1000th post

I started this blog about four years ago after the death of my stepson, James.  It was and a is a way to honor him and to remind me to seize each day and to do something with each one.  I don't always post each day but I come pretty close.  This is a scratchboard moon.  Scratchboard is a white clay applied to a board and then covered with a black paint/layer.  You scratch the surface and expose the white clay.  This is part of a bigger project which I will be showing in the days to come.  Some of my James art is below.

Portrait study

I blocked in this portrait study. This is not an original but it is a way to practice on painting faces and heads.  This is the start and then I will go in and add the half tones and the rest of the facial structure.

Ear Study

Happy Friday, i worked on another black and white study, this time of the ear. It is okay, but hey that is the point, keep practicing and practicing until you get it right and can do it easily and with mastery.

Mouth and Nose study

More of the face studies in black and white oil paint.  A simple exercise in quick practice of drawing with a brush.

Nose Study

I worked on a Nose study in Black and white oil.  Without eyes this is a little scary and creepy.

Eye Oil study

After a little break, I am back and should be more consistent in my posting.  I did this oil study of an eye in black and white paint today.

Autumn Monarch - closer

I worked on this one this evening.  I added some foliage and worked the elk trying to make it better. The foliage on the right is probably good.  I want to dry brush with just a little pigment on the elk to get better shapes and face definition.  The background foliage and the grass needs a few adjustments to get it were it needs to be for a complete painting.

Another Bull Elk study in pencil

I worked on this study of a Bull Elk.  This is a combo study.  I wanted to relook at how I was doing the Autumn Monarch Painting and I needed to do a birthday card for my brother-in-law.  This was all done with lead pencils.

Engine 487 - Cumbre and Toltec Lunch

If you ride the Cumbres And Toltec railroad you spend lunch at Oslier. This is where I took a photo of Engine 487.  I did this pencil sketch to start planning out the painting of this engine.  It is a small one but it is easier to figure out what you want to do with it small.

Cumbres & Toltec Engine 484 sketch

I have worked on this for the past couple of night, sort of intermittently.  This is a pencil sketch I have been working on to figure out if I want to do the bigger painting of later.  the jury is still out on this one, but it is fun practice for me and I enjoy it.

Red Winged Blackbird - oldie

I had done this 10 years ago but I had never liked it.  I only just figured out what to do to it.  I changed the background and I will change the body color on the Male Red Winged Blackbird.  It is ironically too black right now which makes it to dull and flat.  I will redo the black with different "black" color.  I will use a mix of Alizarin Crimson, UltraMarine Blue, and Viridian, to make a more realistic black.