Sketch of the Week: Wondercon

WonderCon is a convention for popular art/entertainment that happened to be in town this year. I enjoyed sketching people in costumes and chatting with artists and friends who were there. Steampunk and Star Wars were popular themes, as you may be able to tell in the sketches above. It's fun to compare them with costumes I've seen and sketched at Comic-Con (in 2009 and 2011).

Sketch of the Week: The Rock

(Also posted in Illustration Friday - you have to "yield" to something this big!)

What the locals simply call "the rock" arrived at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) this weekend after a 105-mile journey from the quarry on a custom-built 295-foot transporter. It is a part of a giant outdoor art exhibit called Levitating Mass. It was specially open for public viewing for this weekend only before the construction continues behind the fences, so I stopped by one night to take a closer look.

So...how can I sketch something this big?? The transporter is so long that you cannot see from one end to the other, even though it is parked in an arc formation.

Here is the front truck - I drew the silhouettes of palm trees in the right corner to give it some sense of scale:

and the beam around the rock:

Even though it was getting late at night, a steady stream of people walked by and peeked through the fences to look at the rock. From what I overheard, most people are impressed by the transporter, which is so big that it makes the 340-ton rock look tiny. One woman came up to me and said, "you know, this truck is a work of art more than the rock." After looking at the engineering effort that went into the transporter, I'd have to say that I agree, though I'm sure I'll be equally impressed by the rock when this exhibit opens later in the year.

Sketch of the Week: Open View

A lot of my sketches are in vertical/portrait orientation, but Los Angeles itself is a very horizontally spread-out city jutting against the endless expanse of the Pacific. It was satisfying to sketch a cityscape across the page, to really reflect what a typical "gesture" of the city looks like.

Sketch of the Week: The Tailgate Truck

It's been quite a while since I did a food truck sketch, so I came out to Santa Monica Museum of Art to check out Art as an Appetizer, a food truck event that is a part of L.A. citywide Pacific Standard Time art exhibits. This bright yellow and red body of The Tailgate Truck caught my eye. Here's to happy eating and art!

Sketch of the Week: Bowers Museum

Here is a sketch of the courtyard at Bowers Museum in Santa Ana with its Spanish-style archway. I've also experimented with adding opaque white to some areas to get the feeling of a crisp winter day. The result is messy and it can be improved, but I got it to the point where I am ok with it (for now).

Sketch of the Week: Testing Colors

I had an opportunity to take Color Concepts Workshop by Nathan Fowkes, and it was very helpful in learning to paint effectively. I also tried a technique new to me, too: painting with watercolor (like I usually do), but using kraft paper that is neutral oatmeal/brown color + flat brush + touch of white gouache for opacity. I like this approach because it keeps the benefit of watercolors (quick-drying transparent washes) and adding the advantage of using opaque white (for highlights and for mixing colors that can be laid down over transparent washes). Here is a 15-minute exercise from the class. It's far from perfect, but it's a good reminder of what I learned in the class, and to keep on practicing!

Sketch of the Week: Sunsets in Santa Monica

In my excitement about announcing my work in The Art of Urban Sketching, I forgot to post some sketches last week! So here are two recent sketches: it has been unusually warm in Los Angeles lately, and I've been taking advantage of mild winter to go to the beach to paint some scenery on the spot.

A few days later, Cirque du Soleil came to town and set up colorful tents. Blue and gold swirls looked very playful and lovely against pastel sunset.