Illuminate

Illuminate

Size: 10 x 10 inches
Medium: Watercolors, inks, metallics on canvas

Prints ($16.95) and detail closeup images -available here-

I had been planning to do this piece for a while, based on the miniature 3x3" canvas painting I did a couple of weeks ago. And that in turn was based on a photo of my daughter. I don't often stick this close to reference photos, but in this case it was so nearly perfect that I strayed from my usual.

 

This painting was my first attempt at doing watercolors in larger scale on a canvas, prepared for that purpose with watercolor ground (produced by Daniel Smith). I prepped the canvas by painting two thick coats of the ground onto it, waiting 24 hours, then taking medium-fine sandpaper to it to get a nice smooth surface. I have always preferred my canvas to have minimal texture. I then sketched my image onto the canvas.

 The first layer was painted with a 1 inch flat brush, very rough. Lots of liquid. Lots of ink. Lots of pigment. Lots of MESS! This is basically just blocking in some rough areas. I then let it dry overnight. The waiting is what I really hate. Because at this stage it looks horrible. Half my sketch lines get obliterated (because I forgot to lightly spray with a workable fixative before starting to paint), and I have no clue if things will work out or not.

Next morning I was able to start in on the finer details.

With a small brush, I started picking out whatever shapes and edges jumped out at me in the background chaos. 

Worked my way around to the figure. Pale and luminous white under the trees. I waffled for a long time on whether to give her black hair like my reference, orange/red like the mini, or to leave it ghostly white.

Gold leafing.

And building up some thick watercolor ground on the lotus to give it a slight relief texture.

Bad lighting in this photo, but you can get a glimpse of the whole canvas.

Effervesce

Effervesce

Size: 9x13 inches

Medium: Watercolor

Prints ($16.95) & Detail closeups -available here-

She is a creative force, coaxing forth growth, both the physical evidenced in the unfurling leaves, and the spiritual, embodied by the butterflies. She bathes in the life-giving warmth and light of the sun. She is partnered in her dance and song of creation, with the sun. She IS the sun.

"Effervesce" is a commissioned painting, meant to be a companion piece to "Lightness".

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Some of the in progress sketches:

Initial figure sketch & some various thumbnail ideas for the background and composition. The figure came pretty easily for this piece. Sometimes I have to struggle with the concept a lot more. Her pose is an echo of Shiva's dance of creation (and destruction).

Client wasn't really going for the background proposals, so I had another thought, which is what we ended up going with.

Scanned and pieced together sketches in photoshop to get the rough idea of the placement and proportion of various elements.

Final sketch ready to paint.

Allegro

 Allegro

Size: 8.5x14 inches

Medium: Watercolors, ink, metallics, gold

Original painting ($925.00), Prints ($16.95) and Detail closeups available -here-

The tempo increases, and we must follow, drawn on by the rhythm and the music that beats through the earth into the soles of our feet.

The next part of the Stag Sonata Cycle series:

 

 

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Some of the in progress sketches:

The initial thumbnails and composition brainstorming.

Scanned from sketchbook and the fiddled around with more definitive composition with rough lines in photoshop.

Final prepared sketch ready for painting.

Chasing a Dream

 Chasing a Dream

Size: 20x12 inches

Medium: Mixed

 Prints ($16.95 for 8.5x11 and $26.50 for 11x17), original painting ($1500.00), and detail closeups available -here-

Some of the sketches and photos of the process:

Starting off as scribbles in the sketchbook. I considered several different compositions initially as thumbnails.

Settled on this composition, although you can see this was not what the final piece ended up with. This was just the initial starting point, but after considering it for a while, it felt far too static, because the fish was on a horizontal plane above the ground, and it was all viewed from a very stable and flat perspective.

 So I decided to add a little more excitement to it. Tilted the ground to make it into a steep hillside that the children are tumbling down. It gives them more of a sense of movement and speed. (Both of these composite sketches were done by scanning all the initial sketches first and then taking the thumbnails and pasting the sketches of the children throughout, fiddling with size and angles and placement).

 I liked the second composition better, so I went forward with it, finalizing the sketch onto the illustration board for painting.

 Then the color rough to make a mockup of the final painting. I scanned the finalized sketch, then put it onto a separate layer in photoshop, set to multiply. Under that layer, I cut and paste some texture segments from other paintings and fiddle with the color settings on select areas to give myself an approximate simulation of what a final piece might look like. I really don't like doing color roughs, but I've found lately that they are immensely helpful in forcing me out of my "color comfort zones". I have certain color combinations that I use frequently, and that are easy to fall back on because I know that they work. Doing a color rough lets me try out combinations that I might not otherwise have thought to do.

 One of my favorite little parts is this little corner, where I was able to retain the india ink texture in the initial wash. If you've been following my blog, you'll know that lately I've been experimenting a lot with mixed media. Primarily utilizing india ink to create darker pieces, and textures. In most of those pieces I've been throwing the ink and paint onto pieces of illustration board, letting it dry, and only then trying to "see" the image inside the splatters (like seeing pictures in the clouds). It's a very freeing and fun exercise, and I've been enjoying both the process, and the results. Now I'm really wanting to try harness those techniques into more deliberate pieces, where I dictate the subject and composition, rather than pure randomness.

Travel Sketchbook

Been a while since I've dragged this sketchbook around with me.  Daughter's preschool class took a field trip on the ferry and into San Francisco today, and I decided to do some drawing. As usual when I do these, they are sketched directly with pen, quickly, on site. Gesture drawings for the most part. Good way to exercise visual memory and quick transfer of what you see down to paper.

Passing by this dock, I liked how all the lines led up the ramp, and you could glimpse the ship through the archway.

Dreamdance: Unity

Dreamdance: Unity
9x12 inches
Medium: Watercolors
From the deck-in-progress: Dreamdance Oracle
Detail closeup  views, & prints available -here-

Satyros Phil Brucato writes for this card:

There’s strength in Unity. Here, the illusion of tribal “otherness” fades away, replaced by an awareness that “All Are One and One are All.” In this Dance, we come together, transcend our separations, and seek wisdom from the blending of traditions rather than the rigidity of a single approach. The Dance of Unity heals divisions, shares blessings, and calls people together in a loving whole. In this new millennium, Unity may be the ultimate path of human survival.

And yet, as we Dance this circle, we must be careful not to lose ourselves in it. It’s far too easy to pat ourselves on our collective back while ignoring the cracks beneath our feet. There’s a balance between Self-ishness and the total loss of Self; without that balance, we risk losing the precious contributions that difference brings. We are creatures of diversity, whose cultural and biological differences combine to make a stronger whole. Without that balance, we’re just “spinning our wheels,” making pretty designs but ultimately going nowhere.

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Sketches and in-progress scans:Initial  scribbly brainstorming in my sketchbook.

More refined sketch

And ready for painting.

Super rough color test in photoshop. Threw together textures from older paintings, and then fiddle with color balance on selections, just to get an idea of where to go before I pull out the watercolors and go at it for real.

First few layers of painting.

Used a bit of gel pen to enhance the "glow" around the medicine wheel stones.

Cabbage blue!

Dreamdance: Abandon

From the Dreamdance Oracle

Abandon

Size: 8.5x14

Medium: Watercolors

For prints and detail closeup views: -click here-

Satyros Phil Brucato writes for this card:

Caught in a mosh of inner and external chaos, the Dancer either surrenders or is destroyed. Sometimes such tempests are chosen; more often, they choose us. Either way, we learn to abandon our usual sense of control. If we cling too rigidly to our usual way of doing things, we risk getting mulched by the storms that inevitably come. 

If you choose to Dance with Abandon, embrace the sense of chaos that comes with it. Ride it before it shatters you. In the Five Rhythms practice cultivated by Gabrielle Roth, Chaos comes between the Staccato force of directed energy and the Lyrical harmony where all previous energies flow together. In order to achieve such harmony, therefore, the Dancer must pass through Chaos, shape herself to it, and accept it as a valid aspect of life’s Dance.

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Initial very rough scribbles in my sketchbook for the concept.

 Refined that

 And further refined. Prepped for painting at this point.

Color rough in photoshop, just to get an idea of what direction I'm going to take the colors for the piece. Had a pretty solid vision in mind already, even at the initial brainstorm sketch phase. Wanted the satyr to be a really stand-out contrasting color from the rest of the scene.

 

 Started painting.

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Painting with the color test up on my monitor so that I can use that as reference for my tones.