Loss

Here is a piece I have been working on as a personal assignment in my The Art Department Composition Class.

Dr Sketchy SF

Fun night down at 111 Minna with Dr Sketchy's and Sketch Tuesday where several artists created art and sold it immediately before spending there earnings at the bar for some great entertainment!

Figure Drawing at Crowdstar Nov 4th

Thanks to Crowdstar, we had an excellent model last Thursday from the Bay Area Models Guild.
All of our models are members, but I mention it to spread the word about a sort of competition to submit any artwork done from a BAMG member since 1946. This is the longest running guild of its kind in the United States and helps create the Renaissance of art that has happened in the San Francisco Bay Area since World War II. Your submission could be featured in the book they are compiling. Even if you don't get selected, you $5 fee will go toward supporting this excellent cause. Others who are submitting are Bay Area fine artists from all backgrounds, including my favorite company, Industrial Light & Magic, as well as Pixar, and perhaps Crowdstar! The deadline is December 31st, 2010.

Benbow Inn

Here are a couple sketches I did up at the Benbow Inn. My wife and I went up there this weekend to celebrate our 2nd Anniversary. It is a wonderful spot for anyone near Northern California, off the 101 about 3.5 hours North of San Francisco. It is a historic building which has the look and feel of an Old English Inn. The food is fantastic and the views of the surrounding Redwood Forests and Eel River are breathtaking.

Some Vignettes and a WIP Comp of Chaos

I have been learning terrific concepts in The Art Department class I am taking in composition. Here are some vignettes where I am trying to work the ideas of shape design, tonal pattern, overlap, and general composition out. Then I started a personal project as an abstract design, using alchemy as a base, then have been trying to sketch it up into a mythical battle scene.

Painting I am working on, and a Quick Richard Schmid study

Found this link to free digital versions of Illustration Magazine. It has terrific American Illustrators, all the pages, full resolution for free!

Motosketch

We had a terrific model who did 3 costume changes. She posed all over the nice Custom Harley and was dressed in period costume of the 1920s. Each month I look forward toward Darnel putting this event together.

VilleFranche Sure Mer

Just remembered to post up these Plein-Aire paintings I did off the balcony where I was staying in Villefranche on vacation. That was quite a relaxing scene to take in, and cruise ships would often visit the deep harbor to drop tourists bound for Nice.

Poster Design for TAD

Added some definition to the character and the text for the title as well as hilighted the city in the background, letting it live in the dark space in the center.

Gladiator Sketch

I am on vacation in France and attending a TAD class at the same time. Went to the Musee D' Orsay for the second time and did a sketch of a portion of Jeromes' great sculpture of the Gladiator scene.

Cuddly Lady Sketch

Took out a sketch I did a while back and tried some rendering techniques from Brad Rigney's tutorial "Hostile Takeover". This is still definitely more of a sketch, but I may turn it into a more tightly finished piece.

Avatar 10 min speed paints

Taking a cue from one of my favorite artists, Daryl Mandryk, I made some 10 minute speed paintings, pausing one of my favorite movies, Avatar. This is a great way to study composition, lighting and color keys, and gesture while not lingering on any details too long.

May motosketch

Had a great time at another wonderful Motosketch. Thanks Darnel, for organizing these wonderful events, every 3rd Sunday at the Tosca Cafe in North Beach, San Francisco!

Palace of Fine Arts

Here is a piece I have been messing around with for a while. Spent a good amount of time trying to get the right composition, and resisted the urge to make another dramatic, low light sunset image. Trying some full daylight out.

Swords woman study

Here is a study of a cast model which I found on Character Designs gallery of Monsters. Just under 2 hours.

Self Portrait

Did one in color, moved the little mirror. Brilliant sun coming up this morning made the lighting very spring like, plus Masha's Freesias helped as well.

Archery

Color update

35 min sketch from imagination. trying to get into a scene more than just a character.

Self Portrait

Well, when I went to do another self portrait this morning, I looked at my Wednesday post with horror. I almost wanted to delete it, but then realized that there is only going forward and it motivated me to do a series of these. I also learned that one of the challenges to doing a self portrait is being a good model, my head continues to shift toward the screen I am painting on, and tilt up, elongating and narrowing the proportions. Now I know what Masha goes through when I try to get her to sit still for a sketch, it goes against every impulse to fidget around. hopefully I can do enough of these to get a consistent likeness. And find some other models....

Self Portrait

35 Min Sketch this morning.

HOLI fundraiser

This blog is really an art place, but this event yesterday in Dolores Park was so fun, I just wanted to post a picture. Thats me and my wife Masha. This was to celebrate spring the Holi way, and raise money for the friend's of El Shadai foster home in Uganda. Thanks to everyone who came, we raised $2,200 which will go to the completion of the Orphanage and educational fees for more than 40 children.



Link to El Shadai on Facebook Causes.

MotoSketch

Last night was a good time at the Tosca cafe in North Beach. We had an excellent model, a full house of sketchers, DJ, and a custom bike. Here are some 20 minute sketches that I was able to do on that rainy Sunday evening.

Whip It Revisited

There were some anatomy fixes that were bothering me, as well as some changes to the costume design to make it clearer and easier to read. Also I spent more time rendering the surfaces to give it that added pop to the foreground character, sharpening some areas which needed defining.

Not perfect but I learned some lessons about getting ahead of myself without resolving the anatomy early on.

Transit Fee Hikes Create Apocalypse

Here is an environment rough paint that started as a sketch 2 days ago on the 38 Geary, while listening to the recording which proposes yet another fee hike. Somehow this image was a response to that, I suppose I disagree with the proposal. This is a disused transit line left to decay.

Whip It

A Concept from imagination I have been working out. Lately I have been doing many studies of anatomy to improve my people. I still have a long way to go, but I see some improvement.

Iraqi Swing

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This is a personal piece based on a memory from my tour in Mosul, Iraq back in 2004-2005. Violence is so commonplace that these girls kept playing on their makeshift swing during fire fight with militants. The swing was made of electrical wires tied to an overhang, and the girls were playing directly in the line of fire, and made no attempt to flee as the fire fight took place.

I tried a few different styles to try and catch the right mood, Critiques welcome.

Low Tech

Going for the 80's version of hi tech in this concept portrait.

Study from Avatar

Perhaps I like this movie a little, too much. Hey, how often is there a movie that looks this good? Another study, about 2 hours.

Colonel

Photo Study

A couple studies

Just working on proportions from a couple photo sources.

Ice Mining

An environment in which men are seeking a valuable material from underneath a glass-like Ice world. They use super heating laser torches to prime the surface for drilling and extraction. Yes, I started this the day after watching Avatar, though it is a very different world, the concept is the same.