Kylo Ren, Star Wars pencil portrait

Star Wars is all the rage right now, so I thought I would try my skills at Kylo Ren, the new Star Wars villain. I won't put any spoilers in here, but just by looking at him, you can tell he will be villainous. He basically is all black, so I threw in some highlights to break up the solid blacks that would have been his mask. I used some of the movie posters that are out there for reference photos...it is interesting how the mask is slightly different in the posters.

I've got a secret...pencil sketch

This is a potrait piece of actress Katie Findlay. To give proper credit, it was taken from a freeze frame of the movie "The Bridge". I titled my drawing "I've got a secret" because of the smile and averted eyes. It has been a while since I have done a portrait, but I felt inspired. I used only a #2 pencil, my go-to medium when sketching...and a nice big pink erasure. :)

Untitled landscape

This landscape painting was originally inspired by a screensaver photo so I don't know who to give the photo credit to, or even a location that the picture was taken. It just captured my eye because it seemed so peaceful and serene.

I really focused on the shadows on the mountains, trying to keep a consistent color.  Payne's grey does a great job with this, creating a shadow but letting other colors shine through. I also used it in the clouds. I'm not sure about the dark strip of grass in the foreground, though. It feels out of place. I think I need to tone it down a bit so I blends more. 

I'm still not sure what I should title this piece...any suggestions?

Autumn along the river

It is finally feeling like fall weather here in Sacramento! Yesterday was a sunny but crisp morning in the 40's and normally I would not venture out in the cold this early (8 am on a Saturday) but my daughter had an appointment to go to, so after dropping her off, a headed down to the river near the Sunrise Blvd river access along the American River. I had most of my painting supplies with me but was only inspired enough to take a few pictures with my phone due to the cold. The leaves of the trees along the river are starting to turn their many colors, and the river, although very low due to a very dry year, was peacefully reflecting those colors. An egret, which was actually sitting in another spot along the river, seemed to be enjoying the early morning calm as much as I was, so it seemed fitting to place him in the painting.

Walk along the beach

At first glance, you might think I'm back to painting more scenes from Maui, but actually, this is based on a photo I took at Santa Cruz back in June. It was rainy today so I decided to look through my "art idea" file and see what project I should work on and this one struck me as a challenge! The photo was taken of a couple walking along the beach, but I thought it looked a lot like my wife and I (although I never wear my baseball caps backwards!). It is extremely rare that I put people into my landscapes, so this was a challenge for me, but at least their backs were toward me, so that made it a little easier. I had snapped the photo after they walked past me on the beach one morning. I wish the painting captured a little more movement in their walk but overall I think I portrayed the scene well.

Hummingbird study in watercolor

Hummingbirds are my wife's favorite bird and with a feeder right outside our window, we see them all of the  time.  Hummingbirds symbol enjoyment of life as well as being the only bird that can fly backwards. They are facinating creatures. This particular painting was inspired by a photo posted on the G+ community Group Watercolor Painting.

You rarely see the wings of a hummingbird in focus since they move so rapidly, but, as in this photo, if you have a fast enough shutter speed, it can be done. I made the colors in the flower  reflect in the hummingbird's feathers to create a continuity between them, but for some reason I really struggled with keeping a smooth background color.

The poisoned apple

This painting was based on a photo posted by the G+ community Group Watercolor Painting. I took some artistic license with it since the apple was originally green, and had LOTS of water drops on it. Since this was the first time attempting water drops, I decided to limit it to just a few, and I just prefer red apples. I painted the apple with a gradient wash to make an obvious light source, and once I had a beautiful red apple,

it was time to "poison" it with my attempt at water drops. Painting these drops feels so awkward with the darkest part near the light source and the lighter part away from it, but after searching images online, I think I have a handle on it. I rarely use it, but the highlight was created with a dab of Chinese White, right out of the tube. I just need to work on thewater drops being more smooth and round.  It's not really a Halloween themed painting, but if I call it a"poisoned apple", it just might be!

Pumpkin harvest

This painting is based on a photo I took while visiting a local nursery having a harvest festival. They had piles and piles of pumpkins ready for carving.  I really focused on the shading to create texture on each pumpkin as well as to keep their roundness.

Study of hydrangea in watercolor

Here is a painting based on a photo posted by the Group Watercolor Painting community on G+ Of a hydrangea. The hydrangea has a ball with hundreds of flowers, so I tried experimenting with detailed areas and less detailed areas...

Then I thought I would do the same with the leaves. I don't think it works with the detailed leaf next to the less detailed part of the flower, so next time I would plan my placement out more ahead of time. I tend to paint first and plan later.

Cosmos, spraying watercolor

OK...finally left Maui and back to mainland mind. Nothing like getting back on track than my Artist's Way group. They always stretch me out of my comfort zone and try something new. This month, one of the artists in the group brought liquid watercolors in spray bottles. They were the little travel size bottles with a little pump on the top. I had to let go of any control and just let the sprayed paint land where it may. Trying not to get too much water on the paper was a challenge. Once it started coming together like a starry sky, my mind envisioned seeing the Milky Way from the top of Mt. Haleakala...oops, Maui reference.

The last couple of steps that I did was to splatter some white onto it with a bristled brush, and then spray it with an iridescent gold. It all depends on what angle the light hits the painting as to whether the gold shines or not.

I later saw this image online of NASA's largest picture ever taken and it reminded me of my painting!

Iao Needle and stream

Iao Needle, located within the Iao Valley State Park is one of the most recognizeable landmarks in Maui, not only for its striking natural beauty, but also for its historical significance.  It was here in 1790, that King Kamehameha battled with Maui's army in his quest to unite the islands. Even with the Iao Needle serving as a lookout point, Kamehameha defeated Maui's army in a ferocious battle that ultimately changed the course of Hawaiian history.

OK, enough with the history lesson...there are so many shades of green in this valley, and trying to capture the beauty of this place is challenging. I used stippling, lots of dots, to represent the leaves of the trees and to give the painting some depth as well as texture. The bridge brings out a nice architectural contrast against all of the foliage. To the right of the needle, I was trying to capture the look of the clouds descending into the valley...was I successful?

Honu - Green sea turtle watercolor

Honu is the word Hawaiians use to refer to the green sea turtles that come and hang out all around the islands. The are so graceful as they swim through the water, and since they are protected by the endangered species act, they seem to have no fear of humans. Partly inspired by my personal video while swimming with the turtles, I have tried to capture the gracefulness as it effortlessly glides through the coral reefs.
I started painting the turtle by laying down a warm background color, then I left that as the negative space as I painted in the shapes around it. The colors of the coral reflect the same colors I used for the turtle.

Surf's Up! Wave in watercolor

Hawaii is known for its waves...and after being out in them for a little while, I needed something calm and relaxing to do for a while so I could drain the salt water and sand out of my ears. Time to paint of course.

Plumeria- hawaiian flowers in watercolor

The plumeria flower, most popular for its use in leis, comes in such a variety of colors. This painting is based off a photo my wife had taken. Although I like the composition of the painting, I think that I could gone with a different color for the flower.

Maui Sunset, watercolor

One of our vacation routines that my wife and I have gotten into is finding a spot near the beach each evening to watch the sunset. We end up taking endless photos trying to capture the colors as they constantly change. I don't think we have seen a sunset with a clear sky yet, but the clouds just add to the uniqueness, beauty, and the colors even after the sun has gone below the horizon.

Here is my attempt at capturing the sunset in watercolor. As beautiful as this is, I don't think I have captured the brilliance of the colors yet.

Going Tribal in Maui, Hawaii

Everywhere you look here in Hawaii, you see tribal drawings...logos, window decals, tattoos. I thought I would give it a try on some of the wildlife I've seen here in Maui: the honu (green sea turtle) and the gecko, specifically the gold dust day gecko. I also have hibiscus flowers. I tried to put aloha into the one, but it's not very legible. I actually started these in pencil and realized it just didn't look right so I went over them in Sharpie and erased any stray pencil marks.

Maui coast in Kihei, watercolor

I've been busy vacationing in Maui...seems like an oxymoron, but the way that I want to see everything there is to see, maybe it's not.  I've slowed down a little this week and had time to get my paints out. This painting was done from a picture that I had taken a couple of days before and now I'm just relaxing on the lanai of the house we are staying at, and painting.

Mountain landscape, watercolor

Originally, I had done this mountain landscape in pencil, inspired by a watercolor demonstration by Dale Laitinen.  It's fun to transform a pencil sketch into a colorful painting. There is no "wrong" color other than what is in my head saying trees should be green and sky should be blue. 

 

I think it needs a little more contrast on the mountain to show where the light source is coming from, as well as some more shadows in the trees, but I think it does a pretty go job transporting the viewer to a serene location in the mountains!

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Wolf, pencil sketch

My daughter has been asking me to draw or paint a wolf ever since I painted our cat, Rosie for her. This is my first attempt, with some help from google images. I just used a #2 pencil. I really like the way the eyes turned out but need to work on the proportons a little, and really need to figure out the hair...

Seagull in watercolor

This painting was inspired by a photo posted by a fellow painter in the Group Watercolor PaintingGroup Watercolor Painting community. Most of the seagull was painted with Payne's grey, which I have been using a lot for shadows. The wing on the top is foreshortened in my reference photo, but I can't help but see it as cut off in my painting.

Natural Bridges, watercolor

Another seascape inspired from my Santa Cruz vacation back in June. This was done from a photograph I had taken and done completely in my studio. With each one of these seascapes, I feel I get a better grasp of the waves. I have to really think ahead where to leave my whites. I was also trying to capture the reflection of the rock in the wet sand.

Round mound and Nevada beach revised

Frequently when I am painting outdoors, I miss details that I don't notice until I get back to my studio. This painting of Round Mound and Nevada Beach was one of those that needed a little revision once I got back indoors, especially since toward the end, I was focused more on the impending storm than the painting.
My original plan was to have the painting's focus be on the clouds and they just weren't capturing my eye, so I reworked them to be a little more eye-catching. Of course I also realized if I don't want the viewer to focus on the hill and beach, I would need to rename it as well...Impending Summer Storm

Study of orange slices

This painting was inspired from a photo posted by a fellow painter in the Group Watercolor Painting community. The challenging part of this is that although they are oranges, they are quite yellow, but my brain keeps saying orange.

Round Mound and Nevada Beach

So I decided to find a spot without the crowds..a tough thing to do anywhere along Lake Tahoe. I went for a walk starting at Lakeside Beach and went past the No Trespassing signs (with fine print that says "ok to pass at waters edge"). I found a nice shady spot under a tree, and started to paint Round Mound...yes, that's the official name, I looked it up.  My main focus of this painting was the clouds (but I did get caught in the trees). The thunderheads were building quick, and you can tell by the how dark it got that I finished just in time.

Plain air painting at Lakeside Beach

Trying to escape the heat, my family headed up to South Lake Tahoe. The scenery up there never disappoints. One of our favorite beaches is Lakeside Beach. Although the beach can get pretty crowded, if you get there before noon, it's not to bad. I scoped out a spot back among the trees to avoid getting any more sunburned than I had the day before and started to paint. Already the sunbathers were out and I had to determine how many of them would make it into my painting.
I narrowed it down to three although my original sketch had 5. Painting subjects while they are moving around is quite a challenge, and although these sunbathers didn't move around too much, it was enough. I'm not sure I'm happy with the composition of the painting. I need to crop out some of the sand. The focus of the painting is also unclear: the lake and mountains, the sailboat, the sunbathers, the clouds?

Lighthouse revisited

So after letting this sit for a while, I decided I needed to lighten the lighthouse in my Santa Cruz seascape. I lifted the black with a wet brush, scrubbing it the best I could without overworking the paper. I added some pops of green to the lighthouse, which was the color actually in my reference photo but too washed out by the light to see(as cameras do) but I had other shots of the lighthouse from other angles. Green is also the complimentary color to the red in the sail. Then to balance the color out I added green to the rocks, giving it a mossy look! I still need to work on subjects that are backlit, but for now, I think this is finished!

Lighthouse detail - the green is still hard to see because of the photo

Revised

Original

Mt. Tallac from Fallen Leaf, Plein air watercolor

After climbing it, I had to paint it! While soaking my sore feet in Fallen Leaf Lake, I plein air painted Mt. Tallac.  Although I had painted Mt. Tallac from Kiva Beach last year, just a little bit of a change in location makes a whole different perspective on the mountain.

Santa Cruz seascapes in watercolor

So here is the watercolor of my lighthouse sketch. I added the sailboat to add some interest to the right side of the painting.  I really like the effect I got with the marine layer (payne's grey) and the blue sky. I simplified the waves, and darken the lighthouse...maybe a little too dark.  

Some watercolor painters it's tell me they work on more than one plaiting at a time. So while waiting for one to dry, they work on the next. As I worked on my second Santa Cruz inspired painting, I realized that in order for painting more than one painting at a time to be effective, they need to have similar palettes. I kept having to completely rinse off each brush.

 This second seascape was done from a photo I had taken. I needed to crop more of the foreground out.  On this painting I tried to put more focus on the waves.

Santa Cruz lighthouse in pencil

It's been a while since I have painted due to crazy schedules, so with some free time, I find myself at the beach.  The only time I painted a seascape was a couple of years ages with a Watercolor of Sea and Sky and that was from a photo. As I am sitting on the beach, I decide that a pencil sketch is going to work better than a watercolor due to the sand getting all over everything.
 The morning sun was shining from behind the lighthouse, just starting to burn through the marine layer. The waves are a particular challenge, and how can I differentiate between blue sky and grey clouds when I just have a pencil? I will need to redo this in watercolor...

Self Portrait Time!

What artist can resist doing a self portrait at some point? I have done self portraits in pencil: one back in college which is lost somewhere in my mom's garage, and then another that I did a few years ago when I started up doing art again. (My first self portrait blog) At that time, I had also made an attempt at a watercolor portrait, which showed that I definitly needed more practice with watercolor portraits.
I decided to put out a challenge to the Group Watercolor Painting  community to do a self portrait, including myself. Shortly after that, while procrastinating by cleaning out my garage, I found yet another pencil self portrait that I don't even remember doing, folded and stuck into a book. The words "who are you?" on the bottom makes me think this was after college and before I had a job or knew what I was going to do with my life.
So here is my first watercolor self portrait that I am actually proud of doing. It was from a selfie took of myself as opposed to working with a mirror as I had done with my pencil drawings. My jaw looks huge because of the angle of the photo I took. I took the picture with a side light source to get some shadowing. ..and that was before I found my other self portrait. I do look much happier now!

Great Scott road biking watercolor

How is it that my posts sometimes just disappear? Anyways, here it is again...

I got an invitation to the Great Scott Road Bike and Walk event in celebration of May being Bike Month. The event closed down Scott Road as well as several other roads so that bikes could enjoy the  beautiful scenic oak-covered grassland that these roads go through without worrying about cars. I was invited to come out and plein air paint along the route. I got a late start though and didn't get out until it was too hot to sit for a couple of hours painting, so I did the next best thing and took pics with my phone so I could paint back at my studio. Once I got home, I combined a couple of my photos to make the composition for my painting, then traced it onto my paper and started to paint. I was not sure if I should include the barb wire, but I think it works. The spokes of the wheels, on the other hand, I decided to leave in pencil.

Full moon inspiration

Inspired by my Artist Way group, as well as the full moon last night, I created this piece around a quote that I had found on social media by Diana Cooper.

Today's full moon opens you up to your true soul energy.

I am not thrilled with my lettering skills (done with a sharpie), but I have been wanting to have an excuse to try splatter painting with a toothbrush for a long time.

focusing on tulips

This was an interesting challenge that a fellow artist, Isabella Kramer, posed to the Google+ community, Group Watercolor Painting, The concept behind the group is that we all paint in different styles, and to demonstrate this, we all paint the same picture in our own way. So this particular challenge is a tulip patch that was photographed with a very small depth of field, resulting in most of the blooms being out of focus.
I kept a spray bottle nearby to try to keep some edges "out of focus". I'm not sure if it's done yet but I had to step back and let it rest for a while.  What do you think?

Here is the original image.

April Gerten, by Isabella Kramer

Wild irises along the river, plein air

A beautiful spring day along the American River, I went out to enjoy the river and sun with some friends. Of course I was inspired to do some painting, with the wild irises all in bloom along the banks.
Why do I paint? I paint because it allows me to escape from work and go within to find joy. Painting creates an intimate connection with my subject, in this case, my favorite model, Mother Earth. This plein air painting done at William B. Pond is a perfect spot for demonstrating this: a quiet spot away from the bustle of the city where I can reconnect with nature.

I actually painted this same tree cluster a couple of years ago as one of my first plein air paintings, but from a different angle, William B Pond.  It is amazing to see how much my painting style has improved over the last couple of years.

Portrait of a pug

I recently went to a demonstration by Steve Walters and one of his tips to keep energy, passion, and spirit in a painting is to put bold colors down first as a kind of abstract under painting.  I thought I would give it a try with a photo of a pug that a fellow artist, Michael Salmon, shared. I think that the colors help keep the painting whimsical and it helped break up some of the black.

Lady in pool, watercolor

 I've always been fascinated by the way light and water react with each other. A reflection in the water is one thing, but when it is just the surface of the water bouncing the light around...that's a challenge I  had never attempted...before now. Thanks to fellow artist, Kelly Murphy, for the photo reference.
The first pic is after my first couple of washes, trying to save my whites ( I really need to invest in some masking fluid), and trying to get a gradation to represent the steps in the pool, while using the right side as an experimental area.  The next step is to add in the color of the lady, the shadow around the hat, and a few more tweaks with the water. I thought I might stop here, but then I decided to lift some of the color to create some highlights in the water. The larger areas I used a Mr. Clean sponge, but in order to lift the finer lines, I used a stiff wet brush. And lastly, to crop off the right side.
I'm ready to go for a swim. Anyone got a pool?