Here are some random, recent sketches and paintings.
Above is a craftsmen styled fire station in Encino. I did this while waiting to give a demonstration for the San Fernando Valley Art Club a few weeks ago.
This is a sketch of the building across from my church, done while sitting under a tree talking on the phone to my mom on Mother's Day.
We were still talking, so I swung around and did this view of my car, parked on the street.
Here is a quick study of a director's chair on my deck, done yesterday afternoon while relaxing.
This is a study of a painting I will be doing for a friend of mine, of his house in the valley.
This is a finished painting of downtown Los Angeles from an adjacent park. It was done on Fabriano watercolor paper, and is 11" x 14".
I started this painting many years ago, on another Mid Valley Paint Out, this time in Claremont. I pulled it out the other day, cropped it, added some dramatic light, and some pen work.
I participated in the annual Saturday in the Park with the Masters event a few weeks ago. At the top is a sketch of the antique paint box I used, and directly above is my set up for the day.
This is my first subject, the auditorium and the administration building. I did a quick study sketch in my Aquabee sketchbook to block out the composition and establish the values.
Here is the final version, done on 14" x 20" Fabriano cold press watercolor paper. I used pencil and watercolor, then came back with water soluble pen and white gouache to finish it up and give it some texture.
Here is the second painting of the day: a view looking south under the trees.
This is a sketch and a painting of Los Angeles Union Station done last night as a demo for the San Fernando Valley Art Club. My study sketch was done in an 6" x 9" Aquabee sketchbook with a water soluble pen, watercolor and white gouache. I used the same tools for the finished painting, but it was done on 140# Fabriano cold press paper.
We went to a concert last Saturday night at Occidental College. It was excellent as usual. While listening I had a change to do these three sketches. I did all of the pen work on site, but added the color later in my studio.
Top: outside studio using the patio table and my portable paint set.
Bottom: inside studio/work table with John Pike Palette and all of my tools.
Here are two recent paintings. The top one is another try at the Hillside Houses scene which I have painted frequently. The bottom one is of the Colorado Street Bridge by moonlight, and is a modification of a painting I posted last month in which I added some more darks and some accent reds throughout.
The unique thing about these two is that I did not use pen and ink, or white paint. They were done with light pencil lines and transparent watercolor only. I did these specifically for the Watercolor West Annual Show, which requires the use of the medium expressed transparently.
