We just finished up the portrait class I was teaching on Tuesday nights (thanks for posing Anna!). During the 10 weeks of the class I was able to do some head and hand studies. (Side note: If you’re wondering, part-time/evening classes start again the week of September 14th.) Anna’s...
Aug62014
Hands Study on Newsprint
Jul302014
New Original Painting: Sea Daydream
This piece went through a LOT of changes from the initial concept. Maybe I’ll post some of the process for this one at some point. We’ll see. She’s an original painted with oils on linen canvas mounted to board, and framed. She’ll be with me on display at Gen...
Jul192014
Illustration Workshop 2014 – Day 5
Today was our last day. What a great week. Julie brought in celebratory donuts from Sara Jane’s Bakery. Thanks Julie! Here’s where we left off. She did color studies in colored pencil. Then Julie decided to try something new and gave gouache a whirl. Here’s a shot of some...
Jul162014
Frustration and Learning
Sometimes I’ll finish a piece and feel like I added a new layer of skill and be excited about the results. Sometimes it’ll feel like I’m pushing a boulder up a hill. There’s a new concept or skill I’ll be trying to grasp and incorporate into the latest picture....
Jun182014
Maquettes for Reference
Today I offer up a peak into a bit of my process for creating the cover image of Llewellyn’s 2015 Astrological Calendar. I created maquettes for several of the animals on the cover. Why Make Maquettes? I didn’t want to fly by the seat of my pants for creating...
Jun112014
DIY Ink Filled Brush-Pen and Lightfast Test
I enjoy using the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen but I wanted to have an ink brush that I could sketch with in a color other than black. I wanted to put ink in a Niji Waterbrush to make my own. What I wasn’t sure about was how much I...
Jun42014
Women Destroy Science Fiction!
This Spring I was delighted to participate in an extra special issue of Lightspeed Magazine. The release was funded with KickStarter and is titled Women Destroy Science Fiction! It is an amazing collection of fiction and non-fiction. My assignment was to create an illustration for an intriguing steampunk mystery...
May292014
Quieting the Inner Critic
April was International Fake Journal Month (brain child of Roz Stendahl, a Twin Cities based artist and graphic designer). As I understand it the idea is to do something different. If you draw dogs all the time, draw cats. The project could also be as elaborate as a visual...
May212014
Portrait Practice – Color Experiments
Colors used for this head study Perylene Black (Winsor & Newton) Yellow Ochre (Winsor & Newton) Permanent Yellow Light (Rembrandt) Permanent Red Medium (Rembrandt) Permanent Magenta (Winsor & Newton) Permanent Alizarin Crimson (Winsor & Newton) Untramarine Blue (Utrecht) The white was either Utrecht White, or Flemish White by Utrecht....
May142014
Practice vs. Perfection
Flash back to art school. I had drawn before so why couldn’t I make “this” work? “This” was whatever skill or project I was working on at the time. All I had to do was draw what I saw. It was right there in front of me, right? Easy...