Tom Fong Demo

These are images from the  Tom Fong demo.

 These are Tom Fong's sketches.

Henry Fukahura Paint Out - Year Two

I went to the Henry Fukahura paint out again this year.  Didn't get to be there 5 days like last year. But did some work.

These are tiny watercolor sketches I did in my sketchbook of the Alabama Hills.

This is a 6" x 8" oil painting I did.

Here is another 6" x 8" oil painting that I did.

Another tiny watercolor.

Painting with Dempwolf at Paramount Ranch

This is my favorite painting so far.  I did it with help from Karl Dempwolf at Paramount Ranch.

Whitney Park Paintings

These are the two paintings I did at Whitney Park on Saturday with a lot of help from Karl.  They same a lot duller now that they are dry.  One had fallen in the sand but the sand brushed off once it was dry.

Whitney Park - Karl Dempwolf Class 2

Painted at Whitney Park on Saturday.

"Located in the City of Santa Clarita near the offramp of the 14 Freeway and San Fernando Road, the beautiful 442-acre Whitney Canyon Park in the Rim of the Valley Trail Corridor provides outstanding examples of coastal sage scrub, oak woodland, chaparral and riparian corridor vegetation, with year-round springs and at least ten sensitive species. Besides its importance for wildlife movement in a critical corridor between the Santa Susana Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains, Whitney Canyon provides a regionally significant entrance into the Angeles National Forest."


Really struggling painting. Not sure what I am supposed to do. Karl said my first painting reminded him of Thomas Benton.  Feel like I am painting with my feet.  Not sure how to mix all the different greens. Not sure how to use the oil paint.

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Head Drawing - Give it 5 years

It is weird when you go to draw.  You never know how you are going to do.  When I walk into the Bikram studio I am not sure if I am going to have a day when I am flexible and feel light or I am going to be unflexible and heavy with out any balance.  When I go to draw sometimes I am tired and distracted and I go still crank out a good drawing or I can be full of life and rested (like last night) and not hit my best.

Here is my latest picture of Kwante.  I think I was a little heavy handed with it.  It doesn't have the ethereal quality of some of my other drawings.  Rick worked with me on nose and mouth.  He didn't have any criticism about the shape of the eyes so hopefully my work with Vanderpoehl is helping me with that.  I noticed the guy drawing next to me had a less rigid drawing.  But one woman in the class came up and said I had a dead on likeness that made me feel good.

What  I did notice yesterday is that I am comfortable with the charcoal pencil in my hand.  For so many years I felt awkward holding that damned pencil.  Now I am ok with it.  I guess it is like Ted said to me yesterday at Bikram Studio City when I complained about my shoulder hurting during the poses and my knees (I didn't even talk to him about how my feet don't feel good at all) anyway he said if you practice 5 years your body will change.  I was thinking how I did practice 5 years and my body did change and I stopped and now how I have to do those five years all over again.  First that made me sad and now I realize what's 5 years of yoga - I was going to do that anyway.

It has taken me about 4 years to get comfortable with the charcoal pencil.  Maybe I will feel even better after five.

Meltdown Comics

I feel like I am getting on track again.  Started an inking and coloring workshop at Meltdown Comics taught by Chris Northrop.  It seemed like it is going to be a pretty cool class.  I haven't down any real inking for awhile.  I had the class with Tim that got cancelled at CAI.  I had a little inking at the graphic novel class at santa monica college extension.  It is nice to get my head around comics again.

Meltdown Comics was a very cool store too.