Daily Painting
Bike Tire
05/18/12 09:27
Not much time to draw after a crazy day at work and going to see Sam in a play. He was awesome!
Comments
Me
05/16/12 01:46
Thats me. Bald, wearing reading glasses. Waiting for Mason to get off from work. He has a drivers license (wasn’t I just changing his diaper last week?)
Sensu Store is Live!
05/13/12 10:36
We have been working towards this day for quite a while and I am happy to report that our website is updated and the web store is LIVE! Go buy your very own Sensu brush at www.sensubrush.com. We are currently only taking US orders.
Baldy
05/11/12 10:37
Double Chin
05/09/12 10:58
Some times you just sit and draw and it really doesn’t have to make any sense. But I do think there are a couple faces with big chins in here...
Vana Mazi at the Whip In
05/08/12 03:59
I took our friend Jane (who is visiting from England) to my favorite pub, the Whip In, last night. Good food, some Milk Stout and fabulous music by Vana Mazi.
Bird in Hand
05/07/12 09:09
This is a little bird ornament that Gloria found somewhere (she is always finding wonderful little things.)
Lizard Toad Thing
05/05/12 12:55
Two Jars of Dressing
05/03/12 09:55
Witch
05/01/12 03:41
I was having fun with the app Paper and my Sensu brush. Changing the speed with which you move the brush changes the line width.
Sam Shooting 4.30.12
04/30/12 01:17
Sam made a really cool re-curve bow out of pvc the other day. He went and bought himself some good arrows and practiced out in the courtyard. No passer-bys or small animal were injured ;-)
Jefferson
04/28/12 03:15
Izze on Sidewalk
04/26/12 10:10
Our black cat Izze laying on the sidewalk, probably collecting fleas. Using the app Paper for this drawing.
Another Beer Glass
04/24/12 12:05
Just another beer glass. This was a New Belgium Belgo IPA. Not so crazy about the beer but like the drawing. Using the app Paper.
Stacy Park Color Fields
04/22/12 09:10
I snapped a photo on route to Curra’s for breakfast taco’s on Saturday. Yesterday I used that image for my daily painting. I liked just breaking the painting into color fields.
Rain bow
04/21/12 06:37
I’m sure it is not an original idea for an illustration, but it is todays daily painting. Using the Sensu brush with app Paper.
Lizard
04/20/12 11:02
This is what happens when you are really sleepy and about to close your eyes on the day, and remember that your daily painting was not done. Grab a photo from earlier in the day and paint over it. Yuck. Well at least you can see the lizard eye, right? They really do camouflage themselves well.
Eating Lunch at UPenn
04/19/12 07:57
Sam and I toured the UPenn campus last weekend. We ate lunch at the White Dog Cafe, quite tasty.
Black Walnut Tree
04/17/12 10:11
We spent a long weekend at my Aunt Joan’s home outside Philly this past weekend. Near her driveway is this cool (and messy, as Joan points out) black walnut tree. I love the branch that looks like an arm and elbow.
Funny Looking Guy
04/12/12 01:20
Old Rose
04/10/12 09:43
Another botanical using Sensu and Procreate. This was an old rose that has sat in the dining room for a LONG time.
Cross Vine
04/09/12 09:46
Yesterdays painting was of a Cross Vine growing in our garden. I used some old drawings by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) as inspiration. Painting with the Sensu with ArtRage again. Though this time I used the watercolor brush option for the colors (and it is very slow).
Sam Trying to Catch Up to Gloria
04/08/12 10:14
Ben with Big Ears & a sketch of Gloria
04/07/12 10:50
My nephew Ben is a willing subject for portraits. I have these funny jumbo paper ears that fit on your head and he put them on (I used the Sensu and ArtRage for this).
Below is a quick sketch of Gloria (using the Sensu brush and SketchTime app).
Portrait of Benjamin
04/06/12 01:14
My sister-in-law and nephew are visiting. It is great to see them, and did a quick portrait of Ben on the front porch (using Sensu and ArtRage).
Two Sketches on Paper
04/05/12 04:00
Cactus
04/04/12 12:28
A couple drawings from some sketchy (in a good way) apps. The cactus was done in SketchTime and the portrait below was done in Paper. Both are very nice apps with nice thought (and restraint) in regards to the user experience. And variable line width, which is fantastic in my opinion.
Blue Beard & Parking
04/02/12 10:13
The title of the post is more exciting than the actual post :) I did go to an interesting presentation today by Dr. Donald Shoup (the prophet of parking). He was brought to town by Council member Chris Riley who has been very active in trying to resolve Austin’s parking woes. Shoup has written a book, The Real Cost of Free Parking, in it he suggests that all this parking that is required of developers and merchants should be removed and instead use metered parking (priced as to what the market will bear-and in such a way that you always have a few empty spots) is a better model for solving the issues in problem areas. Revenue collected by the meters is then given back to the areas that support (less maintenance costs). Those dollars can then be used for improvements (sidewalks, trees, law enforcement etc.). People who don’t want to pay will find alternative methods of getting to and fro (bike, bus, walk)… I am oversimplifying this, but is interesting.
Izze on Garden Path (with Lizard)
04/01/12 09:03
Izze is constantly on the prowl. We do feed, plenty, but none the less her little kitty brain only wants to hunt.
Pizza
03/31/12 04:33
The pizza this weekend was really good. The crust was crispy, an ongoing issue for me as our oven tops out at 500 degrees.
Birthday Girl (with New Haircut)
03/29/12 09:42
My wonderful and lovely wife Gloria celebrates her birthday tomorrow (which explains the dazed look on her face in this painting). Happy Birthday! (she looks like she is 30 ;)
Austin Beerworks Glass
03/28/12 09:11
Veggies on the Counter
03/27/12 09:06
Some carrots, beets, garlic, and asparagus (in a glass container) on the kitchen counter. Daylight fading fast.
Marshmellow
03/26/12 09:03
While at our friend Gail’s birthday party yesterday we met Haven, who proudly showed Gloria and I a photo of her cat Marshmellow. Photo forwarded and used it for todays painting.
Gloria's Legs
03/25/12 02:56
Bare feet, blue jeans, the dappled light of a Sunday morning… it is so nice to hang out and visit, and look at your sweet heart’s feet :)
Fav Cookin' Tools
03/23/12 01:31
I worked on this painting at the Whip-In, my favorite pub in Austin. Using the iPad and Sensu brush in public is a sure way to meet new friends. I had a great time talking to Melissa and Jackie about the joys of making images on the iPad. And the Bonnevill County Pine Box had a raucous couple of sets! Did a sketch of Dan (banjo), Harvey (mando) and Jimmy (guito).
Still Life and Toast
03/22/12 09:57
This still life is a bit complicated. I do like the blast of blue on the right though.
I was waiting for the kettle to boil and sketched the toaster. Oh trusted toaster, where would be without thy...
Vanilla Porter
03/21/12 10:13
Above are a couple drawings using sketchtime and my sensu brush. The subject is the superb Brackenridge Vanilla Porter.
RatCat
03/20/12 08:50
Lewis (our cat) moved while I was doing a little video test of me painting with the Sensu brush. The result is, well, not so good, or is a really good portrait of a a RatCat.
Couple of Doodles
03/19/12 10:36
A couple of doodles while sitting on the front porch. I was using the procreate app… thinking about ordering a the new improved iPad.
Rats
03/18/12 03:21
I just finished a great book, Rats by Robert Sullivan. A history of rats in NYC. Not really crazy about rats myself but the book was great.
Mia at sxsw
03/15/12 10:38
Don’t know that this really captures the lovely Mia, in fact the painting makes her look like she might be beginning to scowl, which I know she never does :)
Dinner Fixings
03/13/12 08:02
Gloria had a stack of fixings for dinner tonight. Some sort of thai yummy thingy. Birthday dinner for Sam!
Soul at the St. Cecilia
03/12/12 11:39
I got to hang out for a while yesterday over at our neighbors, the St. Cecilia Hotel. The Soul sign by the pool was made by another neighbor and friend, Evan Voyles. It is a lovely spot … and painting on an iPad is quite an ice-breaker, I met some really nice folks.
Basketball Court
03/11/12 10:32
Back from my business trip to Chicago. Hanging outside while Mason takes his cello lesson. We had lots of rain here in Texas so the spring should be very springy.
Another Glass of Beer
03/09/12 10:36
Just playing with drawing a glass using sketchtime. I’m up in Chicago on business and having a really good trip.
Eggs in Bowl
03/07/12 08:00
Here is what they look like in the morning before whisking and pouring them into the skillet with some scallions. Can you say breakfast tacos?
Orange Peels
03/05/12 10:55
The oranges in Texas are really good right now, as is the grapefruit (which frankly is the best anywhere). Some leftover peels on the table were the subject for todays painting.
Sam with Tie
03/04/12 01:30
Sam
03/03/12 02:39
Grounded Cat
03/01/12 09:23
Well, this was meant be a cat with a mask on its face, but Gloria pointed out-while laughing-it looked like a plug receptacle. Oh, well.
Luxo Lamp
02/29/12 09:11
My luxo lamp. Years of service, never fails. This was drawn with SketchTime, a really nice app.
Sam in Kitchen
02/28/12 09:09
Caught a photo of Sam standing in the kitchen and used it as the subject for todays daily painting. They grow up fast, he is almost fourteen.
Bread Bowl
02/27/12 09:58
More from Peachtree Street
02/23/12 08:57
I did two paintings while Mason was at his piano lesson. The sun was setting and I was working to capture a bit of that. The second painting (below) was cut short as I was called him to Mason play. He sounded great. The painting is a bit blobby.
Self Portrait
02/21/12 08:52
Sitting in the parking lot of Eastside Memorial High School waiting for Mason to be dropped off from his job.
French Press
02/20/12 02:30
The french press sits on the our kitchen counter, washed and ready for business. Really, it is our favorite way to brew coffee.
Franconia Kolsch at The Whip-In
02/19/12 09:45
Abstract #6 & #7
02/17/12 01:35
Just continuing to play with the ability to lock down an alpha channel in Procreate and paint inside it. Quite fun. Limiting myself to three colors and seeing what happens. Simpler seems better to me, so the top one is kind nice. But, overall I like the energy I can get with a certain brush (it does not have a name so I don’t know how to refer to it).
Abstract #5
02/16/12 09:27
Veggie Prep
02/15/12 09:21
Our boxes of veggies from Hairston Creek Farm have been plentiful lately. Lots of roasted veggies in our future :-)
Valentine's Day Treat
02/14/12 11:06
Izze on the Table
02/13/12 08:19
Gloria and Cat PIllow
02/11/12 11:22
Two versions of the same image. The top was painted with art rage and the lower with procreate.
Little Guy
02/10/12 09:28
A cute little figure sitting in the kitchen window. It looks like I am just about to hit the year mark on Feb 13th of doing the daily paintings.
Apple Core
02/09/12 11:07
I downloaded a new painting app yesterday called, procreate. It is very nice and I am excited to use it. This painting was done using the stylus end of the Sensu brush. The app is very responsive and fast, the apple was pretty tasty as well.
Highway
02/08/12 01:02
Another view of the highway near the intersection of Casear Chavez Street and 183 in Austin. I like this views where the manmade and natural world cut into each other and divide space (wow, that was almost… deep).
Overpass
02/07/12 09:44
I have driven by this spot countless times and always think, “I need to paint this”. So, this morning I did.
Louis
02/06/12 09:37
This is our friends Ron and Leslie’s dog, Louis. He is a really cute dog. This painting is from a photo that Leslie snapped as Louis was waking up. I was working in this during Sam’s orchestra rehearsal and wound up meeting another parent, Dan, who was utterly blown away by the Sensu brush I was using.
Turnips
02/04/12 12:41
Our winter shares of veggies are pretty amazing. We unload our box and the counter is filled with veggie goodness.
Two Oranges & Three Limes
02/02/12 10:32
Back from Germany
02/01/12 11:35
I spent the last week doing iPad paintings with new capacitive Sensu brush at the Messe Frankfurt show, in Germany. It was very exciting to show people from all over the world this exciting brush and how I use it. So below are some of the paintings I that I did (actually there are probably a dozen or more that I never saved).
Rick, Darin & Max
01/29/12 11:50
Feet & Brushes
01/28/12 11:54
I kind of got into painting peoples feet in the booth. Astroturf carpet. I think I have seen enough of that for a while.
I had taken a photo of some of Princeton’s brushes. They made an excellent subject to demo with.
Trinedy gave up on wearing heels and made the smart decision to wear sneakers.
Glass of Binding Beer
01/27/12 11:55
Tired Rick
01/26/12 12:08
bedtime
01/25/12 09:23
Can you tell that I was tired painting this. Crazy day with a sick kid. I won’t be posting for a week (but will be painting) as I am going to Frankfurt to demo the sensu brush using my ipad. Should be fun.
Radishes On Counter
01/23/12 03:58
I didn’t have my sensu brush with me as I did this one. Missed it. I’m off tomorrow for Frankfurt, Germany to demo the sensu brush at a big trade show. Fun.
Radish Giants
01/22/12 09:03
Some peeled radishes in a lovely fire king mixing bowl.
Go Giants. Those were great games this weekend.
Greens
01/21/12 04:59
Green Puppy
01/20/12 08:53
What a lovely night out it was. Clear skies, had a nice fire going, and I almost forgot to do my daily painting. So after crawling into bed I started scribbling with my eyes closed, when I opened them the shape of a puppy was there.
Loaf of Bread
01/11/12 09:14
Got in late from playing tennis and was tired. The wind was crazy as the cold front blew in. Fun tennis though. A quick painting of this evenings loaf of bread. My bread keeps improving as my wild yeast ages. Not a great painting though. Some days they are good, others, not so much :)
Ride the Shoulders
01/10/12 10:17
Abe and His Blue Helmet
01/07/12 12:13
Cat
01/05/12 12:34
A friend sent us a card that had a cute cat on it standing on its hind legs so I painted the cat (via my finger today because I forgot my sensu brush) while waiting at Sam’s lesson.
And another doggie
01/04/12 09:16
Large Marge. We met her while making tamales and brewing beer over the holiday. She’s sweet and large :)
Dog at HEB
01/03/12 12:03
The other day I snapped a photo of this dog, sitting in the drivers seat at HEB. It seemed so at home in the seat that it made me wonder if its partner dog was in the store getting some Alpo.
Sam Dozing & Another Dan
01/02/12 12:43
Winter break. Sweet. Sam crawled into our bed and slept late.
I have been somewhat determined to get this image to work. Using layers on the ipad, I wound up turning off a couple of layers and it left me with this mosaic like portrait. Like it. Done.
Beer Glass #6 Revisited
01/01/12 02:17
Happy New Year. I was just about to paint over Beer Glass #6, when I thought maybe it just needed an improved paint job. I think it is better.
Live Oak #5 revisited
12/31/11 03:56
I wasn’t happy with the painting yesterday and went back into it. Still not so sure about it.
Dan Revisisted
12/29/11 09:22
I didn’t like the previous attempts at this painting of my buddy Dan. This is better but still not there. I did an oil painting yesterday but forgot to photograph it, will update tomorrow.
Gloria with Her Present
12/28/11 03:44
I gave Gloria some pillows that are big scrabble tiles, you can see what they spell... she has been napping quite a bit since receiving them. They are very powerful, even for low scoring tiles.
Mason in Hall
12/26/11 10:25
Gloria and I
12/24/11 08:55
We went for some family portraits at Bill studio the other day. My father-in-law snapped a photo of Gloria and I on his iphone, hence this daily painting.
Mason Tames the Zombie Kitty
12/23/11 11:25
Gloria and Lewis Revised
12/22/11 06:11
Gloria Knitting
12/20/11 03:30
Gloria sitting and knitting in the bedroom, by the heater, listening to Planet Money. She’s so sweet...
Gloria, Lewis and Sam
12/18/11 09:30
Gloria reading, Lewis sleeping, and Sam looking off in the distance envisioning worlds unknown. Nothing beats being snuggled up with loved ones.
Pecan Porter at the Whip-In
12/17/11 08:57
Lewis in the Bowl
12/16/11 09:42
He actually has a collar on in this. Which he lost the next day, again. We must be pushing one hundred dollars in collars on this guy... does he go some hidden spot and pry his collar off and laugh all the way home?
Gloria and Lewis
12/15/11 09:11
Lewis pretty much has his way at our house. He gets attention when he demands it, gets a new resting spot even if his sister is already there. You know the drill. His favorite spot is probably Gloria, when she is reading or just dozing off. The additional weight he has put on can be somewhat surprising when he gets into position (as in knock the wind out of you).
Before the Drop
12/14/11 09:06
I tried to pick up a tree today when I was at Home Depot, but they were out of Nobel Furs, and frankly all the trees looked pretty sad. So after dropping Sam off at archery, I ran to Costco for some quick food purchases (if there is such a thing) and figured I would get the tree there (they had a truckload of them last time I was in). No luck. Truck gone. Crud. Off to another Home Depot (on Brodie) where the past few years Sam and I have had a great time picking out a tree. But alas, I was Han Soloing this time, it was dark, and wet, and lonely. After fumbling around trying to size up trees from arms length I decided to roll the dice. I found a 5-6 foot Nobel, all bound up. I put it on the cart, sight unseen, paid for it, had them fresh cut it, brought it home, lined it up, screwed in place and let Sam unclip the cord. We rolled the die and won. It is a beautiful tree. This painting is just before Sam unclipped the cord holding all the branches up.
Our Boys
12/13/11 01:25
I was working from a pretty crudy photo, but I really wanted to do my daily painting of our boys. They are pretty awesome young men. Not that this painting reveals any of that :)
Apple on the Counter
12/12/11 06:55
A really large fuji apple just before I sliced it up to eat. In the background is a lovely old blue heaven sugar bowl.
Maybe a Series?
12/08/11 09:43
I was thinking of doing a series of ipad paintings of all the U.S. presidents in sequential order. Using primarily red, white and blue as the palette. Above is the first one. I also think it would be fun is to collect all references needed and just do them all in one setting.
Plant on the Windowsill
12/07/11 07:10
It’s actually cold enough here in Austin that we needed to pull the plants in. Some of the freshly repotted succulents have made onto the studio windows and they look right at home. And for all you kickstarters visiting this was painted with the sensu brush :) I am smitten!
Izzy on Patrol
12/06/11 12:07
Izzy was up to no good yesterday patrolling around looking for something to knock down. And if you found me via the sensu brush on kickstarter, “Hi!” You are going to love the brush! I wish I could have you all over for a beer and ipad painting session.
SRCC Neighborhood Meeting
12/05/11 10:22
The view from my chair of our SRCC neighborhood meeting last night. Lots of talk about STRs, RPPs closing some on-ramps and fixing windows. Whew.
Lewis Prepares to Work
12/03/11 01:13
Ok, I have been hooked with painting on the ipad. This is my third painting using the new Sensu brush, which is awesome. I am going to be making a video of it in use later today so Artist Hardware can it show at work.
Sam Gains on Gloria
12/02/11 09:18
Rose Bloom & Bud
12/01/11 10:45
Our rose bush out front has some lovely blooms on it right now, with more to come as we are finally getting some rain here in Texas.
Christmas Card
11/30/11 09:03
Our dear friends the Strickers asked me if I would paint them a Christmas card. Everybody wants a bacon hoodie for Christmas!
Salt Container by the Stove
11/29/11 10:47
Some fancy salt by the stove. Put it on potatoes, put it veggies, put it in your soup, put it in your belly.
Austin Skyline from Academy & Ravine
11/28/11 09:22
A view we often see of Austin walking back from our neighbors house. The old Terrace parking lot fell into shadow and it looks much better that way. Oh to have a park instead of a parking lot.
Lewis Sleeping in a Box
11/27/11 05:08
Another painting of Lewis sleeping. Those cats do that a lot. Something like 18 hours daily. Here he is in a box.
Another Lewis
11/26/11 03:59
Birds on a Wire
11/24/11 03:58
I snapped a photo of the phone lines out front of the house the other day. The birds were working hard.
Lewis Sleeping 2
11/22/11 01:29
Lewis curled up by my feet last night and I worked quickly to try and capture it because i was sure he would move, those cats always do.
Penni
11/21/11 01:50
Studio Stairwell
11/20/11 06:40
Revisiting
11/13/11 09:20
When I was looking for a panel to paint over for todays painting these two were selected (beer glass #4 and eggplant #1), looking at them I thought I would try reworking rather than completely painting over them. I think they were improved upon, but they may still get painted over.
Bottle and Cotton Ball 2
11/12/11 05:36
I forgot to send over yesterdays painting. I will do that later, but here is a better version of it for todays painting.
Self Portrait 11.10.11
11/10/11 09:54
Another stab at the self portrait with magnifier. Better than the last one, I like the hot colors.
VW Bus
11/09/11 05:27
This VW bus was parked next door at the Hotel St. Cecilia the other day. It was mint. I am approaching 250 paintings!
Meal in a Can
11/07/11 09:11
We enjoyed a really nice meal and visiting with friends the other night. Discussion about some particular food items tasting as good out a can as compared to homemade came up several times. So I made a little thank you painting for them.
Tomatillo vs. Tomatillo
11/06/11 09:28
Stanley
11/04/11 09:31
Maredsous Bruin Beer Bottle
11/03/11 09:06
Another fine brew with an equally lovely bottle. Maredsous Bruin, they make a Triple as well but my buddy Scott and I prefer the Bruin.
Road to Somewhere
11/02/11 09:12
I used to do watercolor paintings like this frequently. I would make a loose sketch in my sketchbook then after work make a bigger version with ink and watercolor/gouache.
President Taft
11/01/11 10:17
Our friend Josh dressed up as President Taft and went to school exuding executive power and wisdom. And no doubt, thoughtful prose regarding bacon.
Eggplants and Live Oaks
10/30/11 01:15
Late morning painting of the live oak next door.
A lovely eggplant from our farmer. Looks a bit like a jelly bean with a stem... I really like the idea that jelly beans would grow on a vine :)
The first eggplant painting.
Beer Glass #7
10/22/11 03:47
Coffee Cup
10/19/11 01:06
My favorite coffee cup. My buddy Rick gave this to us years and years ago. It is one of those heavy ceramic mugs that the great old stainless diners use.
Bad Robot Guy
10/18/11 09:23
Another painting from our toy collection. I have forgotten the characters name. Not a good painting though and very likely will be painted over tonight.
Behind O'henry MS
10/17/11 10:15
Manchana (near Stassney)
10/16/11 10:14
Self Portrait with Big Ears
10/15/11 10:13
I found my old giant ears (just in time for halloween) and showed them off to Gloria and Ellen.
Critter
10/14/11 09:42
I’m not really sure what this is. But I am calling it Critter #2. Actually, I was surprised that there was a Critter already...
Another Dan
10/13/11 09:41
Mason and I rushed out to his lesson today and that meant an ipad painting. I took another shot at Dan (using the photo we took when he was over last). Kind of creepy.
Beer Glass #6
10/12/11 09:11
Back to the oil paints. A couple of little challenges with this painting. Use one size brush, and finish the painting before being able to drink the beer (a St. Arnold’s Amber).
One Eyed Cat on Red
10/11/11 09:16
Cheating. That’s what Gloria and Sam think in regards to doing my daily painting with the ipad. Hmmm, well maybe they are right, maybe not. It sure is faster. Once I am done with the painting it is a quick export to photos than import into rapidweaver and post. They whole picture taking component is removed and frankly the color is fantastic. That said, the resolution is limited, and there no physical artifact (which has its pros and cons). And, oil paint smells good.
Dan in the Courtyard
10/10/11 12:49
Sam Shooting Them Arrows
10/09/11 04:51
Outside Patches
10/06/11 07:30
Visiting on the phone with my buddy Rick, painting on my ipad while Mason has his lesson with the fabulous Patches King. A nice Thursday evening.
Beer Glass #5
10/05/11 05:03
I painted this before, from a photo, and now on the ipad. Speaking of which, I am really enjoying painting and drawing on the ipad but Gloria feels like I am cheating. I don’t know myself, there are many things in common with these two mediums (and the clean up is really easy with the ipad). I think I need to try some oil paintings using the ipads paintings as a sketch/guide. Yeah. This weekend look for that. Anyway, back to this painting, I really like the quality of light in it. It’s beer-thirty!
Izze on Red and the Front Yard
10/04/11 05:56
Above: I had to try this in red. Also, gave Izze some eyes this time.
Below: is the view off our front porch. I just kept building up blocks of color on this, going from larger to smaller blocks.
Orchestra Rehearsal
10/03/11 08:57
Mason Catching Up
10/02/11 04:56
I was trying to catch some of the light morning light into our bedroom. Mason had appropriated our bed to catch up on our Lost watching (we are into the fourth season now).
Bathroom Window
10/01/11 05:04
I have been meaning to paint this for some time. I love how the foliage gets all blown out and the interior is completely silhouetted, and then there is just a little blast of orange from the shampoo bottle.
Cat and Lemon
09/30/11 06:40
Gloria Cooking #2
09/29/11 01:23
I am trying to learn more about this painting app, artrage, so here is another version of Gloria Cooking. I used yesterdays ipad painting as a tracing template. This was really fun because it was grabbing colors from the template image automatically. I need to do more of these! If you scroll down to yesterdays painting you can compare, not really much of a difference.
Gloria Cooking
09/28/11 06:39
Another painting from the ipad. This was fun to do, snapped a photo, put a layer on top and selectively picked colors to paint. There is another neat thing about working directly on the ipad (having found some apps that really work when sketching), I don’t have to scan the sketch.
Self Portrait with Safety Glasses and Ideas
09/27/11 10:48
Back to oil on panel. This is me thinking... with safety glasses on. I painted over the Still Life with Clementines for this one.
Sam Playing xbox
09/26/11 10:39
Another sketch/painting done on the ipad. This one using the watercolor brushes. The effect is really similar to actual watercolor. Kind of amazing.
Using the iPad
09/25/11 07:20
Instead of oil paintings today I did several paintings on the ipad using an app called artrage. It has an extensive tool set including oil paints. I did the same process as if I was doing an physical painting: underpainting, block out a mass in umber, than add the colors. It was really fun, and while different, both processes had a lot in common.
OctoMan
09/23/11 10:28
Busy night with dinner, piano lessons, neighborhood meeting, stuff and I almost forgot about the painting. So, I did a quick sketch on Masons ipad (ok, it is not oil). Fun. I may alter my project parameters to include ipad art. Happy birthday Josh!
Hombre
09/22/11 09:38
I grabbed an old sketchbook and picked out a little doodle from it to paint tonight. The underpainting for this is the Stassney Lane painting from the 18th. I guess I’m having a line thing going on these past few days :)
Sketch 9.19.11
09/20/11 09:13
I just had my sketchbook this evening while Sam was at his orchestra practice. I don’t know what this is, maybe tombstone land? lumpy forest land?
Circle Boy
09/16/11 06:55
I have been drawing circle boy for a long time (me and every other person who picks up a pencil). Here is my first one in oil.
Sam's Turkey #2
09/15/11 10:42
These little turkey’s that Sam drew when he was little are so cute, I just want to keep painting them.
Beer Glass #4
09/14/11 07:16
Beer Glass #3
09/13/11 09:14
One can never tire of painting beer (IMHO). I had a difficult time getting the color of the beer right (Agave Wheat), but liked the composition enough.
Dan
09/12/11 09:54
My buddy Dan came over for a visit and I made sit for me in the courtyard to do a portrait. I had left a bunch of the background in place (it was pink) but decided this morning to extend the white all way off the panel.
Riddle Road #2
09/11/11 01:28
A second painting from Riddle Road, where Sam is taking archery. I painted over the Can Opener painting for this one. A rather large dead oak tree, I wondered if any owls are living in it?
Thanks Bacon
09/10/11 02:03
At the Opera
09/09/11 08:52
Another painting from the sketchbook. A patron sits in his chair watching an opera performance.
Skull with Wheat
09/08/11 07:26
This painting is inspired by the skull on a label of Agave Wheat by Brackenridge Brewery. A yummy brew that my buddy Bill brought by. Thanks Bill. Please come over again. With beer. Seriously.
Beer Bottle #2
09/07/11 05:23
Todays subject is a bottle of St. Arnold’s beer. Trying out a new photo, what do you think? / Painted over
Sam Sits
09/05/11 01:45
Can Opener
09/04/11 06:51
A can opener propped up next to can of white gamblin paint. On top (though you cannot see it) is a Bart Simpson head that has been spray painted gray. / Painted over
Weird Guy with Ray Gun
09/03/11 12:28
I must admit I did not really feel like painting today. Does it show? This is another toy that may or may not exit our collection. I thought I would paint the ray gun but kept going to include the nutso doctor holding it. The Doc actually looks like me... the face turned out kind of scary and cool (not that I am scary or cool). / Painted over
Sam
09/02/11 06:46
Today I thought to myself, heck I can just draw on this here panel with a pencil and fill it in. So I did.
Red Means All Parked Up
09/01/11 07:12
I have been part of a committee trying resolve some very bad parking issues in our neighborhood. The City did a really informative study that has been helpful in seeing when and where the parking gets a bit out of hand. If an area is in red, it is 100% parked. That is where we live, the red zone. Our house would been in the top right of the topgraphic painting. / Painted over.
Back to School Night #2
08/31/11 07:10
High school tonight. Mason looks to have some great teachers and we hope a great year to match.
Back to School Night
08/30/11 09:12
Just back from Sam’s back to school night at Fulmore Middle School (he looks to have a good schedule this semester). I love me a #2 pencil, had to crank this out so we could watch Lost. There are six seasons of Lost. Can they really take a story that long?
The Temps Are Up There
08/29/11 06:40
We just don’t really talk about the heat anymore (or at least we try not to), but I have to say when they announced on the news this morning that it was 112 degrees at Bergstrom Air Force Base yesterday I was a bit taken aback.
Bulb #6
08/28/11 01:25
When I was last at Uncommon Objects I saw a beautiful vintage package for a westinghouse bulb. Having painted several bulbs before I wanted to paint the package I saw (sans type). They really did a great job reducing the elements of the bulb, while still retaining its ‘bulbness’. They didn’t even paint the filament inside for crying out loud.
Riddle Pole
08/27/11 01:46
I painted this while Sam was at archery today (which is off Riddle Road in South Austin). I had forgot to put white paint in my bag so I had to wait until we got home to finish the sky. Very contrasty, kind of like it.
Critter
08/26/11 07:11
Pearl Snap Can
08/25/11 09:04
Back to painting beer. Ahhhh. Stopped by the Whip-In to restock and picked up some Peacemaker and Left Hands Milk Stout. I had set aside a Pearl Snap can to paint so today was the day.
Church
08/24/11 09:33
Hmmm... I’m helping my friend Andrew with a CD for the Bells of Joy and I thought I would take a stab at a painting for it. Not so sure.
Sam Reading
08/23/11 09:08
I did a sketch of Sam reading on his ipod. He got a bit stretched out and looking at this I see the adult he is soon to be. I really love this sketch.
Sam the Archer
08/22/11 09:05
Still behind on paintings. So, here is another sketch that may find its way to a painting. Sam practicing archery. The diagram thought bubbly thing is my interpretation of the internal calculus going on before the arrow flies.
Not a Painting
08/21/11 09:01
I didn’t get a painting done today but was drawing (a bit). I was helping a friend with a illustration for his tennis team, an Angry Birds kind of thing. It will look different from this but decided to post this version because I thought it would be fun to do a painting with process colors and dots (aka pop art) for one of the daily paintings.
Bull
08/20/11 07:29
I had visited Uncommon Objects Recently (a very cool store down the street from us) and saw a neat feed sack with a bull on it. Using the photo I snapped as reference it was todays subject.
Beer Bottle
08/19/11 09:52
Here is another attempt to do a painting from one of the sketches I have done. This the Peachy Beer from our trip this summer. I like how it turned out. The viscosity of the paint was right and maybe that is the trick for me, that the paint flows a bit more easily and kind of feels like drawing with the pen.
Lemon Bars
08/18/11 01:08
I had to paint some of the amazing lemon bars that my sister-in-law Elizabeth baked for us. They are soooo good. The heat of Texas has been temporarily blown away by lemony goodness...
Blockhead
08/17/11 09:03
I had a little ‘blockhead’ sketch that I like and have been thinking about painting. So, not really liking the painting from yesterday I painted over it and created the blockhead. It was late when I worked on it and had very little light. It is kind of neat though...
Danbury Square
08/16/11 09:12
This painting makes me 0 for 2 this week. But I will be coming up to the plate again soon. This painting got started while Mason was at his cello lesson, not so good, not so finished. Sam likes the trees though. / Painted over.
Toy Tow Truck
08/15/11 09:43
I painted this toy truck a while back with much better results. The subject is a neat old cast metal toy that is really lacking in detail. This painting just never really came together. Oh well, I will just paint over it tonight. I mixed up a new bottle of medium last night, slightly different from before, I wonder if that had anything to do with this? / Painted over
Aaron Drinks a Black Thunder
08/14/11 05:36
I snapped a photo of Aaron sampling Austin Beerworks Black Thunder yesterday. Very nice beer, I wish I had one right now! / In private collection
Austin Beerworks Glass
08/13/11 01:01
Michael and Adam of Austin Beerworks were kind enough to take Gloria, and friends Griselda and Aaron on a tour of their brewery in North Austin today. It was a very flavorful time. We saw the Works and sampled all their beers. In a word, awesome. I hope to return and do some drawings soon. If you haven’t had any of their beers you really must try them, they are all delicious. You can pick them up at my local favorite beer stop, the Whip-In (among others). I am going to take another shot at this glass today...
Little Tomy Robot
08/12/11 05:27
Gosh, we have a lot of these little robots. This one is by Tomy, stands 2.125” tall, and winds up by cracking its arms around. Very cute little guy.
Giraffe In Landscape
08/11/11 02:04
I was asked last night to paint a sad giraffe, with little trees, stars and a crescent moon. Not something you are asked to paint (or draw for that matter) very often. The giraffe is really more sick than sad. They have really long tongues so I painted a long angular tongue. Hmmm, I don’t know. Hopefully, it will get a passing grade. There is something very dog like about the giraffe as well... the tongue, upright tail, expectant look, “...are you gonna throw me a tree...wag, wag...” / In private collection
Robot B9
08/10/11 09:45
I guess one of the good things about doing a painting a day is that there is always the next painting, the next day. This one is not so good, I just never got a feel for B9 robot doing this. This may get painted over very soon and I am looking forward to the next one which is going to have a giraffe and little trees in it.
Sam's Turkey
08/09/11 08:36
I repainted/redecorated a room and found quite a few items stuck in a drawer. One of which was a great math worksheet of Sams from elementary school. He had drawn a bunch of turkeys (it was just before Thanksgiving) and one of them was this funny marching turkey. It reminds of the Pixar short, One for the Birds. Before doing this I met up with Dan, Scott and Ron at the fabulous Whip-In for a few brews. Ron was in Slacker and when Scotts wife Sheila found out she made sure that he brought her Slacker book to have Ron sign. I thought the book was going to be full of signatures but it turns out Ron was the first. We decided that each time we meet up we have to try to get another cast or crew member to join us so they can sign the book. I think we will have to lean heavily on Ron for this :) Here is a sketch of Ron drinking a Live Oak Pils.
Sam Thinks
08/08/11 06:21
I wanted to do a portrait of one of my boys. Sam was reluctant to ‘sit’ for me so I took a photo on my iphone and painted from that. It really is different painting from a photo, not bad, just different. This was looking really pretty cool after about five minutes and I almost stopped (Mason told me I should) but I decided to keep going. The black outline happened at the last minute, probably could have done without it, but too late. I tried using a sable brush, which really seems to smooth things out, quite different from the impasto method I have been working in. Anyway, done, and the kid really does think!
2 inch Toy Robot
08/07/11 07:13
Another little plastic toy from the shelves (which are slowly being sold off on ebay). This cute little robot is two inches tall and articulates in several spots. S/he needs a name.
Beer Can
08/06/11 07:06
My friend Aaron has been telling me to try Peacemaker, Extra Pale Ale, from Austin Beer Works (here in Austin). I picked some up today at my fav beer stop, The Whip In. Delicious! So much so, it was worthy of a painting. / In collection of artist
Astronaut
08/05/11 10:07
Another painting from one of the many little plastic toys we have around the studio. We love the space program here. A couple of years ago we went to the Johnson Space Center in Houston. It was great. I don’t really know if this little guy is coming or going, I would like to think he is heading out on another exciting mission.
Cat Tail
08/05/11 10:03
One of two paintings from Friday, August 5. The inspiration for this is an old game made of cardboard. The cat tail is cut out and you try to catch little metal rings on it. I made the cat a bit more gnarly, like it might be a suitable pet for Lord Voldemort.
A Glass of Magic Hat #9
08/04/11 07:15
106 degrees requires a nice beer to paint. Magic Hat #9 does the trick, at least temporarily!
Cap
08/03/11 10:51
A very quick painting before heading to the tennis courts on our 106 degree day. The label on the cap says, beer nuts, but I didn’t make it legible.
Homer
08/01/11 10:10
The toy painting odyssey continues. We had three sets of Simpson plush dolls, I decided to remove the heads and add them to the gathering ghost horde in the studio.
The Ghost of Rosie the Robot
07/29/11 11:09
My Right Boot
07/27/11 09:28
You need a pair of boots, so todays painting is my right boot. When working on the left boot I went past a point where the boot was mostly a silhouette, kind of wished I had stopped there. So, when working on this painting I remained conscience of that ‘point’ and stopped.
My Left Boot
07/26/11 09:25
I have a great old pair of cowboy boots that I bought from our friend Evan Voyles twenty years ago. I think I like this one. May be the subject matter, or may be the simplicity. When I was trying them out I recall Evan saying that a good pair of boots give you some attitude. So, I don’t wear them too much :)
Chocolate Chip Cookie
07/25/11 08:30
Mason brought home some delicious chocolate chip cookies this afternoon that he and his friend Anna baked. I thought how hard than this be to paint a cookie. Turns out, pretty hard. Firstly, they are blob like, so capturing the essence of blob is difficult (I have yet to succeed in this), secondly, like painting a beer, you keep thinking, “gee, that looks good.” I would have tried revising the painting the following morning but I ate the cookie even though it was not an S-day (Saturday, Sunday, Special Event Day). I limit sweets to S-days, I decided that since Anna wanted me to try their homemade cookies that it qualified. The cookie was soooo good I ate two:-)
Seedless Watermelon Slice
07/24/11 03:48
Hot weather, bring out the watermelon. It’s weird not having seeds to spit. This sort of looks like pie. The slice was towards the end so it would not stand up on the rind.
Bowl of Peppers
07/23/11 12:09
Another in the CSA series. Our box is getting thin, I’m sure due to this nasty drought we are having. But these peppers look good and hot. / In private collection
Bow Tie
07/22/11 06:54
Another in the series of paint things you like (like beer glasses, toy trucks, my fam), a bow tie, that is pre-tied (thank you), and always looks good. Sam wore at his last concert and he was very handsome. I have always had trouble getting a bow tied put together properly. Franklin, my bro-in-law made it look so easy. Maybe that is a simple summer project, learn to tie a bow tie. / In private collection
The Happy Frog
07/21/11 02:33
The happy pig now has a playmate, the happy frog. Feels pretty tadpole-y. It is another plastic toy turned model.
The Day My Hair Fell
07/20/11 10:32
I don’t think a painted version of this would be an improvement, so I am posting the drawing. Personally, I love being bald, but I know some are dismayed by the loss of their hair. I do recall the passage of time while the hair receded but I also remember thinking, “geez, that was quick.”
My Palette Today
07/18/11 05:57
When I went to the gym today I couldn’t help but notice the satisfying palette that I was wearing. Gray shirt, black shorts, buff legs (pun intended), black socks, red sneakers with black trim. Seriously, I looked good. Here is the painting to prove it.
Leaf Disguised As a Turd
07/17/11 02:16
I think the title says it all. I had set-up in the courtyard to enjoy the mild 99 degrees and paint this pretty leaf that had been sitting in the workshop. In the end it looked like it came from one. Or maybe it is John Newcombe’s mustache and it has broken free from his face and is flying home to Australia.
Cement Mixer #2
07/16/11 06:19
Still trying to catch up from vacation. Love this truck, it is really fun to paint, and who doesn’t love orange?
Tow Truck (Front and Back)
07/14/11 10:56
Gloria left this old metal toy tow truck on the table for me to paint. The yellow band at the top was a last minute addition.
Tape Dispenser #2
07/13/11 09:23
Another attempt at the tape dispenser. Office supplies are almost as seductive as tech items. Though, I guess there is a lot of cross-pollination between the two, kind like humans and cylons :-) I like these last two paintings, and I think one of the reasons they are better is because I did not wear my reading glasses while painting them (no glasses=simplification, wear glasses=add detail).
Cement Mixer
07/12/11 08:51
Another item off the shelves. A lovely old toy cement mixer. At about 8:30 I was ready to pack it in and grumbled to Gloria, “I don’t really want to paint tonight’” but off I went and I have to say, I think it turned out nice. This time I pre-mixed my colors, also back on my gessoboard panels. I misplaced the tape dispenser (in a fit of packing up ebay items), so I will try painting that again soon.
Tape Dispenser
07/11/11 08:05
This is a favorite object in the studio. A rock solid, fairly old tape dispenser. I think I will try painting it again today because I was in a hurry and did not premix my paints and it just sort of missed the mark. Using one of the canvas panels that Dan gave me. It’s nice. Mason likes how I did not paint out the underpainting.
Cellist
07/10/11 04:48
It’s raining outside, just started! We are dying for rain here in Austin (well, all of Texas really). Today’s painting is an attempt to work from my sketchbook again. So, translating a pen sketch to paint is challenging (painting volume vs. line to define volume), but I think this is kind of working. I like the lack of detail but you are still able to tell what is going on. After finishing the cellist on the left the composition was screaming, I stink, so I tried to paint like i was sketching with a pen. It sort works.
Tigger
07/09/11 04:36
My Aunt Joan has a lovely cat named Tigger. Deserving of a portrait she is. She is known as Lucky Tigger because she was saved from the dividing line of a crazy busy highway in Philly when she was a little tiny kitten (someone had cast her litter on the side of the road, humans often do not use their brain).
Abstract [BO]
07/09/11 04:28
I am trying to catch up on my paintings. Feels good to be pushing the stuff across the panels again! We are a bit addicted to the Battlestar Galactia series and have been watching two or three episodes a night. One of the main characters, Starbuck, did some paintings on her apartment wall. These paintings tie into her... wait for it... *destiny*. Anyway, they are nice abstract images. This is not that image, but I did think about it while painting this. I also thought about two tall glasses of beer, viewed from overhead, on two tables abutted to each other. So, maybe I should call it BO (beer overhead).
Homage to Leo
07/07/11 03:24
Ahh, finally, back to painting. We have been clearing out stuff lately which has left a stack of wonderful old magazines and catalogs up in the studio. Flipping through them I came across a copy of Fortune Magazine, March 1952, with a beautiful cover painting by Leo Leonni (fab designer and illustrator). So I tried painting it. It is a bunch of cans that relates to a story about the future of orange juice (I think). The abstraction is wonderful and I just wanted to feel that with the paint brush (ok, the sounded weird but you know what I mean, right?).
Self Portrait
07/06/11 02:05
Really I will start painting again. Maybe even in a few minutes. Until then, a self portrait with beer.
The Outpatient
07/05/11 02:06
Gloria had a procedure this morning (that went really well) so I did a sketch of her resting comfortably afterwards. I hope to get a painting done today, I have really slipped, but I have been managing to get some sketching done daily. Vacations can really mess with the daily routines. Going to be 103 here today.
Leaning White Pine
06/29/11 04:58
The leaning white pine and a barn near my Aunts home. Trying to get back to painting and might to do a painting or two from some of these sketches.
Zombie cat
06/27/11 04:53
Wedding
06/25/11 04:50
Some quick sketches of Melissa and Henk exchanging vows. What a beautiful day... the sketches are not quite as nice :-)
Sketchbook 6.25
06/25/11 04:47
We traveled to the east coast for a wedding and visit with family. So, I left the paints behind and tried to get some sketches in.
Coffee in Lisbon
06/21/11 09:42
Ok, so I am breaking some of my rules here. It was a pretty busy day which included doing a couple of illustrations for the fabulous Artist Hardware. Above is one of the them (that was not used). So today, it is line art instead of paint!
Bluebird
06/20/11 03:57
Another painting from objects around the house. Above our kitchen counter we have a bluebird made of wood. I painted over a panel and left parts remaining... I’m considering taking some sandpaper to it. / Painted Over
Live Oak
06/18/11 06:22
I really enjoyed doing the painting yesterday (Blunn Creek #3) and thought I would try doing another tree today from a previous painting (Live Oak at St. Cecilia).
Blunn Creek #3
06/17/11 08:51
Using Blunn Creek #2 and a sketch to work from I did this painting. Hot and melting, that is how we are feeling in Texas right now. It is going to be 105 degrees here today. Ouch.
Little Metal Car
06/15/11 07:28
We have collected many things over the years and occasionally we find these things by tripping over them. This is a tiny metal car, maybe 1.5” in length, its shape is not really well defined, but it is very cool. No windshield, a rumble seat. Sweet ride. The paint was getting a bit soupy. Maybe I need to go back into this tomorrow.
Courtyard Facing South
06/14/11 12:30
I had a nice time yesterday evening hanging and painting in the courtyard with my buddy Dan. We sat out there for 2 hours or so and the temperature dropped from 96 to 92. Downright chilly.
Happier Pig
06/13/11 04:33
Looking at the other pig paintings, which were supposed to be happy, I felt that they did not seem happy. So today I used Happy Pig #2 to work from and created a happier pig, but maybe I need to rename it psycho pig. At least this pig is smiling. Baby steps...
Happy Pig #2
06/11/11 07:39
How did bacon get it’s name? I know I could just google this question but I would rather let it rattle around in my head for a while (and maybe yours as well). Bacon. Bacon. Bacon. What if pigs where the dominant species at the top of the food chain? Would they look at us in our pens and think, hmmm, breakfast is gonna be good tomorrow! Would the word bacon have been invented for some delectable part of us? No, maybe it would be niblets... Yeah, pancakes and niblets tomorrow for breakfast, that’s what this piggy is thinking!
Cat in His Bowl
06/10/11 02:40
Another attempt to paint our wonderful cat Lewis. This is from a photo, which unlike cats, does not move. It is diffucult to tell from the painting that he is in a big bread bowl. But he is, the cool ceramic pressing against his tabby fur. The look on his face is classic Lew, what I call the ‘flat eye’, not mad (yet), not annoyed (yet) but thinking about becoming one or the other. I painted over the Lewis Sleeping painting from 6/08/11.
Purple Cone Flower
06/09/11 04:50
I found a nice shady spot in the garden this afternoon and some purple cone flower which started coming up a couple of weeks ago.
Lewis Sleeping
06/08/11 01:53
Gloria has really been hoping I would paint Lewis (who is a very special cat). So there he was, sleeping, and I thought I would give it a go. I got him roughed in and no surprise here, he turns, and then some more, and I am really messed up and well, that is what this painting looks like. Messed up. I’ll try again. But this is really, really bad. Painted over.
The Happy Pig
06/07/11 04:18
I missed yesterdays painting. Darn. I will have to do a double soon to catch up. But today I painted the Happy Pig (using plastic animals as subjects is not as easy as it might sound). / In private collection
Tennis Ball (Hooray for Rafa!)
06/05/11 04:49
Hooray for Rafa Nadal! I painted a tennis ball on a clay court while watching Rafa beat Roger for his sixth French Open title this morning. I may go back into this and add a white line, or paint Rafa on the ball.
Watering Can
06/04/11 06:23
This was my Mother’s watering can. i vividly remember her watering her violets and ferns with it. The can is an absolutely perfect design, really functional, your hand slides into the most comfortable spot for use. I used to know a bit of history about it, I will update as soon as I remember.
X-Eye Guy
06/02/11 03:43
I missed a couple of days and am trying to catch up. This sketch/painting is a character from an old sketchbook. Kinda cute.
Carrots Revisited
05/30/11 09:04
Live Oak at St. Cecilia
05/29/11 02:26
Our neighbors have some lovely live oak trees on their property. Every morning I get to look up into the canopy outside our bedroom window as the sun rises. We are told that these trees are well over two hundred years old.
Carrots #101
05/28/11 04:21
Appropriately this is titled 101. It feels a bit like an entry level class in painting to me. I broke some rules here and painted on 9x12 panel, I should have adjusted the composition but didn’t. I thought I could work it. I think I will work it out by painting over it :) The underpainting was the Courtyard and Roof painting from long ago. Below is a cropping of the image. If I had stuck with my parameters it would have looked more like this. Which, could have been keeper...
Iron Giant #3
05/27/11 09:31
The IG seems on the verge of being cross-eyed here. Hmmm. It looks like this is painting number 100. I need to decide if I am going to continue on or not. Go to 200, a year? Not sure. I like how IG doesn’t have a nose, the fin that split the middle of his head extend down there, but being a big bomb wouldn’t really require a nose would it.
Deadeye
05/26/11 11:45
This is a painting from one of my sketchbooks. We went to a show of Martin Puryear’s work in Fort Worth. Really amazing sculptures. I had done a sketch of Deadeye in 2009. I did not recall the color of the sculpture so I just used paints left over from yesterday.
Piggy Gets a New Hat
05/25/11 09:27
Piggy is forever concerned about UV protection for his sensitive head. After all, early onset of baconitis is no laughing matter. His new hat should help though. Stay lean, not crispy, that is piggy’s motto.
For Mommy by Sam (the robot)
05/24/11 09:09
Another painting of one of the homemade robots we made years ago. This one is by Sam, entitled, For Mommy by Sam. If we were really the enginner types we would call it FMBS. Wall anchors make really cool eyes btw. As I worked on this I liked the unfinished feel, and decided keep it that way (I have done several paintings where I think that have continued to long on them).
GooGoo the Robot
05/23/11 09:08
Doing the two portraits of Iron Giant got me thinking about how much I love robots. On the shelfs near my desk are several homemade robots that Mason and I built when he was little. What great memories, we would cobble together scrap wood and plastic bits that I had set aside in a bin. We could spend an afternoon doing this. Screws became antennas for detecting various aliens, screws were also excellent eyes, zip ties could be anything. GooGoo is one of our favs. My thought was to try and render it more like a robot, but I will have to try again, I just kind of painted it.
Beets
05/22/11 08:42
I never ate beets as a kid. I love them now (I really like the right side of this painting). / In Cooper/Wilson collection
Iron Giant #2
05/21/11 08:39
Mason told me that the Iron Giant painting was my best yet, I glowed... So, I return to the big fella, the big IG, for another smiling metal portrait.
Iron Giant
05/20/11 07:18
I almost forgot to paint today! I had put underpainting on six panels yesterday, grabbed one, saw the awesome Iron Giant coin bank next to the workbench and did a portrait of him. I really wanted to keep this loose and suggestive. / In private collection
Dead Bird #2
05/19/11 10:30
Our cat Izze got another warbler this morning. A beautiful little bird, with ferocious claws I might add. I sat in the courtyard with the bird on a piece of cardboard and painted. There was quite a bit of bird song going on around me, and I thought, that may not be song but ticked off birdies planning a full on assault on me, the human with their dead buddy next to him. I’m still alive.
Flying Cat
05/18/11 05:42
It’s a flying cat? No, I guess a leaping cat. I’m not sure... A gravity defying cat! / In private collection
Chips Clipped
05/17/11 09:17
More Clementines
05/16/11 09:02
Returning home late from a meeting meant, either skip the daily painting *gasp*, or grab something quick, open a beer, and paint. Gloria had brought home some clementines so there you go, subject solved. A couple of weeks ago I made up a little jar of medium (a 50/50 mix of OMS and linseed oil) and I am really enjoying it. It seems to give me the viscosity I like while not getting to muddy.
Lentil Jar #2
05/15/11 08:09
A busy Sunday. Another painting of the lentil jar. I was trying to find just a bit of sharpness and detail and let the rest of the painting go soft.
Watermelon Radish
05/13/11 01:24
Gloria brought me a watermelon radish the other day to paint. Very alien looking, like the tendril might reach out and pull the radish along, creeping toward you, in the middle of the night...
Carrot Stubs #2
05/12/11 10:33
These carrot stubs are so cute. I think the Gathers (of the Hunter Gathers) of days gone by must have discovered the wheel when cutting apart little veggies and chasing them on the dirt. I have done over eighty paintings!
Carrot Stubs
05/11/11 09:23
It’s raining! Which is really exciting for us in Austin. We had some carrots last night and the tops (minus the greens which we ate previously) were trimmed off and became the subject of Wednesdays daily painting. note the background is more yellow than green.
Jar of Lentils
05/10/11 06:10
President Obama is in town, which prevented Mason and I from getting to his cello lesson. So, we returned home and I painted lentils. Huh. I painted over Thunderhead #2 for this one.
Light Bulb #5
05/09/11 09:55
I like getting to know a subject, which is probably why I keep returning to the light bulb. Thinking about that reminded me that while I lived in NYC, I made myself do two drawings a day (mostly pastels and mostly work gloves that I would find on the street). I quite like this painting (I painted over the Beer Glass #2).
Blue Heaven Teacup
05/08/11 04:14
Clementines Revisited
05/07/11 09:35
I finally made a rack to organize all these little paintings. In doing so, I looked at this painting and liked its composition but not the color. It felt muddy. So todays painting was reworking this panel. I like the brightened fruit, but things still feel a bit muddy. / Painted over
Maybe I can paint Gloria today to mark Mother’s Day. Below is the rack I made this morning. It’s a piece of scrap wood with two rows of finish nails set 5/8” apart. I needed a longer piece of wood. It’s already full.
Izze's Gift
05/06/11 03:38
One of our cat’s is quite a hunter (sadly). She brought a lovely little bird this morning. Gloria suggested I paint, she said it is called, Memento mori–a common classical theme in painting. So, I tried and frankly, felt sad the whole darn time. I mean, if your gonna kill it, eat it.
Beer Glass #2
05/05/11 10:30
I really did not like the portrait of Mason from the previous day so I turned it into a glass of beer. Old Chub to be exact. It’s a scotch ale. Good, but I doubt I will buy it again. Below is a in progress shot that is fun. I almost wish I had stopped here, Mason as a beer glass... / Painted over
Mason
05/04/11 09:25
I tried doing another painting from a photo (on my iphone), like the chicken painting. I had found a couple of scratchboard panels (that are painted black) and used one of those. It is a pretty slick surface to use, not so sure I would do this again. There are a couple of nice moments (I like the eyes, and the cheek under his right eye) in the painting but Mason and i concur, it is not so good. Destined to be painted over. / Painted over
Thunderhead #2
05/03/11 08:12
I wanted to take another shot at painting the thunderhead cloud we saw last week. I had taken a photo and used that for reference. I used three colors, cad red, cad blue, cad orange (and of course white). This took around an hour, maybe less. I had forgotten that Mason had a cello lesson... I’m curious to look at this in the morning. / Painted over
Sketches from the SRCC meeting
05/02/11 11:06
I needed to attend our SRCC neighborhood meeting last night and it was a lengthy one. So, I sketched instead of painting (I thought it might make some folks uncomfortable to have me sitting there painting during the meeting). I gave an update on the two committees I am participating on regarding parking related issues in our area (the paper I was drawing on was terrible, massive bleed through). I like the sketch of Jean on the lower right.
Landscape in a Glass, Part 2
04/30/11 05:58
I was about to dig through todays box of veggies in search of a subject for a painting when I looked at yesterdays results. Hmmm, It did not seem bright enough. So todays painting is a re-working of yesterdays. An improvement I think.
Landscape in a Glass
04/29/11 08:19
I opened an old sketchbook and saw this. Looked like a fun sketch to try turning into a painting . I think I will try this again or re-work this one a bit tomorrow.
Tree & Sprinkler (on Peachtree Street)
04/28/11 07:24
I did a quick painting while Mason was at his piano lesson. A nice Crepe Myrtle and a sprinkler, which you could not see at all (but you could see it’s spray and a sharp shadow line going through it).
Lots-o-Paintings
04/28/11 10:59
My studio mate Ellen said I needed to take a photo of the growing pile of paintings that have amassed since I stated this on-going project. So here it is. A lot of these are waiting to be sent out to folks (they have to dry and get varnished). I need a system for storing/stacking, keeping my eye out for an old 45 rpm record holder of maybe a dish drying rack.
Thunderstorm
04/27/11 07:48
An amazing thunderhead rolled by last night. We did not get any rain from it, but I did manage a quick sketch that I then worked over this evening. I haven’t been able to really capture how incredibly beautiful this event was, but I was exhilarated by the attempt!
Anderson Lane from Blackerby Parking Lot
04/26/11 07:24
Burnt umber and white study of Anderson Lane from the Blackerby parking lot while Mason was in his cello lesson. I roughed the car in and then the owner came out and drove away, against my pleas and offers of hard, cold cash. Even beer would not sway him...
Still Life with Clementines
04/25/11 10:53
More yummy clementines. I decided to make a still life with objects close at hand on my workbench, clementines on a paperback book, a blue sticky note pad propped up by a jar of solvent. This painting got a bit soupy but I kind of like it. / Painted over
Courtyard and Turnips
04/24/11 03:27
Sitting on the couch in our courtyard is a favorite place of mine. So, to me, it makes sense to keep coming back to it and paint. This time I really limited the info and moved quickly. I think it is the best one so far. I also painted another bunch of turnips. No underpainting, lots of medium and it was pretty soupy. I think it was the first time I was wishing for a bigger panel to paint on.
Veterans Field, College Station, TX
04/23/11 12:31
I drove Mason to an Ultimate Tournament at Veterans Field. It was fun to see the boy throwing the disc. It was SO windy it was hard to paint. I managed one painting. Sunday I will need to do two paintings to make up for Friday. The underpainting was the dumb bell painting from Thursday.
8 lb Dumbbell
04/21/11 01:27
Took a shot at really limiting my palette. Burnt umber to do the underpainting on a white panel and then used blue, white, and a touch of yellow. This is so blue I’m sad. / Painted over
Project #2
04/20/11 02:36
I have been reading a book by Charles Sovak, about the direct painting method. Essentially it is a classroom in a book (and I am taking the classes!). This is the second project. Using burnt umber and white begin by massing (no line work like in drawing) the subject in burnt umber. Once satisfied with that, start working from light to dark. But what is different here is it is not supposed to be a, “paint what you see” approach. Instead, it is paint the object that is closest to you the lightest and work darker as you move back (or away from you). In this case it did require me to look differently at the subject because the objects in front were not the lightest, but the darkest. Enjoyed it. And doing this I reminded myself to “dude, limit your palette.” / In the Pasch Family Collection
Can of Brushes (revised)
04/19/11 08:33
Gloria took a peek at the painting from last night and commented that she liked it, but the the background wasn’t really working with it (not that you could tell from the photo that was posted last night). I take what Gloria says seriously so I went out this morning and looked at it again with her comments in mind and she was right on. So my painting today is really a reworking of yesterdays. I added some warmth in a couple spots around the can next to some cooler shadows. I also added some additional highlights in the brushes. I think it is much improved. / In private collection
Can of Brushes
04/18/11 09:38
I painted over the Back Lot, Blackerby painting here. This one was going quite poorly, but aided with a nice Fullers London Pride it improved to OK. Beer makes everything, just a littttle bit better. This is a really lousy photo btw.
Purple-Top Turnips
04/16/11 03:18
Another in the CSA veggie box series. I didn’t have any underpainting on this panel (yesterdays as well). I blocked in the subject first (avoiding the shadows). Added some color, brought the background in and then the shadows and more color to the subject.
Old Johnson Wax Bottle
04/15/11 09:24
I decided to take another stab at the Johnson Wax bottle. I painted it previously on 2/6/11 (and painted over it soon after). I definitely think I am improving, which, you know, feels good.
Dan's Shoe (with legs attached)
04/14/11 09:25
The subject was our friend Dan, hanging in the courtyard, visiting with Gloria and I. I did not premix my paints and used left-overs from the other day. That was a mistake. I like the shoe. Loafers. / I painted over the Sunflower #1 here / In the Pasch Family Collection
Reading Night
04/13/11 09:04
No painting yesterday because I got a great book, Oil Painting by Charles Sovek. So I spent my painting time reading and so I will start the ‘lessons’ in the book.
Gameboy color
04/12/11 08:59
Hmmm, maybe a series is beginning. A series of old electronics that once were the focus of attention. I used a 5x7 canvas panel for this. At first I really liked it, but after a while I began missing my gessobord panel. / In private collection
Xbox Controller #2
04/11/11 09:29
I have had several folks comment on how much they liked the other xbox controller (which has been painted over) so I i did another last night. Mason and I both think it is better than the previous version. I need to look around for some other controllers to paint and do a little series. / I painted over Three Jeans to the Wind
Studio View
04/09/11 05:31
There were a lot of distractions on Saturday and I wound up stopping before this got done. So I guess you would call this a work in progress (or not, maybe it is done, rules are rules). We have a very urban view of downtown Austin from our studio.
Violin
04/08/11 08:29
That was a busy Friday. I had a great visit with our friend Rowan who has been beguiled by paints as well. Later, after my homemade pizza was satisfactorily placed into our bellies, Gloria suggested I try to paint a violin. They are as hard to paint as to play. If you see those strings sparkling a bit, it is because I used metallic silver paint. Sweet. / In private collection
Clementines (x2)
04/07/11 09:02
Clementines are back in the store. Quite tasty, and lovely to look at. I set up in the courtyard and painted while the sun ducked in and out the clouds. This painting went quickly so I decided to do another (below). On the second painting I left more mineral spirits on my brush and tried to work in a quick, ‘blocky’ way. I think most painters would consider this an underpainting. I really like the fast lines and suggestion of space.
Back Lot, Blackerby
04/05/11 07:52
I took Mason up to his cello lesson at Blackerby violin shop and painted a wall in the back lot. Some buildings behind it had nice shadows on them. It all felt abstract and turned out that way. As we were getting ready to go I saw another spot on the corner of the wall that been tagged by surveyors and thought that it might be a neat series of paintings, to do locations where I find the oranges survey tags had been placed. / Painted over
Lightbulb #2
04/05/11 09:49
Same lightbulb (clear 4 watt sign bulb), different angle. Think dynamic, think... lavender? Its spring!
Three Jeans to the Wind
04/03/11 05:33
I never nap. But today I did after the family and I went and saw the movie, Source Code (which we enjoyed immensely). Waking up I thought I better work on a painting and saw three pairs of jeans on the laundry line. My subject for the day. But I was too sleepy. The mosquitos are back in Texas. I need to remember to put some bug juice in my paint kit. Looking forward to tomorrows painting. / Painted over
Light Bulb
04/02/11 06:24
I didn’t think that revising the sunflower #2 should count as my daily painting so I looked for another subject. Earlier in the afternoon I visited with my buddy Scott about led lights (which really are good now, a tad expensive, but worth it). So, in Scott’s honor, I painted a clear, 4 watt sign bulb. Did you know that folks are now selling incandescent bulbs under the aptly appropriate name of heat bulbs? Funny. / In private collection
Sunflower #2 revised
04/02/11 06:19
I wasn’t liking the background in the top right of this painting, so I decided change it completely. The darker color really helps the yellows and oranges to pop out. I need to look at this again tomorrow, no so sure that I am happy with the changes, but feel ok about the painting. / In private collection
Sunflower #2
04/01/11 10:14
Taking another stab at the sunflowers. Better than yesterdays attempt for sure. I need to work on the background some more than it is done. But, right now it is too wet. I really like some parts of this. Excited to finish it off tomorrow and try another. I grabbed one of my sable brushes and it really acts differently than the stiffer brushes that fit into my paintbox. I am going to keep one in there from now on, it is very smooth.
Sunflower. Urgh.
03/31/11 01:18
Painted during my lunch break today. I had bought some sunflowers for Gloria, so they became the subject. This really needs more time, but I doubt I will be able to get back to it today. Here is something I have learned. Every time you think, “I’m getting the hang of this!”, the oil painting gods come down and slap you silly. / Painted over
Short on Time Tonight
03/30/11 09:25
Yikes. Painting fast last night as it was 11:30 p.m. when I started. Dinner, my tennis league, and then I had to finish Gloria’s annual birthday book. This was complicated by a printer that was inoperative for a while. So, I opened the sketchbook and thought I would try a quick painting from it. I used the paint that was left over from yesterday and moved quickly. I guess that would be oil sketching. Neat.
Asparagus
03/29/11 08:42
Another vegetable painting from our weekly box of veggies from Hairston Creek Farm. These will get sauteed tonight with some ‘taters and grass feed beef. Yum. Again I used a pink underpainting that I let through in many spots. I love using the blue compliment in the shadows. / In private collection
O'Henry Middle School #3
03/28/11 09:52
Here is another from O’Henry. Done while Sam is at his orchestra rehearsal. I got a bit lazy here and should have picked a better subject. It was completely dark out when I finished and looking at the painting under a light in the camper, I thought it was pretty bad. When I looked at this morning it had improved to bad. I do like the top left portion though. I mess with this again today, or paint over it.
Basil
03/27/11 11:17
Love working with the pink underpainting. I am so excited to have fresh basil again. My homemade pizza will sing!
Green Garlic
03/26/11 11:21
Every Saturday we get a nice box of veggies from our CSA. Found some good subjects to paint before cooking. / In private collection
Sam san
03/25/11 11:28
Sam and cats. They go together like breakfast and tacos.
The underpainting for this is the beer bottle and glass from yesterday. / In private collection
Good Beer, Bad Painting
03/24/11 11:29
Enjoyed a really nice Kona stout with my buddy Bill. Actually, Bill brought the beer, which is even better. The beer was a lot better than the painting. Hey, not attached, there will be more painting tomorrow. / Painted over
Tennis Balls
03/23/11 11:32
My buddy Robby celebrates his 64th birthday today, so I thought I would paint him some tennis balls. He is after all a master of these furry ovid creatures. The it in a parking lot, with balls on the dash of the car with my sketchbox on my lap, while Mason has his cello lesson. NPR on the radio, sunshine and painting... I had to work really fast on this on and am quite happy with how it turned out. Robby likes it too. His granddaughter can now read and now knows that he is 64. She also approved of the painting. / In private collection
Courtyard and Arrow Sign
03/22/11 11:37
In the courtyard again trying to get in the painting before dinner. Liked painting but not so thrilled with the result. / In private collection
Pathway
03/19/11 11:43
It was a nice warm Texas day today. I set up near one of the Mountain Laurels and looked down the pathway towards the street. The blooms of the Laurels filled the air. I love this spot in our yard. It makes such a nice transition between the front yard and the courtyard. South by Southwest ends soon :)
Mary Pat's Chicken
03/18/11 11:47
Our friend Mary Pat sent me a link to some great photos of her chickens. So while I sat in the courtyard and listened to Ben Kweller’s new cd playing next door (at a sxsw party), I painted one from a photo on my iphone. I used some mineral spirits on this painting and really liked how viscous the paint became. A bit watercolor-like. I might try some more paintings from photos soon. / In private collection
Blunn Creek #2
03/17/11 11:51
A painting on St. Patty’s day should use a lot of green no? This did not even occur to me until posting this. I returned to the same spot as Blunn Creek #1. I like the idea of trying to get to know a place. This time I really limited my palette and worked hard to isolated colors and info.
Scruffy
03/16/11 11:55
Returning to one of my sketch-books again. On the lower right you can see a black blob. That is one of our cats, Izze, cleaning herself and then promptly leaving after she realized I was looking at her. She was a subject for about five seconds. I told Gloria that would happen :) I painted over Courtyard #1 for this one. Have I mentioned how much fun oil painting is?
Beer Glass
03/15/11 12:00
I love a nice beer. Painting beer, really painting glasses, is so much fun. If I get lucky, I sort zone out and just start seeing blocks of color. I’m very happy with how this turned out. The underpainting on this one is the former xbox controller.
xbox controller
03/14/11 12:02
Spring break means serious video game playing at our house. The boys left a controller unattended and thought I would try painting it. You know, symmetrical black on black is not the most exciting subject. I worked on this one a couple days in a row and plan on painting over it. / painted over
Blunn Creek #1
03/13/11 12:06
After one of our clean-up and restoration days at Blunn Creek Reserve, I decided that I need to start going there and try some painting some landscapes. Wow. Painting in the woods is really hard. Tons of information to filter through. That said, I loved it and plan to go back.
Sam Reading
03/12/11 01:40
A domestic scene. Sam reading on the couch. I had about thirty minutes and then Sam needed to go. I hope to get back to this one and finish it. / In private collection
Marissa and I paint each other
03/10/11 12:09
Mason’s friend Marissa came by today and decided to try to paint each other. It was really lovely out so we set up on the front deck. / In private collection
Courtyard #3
03/09/11 12:13
I thought I should try this scene again, to see if I had improved at all. This so. Of course it may have helped that we did a serious garden clean-up as well.
Double Apple
03/08/11 12:16
You see two apples right? I had tried three days in a row to paint and apple, and did, but it just sat there bored to death. So, I played with some of the oil mediums and got the smaller apple looking good and then decided to sketch another one over the top. Kinda neat. It was fun to do.
Gloria Sleeping
03/05/11 12:19
I haven’t really tried painting someone yet, so I thought I would paint the lovely Gloria. In her favorite mode... sleep.
Grapefruits #3
03/04/11 12:21
A quick morning painting before heading off to the studio. I tell ya, Texas grapefruits are sooo good.
Gopher Plant Flower
03/03/11 12:23
Gopher plants are very interesting, long, almost architectural plants. They are getting busy about now blooming and growing. I sat near the fountain and tried to paint one of the flowers. The color is not right, to warm, it should be bluer. But I the quality of some of the brush strokes.
Aliens #3
03/02/11 12:26
Back to the sketch-book and more aliens. We all know why they are here. Bacon and french fries. And belly aches. This is a bigger 9x12, and on canvas. Almost all other the other paintings I am doing are 5x7 on panel. I love me the Ampersand panels.
Nighttime Drivers Seat
03/01/11 12:28
Another painting outside O’Henry Middle School, while Sam is at his orchestra practice. I sat in the passenger seat of the camper and painted across the road. At first I thought, there is nothing there, which sort of felt like a challenge so I painted it. More there than initially thought, but not a lot more.
This is on 6x9 canvas panel. Thought I would give it a try. I like the Ampersand Gessobord more.
Courtyard and Roof
02/27/11 12:34
I can’t quite remember the right day for the this painting. Bold, graphic, and destined to be painted over. Bad photo, sorry. It really is almost this bright.
Water Glass
02/26/11 12:36
This one was done down at Valerie’s studio. The light was beautiful, lots of colored pencils in the background making fields of color (that I simplified). I finished this and thought, you know what, I think I can paint. / In private collection
Apple over Canandaigua Lake
02/25/11 12:39
I had done some underpainting on some panels and got slightly carried away with this one. Using a palette knife I started painting Canandaigua Lake from memory. The intent was to still paint over it, but just as I started to do an apple my son Mason walked in and said he loved it. Really? Yes. It’s yours, thats the rule dude. / In private collection
Alien Resist
02/23/11 12:44
More from the combined sketchbook of Matt and Mason. Though, certainly this has something to do with the upraising in Egypt. I worked over this a couple of days. It is 9x12 on canvas.
Missing Cream
02/22/11 12:46
Another from the sketch-book. How would you feel Mr. Coffee without your Cream? Sad, uh huh. Sad.
Nighttime Road
02/21/11 12:48
I drove Sam and Ginger to their orchestra rehearsal and thought, “here’s a challenge, paint at night.” I was right. It is challenging.
Travis High #1 and #2
02/20/11 12:50
I hung out at Travis High while Mason played ultimate. I loved trying to paint the urban environment. I’m really happy with the painting of the basketball court. / In private collection
Travis High Chiller Unit.
alien (in progess)
02/19/11 12:53
Tube of Paint
02/18/11 12:54
Trying to get the impasto going, thinking about the mark I am going to make.... / In private collection
Alien #1
02/15/11 12:58
Mason and I found this great sketch-book that we had drawn in many years ago. In it were some fun doodles of these aliens and pigs (pre-angry birds fyi). The aliens were attacking the pigs and trying to conquer the earth. The painting reveals the anatomy of the aliens. So scary.
Grapefruit #2
02/14/11 01:01
More grapefruits. Fun to eat. Fun to paint. The underpainting is the Johnson wax bottle painting.
Grapefruit #1
02/13/11 01:02
Using my little sketchbox and trying to get used to painting in oil. I love this little set-up and the parameters of using small panels to paint on and doing a daily painting. I revised this painting a couple of times (don’t have a photo it here), the background color were a bit overwhelming. I think I am going to challenge myself to do a painting a day (if at all possible). / In private collection
Wax bottle
02/06/11 01:07
We have a beautiful old Johnson’s Wax bottle. I thought I would try an impasto painting of it. Geez, this oil painting is hard. I will paint over this for sure. Not going to get real precious about this paintings. / Painted over
Courtyard #2
02/05/11 01:10
After working on the courtyard painting with Valerie, I thought I would try it again from life. Better results, but I really have to learn how to resist putting everything in there.
Courtyard #1
02/04/11 01:12
Started another canvas in painting class today. Using a sketch of our courtyard. Canvas is really springy. I like panels better. I think there are some good moments in here, I’m just still looking for them.