6th Street Past

Years ago I got my haircuts over on the East side of Austin, Texas. Back then you didn't have too many hipsters. I've been here since 1990 so I have gone through phases in Austin. We have always had hipsters, now we just have more. When I roamed 6th street with my camera I found this guy in the foreground and the "King of 6th Street" in the background. Turns out that the foreground guy was a former professor at Huston Tillotson who had turned to drugs to resolve a heartbreak. I don't know what happened to either person as I rarely frequent 6th Street anymore. I have painted both many times. I first knew of the foreground character's history when I was getting my hair cut. He came into the barber shop and they had to kick him out. When he left they told me his story. I had also encountered him earlier the same day on the bus to the barbershop. That was my clue that I should paint him and I have many times.

Breakfast Competition

This painting was fun. I rarely paint deer. It wasn't an easy painting either. The underpainting was three strips of watercolor. Originally I had planned to paint a field of sunflowers but chose this composition instead. This image is from a photo taken by a work mate. He lives out in Dripping Springs, Texas and his family feeds breakfast to their deer population.

More sketches from the week long seminar I attended.

Family Heirloom With Tomatoes

Another painting to add to my "counter top" series. I was given this set of dishes when I graduated from high school. Mrs. Mabel gave them to me and I still have them to this day. I don't know why I keep these things, but I do. Holly from work gave me the tomatoes which were from her garden. I worked on this one on multiple occasions so many perspectives are reflected.

Whenever I have to attend a seminar I sketch. This young man accused me of stalking him because I drew him. I guess his accusation is true because I did evaluate and judge him when I rendered his likeness. I liked his glasses most as I considered them stylish. He was a pretty man to me in that he had great features.

Drunk Still Life

Once I read that Cezanne often painted his still lifes from life. He would work on a painting over many sessions and would sometimes forget where his original painting position was. I'm doing that myself because I don't paint from the same position over multiple sessions. Even if I am in the same position my viewpoint changes. Thus the name "Drunk Still Life" because of the many perspectives I painted it from.

Across The Roadway

Whenever we stay in Fort Bragg this is the view across from the hotel in the morning. I'm usually the one that goes to fetch breakfast so I get this treat. Hopefully, I will get to see it next month for my birthday. Nothing fancy here just straight up watercolor on a large piece of paper.

Make My Day

This painting has been sitting on my floor waiting for a finish for a while. I took it and another painting with me to the gallery yesterday and finished both. This is yet another in my kitchen counter top series. I started with a watercolor under painting for the first layer . I went in with a layer of pastel which I dissolved with an alcohol wash. The final pastel layer was added with some blending.

Different Directions

A cityscape inspired by my recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina. After the presentation I went out with cameras and sketchbooks. It was hot and muggy but I got in quiet a few photos and sketches. I was attracted to the buildings and the people. I was in the coffee shop of the hotel one morning and in walks this guy in a yellow searsucker suit and sporting a light yellow bow tie. I only had my camera phone and didn't get the shot before he left.

This is a sketch from yesterday's baby prosecutors course. As you can see it has been quite a marathon. I learned a lot and got some motivation.

Point Reyes Poppies 2

I'm still inspired by the photo that I used for this painting. I am dividing it up into individual sections as I tend to print 8 by 10 photos to paint from. Photoshop was also utilized to bump up the color and saturation. A watercolor under painting was the first layer followed by pastel. I intentionally left some of the watercolor showing. I am now doing some plein air work whenever we visit Point Reyes. I think that informs these paintings. This week I am in training to meet my license requirements. I hope to fill my sketchbook and start some 6 by 6 watercolors before it ends. Maybe I will give a peek into that sketchbook too.

My Way Or The Highway

A small painting completed from life last week. I had a floral arrangement on my kitchen counter last week this is one of the paintings from that setup. I also had some cherry tomatoes and cups in the setup. I will post those soon. The title came to mind when I was examining the painting before scanning it. I worked on a stone surface that works similar to the Yupo surface. I like it because you can work in multiple layers.

A little watercolor study for a larger painting. This one is 3 by 5 inches. New England foliage season.

Light At The Bend

The photo I used for this one is of the New England area during the foliage season. I would really like to go up during that season to spend a few days shooting and painting in the area. This painting is 4 by 6 inches and I didn't work with an under painting.

I painted this picture while sitting on my sister's front porch during one of my many visits home. I worked with Masa paper that had been crinkled and gessoed. I like the almost stained glass like look that it can sometimes take on.

Point Reyes Poppies

A while back Pam sent me some photos of the poppies on the Point Reyes National Seashore. She was out enjoying the area so she shared her joy with me. I bumped up the saturation a bit in photo shop. I started out with a watercolor under painting which looks a lot like the study posted below. I then used a variety of pastels to finish up. I intentionally left some of the watercolor uncovered.

Sunflower Guardians

During my last trip up to commerce I passed this field (or what appeared to be) of sunflowers. I pulled over and took a few photos and continued on my journey. This is an interpretation of what I saw. I worked on guessoed masa paper. I like the surface texture.

Since this photo has lots of information, I painting it in squared off sections. I did go home for Independence day and the flowers were leaning forward because they were heavy with seeds. An office mate told me that farmers plant sunflowers around tender crops to protect them from the winds.

The watercolor version of "Really Wild".

Really Wild

I still going through my flower phase and I'm working from life. I feel as if there is more energy in a painting done from life as opposed to from photos. That is just an opinion that will change when I next work from photos again. I started out with an under painting in watercolor and then covered it with juicy pastels.

La Jolla Iceplants 2014

I posted the 4 by 4 inch study for this painting a few days ago. This is the pastel version at 8 by 8 inches. I have had this photo for years trying to figure out how to make a painting out of it. I finally cropped in into a square format and found my painting. Its a painting of the iceplants and ground cover in La Jolla, California. I started out with a watercolor underpainting and blocked in the pastel when it was dry. My next version will be painted on "stone" paper which is similar to Yupo.