brian's Art Blog

Habanero

2009-09-06T15:48:00.003-06:00

Just a quick sketch done with brown ink and watercolored.

I really need to get back into the daily swing of things!

2009-07-19T07:40:00.002-06:00

A couple of pears with personality and a dead leaf from our False Aurelia plant. A little pen and Ink and watercolor on Arches Hot Press paper.

Carter's Ink

2009-06-28T16:03:00.004-06:00

Well, it has been too long. Work has really gotten in the way of life lately. These past few weeks have been 70 hour weeks or more. Most of my days off are spent at work. I come home completely exhausted. I finally convinced myself that I had to do something for me. It was fun to draw and paint again. I hope that I will continue.

This is an old Carter's ink from the 40's (maybe) and a Modern Conway Stewart fountain pen. It is painted on Arches Hot Press.

2009-02-23T20:29:00.002-07:00

I think I will need to try this one again, someday. Enough said, it is what it is. It is good to be painting again and I hope I can keep it going!

More Hot Sauce

2009-02-21T15:37:00.004-07:00

I sat and drew this and painted it as I was watching tv. It was a quick one. Large Moleskine watercolor notebook.

Various Doodles

2009-02-20T14:47:00.002-07:00

In the spirit of catching up for the Fam! Thanks, Trin, for the gentle nudge! I gathered up all of my scraps of paper with this variety of doodles. Some depict real pens and others are from my imagination. Some have very exaggerated and stylized parts like the nibs. These doodles were then pasted into my journal to create this spread.

Been Awhile

2009-02-19T16:47:00.004-07:00

I posted this awhile back on flickr. But my family got on my case about not posting anything on my blog. So, I will attempt to get a couple of these caught up. This is in a small Moleskine watercolor notebook. It was a fun one to do.

Recent dabblings

2008-05-22T17:30:00.002-06:00

Some recent and quick sketches. I haven't been a total slacker!

Izabella

2008-05-22T15:48:00.004-06:00

Beautiful Izzy!

Introducing Izabella! Proud parents are Trina and Ethan! Izzy arrived Tuesday evening weighing in at 8 pounds 2 ounces! A big baby for tiny Trina. Too big requiring a C section. Trina and Izzy are doing well. It is really exciting to see your children having children, especially their first! Trina and Ethan are Great parents and Izzy is a lucky little lady! It has been fun to see Ethan as a father. Whenever someone was holding her and she would cry, Ethan would jump up and walk over to her and calmly talk to her and rub her head and she would calm down and quit crying! Wow! Both of my boys are wonderful Dads, much better than I!

My daughter is a wonderful Mom too. Have I gushed enough!?

David's Sunflower Seeds

2008-05-08T19:24:00.002-06:00

I have been wanting to do this picture for awhile now. I like the vibrant colors of the David's seeds! This was a fun one to do.

Evil E

2008-05-06T05:55:00.002-06:00

This is a birthday present for my son Ethan. His nickname is Evil E. Not sure how he got that knickname. He manages a bicycle shop and loves cycling and what he does. This picture and the crankin' hot sauce evolved in my mind while trying to come up with and idea for a present. It was a big hit with Ethan. Ethan and his wife Trina are expecting their first child in the next couple of weeks. It is a girl, Izzy! Exciting times!

Wonky Bottle Caps

2008-03-09T17:40:00.002-06:00

Tried a photo this time. Thought that I had it cropped better than this. The color is better than a scan but the details are worse! More practice is needed! Again, these are in a small Ciak notebook. Drawn in ink and watercoloured with Daniel Smith colors.

Last Sunday's Sketches

2008-03-09T10:49:00.004-06:00

I am not pleased with these scans. They are in a small Ciak notebook. I will have to figure out how to prop them open and try the photo method. I sketched these in church last Sunday and watercoloured them during the week.

Church Doodles

2008-01-27T11:59:00.001-07:00

Some recent sketches during church. I am using a small Ciak journal. It is about 4"x5". It is an Italian journal and I quite like it. The paper is not real heavy but it will take a light watercolor wash. The oranges are blood oranges. When i go to the bank for work, I go inside a grocery store. The bank is set up by the produce section. These oranges caught my eye and went home with me! I wish the bank tellers could also ring up my purchases! I drew the oranges in another book just before going to church so they were fresh on my mind. The gentleman pictured had a very cool vintage sports coat on! I really liked it. It was a light cream color with an intermittent black square pattern going through it. I am getting over some of my embarrassment of sketching during meetings. Maybe I am just rationalizing the point that I listen better! I definitely listen better if I am awake! The oranges were watercolored when I got home.

Church Doodle

2007-12-30T17:22:00.001-07:00

A doodle from church today. Drawn in blue black ink. I wanted it to bleed and provide the background which it did. The yellow and green watercolor was added at home. I tend to stay awake and alert a bit better if I am doodling. I have given up on trying to draw people as I sit on the podium facing the congregation. That would require some staring at people which I am sure they would not be comfortable with nor would I. Fiddle as I might, I still cannot get the scan the same color and look as the original!

Candy Continued!

2007-11-18T15:54:00.000-07:00

I am continuing with the candy theme. I am not sure how big this will get, but I do have several more that I want to add. The Yorkie and the Lion look like they are marketed in the U.K. by Nestle' from Switzerland. The Lion bar is not that big but I wanted to get the whole thing in! The Phinney bar is out of Seattle Washington and was quite yummy!

More Candy

2007-11-12T15:20:00.001-07:00

It has been awhile since I have painted. In a short month, I can tell that I have lost ground!

I have found some more candies and I started painting some of them. The yorkie cracks me up! It says it is not for girls and on the bottom of the package it says that it is not for handbags! It is a Nestle product from Switzerland.

Drawn with pen and watercolored on Albrecht Durer watercolor paper.

Variety

2007-10-07T11:57:00.000-06:00

More peppers from the garden. It is fun to see the different varieties and all of their stages of growth and color changes. I enjoy growing these mostly to paint. Some are pretty hot! The habaneros just have not produced this year. I must have started the seeds too late.

Another Pepper

2007-10-03T21:19:00.001-06:00

Another pepper from the garden. I set this up on a white table top. It was interesting to see the reflected light on the underside of the pepper. The bottom edge almost disappeared to the whiteness. I did not capture that. I should have put a background in, that would have helped. I think this is a Purira pepper. It is extremely hot, rivalling a habanero!

Large Moleskine watercolor sketchbook with pen and watercolor.

The computer crashed. Shame on me for not backing everything up! I did lose everything! My biggest regret are photos that have been lost! A huge thanks to my good friend, Dave, for making several house calls and spending several hours trying to save my files and in putting my computer back into working order!!!!!!!!!!!! A true Friend!! Thanks!!

From the Garden

2007-09-22T19:10:00.000-06:00

My apologies! It has been awhile since I have posted. It has been awhile since I have painted as well. I started a new job three weeks ago. I have gone from a sedentary job of selling cars back into a management position in the convenience/gas station business. So far, most of my work has been very physical. a glorified stock boy so far. It has given me a workout everyday! I have been eating a lot of Advil! It has also been very tough on my hands. The first week they were all swollen and broken out with the eczema and very miserable! I would goop them up with cremes and medicines and wear gloves around, trying to get ready for the next hammering. I have started wearing gloves at work. that has helped but hasn't cured. Anyway, I picked these peppers from the garden today and painted them tonight. Large moleskine watercolor sketchbook drawn in ink and watercolored.I would like to thank Joan Yosioka for awarding me with the Creative Blogger award. It is really appreciated! I have never been good at chain kinds of things so I am not good at passing this award on. I have left it too long and many that I would have nominated have been awarded by others. So here are some of my fav's. This may be a double award for them. I am not sure how to make the links, so here goes.

Suzanne at http://suzannebuchanan.blogspot.com I really love her sketches. It would be great to take an art class from her.

Terry at http://terrybanderas.blogspot.com a very talented artist. Great realism in a lot of his works!

Robyn at http://havedogswilltravel.blogspot.com I enjoy her posts and her art! I look forward to seeing more of her art and imagery of Italy!

Karen at http://kbladosdesign.com What wonderful journal entries and art of everyday objects. A delite for the senses!

Nina at http://ninajohansson.blogspot.com I love the quality of her watercolors! Fantastic !

There are many very talented artists that I regularly stop and check on. thanks for your inspiration and your encouragement to me. thanks again Joan!

Now, these honorees may now proudly post your awards and give the award to five other creative bloggers. For more info on Christie and the Creative Blogger Award, including other awards, check it out here

Quick and Loose

2007-09-12T17:41:00.000-06:00

This was my attempt at quick and loose! I did this about a year ago. I am not sure how loose it is, but it was quick. I think that I have made some improvements in my paintings since then.

I remember sitting out on the patio to do this one. I really fumbled around trying to hold my sketch book and my paints. It probably would have been funny to watch!

My Dad

2007-09-08T18:25:00.001-06:00

I did this picture last year. It was my Dad's Christmas present. I had gone on a scavenger hunt to find all these things to put in the picture. My son had the golf clubs. They were my Dad's and also the clubs that he taught me the game of golf with. I always loved the leather club cover. These binoculars went on every vacation with us. I could not find the original old bird book, this is one exactly like it from EBay. We would always try to remember everything about a bird to identify it. Dad always seemed to already know but would help us find the right answer. Dad loved to tool leather when I was a kid. I found this old purse in his drawer. All tooled but never completed. His work is beautiful and I included a couple of his tools. Dad loves walnuts and will sit and crack them for hours at a time. His old pocket knife has seen better days, it is nearly worn out! We collected stamps and coins when I was a kid and had some good times doing that. These are a couple of stamps that we collected, both unused from the 1940's. The silver dollar was my allowance when I was 6 or 7. An 1898 Morgan dollar worth about $6 the day it was given to me! When Mom found out, she tried to get it back! I still have it! Dad and I went on a lot of rabbit hunts when I was a kid. I put in a couple of .22 shells to evoke those memories. A long with the painting was a three page letter about these and other memories. My Dad is not one to show emotion. I was excited and nervous to give him this gift! In fact I have never been more excited to give a gift! How would he react? Would I even know if he liked it? I gave it to him at our Christmas breakfast when the whole family was there. He was just starting to kind of tear up when Mom piped in with her commentary. I wonder if that was a protective thing that Mom did for him? Dad regained his composure and remained steeled. I was left still kind of wondering! I saw him the next day and he told me it was the best gift that he had ever been given! Wow! How can I top a gift like that?!

Across the Street

2007-08-29T14:48:00.001-06:00

This is the cherry tree and two street lights that reside in the neighbors yard, across the street. I left out the house, no need for that. I think that we should be very safe all lit up with these two lights and two more that shine in from both sides of the corner that I live on. Good thing that we have some heavy drapes that block out all of this light! This is in a small watercolor moleskine.

From the Garden

2007-08-24T12:37:00.001-06:00

A couple of interesting sunflowers from the garden. I liked the first one because it is a little wonky. Not the typical sunflower, personality!

The second one was only partially blossomed. I find it fascinating that those tiny unblossomed petals get as large as they do. It would be fascinating to watch. Do they grow and engorge like a butterflies wings? I might have to investigate this a little further.

Ink and watercolor in a small watercolor moleskine.

Aranciata

2007-08-22T13:39:00.001-06:00

I really like this San Pellegrino orange drink. The can has a great design. I rushed this one too much. I also simplified it a bit. The red dots should be stars! It was still fun to do. Pen and ink and watercolor in a small watercolor Moleskine.

Our first Granddaughter, Lyra!

2007-08-15T09:48:00.000-06:00

This is Lyra! Daughter of Jamis and Theresa. What a cutie! She was born last night. Mom and Lira are doing fine. Dad and big brother are pretty excited! Lira was 6 lbs. 6 oz. I cannot remember her length. Oh, Grandma and Papa are pretty excited too!

A Mess O' Peppers

2007-08-14T15:05:00.001-06:00

I saw these peppers at Costco the other day and I knew they needed to come home with me. They were all in a bag together. Very colorful. An unknown variety of peppers, greenhouse grown in Canada. I still can't get things to scan exactly right, even after fiddling and adjusting. The actual colors are more pure and vibrant than my scan.

Venice 2

2007-08-08T09:53:00.000-06:00

I thought that I would try this one again on real watercolor paper. I love Venice! It has been years since we were there. I think about it quite often. I am still trying to figure out how to get there again. The exchange rate was great back in 1995 but not so much now. I just seem to be getting farther away! I will keep dreaming!

Ybor City

2007-08-03T20:49:00.001-06:00

This is from a photo or two that I took while in Tampa this spring. We were with friends, and ended up getting lost a few times. It always turned out great as we discovered things that we would have never seen otherwise! Ybor City was one of those surprises! Loved this place and it's architecture and charm! Enjoyed lunch seated on the sidewalk and soaked up the atmosphere, friendship and food! A very pleasant memory from the trip!

This is done in a small Moleskine watercolor sketchbook. Pigma Micron pen and watercolor.

Ginger Mints

2007-07-27T16:01:00.001-06:00

Another of the candy collection that did not make it to the calendar. It is in a small Moleskine watercolor sketch book. I drew with a uniball signo.18 and painted with a niji waterbrush. I am using the waterbrush and like them a lot. The drawing is a bit off, but that is what happens when I draw with a pen. Live with the mistakes! I did this one at work today.

Mad Croc

2007-07-24T17:24:00.001-06:00

I have been tagged and feel a bit like this Croc...just kidding! Just one of the left over candies from the calendar projects.

Here are the rules: 1-post these rules2-each person tagged must post 8 random(... hopefully interesting) facts about themselves3-tags should write a blogpost of these facts4- at the end of the post 8 more bloggers are tagged and named5-go to their blog and leave a comment telling them they're tagged. So, here I go.

I once set a goal to run a marathon before the year ended. Due to an injury I missed the organized Marathon. To hit my goal I decided to run the marathon on my treadmill. I set it for slightly uphill and went a little farther than 26.2 and ran without stopping! 4 hours and 37 minutes. I also lost no weight between the training and the marathon! Not fair!
Funnest vacation ever was a bicycle trip in 1995. My wife and I bicycled across Italy. It was hard to come home. If you are going to bike across a country, pick a small country like Italy!
I have a hard head(In more ways than one!). When I was six, my brother and i were playing in a new home that was under construction. I ended up falling from the main floor to the basement, head first. I landed on the corner of a brick. A pretty nasty cut from above my eye to the top of my head. I think it really gave my parents a pretty good scare!
As a new artist I joined the watercolor society. They had a week long paintout with a nationally famous artist. "teacher of the year". Paid my fee and took a week off work. All plein aire painting and I really struggled. The teacher gave me about 2 minutes worth of her time for the whole week. at the end of every day we had a critique. all critique and no positive for me. The last day I chose to paint for leaves rather than the creek and forest scene. turned out well. It is framed and hangs in my house today. I still think it is a good painting! Well, slammed again! It was years before I could pick up a paint brush. I am glad that is in the past. I have greatly appreciated every one's positive and encouraging feedback! You all are awesome!!
I think that I have more art supplies and journals than I can use in a lifetime!
I am a saver! I dread ever having to move! It is amazing how much stuff you can amass!
Since Jr. high I have always been fascinated by pens. I now have quite a collection of fountain pens both vintage and modern, I am still not sure that I have found that "perfect" pen!
Oops, forgot #8! I can't figure out how to post on EDM Superblog! Any takers on trying to clue me in?

Well there is my Quirky list. Anyone want to be tagged?

Kookaburra

2007-07-18T22:24:00.001-06:00

I saw a picture of this Kookaburra on flickr explore. I loved the photo and asked permission to paint it. A big thanks to Ian Sanderson for the great photo and his generosity. This was great fun to paint. Kookaburra's are one of my favorite birds. Nothing quite like a gang of these out on your fence or clothes line, anouncing to the world that they are alive and well! One of the things that I miss most about Australia!!

Today's Sunflower

2007-07-17T20:25:00.001-06:00

A quick painting today. Trying something a little different. This was drawn in ink and painted with Winsor and daniel smith watercolors in a small watercolorMoleskine.

Some Like it Hot

2007-07-11T10:58:00.000-06:00

Another older watercolor. Some of my favorite hot sauce bottles.

2007-07-09T10:39:00.000-06:00

One of my older watercolors. This was in my first really active phase of my art. Somewhere along the line it took a long break! I hope that this time around it will stick. I will probably post a couple more of my older ones.

Old Valve Handle

2007-07-06T07:12:00.000-06:00

Not sure what to actually call this. I foud it years ago when I was a kid. I always thought it was kind of cool looking and hung on to it. What can I say, I am a saver ( except when it comes to money)!

Every Day in June

2007-06-27T10:04:00.000-06:00

I got excited and finished early. /this has been a lot of fun to do. Let me give some explanations:

8.. Chocolate filled with nougat, I am told. Europe.

10. Don't get caught with fish breath.

16. Lakerol pastilles from Sweden.

18. Russian? The writing indicates caramel but I don't get the lobster part?

21. Crocante from Brazil.

I have had great fun searching and collecting candies and painting them. I hope that you enjoy!

Tag Heuer

2007-06-25T08:43:00.001-06:00

I used the wrong pen on this one. It was not waterproof and it really changed the color when I added watercolors.

I have had this watch for a number of years. I purchased it with part of a large bonus. I still had buyers remorse for a good long time on this! It has been a good watch and has kept good time and held up well.

Western Tanager

2007-06-21T06:38:00.000-06:00

This is the latest addition to the art on the backside of my business card. I am now getting into trouble for doing these at work! That is a whole other story, don't get me started! I am still going to paint, I just have to be more discrete and sometimes a bit sneaky. The western tanager has always been my favorite bird that you can see in our area. They are gorgeous.

King Pelican

2007-06-20T09:48:00.000-06:00

First let me apologize. If you have not been seeing the comments that you have left, it is my fault. I did not realize that I had enabled the moderate comments. I just noticed that this morning and I have disabled it.

I love some of these old fruit and veggie crate labels. This is watercolor on paper that does not do liquid mask, so none was used. Much easier with the mask. This is one of the better ones that I have done.

Thanks to all that check out my blog and to those that leave comments both here and on flickr. It is greatly appreciated!!!!

Rediscovered

2007-06-15T07:44:00.000-06:00

I was surprised to read the dates on these water colors, 2000! They are in a journal project that I started back then. A really nice journal with great watercolor paper. I figured that I would paint a small picture on each page and then when I was finished, I would then go back and use it as a journal. Well, I got about a dozen pages finished and here we are today! I think that I will continue to watercolor in it and who knows about the journalling. It is a fantastic watercolor sketch book!

Flowers from the Store

2007-06-08T11:01:00.000-06:00

We bought these at our favorite store the other day, Liberty Heights Fresh. We love this little converted gas station that is now a great source for great food ,fruits and veggies, cheese, flowers and bread! It is a 35 mile jaunt to get there, so we do not make it very often. we always spend too much when we do go!

There are parts of this that I like and others I hate, including the composition. I must be in a learning phase as I am sure making a lot of mistakes. I am still having fun though!

The June calendar is progressing nicely and I have found some interesting and fun candies to include! Stay tuned.

Garden Ogre

2007-06-05T09:36:00.000-06:00

This sculpture is ceramic surrounded with metal. I kind of botched him. He has been place in our Japanese maple and kind of peeks out. I have to have a little fun in the landscaping1 I love the Japanese Maples and need to figure out where I can plant more of them.

Snow Whites

2007-06-05T09:27:00.000-06:00

Snow White tomatoes from last falls garden. These are grape tomatoes and incredibly sweet, like eating candy. I will miss tomatoes for these next three years. We are in the Japanese Beetle zone and the spraying will render anything that we grow inedible. Nothing like homegrown tomatoes. I have yet to see one of these alleged beetles. The trap in our yard has managed to capture two honey bees so far!

This and That

2007-05-30T12:48:00.000-06:00

After the calendar, I decided to search for more candies and interesting labels. Do you know how hard it is to find interesting candies in regular grocery stores and c-stores. I finally found an import store. The lady bugs are chocolate, not sure where from. The milk n honees and mars are from Italy. The lobster candy looks like from Russia and I am most curious about what kind of candy that will turn out to be! The bananko also looks Russian. Loved the herding cats label and it is from South Africa. I hope you enjoy.

Every Day in May

2007-05-27T20:09:00.000-06:00

May has been an incredibly boring month at work. Evidence of this can be seen in this desk calender. Pen and ink and watercolor completed while sitting at my desk at work. Surprisingly, the last three days have been busy and this month may be saved after all. This is not exactly every day in May. I started late, as a challenge from a coworker, and I have obviously finished early. It has been a lot of fun. It has given me ideas for future paintings and has entertained coworkers and customers.

Pears yet Again

2007-05-26T07:11:00.001-06:00

Some more pears from last fall. I have been painting daily. I just do not have anything to post yet. I have an every day in May that I have been working on. I will post that in a few days. That has led to some spin offs that I have not completed yet. Does any of this make sense? Sorry. The upcoming posts will be too big for the scanner so I will need to figure out how to take some decent photos. More to learn!

Venezia

2007-05-21T12:10:00.000-06:00

I once entered a contest with this watercolor. I won third place and an artbook. That is my claim to fame. Ha!

Pelicans

2007-05-19T19:24:00.001-06:00

I am officially declaring this past week as the most boring work week of my life!!!!

These pelicans found their way to my business cards(The backside). They are from a photo I took while on vacation to Florida. My photo does not show much detail because of the strong back light. Must do more to figure out my camera! These are a couple of the things I did to keep from going crazy.

Stay tuned for every day in May that I am doing on my desk calender at work.

Too Big for the scanner

2007-05-16T17:15:00.000-06:00

My apologies about the quality of this scan. I just finished this painting and it won't fit on the scanner unless I bend it or cut it and I am not going there. Trust me, it looks a lot better in real life. This is on Cartiera Magnani hot pressed watercolor paper with pen and ink and watercolor.

Pen and Ink

2007-05-15T07:54:00.000-06:00

This is one that I did in my journal. I am fascinated by capitals. They are really fun to draw.

Block Party

2007-05-12T19:13:00.000-06:00

I decided to try out the blocks this week. It was so much fun, I have carried it over to my desk calender. I will try and post a picture of it at the end of the month. This one includes Lemonheads, Clearwater beach, Creme Savers, Sunflower, Burt's Bees, Tamarind Candy from the Thai restaurant, my idea of lizard skin and the uniball Signo .18 that I did the drawings with. I like this pen as it does not bleed when you add the watercolors.

Vacation Pears

2007-05-11T10:09:00.000-06:00

These pears came right off the breakfast buffet at the Embassy Suites in Tampa Florida. I liked the personality that these guys have.

The First of the Pears

2007-05-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

This was the first of many pears. This was painted quite some time ago. I tend to stick to things that I have success with. I have liked pears as an ongoing theme.

Daredevils

2007-05-09T10:24:00.000-06:00

I thought that this would make an interesting piece. I went out and bought three of the large size daredevil fishing lures. They were much larger than the ones I actually used when I was a kid.

Tabasco

2007-05-08T18:18:00.000-06:00

This one started my hot sauce collection and my pepper growing. I got tired of always buying peppers for my still life's, so I have been growing them ever since. I also have a decent collection of hot sauce bottles. My "masterpiece" has been drawn for some time now. Never got a round to painting it. It has about 20 hot sauce bottles in it. Someday!

Pierre Cardin Gloves, circa 1962

2007-05-07T08:45:00.000-06:00

I took these gloves to work with me one day. I got to thinking about them and their history. I have had these gloves for 44 years. I received them for a Christmas present when I was eight. They were big on me then and they are small on me now. The reason for the gift was the sensitivity of my hands to the cold. The October before Christmas I was carving a Halloween pumpkin. The very last cut on the pumpkin my slimy hand slid across the blade of the knife. Long story short, I cut the nerves and tendons on the two smallest fingers of my right hand. Three and a half hour surgery to put my fingers back together. I still have wires holding my tendons together. So my fingers became very sensitive to the cold. After reading my journal entry about this painting my wife bought me a new pair of gloves for Christmas this past December. My fingers did not grow as big as my other fingers and I do not have full movement in them. I do have full feeling though. The sensitivity to cold has lessened over the years. I am glad that surgeons were able to put this humpty dumpty back together again.

Clearwater Beach

2007-05-05T07:20:00.000-06:00

What a wonderful day at the beach on Monday. This picture says it all for me!

Donna's Treasures

2007-05-04T07:28:00.000-06:00

We spent a wonderful day at Clearwater Beach. Very relaxing. A beautiful beach with very fine white sand. Some fun shells to collect and good friends to keep us company. We also took an excursion on the Sea Screamer out into the Gulf. Finally found some Dolphins that had a good time in our wake. Saw a couple of dozen jumps within fifteen feet of the boat. Very cool. It was a great day in Tampa.

Jewelry

2007-04-28T07:49:00.000-06:00

An oldie. The gold ring belonged to my Father. The silver ring was a ring that I made in jr. high and the earrings belong to the wife.

See you next week.

Stuck on Sunflowers

2007-04-27T08:55:00.000-06:00

I know, it is a lot of sunflowers lately. I have had requests to sell a couple, I have had requests for Mother's day gifts etc. So I have been doing more sunflowers. This one is about 5x5 inches. It may be finding a new home today. I started on a larger painting the other day. I have given up on it. It looked great after the drawing stage but quickly went down hill in the painting stage.

I will probably get a couple of posts up before our trip. I will be in Tampa, Florida next week. I do not think that I will have computer access. Hopefully, I will be excited with new sights and opportunities to paint.

SOLD

Off to the Framers

2007-04-25T12:19:00.000-06:00

I have been doing a lot of sunflowers lately.These are about 2 1/2" by 2 1/2". Pen and ink and watercolor on a Moleskine watercolor sketch book. I think they will look good in a grouping in a single frame. I did these last night and this morning. I hope you enjoy!

Last of the Tomatoes

2007-04-24T06:45:00.000-06:00

Some of last years harvest. Persimmon on the left and Rose de' Berne on the right. I couldn't find my favorite last year, Carmello. I finally found seed for it this spring. I put together my seed orders and got everything ordered. Came home that very night and listened to the news. I live smack in the middle of a Japanese Beetle infestation! No gardens for three years! I had to scramble the next morning to cancel seed orders. I will still plant a variety of sunflowers and peppers. It will have to be a garden for show and still lifes! I will miss the fresh picked tomatoes!

Juice S2

2007-04-23T10:07:00.000-06:00

I drew this in my regular journal. The Paper is a basic copy paper so it does not do watercolor too well. It will take a really dryish wash. I drew this with a Hi Tec C pen. This is the one that got me a way from drawing in pencil and using a pen. Much riskier as you have to live with your mistakes. I think that it forces me to concentrate on what I am doing. the Hi Tec will bleed a little which is nice for the shadows. I really enjoyed doing this one.

Bored at Work Business Cards

2007-04-22T15:30:00.000-06:00

Yep, another slow day at work on Saturday. I did these at my desk while waiting for three appointments that did not show. Not a lot of other traffic as well.

Pen and ink with W&N watercolors and a waterbrush.

Venice

2007-04-21T06:54:00.000-06:00

After all of these posts I am finally starting to figure out the scanner and it's editing features. I am tempted to go back and rescan a lot of the previous posts.

We fell in love with Italy, and especially Venice, on our bike trip back in 1995. Still trying to scheme out a way to return! I need a Gelato fix!

Snack Time

2007-04-20T06:50:00.000-06:00

I have been painting on the back of my business cards while at work. I usually let customers choose which card they want. I have fifteen or so in my pocket at any given time. One of my coworkers requested this one. It was hard to get the colors right on my scan even with 2.0 reading glasses I had a hard time seeing it on the monitor. The colors and the saturation are not quite right. The cards are 2" by 3.5". Now that I have scanned this I can pass it along to Maui.

Thanks for all the comments that you all have been leaving. It is very appreciated especially during this time of starting my blog. I look forward to building new friendships through our passion for art. Thanks for your encouragement!!

Sunflower

2007-04-19T06:32:00.000-06:00

My wife brought home sunflowers last night! I tried a different approach this time. I drew them with a .18 rapidiograph and then applied the watercolor washes.

SOLD

Stand Tall

2007-04-18T12:51:00.000-06:00

This is an old restaurant pot that stands about knee high. It sits out in the back yard. the dents were put there by a son venting his aggression. Better there than a hole in the wall. OK, there were plenty of holes in the wall too! There is no soil in this pot, only red lava rock about dime to quarter size. Every year a bird somehow loses a sunflower seed or two in the pot and it grows. They do not grow very tall but they are tenacious things.

Bartlett Pears

2007-04-16T11:33:00.000-06:00

Watercolor with pen and ink details. It worked out to be a good combination. The ink is a brown ink from a Hi-tec C .25 pen. It is not waterproof so you can get some interesting effects with a light wash over the top. Pears are turning out to be one of my favorite subjects. So much variety and so much individual character.

YOO-H00

2007-04-14T07:40:00.000-06:00

Just because! Life should be fun! What can we do today to break free from all the stresses and worries that chain us down? How can we stop these from taking over our lives? We have to focus on the here and now and what really matters in our lives. Somehow, find ways to enjoy each and every day and find the good in our lives and be grateful for what we have. I have been giving this a lot of thought since receiving an email from a friend yesterday. A while back , I found a quiet spot and some free time. I pulled out my journal and started writing a list of everything I am grateful for. It became a pretty big list. When you think you are done, add five more things. It soon becomes apparent how insignificant your list of life's complaints really are! Start today. Have a great day!

Hot

2007-04-13T10:17:00.000-06:00

Craig's is my favorite hot sauce label. What a great face! Peppers from the garden and some Italian marbles. What a combination. This is one of the times that I had real problems with liquid mask on this paper. When you remove it, you remove paper, sizing, your under drawing and paint.

Visconti

2007-04-12T07:49:00.000-06:00

One of my older paintings. This is a visconti fountain pen nib. I think it is the best looking nib on the market. Very Classy!

Sunflowers

2007-04-11T14:33:00.000-06:00

Sunflowers from last years garden. These are small varieties, eighteen to twenty four inches tall. The left one is a "Junior" and the one on the right is a "Big Smile". I have given up on hte large varieties. Anything over about six feet is too much work to get rid of at the end of the season! The twelve footers are like chopping down trees and removing the root ball can be a big chore too. Then it takes weeks to get rid of them in the weekly trash. If you cut the stalks to six or seven feet you can line the perimeter of the trash can and extend your volume of trash upwards! But, you then risk the the trash collector dumping the whole load in the street. Small is better!

For My Pentrace Friends

2007-04-10T06:19:00.000-06:00

This one is for my friends over on Pentrace. This Sheaffer and lock belonged to my Dad's Dad. I think that I got the fountain pen collecting gene from him. The lock is now one of my grandson's favorite things to play with. He calls it the locker. It hangs on the wall in my den. He will always ask first and then carefully get it down. When he is through playing he will then put it away. That does not happen with the other toys, so I know he senses this is different and special.

Vices

2007-04-09T11:30:00.000-06:00

Most days begin with a Frusion. Good stuff! The Diet Coke is now caffeine free and less guilt. I drink a lot more water than I used to. I am just not ready to give up the Diet Coke.

Old Shoes

2007-04-08T09:28:00.000-06:00

These are my gardening shoes. They started life as my work shoes at Chuck-a-Rama. I wanted a good durable shoe that would last. I don't remember how much I paid, but it was more than the average price for shoes. They are Redwing shoes. They are about 30 years old now! I still like wearing these, they fit just right and are very comfortable. I think they are due for a good leather conditioning treatment!

Can't Beat 'Em

2007-04-07T20:21:00.000-06:00

This is Dad's old sprinkler. It has been around as long as I can remember. It is broken and rusty and is full of character. One of the funest paintings I have done.

Old Friends

2007-04-07T07:36:00.000-06:00

I am not sure what I would do without these old friends. They have seen a lot of use out in the yard and in the garden. It was a fun watercolor project.

Hot Chocolate

2007-04-06T06:33:00.000-06:00

I grew this pepper in my garden last summer. I decided to cut this one up and throw in a salad. When I sliced it open it was so cool looking I knew I had to paint it! It ended up being better looking than tasting!

Tiger Swallowtail

2007-04-05T07:30:00.000-06:00

Another business card. This one took longer than normal. A lot of stippling. I have decided to keep this one and it will now reside in my journal. I am moving in the direction of combining my journal and my sketchbook. I have to finish the journal that I am currently in. I have a new journal that is filled with watercolor paper. I am looking forward to moving into it! I am doing some art in my regular journal. It is a challenge to add watercolor on paper that is very similar to regular printer paper.

Bartlett Pears

2007-04-04T20:46:00.000-06:00

I painted this on December 12, 2006. It was the day of my Uncle Fred's funeral. He had sufferred much. He was a good man and very generous with his time in helping others. I am glad that I have had the chance to know him.

I think I am getting better with the scans. I have to weight down the book so it makes good contact with the scanner.

I rescanned the image. But I do not know how to eliminate the old image.

Pomegranate

2007-04-04T20:18:00.000-06:00

I will be posting some of my pictures from my most current sketchbook. The sketchbook is a Cavallini Medieval Journal with paper from the Amalfi coast. I used it for a journal for awhile. The paper was horrible when written on with fountain pens. I finally gave up on the journal. I came back last summer and tried watercolors on it. I did not want to waste the 2/3rd's of the remaining pages. It took light washes rather well. It does not like erasing or liquid mask, though. So, it did pose some challenges. The pomegranate was a pretty good challenge both to draw and to paint.

I went out and bought a new scanner and I hope the pictures come out a little more true to life.

Fishy Business Cards

2007-04-04T15:12:00.000-06:00

Some more examples of my business card art. I try to tell my customers to not throw away my cards, they might be worth something someday! Yeah, I know I am dreaming. At least I hope they hang onto the card and when they want to buy a Subaru they will come back and see me! I have had some good feedback from these cards. It is also a good way to use my downtime at work. I have a lot of downtime.

More Peppers

2007-04-04T14:51:00.000-06:00

Peppers have been one of my common themes. This one is on Arches Hot pressed paper and is 3 1/4 by 4 1/2 inches.

I have been trying to draw and paint on a daily basis. I have been getting closer and closer to that goal. I have appreciated Danny Gregorys' books, especially Every Day Matters. For years when I have not been painting it is something that has nagged at me almost daily. I have gotten past those fears and I am moving forward. I had a really negative experience back in the early 90's. A week long paint out with a nationally honored artist. It was years before I could pick up a brush again. So, to answer her question, "this is the artist I turned out to be!" It is where I am now and we will see where I go from here.

New to this Game

2007-04-04T14:27:00.000-06:00

I am way out of my zone on this. I am an old fart trying to learn some new tricks. I will attempt to post pictures of some of my art that I have been working on . I would appreciate feedback, try not to be too brutal!

I have been doing pen and ink and watercolors on the backs of my business cards. They have taken watercolor more like hot pressed watercolor paper. These are quick paintings, in the two to three minute range, each. Any advice on scanning these images and making them look better would also be appreciated. This is the peppers group.