Gaysone

"Every good artist paints what he is."
~ Jackson Pollock

Another watercolor from a meeting on Monday, April 4th. I like the feeling of this one. I get a really stark cold feeling that is kind of neat.

Mike at a Training Meeting

"A human being is not, in any proper sense, a human being till he is educated." ~ Horace Mann

More time spent in training for work. At least I'm able to get some drawing time in. This is Mike. I have substituted for him a few times for his case out in Ewa Beach. We were both at this meeting for the same reason: 40 CEU (Continuing Education ???) Basically, we have to do 40 hours of additional training per year. It's not hard, just a hurdle. I am told this requirement may be lowered for the next year. Just as I plan to leave. I really like how Mike's shirt came out in this painting. It actually looks very dynamic.

Man Discretely Checking his Cell Phone

"Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions."
~ Pablo Picasso

So I spent this weekend in a training meeting for work. As normal, I take the opportunity to get some good drawing time in. So here we have a fellow co-worker getting in some serious cell phone time. He was trying to be discrete by using his body and the table as a wall, but he obviously was on it for sometime as I was able to complete a candid drawing of him.

There are a lot of good details in this painting. I love how the t-shirt came out. I have been trying to be more careful with the watercolor pencil recently. When I return to an unfinished piece, the burnt sierra just takes over the drawing sometimes. I may have to switch to a lighter color for the initial sketches. Possibly a yellow ocher, as it will make for a hearty initial sketch and allow for more expression in the watercolor.

Danielle Listening to Her Playlist

"Music heard so deeply that it isn't heard at all, but you are the music while the music lasts." ~ T.S. Eliot

So in a grand romantic gesture, Danielle and I decided to make a mixed playlist for one another. I recommended this after seeing her collection of mixed CD's in her car. We both have similar music taste, so it seemed like a fun activity.

While she was listening to my playlist I did a quick sketch of her. I think this watercolor came out very nice. I went back to more classic techniques blocking in everything with a pencil instead of a watercolor pencil. In most every watercolor I've posted here, I started them with a Burnt Sienna watercolor pencil to block in everything. It leads to a rich color in the finished painting but sometimes it becomes a little dominate. I really am going to try and be more sparing in my initial drawings.

Green and Red

So another Monotype Print.

I worked back through this one with color pencil adding the green and yellow highlights to the piece. I thought the shapes looked like banana leaves and that was how I colored them. I really like the complementary color play between the red block ink and the green color pencil.

Chris and Sarah around the Game Table

"Talking with a friend is nothing else but thinking aloud. " ~ Joseph Addison

So while playing D&D, I decided to make a quick sketch of my friends. I may have overworked Sarah on the right but I really like some of the details in this painting. I may have to do an oil painting of my D&D table. Sounds like a future project.

Student on the Computer

"Love many things for therein lies the true strength, whosoever loves much performs much and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well." ~ Vincent Van Gogh

This drawing has a good feeling to it. I am a little disappointed in how much I ended up fighting the watercolor pencil in this drawing. The brown in it is just a little consumptive of the other colors.

Monotype - Figures in the Ink - 4

I had a lot of fun with these prints.

This was a really light press but all the figures are very dynamic. It was a difficult choice whether to rework this one or not. I eventually decided not to.

Monotype - Figures in the Ink - 3

"Love is the greatest refreshment in life." ~ Pablo Picasso

This was another Monotype Print. I reworked the left side with watercolor. I really like the contrast between the crisp lines of the monotype and the soft flow of the watercolor. I think the head of this figure is dynamic, it sort of reminds me of a Picasso face. It looks like multiple sides and views of a face expressed in a single image.

Monotype - Figures in the Ink - 2

This is a series of gesture drawings done on the Plexiglas plate. Unlike many of my other mono-type prints I didn't rework this one with watercolor of pencil. I think the figure at the end makes this piece.