Hearts

Hearts. They always seem to be around me. Most of these photos were taken in the last 48 hours. I love when they pop up but I always wonder what is going on when so many pop up at once. Still, it's cool. Sharing.

No heart here. Just showing what the item is that had the heart
on the cape.

Wine

Quickly sketching out ideas.
I enjoy wine and have always wanted to know how to make it. This weekend I will have the opportunity to begin the wine making process with some close friends who make their own wine every year. Apparently the grapes are ready for picking and another pair of hands in the process is most welcome I'm told.

I can't seem to go into this exciting adventure without thinking about the art and typography on the labels of the wine bottle. I sketched out a few quick designs for myself but the mice quickly rushed in and I was helpless against the images and had to put them down on paper.

Dapples

Light oil glazes in areas
where dapples will fall.
Dapples have always given me a challenge. I suspect they will always be a challenge as well because there seems to be so many ways to approach this unique haring pattern.

Over the years I have tried many different methods to create dapples. From airbrushing dots onto the surface to painting open circles each technique had it's pros and cons. The current method I've become comfortable with seems to be working for me and as I was layering pattern down on this (soon to be) unicorn I decided to document one of the dappling techniques.

After oils have dried spray with a matte sealant.
Slowly layer thinned acrylics on top of the oils.

Keep adding dapples and following reference.

Add color around the dappled spots to
help bring them out further.

That Peacock....

That Peacock from Hillside Farms just wouldn't leave my head. For days now I kept thinking how much fun it would be to take the live sketch I made of him at the farm and paint him on a small canvas. Tonight I finally did.

As I suspected the blues in his neck gave me a hard time. This canvas is fairly small and after I let it sit over night I'll attach some ribbon and offer it as an ornament. It was definitely a fun painting.

"The Peacock"
Acrylic on Canvas
1" x 1" cotton canvas

"In Dreams"
Graphite, Acrylic and Watercolor on paper.

More Live Sketching (Hillside Farms)

They have a peacock.
He's magnificently beautiful.
I woke yesterday with the urge to live sketch. I ignored the urge for most of the day until the thought hit me that sketching at the local farm would prove to be a lot of fun.

The dairy store has a constant flow of people both young and old and the grounds are alive with all sorts of farm animals, including cows and horses. Both animals proved to be a challenge for me to draw yesterday. Im not sure why, but the birds sketched out easy and I absolutely fell in love with their new peacock. I must paint a picture of him. Trying to capture the blue of his neck will be a challenge. Im not even sure I have the right color blues for the job. It will be fun though.

Here are the best sketches from the excursion.
Oh and PS...I highly recommend the "Chicken Scratch" flavored ice cream.

The shape of his head intrigued me.

With old age comes a saggy neck...
which is fun to draw.

Two different women, same hair style
both standing next to each other in line.

The best part about drawing a binky in a kid's mouth?
They never let go of that binky so it's easy to capture on paper.

The duck...he seems very sad to me.

Chickens!

I forced myself to draw hands.
This was the best one I drew that day.

This is the face, of the man whose hand I drew
holding the ice cream.

Almost Forgot

Nailed this guy's profile.
My favorite sketch from both sessions.
Almost forgot to share some of the better sketches that came from a few of the bar and casino excursions I was recently on. Side profiles continue to interest me. Very tempted to run out to the casino and sketch a bit this morning. Contemplating.

The One That Got Away

After driving around for about 20 minutes
this spot captured my attention.
All the paintings I produced while visiting the farm in Nescopeck are sitting in my living room. Every time I pass the room I keep making mental notes on areas to change on each one. There is one, however, that is still baffling me. It's the large landscape with way too much happening in the foreground.

The painting started normal like every other painting, but quickly went astray. I documented the painting process and tried like hell to make sense of the foreground.

While painting and documenting the wind kicked up and a storm started to blow in over the mountains. Struggling with the elements on top of trying to tame color, value and composition were just too much. A step back to view the piece from a distance made me dislike it even more. A step back, however, also revealed an even better view to paint from the other side of the mountain so I grabbed my last canvas (a square) and began painting.

After about an hour wound up with yet another unfinished canvas. The first though, remains unfinished and it's bothering me that I struggled so hard with the foreground. I'm dubbing it the one that got away.

The upper portion of the painting turned
out to be my favorite part.