This is a demo I did for “observational painting” in my Painting I class. I wanted to show them how to paint like they would in a sketchbook and be less attached to the end product, to work quickly, and to be engaged primarily in the process of looking and painting. I usually get more out of these exercises than my students, and I ended up enjoying the texture and feel of this piece painted on corrugated cardboard.
I did this gouache self-portrait as a demo in my Painting I class. It’s very small (it was done in my sketchbook). I’m posting two process shots to show the underpainting and layering that I did leading up to the final project.
It’s been awhile since I posted some sketchbook pages. Here are some portraits I’ve sketched over the past few months.
I’m not trying to look tough. This is actually what my face looks like when I’m concentrating. I painted this during my Painting II class today since we are attempting self-portraits (40 minutes).
There was a nice bit of sun hitting a small portion of the neighbor’s house Thursday. The trees were illuminated.
gouache, watercolor pencils, ink
5×7
One of my goals for 2017 was to paint more. It’s often intimidating to get out my easel and a “precious” canvas and jump into a big project that I know will keep me preoccupied from my family for the next week (which is my normal experience). In other words, it doesn’t fit conveniently in my normal life.
So, I followed the design of James Gurney and created my own light and portable pochade easel.
Since then I’ve been trying to paint at least one small 5×7 gouache every week. I’ll try to post some more as I go, but below is a selection:
Week One: The Back Alley
Week Three: For Sale
Week Five: Dreams
Week Six: Appliances
Week Seven: Could this be Spring?
Week Eight: Winter Field
Yesterday I posted an environment concept I painted. When I posted it on facebook I asked my friends what story they saw in the piece. A close friend and fellow artist Annie Lightsey suggested the following:
“[He] has embarked upon a pilgrimage that will take him far from home. Reverently and with gratitude he turns and looks, one last time, upon the opulent comforts of the home he leaves behind before he proceeds on his journey.”
I’m considering going on this journey with The Pilgrim, so I decided to do a character concept of him today.
I’ve been trying to challenge myself to create some wholly original work and find my voice as an artist, and this is what I found today.
I was inspired by watching a twitch stream of johnlestudio to just begin a drawing and figure out the story as I went. As John was drawing he would “feel” a shape or a line that looked/felt good to him and then he would figure out how to create it within the developing world of his piece.
Of course, if I’m attempting any kind of concept art, I should also mention the artists Sparth and Scott Robertson whose tutorials, both online and in book form, have been helpful to me along my journey.
I participated in inktober again this year, but this year (in contrast to last year) I was committed to see it through. I really appreciated the discipline it required of me. As you can see in these sketches, I went through a portraiture phase that I really enjoyed. It was reassuring to feel like I was seeing some growth in my observational drawing skills. None of these sketches had a pencil under drawing–I just went in directly with the pen and tried to cover over any “sins” with Copic marker value:)
The last sketch in this post was done with brush and ink washes from reference.
I need to get back to doing some work and sketching is always the best way to ease back into the saddle.
I used this photo by Petritap as a reference.
