Mean Streak

Just having fun, blowing off some afternoon blah.

The Conflagration

The final drawing is on my watercolor board and is ready to go. Unfortunately, it seems I have too many plates spinning in the air right now, and I may have to put this piece on hold for a short time. There are some other pieces that need my attention, and I will put those up as soon as I can. It's under wraps right now. As soon as the other pieces are taken care of, I plan on returning to these wily guys to finish the job.


This is a comp sketch for a piece I have been working on for a while now. This is based on the idea of three fire brothers, each one a different type of flame. The left character is based on candlelight. He is full of wisdom and considers his decisions thoroughly. the character in the middle is based on wild fire and explosions. He is very intense and becomes enraged easily. The character on the left is based on blue flame and is full of mischievous kinetic energy. He is very sneaky and very quick.

The Ancient

This is a sketch I did based on an interesting treeform I saw while on a hike in the hills of San Jose up in Grant Park. The tree was an assembly of twisting roots, branches and moss. I wondered, what would this tree be like if it could move about and speak with me? This old man/tree emerged. I imagine him a wily character with much wisdom and a tendency for mischief.

Fleeting Moments

Here is what I was working on last weekend. I had what was nearly a perfect day on Saturday because I was able to take a bike ride, do some photography, paint, and spend the afternoon with my girlfriend. The only thing that was missing was some jamming on my guitar. The painting was started late in the afternoon/sundown part of the day when the light changes very rapidly. The colors were shifting all over the place, so I did a quick lay-in with pen and gouache, then took a photo so I could work on it a bit more at home. When I looked at the image later, it was very unresolved, but the basics were there, so I just solidified some of "mushy" areas.

The next day, I went to Big Sur with Kristel and found some more rapidly changing environments. The fog was blasting in off the ocean with surprising force, but there were magnificent moments of sunlight that disappeared in a flash. I would have loved to paint the scene, but it was pretty formidable circumstances, and I was not prepared. Perhaps in the future I will make it out on a similar day. I do have some photos to remind me of the fantastic colors of the water and the land until then.

What Lies Beneath

Here is the finished piece for the Beasts of Neptune project I was working on. It took a while, but I am happy with the results. Next up are some traditional pieces with a fantasy bend.

Oil!

I have a week-and-some-days off as I switch to my new job, so I am tackling a lot of things I wanted to do but never had the time for. One of them is improving my meager facility with oil painting. I am still very very new to the medium, (only having painted in oil twice before these) so my technique leaves something to be desired. Still, I had a lot of fun. I really love the medium and look forward to many more paintings and discoveries.

The first piece was done in San Francisco out near the warf with my friends Jehan and Chrystal. I did the portrait based on a Corbis stock photo just to see what I needed work on.

Beasts of Neptune Line Art

Here is the line drawing for a piece I said I would do a while back. This is a companion piece to the attack ship painting. I wanted to depict the first meeting the ship had with the large methane feeders that cruise the foggy atmosphere. These creatures are not aggressive, but I wanted them to feel intimidating none the less. I will do a painting on top of this in photoshop.