Weird Watercolors

I don't have time to be posting this blog!  But oh well here are some watercolors from last night's Figure Drawing Class at Studio b:

So on this one (above) I painted the watercolor first, decided it was wrong, and then tried to save it by adding pen on top.  The watercolor was already off enough that the pen mostly followed the mistakes.  However, it was pointed out to me that this looks purposeful!  Now it looks kind of cartoon-ish.

So then I decided I'm more of a draftsman than a painter so I'd better draw it in pencil first.  Much better.  I was liking this one but unfortunately time ran out (15 minutes) before I had a good chance to muck it up.

And then he held a big frame.

Well, that's all I've got to share since I'm still working hard on my top-secret commission.  Aren't you just so curious???

Welcome to My New Studio

That's right, folks.  I now have a FOR REALS studio.  No more working in the tiny corner of the bedroom with my art and supplies stored all over the house and shed.  A real life studio... How do you ask?  WE BOUGHT A HOUSE.  How the Hell do an artist and a coffee roaster afford to do THAT, you ask?  Because my parents are AWESOME and they helped us out with the down payment.  And this perfect little house just so happened to have a perfect separate building in the back yard just perfect for an art studio.


Welcome to my studio...

But beware... For it is guarded by a fierce cat and dog team.

Some time soon we will be finishing the studio: insulated the walls and ceiling, adding paneling, painting said walls and ceiling, and painting the floor.



So the move is partially why I haven't blogged in a couple weeks.  The other reason is I have been working on a commission but I can't share the progress because it's a secret... Sshh...  But it won't always be so I will share once I can.

And oh yeah!  Here is my final for silkscreen class that I spent forever on, made a silly little mistake, and didn't turn out very well...

And here is the progress on the PC painting...

Well, I really shouldn't be blogging right now because I have a LOT of work to do on the secret commission, so off I go!

More on the PC Painting Progress

After showing the painting progress to Elizabeth, she decided she thought the girl was too much of a focal point.  I offered to paint her out and have a bunch of people far in the distance, and she liked that idea.  So that is what I did!

 Before:

After:

Aaaah, colors and mess.

Still more progress to be made on this painting, and you know I'll post the final product right here, so stay tuned.

In other news, I am struggling with my final for silkscreen class.  I made a simple mistake that caused my colors to not line up.  I couldn't figure out why until I woke up at 2am.  I realized what had happened, and stayed awake for hours mad at myself for possibly screwing up my final print!  Yesterday, I made strides to cover up my mistakes which... kind of worked.  It's not great but it's better.  At least I have learned and won't make that same mistake again... I would think.  I should be printing my last color tomorrow!

Visitor's Map Cover

I have been painting the cover of the Panama City Visitor's Map for four years and the cover of the Panama City Beach Map for two years.  It's a pretty sweet gig.  The latest Beach map came out recently.  Here it is!

That means my painting is featured in most restaurants and shops in Panama City and Panama City Beach.  In the map there is even an "about the cover artist" section with a short paragraph and my website.  Oddly enough, I have never had anybody contact me who found me through the map... WTF?  But in this latest edition my email address is included, so perhaps that will change!

Painting of PC Progress Part 2

That's a lot of P's...

Anywho, it's day three on working on the painting for Elizabeth.  Again, this painting was to represent the area for her to remember it after she moved away to Jacksonville.

Since the last post I had added a part of downtown to the lower right.

Today I added a camera (to represent her time as a reporter for News 13,) sky, water, and marina boats.  The camera and boats still need more work.  I plan to add buildings far in the background to the left of the girl on the horizon.  I also think I want to add a large palm frond starting in the upper right corner and bending down between the girl and downtown.

It is fun, freeing, but also a little scary when someone commissions a piece and allows for a lot of creative freedom.  I'm enjoying this piece but you never really know if someone will like the piece until they see it.  I hope Elizabeth likes what she sees so far!

New Print and Commissioned Painting Progress

This is my latest screen print:

The title is "Growth."  The assignment was to do a self portrait.  I know, a foreign subject for me, eh?  It is three runs (3 colors) done with photo emulsion and pin-hole registration.  I LOVE pin-hole registration.  I finally feel like I'm getting the hang of this screen printing thing.  Starting to, anyway.  The first two colors of this print (skin color and blue) printed wonderfully.  I worked like a quick machine and every print was pretty good.  Once I got to the black, though, it was much more difficult.  The black ink was thick and sticky, so I had quite the time trying to get decent prints with it.  It didn't always pick up the detail of the branches, but I'm pretty happy with the results.

This week I am working on a commissioned painting.  It is for Elizabeth Cate, who was a reporter at News 13 but recently moved to Jacksonville to report there.  She wanted a piece of art that represented the Panama City area.

It starts with a 16"x20" piece of wood and a pencil sketch of a girl on a beach (because what is this area without the beach??)

Then some acrylic paint is added:

 And next I will add pieces of downtown.  I'll keep you posted on the progress.  When I asked Elizabeth if I could blog about the process she said, "Of course you can blog about it! What kind of journalist would I be if I didn't believe in documentation."


I've spent the past two Saturdays drawing portraits at HarborWalk in Destin.  Alas, I have no photos to share.  Maybe next time!

Mother and Child Drawings

Last night at Studio b we had a special treat.  First, I must tell again about a few months ago when we had the rare pleasure of drawing from a pregnant model.  Last night Edna, the very same model, brought her new baby daughter, not even 3 months old yet, to model with her.  It was amazing drawing the baby before and after birth.  And she made such a good model!  She was already experienced.

The other amazing aspect was how much each student captured the mood and atmosphere.  With all the different styles the artists interpreted the scene, there remained a constant: the bond between mother and child.  In each drawing I saw as I looked around the room, everyone had captured that bond.  Here are my drawings:

Prints of these, as well as any of my art, are available.  Please contact me if you are interested!