Simple Serenity

A Few Sketches

2011-01-02T05:59:00.000-08:00

Here are a few conceptual sketches I did, which I plan to turn into paintings sometime in the future. I've just moved back to Australia and art will probably go on the back burner for a while, so I wanted to get my ideas on paper while I could.

Sunset Beach

2010-11-18T20:56:00.000-08:00

I love working with silhouettes! This painting is quite large--about 1 1/2 meters in length. I used a few photos for reference.

Waterfall Close-Up

2010-08-27T01:14:00.000-07:00

This painting was also done on request, completed in five days at about two hours of work per day. Photo reference used.

I LOVE painting on black canvas--there's no need to fill in shadows, and the colors and highlights jump out at you. It's also easy to indicate shapes by adding subtle reflections, without having to color the entire area (though a little underpainting IS a good idea).

I like how the sneaky glimpse of the waterfall way in the back adds so much depth. Doing a close-up picture on a larger canvas allowed for more detail than I can usually fit in without going cross-eyed. This painting was a lot of fun!

Mark Green

2010-08-20T02:07:00.000-07:00

This painting was requested by a friend. Five reference photos and a little creativity later, and this is the result. :)

Anyone else for a commissioned painting?

Portraits!

2010-05-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

As a somewhat new development in my art life, I've been drawing live portraits for people. It started in September 2009. I was attending a youth academy, we were all going on an outing to Yoyogi Park (Tokyo), and the group I was with came up with the idea of drawing free portraits. This sounded like great fun, except I had never drawn live portraits before. But with the help of a couple other artists, we got a (very basic) setup together and attracted several interested individuals. I enjoyed the experience, and thought about continuing it in the future.

Arriving back home in Toyota, I discussed the idea of portrait-drawing with an artist friend, Michael (who already had some experience with it), and we went ahead and set up a table on the street and at various events.

One such event was on Halloween '09. As our participation was compensated, we drew the portraits free (normally we charge from 500 Yen). Consequently, we had to deal with a LINE of people the whole 6 hours we were there. Michael and I drew in shifts, but it was still exhausting! By the time I got to the last portrait, the sun had pretty much set and I was largely guessing at the features of the girl sitting across from me, as well as what I was drawing. Not ideal in the least, but she seemed happy enough with the results.

I got a heck of a lot of practice that day.

Things were quiet over the Christmas/winter season, though I did draw portraits at an old folks' Home as part of a Christmas charity performance. But with the arrival of sakura (cherry blossom) season, I got out my portrait-drawing case again.

In Japan, sakura season involves braving the chilly spring weather and sitting on mats with family and friends under the cherry trees, eating, drinking and having a good time. I adapted my setup to make it more compact, and with a partner for Japanese translation, I drew quite a few sakura-celebrating people (and sometimes their dogs. Sure... why not).

Golden Week (a week-long holiday in Japan) was also a busy time for me, as parents often use the break to take their kids on excursions to places like Nagoya Zoo, outside of which I had my portrait table. Yup... busy indeed.

Recently I drew portraits at another event, similar to the Halloween one. But this time I charged, heh.

Golly, this has got to be my longest post yet! :D

Sakura Lantern

2010-04-18T01:16:00.001-07:00

This painting was a gift for a family friend. A4, oil on canvas, original photography by Ryan Yamashita. Was finished just in time for sakura season this year. :)

I borrowed Maimi's camera for this shot, which captured the detail rather nicely.

Ripple

2009-08-01T00:06:00.000-07:00

My first painting in Japan; original background, photo reference used for the figure.

Reflection

2009-07-10T02:55:00.000-07:00

Model: Nina

Medium: Liquid graphite (basically pencil graphite but in liquid form, applied with a brush. I'm still getting the hang of it)

Portrait of Cherish Marrington

2009-06-21T04:37:00.000-07:00

This is a portrait of Cherish, my old Perth buddy. It was a going-away present for her (I recently moved to Japan). I miss you, Cherish!

Waterfalls

2009-04-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

Here's the second in the waterfall series. Again, painted on request, photo taken from Mottos for Success 2009 Planner. This painting is BIG (roughly 1x2m), and was a lot of fun, though it was an adventure finding places to store it!

Waterfall

2009-02-26T02:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a painting I have finished AND successfully photographed (though 'successfully' doesn't quite cover the effects of flash, grr). It is now in India with the people who requested it. I'm working on a sequel. :)
P.S. The original photo can be found in the Mottos for Success 2009 Planner.

The Dream

2009-02-26T01:54:00.001-08:00

I've finished another painting (entitled "The Dream"--taken from an original by Ron Di Scenza--done by request). Posted after much delay. Heh.

Bronze Beauty

2008-10-24T00:40:00.000-07:00

Photo of this pretty model taken from figureathlete.com

Working with only one color was a new experience for me (in painting, I mean), but I'm happy with how it turned out. I did almost the entire painting (excluding the hair and jeans) in one day, and was nearly cross-eyed by the end of it... an experience not to be repeated! hehe.

P.S. If any of you observant viewers noticed before that the forehead looked a little flat... well, it's fixed now. The picture now is of the finished product, and I didn't mess with the colors this time so it's closer to the original.

Susy Truashiem

2008-10-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest and greatest (as in, largest) painting so far. The portrait is of Susy Truashiem, and we're back to the trademark blurriness... (Lisa! A little help??)

That is not meant to be dust on the couch; I wanted to take a shortcut to making light reflect, but it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to, haha!

Another painting coming up soon, stay tuned...

P.S. I realized that the first photo I posted was blurrier than it needed to be, so I took another one. It's a little clearer now. Just a little.

The Finished Product

2008-09-15T05:59:00.000-07:00

After many months of painstaking effort (alright, so I'm feeling dramatic!) Cherish and I were finally able to lay down our paintbrushes and declare our painting FINISHED!

I'm not sure if this is exactly what we'd pictured when we started out, but we had a lot of fun in the process and it was a great excuse to visit her, heh. Hopefully we'll be plotting another one soon. :D

Also, Lisa's photography deserves praise. Finally I can post a photo without cringing at the quality!

What I've Been Up To...

2008-09-07T20:42:00.000-07:00

After MUCH delay, here are the paintings I've been working on over the past few months. Ta-daa!

This is my latest, taken from an original photo by Ryan Yamashita. I like the simplicity of the color scheme, and the contrasting textures of the nails/lips and skin. I enjoyed painting this one, despite the red paint not wanting to look right with just one layer. Very much like painting real nails, haha.

I think I'm okay with how this turned out. The background was easy--almost laughably so--but with the fairy I had to wrestle with color once again. I learned that deciding on a color scheme is best done before starting a painting, especially when you're not using photo reference. Heh. But anyway, it's not too clashy... I hope.

With this one I used a different technique from my previous landscapes. More traditional, I suppose... not Bob Ross's wet-on-wet technique (which, in hindsight, would have probably turned out better). The original photo was from the Mottos for Success 2008 Planner. A little promotion, yay!

So that's it. I've got this grand new setup in my bedroom/art studio (oh how I wish!) that makes it more user-friendly (i.e. no Samson feats required to get my easel and paint boxes out from a corner between two wardrobes) SO I should be doing a LOT more painting in the near future.

It's been a while...

2008-07-23T06:38:00.000-07:00

Just to prove that I haven't abandoned this little blog, I'm posting a photo (stolen from lisa's blog) of me... PAINTING! That's Cherish on the left and me on the right, and as you can see we're having a pretty intense time of co-painting an interesting picture. Hehe. It's unfinished at present, but that should be remedied soon enough.

I have actually been busy lately (and I do mean with painting)... I just haven't finished anything to satisfaction yet. When I do, I promise I will post it. Just... pray for me to stop: a) ruining things due to lack of forethought, and b) being overly picky with the results. Much appreciated. :)

On a happier note, I found a book all about COLOR that I think will be very helpful in working out future color schemes. Color has never been a strong point for me, since lead pencils were my main tool of choice when it came to art. So, yes... I'm learning. TTL.

Cherish Rider

2008-03-27T01:49:00.000-07:00

Finally, a new painting! Now, you wouldn't believe how many people have asked if this is a self-portrait, so just for the record, IT'S NOT. The model is Cherish Rider, original photography by Ryan Yamashita.

A Rough Sketch

2008-02-19T01:50:00.000-08:00

Here's a little freehand sketch of a fairy... purely imagination, no models used. Not sure if it's worthy of its OWN post, since I hope to turn it into a painting soon. But anyway, it's a sneak peek.

(P.S. That is meant to be a waterfall in the [highly unfinished] background.)

Tina

2008-01-22T03:32:00.000-08:00

A sketch of beautiful Tina, copied from a photo. Such a model!

Sorry about the graininess... it has something to do with reflection (as always!).

Merry Christmas!

2008-01-01T02:38:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and happy New Year to all you bloggers! Here are two Christmas cards I made, having just discovered PASTEL PENCILS. Yes, they're a little late, but as they always say.... never mind.

A little trivia for the musically minded: the music bars on the second card are, in fact, "Away In A Manger" (or at least, a version thereof). The part underneath is upside down, in case that's not clear enough.

Forest River

2007-12-17T02:38:00.000-08:00

A... yes... a Bob Ross painting. Christmas present for a friend. The ghost trees are interesting, but I like the close-up one the best. :)

Girl on Beach

2007-11-05T02:48:00.000-08:00

This painting is an original concept suggested by Nikki in Mexico. I used photo reference for the figure, and the background is original.

Ah... colors can be so hard to work with.

A Spectacular View

2007-10-22T05:54:00.000-07:00

Heh.... you guessed it. Taken from another Bob Ross painting. Don't mind the date... it's not part of my signature AT all.

Majestic Peaks

2007-10-02T07:20:00.000-07:00

Another Bob Ross copy. Fast and easy. Oh, and I borrowed a better camera. YAY!

Kenneth

2007-09-02T04:09:00.000-07:00

Here's a portrait of a gorgeous little boy named Kenneth, copied from a photo. I loved working with the tones, and accuracy was surprisingly easy thanks to a drawn-on grid. And isn't that a neat tattoo....? :P

Improvements

2007-09-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the Sunset Painting, redone (on request). It's big, so I was able to add more detail. Umm.... just ignore the greenness to the left. hehe.

Jesus sketch

2007-07-28T21:49:00.000-07:00

This is a birthday card I drew for my mom. Pretty much my first drawing of Jesus, and it's original. It's nice to know I haven't lost my knack with pencils.

I draw too many girls.

Forest Path

2007-07-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

This painting was copied from an original by Bob Ross. It took me about 2 hours. Oh the fun of big paintbrushes!

Rise to the Surface

2007-07-14T04:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a mermaid. Yes, a mermaid!

Original, oil on canvas with acrylic background. Photography is no better than usual, but you get the general idea.

On the Beach

2007-06-29T07:59:00.000-07:00

This picture may or may not look familiar, but it is, in fact, me. Now, before you scream, "VAIN!!!" well... it was painted on request. Funny things do happen! hehe...

Bridge at Sunset

2007-06-07T05:27:00.000-07:00

New painting, original concept. I'm pleased with the colors. :)

Oh, I am long-winded.

Peaceful Reflections

2007-05-17T05:08:00.000-07:00

Here's another oil painting, copied from "Peaceful Reflections" by Bob Ross.

2 Paintings

2007-05-09T06:17:00.000-07:00

I'll start with posting my most recent pieces of artwork--2 oil paintings. And a photo. Older art can be posted on request.

The first painting was copied from a photo by Ryan Yamashita. The second is original.

P.S. I really must apologize for the bad photo quality. I hope for improvements in the future.

It's About Time.

2007-05-09T05:46:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to my blog!
I guess I've had enough of playing chicken, so... here it is. Finally.
I will mainly update this blog with artwork (that is my reason for creating it, after all). So stay posted and feel free to comment!