Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!! Enough said!

Birthday Pug

Today is my baby sister's birthday.  I draw cards for family members for birthdays and since she has three Pug dogs, I thought she needed a Halloween Witchy Pug.  Happy Birthday Michele!  This is black and grey markers.

Art Marker Oak Tree Sketch

Tonight's Post is another Art Marker Tree study.  I used Coptic Art Markers grey toned markers for this sketch of an Oak Tree trunk and lowest branches.  This is in the sketch book of trees, which is part of the practice work I try to do on a daily basis.

Marker Tree Sketch

Easy, relaxing sketch tonight.  I had a headache last night after getting back from work, so no artwork then, just some re-org stuff in the art room.  I did this as a quick sketch with a Pentic Art Marker.

Scuba James - Nearly finished

I worked on Scuba James today.  I refined the water some and fixed some things which bothered me about his face and some of the details.  I will leave the water alone but I may work the face a little more after a rest.

Kerri's Portrait

My daughter Kerri said she wanted a painting of a photo she had took a few years back.  She say the other paintings of her sister and brother and she said she wanted one.  I will do a more complicated one which is more than a silhouette.

Mountain Cherry Tree

This was a bit of an experiment.  This acrylic   painting is done with only four colors and the majority is white and black.  The foliage in the cherry tree is blue, red and white.  This is much like an oriental mountain "Sumi" ink painting.   It is always good to change things up and try something new and in a different medium.

Yosemite Sketch

I am back up and running after a little scanner computer problem.  This is a pencil sketch of a painting by Thomas Hill from about 100 years ago.  Going pencil studies of paintings and scenes is a way to learn and to understand the darks and lights of a painting without worrying about color.

Tree -Capades

I decided to play with the art markers for juniper trees in two greens, one blue and one dark blue almost black.  Sort of fun and different, which is the enjoyable part.

Planning out and different mediums

There is a planning out of this painting.  I had done a few different thumb nail sketches and then I did a basic drawing to set up the perspective, a watercolor of it to consider colors and then started on the oil.

Quick Thumb Nail sketch

This is a quick Thumb Nail Sketch, i.e, it is small but is a way to quickly get the details of a scene and a way to experiment with the composition before committing to a larger piece.   I have trying to do more of these to quicken the drawing skills and to capture fleeting scenes.

Joshua Tree Sketch

More sketches from the Southwest.  This is the Joshua Tree from the deserts of Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona.  These are probably the strangest trees I have ever seen.

Cholla Cactus Sketch

I am continuing the sketches of trees and cactus.  This is a sketch of the Cholla cactus.  They have wicked bad hair like spines which are very hard to remove.  In Haiti, they had Cholla trees as big as Saguaro cactus unlike the smaller ones in SouthWest United States.

Happy Anniversary - the late version

Friday was my wedding anniversary, the one for the Army to recognize I had a wife.  It was 22 years ago.  The wife likes Day of the Dead themed things so this is her card from me.  We had the Church wedding in May so I have two anniversaries and a ring day.  (The day I gave her her engagement ring).

Desert Cliff - Block-in

I helped a friend move today, so I was only able to block-in this Desert Cliff landscape.  It is going to need alot of work but its still a start.  More to follow tomorrow.

Bristle Cone Pine Tree

I have a sketch book I am filling with tree sketches.  I have about 60 done so far and most have been posted.  Most are not original but are a method of study and observation.  Today's sketch is black and grey art markers of a Bristle Cone Pine tree.  They are found near or at the timber line in the Mountains of the Rockies and the Sierras.  I have some pictures of some of these trees from my own travels and I am exploring ways to capture the trees essences and unique characteristics.

Rabbit Sketch

Long day today so I scanned this sketch of this long eared rabbit.  Enjoy!

Art Marker Trees

I worked on this the last two nights.  It is not an original design, but it was a good practice piece of design and artwork.  I used Coptic art markers in black and grey.

Devil's Tower - Block-in

Tonight I worked on this oil landscape of Devil's Tower in Wyoming.  This is the view you get as you drive to the Tower from the south.  I will tweak the sky, add details to the tower, and sort out the foreground to make it better and add more convincing depth to it.  Not a bad start for an hours worth of painting.

Pumpkin King

A little fun paint, The Pumpkin King looks down and surveys him kingdom - the Patch.  I liked the goofy little thing and it is easy to do while fitting off sickness.

Small Practice Pencil Sketches

These are small pencil sketches to work out in small size and to practice compositions.  It is easier to make small mistakes and small experiments before committing to full size paintings or larger paintings.

Hemlock Tree Sketch

A grey little day in DC, I have plans to fill sketch books with pencil drawings of trees and windows.  I have filled three sketchbooks with bird sketches.  All are plan of the practice necessary to improve.  Tonight is another tree sketch after a long day and long commute in the rain.  This is work to be able to avoid a commute unless it is to someplace interesting.