Artwork Flawed

Not that this would not have happened if I had a nice, spacious studio, but this is the result of a nasty accident with a painting sitting around uncovered. My studios consist of the kitchen counter or the kitchen table or my office or the garage. This happened in the garage. No dog, cat, grandkids, or wife to blame it on so I will leave it at that.

Therefore, this is more than an adequate submission to lllustration Friday for this week's theme of "flawed".

A Visit To Monument Valley

I have finalized this larger painting in preparation for our association's Fine Art Show scheduled for February 2009. Monument Valley is a beautiful area located in SE Utah and NE Arizona, It is not a true valley but an area of pinnacles and buttes that rise as much as 1,000 feet above the desert floor.

The movie industry has filmed many movies here because of the picturesque red and orange sandstone, siltstone, and shale landscapes. This is now in a 19" x 23" frame and ready for the show. Ink and watercolor.

Climbing Vines

When I was growing up, I always liked to snoop in the vineyards at my grandpa's ranch. Even though it was usually hot and dusty, there was some consolation in sitting in the shade of the grape vines and nibbling away at the juicy grapes. The neat thing about grapes is that the lush fruits are hidden under the full leaves which makes finding a clump of grapes very exciting.

I love vineyards and soon I hope to do some paintings from some local grape farms. Don't you wish you could sit under a nice grape vine right now and sink your teeth into some plump, sweet grapes? I do! Ink and watercolor.

Summer Beach Shadows

A simple little summer scene shows palm trees, beach, rocks and ocean somewhere in Hawaii. The tree trunks are very interesting because they all seem to sway and lean to their own liking making a nice pattern to peer through to the ocean. The palm branches also have their own wild patterns.

This art fits an 8" x 10" frame and will take up very little space in some body's home. I try to do smaller size paintings like this one because everybody does not have room for large paintings to be hung in their homes. Watercolor.

From Pale To Brilliant

I sketched and painted one of the bouquets of flowers my wife received on her birthday from our children. Sometimes my watercolors tend to be too pale. I did not want pale but I wanted more brilliance. The ink pen I used bled a lot when I applied a heavy wash. Then the entire painting was way too dark. One thing I did to salvage the painting was to use white gouache for highlighted areas. This helped saved the work and made it look much better. It still was a little on the dark side, but with the magic of Photoshop, I was able to lighten up all of the colors to post into my blog. Hopefully, you will all enjoy this cheery, colorful display. Ink and watercolor.

Lonely Little Tree

While I waited for my wife one day last December, I drew this lonely little tree in the church parking lot. It was a cold and dreary day and this little tree looked so alone and so bare. I continued sketching until my wife arrived. Took the drawing home and finished the detail from the reference photos I had taken. I used gray washes in only a few spots. Micron pens.

Cargo Contained

Cargo ships are shown lined up at the docks with tons of cargo contained onboard. I cannot understand how these ships can float with such heavy loads but they do. Let's hope these do not sink. I drew this after watching a television program on Los Angeles harbor. It is amazing to see what takes place at one of our major shipping facilities. Ink and watercolor.

Warm California Hills

Here is another scene for those who are already tired of winter. Colorful farm buildings with rolling brown hills make for a nice setting in the back country of central California. In the spring months, these rolling hills are beautiful carpets of green. From May until November the grasses turn to carpets of wheat and ochre colors until the rains replenish them. Ink and watercolor.

Enjoy Some California Poppies

My resolve is to show something that reminds us of warm weather now that cold weather is firmly upon us. This ink and watercolor of some California poppies as shown here grow when the weather is warm and nice. These are pretty little flowers that grow wild in California in spring and summer. Their colors range from bright yellow to brilliant orange. At the height of their growing seasons they make the hills turn brilliant with color against the fresh green grasses from the spring rains. Who knows, many of you bloggers enjoying summer conditions currently may see some of these flowers right now.