Illustration Friday: "Opinion"

This week's IF topic is "Opinion".

Artwork done with pen/ink and watercolor.

Thanksgiving Fun

My sister-in-law decided she wanted to do most of the cooking for this Thanksgiving. Since we just have to bring the green bean casserole we thought we might have some fun by going bowling.

I took advantage of the down time between my turns and sketched my son in action. Though I tried giving him some pointers with the game he wanted to pretty much do it his own way. That's OK with me. He had a blast and it was a good family outing.

My wife's parents came to watch us play. Though they weren't up to playing, it was fun having them there. I think we amused them with our playing.

Cuban Rock Iguana Illustration

Here is my approach to my iguana design. It started with reference photos that I took while I was in Cuba. Then I simplified the the picture to a do-able design for teaching kids of a variety of ages and abilities. The result is the oil pastel drawing.






For my more refined illustration of the project, I went back to my reference photos, keeping in mind that I wanted to imply a quality similar to the original design taught in class, especially with the use of color.
Then I made a quick sketch with a Sharpie pen in my sketchbook. I like Sharpies because they allow me to rapidly get ideas down.





Using my Sharpie sketch as a direct reference, I quickly blocked in the basic shapes of the iguana in his environment. In two steps, I laid down the colors for the picture.










In the final step I took about an hour to
render the light and shadow of the image, and added some line to give clarity to the picture. The trick was not overdoing the technique and trying to hold back a little to not draw every single detail. Less is sometimes more in this approach.

Finished Owl Illustration

Well, a few final touches ended up being over an hour's worth of work, but now my owl is finished. I wasn't quite sure if this one was going to work, but the results of this picture finally came out to my satisfaction. I had the most difficult time figuring out how I was going to deal with the background because I wasn't sure if I wanted to use watercolor or render it with pen and ink. Since I wanted the quality of the picture to be more of that of a drawing, I went with pen and ink.

This piece is done with watercolor, brush/pen and India ink.

Owl Design and an Illustration Sketch

I have been busy working out a guitar arrangement for the song "Christmas Time is Here", by Vince Guaraldi. I am hoping to share it during our praise band's Christmas performance on December 21.

I sort of remembered the song from the Peanuts cartoons. However, it was not until I heard Steve Vai's version that I became more interested in the possibility of playing the song. So when our praise band decided to do a Christmas performance, I thought it might be a good opportunity to give the song a try.

Boy was I in for a musical workout! I couldn't find any guitar sheet music for the song, but I found a piano book that had the chords written above the musical staff, however, no fingering diagrams. So I have been trying to figure out the fingering to strange chords like F maj 7 and E flat with a sharped 11 and a 13. When I first started arranging the song I didn't think I would be able to master it enough to play it. Now I think there might be a chance that I can pull it off. I just need to practice it every day. Instead of playing it like Vai, I am trying for a more jazzy approach, like Joe Pass. I think I'll have the band vote on whether I should play it or not.

Now on to the drawings. The owl is a sketch for my series based on the lessons that I teach the kids. I just need to put a few more touches on the final art work and it will be done.

The other sketch is for my Illustration Friday piece. The topic for the week is "Opinion". It seems everyone has an opinion about how things should be. Recently in California, Proposition 8, which bans homosexual marriage, was passed. Opponents are in an uproar and are trying to get the courts to overrule the vote. Proponents are having their say as well.

Both sides, in my opinion, have been hateful to each other. Both have engaged in acts of destruction and violence. I am pretty tired of it and wish we could all just live in peace with each other, regardless of our worldview.

Maybe next time we could vote on a peace initiative. We could call it the Golden Rule.

IF Illustration: "Pretend"

Here is my conception of "Pretend" for Illustration Friday.
Done with pen/brush and India ink with watercolor.

Tagged!

OK, so I've been tagged by Freebird from http://freebirddrawing.blogspot.com/. Normally I don't usually get into the virtual tagging, probably because I am an ol' stick in the mud. But since right now I am waiting for the watercolor to dry on my latest illustration I will participate. Besides, its always good to have a little fun now and then.

The rules are as follows:

1. Link to the person or persons who tagged you.2. Post the rules on your blog.3. Write six random things about yourself.4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Six random things:

1. I love the blue potato chips from Trader Joe's. I could eat an entire bag in one sitting if you let me.
2. I enjoy writing music and playing guitar. Maybe some day I'll record something.
3. Back when I was younger, I was an endurance athlete, and competed in the distance events in track and field, cross country running, road running events and triathlons. Those were the days!
4. I enjoy cooking. It is relaxing to prepare meals for my family.
5. I will have been married for 15 years on January 8, 2009.
6. I have a 9 year-old son who is very intelligent, creative, and active. He's getting straight A's in school without even trying! I'm so envious!

Now I am trying to think of six people that I might tag. However, many of my contacts are professional, so that is a big no-go, and the others are ol' sticks in the mud like me so I don't think I'll try them either. So what I will do is bend the rules a bit and tag the EDMers (yes, I know that is more that six), since that seems to be my safest bet. We'll see what happens.

Back to you, Freebird!
:)

Post Saturday Evening

Our praise band performed this evening. My guitar solo went pretty well and I think very few people caught my sour notes in the other songs. We didn't have a big turn out for our audience, but it was still an enjoyable experience.

We are already planning a Christmas performance. Sounds like fun.

Until then, I plan on being busy with creating art for my illustration portfolio. I want to start sending out promotional materials by the first of the year. I would like to start getting more paying assignments by summer time, though I don't think it will be that easy. The business part of art is such a challenge for me. Maybe some day I will be able to afford an agent.

What "táctil" Means

"Táctil" is Spanish for tactile. Though I hardly speak a lick of Spanish, in the search for a catchy name for my business, "arte táctil" seemed to have a good ring to it.

It also describes my approach to art which is a very tactile process. Kind of the opposite of what is is experienced by this age of the computer. Though I like some computer work, and have done some minor manipulations of my own work with the machine, I prefer to create most of my work through tactile means. Personally, it allows me to really get to know my subject and put my heart into my work. Plus, I am in the art business because I enjoy drawing and painting, not working with machines.

Another "táctil" process I like to engage in is playing the guitar and writing music. This is a good outlet for me because there is usually no pressure to create a "work of art" and so I can just focus on being creative and having fun.

However, I recently joined my church's praise band and so the expectations are a little different when playing for an audience. Since our band doesn't perform that much (our church traditionally sings a capella), and my musical abilities are limited, I have been practicing quite a bit lately, especially during this week, to the detriment of my art production. I have especially been focusing on a solo that I have that acts as a bridge between two songs.

Our band plays this Saturday night. So after this week I hope to get back to the drawing board and get back into the groove of producing art work.

Panda and Coffee Mugs

Here are my latest pieces. I tried to complete three illustrations but I guess I just ran out of gas by the end of the day.

These are done with pen/brush and India ink.

Gorilla Illustration

Finally, I have my first illustration completed for my series based on my designs that I teach in schools. Seven more to go. I plan on getting all eight finished by the end of this week.

Here is the gorilla design, done with pen/brush with India ink:

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas

I was recently asked where I get my ideas for my art and for teaching art lessons. I had to honestly say that I don't know. They just kind of come to me, and when they come I try to write the ideas down or quickly sketch them so I don't forget them.

I think it was Boris Vallejo (whom I admired when I was a teen) that once said that creativity is like a muscle that needs to be continually exercised, or else it is lost. I think that is how it is for me. When I have a lot of creative stimulation, I tend to look at things differently, and as a result, I come up with all kinds of ideas.

So one of the latest ideas that I am working on is making more refined works based on my designs that I use in my lessons. The purpose of this (besides simply challenging myself and having fun) is to propose that my colleagues do the same with their designs and that we all have an art display at our annual meeting in the summer. We could keep the display up for a while to help promote the arts in education.

Here is a "storyboard" of 8 weeks of lesson designs and a study for my gorilla piece:

Another idea that I am working on is to create another "sermon painting" at my church, where my minister picks a topic, and I paint it on a huge canvas in front of the congregation during his sermon. He has recently asked me to illustrate something from the Sermon on the Mount. That gives me a lot to consider and narrow down. So as I was reading this morning, I narrowed the subject down to a few possibilities.

The first is focusing on prayer and how Jesus teaches his disciples that prayer is between the one praying and God, and should not be an exercise of self righteousness. I was thinking of somehow depicting a person in prayer with a prayer tallis draped over him (or her). I am thinking of the point of view being underneath the shawl. This symbolizes intimate prayer with God.

The second idea is simply painting a landscape of a field with lilies. In Matthew 6:28-29, Jesus teaches not to worry about things such as clothing, and to look at the lilies of the field; not even Solomon was as finely clothed as the fields.

Finally, I was thinking about making a painting of a wide road and a straight and narrow road side by side. The wide road has a wide gate and is easy to enter, but in the horizon destruction can be seen. The narrow road and gate are more difficult to enter, however, in the horizon paradise can be seen. I am seriously considering the first idea because I think I can pull it off better in front of an audience than the other two.