Southern Dracula

This baby is ready to be shipped to the ole Lone Star State! You can see its progress in an earlier post. I will say that this was the most challenging bird painting to date. The feathers were wicked complicated. It was easy to get lost.

It took lots of thin glazes which made me work a little differently. I usually put in a few, several hour sittings followed by a few quick sessions to work in the details. This was just the opposite. I put in many short sessions. Adios Dracula-owl!!

Delicious!!

This sketch is absolutely delicious and serves as inspiration for a lifetime! It is a piece by Vincent van Gogh that he included in a letter to his brother. His use of value and mark-making are truly remarkable (no pun intended).

I've become really excited about sketching. In the past I would do very simplistic drawings just to get the layout for a painting. But after completing my 30 Sketches Project I and now being in the the home stretch of finishing 30 S.P. numero II, I truly appreciate and enjoy drawing.

I work best with a structured plan. Commiting to sketch something for 30 days in a row is a way of forcing myself to focus and improve. Most days it is my little shining light at the end of a long work day, but there are days that I would rather have a sharp stick in the eye.

In-progress Commission For Miles

Here is the progress on a commissioned piece for my buddy Miles. It is a gift for his dad who found this little dude on his ranch. He took the most fantastic photo above in which he is posing Dracula-style.