March 08, 2011 in Astrobotanica Playing Cards | Permalink | Comments (10)
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.
January 26, 2011 in Astrobotanica Playing Cards | Permalink | Comments (6)
August 26, 2010 in Botany in Wonderland | Permalink | Comments (3)
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.
July 23, 2010 in Fancy Art Gala | Permalink | Comments (5)
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.
July 07, 2010 in Fancy Art Gala | Permalink | Comments (4)
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
June 22, 2010 in Fancy Art Gala | Permalink | Comments (6)
June 14, 2010 in Fancy Art Gala | Permalink | Comments (6)
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.
May 24, 2010 in Botany in Wonderland | Permalink | Comments (5)
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.
May 03, 2010 in Las Vegas Chronicles | Permalink | Comments (5)