DMV comic thumbnails

Sorry about the really poor sketches, this was definitely rushed. I went with the traditional DMV problems, bad license pictures, confusing paperwork, bad service and long lines. I think that the long line sketch had the most creative twist, so I'm developing that one. You can't really read the speech bubbles very well, but it is about a "recent improvement at the DMV", and there are vendors running around with popcorn and soda for sale. The developments are coming soon...

Memory portrait final

For the final, I chose to develop the portrait with the green accents, though I took features from other sketches to make it look more like my dad. It still doesn't. Anyway, I first did a gesso/matte/water layer, then a line drawing, then water color. I tried to do some line work that I'm not too familiar with, especially in portraits, like the scribbles in the shadows. I still tried to be directional with the line work. My original intention was to not outline everything, but I kind of ended up doing that anyway... I like the colors, but I think it could be a little more dramatic, since this is a very stylizing-friendly project. Also, I like what happened with the background in areas I didn't cover with the priming layer.

Memory Portraits and Color Studies

These are 4 out of 5 of my memory portrait of my dad. Though none of them really look like him, the top 2 are closest. I suppose it doesn't really matter. I continued to the color studies with the top left. And here they are:

I don't think I took "color study" to mean the same thing as everyone else... I think I took it as more of a painterly term and less of a comic idea. So... I'm not sure if any of these are going to translate nicely into a comic style. Oh well.

Photo Realism

This was a fun project, I used the gesso/matte medium/water solution with water color on top, so I could do the pick-out technique. This was pretty close to my comfort zone, because I like being a copying machine, or at least trying. I think the water droplets could have turned out better , but I'm pretty happy with the rest of it, after all, I recall you using the term "kick butt" so... Anyway, I learned better how to tighten up water color successfully with this one.

Gouache 8X10

I learned a lot with this one. I really enjoyed the pick-out technique. Adding darker values on top was a little more difficult. Also, getting two hues in one area was something to figure out - not sure if I have figured it out yet, actually. My favorite part is the folds on the shorts and the lighting on the grass in the lower left. I also enjoyed picking out the muscles on the legs and arms, I'm pretty happy with how they turned out (for a first try, at least). I'm also glad that I didn't try too hard to put detail into the background figures. I am not really happy with the trees in the upper left or the grass in the lower right. I also wish I would have put more color in in the face of the foreground figure to the right. I think the shadows within the flesh tones could also use more saturation.

10 Owls

This was my favorite line drawing technique out of the 3 I tried. The other two were messier and not as straight-forward. I liked this one because I didn't get caught up in unnecessary detail, and I didn't feel the need to "finish" every line, there is a lot implied, and I think it works pretty well.

This is water color with a line drawing underneath. I like it for the shapes and color in the background, as well as the varied line weights. I think I could have done better with the different line weights, though... Also, I had more fun with the line drawing this time, there is some experimentation with scribbling and line as value. It's a bit looser than most of the other owl paintings.

This one was gouache with ink over top. I like the dripping in the background. I also tried mor varied line weight and scribbling. Here is where I was finding out that gouache doesn't act a whole lot like water color.

22"X30" water color

For this painting, I did an under drawing for structural soundness. Then I went to town with big strokes and lots of water, trying to work quickly both for reasons of time management and because I wanted a loose, stylistic look. I experimented with dropping water into almost-dry paint and also let some dripping happen to get some nice effects. I'm not entirely happy with the grill of the truck, I feel like I could have addressed it better, more like the rest of the painting, with a looser hand. It also looks as though I missed a couple of spots in a rush, up next to the driver's side window... oops. Otherwise, I'm pleased with the way the style lent itself to the subject.

Ink on Wash vs. Wash on Ink

I didn't expect this, but I think I preferred ink on wash, the reason being that I felt less like I had to outline everything and get really detailed, and more like I could just be selective with my marks.

This piece was ink on wash. I did get a little too outline happy on this one still, but I liked the way the textures and colors turned out. I also got to employ just a touch of pointillism.

Hm.. this is one of only 2 vertical images on my blog so far. I should work on that. Anyway, this was also ink on wash. I was much more selective here, and much looser with the wash. I really like the loose combination.

Oh... this is the 3rd ink on wash. Oops. Well, that proves that I preferred that method. I think the texture on the left side turned out really well. The rhythm of color and value really worked for me, too. I tried to be less of a realist with this one and stylize it a bit. I think I'm getting there.

More water color!

I liked this painting because I was able to experiment (successfully, I think) with the brush on its side to make wood grain happen. The dingy textures were good to experiment with, getting more detailed at the bottom and looser at the top worked for me.

This was my first semi-success at depicting a still life with relatively few strokes. I still haven't got the dramatic , stylized look I am going for, but it's getting there.

Line vs. Wash

I was already pretty sure I preferred line drawings to water color, and I was right. More control. However, it is much more difficult to have good value scale everywhere. There are some extreme darks, but only in very tiny areas, and extreme lights are everywhere. It's just a little too tedious to make nice medium values with good line work, I think.

This is my old cat Harry, who is blind in his left eye, so that's where the pupil went. I was happy with how I was able to imply form with loose marks for hair. The edges are defined without being tight. I did not do a great job making the chair believable, though, I got in a hurry.

This was a fun painting, because I got to address an old torn up wall with fun colors on a bigger brush. I think this loosened me up enough to be riskier with my strokes on the figure. I also like the implied lines on the camera (by way of spacing the black shapes out) I think all of the different subject matter has been addressed in a pretty consistent style, which I sometimes have trouble with.

Landscape w/ architecture

This was a challenge, because I am just not a fan of depicting geometric forms with lots of orderly detail... however, it was watercolor, so I loosened up a bit about detail and tried to focus on light and shadow, non-linear painting and the like, just like Terry would do.

Fun fact: this outhouse is located in Millard, behind a bit abandoned house. Anyway, I'm not a big fan of how loose the vegetation is in the forefront of the picture, but I am pretty happy with how the shadows worked on the outhouse. I also think the tree in the top left turned out well, along with the background foliage. I think this is the first piece of "architecture" I tried with the Terry Madden non-linear method... except for the outline-looking thing on the right.. oops.

I was a little more linear with this one, but I also tried to make shadows and highlights the main difference between planes on the barn. I am most pleased with how the lighting turned out in the trees, but I think I should have been a little more consistent with my vegetation; it gets too blurry in a few places. I think I need to be more patient, wait for things to dry and come back in later.

the beginnings of watercolor

With the first set of 10, I found it most challenging to let loose and let the paint do its thing. All of my paintings are relatively tight, and when I actually did let the paint go, it seemed to be out of place. I chose this painting to post because I enjoyed experimenting with the detailed glass and the citrus fruit textures... I think it turned out pretty well. I wish I would have had more fun with non-local colors, I'm not happy with the table, but I am pleased with how I didn't have to get too tight to get a convincing texture, I just had to deal with lights and darks properly.

Dealing with a model in watercolor without any undersketch was particularly challenging, due to the fact that figure drawings don't allow for a lot of mistakes in proportion. There are a couple of wonky areas, including the model's right arm, but the challenge was good for improving time (as the model was somewhat impatient) and figuring out how to address shadows and wrinkles. I also experimented with simplifying the background with a more detailed subject. Next time I paint a figure with watercolor, I will try to simplify the subjec

t and focus more on areas of light and dark as opposed to outlines.

Landscapes were good for me, because they made me loosen up a little. I hate landscapes, but it really wasn't too painful. I started out taking 30 or 40 minutes for each painting, and eventually forced myself to get down to 10. I much prefer the ones that took 10 minutes. The compositions are better, the strokes are more confident, and I was more willing to let the paint have fun and leave it alone. I liked this painting because I was able to convey detail without going in with a tiny brush and making it myself. Also, the background is nice and soft, but the tree has jagged lines and angular edges. I think this painting also had a wider range of values than most of my others.

This was the quickest and easiest painting I have done so far, and it turned out very well. The background is very simplified, but it reads better than many of my more detailed backgrounds. The reflections in the water were fun to create, and I was able to get multiple hues going in my trees without creating a big muddy green/brown mess. I also didn't stress about making the horizon completely clear, which turned out to be a good decision. I only wish I didn't have the blur in the reflection toward the middle of the composition.