Léo

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 01:42:00 +0000

Today I went to Hipbone Studio and started a series of workshops on drawing the figure. Today was "The Influence of the Skull."
http://hipbonestudio.com/jeff-burkes-field-guild-to-the-figure-intensive-workshop-series
We did three drawings total. This was the only one I felt was worth sharing.
A very good series to support my medical illustration pursuit while I study Anatomy & Physiology at the community college.

Career shift

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 04:19:00 +0000

Just completing a course in Photoshop at Clark Community College. This is the one of the pieces I am working on for my final: artwork for a book cover. I have yet to add the typography for Galatea's Gift. The reference is Pygmalion, the sculptor who asked for his creation to come to life.

Doug

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:10:00 +0000

At Hipbone yesterday we had a male model. An older man, I'm guessing about 60 give or take, with great muscle definition. It was wonderful.

Lydia at Hipbone Studio

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 01:11:00 +0000

Life Drawing at Hipbone

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 01:40:00 +0000

I found an awesome studio where I can draw from a live model. $10 for 3 hours!!

This guy held still the best.

heart strings

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 20:14:00 +0000

highlighting the valves and coronary arteries.
pastel pencil
9x12

Medical Illustrations: Muscle Movement

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 23:41:00 +0000

Supination of feet

Pronation of feet

Rotation

Supination of hand and forearm

Pronation of hand and forearm

Flexion and extension of leg

Plantarflexion and dorsalflexion

Adduction and abduction of arm

dogs: Pearl and Casper

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 01:20:00 +0000

a very serious drawing

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:36:00 +0000

Whew!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:28:00 +0000

When I decided to draw our resident Bulldog Gus I knew I was taking on a challenge. 14 hours!! All those folds and to lay down the line so that it feels loose but over bone. And the texture of his coat, the little hairs the way they pull apart around the peaks of those folds.
But I think this is Gus, adoring his Papa.

Now I need a nap!!

18x24 graphite on paper

I love dogs

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 23:39:00 +0000

Dogs are another passion of mine. This is about as sentimental as art can get but who cares?
I fell in love with this puppy, named Geisha, and co-own her brother, Tarren, who is about as sweet as his sis. The breed is Cardigan Welsh Corgi or Cardi for short.

This is an 18X24 graphite on paper.

Daily Painting "Pear"

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 23:30:00 +0000

10 x 10 oil on gessoed board

work in progress

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:49:00 +0000

Well, we've been working hard. Chloë is learning that sitting still is really hard.

I'm still pleased with how this painting is coming along. The composition, the likeness, the simplicity. A long way to go but she was pleased when I said it was going to be hers to keep.

(But just between us it may be entered in a few competitions and if I'm lucky go on a few outings from time to time.)

Folds

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:35:00 +0000

My goal here was to compare the refracted light and the wrinkles in the white fabric tablecloth. It was a challenging painting and I learned a lot.

I am excited that my eye for color and familiarity with available pigments seems to be coming back. I'm mixing accurate colors pretty quickly.

8X10 oil on canvas

Thistle Seeds

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:20:00 +0000

So hard to photograph this painting.

A very simple idea sometimes can make for a very satisfying painting. This is an alla prima painting which is Italian for at once. Most of my paintings are done in one session. This method is also called direct painting. Indirect painting is done in layers building the color and values with translucent glazes. My painting of Chloë will be done using this latter method. Much more time consuming as each layer must dry before the next can be put down.

We spent several weeks on our property pulling thistles. Now I see these beautiful fairies floating on every breeze.

This painting is 12x12. Oil.

white on white

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:29:00 +0000

I don't often do the same subject over and over.

I found this beautiful white moth dead on my windshield. Still perfect in form.

I've mentioned before how the human eye can see so much more than pigments can reproduce. Painting subjects that are all white are very challenging. Because the whitest white is several shades darker than the brightest light every darker shade must consequently also be adjusted. With all white subjects, in this case a very white moth on white paper, the goal is to retain the feeling of everything being white.

These are 8x10 oil paintings on stretched canvas.

discovering walnut oil

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:54:00 +0000

I tried using walnut oil instead of linseed oil in the Cumulus painting. Walnut oil is supposed to yellow less over time.
It took about 4-5 days to dry. And when dry it was glossy as if it had been freshly varnished. I am still going to varnish it with the Soluvar varnish in order to protect the painting but I'm tempted not to as the paint looks so beautiful as is.
I don't think I'll be going back to linseed oil for a long while.

getting bigger

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:55:00 +0000

This is a 30x30 work. Not very huge but will take more than a few hours to complete. Even more than a few days most likely. I haven't worked this large in a long time.
The subject is my oldest daughter Chloë. So far I like that the cat Whiskers is an element and there is a book since Chloë loves both. I also like the angles of her chin, the book, and her legs. I also like that the cat's tail forms a sort of question mark. Cats are sensual creatures and my daughter is at the threshold of becoming a woman and all that that entails. (No pun intended.) Who is this person I loved as a babe becoming?
I have high hopes for this piece.

Cumulus

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:10:00 +0000

Oil on Gessoboard. 10x10.

Sweet Gum Pod

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:48:00 +0000

getting cirrus ("haha", eyes rolling at myself)

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Sat, 17 May 2008 02:31:00 +0000

First cloud study. I worked really hard getting the color of the sky just right and then felt like I was painting it all over again in PhotoShop. So the color isn't true. I need to work on that.

4"x6" oil on canvas

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:49:00 +0000

Well, this is what I've been up to. It's a mural on a friend's wall in her son's bedroom. And it's only phase 1 and measures 5 feet by 10 feet. More will be added this summer to continue the world traveler theme.

Now you can look forward to a lot of cloud studies. Thank goodness I live in the Pacific Northwest. No shortage of them here.

My Hand

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 02:33:00 +0000

Few things are as challenging as drawing human hands. They are so complex architecturally and so dynamic - the slightest shift in one part can alter the whole. This is my own hand, drawn from life not a photograph.

I don't have an objection to drawing from photographs. Some work is too difficult to completely reject it as a tool. When I do use photographs I try to refer back to the real subject. Drawing from life is more challenging, of course, because of the shifting problem. I tend to believe that it is exactly this problem, or rather the resolution of this problem, that the life drawing feels more alive. A photograph captures the object and holds it unnaturally in that moment. The realist artist works to incorporate the ever changing scene into a balanced and believable view. There remains, however, a sense that there has been time spent and the nuance of each moment noted. The relationship is simply more developed.

Still working...

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 19:50:00 +0000

Still working. I thought I'd post this in case anyone was wondering if I'd disappeared.
The studio isn't heated. Brrrr. So I'm working on some decorative painting for my own home and portfolio. This is my kitchen ceiling. Excuse the electrical wires. The center is not lighter in color because of camera flash but that is how it is painted. My goal is to create a glow of light similar to the sun behind the clouds with the corner areas being darker. The painting itself is a work in progress and this is merely the underpainting. Cloud forms are just beginning to be formed. Right now it looks more like what one might see looking skyward if surrounded by a forest fire. (That's one plein air painting I probably won't try to do.)
Living with one's own work means that sometimes a work is always in progress. While working on this I keep thinking of Michelangelo's response to the Pope when he wanted to know when the Sistine Chapel ceiling would be completed. I think the answer was something like, "When it's finished."

Painting again

noreply@blogger.com (Léo) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 04:02:00 +0000

My husband helped me get the lighting set up in the studio and as of this afternoon I am painting again. It's not finished but so far so good. Hopefully I will have something new to show you by the end of the week. A very good weekend.

I've been thinking about the whole painting a day movement. Many, many artists are sharing their daily practice. It's inspiring. And why I started my own blog really. But then I got to thinking, not every work is worth seeing. If I was a writer I would write every day. Daily painting and drawing is like freewriting. It's the best way to get your ideas flowing. Then you find something worth working on. That's when you train your eye to see and hone your skills. That can take more than a day. It probably should take more, right? I guess I'm not opposed to work in progress being displayed as long as the viewer can see the progression and even elimination of some of the artist's work.

In theory sharing one's daily completed painting seems like a great idea. But in theory, so are dog parks. Unfortunately there are a lot of bad dogs out there.