Sunday, December 6, 2015

Friends

Can a still life represent friendship?  That was one of the questions I sought when composing this painting of a pear and garlic.  At a distance and in the shadows the pear and the garlic appear just as acquaintances having a conversation.  But as we look at their true nature we see they are literally very close to one another and that there is a clear affection as the pear leans into the garlic.  They come from very different backgrounds as the garlic grows up in the ground and the pear matures in the canopy of a tree and yet they find themselves together here - possibly in someone's kitchen.  Allegorically speaking the two represent people from different cultures finding each other in unlikely places and bringing beauty to the world as represented by the harmonious triangle of the composition.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Life Drawing

I discovered a fantastic group of artists in San Francisco that hosts a weekly figure drawing workshop  every Saturday morning.  The models are very professional and provide some very beautiful (and challenging) short poses.   It starts with 2 minute poses and ends with 20 minute poses for about 3 hours.  Instead of a workshop it should be called a workout because it takes a lot of concentration to sincerely capture the beauty and humanity of these models.  Here are a few drawings from September.




Saturday, June 27, 2015

After Taddeo Zuccaro

I was at the Cantor Arts Center today to see the collection of  Italian master drawings on loan from Princeton.  I greatly admired their knowledge and rendering of human anatomy through their masterful use of line.  Here is a figure drawing sketch after Taddeo Zuccaro, a 16th century painter from the High Renaissance.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Jazz saxophonist

Here is a quick charcoal sketch of a friend of my daughters playing the jazz saxophone.  They play in a jazz band together which is awesome!

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Moroccan Saddling Horse after Delacroix

Eugene Delacroix was a master storyteller through his paintings.  Here is a drawing copy I did of his Moroccan Saddling a Horse.  He vividly portrays the love between this man and his horse and how they are dependent on each other for survival.  Delacroix draws you into the scene as you figuratively become the man and feel yourself hoisting the saddle onto the horse.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Henri Fantin-Latour

I am a big fan of Henri Fantin-Latour's floral compositions and I'm not even sure I can explain why.  I  simply like the shapes, colors, and energy in his paintings.  Here is a copy of a self portrait.  The eyes are a bit too close too each other so I need to be more diligent at measuring before I commit the darker values.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

White and Pink Roses

If you look at a Henri Fantin-Latour floral painting it has a calming effect to transport you to a world of pure beauty.  Here is a sketch of one of his many floral paintings.  I started with the big shapes and then added in enough detail until it looked believable.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Lion King

In our living room stands this ferocious lion plaster statue.  Every now and then I sketch the lion.  Here is my latest attempt to capture a true form and representation.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Filoli Rose

The shapes and patterns in roses are endless and can easily entrance an artist for hours.  Here is a drawing of a rose based on a picture I took at Filoli last year.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Landscape facing Woodside Road near the Pioneer Inn

I decided to join the Burlingame Plein Air painters meetup today to see if I could overcome my apprehension to oil paint landscapes outside.  I figured it would help to be around some other artists and since it was a beautiful day I decided to give it a go.  After laboring in the sun for 4 hours I produced the following.  I found landscape painting to be quite challenging since there is so much information you really have to force yourself to simplify the scene but I'm happy with the result.  I spent about 30 minutes setting up and just thinking about the composition.

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Seated Dancer Pulling Up Her Tights - after Degas

Degas' drawings of dancers captured the rhythm and beauty of dancers like no other.  Through line, form, an texture he draws you into intimate scenes.  Here is a copy after Degas of a dancer pulling up her tights.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Ballet dancer

Boy, I keep forgetting how challenging watercolors can be.  I often find photographs of ballet dancers on Pinterest with interesting compositions and good lighting.  I really liked the lines expressed by this principal dancer and felt inspired to try painting it with watercolors.  I think I was able to preserve some of the key lines of the dancer but had trouble keeping some of the major shapes as I struggled to control the watercolors.  I think my next painting will be with oils.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Filoli Iris

It's been awhile since I've tried my luck with watercolors but after looking at some of my favorite artists' paintings I was inspired to paint this flower I photographed at Filoli.


Thursday, January 1, 2015

Holiday lights

I thought I would wrap up the holidays with a painting of some holiday lights I found lying around the garage.  Which reminds me that I need to put away the holiday lights this weekend.