Venice Cathedral Sketch (I)

Amazing to think that at this time last year I was sipping cappuccino in Venice and drawing this church, which loomed over our hotel (itself a converted monastery). I feel so lucky to have treated myself to that experience! Check out my post from last year, with more art and photography. 

 

Mynah (I)

A lil mynah bird I painted in Hawaii. These guys are everywhere there!

Paintober: Watermelon (I)

Watercolors on watercolor paper, 8.5" x 11".

Paintober: Full Moon (P)

A very happy birthday to my biggest fan. I love you, mom!

Paintober: Redwood Tree (P)

Acrylic and pastel on two canvas boards, 1' x 4'.

RIP Pearl (P)

A few years ago I did a portrait for a friend of mine who had lost a truly phenomenal friend. This is the companion piece, commissioned for another amazing creature, and I was more than happy to help. It was an interesting challenge, trying to at least approximate the first piece's feel, and I think I did all right. 

Rest in peace, Pearl.

Journal Flowers (I)

Lately I've been trying to do more quick sketches, trying to be a little looser with my expectations, let things flow a little. Here's a sketch I made in about 45 minutes, pen and ink on graph paper with some watercolors thrown in. I'm into it!

Venice! (P, I)

I went to Venice back in August for a 10-day painting trip and LOOOVVVVVED it. I had to stop myself, like forcibly, from taking a picture of every single canal. We all had a final painting assigned, so here's mine, which incorporates various elements from the trip onto three canvas boards, each about 12" x 24":

We saw a bunch of art exhibits, including the Biennale exposition, and we made some sketches around the city. Here's one I made over a couple of mornings where I'd wake up, buy a cappuccino, and sit by the Giudecca Canal:

And of course I took a ton of photos. Please click here to see them!

 

Paintober: Pinhead from Hellraiser (P)

Didn't October just start? Why is it over, though?? Oh Best Month, you truly are the best month...and I shall miss you. Here's another Paintober creation, which I thought was appropriate for the spookiest day of the year. I'm constantly challenging myself to be looser with my lines, my colors, my attachment to what something "should be." This is a bit more abstract than I intended, but I'm sort of in love with it! 

HAPPY BEST MONTH EVERYONE!! 

Oil on wooden board, 18" x 18" 

Paintober: Poppies (P)

About 16" square, acrylic on wooden board.

Paintober: Hyena (P)

Watercolor on watercolor paper, colored pencil highlights, 11" x 15".

Paintober: Gastonbury Grove (P)

Acrylic on painting board, about 7" x 5".

Dog Painting (P)

A birthday present for one of my favorite people. This one I actually started about six years ago. I made a grid on the canvas, drew in the figure, and promptly got intimidated by the fact that I'd never really painted before. I dusted it off last year when I took the oil painting class. I was actually quite proud of it. (Oil on canvas, 3' x 2')

Paintober: Lemons (P)

Dabbling in watercolor...

Paintober: Croissant (P)

 

Paintober: Mustard Flower (I)

Last year I had this great idea to make a little painting for 31 people, a small work for every day in October. Clearly I'd had too much coffee - it definitely didn't happen. So now the goal is to get those out "by the end of this October," and I'm not even stressing over that. Here's the first one - a mustard flower for a good friend in Los Angeles! Stay tuned for more...probably.

Ice or Steam (P)

The latest assignment in my painting class was "Ice or Steam." Not incredibly inspiring, but painting glacial ice was an interesting process. The decisions to paint a very simple pyramid instead of an iceberg, and then to invert the whole, came late in the process. Just keeping things interesting, I guess...

Art Drop Day 2023! (P)

I've been meaning to do Art Drop Day again, but you know...life. I haven't participated since 2015. This year I made a watercolor painting of a trail near my house, then I dropped it at the exact spot where I took the original picture - sure to blow some minds. Hopefully it'll find its way to a good home!

My Third Oil Painting! (P)

Painting class rolls on. For our third assignment we put together a black-and-white collage of sorts (mine is a rough assembly of three pictures from Joshua Tree) and then painted in colors of our choosing. I went a little wild with my colors, but I enjoyed the process. I just wish I had more time! The finished project is below, with some process shots under that.

My Second Oil Painting! (P)

Our second assignment was a "small study" in either all warm or all cool colors, hence changing the original color of these peonies to purple. I was pretty satisfied with this one, though getting the symmetry of the vase right was surprisingly time-consuming. Here's some process shots, with the finished product at the bottom.