Before there was painting, pen and digital, there was the pencil, for me. It is my favorite tool even to this day and I don't get to do it even that often anymore. My favorite pencil is Prisma and these are done with "Steel" color. Goes on like lead but you can't erase and it does not smear. These are drawings from a great black and white book I bought from the Swap meet a few weeks ago called A Pictorial History of the American Theatre 100 Years 1860 1960 by Daniel Blum. Great pictures of the actors back then and the costumes are incredible. These are folds and clothing studies.

This shot was in the same scene as the previous. I just love the colors. For a friend.

BACK FROM THE CON:

THANK YOU for all those who were kind enough to look at my color journal. The response was really good. And especially thank you to the folks at Riot Games who saw me at the end of the day, even tho my name was at the end of your list, past the "cut off" time. You were kind enough to sit down with me, and take the time to have a look. I was not expecting to do any portfolio reviews, swallowed my nervousness, after watching you view other portfolios on iPads, iPhones, beautiful book portfolios, and here I was, marching in with an old fashion book, a female among the tide of young male Photoshoppers...it must of have been an surprise and it must have been refreshing. And those sitting next to me, eyeing the competition were awfully nice too..

Done on Strathmore Bristol Vellum for another friend. Acrylic. It was heaven to finally incorporate such cool reds as Quinacridone Violet, Deep Magenta, Quinacridone Blue Violet; fun to explore with the turbined guy on the left. Another best.

And one for me in my color journal. I really struggled with this. I think I have been just hot and tired lately and it shows. The heat kills me..

Smaller than usual, acrylic, 3"x4 1/2" on Strathmore Bristol Vellum for a friend. I don't usually give paintings away, but have been getting a lot of requests from friends. This paper is much more porous, really showcases the brushstrokes well. Glides, rather than skitters accross the surface. Scanned dark, yet another bad scan!

Goat study for the Eohippus on LePardine's shoulders. It came out so nice I decided to post it.

Late night shenanigans...

Ruff Stuff:

Inspired from the photo I took last weekend of the figures coming out of the shadows (see last week's post) I came up with this. Will have LePardine and companions coming out of dappled sunlight from a conifer forest. Want to show the relationships between the characters and looking for that strong silohuette, numero uno. The creature on LePardine's shoulders is a Eohippus, the Dawn Horse.

I've included a single unobstructed view of my character, LePardine so you can see the nice silohuette working here...

One of the best entries...and horrible scan. The skin tones are wonderful in the original.

Zoo Drawings!

On a rare trip I actually got out of the house, treated myself to a visit to the zoo with my daughter and a friend. Because I am such a fan of Natural History and I like to draw inventive animal figures, sketching at the zoo was cake. The variety of shapes, silohuettes, and the rhythm of anatomy is just astounding. I have not drawn at the zoo in years. I was focused on strange lesser known animals and am just floored at what I did not know existed in the world of mammals. Ever hear of a muntjac, an agouti, a babirusa, or a chevrotain? (And who the heck names these creatures??) These creatures will be models for the World of LePardine, as she lives in the Ice Age World of Mammals.

My challenge while drawing in public was trying to ignore rude children and the ignorant and disrespectful behaviors of both parents and children. I come quietly, draw quietly, and leave quietly; I don't yell and scream at the poor, hot jag pacing fanatically in it's cage and maybe this is one of the reasons I don't go to the zoo much. Also I have a big problem with blood sugar levels; my line is fluid and accurate in the morning and quickly disintegrates as the day goes on. Thus, I can count on 2 solid hours of real good work while out in the field sketching.

Drawn with a ball point pen in my color journal. My favorite tool? A Hello Kitty fine point which has dependable and fluid ink.

I also liked the way the figures are coming out of the shadows.

These were taken with an old Samsung phone which I only use to take quick shots. At the time we could not get any reception with ATT but the camera phone takes great photos. I was happy with the features on the phone except I could not call anyone!

Exploring Color
I took these on the way home yesterday. A colorist's dream. On Highway 101 there was this place called Gilroy Gardens and we stopped to buy a pot. I am always on the look out for anything visual; anything that resonates with what I am learning. If I can't stop to paint I take a photo.

The top photo is unaltered. I love the way the light blue highlight came out; it is one of my favorite colors these days and you will see a lot of it in my paintings. It looks like I messed with it in Photoshop but I did not.

In the second shot from the top there is a photo of the violet pots. Top left pot has a reflection of two pots~this is my favorite part of the photo. It's just a reflection but it looks so cool I could not have done a better job painting it myself.

Took a trip to the Bay Area and back. Painted these at the Mother-In-Law's house. Both hardly took time at all. You can see the casualness of the brushstrokes, confidence building. I'm getting to a point where I know where to stop and how to address the over all picture in a consistent manner. I work the entire image then focus on the areas I want to suggest a little more selective detail. But it takes experience, I'm finding, restraining oneself to a level that the painting reads well and does not need to have anymore done with it and still looks good. Do not over bake, do not overcook, so to speak; put the brush down; you are done; etc.

Underpainting...

Chuck, Arnel, Michael, John, Helen, Kelly, Ravenstone, and Miller, thank you for signing up as followers. You guys rock! I am filled with gratitude! Keep drawing, painting, creating and reach for stars!

Kim

Spent way too much time on this. Another bad scan; the original looks so much better. You have to have good drawing skills for this one. Viggo's chiseled face was so much fun to paint!

Beginnings.

10 minute block in from remaining pallette. Still even looser. Will try to get back tomorrow. Gotta help with dinner now..

Return to this great looking fellow. I'm going to try to get more shots of him; he's just delicious to paint. Feeling more confident; color mixing really coming along and I am learning to trust myself more; dragging the brush now!

Roughly 5 1/2" x 4" on thick moleskin paper (bound sketch book), acrylic. Had started blocking this one in a few days ago, finished it today. A little over an hour total. Pure joy.