Small Works Invitational

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

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...

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

The museum, a sketch, and (untitled).

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

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

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

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

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...

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...

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: