Lisa Isabella Russo Fine Art and Ramblings

And the winner is...

2012-01-22T16:13:00.001-08:00

The winner of my first giveaway of the year is Carol L! Congratulations Carol L, I will be shipping out your free print when you choose which one you want!

I made a list of the different categories, with each person in each category getting a number, those who were in more than one category recieved more than one number. I put the numbers in a hat, shuffled them around, and pulled out 52; Carol L's number.

This is my first giveaway of the year, but it will not be my last. I plan to do them every three months or so, so you could be next :). I haven't quite decided if I'll do them the same way I did this time or make them focused on one category or another, but I'm definitely decided that there will be more!

Congrats Carol L and thank you to everyone who participated! Special thanks to Masa and Jo-Ann who sweetly featured my giveaway so beautifully.

Edit: I am such a scatterbrain right now, I completely forgot to post these links! Our winner, Carol L can be found at her blog here, Jo-Ann at her blog here, and Masa at her blog here (Jo-Ann & Masa are also on Facebook, but I believe you may find their links through their blogs). They're all really fabulous sites, so please check them out if you haven't already :).

White Magnolia Painting, Work in Progress 2

2012-01-20T16:17:00.000-08:00

Here is where I am with this painting at the moment. I might not have the opportunity to paint next week or post much if at all next week, but hopefully after that things should clear up and I'll be able to make more progress with this painting :).

It's an 18"x24" white magnolia acrylic painting on canvas.

Happy Paint Party Friday everyone!

To see more Paint Party Friday participants, please visit here.

Also, Saturday the 21st is the last day to enter my free worldwide art print giveaway! The details are here.

A Small Original Dragon Painting listed in honor of Chinese New Year and some prints...

2012-01-19T16:47:00.000-08:00

I know I just last week said that I wasn't going to be listing any originals for a while, and here I am listing an original... I wanted to paint a new dragon painting in honor of Chinese New Year and Year of the Dragon, but time slipped away from me, so instead I am offering up this painting that was previously on my website. To view this original painting on eBay, please visit here.

I also have some prints available this week. The prints are Timeless Beauty (a white iris floral), Deep in Thought (an angel fairy), White Lily, and Seven (an angel fairy). To see them all, please visit here.

The original of To Fly or Not to Fly is sold, but information on the originals of Heart's Wish, Reminders, and Sunlight Sunbright is available at my website.

Also, Saturday the 21st is the last day to enter my free worldwide art print giveaway! The details are here.

Wordless Wednesday: Small Bird Amidst the Cacti...

2012-01-18T13:37:00.000-08:00

Edit: Martha Z and Larry have very kindly informed that this little bird may very likely be a Black Phoebe, thanks for the ID!

To see more Wordless Wednesday links, please visit here, here, and here.

This week, because it's a bird ;), I also get to participate in World Bird Wednesday here.

Also, Saturday the 21st is the last day to enter my free worldwide art print giveaway! The details are here.

Free Print Giveaway Info!

2012-01-17T16:50:00.000-08:00

This upcoming Saturday, January 21st is the last day to enter my first free print giveaway of the year! The contest is open worldwide. To enter, follow this blog, follow me on twitter, like my facebook page, and/or be a member of my mailing list. For any one you will get an entry, for more entries, do more than one. Mix and match!

If you win, you may choose any available print on my website here

Here are the links to the additional entry locations:

Twitter

Facebook

My Mailing List

I will announce the winner on Sunday the 22nd!

The start of a large white magnolia painting...

2012-01-13T15:04:00.000-08:00

This is the painting currently on my easel. It's the start of a large (well, large for me anyway at 18"x24") acrylic original white magnolia painting. At this point the painting is untitled.

To see more Paint Party Friday participants, please visit here. Happy PPF everyone!

On January 21st I will have a giveaway of one free print of the winner's choice. There are numerous ways to enter, for each one you get an entry. One way is to follow this blog! Additional links to enter may be found here, although my facebook content is virtually identical to my blog content. Sometime next week I will try to do a post specifically devoted to the giveaway.

My current listings featuring a print of my self portrait, "Drowning"

2012-01-12T18:12:00.000-08:00

This is a new to eBay print from me. Titled Drowning, it is based on a painting that I did as a self portrait. I've only ever attempted one other self portrait, but that one is lost to us as it was stolen before I could even photograph it, so this one is the only one there is at present. To view this print on eBay, please visit here.

I also have some additional prints available this week. The prints are Timeless Beauty (a white iris floral), Deep in Thought (an angel fairy), White Lily, and Seven (an angel fairy). To see them all, please visit here.

The originals of Drowning, Timeless Beauty, and Seven are not for sale; but the originals of White Lily and Deep in Thought are available on my website.

I was trying to list one small original a week, unfortunately it generally takes me longer than a week to complete one painting. This might not be the case if I worked solely on one painting at a time, but I find that even with the speed at which acrylics dry, there's still the need to work on more than one painting if I don't want to have a lot of empty space in my painting sessions. So, that being said, I've decided to wait for a while before listing more originals on eBay. When I have a nice little pile of small new works, it is my intention to try again (until I run out of new ones to share again, then I will return to stockpiling, and so on, and so forth...).

I doubt I will ever be truly organized, but right now I feel like making the attempt. It's so much more boring of a goal than painting, but my hopes are that if I am more organized, it will increase my productivity on some level... Anyway, with that being a current and driving force for me, most of my print listings will be repeats for a while. I will strive to list one new to eBay print per batch of auctions when I can though.

Wordless Wednesday: Cloudscape Sun Streaming Through & some ramblings

2012-01-11T00:04:00.001-08:00

To see more Wordless Wednesday links, please visit here, here, and here.

Once again I contradict Wordless Wednesday by combining it with ramblings... But I'll not ramble about the photograph I took, but of the thoughts that have been streaming through my head. It's been a while since I've posted. It's a brand new calendar year. I hope you've had a splendid start to the new year and that it continues to be good to you.

I've been distracted by something not art related, but I'm not sure if what's distracting me will lead to fruition so I will put that aside for the moment. It has inspired me to strive to be better organized though, which is very much counter to my present state. This desire to be better organized has struck me in the past and sometimes faded fast, so I am giving myself over to this urge and devoting most of my time to it. I'm still painting, but less than usual. I know in a month or two, I'll still want to paint. I don't know if I'll still be at all inclined to try to organize by then, so while I am so moved, I am giving in to it.

I don't generally like to start the new year off with resolutions, because it is said that most of the time, most people give up on their resolutions before the year is up. So, usually, I resolve not to resolve... This year though, I am looking at it a little differently, my thought is that if I apply effort into these goals, even if my efforts falter, there is still value in making the attempt, and they are ongoing goals that go beyond the boundaries of calendar years. So, I find myself with many art resolutions (that I am tempted to call artsolutions, but I wonder if it's a little too silly). I want to be productive. I want to produce quality art. I want to sketch more. I want to learn from my art reference books. I want to be bold and submit myself or rather my art to more brick and mortar establishments. I want to share some of the artists that I love, both famous and emerging here. Anyway, I think that these ideas, well, they're not really new year's resolutions per se since they are ongoing goals, from years past to years onwards, but I felt like sharing some of the thoughts that have been rambling through my head...

Anyway, happy New Year!

Wordless Wednesday: Madonna & child in an alcove...

2011-12-21T12:19:00.000-08:00

Well perhaps a little more wordy than wordless this time... I saw this image of the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus and thought it was a beautiful image, so I thought I'd share it; but I want to wish everyone, regardless of faith, a happy holiday season.

To see more Wordless Wednesday links, please visit here, here, and here.

My finished white bunny rabbit hare painting and four prints...

2011-12-19T19:04:00.000-08:00

This is my newest painting. It is of a white winter hare. I love bunnies and I realized I could not recall having painted one as an adult. I felt that was something that needed to be remedied! Titled Snowy Bunny, the painting is an acrylic 8"x10" original on canvas. To view this painting on eBay, please visit here. This rabbit has ears tipped with dark brown and light brown eyes and seems very happy in the snow.

The prints are CA Coast (a seascape of a sunny day at Point Dume in Zuma Beach), Cleo (a Gothic Egyptian angel fairy), To Touch the Sky (some sweet pea blossoms reaching upwards), and Leda and the Swan (a Gothic Lolita angel fairy with Zeus in the shape of a swan and some calla lilies inspired loosely by Leonardo da Vinci's masterwork). To see them all, please visit here.

The original of CA Coast is sold; but, the original of Cleo is available in the Fantasy Gallery, To Touch the Sky is available in the Floral Gallery, and Leda and the Swan is available in the Master Studies Gallery at my website here.

Sleeping fox sketch...

2011-12-16T23:20:00.001-08:00

There is that expression, let sleeping dogs lie, I think it should also apply to foxes... It seems I have chosen another sleepy animal to sketch. Perhaps I am the one who is tired and in need of a nap...

I believe this is a red fox. I'm so glad there are far fewer fox hunts then there used to be. Their fur is gorgeous, on them.

Almost done bunny rabbit hare painting...

2011-12-16T17:32:00.000-08:00

I am almost done with this bunny painting. I think I should have it done on Monday. This photograph is blurred, which looks nice, but the actual painting is less soft. Hopefully I'll be able to put it on the scanner for a more accurate image on Monday.

Participating in Paint Party Friday certainly gave me a push on this, but I'm not quite there...

To see more Paint Party Friday participants, please visit here.

Yawning Lion Sketch...

2011-12-15T23:00:00.001-08:00

Is the King of the Jungle tired? Does he need a nap?

Keller Holiday Christmas Cookie Baking Day...

2011-12-15T12:26:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to see a friend I hadn't seen in many years and participate in her family cookie baking day. It was great to see Melinda and her family. Alex and Caileigh decorated gingerbread men shaped cookies, Alex is a professional artist and Caileigh is a talented five year old...

We also decorated other cookies and took some home. There was a beautifully decorated polar bear and others that I missed taking a photograph of because they had been already taken home by their lovely creator, but here are some additional cookies that were decorated.

It was a wonderful way to spend part of a Saturday, thanks Melinda and family! The cookies were really good too.

Sparrow sketch...

2011-12-14T17:13:00.001-08:00

Well, I checked, and then checked again, but it looks like there is not a new list of animals to sketch at the Daily Animals Doodle Project. I missed sketching animals though. So, since I didn't start at day one, I'm going to try to sketch animals from the list that I didn't sketch. Most likely I won't sketch animals every single day, but I will try to post them as often as I have the opportunity.

Today's sketch is a sparrow. From what I read, this songbird was initially imported to the U.S. from the U.K. way back in the day to help keep the insect population in check. However, it turned out that they prefer other foods... They did displace other native songbirds though, so it seems to be a case where more research was needed before importing them here. It's definitely not the birds fault though, so here is this little songbird singing its heart out...

Wordless Wednesday: A happy and cute skull rack from LACMA...

2011-12-14T11:59:00.000-08:00

To see more Wordless Wednesday links, please visit here, here, and here.

Pink Ribbons, completed original rose painting and 100th post!

2011-12-13T15:32:00.000-08:00

Here is my completed version of Pink Ribbons, an original 18"x24" rose painting on canvas. It is based on a flower I photographed in my grandparents' garden. They always gave to me so much in seeing beauty in some of the smallest things. I wanted in some small way to honor them as well. This rose is somewhere between budding and blooming.

The original is currently available exclusively on my website here.

Also this is my 100th post! I've really come to enjoy blogging and reading people's blogs. Thank you for taking the time to read this!

A new original fairy angel painting, four prints, and a website update...

2011-12-12T22:37:00.001-08:00

This painting is new from me. Titled Aeryn, the painting is an acrylic 8"x10" original on canvas. To view this painting on eBay, please visit here. She has blue skin and blue eyes, purple and lilac hair and wings, and a deep purple long gothic gown. She also has one pointy ear peaking out in front of her hair for a slightly elven look.

I also have some prints available this week. The prints are Heart on the Horizon (a landscape with abstract purple hills, and, well, a heart on the horizon), More Than One Way to Fly (a fairy with her fox squirrel friend a little late for their hot air balloon adventure), Elegance (a pink saucer magnolia floral), and To Fly or Not to Fly (a cute fairy kitten pondering the question of the merits of taking flight). To see them all, please visit here.

The original of Heart on the Horizon is not for sale and the original of To Fly or Not to Fly is sold; but, the original of Elegance is available on my website in the floral gallery and the original of More Than One Way to Fly is availabe on my website in the fantasy gallery here.

Also, I've added Gossamer Moon here and Lace Wings here to my website.

An in progress bunny rabbit hare painting...

2011-12-09T23:21:00.001-08:00

Here is the start of a bunny painting I am working on. Usually I am loathe to share an in progress shot of a piece I am still working on because of how slowly I paint. I tend to get distracted easily and start more than one piece, flitting between them with no promises on when any one will be finished...

However, I thought it might be fun to participate in Paint Party Friday, and this is a piece currently on my easel, so there it is... It's a small, as yet untitled, in progress painting of a wild rabbit.

To see more Paint Party Friday participants, please visit here.

Accounting for Thanksgiving Ugly Roll sushi in December...

2011-12-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

I meant to post this quite some time ago, but I get distracted very easily... I realized if I wanted to post about this before Christmas, I'd better get on it! This year for Thanksgiving, my mother, Alex, and I had a "traditional" Thanksgiving feast of sushi. We went to Ugly Roll.

One thing that makes Ugly Roll fun is that you may draw on the walls...

While none of us drew on the walls this time, we'd placed a telephone order before we went and our order was ready for us when we arrived, an anonymous artist had done these fantastic ink drawings on the wall:

Another thing about Ugly Roll is that it's quite reasonable in price, well, for sushi anyway! This was our feast spread out on the table. I'm a vegetarian, so my little corner of the table was small, but they kindly made me some avocado and kappamaki rolls that were very good. My mother and Alex seemed to quite enjoy their fare as well...

Pink Ribbons, rose painting work in progress, image three

2011-12-08T17:36:00.000-08:00

Here is my third work in progress image of my pink rose painting. In this image, the painting is very close to being done.

Wordless Wednesday: A natural red rose bouquet against a white picket fence...

2011-12-07T00:41:00.000-08:00

To see more Wordless Wednesday links, please visit here, here, and here.

A new original angel fairy painting up as well as four prints...

2011-12-06T16:39:00.001-08:00

This is a new painting from me. Titled Dreaming, the painting is an acrylic 8"x10" original on canvas. To view this painting on eBay, please visit here. This painting had an earlier incarnation in skin tones, but a certain mood struck me, and it seemed she should be blue. She is a bit of a winter/Christmas angel with some snowflakes visiting her as well.

I also have some prints available this week. The prints are Corazon (a deep red blooming Christmas rose flower floral), Halo (a blue abstract expressionist fantasy angel print from my DeGrazia inspired series), Small Bear (a cute brown teddy bear holding a red budding rose), and Violet Dreams (a blue gothic angel fairy fantasy print inspired loosely by a painting by Leonardo da Vinci). To see them all, please visit here.

The originals of Corazon, Small Bear, and Violet Dreams are not for sale; but, the original of Halo is available on my website in the fantasy gallery here.

Wild Windstorm in Los Angeles!

2011-12-05T16:05:00.001-08:00

We had a wild wind storm in Los Angeles last Wednesday night. It wiped out our power on and off until today. The entire street across from us, from the bottom of the hill and up, had no power. We lost our phone connection until yesterday. I'm not certain if most of the city has power yet. Pasadena lost power everywhere. The photograph above I took on the night the neighbors tree fell, this tree was long dead, but trees across the city went down, even healthy ones...

Above is our street during the day.

This is a photo of a big machine that came at night and crunched up the tree in half and moved it to the side as shown below. Some of my neighbors went down to the street and watched from there. I watched from the window.

I am so glad to have power and a land line telephone again! I hope the rest of the city is getting back to normal as well...

Swimming preening swan, animal sketch of the day...

2011-11-30T22:43:00.000-08:00

I took the photograph I used as reference for this on the same day that I took the photograph in the post below. There were two swans swimming in the pond at the center, but try as I might, I could not get a photograph of the two of them interacting together. I did get this shot though, which meant nothing to me on that day, when I was hoping for something different, but today, I find I rather like it... Ah the vagaries of time and perspective...

This swan sketch is inspired by the Daily Animals Doodle Project.

Wordless Wednesday: Mahatma Gandhi World Peace Memorial at the Self Realization Center

2011-11-30T00:51:00.000-08:00

The plaque reads:

MAHATMA GANDHI WORLD PEACE MEMORIAL

Dedicated to world Brotherhood on August 20, 1950

by Paramahansa Yogananda and Lt. Gov. Goodwin Knight.

The memorial contains a portion of the ashes of

Mahatma Gandhi

To see more Wordless Wednesday links, please visit here, here, and here.

If you give a rat a cookie, animal sketch...

2011-11-29T22:52:00.000-08:00

There's a children's book titled "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" that is quite sweet. I didn't give this little guy the chocolate chip cookie he's holding onto so covetously, but I do think similar rules would apply!

This is my Daily Animals Doodle Project Sketch of the day. To learn more about the Daily Animal Doodles Project, please visit here.

Second image of Pink Ribbons, an original pink rose painting...

2011-11-29T12:24:00.000-08:00

Here is my second work in progress image of Pink Ribbons, an original 18"x24" art painting of a pink rose.

A kid goat, animal sketch of the day...

2011-11-28T23:29:00.001-08:00

When I was a kid, I would often pretend I had a pet goat. Why I'm not entirely sure... They just seemed like they were smart and would be fun to have as a pet, or maybe it was too many renditions of The Three Billy Goats Gruff...

This is my Daily Animals Doodle Project inspired sketch of the day.

A new original fairy painting up and an eclectic mix of prints...

2011-11-28T22:31:00.000-08:00

This is a new painting from me. Titled Lace Wings, the painting is an acrylic 8"x10" original on canvas. To view this painting on eBay, please visit here.

I also have some prints available this week. The prints are Heart's Wish (a light yellow orchid with a crimson core floral), Reminders (a sailboat in San Pedro CA), Sky Cathedral (an abstract church painting), and Sunlight Sunbright (a garden sunflower floral). To see them all, please visit here.

The original of Sky Cathedral is not for sale, but the originals of Heart's Wish, Reminders, and Sunlight Sunbright are available on my website here.

Chestnut toucan sketch of the day...

2011-11-27T17:12:00.000-08:00

I believe this little guy is a chestnut toucan. What I can not believe is the size of toucans' beaks! They're amazing. Even though I've seen them in real life, they don't even look real to me, I thought they looked more like something an artist had created in 3d max than something real... I was curious and googled as to why their beaks are so large, there were numerous theories but nothing definite. With many birds, showy colors have to do with mating rituals; however, this is not the case with toucans as both genders share the same bright colors. One theory was temperature control, another to reach fruit where other birds could not, another had to do with their young, etc...

In any case, this is my Daily Animal Doodles Project inspired sketch of the day.

Tom turkey sketch of the day...

2011-11-26T23:29:00.001-08:00

Here's my little turkey Daily Animal Doodle Project sketch of the day...

A hasty sketch of an opossum...

2011-11-25T14:21:00.001-08:00

Opossums have the most amazing tails and little handlike paws! I picked an image with not too much showing in the paws department because I knew my schedule today wouldn't permit a more involved sketch, but they are something!

Anyway, here is my Daily Animal Doodles Project opossum sketch for the day. I'm not certain if I'll do any over the weekend, I usually don't post then, but I've been having so much fun with this...

First work in progress post of my rose painting Pink Ribbons...

2011-11-25T12:44:00.001-08:00

This is the start of an original 18"x24" painting of a pink rose currently titled Pink Ribbons. I will post two more work in progress shots and then the final image. The painting took me a bit over a week. I'm not posting daily shots because sometimes one day involves simply going over the same bit until I'm reasonably happy with it, but it doesn't make for much of a difference in a photograph!

You'll notice on this one that the light is shining through, this is because I have my easel on the "wrong" side of the studio. It means I often have to stick board behind the painting so that the light doesn't shine through while I'm painting; but, it also means it's easy for me to look outside the windows to rest my eyes on occasion and see the world outside and the occasional birds or cats that come by whilst I'm painting...

Happy Thanksgiving and a sketch of two little adelie penguins

2011-11-24T13:23:00.000-08:00

If you are celebrating today, I sincerely wish you a happy Thanksgiving! The animal for today is penguins, I was surprised how many different penguins there are. This sketch is based off of adelie penguins. I think they are thankful to have each other, but mostly they are thankful that they are not turkeys today!

To learn more about the Daily Animal Doodles Project, please visit here.

Cocker Spaniel Puppy Dog Sketch...

2011-11-23T21:18:00.001-08:00

Puppies are some of the cutest things out there that there is! This little one is far cuter then I could convey with a sketch, but here is my Daily Animal Doodles Project sketch for today...

To learn more about the Daily Animal Doodles Project, please visit here.

Wordless Wednesday: A blue dragonfly alit on a lily pad at Descanso Gardens

2011-11-23T13:33:00.000-08:00

To see more Wordless Wednesday links, please visit here, here, and here.

Chipmunk, a little sketch

2011-11-22T22:37:00.000-08:00

I was going to skip today, but then I saw this little fellow's pudgy little cheeks and I could not resist...

To learn more about the Daily Animal Doodles Project, please visit here.

Gossamer Moon, an original art fairy faerie angel painting and some prints...

2011-11-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

This is a new painting from me. Titled Gossamer Moon, the painting is an acrylic 8"x10" original on canvas. To view this painting on eBay, please visit here.

I also have some prints available this week. The prints are Timeless Beauty (a white iris floral), Seven (an angel fairy), White Lily, and Deep in Thought (an angel fairy). To see them all, please visit here.

The originals of Timeless Beauty and Seven are not for sale, but the originals of White Lily and Deep in Thought are available on my website.

Robin, a little bird sketch

2011-11-21T23:14:00.000-08:00

This little bird was inspired by the Daily Animal Doodles Project. I'm not sure how often I'll participate, but it was fun to sketch this robin.

To learn more about the Daily Animal Doodles Project, please visit here.

Wordless Wednesday: Abandoned at the Fall Festival....

2011-11-02T01:01:00.000-07:00

To see more Wordless Wednesday links, please visit here, here, and here.

Wordless Wednesday: It's beginning to look a lot like Halloween, all across the land...

2011-10-26T13:03:00.000-07:00

To see more Wordless Wednesday links, please visit here, here, and here.

Original art available to see in person at Images Salon...

2011-10-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

If you're in the Los Angeles area, I have some paintings up at Images Salon. They give wonderful manicures and pedicures. Gentlemen, don't be shy. Just because Michelangelo went for a month at a time without taking his boots off, doesn't mean you have to neglect your feet!

They're located at 85 South Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105 and their number is 626-683-8682.

To see the paintings individually, please visit my website here and visit the Floral Gallery. The ones up at Images include two anthurium paintings, one sunflower painting, and one orchid painting.

Quatre et Finis! The final image of my sunflower painting...

2011-10-20T02:53:00.000-07:00

Here is the final image of my original 24"x18" sunflower painting.

Both the original and prints are available on my website here.

Wordless Wednesday: Temptation... Did I succumb? Of course I did...

2011-10-19T01:08:00.000-07:00

Un, deux, trois... Here is image #3 of my in progress sunflower painting...

2011-10-17T23:26:00.000-07:00

Petals and more petals...

In Progress Sunflower Painting 2 and the book Bloggers Boot Camp

2011-10-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

Here is the second image of my sunflower painting Sunlight Sunbright.

This week I read Bloggers Boot Camp by Charlie White and John Biggs: learning how to build, write, and run a successful blog. If you are looking into going into blogging as a professional, journalistic endeavor, this could be a very helpful and useful book. If you are looking to improve your blog in general, while it has some helpful nuggets, this book might be best checked out from a library.

My biggest take away from the book is their suggestion for consistent blogging Monday through Friday. I don't expect I'll manage that weekly, sometimes I'm too engrossed in my paintings to come up for air much, but I will make the attempt to blog more consistently. Some of the time that is... Other times I may fall off the face of the earth in a haze of art creation, only to return when the fires burn less hot.

In Progress Portrait of a Sunflower Painting, Image 1...

2011-10-13T13:51:00.000-07:00

Here is the start of my sunflower painting titled Sunlight Sunbright. It is a 24" x 18" acrylic painting on canvas that I took photographs of as I painted it at various steps. There are four images and it took around two weeks to complete.

I knew I wanted to paint a sunflower but my initial debate was if my painting were to be based on a store bought sunflower or one from a garden. Both are beautiful, but they are different. This time I decided to use a reference photograph of a sunflower that had grown in the garden of my mother's students.

Above is the first image. As you can see there is some white paint showing, this is where there's a disparity from my lines and where I wanted them to be...

Wordless Wednesday: Red Hibiscus Flower by a Cocktail Sign

2011-10-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

To see more Wordless Wednesday links, please visit here.

Space Invaders in Culver City!!!

2011-10-11T15:40:00.001-07:00

This Sunday a friend and I went down to Culver City to pick up some brunch and what did we discover... Space Invaders!! Right off the bat, one of them squished my friend. While I was unable to save him, I was able to capture the moment on camera. Fortunately, he had more lives available, so we were able to get our brunch and safely manuever away from the Space Invader plagued Town Plaza.

The Culver City Cultural Arts commission hired artist Jason Torchinsky to install these giant Space Invaders temporarily around and about Culver City. I did google, but I was unable to find out how long the Space Invaders will be around. I have some additional Space Invader photos that might make it up at some point; but since I'm not sure how long the Space Invaders will be around, I decided to try and post this one relatively quickly. Thanks Culver City, for making our mission to acquire sustenance more perilous and entertaining than it usually is...

Do you think Alex was squished for:

1. Missing his brother's art show opening...

2. He had it coming, he knows what he did...

3. To save Lisa from getting squished or dirty...

4. All of the above.

I'm voting for all of the above...

A blue angel painting, the movie Dolphin Tale, and a decided lack of sketches...

2011-10-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

I painted this painting quite a while back, in 2003 in fact... By rights it should already have been up on my website; however, when I was doing the photography of the works I had, I managed to forget this one. It was hiding in plain sight on the shelf in my room...

So, to see it up on the website, please visit here.

I saw the movie Dolphin Tale this week. It was very moving and sweet. I don't always post about movies that I've seen on my blog because I worry about revealing too much information; but there was a nice story within a story that I liked about dolphins and children. It is a Native American Tale. So, here goes... At some point the goddess decided that she wanted her people to live on the mainland, so she put up a rainbow bridge for them to travel. As they crossed the children were playing as they crossed the bridge and some fell off the bridge towards the ocean. The people were worried that the goddess would be angry and their children would die when they hit the ocean. The goddess, however, was so moved by how beautifully the children played that just as they were about to hit the ocean, she transformed them into dolphins, so that they could play forever...

I've been promising sketches for quite some time and I have not followed through. While I am sketching, it is by no means a consistent endeavor. I think that I'm not currently in the right space to make constant sketching a priority. That could change, but for now, that is how it is. If that changes, I will try to scan and post, but it is not an endeavor I currently feel like pursuing...

New orchid flower painting...

2011-09-29T01:38:00.000-07:00

This is a recent floral painting of mine. It is an 24"x18" original orchid acrylic painting on canvas.

To see it up on the website, please visit here.

H.P. Lovecraft Festival, my new website, & sketches...

2011-09-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I've felt like posting, I've been spending most of my online time focusing on getting my website up. If you'd like to take a peek it's at http://www.lisarusso.com

In my last post, I promised a return to sketching. I did in fact start sketching again, but became very behind in scanning and posting... I think it's time for another fresh start, fresh start number 7 perhaps? I'm not certain, I haven't been counting. I'm also not certain when I'll start up again, but I hope it will be soon. Also, I think the goal this time will be 100 faces in approximately 100 days. 365 just seems a bit too far out there for me right now...

Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in San Pedro, CA at the Warner Grand Theater. The image above is of a statue of H.P.L. with a bit of Cthulu-esque action happening at the side. I was able to see some fantastic Lovecraft inspired shorts while I was there as well as a short inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. I took some other pictures while I was there, some of which I intend to share in other posts.

My newest angel painting and slacking off in general...

2011-05-26T12:34:00.000-07:00

This is my newest original angel painting. The painting measures 8x10 and is acrylic on canvas. Possibly the start of a series, she is titled Dreaming.

I've been loathe to post as I have completed slacked on my sketching challenge. I've decided to start again from scratch, I'm not sure I'll ever make it to 365 without significant lulls, but it is good practice nonetheless. However, since I intend to slack this weekend and it's a longer then average weekend due to the holiday, I will most likely begin again sometime next week.

LACMA "Fashioning Fashion" and some sketches...

2011-03-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

At the Resnick Pavilion, LACMA had three fabulous shows. Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700–1915, Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico, and the Art of the Sensual. They have all closed now, but I went a number of times to see the exhibits and take photos for possible reference. The photo above is one that I took while at Fashioning Fashion; I have no idea how those dresses survived that era so fabulously.

I haven't completed any new paintings, but I have been plugging away at my sketches. What surprises me is that sometimes sketches will work out that I hadn't expected to and sometimes ones that I expected to be epic fails end up looking okay. I am still doing other sketches as prep work for paintings, but it's an interesting exercise, focusing on sketching consistently on one subject.

Anyway, here are the sketches:

3_18_11/48, 49 3_22_11/50, 51

3_22_11/52 3_23_11/53, 54, 55

3_24_11/56, 57, 58 3_25_11/59

3_25_11/60, 61 3_29_11/62 3_30_11/63, 64

Pink Saucer Magnolia Flowers and sketches...

2011-03-17T17:27:00.001-07:00

This is my newest painting, it is of two pink saucer magnolia flowers, one just beginning to bloom and the other very open. Untitled as of yet, it is an original acrylic painting on canvas that measures 11x14.

The tsunami/earthquake in Japan has filled me with such sadness. I very rarely watch the news, but for some reason I was watching as it hit and I saw the ocean engulf the land with such power. I could not believe what I saw. I still am full of shock and disbelief when I think about it.

I am a bit behind in my sketches, but I'm hoping to catch up by next week.

3_1_11/32, 33 3_2_11/34, 35

3_3_11/36, 37 3_7_11/38, 39

3_8_11/40, 41 3_9_11/42, 43

3_11_11/44, 45 3_16_11/46, 47

A special request painting and a scanning party...

2011-02-26T00:33:00.001-08:00

This painting is a bit different for me, it was by special request. The painting is a 9x12 acrylic painting inspired by the Virgin of Guadalupe and titled Virgen de Guadalupe. Usually when I paint people, I stick to angels, fairies, and mermaids; but I found myself unable to say no to this request, so, there she is.

Also, I have some sketches below. I was a bit behind in scanning, so I had a scanning party and scanned them all in.

2_15_11/20, 21 2_17_11/22, 23

2_18_11/24, 25 2_26_11/26 2_23_11/27

2_23_11/28, 29 2_25_11/30, 31

Musings on a trip to Descanso Gardens

2011-02-11T23:43:00.000-08:00

I took the photograph above at Descanso Gardens on Thursday. I love the majesty of trees, I am drawn to them. The light was fading and I snapped this shot thinking of my grandfather. We were visiting the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena and we went outside to the water lily pond. He said to me, art is beautiful, but it is nothing to the beauty of nature. When I saw this scene, it struck me, the very truth of his words. I strive for beauty in my art, but sometimes one single look at the arching trees above can simply floor me. I took a number of photographs on my visit, but this one feels how I was feeling.

I'd like to share a painting, but I do not have one that feels right to share right now. For now, here are my sketches. They are all imperfect and flawed, but some may have the potential with some work to possibly be something more at some point. For now, they are practice.

2_4_11/12, 13 2_8_11/14

2_8_11/15 2_9_11/16, 17

2_11_11/18, 19

Happy New Year!

2011-02-03T14:05:00.000-08:00

This year is the year of the rabbit, I'm hoping to paint at least one rabbit this year; but, for now, here is one small bunny sketch. I've started sketching faces again, my goal is 365 in one year's time. Some days I sketch one, some days more then one, some days not at all. This is my second attempt at this and I expect I will end up stopping and starting anew this time as well, but I still think it's worth the attempt. This time my start date was January 26th.

Here are my sketches thus far:

1_26_11/1, 2, 3

1_27_11/4, 5, 6

1_31_11/7 2_1_11/8 2_2_11/9

2_3_11/10, 11

A small new floral painting...

2010-11-30T15:04:00.001-08:00

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...

2010-09-22T18:09:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-08-21T01:52:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-18T02:03:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-05-21T13:49:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-05-14T14:43:00.001-07:00

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...

2010-05-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-04-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-04-16T23:50:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

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

Renoir in the 20th Century at LACMA and some sketches

2010-04-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the tremendous fortune of being able to attend the show "Renoir in the 20th Century" at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It is lush and gorgeous and fabulous! His use of color is so fantastic. Some of these paintings are works that I had seen prior to in books, but having the opportunity to see them in person was just phenomenal. The scale, the brush strokes, and the intensity were well worth the visit. They had a couple of brief films (2 minutes possibly) of him painting. He had rheumatoid arthritis, but he was still so driven to create. I almost considered missing this show because of the expense, it's a special exhibit so it's pricier then the standard admission, but I'm very glad I opted to renew my membership and take in this show. It was uplifting and inspiring. I'm also going to see their show "American Stories," another special exhibit, but I felt like seeing the one show was as much as I could absorb in one visit. Actually, I think it would be great to see it again, but I am glad to have seen it at least the once.

I have some sketches, short one and not yet done for tonight, but this is what I have for the week:

Friday... an orchid floral

Saturday... nothing at all
Sunday... a girl

Monday... another girl

Tuesday... an additional girl

Wednesday... a flower

Thursday... a girl

The cover page...

2010-03-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

Well, only a handful of sketches today. I'd hoped to finish my little faerie that I'm working on, but I'm not sure when I'll get the painting time in to finish her. Next week is flush with appointments, so it's not looking good. I did do a sketch from the book last night. I was considering skipping that one, but it was the one they chose as the cover page for the book itself, so I decided to give it a go.

Tuesday... two nestled snowdrop flowers

Wednesday... a girl

Thursday... another girl

Thursday... after Albrecht Durer's "head of a man"

All girls...

2010-03-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

Well, today my group of sketches is composed entirely of girls. For my fantasy art, I'm mainly focusing on faces right now. Not every sketch ends up being a painting, but it enables me to try faces that I don't think are necessarily suitable for painting in sketching form. Some of them are, some of them aren't, and some of them surprise me. It's been a while since I've completed a fantasy painting, but I am working on one right now.

This weekend I watched season two of "Breaking Bad" on dvd. It's such a suspenseful show, I have no idea how people watch it week to week! Much like the first season, season two definitely hooked me from the start and I wanted to watch each following episode immediately. What surprises me about it is how Skylar manages to be generally unsympathetic to me, I think she's in the right a lot of the time, but my sympathy isn't with her as much as I would expect.

Anyway, on to the sketches:

Friday... girl 1

Saturday... girl 2

Sunday... girl 3

Monday... girl 4

Only a small handful of sketches...

2010-03-19T16:33:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid it has been a very poor week for art. Between losing track of time, many appointments, and general malaise; I just haven't done nearly as much as I would have hoped. It has, however, been a very good week for culinary adventures. I tried a new to me restaurant called Phoenicia in Glendale at 343 N. Central Ave. that serves Lebanese food. I've never tried Lebanese food before and I quite enjoyed it. There really isn't a main course item for vegetarians, but there are plenty of delicious side dishes that when combined can make for a wonderful meal. Apparently they also have a live belly dancing show on Friday and Saturday nights; but, I went during the week. It was nice. There's valet parking, but if you don't mind walking a little, street parking when I went was plentiful. Anyway, on to the sketches. I didn't manage that many, but I did do one from the book yesterday.

Saturday... lost track of time
Sunday... let time get away from me again
Monday... a Hibiscus flower

Tuesday... tired and crashed
Wednesday... a bunny

Thursday... an orchid floral

Thursday... after Raphael Sanzio's "Fight between man on a horse and two nude soldiers" (cropped)

A big bundle of sketches...

2010-03-12T19:59:00.000-08:00

I didn't get a chance to upload any sketches earlier in the week, so today I have a big bundle. I also have my first sketch from the book in a while. I feel mostly better from my cold, so I was a little more ambitious in my subject matter today.

Friday, last Friday... a girl

Saturday... a Magnolia bloom

Sunday... a Pansy

Monday... a girl

Tuesday... another girl

Wednesday... a lone Snowdrop flower

Thursday... an Echinacea Coneflower blossom

Friday, today Friday... after a pupil of Leonardo da Vinci's "head"

California coastline painting & sketchy sketches

2010-03-05T17:48:00.000-08:00

Today I finished the painting above, it's the project I was working on. I wasn't sure I was going to get it done on time, but it's done, and on time too! It measures 8"x10" and is an acrylic ocean seascape titled "CA coastline" and is of Zuma Beach, Point Dume.

I also did a few sketches. I still have a cold, it's nothing major, but I am so ready to be done with it! Some people are stoic when they're ill; not me...

Tuesday... a girl

Wednesday... a flower

Thursday... another girl

Sketches and the sniffles...

2010-03-02T14:56:00.000-08:00

I have a few sketches to post, but didn't sketch on Sunday. I have a bit of the sniffles and just didn't do it. Anyway, here's what I have:

Friday... a calla lily flower

Saturday... another calla lily floral

Sunday... nothing at all
Monday... a girl

A handful of sketches...

2010-02-26T20:00:00.001-08:00

Not very much to report today, just plugging away on my little project. Nothing yet from the book this week, but I'm feeling the next one from there will be sometime next week. Here are a few sketches:

Tuesday... a girl

Wednesday... another girl

Thursday... a small flower

Illustration Friday's theme Propagate & additional sketchs

2010-02-23T17:42:00.000-08:00

Friday's sketch is above, it is also my entry for Illustration Friday's theme propagate. I was so excited when I saw that in theme in my inbox, after all, I love to paint flowers and flowers are a plant's means to propagate. I was hoping to try to paint one specifically for this, but another project has come up, so here is my little sketch. Below are my additional sketches.

Saturday... a tulip

Sunday... a girl

Monday... a floral water lily

Another painting of sweet pea flowers & some sketches

2010-02-19T16:08:00.000-08:00

This painting is an 8"x10" acrylic on canvas original painting of some sweet pea flower blooms. The blossoms are shades of purple and burgundy, two colors I really love.

In terms of sketching, yesterday I revisited the page of studies by Leonardo Da Vinci and did a few more sketches based on his studies. Of course I feel like Salieri when sketching from such a master, that my most considered lines are nothing next to his most casual attempts, but it was still fun to do. I also learned a bit about drawing profiles just from looking at his. This is by no means the whole page... He has many sections where the profiles are overlapped, like the one I'd done last week with the new one. Also he has overlays; the girl in the middle was covered by the girl at the right, but I could see her a little bit. I thought her lips were about the most beautiful I have seen in ink so I made a small attempt at rendering what I could see. As I said, there are many more images on his sheet, but I think I've done as much from that page as I intend to right now.

Tuesday... a girl

Wednesday... a girl

Thursday... after part of a page of Leonardo da Vinci's "Madonna and child and other studies"

Thursday... also after part of a page of Leonardo da Vinci's "Madonna and child and other studies"

Happy New Year!

2010-02-16T15:04:00.000-08:00

Well, Chinese New Year's celebrations began the same day this year as Valentine's day. This year it's the year of the Tiger. I have to admit I didn't do any sketches or paintings to celebrate either holiday, but I did sketch. My first sketch is out of the book. It's one of many sketches on a sketchbook page of Leonardo da Vinci. There were quite a few others on there and I mean to try my hand at a few more; but for now, that's what I sketched.

Friday... after one part of a page of Leonardo da Vinci's "Madonna and child and other studies"

Saturday... a daffodil flower

Sunday... an anthurium floral

Monday... a girl

A warning about lily leaves for cats and some sketches

2010-02-12T13:53:00.000-08:00

Edit: Actually it turns out that it can be deadly for the cat to come into contact with any part of the plant. Here is an article about it.

I love lilies and I love cats, but if I had a cat, I would have to forgo indoor lilies. Apparently lily leaves are very toxic to cats. Someone gave a friend some lilies and she noticed her cat was nibbling on them. She looked it up on the internet and rushed her cat to the vet. The cat is okay, quite a lot of money later, but if she hadn't taken the cat in as quickly as she did, it might have been fatal. Apparently lily leaves cut down their kidney functions or liver functions (I can't remember which) and nothing seems to be wrong with the cat until it's too late to do anything about it. I had no idea this was a risk.

Anyway, this week's sketches are one short, I lost track of time on Sunday, and I've yet to do anything from the book, but maybe tonight.

Saturday... a daffodil

Sunday... nothing at all, tra, la, la
Monday... a girl

Tuesday... a girl

Wednesday... a tulip

Thursday... a bird

Drawings that I'm drawn to and other sketches

2010-02-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

I really love calla lilies; no matter what the color, I think they're beautiful flowers. This week I sketched a couple of them. I missed my Thursday sketching, my head ached; but I'm throwing in some feet that I sketched for the sketchstorm topic on Friday. Also, I've decided to read through "Drawing Lessons From the Great Masters" by Robert Beverly Hale and sketch the drawings that I'm drawn to as I go. My second Friday sketch was my second from this book, the first was the cropped nude from last week.

Monday... a calla lily

Tuesday... a girl with a hat

Wednesday... a calla lily

Thursday... nothing but the pounding of my head

Friday... feet

Friday... after Honore Daumier's "Don Quixote and Sancho Panza"

Sweet pea blossoms painting and some sketches

2010-02-01T17:30:00.001-08:00

Above is a small 5"x7" pink sweet pea flower bloom painting that I finished on Friday. It is, as yet, untitled. Below are some sketches. I did have to crop one of my master studies in this post and one in last week's post as nudity on blogspot might make my blog a mature site, and since I mainly paint florals and clothed fantasy it doesn't seem worth the risk. When I need to do this, I'll just write (cropped). The sketches really are for my practice mainly, I'm posting them here to try and keep myself honest and consistent.

Tuesday... I believe the flower I based this on is called a cosmo

Wednesday... Orchid floral

Thursday... after Annibale Carracci's "Standing figure of a nude woman" (cropped)

Friday... after Degas' "Dancer at the barre"

Saturday... a girl

Sunday... Columbine flower bud

A new painting and some sketches

2010-01-26T00:51:00.001-08:00

Here is an untitled 5x7 purple calla lily flower painting that I finished on Friday. Below are some sketches. On Thursday before doing a master study sketch, I did a warm up sketch of some little Iceland Poppy buds, it's wild that such pretty flowers come from such interesting little buds. Monday's sketches are inspired by a couple of sketchstorm topics.

Wednesday... Iceland Poppies

Thursday... Iceland Poppy buds

Thursday... after Peter Paul Rubens' "Study for Abraham and Melchizedek" (cropped)

Friday... a girl

Saturday... an Anthurium flower

Sunday... a girl

Monday... an ice cream cone and a panda bear

Illustration Friday topic Wilderness & some sketches

2010-01-20T16:07:00.000-08:00

This week's Illustration Friday topic is wilderness. I chose to sketch a tiger for this theme. Although it may not be apparent since graphite doesn't convey color well, this tiger is basking in the water. Apparently tigers enjoy spending time in the water.

To see more Illustration Friday themes, please visit http://illustrationfriday.com.

As far as my daily sketching went, I missed Saturday; but did sketch Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. My Tuesday sketch doubled for the sketchstorm topic of hair at http://www.imaginefx.com.

Saturday... Nada

Sunday... A girl

Monday... Calla lily floral flower

Tuesday... A girl, focus on hair

Thursday and Friday sketches

2010-01-16T13:33:00.000-08:00

On Thursday I did a master study sketch of a drawing by Singer Sargent. I didn't intend to do another master study sketch so soon, but the Friday imagineFX sketchstorm topic was Gustave Dore and how could I let that go by without giving it a go. I only attempted a tiny portion of one of his works, to try and do more exceeded the scope of time I had available for sketching. Neither of my master sketches are as powerful as the originals, but I enjoyed the attempt. I'm also including a floral from Friday.

Thursday... Flora Priestley after Sargent

Friday... Orchid flower

Friday... Tiny portion of Gustave Dore's "The Fairies"

I had the opportunity to see a Dore study at a temporary exhibit at the Getty and it was absolutely amazing. He is such an amazing artist!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-13T18:35:00.000-08:00

On Sunday I decided that I'm going to try to sketch daily, I'm sure I'll miss some (possibly many) days, but I'm going to make the attempt to be as consistent as possible. As you will see, even in this post, some days are better sketching days for me then others... By sketching more often, I'm hoping to even that out some.

Here are some sketches:

Sunday... A Bird of Paradise flower

Monday... A girl

Tuesday... A girl

Wednesday... A floral orchid

Small Works Invitational

2009-12-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

This 5x7 original acrylic orchid flower painting titled "Red Abundance" is being included in Elon's Annual Small Works Invitational. All of the works in this show do not exceed 100 square inches.

The show opens today and runs through February 3rd 2010.

It is located at:
Arts West Gallery
Elon University
Elon, NC, 27244

Questions: Michael Fels, 336-278-5597

A sketch inspired by Albrecht Durer

2009-12-05T01:43:00.000-08:00

I took too many liberties with it to call it a study, but it is inspired by Albrecht Durer's Venetian painting.

A bit of color...

2009-11-20T16:52:00.000-08:00

This is an 18x24 stargazer lily original acrylic painting on canvas entitled "Vivid."

The museum, a sketch, and (untitled).

2009-11-18T20:40:00.000-08:00

Above is a photograph I took during my trip to the Getty Museum. She's one of my favorites in the terra cotta room. I didn't manage to get a shot of her from the front that I'm pleased with, but I did like this picture. Although I've know for a while that it's okay to take pictures of art the museum owns sans flash; I've prior to this been to shy to whip out my camera and shoot. I'm not the best photographer, but I did manage to get a few that I liked from the trip.

I also saw the movie (untitled), it's about a pair of brothers who are both entwined with a contemporary art gallery owner. One brother is a composer of very unusual music and the other is a commercially successful painter. The gallery owner showcases very different art. I'm not describing the movie well at all, but it was an entertaining film.

I actually did almost finish a painting today, but I'm not quite ready to photograph it. For the moment, here is a quick partial sketch of the father of the Laocoon Group sculpture:

incomplete bits and pieces

2009-11-07T00:26:00.001-08:00

Well, I haven't managed to complete a painting lately, but here are some sketches. The top one is after Raphael. The girl below is a partial of an image I started for the sketchstorm topic hair, but when I was interrupted while sketching, I found I liked this incomplete view. As for the eye, well, it was my favorite part of a sketch that I sketched just to sketch.

Last week I had the good fortune to go to the Getty and see the closing day of their exhibition "Capturing Nature's Beauty: Three Centuries of French Landscape Drawings." I very rarely paint or draw landscapes, but the work there was absolutely exemplary. They also showcased the work of Irving Penn. His photographs of people and their trades was very interesting. We also stopped in and visited some of our favorite pieces before we left. All in all a splendid day at the museum!

Illustration Friday theme sketch: Flying

2009-10-16T00:41:00.000-07:00

I had decided not to participate in Illustration Friday this week. Then last night I dreamed of a little girl with curly reddish brown hair and eyes of blue with her hair flying up into the sky. Yes, I know, my sketch looks nothing like that. I decided to take the dream as a push to participate instead of as a direct directive. Also, as these owls hunt at night, I felt this sketch could also be a part of the sketchstorm topic for today of "night." So, I, erm, well, killed two birds with one stone, in a manner of speaking.

To see more Illustration Friday endeavors, please visit: http://www.illustrationfriday.com/
To visit imaginefx online, please visit: http://www.imaginefx.com/

The rain and a couple of sketches

2009-10-14T01:11:00.000-07:00

It's raining tonight. I love the rain. I love the sound of it, the feel of it, the wonderful ambient quality of light during the day when it's overcast. Also we are parched and in a drought here and the rain seems like a gift to me right now.

Here is a unicorn foal sketch followed by a sketch after the painting "The Needlewoman" by Diego Velazquez:

A yellow and red tulip painting and a big kitty sketch

2009-10-07T23:44:00.000-07:00

I'm in the very beginning stages of the 18x24 that I'm working on; but, concurrently I am attempting to work on some smaller paintings. This is a 5x7 acrylic tulip painting that is as yet untitled, but I'm leaning towards "Beacon of Color." I did a sketch of this one earlier this year. Down below is a sketch of a snow leopard, inspired by the imaginefx sketchstorm thread.

My white lily painting plus a couple of sketches...

2009-09-30T16:54:00.000-07:00

Here is the white lily I was working on the last time I posted. It is an 8x10 acrylic painting on gallery wrapped canvas. Also below are two sketches. I'm still mulling about my faerie/angel portrait series, but I think the girl below is an excellent candidate. I also sketched an orchid that actually reminds me a bit of an insect somehow. I've started on an 18x24 stargazer lily painting, but it will take me a while to finish it.

Fallen off the wagon...

2009-09-17T23:47:00.001-07:00

Well, it appears I fell off the wagon with my sketching goal for a while. Here are two new ones. I am considering doing a series of faerie/angel portraits, but that's something that's mainly in the mulling about phase. I have almost finished a small (8x10) floral painting and I hope that if I do finish it to add that in soon. Anyway, here are a couple of ladies that you may be seeing more of in the future:

Illustration Friday: Caution

2009-08-27T22:48:00.000-07:00

Well, raccoons always say to me, "feed me, cuddle me." However, I know that's absolutely the wrong thing to do with a wild animal, so I must always caution myself not to listen to that sweet beseeching look in their eyes!

To see more Illustration Friday projects, please visit http://illustrationfriday.com.

Two flower sketches

2009-08-27T01:26:00.000-07:00

I did these two sketches on two different days, the first one yesterday and the second today. I didn't have the opportunity to post the first yesterday, so I decided to include it today.

Angel sketch

2009-08-21T01:20:00.000-07:00

I haven't decided yet if I'd like to paint her or not, but here is an angel sketch: