Whenever i hear the word 'graphic' on the news, my mind goes to art rather than the abrupt visual they feel needs a warning [Which i guess is a courtesy for some folks who just might not be able to handle such a site & prefer to look away.] Well, luckily, I'm not Pollyanna about this... As a creative, it is nearly impossible to hear that word 'graphic' & not flex my creative muscle & treat it w an alternative visual thot... 24/6! [I take Sundays off.] I was never fortunate enuf to attend college or to study graphic arts. But I actually think that this is a skill & craft of immense talent. To create aesthetic colors & shapes & beauty & what seems like using the most simplistic of techniques yet w the greatest of impact is simply mesmerizing to me. Why that color? Why that shape? & yet... it works!!!! So here is my attempt to simulate such a masterful profession but w a bit of humor.
One of my early oils from 2017. I was still getting used to the medium. I liked how the oils worked well for the misty distant hills, and I used glazing for the first time on the clouds.
I know it looks a little sunny, but the reference photo for this one was a winter shot. It's the countryside in the hills surrounding Carreg Cennen castle, Carmarthenshire, Wales
My first foray into acrylics from 2017. At the time, I wasn't that happy with it, but it sold within a day of posting it on social media. Looking at it now, I like how loose it was.
This a self portrait drawing of myself as a younger man, with a lot of shadow play on the portrait itself and a stylized background of a sky, clouds and the sun, rendered in a kind of an imaginary dream-like almost surreal scenario. Many thanks for looking.
I got to drop into an outdoor class with my beloved teacher from the studio. A space had finally opened up two weeks before everything in SF shut down again. Well, it was good to see her and my fellow students and be in that setting on a beautiful sunny day. I was also negotiating my next job salary and getting phone calls during class, so I wasn't entirely present. The class topic for the day was palm trees. This is in front of the De Young, another place I was so glad to have visited indoors on another afternoon before the latest lock down.
