Showing posts with label Experimental. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Experimental. Show all posts

Monday, December 23, 2013

Seascape Dark Rock Study

"Seascape - Dark Rock Study"
oil on panel, 2013
5" x 7" (12.7cm x 17.78)

In my recent seascape studies here is an oil painting. The dark rock against all the white boulders made for a good study in the colors of white on a bright sunny day. I pushed the saturation quite a bit on this one.

If one like this makes it to a larger more finished version I may likely pull back a bit on the saturation. Part of experimenting is pushing things to really find out what can be done. This allowed me to focus on the color cast of each area.262

*I photographed this painting while wet so most of the white specks are glare highlights. When dry I will rephotograph.
*12/28/13 I've uploaded this more accurate pic. Gone are the white highlight specks. Any left are the white of the board showing.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Seascape Tide Pools 2

"Seascape Tide Pools 2"
watercolor on paper, 2013
6" x 9" (15.24cm x 22.86cm)
For sale at DAILY PAINTWORKS
Direct link to painting here

Here is another exploratory seascape. I am doing these in preparation for larger works.
As I experiment with light, atmosphere, seasons, palette, design, moving the horizon up and down etc, I will begin to hone in on one or more series within the larger seascape motif.

This one and the previous "Seascape Tide Pools" both are fair weather versions.260

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Seascape Tide Pools

"Seascape Tide Pools"
watercolor on paper, 2013
6" x 8" (15.24cm x 20.32cm)
For sale at DAILY PAINTWORKS
Direct link to painting here

One of my goals for 2014 is to do more seascapes. I am beginning to do these smaller watercolors to search out what direction I will take with them. In this painting, at low tide, the tide pools remain relatively calm even when there are waves.
I am sure I will do others of these tide pools since the rocky pools offer some great patterns.259

Monday, December 16, 2013

Train Bridge Study

"Train Bridge Study"
watercolor on paper, 2013
4" x 6" (10.16cm x 15.24cm)
For sale at DAILY PAINTWORKS
Direct link to painting here

This is a small close-up study of a train bridge over the Los Angeles River. I love the submarine-like shape of its foundation.

I will at some point paint one or more larger versions of this bridge.
Doing studies helps familiarize myself with the complicated structure of this bridge which crosses the river at an angle instead of at 90 degrees. That means there are more angles to work out the perspective of, in fact hardly any 90 degree angles at all.258

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Sketchbook Pages-4- More Rabbits



sketchbook page, 2013
ballpoint pen
page 8.25" x 5.5" (20.955cm x 13.97cm)
NFS

Rabbits, not bunnies.

It is tough to do and avoid cute or cartoony, at least for me.
Think about Dürer's "Young Hare I" or Wayne Theibaud's "Rabbit". Although I am not really going for realism I always have those in the back of my mind because each holds its own unique quality. I am not there yet but I'm working on it.231,232

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Sketchbook Page-3 (and cover)


Jobin, The Mad Catter
ballpoint pen, 2013
page 8.25" x 5.5" (20.955cm x 13.97cm)
NFS

The nature of sketchbook pages is that not all ends up good and there are a couple dreadful ones on this page but that is ok.

I'm experimenting with seeing how far I can distort the forms before I lose the cat. The top left for example looks more like a chihuahua or bat and borders on being too cute.
Trying to find a non-representational version of the cat while avoiding cute and cartoony is not that easy, at least for me.
Another Jobin, The Mad Catter here.225,226

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Sketchbook Page-2

sketchbook page, 2013
ballpoint pen
page 8.25" x 5.5" (20.955cm x 13.97cm)
NFS

More fun sketching.
I don't really do floral.
Unless I can find a way to be anti-floral.
I have plans to do a painting from these studies even if for fun.224

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Sketch Doodle Postcard Backside

Ballpoint pen on postcard, 2013
5" x 7" (12.7cm x 17.78cm)
NFS

Since I am working on several projects I don't have a lot to post so here is another sketch doodle.

This was done on the backside of a postcard tucked in my door by solicitors so I figured instead of feeding the recycle bin as usual I would make some use of it.

As you can see this kind of sketch doodling is very different from my usual work. That's the point.

It is a way to artistically get away from that. No pressure to 'make' anything. Just put pen to paper and see what emerges. I start with random scribbles and allow things to develop from there.223

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Sketchbook Doodles 4
























Ballpoint pen in pocket sketchbook, 2012
5.5" x 4" (13.97cm x 10.16cm)
NFS

And another...
216

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Sketchbook Page-1























sketchbook page, 2013
ballpoint pen
page 8.25" x 5.5" (20.955cm x 13.97cm)
NFS

I hope you had a good Easter. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to post this earlier... I must have been asleep too... oh well, here you go. Don't be mad... 215

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Sketchbook Doodles 3
























Ballpoint pen in pocket sketchbook, 2012
5.5" x 4" (13.97cm x 10.16cm)
NFS

And another...
214

Friday, March 29, 2013

Sketchbook Doodles 2

























Ballpoint pen in pocket sketchbook, 2012
5.5" x 4" (13.97cm x 10.16cm)
NFS

Here's another page of sketchbook fun. Nothing serious, just letting it flow.213

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Sketchbook Doodles 1























pencil in pocket sketchbook, 2012
5.5" x 4" (13.97cm x 10.16cm)
NFS

I do these when I need to warm up, am stuck waiting somewhere or need a break from the tighter more intense paintings.
This sort of sketching is really about nothing specific. Instead, just letting my mind wander and see what emerges. It is a good way to re-enjoy the creative process when struggling with more serious work and I feel the fun draining away from it. Then when I return I am refreshed.
It's all about the fun.212

Saturday, December 29, 2012

iPad Landscape Study

"Landscape Shape Study"
Digital, Brushes App

I am still working on various pieces so without much (traditional medium) work ready to post I figured I had better get something up on the blog.

This is practice, exercising my design muscles, done on my iPad with the Brushes App. Drawn relatively quick focusing on the design of the big shapes and simple composition as well as the distribution of soft edges.

I also managed to get some quality of light into it by adding some texture of the vegetation.
I like it when simple drawings 'spill out' easily. Enough said.202

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Past Work 6

untitled portrait
watercolor and colored pencil on illus. board
13.5" x 12.25" (34.29cm x 31.115cm)
NSF

Here is another blast from the past... the same experimental stuff on slick illustration board.
This was when I began to get the hang of it, however it is still a tough surface to work on.
Often the surface takes over, dictating too much for me, how it looks. I prefer controlling it. I want decisions to be conscious ones.
That's not to say I don't like happy accidents but you can't start with too many uphill battles.
This is one reason I generally don't work on canvas in oils. You can't escape its texture, especially when photographing the art.

I was still having some problems controlling the spottiness in the shadows but overall I was happy with the results... the design of the shapes, the palette, etc.
I was experimenting with mixing-in the colored pencil with watercolor. Not knowing how well it would work and not wanting to risk ruining the head ,which I was feeling good about, I reserved it for the shirt. I liked the way it gave a velvety depth and texture to what would otherwise be a flat graphic shape. It is hard to see the subtlety of its application in this photo but there is green pencil underlying the blue watercolor.195

Click on image for larger view

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Past Work 5

"Megan"
watercolor/gouache on illus. board
13.5" x 12" (34.29cm x 30.48cm)
NSF

My niece at around 5 or 6 six years old...
The color palette here is atrocious, at least to me, but is reflective of colors my niece loved back then, which was one of my intentions.
Remember, experimental work means leaving your comfort zone in part so here I wanted the palette to be tied into her instead of relying on the usual familiar palette (from then) without much thought.
That mauve in the background and lavender in the shirt makes me shudder. However, even now when I look at this I don't just see Megan at that time, instead I'm taken back to memories of who she was too, it radiates with her personality beyond just a likeness. So with that, I'm happy.

This one, like the other recently posted portraits, I simply reached a point and stopped. Although I saw some problems with drawing, form transitions and even design issues I did not want to lose or destroy that spontaneity associated with experimenting and lose the liveliness of her character... remembering that experimental for me means it is more about learning and discovering than about making a finished piece of art.

I can also see where I struggled with the medium leaving some areas unresolved.
The hair is a little too coarse and abrupt since I did not refine and soften it for its bright sunny light. Some areas like the shadow in her arm and shirt are too busy but again I did not want to refine at the expense of freshness.194

Portrait of Megan as an adult here.

Click on image for larger view

Monday, October 29, 2012

Past Work 4

"Miao"
watercolor on hot pressed illus. board
9.25" x 8.75" (23.495cm x 22.225cm)
NSF

A slight break from the previous celebrity portrait/caricature posts, this watercolor was done during the same period.

This was when I was experimenting heavily with watercolor on different substrates, exploring their various surface characteristics.
I tried watercolor boards, cold and hot press illustration board, kid finish (paper) fixed to board and some others, eventually arriving at a really slick surface, one that requires great patience in the early stages of building up the surface but gives the work the same kind of depth and richness of oil painting.

Although this painting has a traditional watercolor finish or look to it the surface and working methods used was not. This was after buying Burt Silverman's book "Breaking the Rules of Watercolor" which was both an epiphany and has had a lasting impact on my own work, especially in my less traditional watercolor technique like these here, here and here.

It is a way that invites working the medium back and forth, breaking down the surface then building it back up, a method that generally goes against the more traditional approach of additive (only) painting, applying washes from light to dark, building up the painting in a straight forward manner.
It is a more physical approach, scrubbing and wiping areas out then repainting, really taking advantage of the solubility of watercolor.
Lights and even whites can be brought back from dark passages, unlike traditional watercolor paper, which allows greater freedom to aggressively push paint around, never having to worry about holding back and preserving the white of the paper or the hassle of masking fluids.

While an art student I had instructors who taught the same kind of mentality, one that suits my temperament better. I no longer had to work in that kind of 'point A to point B' manner which is far too easy to screw up when you suddenly realize, half way through, you have gotten too dark, have the wrong color or temperature or want to completely remove some defeating element.

I can go forward, backward, sideways... it does not matter, there is no fear so it is a much more liberating way to work and it is certainly much more fun.

Incidentally, it also helps when I do paint using traditional methods and surfaces which I still enjoy as well, like this one here and here and "Union Pacific 8381".193

Click on image for larger view


Sunday, October 21, 2012

Past Work 3

"Billy Idol"
mixed media on illus. board
13" x 11.5" (33.02cm x 29.21cm)
NSF

Number 3 in these past work posts, another experimental piece.

There is a lot I don't like here besides its unfinished state. The whole right side never got resolved. That's OK though. Sometimes it serves as a record of some exploratory technique and quitting on it early is better than killing it with overworking. And maybe that rawness is what I want to remember ...other times it is one area of the work I want to preserve, something new I learned, if I got that out of it that is enough.

That having been said I may decide to 'finish' the right side, if I can do so without spoiling the rest.
The harsh cast and core shadows were intentional (experimental) and lend themselves well to his persona if you know anything about him. Normally a more refined shadow transition would be better but then again this is a stylized portrait.192

Click on image for larger view

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Past Work 2























"Murphy's Law"
mixed media on illus. board
9.5" x 9.5" (24.13cm x 24.13cm)
NSF

Here is another past experimental piece done at the same time as the previous post.
This one is gouache, ink and acrylic paint.

The difference in this one from the previous is the acrylic paint. Part of the experimentation was beginning with the gouache and ink then finishing with another medium, just seeing what I could do.
My experimental work is often left in an unfinished state or is not refined so as to not lose the freshness of the process, allowing me to easily see the steps, and is more akin to drawing than painting.
Having fun, no pressure.191

Click on image for larger view

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Past Work 1























"Pee Wee Herman"
mixed media on illus. board
9.5" x 9.5" (24.13cm x 24.13cm)
NSF

Since I am continuing on a new body of work I thought I would show some past art over the next couple of posts.
Here's an experimental piece I did a few years ago, a caricature of Pee Wee Herman. Done in gouache, ink and colored pencil. It's not a perfect likeness but I was more concerned with seeing what I could do with the medium instead of getting hung up on the portrayal.
I often don't sign and date experimental work since it is not meant for sale or publishing but something I will probably do in the future since I can't remember the exact year I did this one.

The fun part of doing experimental work is to let go of any methods, palettes, styles etc. that I usually use and just see what I can do. This always has the extra benefit of feeding my (usual) work, even if in small incremental ways.190

Click on image for larger view