Emilie Seriziat

Jacques-Louis David painted an exquisite portrait of Emilie Seriziat and her son in 1795.  And here is a copy rendered with charcoal of this masterful painting.

Water Dog Lake

I find landscapes to be the most difficult to compose because it is not always clear where to focus.  There is a small lake in our neighborhood that one day inspired me to sketch the surrounding hillside as the sun rose behind me.  Below is an attempt at rendering this scene in oils.  I struggled a bit with the subject but found it a good exercise to experiment with colors.

Why Beauty Matters

In today's consumer oriented utilitarian society beauty matters more than ever.  What value do you place on beauty?  Philosopher Roger Scruton proclaims that contemplation of beautiful art can deliver us to our spiritual home and redeem us from human suffering and celebrate  our sacred joy.  I thoroughly enjoyed his video Why Beauty Matters

A pear and a pot

After a fortifying breakfast of Grape Nuts and Cheerios this morning I felt inspired to paint a still life of a pear and a pot using my makeshift shadow box.  I like the balance of warm and cool colors, the connected shapes, and the pot.  I would like to see more form in the pear and the cast shadow of the pear on the pot is too dark.  Perhaps if the shadow was lighter the pear would have more form.

A tea cup

I fashioned a cheap shadow box from a cardboard packing box and flashlight for still life compositions.  Here is a simple drawing with a teacup and saucer.

The School of Athens

Today I practiced my drawing with this value study of a fresco by Raphael called The School of Athens.  I tried focusing on big connected shapes and then adding a few line and midtone details