I worked on while watching tv with Jim (gotta do SOMETHING while baseball is on. lol).

Desert Assassin second layer

2008-07-21T16:43:00.001-07:00

Here is the next layer of paint. I've finished the sky and skyline and her face. I'm tweaking the hair later and now I will focus more on the skin tones and her clothing. The painting is 18 X 20 in size, and ment to reproduce down to a pocketbook novel size of 6 x 9 or so.

First layer of color

2008-07-09T22:07:00.001-07:00

Here I have applied the first layer of oils to the underpainting. I've established lights and darks and a color temperature theme for everything but the figure. I've got to let it dry for a few days so I won't remove the glazes when I go back with thicker paint.

Now that I have a plan for the the surrounding area, I can create the skin tones that will reflect the colors around the figure.

second assignment from illustration masterclass

2008-07-06T23:49:00.000-07:00

Here is the final sketch for my next illustration. The assignment was about a young girl who was sold into slavery as a child and is a trained assassin on a planet that mixes middle eastern feeling buildings with space influences. She is supposed to be wary, smart and skilled in the martial arts. She has to have long wavy black hair and a slender build. She is supposed to have facial scars where she cut herself to hide her own beauty. I dont' know if I will paint that in, if it turns out o.k, I will want this to go in a general portfolio and I don't think I want to get labelled as a combat artist. That's a whole different genre.

I tried a method we learned in a lecture called 'frankensteining'. Its when you take a few hundred model reference photos (yes, I used Genevieve) and take pieces from one photo and put them together with pieces from another. It gets really tricky combining pieces of humans together. I'm not skilled enough in photoshop to do it YET, but I am determined to master that tool this year. This blasted sketch took me a week to do because of all the trickiness involved with the frankensteining. I would get it looking fine, then a family member would come critique it and say "oh, her head is 'way too large" or "her left eye is all wonky" or " what's wrong with her hand?" arg. I think its as good as its going to get right now, so on with the paint.

I will post my first finished assignment from the class this week. I have to color correct some small details and get it high resolution scanned for the magazine contest, then it will be ready to post.

Flower Faery

2008-06-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

I have five days until blast off for the illustration masterclass, and I decided to make a few more illustrations to experiment with different mediums. This sketch is a small faery under hollyhocks. It is 9X12.

Master Illustration Class

2008-06-04T22:15:00.000-07:00

As you can tell, I haven't posted recently. I have been very busy getting ready for the illustration masterclass. We were given a great choice of illustration topics for our assignments to bring to the class. One more week to go until I leave, and I will be working on fine tuning my sketches and blowing them up to full scale size. I will post the assignments and my versions of them before I go. I will have a flurry of work when I get home then I can post the finished works. Hopefully, my skills will improve!

Tracker last layer oils

2008-05-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

Its time for tracker to be put to rest. I will wait for a couple of days for the oils to dry and put a retouch varnish on it to bring all the colors up and to have a uniform glossiness.

Tracker third layer oil

2008-05-10T18:10:00.000-07:00

Tracker's face is done and the cape as well. Now to work on his jacket and the ferns. I will need to get my son to wrap up his hand to model for the bandaged hand as imagining it just isnt working.

This time I didn't try to correct the photo glare and the color is more accurate here.

Tracker second layer oils

2008-05-07T15:23:00.000-07:00

The background trees are done. (and they're not blue). Blackberry vines are done as well as the big tree. Now, what to do with the orb?

Tracker first layer oil

2008-05-06T22:24:00.000-07:00

Here is the first layer of oil paint. I'm using Galkyd medium by Gamblin. It makes the oils dry in less than a day when it's used it to thin the paints. I'm excited about the oils too, because I'm using the professional grade oils that I bought for the illustration masterclass. The colors are vibrant to the max! My focus with this layer is to firm up the values (the light and dark contrasts). Once again the art isn't showing correctly with the photo. The left side is in reality dark green not grey, the back trees are dark bluish green, not blue and the orb is white, not blue. The large tree and foreground are fairly accurate, so I'll call this photo of the art good for now.

Tracker Illustration first layer

2008-05-02T16:48:00.000-07:00

I tried a different medium this time. On watercolor illustration board I started with a glossy acrylic medium coating over the drawing. I let it dry and lightly sanded it with super fine sandpaper. Then I used Holbein acryla-gouache for the first layer of undercoating. It acted better than acrylics: no blotches of clumpy pigment and no ridges of thick paint to worry about. Since I used the glossy medium underneath, I am able to wipe out most of the pigment when I want to. So, it is giving me the flexibility of watercolors, but more of the permanence of acrylics. I will let it dry for a day and try oils on top for the finished layers. I like the balance of colors and composition so far, but these are still very light colors compared to how I want it to finish up.

Fantasy Illustration "Tracker"

2008-04-30T23:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a sketch of another illustration that I am starting in preparation for the illustration master class in June. This fellow is a hunter-tracker. He is glancing up to his left at a floating orb that will aid him in his hunt. I have a ton of forest reference photos I took near my front yard last summer that I will use for the forest foliage and trees. I haven't settled on many of the small details yet, so the sketch is vague in areas.

Watercolor Babe

2008-04-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

Well, this is my first watercolor in over 30 years. I'm not sure if she turned out 'hot' or just plain scary. (I was aiming for sultry). The sketch pencil lines are ment to show through the paint and add to the loose feel.

This style of watercolor is free and dashing. It's a lot of fun to do because you can't deliberate too long...eveything happens in one sitting. The colors dry much lighter and you have to take this in consideration when you lay a color in. Click on the painting and enlarge it to see all the different layers of colors. This took about two hours to do. Clearly, I have a ways to go with this finicky medium! This painting is 8X10 inches on hotpress 300 lb arches paper.

large florals

2008-04-25T16:27:00.001-07:00

These were private commissions of tropical flowers. The largest is 30X40 oil on canvas. The other two were 10X14 oil on canvas. Once again the glare rears its head in the photos of my art, but you get the idea of the artwork.

Peasant Girl illustration

2008-04-16T00:21:00.000-07:00

Part of getting ready to attend this master illustration class is to begin to create some illustrations using mediums and supports (the boards, papers and canvas that paint is applied to) that working illustrators use. I'm making a leap and going for a color rendering of an old fashioned peasant girl. This is my sketch that I will use as a reference for the painting. I drew this girl from a 100 year old black and white photo. Artists have to be very careful not to use other people's work, like photographs from magazines or on the internet. This photo is so old that it is considered in the public domain.

Welcome to my blog spot

2008-04-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

Thanks for checking my blog out! I'm working hard at trying to improve my art skills. I'm no where near my artistic goals, but I'd like to invite you to come along with me on my journey. Right now I'm working on my sketching and drawing skills to get ready for the master illustration class that I'm going to attend in Amherst Massachusetts in June. Check out the website and see the fantastic artists who will be teaching the seminar. I am thrilled to learn from these world class professionals. Stroll through the bookstore sci-fi and fantasy section and you'll see all these artists on the book covers. www.illustrationmasterclass.com