Dockside / A Favorite Spot

I packed my watercolors and took a drive over to Dockside, a favorite spot to sit by the water, have a beer and watch the world go by. I started this on the upper deck then went ground level to finish it off
when the sun began to get the best of me. The wind was strong so I had to tape down my watercolors and cup of water while I painted.

A fun way to cap off the work day.  Click on image to enlarge.

Getting Nautical

I was going through some files and came across this piece that I completely forgot about. It is a detail of a larger piece which I will have to look for. Back in 2009 we spent a week at Barnegat Light on Long Beach Island, NJ and I knocked out a fair amount of watercolors.
There is a purity to watercolor which really excites me. It can be a scary medium, overworked easily
and can turn into mud if overworked.

I truly love nautical subject matter. I think I'll pack up my brushes and watercolors and head out this afternoon. It's a tad hotter than I like but maybe I can find a shady spot and get some painting in.

New Op-ed Work / One Style Versus Many

I am a regular contributor to The LA Times Syndicate / Tribune Media Services. Creating new Op-ed images at the beginning of every week is something I enjoy immensely. The folks at LATSI are very supportive in regard to us artists experimenting with different styles and mediums to help convey whatever message and topic we choose to pursue.
This is something rare in the business of illustration. Illustrators are told " pick a style and stick to it "
which from both a business and marketing standpoint makes perfect sense. Editors and art directors want to know what they are getting. However, for us artists who simply love to experiment it can feel
a bit like having your quill and ink ball and chained.
I like to experiment but in regard to the marketing aspect, it can me maddening.
Showing a variety of styles on one website can be confusing if not categorized and separated properly.  I am working on designing such a site but progress has been slow. I am too busy drawing!

Here is a sampling of some styles. Please click on image to enlarge.

Selling Fish

One of my favorite departments of any market is the seafood counter. Workers dressed as though they have just walked off the set of Deadliest Catch stand behind a display of various fresh and salt water catch of the day. I like the straight forward black & white approach in this piece and have decided
to go this route on a series titled "Workers" a series devoted to the blue collar worker.

Fish'n

Morning Sketch / Self Portrait

Just a quick ink and watercolor self portrait I did to loosen up this morning. Having a hard time waking up today.

I have been drinking smoothies for breakfast these past few days but decided on a hearty breakfast of chorizo and eggs this morning. I do not regret the taste of this meal but I definitely regret the after effects as it is laying in my stomach like the Dude's bowling ball.  Back to smoothies tomorrow!
Click on image to enlarge.

Watercolor...Traditional? Digital?

I sat down tonight and painted this watercolor in my sketchbook. I scanned it as the original full color piece, then saved it in grayscale and finally colored the grayscale version in photoshop.

I would be happy to hear which version is your favorite and why.  I love working traditionally but I enjoy the look of the digital color over b&w wash. 

Chef Profiles

I have a list in my mind of people in occupations who I would like to create a series of drawings and paintings based on. Chefs are among this list. Here is a detail of a preliminary piece I started last night and finished this morning. It is just a detail because my camera is on the fritz and my camera phone takes lousy photos. Hope to solve this photo issue in the next day or two and will post the full image then.  This piece is done in pencil, ink and watercolor.