Sketching Ideas and a Blob Painting

It's been snowing nearly every day here in Colorado. Some days don't feel like dealing with traffic to the studio, so I've been sketching a lot. The collage above shows some sketches and a few details of a finished painting (seen at the end of this post).

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This fellow was a quick one--sort of an unconscious bit of drawing. Since all my gouache is at the studio, I used a Pentel Brushpen for the outline, a pilot Hi-Tec-C pen for the crosshatching, and a few Prismacolor pencils for the color.

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Same with this fellow. The visible red lines are my initial drawing; I use a red Verithin pencil for that, on either Kona brand paper, a brown paper bag, or wrapping paper.

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Then I finally plowed through the snow to the studio and painted this Squashed Pea Fellow with Acryla Gouache. 

Yeah he's weird--I make no excuses--I draw and paint what comes to me, not what I think will please others. To me, that's the philosophy that has added richness and progress to all the arts.

If you share that ideal (and like eclectic art-weirdness) follow me on Instagram:

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Goofy Goblins in Pen and Ink

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I'm working with pen and ink lately, and pretty much exclusively. Always have loved it, and am enjoying every minute of my studio time.

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Much of the works are goofy goblins, but I've done a few creepier pieces recently too, which I'll post next time.

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Many of these are pieces for larger, more complicated works-in-progress, and I'm excited each time a new one flows out onto the paper.

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They are all done on the same brown paper with the same colored pencil, brushpen, and pen and ink. They just look different depending on the light under which they're photographed.

Thanks for reading--hope you'll check back as the works progress!

Death gets a lot of Idea-Help

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Death might run out of ideas from time to time, but people always manage to assist him with new and effective ways of killing their brothers and sisters. Poison gas? Sure! Automatic weapons aimed at concert-goers? Why not?

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Couldn't keep reading the repetitious news full of lame politician's "thoughts and prayers", so I drew instead.

This one, like most of my sketches, began with a red Verithin pencil on toned paper. (I like Kona Classic best because I can use wet media on it if I choose.) Beginning a drawing with red pencil rather than graphite seems to keep my initial gestures looser, and I like the original red lines still visible in the finished art.

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The red gestural sketch is then tightened up with either a Pentel brushpen or a brush and India ink. Then, most often, I add the white highlights, before the shading begins--in this case, a fine-point white Signo pen was used for the white. The cross-hatching follows; I like Maica brand Hi-Tek-C pens if a crow quill and ink bottle isn't handy.

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This drawing is small--4" x 6". It's the third work of October--or "Inktober". The previous two were sort of humorous. Who knows what the news will bring in the coming days.

Thanks for the visit--I wish you peace.

Landscape and Urban Sketching

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Last Sunday's Plein Air group decided on an urban site. Instead of my paint set-up, 

I'd brought a sketchbook and drawing materials, planning on doing 

some research for a new project.

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When doing on-location sketching of this type, I usually go for 

simplicity and quick studies, but...

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...this intricate scene caught my eye. The planned research sketching went right out the window.

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The complexity was a bit daunting, but decided to interpret the scene while 

capturing much of the detail.

 

Materials: Kona Classic toned paper sketchbook, Verithin Colored Pencil (Scarlet), 

Pentel Brushpen, Pilot Hi-Tech-C Pen (03), Uniball Signo (for white).

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

An Acrylic Gouache Painting Sequence

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Goofing around in a watercolor sketchbook produced this toothy-but-friendly fish. It was done with a scarlet Colerase pencil, then outlined with a Pentel brush pen (with a permanent ink cartridge).

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Been wanting to try a reverse-color acrylic painting, and also a set of Acryla Gouache paints given to me by a friend. I painted each section with the compliment of the colors I wanted each section to end with. I used a flat brush for most of it and kept the paint-strokes rough, leaving a lot of the preliminary layers showing through. A round brush was used for the highlights on sand and the trusting worm.

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It was a fast and fun process, and I definitely want to do more experimentation. This little bagatelle is one of my pieces for Aesthetical Zoological at Valkarie Gallery this coming October!

Thanks for checking in :)