Forms in the Ink IV

So this is the fourth of my series of Abstract Monotype Prints. In doing this, all sorts of wonderful things come forth. I had a lot of fun with the upper corner. I had a lot of fun accentuating certain aspects of the print.

"Children learn more from what you are than what you teach."

 -- W.E.B. Dubois

2012 Koolau - Olomana II

So here are last two of my landscapes from Sunday. Again, I must say that I have really been captivated by Mount Olomana. Above was painted at Olomana Community Park. The sun was much brighter. I love how the red ink looks on this painting.

This was my favorite painting of the morning.

This second painting is the view is from Maunawili Elementary. It actually is a great view of the first two peaks of Olomana. I am a little sad that the red ink from the previous page bled into the sky of this page. However, it still looks really good.

"All the arts we practice are apprenticeship. The big art is our life."

 ~ M.C. Richards

Olomana I

I hinted before I wanted to do a larger version of the landscapes of Olomana I have been doing. I worked on this painting and am very happy with it.

I am unsure if it needs a little more work or it is done.

Overall I am really happy with this painting.

I began the painting in Cadmium Red and Burnt Umber with the intent of painting the project green. The red under painting bleeds though in a few places and where the paint is thin. It makes the greens look brighter.

I'm really happy with the sky even though there was not a lot of work put in there.

HMoA Drawing Class 10/29/12 - Rachel

Another Monday life drawing class at the Honolulu Art Academy. I felt like I was on fire that night. I really like all the drawings I did that night, although  some may require additional work to finish.

The model today was Rachel. This is the first time I drew her.

Above it three 2 minute gesture drawings with two 5 minute sketches on either side and a 10 minute sketch in the center. I really like how the center sketch came out and I love how this page looks.  Another person in the class comment it looks kind of like Gauguin and I can see the comparison.

I like how I rendered her hands in this drawing. I can tell her fingers are interlocked and all the rendered in the three colors black, red, and yellow ocher. 
 

This is the first 20 minute pose on top of three 2 minute gesture drawings. Rachel sank deep into the chair for this pose and it was really fun to draw. I think i had a little to much fun drawing the chair and her robe on top of it.  

This was the third 20 minute pose with two 2 minute gestures. I really wanted to force the perspective on this one , so I got really low to the floor. I am having a little problem working out how to use the oil pastels on this red background. It is doing some odd things to the colors. I need to practice a little more with them.
 

This was the last pose of the night and I think I again need to spen a little more time on this sketch. We can see what Im able to do with it later in the week. 

So on a related note. I tried to go to the UH Sunday drawing class but could not find a time for it anywhere. So from now on all my posts about the Honolulu Art Academy Drawing Class will end with the following...

The life drawing class is on Monday at 7PM. It is located at the The Honolulu Museum of Art School, formerly the Academy Art Center at Linekona. There is a 10 dollar class fee.

Forms in the Ink III

So this is another in my series of Forms in the Ink: A set of abstract monotype prints in black and red.

There is a landscape format to this piece that I find rather interesting. I also enjoy the arch-shape that descends through the center of the page. The shape is first created by the ink. As it enters the center of the page, it is then created through the positive shape of the colored pencil. Its end being made by the negative shape of the ink and colored pen.

This is an interesting print. I had a little difficulty deciding what to do with it. The water on the print created a flower petal like shapes near the top of the print that I really enjoyed.

I tried to make my additions with the colored pencils look similar to the marks made with the print. I find this to be a neat exercise in composition and form.  I also find that a lot of the changes I made are very subtle and blend nicely with the print.
 

"Love is a constant source of inspiration, surprise, and wonderment."

 ~ Gloria Estefan

2012 - Koolau - Olomana I

I spent Sunday taking great delight in creating watercolor paintings of Mount Olomana located on the Windward side of Oahu, near my home in Kaneohe.

I learned from the Wikipedia article that the word "Olomana" means "divided hill" in Hawaiian. There are also names to all three peaks of the mountain. The first is called also called Olomana, the second is Paku'i,  and the third is Ahiki.

There is no end to the information on Wikipedia.  Or to my ongoing education.

I finished a total of four paintings. I will post two of them today and the last two in a few days.  I am struck by a number of things.  Above is a view from Olomana Community Park, and is very much the iconic view of Olomana.
 
The above picture was painted on October 28 at 9:20 in the morning. There was a real softness to the morning light that I tried to capture. There is a nice blue tinge to everything.

This painting above is a view from Kailua High School's baseball field.  The little bump on the left side is actually more of the Ahiki (backside) Ridge which is almost as long as the right peak. 

The second work was painted closer to noon--about 11:30-- and the noon sunlight is a lot more dramatic and harsh.

After working in Kailua for a little bit, I am finding that Olomana is really captivating as a subject and is very inspirational. I hope to use these studies for a series of larger paintings in acrylic and oil of the mountains.  I very much see these watercolors as studies for that larger project.

"Inspiration follows aspiration."

 ~ Rabindranath Tagore

HMoA Drawing Class - Kat in a Robe

So like I said on Tuesday,  I did a little more work on the last drawing from Monday's class. I thought it came out pretty good. 

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You, too? Thought I was the only one." ~ C. S. Lewis