Point Reyes - Market

Sketch from a previous trip to Pt. Reyes. Here's a large bin filled with pineapples and melons. The winds can get pretty intense here...I barely had enough time to finish before retreating back to my car.

(Watercolors, brush pen, background blur filter in Photoshop)

Day at the Beach

(Acrylic on canvas)

Plein Air - Marin Headlands (part 2)

Fort Cronkhite - Met up with 3 artists for plein air painting right on the beach. It was my first time painting on location, so it was all about exploring shapes, tones and mixing colors. I was really hoping to paint 2 canvas pieces but spent all my time on just one. Here's a photo of how far we painted.
I have to admit that the extreme brightness of the clear skies and the fast change in lighting & shadows was quite challenging. Before I share some thoughts and personal critique, here's a scan of the original painting.
Bringing the painting home, I saw immediately that I forgot to keep in mind the massing of colors and tones. Lemme show you what I mean....

1. The greens were way too saturated. I digitally added tones from the ocean and yellow hues to bring down the saturation. Now the yellow flowers felt more in sync with the greens.
2. I didn't realize how bright of a blue I painted for the sky?! The ocean often reflects the blue sky....So I digitally added some of the ocean tones into the sky and that actually looked better.
   

I could have continued adjusting the whole painting, but I just wanted to share my mistakes and possible improvements next time around. It's amazing how different painting live vs. the comforts of your own studio.

Even with all the mistakes, I did enjoy painting certain parts. I just loved the beach in the far distance where tiny specks of people played in the water.

And here's a few waves that I managed
to capture with minimal brush stokes.

Plein Air - Marin Headlands (part 1)

Don't drink the water!!! - Well, at least not the water bottle on the left...it was used to clean my brushes during a Plein Air study with some friends along the beach. Remember, no dumping in the Bay :D

I'll scan my painting tonight...still recovering from that gorgeous warm weather over the weekend.

Sketchcrawl 22 - Chinatown YMCA

San Francisco, CA - It was a bright sunny Saturday, but a bit windy. Getting a late afternoon start, I hiked up the street from Portsmouth Park and was immediately drawn to the architecture of the YWCA and was up to the challenge of rendering this illustration.

(upper right: from a personal Benicia, CA crawl)

Throughout the afternoon I was greeted by passers-by and curious kids looking over my shoulder. A tenant from across the street was kind enough to inform about the building I was drawing. The YWCA was designed by the famous architect Julia Morgan. The same Julia that designed Hearst Castle and the Fairmont Hotel. Supposedly there's a self-guided museum inside the YWCA, but only open on the weekdays :(

I totally got caught up in my crawl and forgot to grab lunch and dinner?! So I stopped by a local restaurant before my way back to the meeting point. Unfortunately most of the group already left, but I was greeted by Ronnie who stepped in to coordinate because Enrico caught that awful flu bug. I also chatted and exchanged sketch books with cartoon illustrator, Kevin Wood.

Just to give a taste of a Sketchcrawl, please view video footage by Goro. This footage is basically everything, and everyone I missed. LOL.

22nd SketchCrawl San Francisco from Goro on Vimeo.

100 Artist Project

(Micron pens and brush pens)

As much as I'm excited to complete this project, I'm just as enthused to hand the book over to the next artist on the roster, Clint Smith.

"Here ya go Clint!"Special thanks to Ben Rollman for coordinating the 100 Artist Project.
This project supports The Center for Cartoon Studies Scholarship Fund (Vermont).

Progression

Being the first artist was a little intimidating. Open the book and it's the first thing you see! Late in the process, I decided to scrap the idea of a landscape painting. Instead, I wanted to inspire... but at the same time...convey a message for each artist that opens the book for the very first time. Getting in there and and attacking those pages! Blessing each blank page with their creative minds and talent. Then came the idea of the first 2 pages being seen as one huge entrance way. At the same time, a bold warrior is pointing towards the massive door, telling you:

"Get in there...and DRAW!!!"

Stay tuned, up next.....Inking :D