Love My Flag

I have always liked the look of our country's flag. It's very noticeable, bright and symbolic. I produced this artwork because and I like flags--our flag for sure. Unless it's raining or foggy, I fly mine every day and make sure I take it down at night. My home has a nice flag staff holder which makes it is very easy to put up and take down. Surprisingly, only about 20% of the homes in our community display the flag each day. However, on special days like the Fourth of July and Memorial Day, most people show their stripes. I like mine being out whenever the weather is nice. I used watercolors, ink, shades of gray pens.

Union Square

A view of Union Square in San Francisco is shown here where the activity seems to never cease. Loose lines, loose color and concentration on shapes with minimal worry about detail highlight my art. People ask me why I am changing my style when they see my "sketchy" work. No change--it's just fun to sketch. Ink and watercolor.

Simple Skyline

This painting of a downtown skyline reminds me to stay simple at times. I began with broad strokes of colors to determine the structures and trees. I then added my ink lines, thin, thick and broad strokes for the windows. I applied blue to indicate sky and some birds to show some activity. Time to stop so I did. Try this sometime with your goal being nothing but achieving "SIMPLE". Ink and watercolor.

Village Bridge

I really like the view and angle of this village with the bridge and the curved slope in the foreground. This is the second painting of this image for me. I learned what I did not want to do from the first attempt. This one is considerably brighter and more striking. I may revisit the painting and soften the colors of everything behind the bridge. Ink and watercolor.

Artificial Reef

I saw this photograph in a newspaper article about artificial reefs. The photo really sparkled so I decided to reproduce it in "Terry Banderas" style of art. The idea of artificial reefs seems to be successful. Old ships are cleaned up and sunk and we are discovering these new obstacles make great cover for fish and seaweed that normally gather on or near reef-like obstacles. The angle is looking up towards the water surface. This photo was taken somewhere off the coast of San Diego. Mostly watercolor with a tad of ink.

Having To Do With Chicken

This week's Illustration Friday theme is "Chicken".  Since I knew I drew something "chicken-related" in the past I went to my archives to find some images that have to do with this theme. The top image is a sketch I did at a popular local coffee house named the "Wild Chicken". The other is an old head of a daddy chicken that I wanted to show because of its nice colors and majestic look. Both of these images were done with ink and watercolor.

Sweater Weather

Colorful skyscrapers provide the background for this winter scene in a big city. I decided to leave many of the windows off the buildings. Sometimes a few windows are as effective as showing all the windows. The snow has fallen and people are walking along the slushy roadway to and from the city which could be through a city park. The leafless trees and snow on the ground show it is mid-winter. Ink and watercolor.

Yellow Victorian AGAIN

I redrew this image of a yellow Victorian home that I saw near Colorado Springs. As I began to draw, I felt I had just recently been there - like yesterday, even though it had been three years since I took this photo. This sense of deja-vu is common to many of us. This feeling has probably been sensed by many of you. Strange how the mind can work. I hope you enjoy this yellow Victorian beauty. Ink and watercolor.

Mountain And Trees

A dead pine tree in the foreground reminds us of one of the problems we see nowadays in the mountains. Amongst the good trees are ones that are dying because of previous fires or disease. This scene though is not ruined by this scraggly tree. Ink and watercolor.

The Chapel At Yosemite

This is the little chapel that sits on the floor in the valley at Yosemite. This sketch shows the chapel just after a snowstorm where a few people have ventured out into the calm that is felt after a nice snowfall. Ink and watercolor.