A small new floral painting...

This 5x7 acrylic painting of a pink rose and a rose bud is titled Alegria. Alegria means joy in Spanish. It is a gift for my grandfather, who has always influenced me to strive in part to be a better artist, but also to be a better person.

I have done some sketches, but have largely faltered in the goal I set for myself. My grandfather is ill right now and I haven't felt much like drawing or painting. I do intend to get back on track, but I'm not sure when, so mainly for today, I wanted to share this small painting and my intentions to do better at some point.

Not so Zombie Claire, a new painting...

This 8x10 original acrylic angel painting is based on Claire, the editor in chief of the magazine ImagineFX. They hosted a competition based on the concept of turning her into a zombie. I'm more of a traditional artist than a digital artist and they're more of a digital magazine than a traditional one so my concept was to paint an angel portrait of Claire, then scan her in and turn her into a zombie with Photoshop. I couldn't bring myself to do it. So, a not so zombie Claire painting...

Anyway, there were perhaps seven photographs of Claire to choose from. I liked the two below the best, so I sketched them both and chose between them. Actually now I like the other one too, so possibly another Claire painting in the works in the future, or possibly not. Those two sketches were also sketch 2 and 3 on 8-13-10 of my sketch challenge.



Below are the works in progress photos of the painting:



I meant to post this sooner but have been very distracted lately. I'm also woefully behind on my sketch challenge. I've done some, but not many. 365 in as many days is likely a goal that I'm going to miss, but I'll try to do some scanning in and post again hopefully Friday. However if this goes anything like when I said I'd post on Tuesday around a month ago, well it could be a while...

Sketchy sketches...

All that I have for today is some sketches. I have a new painting that just needs some touch ups that I took some in progress shots of that I also plan on putting into photoshop with some help from a friend to try something very unusual for me, but I probably won't have the opportunity to post on that until Monday or Tuesday.

8-18-10/6

8-19-10/7

8-20-10/8

8-20-10/9

8-20-10/10

A new painting, a long lapse, and 365

This untitled original 5x7 acrylic pink and yellow water lily painting is my most recent flower piece. I haven't been doing much painting, sketching, or posting in a while. I hope to do better.

I've decided to issue a challenge to myself. I'd like to do at least 365 female faces sketches in approximately that same amount of days. I know I won't sketch daily, so if I miss a day or think I will miss days, I'll try sketch in advance or try to get caught up when I do sketch. This doesn't mean that I won't sketch additional subject matter, just that sketching faces will be the priority. If I get too far behind, I'll probably start from scratch again.

Thus far I have done 5, but two are not shown today because I'm using them for a project that I'm doing that I intend to share my progress on later.

Here is the start of my challenge:

8-13-10/1

8-17-10/4

8-17-10/5

ho hum...

This week has been devoted to boring non art related projects. Unfortunately I am nowhere near finished, so it will spill into next week and the week after and who knows how long. However, I will make a greater effort to paint next week. This week even my daily sketches have suffered. I missed both Monday and Thursday. Hopefully next week will be better.

Friday...

Saturday...

Sunday...

Tuesday...

Wednesday...

An array of faces and an embrace...

This week I have sketched an array of faces and one sketch from the book.

Tuesday...

Wednesday...

Thursday...

Friday...

Friday... after John Henry Fuseli's "Man Embracing a Woman"

Saturday...

Sunday...

Monday...

Tuesday...

Wednesday...

Thursday...

A sneaky little bird and a week of headaches...

Just when I say I'm focusing on faces, a sneaky little bird sneaks in... Anyway, I'm quite a bit short this last week in terms of sketches. I had a light sensitive headache that lasted for days, I just couldn't motivate myself to be in the light long enough to sketch or post. This week is a better week though in that respect and will hopefully be a better week for art.

Thursday...

Friday...

Sunday...

Monday...

Tuesday...

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday... headache
Sunday...

Monday...

Leonardo Da Vinci at the Getty, a finished painting, and some sketches...

It has been a while since I've completed a faerie painting, but here she is. This acrylic fantasy fairy painting is 8"x10" and is titled Lace Wings, referencing the Lacewing butterfly on which the wings are loosely based.

I also recently had the opportunity to visit the Getty Center. Currently, they have a Da Vinci exhibit focused primarily on his involvement with sculptures. I enjoyed the sculptures, but what really wowed me were his sketches. They are tiny and amazing gems. There was also a painting there that was incomplete, it was a very rare chance to see a painting that he was in progress with. Overall the exhibit was fantastic. I also saw some illuminated manuscripts in the Research Center that were very interesting. That exhibit has now closed; but, the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit will be on until June 20th I believe.

I don't always go to so many exhibits, but the ones up right now are fantastic! I did some searches on Thomas Wilmer Dewing and found some pieces of his on Bert Christensen's site at:
http://www.bertc.com/g4/index.htm
I love how this artist used color to create moods.

Below are some of my sketches for the week. I've been focused on faces and will likely remain so for quite some time. This doesn't mean that other subjects won't sneak in, but my sketching focus right now is women's faces.

Saturday... nada
Sunday...

Monday...

Tuesday...

Wednesday...

American Stories at LACMA and the good, the bad, and the not so pretty...

Today I returned to LACMA to see American Stories, I'm so glad I did. There was an abundance of luscious art. Being able to see pieces in person that I've prior to only seen in books is such a treat. It is also quite nice to see art that I've never seen before. I was completely taken in by a painting by an artist named Thomas Wilmer Dewing. I am completely unfamiliar with him, but I intend to look him up.

I have some sketches; some good, some bad, and some not so pretty. It is my intention to share some sketches that I do even if they are not always my best work. Some days are better then other days. What they are is a slice of my day. I thought I had finished a painting I started quite a while ago, but when I came home and viewed it with fresh eyes, I noticed some touching up that I need to do. As such, I will likely be able to share it the next time I post. Anyway, here are the sketches...

Friday... a California poppy

Saturday... bonus

Sunday... bonus

Monday...

Tuesday...

Wednesday...

Thursday...

Friday...

Faces and more faces

This week my sketches are largely faces. There is one sketch that includes more of the figure, but that is the master study sketch. Once again I've found that I skipped Saturday and Sunday. I believe that I am going to make those days bonus, since I seem less likely to sketch on those days anyway.

Friday... side profile

Friday... after Rembrandt van Rijn's "woman with clasped hands"

Saturday and Sunday... nada
Monday... a girl

Tuesday... another girl

Wednesday... a girl at a slant (I have no idea why I sketched her sideways)

Thursday... a girl