Five-minute Sketches

One big advantage of having a sketchbook with you at all times is that you are never bored. I did these two sketches in ten minutes while waiting in the car for my son. Do this every day to develop good eye-hand coordination and to stay in practice.

Park in Temple City

Here are some images from a painting I am working on of the City Park in Temple City. 

The Art of Urban Sketching

I just purchased this awesome book. It is all about sketching the urban environment and features sketch artists from all over the world. I highly recommend it!

My Paint Sets - Part 3

These are all of my non Winsor & Newton palettes. The top one is a metal Holbein palette that I use for workshops. Below that is a John Pike model that serves as my regular studio palette. I took a workshop from Robert E. Wood many years ago. I bought his palette at that time, and had him sign it for me.

I was teaching a workshop in Vermont for Holbein a few years ago and had the opportunity to buy a unique item: I one off prototype of a non-folding metal palette. I used it as my workshop palette for a while. Now it resides on my studio wall. Holbein also makes the next traveling paint box. It contains half pans, brushes, a water bottle and some generous mixing areas, in a handsome folding container, and a nice nylon logo bag.

The bottom set is another unusual item: it is a "Traveling Studio" by Alwyn Crawshaw, consisting of a glass flask, a chrome water cup, a tiny aluminum palette box with six half pans, and a space for a brush and a sketchbook, all contained in a leatherette case with a shoulder strap. This was given to me by the Daler Rowney representative and is one of my favorite kits.

My Paint Sets - Part 2

Here are some of my metal boxes, an d some of my vintage boxes. The top one is a vintage Winsor & Newton box that I had refinished. It came in two parts: the main box that contained small tubes of paint, and the top part that consisted of a fold out palette.

The next two are vintage boxes that a friend gave me. They are quite old and unused. One of them still has the wrappers around the half-pans.

I regularly use the bottom three. They are all made by Winsor & Newton. The bottom one was given to me by another friend and was so old that the paints were in ceramic pans. They didn't survive the renovation of the paint box however.

My Paint Sets - Part 1

This is my collection of Winsor & Newton paint boxes. The top one is my work horse: I carry it with me all the time. The next one is a first generation field box. I bought it when it was first introduced and used it until I wore it out. Below that is my spare version, for when I wear out the next one. The bottom three are other Cotman sets I have collected over the years.

My Studio Tools

These are some of the tools I use in my studio. They are organized both in a Joe Columbo taboret and in a collection of wooden cigar boxes.

My Second California Studio

This was my second studio in the late 1970's. I lived in  a garage behind a house in Pacific Palisades. It had a pure Zen simplicity that I still try to emulate.

My First California Studio

Here are some archive photos of my original studio that I set up in a one bedroom Southern California apartment back in the mid 1970's. The top two are when I first moved in. Later, my art took over the entire living room as shown in the bottom image.

I had a similar studio in my one room apartment in Denver while I went to art school in the early 1970's. That place was tiny, only one room, and I slept on a fold out couch. When I started art school, I did art in the bedroom. When I was through with art school, I was sleeping in the studio.

Studios Magazine

My studio is featured in the latest issue of Studios Magazine. Ironically, my studio was also featured in the Man Cave Book - a publication with a slightly different audience.

Hearst Castle Sketches

These are some quick sketches done while sitting next to the pool at Hearst Castle. They were done with a Sanford Uniball Micro pen in a 6" x 8" Aquabee Super Deluxe sketchbook.