Monday, December 28, 2009

roslyn inspired



Rural Landscape study, great sky.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

2010 poppies



'09 poppies for 2010...a new decade. Cheers!

Monday, December 14, 2009

City Different Alphabet: Santa Fe

City different, a kaleidoscope of images.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

October




Color study: October
Mixing color on paper, pure color


Monday, November 30, 2009

wise woman







'Wise woman' illustration assignment

Sunday, November 1, 2009

'AHA' moments




'AHA' moments:

Life drawing offers challenges and many learning experiences, including endurance and patience.

After many 1 minutes poses of the model, an 'aha' moment occurs;
focus, concentration, and a non-judgmental process.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Bandolier, New Mexico





Bandolier, New Mexico

A wonderful day viewing the New Mexico geology and landscapes, varied, beautiful and rich.
Bandelier is an oasis.
The Cottonwood trees were practically back-lit by the time I completed the painting.

Magical!


Monday, October 12, 2009

Saturday afternoon

Another Saturday afternoon at Gasworks park, this time indicating its atmosphere and context.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

new poppies










Sunny day in Seattle.
It's all about color today.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Gasworks park, windy day













Another wonderful day at Gasworks Park; so many people, many kites.

The light changes continuously revealing new details by the minute;
including the sky.




Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Monday, September 28, 2009

Wyeth study



















Placing oneself in one's shoes, one's
hand and one's memories.

A wonderful morning studying Andrew Wyeth.


on the road

Drawing upon memory; reaching back 50 years.
Textured road, futures unknown.


Sunday, September 13, 2009

Waterfront in Seattle


A remarkable view on a vast waterfront in Seattle.
The drawing was thought through not unlike how one may prepare a watercolor.
In fact, this study was essential for a next step; watercolor coming soon!

Alleyways






Alleyways offer so much to the observer....too much!
Editing is an important part of the process, while trying to
represent spatial depth through perspective.

Again, foreground, middle-ground and background
comes into play. I find placing human scale in early
in the process helps create the understanding of space early.

True horizontal and vertical also helped in representing this dynamic view.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

St. Ignatius Chapel, Seattle




Sometimes I lie awake at night, and ask, 'Where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.'
(Charles Schulz)

Nothing new here.
Lately, warming up with many investigatory sketches before one truly begins to depict/evoke an illustration.

My recent instruction from a fellow artist:
Maria Coryell-Martin stated it takes one (a master) to create 10,000 drawings before one has the potential call oneself a 'master'.

I began on one side of the building and then worked my way around to the other (non-sunny) side.
Success, maybe.
Great subject.
Good Architect: Stephen Holl
.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Gasworks Park




Gasworks Park, a series of objects occupying space; incredible edges and details.
Now, I need to go back and finish; adding foreground, middle-ground and background.


Monday, August 17, 2009

working drawings



Basic structure, detail, atmosphere...





compostional study,









as well as a figure/ground study.





Thursday, August 6, 2009

polygons


























Figure/ground,
form not content.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

august at the Virginia Inn, Seattle





'Further, the convention of line is much different from the convention of the painterly brush. One tends to be thin and delineatory, the other a juxtaposition of patches. Too much early attention to line can baffle the discovery of an effective pattern. Drawing can run interference on composition.'


I am considering this statement by
(rgenn@saraphina.com)
Robert Genn's twice weekly letter.

Since studying watercolor this Summer,
I am open to this; not quite convinced.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Mindy Black





Mindy's incredible perception, traveling through Croatia. Wonderful documentation, great shorthand, sense of place and excellent use of editing.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

poetry



poetic illustration, luscious farm

mixing paint directly on paper





Mixing paint directly on paper
gives the illustration vibrancy and pure color.

Lopez Island is full of these vibrant colors and deep values.

Monday, July 27, 2009

da vinci




investigative, design drawing

Sunday, July 26, 2009

lopez landscape

An attempt to describe form, not content.
Sky, water, trees, rocks, sand and light!
Awareness is key.

barn and it's value







barn and it's value:

value study in pencil, then in watercolor value;
helpful tool.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Painting vs. Sketching




Painting vs. Sketching:

A four day workshop on Lopez Island and painting every day was an incredible experience. Switching gears from line to shape, from content
to form, learning value and local colors. Whew!

All about connecting, not about controlling.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Inspiring Creativity: 9 Tips to Be More Creative

















Inspiring Creativity: 9 Tips to Be More Creative

1: Get Out There: Creativity is fueled by experiences, sights, sounds and smells.
2: Create a Ritual: Maintain a certain pattern to the day, work with a fresh mind and spirit.
3) Put it to Bed: Jot down notes every night before bed.
4) Divide and Conquer :Have a box labeled for each different project.
5) A Place for Everything: Keep a different sketchbook for different topics and ideas.
6) Keep it Handy: Throw these sketchbooks all over the place.
7) Sharpen Your Focus: Heightening a sense of awareness by narrowing my focus on one thing.
8) Change it Up: Doing things differently helps.
9) Practice, Practice, Practice: Creativity is like a muscle that you need to flex regularly.

notes from etsy.com

Monday, July 13, 2009

drawing classes beginning in September 2009



drawing classes beginning in September 2009

Clarence Wong



Ballard/Shilshole Ave.
by Clarence Wong

Great work Clarence!
Incredible: beautiful and sensitive depiction of industrial forms.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

drawing as instruction




drawing as instruction:

structure, position, station point:
diagram first, create form then content/details

Monday, July 6, 2009

Seattle's 'working' waterfront

An excellent viewpoint for viewing Seattle's 'working' waterfront.
Subtle tones, creative edges, dynamic items within compositional view.

Francesca Lohmann






Cheers Francesca!

Imaginative views with mixed media.

www.francescalohmann.com

City Hall interior










Interior view: City Hall


Thank you again, Bill.

www.wghook.net

Bill Hook









Thank you Bill Hook!

One of our City Sketchers participants

See more at:

www.wghook.net

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Summer in the Duwamish




Summer in the Duwamish:
Quiet, warm, thoughtful;
concentration on the Edges.

Summertime













Summertime...get out and sketch!

Monday, June 29, 2009

a watercolor diagram



Camping at Salmon LaSac:
Treating the automobile as a wonderful
still life, a full collection of items.

Block in color,
finding some accuracies,
creating a watercolor diagram.

Sunny days, good friends, great food too!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

black bottle






Interior perspective views offer
many new challenges, much activity, many folks and detail.

Identification of Foreground, Middle-ground and Background
helps identify the full range of depth achievable
within any given view.

Structure(with the aid of a perspective point), Tone then Detail

Monday, June 22, 2009

perspective lessons



Perspective lessons on QA Ave:
includes 1 and 2 point perspective,
whirling dervishes
and diagonal vanishing points.

The perspective point(s) is another great tool
to assist in structure and accuracy.

Lay in people early in your drawings, aiding in an
incredible sense of space.