Plant From Below

While thinking of a title for this picture, I thought plants are abstract by nature. Maybe that's why I like painting them. They make for nice portraits. I chose the vantage point below the plant to get a view of the sky.

Here's a peek in one of my sketch books. I love playing with ink and markers.

Structural Challenge

This is another piece from the theater event that I was part of. The ink drawing was done during the actual event on strips of Yupo paper. I later added more ink and watercolor. I think I spent about 1 minute on the sketch. I used a Parker fountain pen.

Intersection Companions

I found this old sketch during a recent cleaning binge. I added watercolor and here we are. I think the photo that inspired this painting was taken by my cousin who lived in New York at the time. I like how we become small groups when we cross the street.

Struttin It

Years ago I would walk around downtown Austin taking random photos of people. This lady stood out because of her outfit and confidence. She also reminded me of both my mom and grandmother. Her image has appeared in many of my paintings. I was cleaning out my upstairs spare bedroom and came across her photo. Here she comes again.

Steeple Shadows

This is my challenge for the year: to paint more structures in the urban landscape. My perspective has always been off so I will try and improve the weakness this year.

The Tatoo

I was recently part of a production that focused on the art model as opposed to the artist. The models spoke of various issue associated with modeling as they were being painted by a group of artists. They also projected imagery of artists in solo painting/drawing sessions with models. I worked primarily in ink on small pieces of Yupo. It was an honor to be part of the production.

Free Entertainment

The photo that inspired this painting was taken in early two thousand. The guy in the foreground was a down and out university professor and the background person was the "King of Sixth Street". I haven't seen him in years. Rumor is, the space was purchased by an upscale restaurant that didn't want him in front of their establishment. I thought he added flavor and he didn't beg for money. He just played his instrument and sang.