Bridge Fog

This painting started out as a sketch that I did in ink while Pam was driving over the San Rafael Bridge. I used some Canson drawing paper and randomly divided the paper into sections as I sketched. I added the pastel this week. Its always fun to work on these little sketches because they take me back to where I was when I did it.

Before Day

The sky fascinates me with its handiwork daily. I took the photo for this painting in my gym parking lot. It was early morning and the sky was about to sing. I worked on Uart 600 grit paper with variety of pastels. Painting the sky, in my opinion, is largely about nuance as opposed to bold hard strokes.

Flowers In The Fog

This years birthday trip to Fort Bragg, California was a success and challenge in many ways. We had a beautiful place to stay that overlooked the ocean and we decided to step out of the box with our dining habits. I did a ton of sketching and photographing. This sketch is of the flowers that grow along the beach and the ocean in the background. Fog was setting in but the flowers were still crisp.

Since I don't drive well on curvy roads, I get to be the passenger. I sketch the road as we go along. As I was drawing this one Pam asked me if I ever got car sick. This is a double page spread in my Rabisco sketchbook from Portugal. I almost finished this sketchbook during our trip. The paper is top quality and its perfect for sketching.

Bright Eyes

This person showed up in some of my photos and I just had to draw her. The challenge here was to get her eyes correct and I think I did. I have never spoken to her or know much about her but she has an amazing face to study and paint. The photo was taken during the day and the reflections had numerous colors. She will show up in more of my figurative pieces.

Before the Heat

This is what the sky looks like in the morning before the searing heat of the sun. To me this is the best part of the day. I took poetic license with the colors.

Poe's Raven

The photo that inspired this image was taken at Abbott's Lagoon on the Point Reyes National Seashore. I was testing out a new wildlife lens. This crow was sitting on a fence post squawking up a storm. I took poetic license with the colors and used masa paper as my surface.

Masculine Quandry

I am continuing to explore my sketches done during a performance by Ballet Austin. I love sketching during any event. I have even gotten good at sketching in the dark. I like the line quality you get when you really can't see much of what you are drawing. Masa paper with gesso was my surface of preference because of the irregularities in the paper. It makes one want to explore and get close.