The first of several self portraits

Here is the first of several self portraits to come. It is not yet finished but is almost. It measures 11 by 15 inches on a quarter sheet of 140 lb. Arches cold press watercolor paper. I am painting it from a selfie I took at a very cold high school football game in Boston last year. Next week, I shall post the finished watercolor then on to self portrait number 2!

Pratique Des Art - My first internationaly published art in the January issue

A GOOD WAY TO START THE NEW YEAR!

Where's Waldo ???

The question is which one of these photos is not me?

Watercolor Portrait Sequences

 These are two 11X15 inch watercolor studies on 140 lb. Arches cold press painted from a reference photo of one of my Sacramento City College students. I had no specific plan in mind except to play and keep the portrait as bold and lively as possible. I sometimes will take off paint and put paint back on again. I use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser most of the time for that purpose. I do not mix more than two or three colors together for a wash, and I make sure that I keep my over all value contrast strong. The greeny study shows some nice dry brush strokes in his glasses. Parts of the studies were done with nice juicy wet-on-dry washes and others with juicy wet-on-wet washes. If you have any questions or remarks, I will be happy to address them..

Recent Developments

I have just been notified that I have passed the first round of a three round judging process for the World Watercolor Competition under the auspices of the French magazine "The World of Watercolour". I am keeping my fingers crossed on this one. Meanwhile, here are three small 11X14 inch watercolor studies that I have just completed. They were all painted on Arches 140lb. cold press paper. The female subject is my fifth study . . . just can't get enough practice! Oh, and one more thing dear readers . . . HAVE A ROLLICKING GOOD AND PROSPEROUS 2014!

WOW!!!! It has been awhile since I posted!

Not only have I been very busy with my California art workshops but also with my teaching at Sacramento City College. I'm teaching an art history class this semester, and that just eats ups tons of my time. Next semester, I will be back to only art studio classes . . . way better! Meanwhile I have just finished an interview via email and Dropbox with an editor of "Pratique des Art", a French art magazine. I am very honored and excited about this. Both of these portraits plus some more, I hope, will be in the magazine's January, 2014 issue devoted to portrait painting. Pratique des Art discovered my work through my relatively new website. Check my site by clicking here.

Building Armando

I have always liked "unfinished" paintings like the top image. This top image is the start of "Amando". In the second image, I continued to paint in color and eat into my initial "unfinished" look. The third image is now totally painted in and of course no longer has an unfinished look. My final stage will include some jazzy colored conte crayon line work. I shall post the finished watercolor soon. Dear reader - what is your opinion on this painting? Would love to hear from you.