Keyword Sketch Cards

Some more keyword sketch cards (clockwise): unique, mermaid, Avalon, quilin, fertility, release, cat, fox, hope, spontaneity

Firefly Hunters

Firefly Hunters
Medium: Watercolors
Size: 15x20 inches
Prints and original painting available -here-

Cold Foggy and Wet

It's been cold, foggy, and wet lately. Yay, California Winter is finally underway. I woke up this morning to find the hills on the far side of the ravine adrift in a sea of mist. It had a bit of the feel of this painting, though perhaps more blue-greys for the live oaks and evergreens. The rain has been making it a bit more difficult to find the chances to spray fixative layers (since I like to leave the painting outside for about half an hour after spraying to let the fumes dissipate a bit). Making progress. Perhaps it can be finished by the end of this weekend?

Greeeeeeeeeeeens

Mmmm...lovely dark greens.

Firefly Hunters Sketches

A new piece that I'm ready to start painting tomorrow if I can drag myself to the desk to feel up for it. Sniffly with another cold. It's ready to go though, sketched out on the board. Some of the sketches that sparked this final form:

An extremely rough thumbnail scribble when I was brainstorming for "Breathe". This was a tiny composition idea. A coiled up dragon nestled in the hollow of the tree roots. It never took for "Breathe", but when I was flipping through my sketchbook a few days ago, it caught my eye again. I started to play with the dragon's shape and in particular that spiral that unfurls from its body.

As I sketched a more detailed dragon, the rest of it quickly started taking shape in my head. Ghostly shapes moving through the woods. Firefly Hunters. Some alternate titles: Ghosts, Silent Shadows, Ghost Shadows. I scribbled a new thumbnail as well, for a more horizontal composition.

After I had the composition decided, I started sketching a whole lot of foxes from various angles, with the plan being to scan these and then play around with size and position digitally.

A shadowy figure wanted to make an appearance in the distance as well. Sketched a few thumbnail possible poses for her.

Scan the disparate pieces, and fit everything into the initial thumbnail composition with layers, cutting, cropping, resizing, flipping.... Until I'm happy with where all the pieces are, and how it meshes into a whole. Then I print it out and transfer to the final sketch, redrawing and refining much of it in the process!

Some L5R Art

Found a bunch of these that I had forgotten to post when the product was released last year. Some Legend of Five Rings cards that I did a while back.

From the set Before the Dawn:

Wisdom of Fukurokujin

Blessing of Inari

I teased Jim Pinto, the art director on the project with this initial sketch for Inari instead, which in the initial art description was called "Fortune of Rice":

Spite of Ekibyogami

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From the set Empire at War:

Ride the Wave

Samurai Vessel

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From the set War of Honor

Wall of Air
The original watercolor paintings for all of these are available if you click on the images.

Wind Machine

Wind Machine
Size: 17x31 inches
Medium: Watercolors
Prints & Original Painting for sale -here-

Somewhere at the edge of the world, spinning out cloud wisps and phantom winds.

My favorite part of working on this one was doing the clouds and sky. First piece completed in 2012!!! Always feels odd to sign the new date at the beginning of the year. This piece fits in with an "Inner Workings" series theme that I have in mind to pursue with a few more paintings to come!