Supercargo

Been watching JAWS again. It's one of my absolute favorites. Great characters and great faces. I will do more drawings.

LA Dodgers

Lori likes to see at least one baseball game every year. This year I took her for Mother's Day. We splurged and got great seats. It was hot and it only took 13 innings (4.5 hours) for the Dodgers to lose. I had a hot dog and a beer and I did some drawings with 2 sharpie pens.

The LAAFA summer schedule has been posted on their website. I will be teaching a figure drawing class Thursday evenings 7-10pm beginning July9. I will do a demonstration and overview of the class during the LAAFA "open house" at noon on Saturday June 27.

Caricature

Some work from my Illustration portfolio.

"Figural Drawing with Exaggeration Towards Gestural Line" at LAAFA Thursday evenings 7-10pm. Beginning Thursday July 9.

The title of the class is a bit of a mouthful. The class will be an approach to drawing the figure which strips away the aesthetics and materials to the bare minimum; pencil and paper. We will use line to investigate rhythms in the pose and develop our understanding of form and the opposing forces in the human figure. Students will be encouraged to use exaggeration (even to the point of caricature) to clearly identify how the model’s energy (or life force), operates through the pose.

I suggested we call the class "Hyperbole Drawing" (meaning exaggeration for the sake of emphasizing energy in the pose) but, the school thought that might confuse people. I guess I'll try to make a success of it first, then I'll suggest the name again.

Alla Prima Portrait Painting

Week 6

Some news... I was approached by and will be teaching a figure drawing class at LAAFA. Thursday evenings 7-10pm beginning July 9.

I studied figure drawing and ultimately taught in James McMullan's High Focus Drawing program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. I have done a bit of teaching here and there since coming to California in 1996 but, have been thinking about getting back to it in a more formal and consistent manner. So, here goes.

Alla Prima Portrait Painting Workshop

Week 5

Alla Prima Portrait Painting Workshop

While a student at SVA my painting instructors would recommend painting on anything cheap. We students were learning and it was not necessary to spend a lot of money on canvas, stretchers, panels or the more costly prepared surfaces one may buy at any art supply shop. I spent my money on gesso and some boards upon which I could soak and stretch watercolor paper, cardboard and even (yes, it's true) pizza boxes and paper bags. Nothing went to waste. The gesso gave me the surface I needed. The scraps I painted on were not archival but, neither were the paintings so, it all worked out in the end.
These days I'm painting on these prepared canvas boards. It certainly does save a lot of time in the preparation and they have a nice surface. I have been painting on the 16x20 variety but at this point, have found them to be just a bit too small. I have moved up to the 20x24 canvas and while the size of my drawing hasn't changed, I don't feel restricted by the limited size of the 16x20. I suspect I will at some point achieve a level of comfort and control and return to the smaller and less costly sized canvas.
Top painting is 16x20 of Tomassa from our DCP Wednesday night workshop and the bottom painting is 20x24 of our model from the LAAFA Tuesday night class.
Each week I feel I am making progress. I am keeping the color in a simple range and deliberately working to keep from getting too broad. I have never given myself any credit for color but, I'm actually starting to think I have too much fun with color and need to concentrate on value and transitions. So, these paintings have fairly muted palettes and the value shifts are too dramatic but, I'm pleased with my progress.