Yes, I took another day off today while painting the Big Sur area (the “game” was called off due to rain), but I did find this recent figure study to entertain you. On second look, it’s a bit dark, but I did want to use saturated colors in light, which does force the darks down … Read more
My trek to Hearst Castle has started in Point Lobos, where I got two good days of painting in. Point Lobos is located just south of Carmel, CA, where all men wear khaki (only), and there’s no one to give my spare change to (…coincidentally, the very first store you see on your way into … Read more
I am on my way tomorrow to Hearst Castle to paint for an invitational, and taking my time, driving down the coast from Carmel to Cambria with a stop in Big Sur a couple days. To prepare for painting the castle’s architecture, I got out some reference photos of Balboa Park in San Diego. I … Read more
It was a beautiful, sunny day in San Francisco today — 73 degrees! I loaded up a small pochade kit on my bike, and headed down to Golden Gate Park. After riding around quite a bit, I saw this view looking south from Stow Lake. The challenge I set for myself was to both simplify … Read more
Not a lot of successful work this week. Calm before the storm. I head East next week for a nice art trip, so saving up the work. I do like this study. Enjoy.
In my day job, we take a “Strength Finder’s” course (developed by Gallop) to find out what we’re good at, and focus our talents there. I’ve always felt that painting the sky was a strength, but I haven’t spent a lot of time on it. Why paint something you know? I’d rather stretch myself, which … Read more
I’ve recently started focusing on the figure, and am having fun with the various approaches that are possible. This little slide show shows the range of ideas I am exploring. This QuickTime version is much better quality than YouTube, so if you can play QuickTime, try it. Otherwise, here’s the video on YouTube:
Saint Ignatius is a San Francisco landmark in the Western Addition. The school was founded in 1855, moved several times, and was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. The building in this painting was built in 1914. Today, it’s the University of San Francisco. The building is well lit at night, and because it’s on a … Read more
Here are few more recent figure studies. I continue to enjoy this new challenge–although I think I’ll sneak in a landscape soon. This figure (sans mouth!) was done in about 10 minutes with a live model in Al Tofanelli’s class (at l’Atelier aux Couleurs). I like these quick studies–they force you to react quickly and … Read more
Still feeling really challenged by learning the figure. Reminds of a quote by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, “Do something every day that scares you.” I need this. I took snap shots as I progressed so I could review with my teacher Al Tofanelli (at l’Atelier aux Couleurs), so he could advise me. It’s interesting, I … Read more