Fishing

This is from a photograph I snapped while in Silver Bay. When I was younger, my brother and I used to fish off this same dock. The dock holds the "Silver Spray," a boat that takes visitors on an intimate guided tour around Lake George.

I tried out these new artist pens I got recently - Faber-Castell PITT artist pen; the landscape set. Only 6 colors. Pretty fun to work with - towards the end I was getting a bit more confident with my mark making. My next attempt will hopefully be a bit better.

More in the beer series to come soon - Hope to do one tomorrow night.

lotion

I have been a slacker lately. The project I referred to below came to fruition in full force resulting in some very focused art-making and very little sleep. Once I was finished recovering from that, i went on a fabulous vacation to Silver Bay. While on vacation, I found myself moving about a lot and did not have much time for drawing. I took lots of photos that I plan to work from in the future, but I sadly did no drawing from life. Since my return, I have been playing catch-up on sleep, e-mails, laundry, and all the other joys of life. This is a quick sketch I did one afternoon of my favorite lotion from the Body Shop.

Speaking of the super secret project, I have been asked not to show the artwork until the end of September, so all of my faithful readers will have to be patient. It turned out pretty cool (despite the fact that I spilled neon green ink ALL OVER IT at midnight the night before it was due). I can't wait to share it with you all.

New postcards featuring the Fertility piece are going in the mail tomorrow. If you aren't already on my mailing list and would like to be, e-mail me with your snail mail address and I'll add you.

In Progress:

Here is a preliminary sketch/study for the project I'm working on. Is it obvious I had a Botticelli book open on my desk while I did this?

I'll be re-drawing and adding a lot to this drawing before it's finished and ready to transfer to board. Stay tuned.

Newcastle

* update 8.3.07 - replaced photo with scan *

A small, quick, oil painting of a delicious beer. I had an oil paint-filled summer in 2002, but I didn't have the patience for it, so I quickly gave up. Now, 5 years later, I am starting slowly (and small) and will figure things out as I go. It's great fun! Of course, it sort of sucks not being able to scan it right away - this is just a crappy snapshot.

This is the first in a series of beer paintings which will be for sale. This one is not, however - I am trading it for the delicious cupcakes painted by Ms. Sarah Fox. I just got a really cool assignment that will keep me busy up until early next week, so the beer series will continue after that. If you have any requests, let me know and I'll make it happen!

Orange Blossom

This is the illustration I spoke of. This is a special gift for my dear friend Leigh Ann and her husband, Jeff. I don't want to get into the gory details, but I will tell you that the orange blossom is a symbol of fertility, love, and togetherness. The bee is fertilizing the flower. So it's sort of a good luck charm for them.

Venice Beach

I thought it would be a good idea to bring along my little travel watercolor set and my little watercolor moleskin sketchbook to do some plein air painting at Venice Beach. I did a fun ink drawing with a sepia Hi-tec C, and started laying down watercolor. Then everything fell apart. I knew the pen would bleed a bit, but I did not know it would turn purple. I had about a teaspoon of water to mix with so all my colors became muddy. Sand was in my paints, my water, and in my paintbrushes. So I sort of gave up, but there's still something I like about it - I captured my day in this little watercolor. I look at it and am flooded by the experiences of the day, even if it included a failed attempt at plein air watercoloring.

Heather

I took a break from my other illustration project and did a quick sketch from a snapshot of Heather Heckel, my roommate at the Illustration Academy last summer. Then I started putting acrylic down and just played with the paint a little bit.

New office view

I have to boast - my company recently moved to a new office building in Santa Monica. This is a view from my desk. We're on the 16th floor in a building that is quite literally across the street from the beach. It's incredible. (click to enlarge)

Self portrait with Nike shirt

This is a quick self portrait in my favorite old thrift store Nike shirt. This was done with a Crayola marker so old, the color's name has rubbed off. Doodles, writing, and gouache were added on other days.

I have been working on my next "illustration" - which is defined by the use of tracing paper and illustration board, as opposed to quick "get it down" line drawings that I cover with a wash of paint. It's a non-figurative piece that's a bit of an experiment. I hope to finish it this week.

my new apartment

A little something for the Girls Who Draw assignment (from a few weeks ago) - Where I Live. I have finally gotten settled in my new apartment in West LA so I'm trying to catch up on some art making. Unfortunately, my new apartment only has one (small) bedroom, so instead of a 2nd bedroom office/studio, I share space with the dining room table. I guess since I'm only making art at night now, it will do!