I finished a gift for a special friend. Robert Farrell loves pirates so I found this great tiny brass frame antique at the Saugus Swap meet a few years ago and painted character images from the movie franchise. Robert's portrait is the third pirate. Thank you, Robert, for teaching me a new skill!

Sprites of the Forest

..now to this gorgeous pencil concept drawn this morning...this is how it looks before committing to pen. It's all there in the rough, as it should be. The silohuette, the attitude, the anatomy, the design. This particular rough will be open to many "opportunities" for glorious color abstraction, a riot of designed shadow shapes, "opportunities" galore to plus out the figure and make the design flow. Color notes say "figure neutral tones, saturated flowers~pinks." I was thinking of muted colors on the figure but everything else will be more saturated in colors, the flowers, the dragons, peacock feathers in her hair, (as you would see a redwood in the forest). Last week I took a trip to the LA Arboretum for the first time and had this peacock following me around thinking that the sketchbook and pencil I held in my hand was food. Took me awhile to shake him off my tail. But I liked the strange long v-shaped feathers that came off his train and thought "that will end up in one of my drawings". I drew them coming off the back of the Sprite's hair. Then someone posted this unbelievable mass migration of giant Rays swarming off the coast of Baja, some "flying" into the air like flying fish. That also stuck into the recesses of my mind and so I took that and drew the dragon swooping off the Sprite's back, flowers flying off the wings. Recent things that fill me with wonder, I think: "How can I use this?" I'm thinking of putting a dragon in her hand but ran out of space. This is how I think when drawing a concept, this is how I fight to keep it fresh

Sprites of the Forest

...came to a drawing that took hold of my imagination..when I get more time I will fill in the dress part with more daisies.."painting" with the pens. Would really like to paint it instead, but just don't have the time...the pens have to substitute for now...not really scratching that itch, but helping me establish a play of light off the figure.

Sprites of the Forest

Then more doodles with my wonderful Blackwing pencils with my Faber Castell and Tombow pens..

Sprites of the Forest

Forest sprites...It started with this one in my new sketchbook. The drawing on the right is based on my 12 year old daughter who dressed up as Midna from the game The Legend of Zelda. When I look at this drawing it's Sienna.

Some sketchbook fun. Been playing around with several brushpens I bought awhile ago. Really interested in shadow shapes and how they describe the form and add mood. Also playing around with the cadillac of pencils~the reissued Blackwings. Heaven to draw with.

I wrote an article about figure drawing for the Magic Fox website: http://www.magicfoxgraphics.com/what-i-have-learned-about-figure-drawing/#comment-1615

Sometimes a girl has just gotta sketch. Forest Lawn sculptures, the Renaissance Faire, and the Getty. Used this fabulous pencil called The Blackwing; soft lead. Goes on like butta.

"Prom"

Have not had much time to work on this beauty...but here's the latest:

Masters of the West: The Gene Autry

Just got back from this incredible exhibit. If you are in the Los Angeles area, this is a must see. But hurry, because it ends soon~The Gallery opens up with another large offering of Howard Terpning's signature painting; another Indians in the river painting. He had done another one similar to it a few years back but much larger and I think, with much more bravado. I did not take a shot of that because it was not one of my favorites and it did not compare to the one he had displayed a few years back. The top painting is a watercolor~yeah, a watercolor, not a photography shot. Most of the work displayed are of course Western themes; cowboys and Indians, portraits, still lifes, sculptures, etc. I look for anything out of the ordinary, smart ways to tell the story, but this is a more traditional show; where it really shines is the craftsmanship and technique of the artists. That alone, is worth the $10 entrance fee. You can definitely tell who has traditional training skills from those who don't. Only the few have those coveted drawing skills and know their color. The painting of the Bison, which is on the advertisement poster, by Dustin Van Wechel is excellent. Not only does he paint a terrific and powerful and majestic animal, but he really knows his colors. The antelope is also his; colors so clean and vibrant it appears to have that digital painting feel. Another one of my favorites is the close up of the horses at the bottom and I apologize because I did not write down the name of the artist. Then there was the crowd pleaser, which won a few awards; the puma crouching thru the ice. I took a shot of that, overhearing whispers from a few observers saying "That's the best one!" I'm not a fan of the photo-realistic portraits of animals; I'm a bit more of a traditionalist; preferring paint to look like paint, an oil to look like an oil; skill and imagination with a brush...etc. There was even a single Jeremy Lipking (did I say a Jeremy Lipking? Thee portrait artist? Yes, that's right). Then there was Z.S Liang and Mian Situ; who, even tho they are Asian, depict the west as if they were from that era. Situ always takes my breath away because he paints these large scenes with lots of figures in a sort of nostalgic way but the man certainly knows his colors and his brushwork and can stage the story. His subjects usually are about the historic relationship of the Chinese and how they were used for labor, to the people of the West. If you are a concept story teller or an illustrator who wants to know how to improve; this is a must see exhibit. It ends this month, March 16. The Autry National Center is closed Mondays and it is right across the street from the L.A. Zoo. Parking is free. KMZ

Back in 2010 I did some work for the incredible Charles Pickens of Disney Publishing. These were for the chapter books based on the main character, Tinkerbell. Charles does some amazing, amazing color work and it was hard to follow his lead; he has so much experience. Great guy; one of my favorite art friends. I was mostly responsible for painting the figures (he would send me the pencils) and much of the background elements were already done. I did a few; like the big sunflower on the left of Rosetta, the giant mouse that she rode as well as her and the character riding another mouse in the distance. These elements were placed into a large painted background later. Mostly I painted what are called partials; and Charles would paint everything else; so the art would be done faster and be more consistent. He would roughly tell me whereabouts he wanted the light and he would trust my judgement to light the figures~which I love to do. These were always crazy, up to the minute deadlines; always a rush!

If you are in the Los Angeles area; don't miss this show! masters_title.jpg February 1 – March 16, 2014 About the Exhibition The Autry National Center’s Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and Sale is considered the country’s premier Western art show. Each year, more than 75 nationally recognized, contemporary Western artists challenge themselves to create and exhibit their very best work. Stylistically and thematically diverse, their works represent the extraordinary range of subject matter that contemporary, historic, and mythic Western experiences inspire. We thank you for your continued support of the Masters through which the Autry is able to bring to you many of our insightful exhibitions and notable programs. Exhibition Hours The Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and Sale is open to the public Tuesday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Autry National Center is closed on Mondays except for Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 17.

Center Stage Gallery

More from the Center Stage Gallery. Last weekend, one more look. 847 Hollywood Way, Burbank, California. These drawings are from Robert Fawcett. Striking, simple compositions that tell the story.

Center Stage Gallery

Original drawings by Robert Fawcett at the Center Stage Gallery.  Exhibit Ends this weekend.  Incredible draftsmanship, a must see- Center Stage Gallery on Hollywood Way (http://centerstagegallery.com/)hosts original drawings from private collectors by Dean Cornwell and Robert Fawcett, among others. Stealing the show is Fawcett's amazing draftsmanship, his incredible, effortless line. Come see this gallery before it ends~this coming weekend will be the last.

It's been a helluva ride since November 2012..still debating on whether or not to blog about it...a good friend of mine is urging me to write about it...still thinking or whether or not to. Found a peaceful moment this afternoon and I got to tell you...it's great to finally paint again...

Check it out! I wrote a an article on The Magic Fox website as a guest blogger! http://www.magicfoxgraphics.com/learning-how-to-use-color-in-illustration/#comment-9

"Prom" Some color starts before the big Turkey Day

A quote from LinkedIn Pal, Naseer Pasha "Every time I come to your blog, there's something nice to be found. It's like a Kinder Surprise chocolate egg with the toy inside. You never know what's coming. Great stuff! Really digging those pirate paintings!" Thank you, Naseer! Check out his blog: Naseer is single handedly making his own film(s)! Scroll down and see his character development and his animation tests: http://justfeelingfine.blogspot.com/ Color Exercise: Ok, I'm going to put this away and call it done~this was an exercise to get a feel for digital painting and mixing warms and cools in Photoshop. I like the way the knees came out...This is the first digital painting using the techniques I learned from painting the acrylic screen shots from Elizabeth: The Golden Age. So much fun... A lot of digital artists start the illustration in Black and White values. I did that with this one, but in hindsight; next time, I'm going to start mixing my own darks~in terms of warms and cools, just as I would in a traditional acrylic painting. With traditional, I usually start the darks with Burnt Umber, and for a warmer shadow, ad Naphthol Red or if I want a hotter dark value, mix in my favorite hot color, Cad. Red Light and for cools, I'll ad Manganese Blue with the Umber and if the Manganese is too vibrant, maybe I'll cool with with Light Blue Violet, another favorite. Light Blue Violet is actually a light cool grey~but has just a hint of saturation, enough to give me these wonderful grey tones with Umber...

A blend of Anime and Steam Punk. After I was done, I realized I had subconsciously drawn my daughter Sienna...