Onions and Ocean sunset

No I was not amongst the lucky to see Paul but I did get to go to the farmers market to buy onions, eggplant, peaches and cherries. AND COFFEE.

jacaranda blossoms and seaweed

Some early summer things. I like the colors of these three things together on the palette. This weather journal is almost filled and I might move on to the next project.

Last days of "June Gloom"

I have been computerless for the week, but am posting from my new Mac which hopefully I'll grow to love as soon as I can get the "keychain password" to stop showing up, and get it to accept my old Wacom tablet.
June gloom is the wonderful term for overcast marine layer mornings. It is nice and cool which is why June is a great time to be in so cal. Here's a plate of cherries and some honeysuckle.

A quick stop at the beach

I dropped off some freelance work in Santa Monica and was able to say hello to the Pacific. It's great not spending every waking hour on the Simpson Movie, although that was a fantastic job and I worked with great people. I miss the salmon dinners, sushi lunches, and haagan-daaz bars.

500 years of the female face in art

I just want to share this Youtube clip. It's wonderful. Just copy and paste, I'm too tired to figure out how to link you directly to it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUDIoN-_Hxs

Arm and Geraniums

Some departments are starting to get laid off from the movie, although the EFX crew is still working long hours. I managed to get to my monday night drawing workshop and drew this arm.

New firefighter watercolor

I'm really sad about the griffith park fire. This is a newish watercolor of the previous hollywood hills fire (near Barham).

melting ice and fire danger

All last week I was drawing bubbles and ripples in water for EFX for a movie and I think that I'm finished with them. It would have been more appropriate to draw ice dripping for this weather page. But I'm not really illustrating the days.... although it seems like that for todays entry. Can't ever resist a firefighting page.

long pose session at union

15 minute pose. Charcoal on toned paper. I was able to get to the long pose class at the animation institute on monday night, in between drawing splashes and bubbles. The effects on the Simpson's movie will be wonderful. I would love to be able to frame just a single drawing of some of the EFX animator's key drawings, and hang them on a gallery wall. The roughs are very beautiful.

Hostas oil painting

I'm posting two older oil paintings done with grisaille technique (grey underpainting with colored glazes). One is Pacific Iris and the other is Hostas. Both are 20x20". Oil on canvas.
I'm posting only to let you know that I'm still committed to the blog, but am doing 10-12 hour days on the Simpson's movie and have very little time at the moment. Please stand by, and thank you so much for checking in on my blog.

too busy to paint

It's true. I'm too busy working (as an efx artist this time) to paint, although I have a couple of weather sketchbook entries. Here's some photos. The first - of a building in Beverly Hills across from a great little art show (Elizabeth Peyton) that I went to last weekend, or the weekend before..
Here's a delicious macaroon on top of a note telling me to order my dinner at Film Roman where I am working on the Simpson's Movie. I ate about 5 of these.
Final photo -the Fox lot in Century City before I had to put my camera away. The photographs in the theatre on the lot are fantastic. Make sure you look at them when you go in there. Classic b&w photos of movie-making.

Handmade sketchbook

I made this new sketchbook with an old hardback book titled "pastoral" and filled it with Arches 90lb. HP and some CP paper. I find alot of discarded hardbacks at the local library. I'm looking for one with the initials "df" embossed in the front cover. It is very difficult to cut up a book and recycle the pages. I feel bad for the author, but at least I'm putting the cover to some good use.

Quick sketch group at Disney

some quick drawings from the "quick sketch" group that meets at Disney. These are all 3 or maybe some 5 minute gesture drawings. Stabilo on white animation paper. about 11x14". The professional models we have in Los Angeles are fantastic. I'm lucky to be in three different life drawing sessions and I can't wait to get good at this.

Peanuts, coconut, global warming

Some peanuts and some front page news in today's LA Times, along with the weather report.

Fire in Hollywood Hills

I have some 7x7" watercolors of the fire/helicopters coming, but for now, this quick study of the fire which unfortunately I actually saw and breathed. Today's scent of jasmine which grows out my front door is much more pleasant.

doughnuts and rain

The LA County Fire at 2pm from the Alameda Entrance of Disney.

Blossoms/allergies

Three blossomy entries to weather sketchbook. I am attending an intense photoshop workshop in Hollywood this weekend and have no time for REAL ART! I don't even have time to hide my clips on the sketchbook photos.
Plus, I have horrid allergies to: IN PARTICULAR- all the non-native Chinese Elm trees around town! Cut them down! Plant native trees!!! This IS the time to visit LA and Hollywood in particular though. Driving with the top down at night and smelling the jasmine and orange/lemon blossoms.

Man about to be married

this is a study for a painting called "Man about to be married II". I painted another "man about to be married" 20 years ago and I only have the slide available. It was a large oil painting similar to "Man with gas can" which I painted around the same time. Oil on canvas 70 x 84" (in two panels). The study (30x22") is stabilo aquarellable on strathmore plate bristol. I plan to do either an oil of this, or a large watercolor. Thank you to TB (an actor- but really was about to get married) for posing.

some cucumbers and sugar swivels

This is the new weather sketchbook which I made out of an old book cover and 90 lb. arches hot press paper. Not an ideal sketchbook paper-wise. It's good if I paint/draw on only one side.
There's nothing like an IN-N-OUT burger every couple of weeks.. ..... The sugar sticks came with some lattes in pasadena. I love these. They are a nice invention and a fancy way to start an overcast morning.

Driving past Point Dume

This is the last page of the 5x5" Hand Book Journal Co. sketchbook that is my "weather sketchbook". It is a quick road sketch while traveling the PCH. The photo below is the sketchbook on top of a hand made sketchbook made from an old book cover and filled with Arches 90lb. HP paper. It is the new weather sketchbook. The paper is too thin to be much more than a weather sketchbook. As I'm posting this, a breeze is coming right through three citrus trees that are blossoming and carrying an incredible scent. I'll have to post more later.