Medium: Ink, acrylic on paper, digital paint.
Two of Hearts: a chance meeting in the forest
For years they wandered throughout the lush redwood forest without ever crossing paths. One day while making her way through the thick tangle of ivy and ferns covering the dark forest floor, she became distracted by a shimmering light above her. As she looked up, she was amazed at the sight of two majestic trees standing apart, yet close enough so that a large branch of one had penetrated the trunk of the other. Rays of diffuse sunlight fell softly through the fog enshrouded forest and illuminated the point at which the trees had merged as one. This is it, she thought. This is where I want to live! She slowly made her way up the trunk, exploring every nook and cranny as she climbed toward the glowing beacon of oneness that lured her. Suddenly she was taken aback by the sight of another. He sat perched on the other side of the tree and looked just as surprised by her existence as she was his. Overcome with curiosity, they locked their gaze as they slowly moved closer to each other while making their way toward the magical spot of the merging. Medium: Watercolor and acrylic on paper, digital paint.
Arboretum Exotica
Continuing the practice of emptying the head for 20 minutes to sketch without purpose, this image popped into existence. Medium: Sharpie on paper, digital color.
Djore Poddess Manifests From Thin Air in 20 Minutes
A form of meditation I've been enjoying lately is setting aside 20 minutes a day to sketch while emptying the mind of thought. It's difficult because my mind tends to race with ceaseless pondering and I'm quite sick of all the chatter. I try to let go and do nothing but enjoy the feeling of the Sharpie's damp ink sink effortlessly into the dappled texture of the thick paper. Somehow in the process, these strange plant-like beings emerge. I can't wait to see what shows up as I let go even more. Medium: Sharpie on paper, digital color, text.
Angels, Dragons and Ghosts
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.
Last Call is Never a Pretty Sight
It was a beautifully random crossing of two ships in the night. Myself, perhaps a bit too emboldened with the warmth of fermented grape liquid armor, resulting in an overly assertive capture of impromptu photo snaps at the end of the evening. Herself, perhaps caught up in the frenzied last call atmosphere of the decimated free food and beverage table, perhaps piling a few too many cupcakes on a napkin and perhaps filling her plastic cup with too much vino for the cup to handle. It was her hair, her amazing sea creature hair, that captured my attention. I made no hesitation to focus my lens on it -- but the moment I did, she looked right at the camera and jolted, thus spilling her wine and dropping her crowded mass of mini-cupcakes to the floor. One day I want my hair to be like hers, except more phosphorescent and with way more tentacles. Medium: Graphite in moleskine, digital color, free wine.
I Crashed a Fancy Art Party A Few Weeks Ago . . . Part Two
An air of commanding grandiosity surrounded them as they slowly made their way through the crowded art party. I was quietly propped against a wall immersed in observing the multi-varied throngs of eye-catching humans passing by when I noticed the crowd parting in deference to what appeared to be the King and Queen of the event. I snapped to and headed toward them to ask for a photo. The King happily obliged, but the Queen hesitated for a bit and warned me that she "looks awful in photographs". I had a little wine in me so I screeched, "Impossible! You are gorgeous!" and then I turned red with embarrassment because one shouldn't address a Queen in such an overly exuberant manner. She shot me a look and I averted my eyes. Medium: Gouache and acrylic in moleskine.
The Royal Love Turtles Medium: graphite in moleskine
I Crashed a Fancy Art Party A Few Weeks Ago . . . .
I slipped into the San Francisco Fine Arts Fair opening night party a few weeks ago and neglected viewing the numerous paintings and sculpture gracing the walls of the elegant event space. Why? Because the people in attendance were far, far more interesting. I wandered away from my friends and got lost in the crowd, a camera in one hand, a cup of free wine in the other, my eyes feasting upon throngs of wealthy art patrons wearing fancy designer outfits, botox kabuki masks, fine jewelry and the usual assortment of sleek "statement" eyeglass frames. I wove in and out of the crowd, snapping photos and disappearing before being noticed. I was stopped in my tracks by a dazzling, meticulously dressed and groomed figure with sparkling white teeth and a perfectly smooth and mesmerizingly shiny bald head. As I got closer, he caught me trying to hide behind some lady's big poofy hair while taking his picture. Busted yet again! Instead of getting pissy or turning away, he simply looked directly at me and flashed a huge grin with those blinding choppers. Additionally noted was his very large hand clutching a phone and a wad of kleenex. Usually it's old ladies you see clutching kleenex, not fancy art guys. Medium: Graphite and ink in moleskine, digital color. Additional illustrations of wealthy art patrons to be posted this week.
Frog Vine Grows Like Weeds Around Here
Often observed twisting its succulent tendrils around the trunks of abandoned trees, the amphibious Frog Vine grows rampant along the water's edge. In the early spring, Tadpole Berries sprout from the vine and when ripened, fall to the ground and roll toward nearby ponds and streams. No one's really sure if the frog springs from the vine or if the vine springs from the frog - it's one of those endless chicken and egg causality dilemmas. Medium: Graphite and watercolor on paper, digital color.
I Thought Games Were Supposed to Be Fun
She sat among others of her species inside a darkened casino hall. It was Keno day, and the church bus had dropped them off that morning. They were a lively and sociable group, their white hair shining splendidly in the darkness and flashing lights reflecting off their giant eyeballs glaring behind thick coke bottle glasses. All the fun stopped however, once the Keno numbers were being shown on screen. The twitter and gossip came to a halt and all headlight eyes stared grim-faced at the screen as they waited for their numbers to come up. I watched for about 15 minutes and became puzzled over their behavior. These people were supposedly playing a game... and yet, they looked as though they were watching a funeral. Observing their transformation from happy laughter among friends to grim-faced seriousness once the game started was, quite frankly, hilarious. Sometimes I think I'm too easily amused. Medium: ink in moleskine, some digital color.