Moving on (to another watercolor painting)

Not exactly finished, but let’s just say back-burnered for a while...

Was this a good idea...?

I'm wondering if this hardwood floor thing is gong to work out... before the end of next year.

Hello kitty

It's not really my thing to paint domestic mammals, as the sentimental element runs kind of contrary to my interests, but as a challenge to the well-worn comfort zone, here is the start of an interior scene which will be like nothing I've done before in watercolor... If it all works out.

Another finished watercolor painting

"Everything you see when you close your eyes is mine"...

Finished watercolor painting

Is it done? For the time being at least, the answer is yes...

What's new?

Trying to wrap up this butterfly jasmine mirror painting… New watercolor work in progress

Fixing mistakes in watercolor

Sometimes a small piece of 220-grit sandpaper can save your life... I had to move the boundary of this white area slightly out to the right in order to fix a symmetry issue, but the area was bounded by phthalo blue, which really penetrates the paper deeply and doesn't want to let go. I scrubbed gently with a damp nylon bristle brush first, which removed some but not all the blue color along the boundary, and then I scraped it lightly with an x-acto knife (after drying the area thoroughly). This removed the color, but it also frayed the paper surface in a less than attractive way. So I cut a narrow rounded triangle from a sheet of extra-fine-grit sandpaper and used that to sand down the distressed paper surface to its original smoothness. After such drastic measures, the best thing to do then is to leave this area alone going forward. Even though it looks smooth and fresh once more, this paper is tweaked and it will not stain evenly ever again! Which is fine, since it was intended to be a highlight anyway. So the take-home message is this: You can't go back to square one in watercolor, but you can make a one time "adjustment."

About that dark blackwash

I finished off two tubes of lunar black while painting the background... I guess I’m laying it on a little thick.

Painting the background

Better to outline then wash the background, or wash the background then outline? Lately I’ve been outlining first... Fewer accidental hard lines that way, I think.

Jellyfish jar still life in progress

Roses and medusas go together like peanut-butter and chocolate, right?

Work in progress

Sheesh...so many tentacles! What was I thinking?

Never again

Made some major changes to this watercolor painting from a few months ago, with which I decided I was not completely satisfied. Still in progress, but much better now, I think. How do you make major changes in watercolor? Well, I like to use a little trick I call “starting over”...

Still haunted by black butterflies

Another tongue-tied watercolor painting featuring mourning cloaks, almost finished. So as I was driving this morning, I noticed there was actually a live mourning cloak butterfly inside the car with me, beating its wings against the back window. Don't know how it got in there, but this is a good omen, right? I mean, black butterflies should be good luck, right? Right?

Exene Cervenka Art Opening at Bergamot Station

Hanging with friends outside the happening and dog-friendly Exene Cervenka art opening at Sloan Projects in Santa Monica...

Culver City art opening

At George Billis Gallery with collector Amy C. Thanks everyone who came out to the opening last night and helped make it such a success!

Group show in Culver City

I have two recent watercolors in a group show that opens at George Billis Gallery in Culver City this Saturday, May 30. Opening reception is from 5 – 8 pm on Saturday. Stop by and say hi if you’re in the neighborhood... 2716 S. La Cienega Blvd, Culver City, CA

Venice Art Walk is tomorrow!

Come bid on this small watercolor of mine and hundreds of other artworks at the Venice Art Walk and Auction happening tomorrow May 17 at Google Los Angeles (the Frank Gehry Binoculars Building) at 340 Main Street, Venice, CA – enter from the back at the corner of Sunset and Hampton. The auction is open to the public from noon to 6 pm, and there is live music in addition to fine food and drink and fabulous art. Artist studio tours are from noon to 4 pm. Funds raised help provide medical care to low income families throughout the year. More information at www.veniceartwalk.org. Have a great weekend!

New watercolor just started

In the beginning, it always seems a little improbable.

Brewery Art Walk

Cheery skies at the Brewery Art Colony this afternoon.

Venice Artwalk & Auction

Small watercolor painting wrapped and ready for the Venice Artwalk, coming up in just a few weeks.

Watercolor painting

Finally finished (more or less) -- watercolor on hot-press paper...

Wet in wet effect

Love it when I get such a nicely striated bleed to soften a hard boundary like this black to white transition. Aggressive staining colors like phthalo blue here really want to spread out and colonize the whole pool, and it's a job to rein them in.

In the studio

Today's fun and games -- outlining the foliage...

Update on the work

Detail of this watercolor painting in process, perhaps half done at this point. Almost ready to slather on the background...

Tool tip

Painting straight lines with my smoothest ruler serving as the finger slide. The brush stays about a half inch away from the ruler, which guides each hand gesture. This works surprisingly well...

Wet in wet

Love painting watercolors in the pouring rain...

Art openings

Great art openings last night in Culver City, and at the LA Municipal Gallery in Barnsdall Art Park, where the Robert Williams / Juxtapoz show opening was a full-on rave...