Another page of sketches

Word to the wise: Be careful with your coffee cup!

04/16/14
Misc Sketches -
Architecture, Art Deco,
Animal skeletons,
Mechanical bugs,
Knobs, Lamps, etc.

More from the sketchbooks!

I am  directing my sketchbook time toward gaining more relaxed, confident, and accurate linework;  at the same time I am focusing on letting my thought process become more open and experimental.
To that end, I have been taking time to sketch whenever I get ideas - which is a lot lately.
I have run across some cool stuff, and one idea always leads to another. For instance, looking at mechanical sketches of a prototype helicopter gave me an idea for an architectural 'bubble' element to add to another scene I have been working on; of course, dinosaurs are always good reference for sketching dragons; Art Deco is fascinating to explore in terms of just plain cool design, which can apply to just about anything; combining Art Deco with pictures of Egyptian jewelry gives me ideas for vehicle/mechanical/spacecraft sketches;
And honestly, who could resist a suit of armour made out of bicycle tires? (see the photos here.)

04/11/14
Dinosaur sketches

04/14/14
Armour sketches
I saw pix of a suit of armour
made out of recycled tires.

04/14/14
Scene thumbnails and
Dragon sketches

04/15/14
Jewelry, mechanical and
pseudo-architectural sketches

New speaker!

The new addition...
Color coordinated! Top - bottom:
X-mini speaker,
Wacom Bamboo pen
with Lime Green duck tape,
Pen-Pal pen holder
attached to Wacom tablet.
(Yes, that IS paint
all over the table top.)

Sometimes it's the little things that make your day. Literally.
I always make a point to take advantage of whatever unique opportunities my job-at-the-time presents.
So when the X-mini speakers went on clearance for $1.00, I couldn't resist! I chose the lime green - my current accent color and answer to the all-black-studio-dilemma (see my post: Black is the New Pain-In-The-Ass)
When I got home and hooked it up, not only did it sound great for a tiny little speaker... I was delighted to see how color-coordinated it was with the rest of my setup.I love it and think it looks super cool.
I know - it's a small deal - but it still gives me a little thrill when I see it. :)
[Another bonus from work: My Wacom stylus was always rolling off the table... The (lime green!) Pen-Pal, a handy little office-supply-item,  keeps my stylus handy, yet out of the way.]

Painting Demonstration for Golden High School art class

Donald Sutherland, from
The Great Train Robbery

Tim Miller is one of my friends from school days. He is an art teacher at Golden High School (see this story.) He invited me to do a painting demonstration for one of his art classes, who are doing a portrait project in Acrylic.

The students were great, and their own artwork is awesome. I am blown away by the level of artistry of these high school students, and excited for them.
I searched around for a good reference photo, with a face that had a good 'sculptural' quality. I originally thought of doing a portrait of Peter Cushing, until I discovered that the photo I was going to use was not a photo at all, but a 3D render... and a really good one! But a digital render was not the right reference for this demonstration, as it would mean re-interpreting another artist's interpretation, if you know what I mean.
Then I found some photos of Donald Sutherland, who I have always thought would be fun to draw or paint. He has a very interesting, distinctive face. That's when I stumbled across this photo  of Sutherland from The Great Train Robbery.Wow, how cool. A great actor, a great costume, and a pretty good photo.

An hour isn't enough time to complete a painting (and more's the pity, eh?) So I decided to show some of the basics and concepts that I use when mixing colors.  

I enjoyed the demonstration, and I like the actor, the costume, and the photo, so I decided to follow up the demo by finishing the painting and posting step-by-step photos.  There is a lot to do with the piece to finish.

This should be fun. :)

04/09/14 in-class demo
Initial values and colors

04/09/14 Back in the studio
Light wash of Yellow Ochre
to warm the face.
Develop structure around
the (left) eye, cheekbone,
and forehead.

Skulley2 in Gouache revised.

I've had the Skulley2 Gouache poster study sitting in the studio for a few days. I kept looking at it, thinking that the whole thing looked too dark. Then it occurred to me that by toning down the top surface of the table, the rest would not seem so dark by comparison, and since the highlights would now be the lightest value, it would allow them to stand out.

04/03/14
The revised study
Skulley2
Gouache, 5x7"

03/25/14
The original study
Skulley2
Gouache, 5x7"

...and still more thumbnails...

04/03/14
Scene thumbnails
Pen, 2x3" and 1"

04/03/14
Dragon thumbnails, Pen

03/30/14
Horse sketch, pen, 3 x 2"

03/30/14
Faces thumbnails, Pen, 1"
Pushing shapes around the square.

03/31/14
Composition thumbnails
Pen, 2 x 3"
I saw a composition that
intrigued me and related
to a current idea I've been
playing with, so I tried
working through the idea.

03/31/14
Composition thumbnails
Pen, 1"
The only thing to do is to
'run it through the mill.'

03/31/14
Gnome and dragon thumbnails, Pen, 1"
Playing with shapes.

More Thumbnails!

Working on a piece for a client.
It really helps to put an idea through its paces. The 1" size makes sure the drawing is too small to get carried away with fussy detail. It's just right - work the idea without too much time and energy investment - just enough to see how it works. Then try a variation, change something, move something, and work it in a variety of ways. The end result is that I can see which ideas work, and which ideas don't. I can also see which parts of the ideas work, and try combining them. 

03/29/14
Caricature 1"' thumbnails

03/29/14
Caricature 1" thumbnails.

I was looking for interviews on YouTube to listen to as I draw, and I stumbled across this photo of an alien skull (or something) on Pinterest...
Which got me to thinking... So, of course, since I was thinking, it was a good time to start thumbnailing...

03/29/14
Skulls - 1" thumbails

Fun with thumbnails!

03/27/14
Horses - thumbnails 3x2"

It's amazing how much fun you can have with a few sheets of 1" squares.

03/27/14
Misc. 1" thumbnails

03/27/14
Fishes 1" thumbnails

03/27/14
Dogs & Rodents 1" thumbnails

Add 03/27/14
Misc. 1" thumbnails

03/27/14
Horses 1" thumbnails

03/27/14
Birds1" thumbnails

One thing inevitably leads to another
03/27/14
Animal Sketches
Pen & Marker, ~10 x 4"

SKULLEY2 in Gouache

I picked up a set of gouache at the art supply store a couple weeks ago, and today I finally had a chance to give it a go. First things first: a study of my pal Skulley2 in black and white to get used to the medium. I mixed a 5-step value scale to begin with:1 being just slightly off-white, and 5 being just slightly off-black. Of course, I was unable to resist getting into more value gradations, but it was good to start with.
This is the first work I have done in gouache since college. I really enjoyed it, and I look forward to exploring the medium and really getting a handle on it.

03/25/14
Skulley2
Gouache on watercolor
paper, 5x7"

More sketches

03/23/14
Sculpture Sketch
Pen, 8x10"

03/23/14
Faces and Creatures
Pen, 8x10"

03/23/14
More Faces, Creatures, and ...?
Pen, 8x10"

03/23/14
Some DJ Guy on YouTube
Pen, 8x10"