Currently Browsing: Ears
Flat Brushes for Watercolor
In this brush pen portrait from 2017 I used a large two-inch wide flat brush to lay in washes. Then a 0ne-inch wide flat for details. (You can turn a flat on its edge remember.) It was great fun. Flat washes on a rounded set of surfaces. I’d been playing with flat brushes before […]
Cooking Shows and Interesting Ears
Yep I sketch while I watch TV. I’ve written about it a ton on the blog in the past 11 years! Well one of the reasons I love to do this is I love EARS. I don’t know if there is a “season” for cooking shows. New competition shows in cooking seem to start all […]
Do You Stop Or Keep Pushing?
One of the things I’m asked most frequently by students is, “When do I know I’m finished with my [painting/sketch]?” I’ve heard many people give the flip response, “When you realize that you’ve gone to far, then you know you should have stopped.” It’s actually more simple and more complex than that. First, yes, if […]
Drawing Beard Stubble
Even if you don’t enjoy sketching beards as much as I do you owe it to yourself to practice some beards. Why? Because if you enjoy sketching people, some of the people you sketch will have beards. And all those beards will be different. You’re working on your visual vocabulary. The human face has a […]
Hair Cuts and Their Aftermath
Nope I didn’t have a hair cut. I still have my braids. Periodically I give CR a hair cut. He’s too frail now for me to load him into the car and take him to the female barber I found for him, and whom he grew to enjoy. Now he has me. After the hair […]
In Context: I’m Going To Die In This House!
We all have fears. I used my journal to write about one of mine. It always helps to move the brush pen around on this paper!
Looking at Canson Heritage Watercolor Paper
This past fall I purchased a block of 140 lb. hot press Canson Heritage Watercolor paper. It is a 100 percent cotton paper with vegetable sizing. (Yep, I am not happy about the sizing, but there you have it.) Since then I’ve been working on it to complete a project. I haven’t posted sketches from […]
In Context—The Loose Line and Thoughts on Villainy
“In Context” posts are meant to be “no writing” and an unedited, un-redacted spread from my journal. So click on the image to enlarge it so you can read.
Project Friday: Working Quickly in a Series of Sketches
There is always a lot of paper around the studio. Recently when I was putting away the camera equipment I “found” a large copier paper-sized box full of packets of 9 x 12 inch toned papers. There are light colors and dark colors. Some of it is smooth, some is textured. I purchased these packets […]