Friend Monotypes: All together

On December 30th we celebrated Chris's Birthday in Waikiki. I originally planned to make this series of monotypes as a Christmas gift for this group of friends. However, I waited for them all to be together to get this photo of them holding their portraits. It is a great photo of all of them. Very pleased.

"Smile your best smile at everyone you see. 

Think about all the things you have to be thankful for... 

and smile. 

The world will smile with you."

 ~ Frank Bettger

Framed Christmas Presents

As I hinted at before, I was doing the sketches of my students to frame and give as gifts to their families.

The after school program I help out with is called Autism Arts. The kids in the drawings made the frames the pictures are in out of an old headboard. The students did the majority of the work: they cut the wood with assistance, they glued the frames together, they finished the wood and then did spot refinishing.

It was a great project and it should make a lovely gift for their families.
  

HAA Drawing Class 12-17-12 - Kat

My Monday drawing class is going to be off for the next two weeks. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve falling on a Monday are great reasons to cancel class.

There was a holiday party during the class; there was food, there was wine and most importantly there was egg nog. Kat was the model and she is so much fun to draw. 

I did really well on the gesture drawings that night. I really like their shape and lines. Above is my favorite page of the night. Kat was standing under the lamp and the shadows it created on her body were very neat.

I also an trying a new ink color background. This purple Magenta. It ia a cool reddish color. I'm really liking it in these sketches.

Above is 2 two minute gestures, 2 five minute poses and 1 ten minute pose. This is not my favorite set of sketches. I may have to scrap the oil pastel and try again.
 

This was the first of the ten minute poses with 3 two minute gestures. I really like this page too. It was a toss up which was the better of the two purple pages. There is a little funkiness with her leg that I could fix up.  I do like how I rendered her hands.

This was the last pose of the night and it needs a little more work to be a great pose. There is a nice feel to it. I like the line quality and motion in the gesture. It just needs a little more time. We will see what I can do with it.


This 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.

Friend Monotype 2012: Chris

The last in this particular group of monotypes.  Chris Martin is one of my oldest adult friends.

He is like Johnny Cash, a man in black. I worked had to have a black on black on black theme for this print. He is a Final Fantasy addict and ran a D&D game for this group of friends we all still speak fondly of to this day.

Student Drawings VII

Again a set of student drawings. No names again.

Friend Monotype 2012: Brandon

This is a monotype portrait of my friend Brandon. This is not the first of these I did for Brandon.

So Brandon is my War Machine guru and the man ho got me into that little miniature game. He is also one of my few friends from this circle that I can routinely rope into a Camarilla game, though he very soon realizes his error.  Brandon is always game for a dorky card game, board game or session of an RPG. He also has a ridiculous collection of dice.

Trip to the Aquarium

I took a trip last Sunday to the Honolulu Aquarium. I took the opportunity to do a few sketches of random sea creatures.  I did two drawings that trip.

The above one is of a giant grouper that is in the large shark tank. It had a lot of beautiful spots in its tail.

Above is a nautilus. I was actually really excited because it moved around the tank as I was drawing it. Normally the nautali are rather boring, against a wall not doing much.   When I started drawing this one it began to jet water motor across the tank.

UH Figure Drawing 12-16-12 - Alex

 Last week was the first week I went to the UH figure drawing workshop. It was the first time I went to it in years. At least since 2005.

The model was Alex.  He was wearing a green shit that said, 'black Mormon' he was built like a bodybuilder and there is probably a story as to why he was modeling at the class. He was not dynamic in his poses but he had a good sense of the room.

I had a really good afternoon. 

Above is my favorite of the night, It is 4 two minute poses with 1 20 minute pose in it. This was a rough pose for Alex to keep, all his weight on his arms so had to keep adjusting. However, I think the drawing looks really great.

Above is 1 two-minute gesture, 2 five minute drawings and a ten minute pose. The center pose on this one looks pretty neat.

 I got into trouble after the gesture drawings for using sharpies. The guy running the class said they ban pens with strong smells because of some people in the class's sensitivities. I honestly never realized that could be a concern. I will have to look at non-smelling alternatives. 

 Above is 2 two minute gestures and a 20 minute pose. Again this won looks really good too. I like this page on how it came out.

Above is 3 two minute gestures and a 20 minute pose.  There is again there is a really good feel to this page. I am really getting the hang of figure placement.  

At the workshop I saw Yoko Radke. She is an older woman I would see at the WCC drawing class. Its good to see her still drawing. She is amazing by the way, if you don't know her work I recommend you take a look at this google image search. 

This was the last pose of the afternoon. I had mistakenly been told the pose order so didn't have a gesture page prepped for this one. So it looks a little plain. I will have to use the page in another drawing set in the future.

The UH figure drawing workshop is Sunday at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Art building.  It begins at 9:30 in the morning and runs till 12:30. There is a 5 dollar class fee.

Friend Montoype 2012: Ryan

So this is monotype portrait of one of my friends. This it Ryan.

Ryan is the accursed bearer of the orange dice of doom, which will has the unfortunate knack of always rolling 3. Ryan is an aspiring Japanese linguist and the crafter of the Micheal Jackson D&D game that still lives in infamy amongst this group of friends. 

Student Drawings VII

This is one of the first of these I can talk about. Scott isn't a student but volunteers in the after school program.  He was the one who gave me the line "ASD makes tough art critics."

When I show him the drawing he said, "That sorta looks like me," in the same way he said before. I was bracing my ego for  his next line, but he said nothing and smiled. I think he really likes this drawing.

Another student.

"Every good work has to face opposition, 

and the reaction of the opposition offered always helps the work." 

~ Meher Baba

HAA Drawing Class 12-10-2012 - Adele

Adele was the model yesterday at the Honolulu Art Academy Figure Drawing class.  Last time she was in, I had a really bad day drawing. Today I had a pretty good day.

Above is my favorite of the night. It is the second 20 minute pose of the night on top of 2 two minute gestures. The light and dark in this pose was really dynamic and interesting. The blue shadow also is doing the work of pulling the figure forward. I also am liking the yellow ocher as transitional highlight; it is creating a neat effect here.  I really like this drawing.

Above is the 4 two minute gestures with 2 five minute pose and a ten minute pose on top. It is a interesting page but not my favorite. I do really like the figure on the right side. 

This was the first 20 minute pose of the night. Adele was siting on a high chair so her body is foreshortened. I was unable to accurately show that foreshortening so her body looks squat. I may go back into this drawing, because that gesture drawing on the left is very dynamic.

So in an act of forgetfulness,  I only brought 3 pages of toned paper that night. I have gotten to a point where I know I will use 4 pages of paper in a night there.  So for the last pose I had to do something other then oil pastels. I did the last pose in watercolor. However being a watercolor, it will take a little more time to complete. So end story, there is one more piece from that night, but it needs a little more work before I post it

This 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.

"The people we are in relationship with are always a mirror,

reflecting our own beliefs, and simultaneously we are mirrors,

reflecting their beliefs... one of the most powerful tools for growth..."

~ Shakti Gawain

Wall Mural - First Cherry Blossoms

It's been rainy on the windward side. So it's been hard to photograph artwork for the site.

Looking through other work I have done, this piece jumped out at me. Amazing that I have not already posted it.

Danielle's apartment has a sliding door in it. I got commissioned to paint something on the sliding wall.

I wanted it to look like a Japanese print. My joke was it was going to be an interpretation of "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife" (Wikipedia link NSFW).

I worked from an image Danielle found that she wanted it to look like. I was rather successful, here is the image on the wall.   

As I post this online, it is very clear that the next time I'm in North Carolina there is a mural to be done on on my mom's wall too.

"Go for it baby! Life ain't no dress rehearsal." 

~ Tallulah Bankhead

Around the Anima Table

So we are playing an Anima Game tonight run by Chris. 

I am using the red and black ink and doing drawings of the other players at the game. Above is Ashlyn. I do like the pose and how this drawing looks.

Above is a portrait of Brandon. Its actually a really good likeness of him.

"Liking one person is an extra reason for liking another."

 ~ E. M. Forster

Student drawings VI

More student drawings.

I am trying to do a bunch for them so my students will be able to take their art home for Christmas.

Again no names. But they still shine like stars.

"Generosity pays off in myriad ways."

 ~ Jane Champagne

Work Meeting - Part II

This was the second painting I did during the work meeting. I really like how I rendered the NOS energy can. It was actually a lot of fun to draw.

"People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing."

 ~ Dale Carnegie

IOOF - Jerri

There was an Odd Fellows meeting this Tuesday and I used it as an opportunity to give this painting out.  It is both good practice and great fun to do these drawings during the meetings.

Painting helps me to focus on what's going on and it gives pleasure to the people I paint. So it is win-win.

This painting is of Jerri. She is the wife of the current leader of the organization and head of the scholarship committee. This is a good likeness, although her face here is a little bigger then it should be. It is my bane, it seems, making the heads too big for the figures. I am getting better at it, though. Practice!

"There is a sort of mediated ecstasy that occurs 

when you actually do the 'work' of painting. 

That is to say, you can't have too much fun." 

~ Brett Busang

Manny

Another portrait of a friend. It actually is a really good likeness of Manny.

I used a yellow watercolor pencil on this one to varied effect. I like how some of the figure and portrait look here. 

"There are some days when I think 

I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction."

 ~ Salvador Dali

HMoA Drawing Class - 12-03-12 - Tina

Yesterday was figure drawing at the Honolulu Art Academy and I rocked last night's class. I am really happy with the pages from yesterday. Above is arguably my favorite of the night.  It is three 2 minute gestures with a 30 minute pose on top.

"Thirty minutes?" You say, "I thought the classes pose were 20 minutes."

They normally are, but someone had the great idea of one longer pose at the end and I really thank them. This was a reclining pose so I cropped the figure like that on purpose and I think it creates a neat effect.  Looking back on the figures, I was really liking the yellow ocher and the red that night. I think they look great together in this drawing. The red shadows look really neat, too.

 

You can see my process with these in this one above. During the 10 two minute gesture poses, I filled up four pages with drawings to use later in the night. Then during the longer poses I placed them with the figures and the wash background. Last night, I doubled up on the set of poses on a single page, so I have this page of gesture drawings. A pretty good set of them at that.    

This page is two 2 minute gesture drawings in pen, with two 5 minute poses, with a 10 minute pose and a 20 minute pose.  I really like this page. There is such a play between all the figures on the page. I really like this page.

I really like this page as well. There is such a nice mood and feeling in this drawing.  It came out very well.

Not sure how this crop of it looks. If it improves the drawing or not. 

This 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.

"Naked is a human commodity. Nudity is God's art." 

~ David Allio

Work Meeting - Josh

So I had a training meeting this weekend. As always, I took the opportunity to paint. 

This is Josh. He has worked with me, helping one particular case. This is a pretty good likeness of him.

I am a little unhappy with how big the head looks. Part of it is the foreshortened arms and it looks odd with the baggy clothing.

"Nothing in a portrait is a matter of indifference. 

Gesture, grimace, clothing, decor even – 

all must combine to realize a character." 

~ Charles Baudelaire

Gesture Drawings

Here is a set of my work from the Windward Community College (WCC) gesture drawing class.

This is a really nice page of gestures. I especially like the drawing on the upper left corner.  

Here is that figure cleaned up and cropped. 

I used a black tambo pen for this set of drawings. The drawing class is on Fridays at WCC at 9:30 AM. There is a 5 Dollar Class fee.  The college vision is Ka Mālamalama o ke Ko‘olau - “Enlightening Ko‘olau.” The school is a jewel in the University of Hawaii system.

"Draw, as much and as often as you can. 

When drawing lies fallow, the skill diminishes." 

~ Gene Black

Danielle - Back

This is a great painting of Danielle.

My goal with this was to paint her figure quickly with as few strokes as possible. I think in that regard I am very successful. Other artist I have showed this too really like it as well. There is a spontaneity to the piece that makes it very interesting to look at.

 I really think this painting was very successful.

"Maybe the poets are right. Maybe love is the only answer." 

~ Woody Allen

Student Drawings V

 So more drawings of students.

Again no names.

Odd Fellows - Nona

So another portrait from an Odd Fellows meeting. This is Nona, she is married to Alvin. I both really like and hate this portrait. I like the pattern on her pants and the likeness. However I really do not like how upset the painting makes her look. It is a really good painting though.

HMoA Drawing Class 11-26-12 - Kat

Another Drawing class at the Honolulu Art Academy. Kat was the model this week and I have had some good luck with her in the past. She is really fun to draw.

Above is my favorite of the night. It was the second 20 minute pose of the night with four 2 minute gesture drawings. I was on fire that night. I remember being shocked when the 5 minute warning bell came it because I was doing great on time. Which is a rare and  a great feeling to have in a 20 minute pose.

After I finished one of the other people in the class said, "The Girl with the Pearl Earring." pointing at the portrait. I laughed and can see the resemblance. This gesture drawings in the back are also pretty awesome.

This is the two 5 minute poses with the 10 minute pose. I am unsure how good this picture is. I like the figure on the left though.

This is the first 20 minute pose with two 2 minute gestures. Instead of burnt sienna like normally i used a green to start the drawing. I then did the lights in yellow ocher. I do like some things about this drawing. I really like the hand. Though I think it can be cropped...

It looks much better in this layout.

Last pose of the night. I like how this one came out. I needs a little more work, I may come back to it later.

This 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.