Simple Black and White Compositions

Getting back into the swing of things this semester... these are some small studies in acrylic.

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Tomorrow I begin another semester's work on my thesis. Keep watching my Web site for new work. Thanks for your interest!

Her Regal Bearing

Beautiful tree bearing regal red flowers... high-quality reproductions for sale now on Imagekind.

Sold.

A Pirate's Tale

This is my final painting from my Situation and Environment class with Zhaoming Wu. I enjoyed pondering the subject's 'pirate-y' adventures as I painted.

On another note, although my paintings made the cut list for my school's Spring Show they didn't get hung. But there is some excellent work in the show, my favourite being a piece entitled Wednesday Afternoon by a classmate in the fine art field, Jeff Merrill. I also enjoyed seeing work by other Situation and Environment classmates: Swarupa Chavan, Fongwei Liu and Jonathan Ahn. Also, in the illustration field there's some great work by Jen Oaks, Santiago Casares, Forest Stearns and many others. I can't forget to mention my friend Stephanie Penland in the MFA graphic design department whose book arts project is on display.

Make sure you check out the show if you're in the Bay Area!

Spring Show 2009

Happy news: My artwork has made the cut and will (if space permits) be part of the elite Academy of Art University's Spring Show on display from May 21 - June 11 at 601 Brannan Street, San Francisco.

Opening Reception is May 21 at about 7 pm. The show continues 10 am - 6 pm until June 11 and is closed Sundays and holidays. Hope to see you there. Thanks!

View last year's show here.

Painting Jann Arden

So this is another painting I'm working on. The subject matter is Jann Arden in concert (one I attended in 2007 in Calgary) with her guitarists Russell Broom and Graham Powell. An amazing concert I hope to catch the spirit of in this painting!

The first image is the drawing and composing the layout of the canvas. Then the next is laying in the value pattern and color choices. The original canvas is 22"x28" horizontal. Something I've noticed as I've been painting is that I need cooler reds and purples in order to get the right light on the stage and where it's reflecting on Jann's back. I'm enjoying trying to capture each person's attitude in their gesture and proportion, as well as color.



Original available for purchase.

Michael Dudash

I love this painting entitled "Mary M" by inspirational artist Michael Dudash. See more and buy prints on his Imagekind page here.

After the Dance

Just completed this oil on canvas painting today in class! I had lots of fun so I hope you enjoy it.

Thesis Development

This is a page straight out of my directed study journal where I'm annotating the development of my thesis. This is some sketching for an illustration of Sarah from Hebrews 11:11

In Progress 2

Here he is again! This time I've blocked in some color and refined the values some more. I think the reflected light is going to be fun in this piece as it bounces back and forth between the boards and the figure. Hope you're enjoying watching my process.

Until next time, peace.

Kerne Erickson

I recently bought a set of postcards painted by this artist. I was reluctant to send them as I fell in love with their retro look and soft colors featuring various travel destinations in Hawaii. Then I realized that Erickson does other images I've seen too... like this San Francisco image:



I may have to purchase some larger prints... love, love, love!

In Progress

An oil painting in progress for my Situation and Environment class with Zhaoming Wu. This is the first stage. The line drawing is done with a small flat brush and then I blocked in the major values with a large flat brush. The paint I used is a mixture of ultramarine blue and van dyke brown. I 'watered down' the paint with Gamsol to cover large areas thinly.

I've started using Gamsol as a medium instead of Turpentine or Turpenoid because it has almost no smell compared to others and is much easier on the environment. In addition it much less flammable. So far I'm liking it as it feels thinner and more like painting with water than a medium.

Purple Ruler

A painting from my Situation and Environment class. Oil on Linen. 20x24. I call it "Purple Ruler". :)

Sold.

Razzauti, Roman and Rahab

So I wandered through a couple galleries in Lahaina while I relaxed on Spring Break... I really enjoyed the work of Andrea Razzauti. I'm inspired by his refined drawings and beautiful colours. His work is on display in the Lahaina Galleries (there's a sister one here in San Francisco). This is his "In Toscana".

I also enjoyed another artist's work on display next door at Sargents and was inspired by his story: Roman Czerwinski.

Now back to my thesis! Here's a couple of conceptual thumbnails for my book which is in progress...

Self Portrait with Bridge

A Self-Portait with the Golden Gate Bridge... to practice painting in Photoshop.

A Detached Ear

Another day's work... playing with warms and cools in acrylic.

Original available for purchase.

Oteino

All in a day's work... Oteino's head scarf is straight from Ghana.



Original oil painting available for purchase.

Inspiration

I can't stop looking at impressionists lately, especially Mary Cassatt. I love the energetic brush strokes and unexpected uses of colour. Today I'm studying this beautiful painting by Claude Monet from 1875, "Woman with Parasol":

www.bethanyillustrates.com

My new website is now done with lots of recent artwork uploaded. Take a look around:

Bulletin

View a nice comment on my portraiture by Grant over at Veer here.