King's Ridge

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." ~ Edgar Degas

So another landscape of the Ko'olaus. This was done from Hoomaluhia Botanical Gardens.

Koolau Golf Course

"To be an artist is to believe in life."
~ Henry Moore

So again from my sketchbooks.

Watercolor pencils-- how simple and convenient. I haven't been using them as often because I do not like the strange colors I end up with. This is especially noticeable in some of the figure drawings I have using them.

So we have a small mountian ridge as seen from one of the ballrooms of the Koolau Golf Course. I need to go back there and do a few more drawings, their view of the the mountains is amazing.

Kaneohe from Kualoa

So going though my room I found a few landscape sketches. After looking at them I think i need to do a few more landscapes.

So this was done at Kualoa Beach Park where I had spent many a weekend camping with My Boy Scout troop.

I remember this was one of the afternoons I went drawing with Brittney I think its really strange I used just simple pencil. Maybe I should draw a bit more in pencil, see what i can do with it.

Girl Reading a book

So after I finished this painting I went through a lot of trouble to find out this girls name. Asking various people around till someone knew her name. Alas I doubt it is a good idea to give out her name over the internet so she will be known by the generic "Girl."

This is one of my favorite watercolors.

I'm debating if i should darken the figure to play up the contrast of the shadow and the light.

Educational Assistant

So I think it's funny, of all the watercolors I put up from the original book last year, I left out two of the better ones. I really like the computer monitor behind her and the various junk on her desk. All in all this is a really good painting.

"A manager is an assistant to his men."
~ Thomas J. Watson 

Danielle Monotype

"Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns 
in order to look at things in a different way."
~ Edward de Bono

So last week I went out to the IOOF Cabins in Laie. In days gone by, the isolated Laie was a sanctuary. Riding to the North Shore of Oahu and staying there next to the ocean is a real treat of beauty and peace.

I took the opportunity and space to work on some new Monotype Prints. As I rework them, I will begin to post them here.

So I reworked this one with a portrait of Danielle.

I really like how the drawing seems to fade into the ink of the print itself. The lines and shapes of the Monotype Print seem to cut across the portrait. Its looks almost like the portrait was part of the ink of the Monotype, then I began to scratch into the ink for the print.

Alea

"I believe that the physical is the geography of the being."
~ Louise Nevelson

Last week Friday, I went to Friday Figure Drawing at WCC. Of the three drawings I did that day, this was the best. It was two, 25-minute poses. The model's name was Alea.

One comment I got from my fellow students was,

"You really have no fear of color."

I really had to chuckle to myself at that one. The comment most of my family has been giving me about my Art work is that, "It's so dark." So maybe I got over it? Personally I think its just the oil pastels... heh.

My Dad's Buddy, Nick

 

"The little unremembered acts of kindness and love are the best parts of a person's life."
~ William Wordsworth

So I had an Odd Fellows Meeting on Tuesday and as always meetings are code for drawing time. This time I drew one of my Dad's friends, Nick. This painting actually came out really nice and I am very proud of it.

Nick is a very down-to-earth guy. He is the one who collected scores of bottle corks for me when I said I wanted to make various crafts out of them. He also collects a large amount of soda caps that my dad slowly turns in for Coke rewards. He apparently walks daily and collects the soda and beer bottles he finds on the road for recycling. Not to mention he has always been incredible nice to me.

My Sketchbook 01/10 - 02/10

So going through my mess of a room I have begun to go through some of my sketchbooks. And taking a cue from my mother I have decided to post a collection of my sketches online. These are almost a year old and were done while I was working in my job with special needs children.

These are all of the same student and was possibly one of the most difficult cases I have ever worked on. I cannot say much more then that. I hope you enjoy my sketches.

"Odd how the creative power at once brings the whole universe to order."
~ Virginia Woolf

"It’s not our art, but our heart that’s on display." ~ Gary Holland

Monotype - Figures in the Ink - 7

"Close both eyes to see with the other eye."
~ Jalaluddin Rumi

Making figures out of forms...

So for this one I attempted to make seemingly random forms on the print with the understanding that I would later define the shapes with watercolor and color pencils.

It was after a lot of staring I got the figure on the left to appear.

Monotype - Figures in the Ink - 6

Another monotype print...

This one actually took a bit to come together. I spent a lot of time playing with the various watercolors in the background and around the figure.

I have been told by some of my friends that they get a Native American Chief vibe from this because of the headdress looking form on the left figure. I actually only planned the two figures and that "headdress" form was an attempt to focus attention on that figure. The second figure was almost lost completely on the initial print. Its just part of the joy and serendipity of creating Monotype Prints.