Engine 975-Rust 2

I Demonstrated for the Illinois Watercolor Society in June, where I splashed paint on my Steam engine with a #16 brush to simulate rust and peeling paint. i did it small first before the demo to make sure it would work (11"x16"). I then demonstrated on a full sheet (22" x 30"). Here is the small one, the Demo and the finished peice (they look quite similar).

Kinzie St. Train Bridge

kinzie-st-train-bridge-photo-blog

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kinzie-bridge-pencil-blog

I'm behind in posting new work, but here is a bridge in the center of downtown Chicago which I finally figured out I should paint. It's easily accessible and slowly deteriorating. nI usually like to view things close up for more drama, so I stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked up. It took 6 photos sown together to fit the whole bridge in. The reference photo I attached is one of the 6, along with my 8 hour pencil drawing.

Watercolor Artist Feb 2015

Here is my "Creativity Workshop" article in the February Watercolor artist magazine. It has a lot about scrubbing out paint with a toothbrush, just like the previous post.

The Art of Watercolour

I have a 6 page article in the Art of Watercolor magazine from in the 16th issue (October-November 2014). Here is a PDF. It's fun to be in a magazine, and there is a lot of other good work in it as well. I use a lot of drafting tape and toothbrush in my work, I tried to show an example of how I use it in thew article. I always forget to mention I learned the technique from Alain Gavin, who teaches in Evanston, IL.

Engine 4436 More Progress

Here is were I hit the point of success or failure. With every painting, I first fill everything with color to give a context to bounce off of. At some point, I have to start making leaps of faith hoping the composition comes together, which is quite unsettling. I often have to rub out areas and start over. There is a magic point where I see it will work and I can just refine details, the fun part where I loose track of time. The big point came when I had to darken the areas left white. I of course went too dark, than had to pull back. I never know for sure until I see it.

Engine 4436 in Progress

I don't know how it will end up, but I start by trying to full in all the darker areas to separate light from dark. Otherwise, the drawing looks like a mess. I hope I'm half way.

LaGrange Country Club

Here is a recent project I did with Manuel Avila Associates. At first glance, they seem like sketches, but Sketchup created the fake sketch look, and we did basic watercolor washes on top. They're purposely meant to convey an unfinished design. We use Sketchup to box out views and and add repeating detail, like chairs and tables.

Quincy Dredge details

I want to add one more detail from my dredge painting. I've been trying to create more texture to approximate the roughness of rust. These are scanned pieces, and I find them interesting on their own. It's done with layers of paint and dripped/sprayed masking fluid.

Quincy Dredge

Quincy Dredge No.2 was used for reclaiming copper tailings in Torch lake near Houghton, MI. It sank over 40 years ago, but sits just off the road like it sank yesterday. In winter you can easily wander through it.

Ogden, Utah

I'll be displaying my work at the Ogden Arts Festival on June 7-8. It's at the train station where I have taken many pictures and drawn inspiration for some of my work. Utah seems far from home, but I'm staying with my art friends, Scott and Amy.

Cafe layout

My Client had wireframe plans and perspectives, but wanted to show a warmer atmosphere. I created all the equipment on the counters separately so they could be moved or changed, then combined them in Photoshop.

Centennial Mine #3

I was dismayed to find my favorite copper mine in ruins on New Year's day. Historical Artifacts in the Keweenaw Peninsula are disappearing fast.

more portraits

Here are two more quick philosopher portraits in oil from old statues.

Osceola Copper Mine

This is one of the newer mines left standing on the Keweenaw peninsula. I used the existing pile of rusty old parts, but moved them around and turned the building so it was looking at us.

Another Train

This is a train in front of the Ogden, Utah train station. It's in great shape, but I felt like making it look run down, rusty, and very cluttered. I made two changes in the train for compositional reasons, and I bet train enthusiasts would find them right away.

Oil Portraits

I haven't done many oil paintings or portraits, but I am doing a number of them right now for a Cafe in the city.

Using Google Sketchup

I've been asked if I use Google Sketchup, so I'm posting a few examples. I don't have any samples on my site because I have viewed it to me more of a tool than a final product.

Dental Office

Here's a simple idea that I fleshed out to express the possibilities. We had a logo, basic dimensions, photos, and a tooth.