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Thursday, July 9, 2015

Croque Debris @ Catahoula Coffee in Richmond

Painting at Catahoula Coffee in Richmond, CA
 I am very happy to announce a small exhibition of croque debris botanical watercolors at Catahoula Coffee in Richmond, California. Thank you to long-time Richmond resident, artist and arts advocate Jerarde Gutierrez for inviting me to show work at this gem of a cafĂ©. Stop in and enjoy some local color and flavor.


Catahoula Coffee Company
12472 San Pablo Avenue
Richmond, CA 94805

And, if you have time, enjoy a short walk to Mira Vista Park where many of the pieces were painted.

Mira Vista Park
Zara Ave & Mount St
Richmond, CA

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Independence Day



I spent a couple of hours today reviewing the properties of various erodible tip brushes in Photoshop. While I may never use them as a substitute to actual dry media such as charcoal and graphite, it's good to know that I can approximate something very similar if I tweak the settings just right.

I started with loose, broad strokes with one of my favorite "out of the box" bristle brushes while sticking to a grayscale palette. Eventually, a face started to emerge from the the blocks of value.

Next, I continued with a variation of small and large versions of the same brush, changing the opacity and the size along the way. For the more detailed areas around the mouth and eyes, i went with smaller strokes. I used large strokes to further model the larger areas and to differentiate the planes closest to and furthest from the imagined light source.
 The phrase "My boots had no straps" came to mind in response to today being Independence Day and the popular idea that anyone with enough gumption can succeed through sheer will power and persistence. We're told of those who have "pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps" as a way of inspiring some and shaming other who fail due to a lack of hard work.
The prison number and stripes were added in this version on a separate layer as were the stars in an earlier iteration. The stripes and number suggested a hunched, figure in prison garb.

With a little more time, I think I might be able to take this into color and render it to a higher level of finish.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Homebodies Show


I was just invited to participate in this upcoming group show with some phenomenal artists from Quick Draw SF at Mission: Comics & Art in San Francisco. The work will be up on Thursday, July 9, 2015. Stop by and met some folks.

As a former 80s "latch key kid" with two working parents, cable and cats everywhere, the "homebodies" theme of this show really,.. um.. hits home. This will be a brief departure from the my second home in the world of monsters and spaceships, but then again, it might not be... Let the magic begin...