Saturday, May 31, 2014

Painting19: Eaton Canyon

I forgot to take a picture of where I was painting at Eaton Canyon.  It was a pretty hot day, so my friend and I decided to paint in the shade.  The scene is a bunch of grouped trees and dried weeds in the foreground.  It was a pretty small painting for oil, 5x7. 

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Painting18: Young's Market


I painted in my neighborhood that I grew up. I decide I would paint with watercolor this time around because the setup is so much more simple than oils. Sometimes I like to be more discreet when I'm painting, and when I have my whole oil paint setup it calls for more attention.  I need to get over it.  Anywho, the area is called Glassell Park.  We use to go to this market as kids.  Back in the day it was called Young's Market.  Now it's called Verdugo Rancho Market.  About a year ago or so the market was caught in a fire.  The whole backside of the building is pretty much destroyed.  I saw people in the back, but I'm not sure if they are planning to fix it.  I decided I wanted to paint this scene because the neighborhood is slowly changing, and I'm not sure if this market will be around in the near future. 

Painting17: Aboretum


I went painting with a friend at the aboretum in Arcadia. It was a pretty hot day.  There were a lot of beautiful peacocks roaming around.  It was actually the first time I've been there.  I decided I wanted to paint a forest scene.  I like how I started my painting this time. Though I need to work on my values and pushing back the trees so that they appear further back.  Anywho, it was fun!

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Painting16: Backyard

I'm back in L.A.  This is my backyard at my mom's house.  I thought it was pretty interesting that there was a "welcome" mat hanging on the porch.  Maybe I'll make it as a symbol for my return home.  The back figure is a statue of Mary.  I wonder if it was subconscious or coincidence that I decided to paint the gate separating the statue.  Hmmm...

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Moving Forward


My time in the bay area is coming to an end... For now... I'm sure I will be back.  I started painting again when the project I was working on for vfx company was on hold.  I was freaking out.  I updated my website and applied almost everywhere!  With no response.  I truly believe that this was a blessing in disguise.  I finally got back to my roots and first passion again.  That is to create my own art.  For so long I didn't feel like an artist.  But now I can honestly say I am. It feels awesome.  In just over a month I painted more than I have in years.  With no control Z!  Just moving forward.  I'M A FUCKEN ARTIST! I'm owning it. One painting at a time...

painting 15: Maverick's Beach 02

Here is the second week I went to Maverick's Beach in Half Moon Bay.  It was a hot sunny day.  I got sunburn!  I painted larger than usual, 11x14. I like painting larger, I feel like I have more space.  Once again the mountains are challenging, but I shall persevere! 

painting14: Bernal Hill




I love Bernal Heights.  This was my last week here. I'll be moving back to L.A.  Anywho, for the passed couple months I loved walking up Bernal Hill.  The people are so chill and awesome.  As I started painting, so many people passed by and started chatting with me.  I met a 94 yr. old man named Cesar.  He was like, I never see young people into painting landscapes. "It's more of an old people thing.  I told him that I am an old soul trapped in a young's person's body. hehe.  Another man passed by and asked if I sell my paintings.  That was very flattering.  In my mind, I was like, I wish.  But I'm starting to feel that I can make this happen. I just need to own it and dedicate some time.   More importantly, I'm doing this for myself.  I'm really happy.

Painting13: Half Moon Bay - Maverick's Beach

I went to Maverick's Beach with the Half Moon Bay plein air meetup group.  It was such a beautiful day.  The group was mostly older people, and they thought it was really nice that a young person like myself loved to paint landscapes.  For so long, I thought I was too old to pursue painting.  These older folks really inspired me to follow my passion.  As for the painting, I'm finding it really difficult to paint the mountains.  There are so many different values but yet a lot of atmosphere.  Must practice painting mountains! Here is a picture of my attempt of a selfie. hehe



Saturday, May 3, 2014

Thumbnails




For so long, I've been putting off making thumbnails when I start a painting.  Either because I just want to start painting or I'm lazy.  But whenever I do make thumbnail sketches, my painting is more successful.  Mostly every artist I admire creates thumbnails before they begin to paint.  Here are some thumbnails from Chrissy Fields, Bernal Heights, and Golden Gate Park.

Painting 12: Golden Gate Park Pond


I went back to the Golden Gate Park where I painted a few days earlier.  This time I wanted to focus on some very large bushes on the pond. I'm having some challenges with my mid tones.  I feel I can grasp the darks and lights, but I'm having a hard time with the subtleties of the mid tones and the transitions to the light and darks. 

Painting 11: Golden Gate Park Log




I painted at the Golden Gate Park last Tuesday.  After walking around the park, I thought I would focus on one specific object instead of picking a whole scene.  Sometimes its nice to focus on one subject.  I had a fun time carving out the shadows because they were very distinct.  I'm actually happy with how this came out.

Painting 10: Terra Firma Farms


I went to Terra Firma Farms last Sunday with the North Bay Plein Air group.  We took a tour of the farm.  It was a beautiful day, though it got very windy by the time I started painting.  My pochade box and tripod fell three times!  My painting wasn't successful but I am learning!  The best part of the day was checking out the farm and learning about how well the animals were treated.  I brought home some pastured eggs.  They tasted awesome!