For some reason, the San Francisco Fine Art Fair party I crashed back in May had a strange impact on me. As I mentioned earlier, it was the many interesting faces that captivated my attention - I barely noticed the art. I always enjoy taking in fresh new art and finding inspiration from artists, so it's never like me to ignore art. After leaving the party, I decided to stop every art project I was doing and set out to sketch the portraits of some of the people I saw.
Above: The bright yellow shirt caught my attention, and then I saw his face: a work of art. I marched like the Keep On Truckin' guy right up to him and asked if I could take a photo and paint him. Of all the people I met, he was the kindest. He gave me his card and told me to send him the result. I just sent it to him.... Medium: Oil in moleskine sketch book, digital texture.
Never before had I seen such a synergistic combination of person and art. A stunning sculpture of an intricate spiraling dragon was made all the more magnificent by the woman standing next to it. They seemed to mirror each other in fiery grandeur. When she walked away from it, the dragon lost a little of its magic. The lady and the dragon should be sold together as a set. Medium: watercolor on paper, digital color.
I'll often amuse myself by making up stories about some of the people I see. There's a huge old crumbling Victorian mansion a few streets over from me. High atop the mansion is a turret with an open window that never shuts (I'll get a pic and post it here soon). It's dark in there and a faded tattered curtain whips in the wind. When I walk by, I always look to see if an apparition might appear in the window for I have no doubt the place is haunted. Anyway, I was at the art opening and saw a ghostly woman in black fading in and out of the crowd. One minute she'd be there, the next minute she'd disappear. She was wearing all sorts of big chains and buckles and it suddenly dawned on me that she was the lady haunting the mansion. I felt a chill, so I took my photo and got out of there. Medium: pastel, watercolor on paper.
Your art just keeps getting more and more incredible...I love these. And it's so nice to see faces with life experience. The blank, unlined little faces of the young tell no stories.
Posted by: Kipling | July 23, 2010 at 11:22 AM
Is she the ghost of artists passed?
Posted by: Vern | July 23, 2010 at 01:15 PM
...your portrait of the ghostly woman is wonderful! And the story of the open window at the top of the lonely mansion has made her very real to me. I love that she has a faint yellow aura around her head, as if she's breaking into this world from another dimension...
Posted by: k | July 27, 2010 at 09:16 AM
The ghostly woman portrait is simply stunning. Gorgeous....
You have a gift few have :)
Posted by: Sorceressss | July 28, 2010 at 08:59 PM
Oh my goodness....... These are so beautifully drawn and painted! Oh my god. The middle piece with the dragon sculpture is simply gorgeous. I love everything about it: the color, movement, subject matter, the wrinkles, the pop of red lipstick...... Fantastic!
Beautiful work 14!
Posted by: Gilmore | September 18, 2010 at 08:52 AM