June 5th. It figures.

Figure sketch with stripes

I love painting stripes, especially on clothes.  I just don't do it often enough.  I also like yellow stripes.  Reminds me of caution tape, police lines, road stripes - things you don't want to cross.  But the color yellow is warm and beautiful, very inviting.  It's like a contradiction.

Here's kind of what I was leaning too with this seated figure:

I was thinking something kind of like this painting I did a couple months back.  But I want the new one to be softer and more sensual.  This painting here is too hard and direct.  The posture is tough.

I want to go more ambiguous with the facial features too. I want to larger so I can play with the paint more.  There's a lot of things to work out before I proceed with this one.


 For the back ground I was thinking something like I have been doing with my animals, like in this bear painting:

Can you image it yet?

I really do enjoy painting figures.  Especially females.  I think they (females) are incredibly beautiful. Their hands, necks, ears, everything about them is spot on.  God did a pretty good job when He created Eve.   I don't paint figures very often because I need a model.  Models are hard to find in Yucaipa and they cost money.  My wife doesn't like to model for me and I understand that.  I wish I could draw them off the top of my head, but I can't.  So what do I do when I need a model?  I build them.

The shoulders are different than the red panties.  The foot is different that the blue skirt.  Etc.

 I start out with a decent drawing depicting the pose and stuff I want.  Then I go hunting for the parts to make the model.  The three stages of the built model above are just a few of the stages I went through, definitely more complex than I am showing here.  Below I have taken the finished model and have drawn my figure to be used in a painting.

This painting by the way failed.  It was in the 18x24 range.  I struggled with and eventually destroyed it.  Thinking about it now I should have kept it.  I'm sure if I changed the style of dress and added stripes it would have worked.  But, sometimes it's better to just move on.


Here's another built model:

The early stage is to the left.  Then I changed direction and composition of the painting and so changed the model to match.  The hand holding the brush is actually painted digitally, I couldn't find good reference for it.   I never followed through with this painting.  It was never painted.  She was going to be painting images of animals on a cave wall, like what the archaeologist find from long ago.  Kind of a "tongue in cheek"  answer to who drew these types of images from so long ago.


So after further review and deep thought on this sketch:  I don't think I have the time to sit down and produce a model for this painting and get the painting done in time.  I also don't feel strong with a reason for the painting either.  There's not enough passion to back it up right now.  This is the artist and intuition talking here.  I think I'll save this one for a rainy day.

Now I'm down to two choices...

Larry

A Flash Back

That Pesky Man in Brown  12x16  Mixed Media on Illustration Board 

Hickory Dickory Dare

The pig flew up in the air!

The man in brown soon brought him down,

Hickory Dickory Dare.

An early painting that shows my fondness for stripes.  They sure are fun to paint!

Hope you're all haveing a good weekend.

Larry

Another Flash Back Friday

Bang 15x20  Mixed Media on Illustration Board

This piece was created back in the college days.  It was actually a pivotal piece art for me. I was perfecting my "style" of my work.  The use of subtle colors, the dry brushing, the color pallet, etc.  It was all coming together and I was really enjoying the creation my work.

There were a couple of images before this one that got some mixed reviews from the college staff.  After creating one of these pieces I was told my art was too decorative and pretty and that I needed to include a little bit more about me and my personality in my work.  I needed to make my art more real and gritty.  My first response was that no one wants to see what's in my head, but the teacher taunted or encouraged me (depends on how you saw it) to create something more.

In another piece before this painting a different teacher asked me what the texture means in my work. I responded that it was just texture and I put it in there just because, it was to satisfy me and meant nothing to the image.  He thought that was lame and went on to explain me that everything I do in a painting will be judged differently by different people so I should really think before I do something.  Doing this, would take my art to the next level and become "deeper".

So with new thoughts in my head, I created this piece.  It was a break through, believe it or not. Along with thinking about what the teachers had recommended, this was the first painting I signed with my LR instead of my name.  This was the first time I included text within the art.  I mixed in a bit of my personality to the art.  I even got in my skivvy's and modeled for it.  It was fun.

The Latin words translates into :But it looks so impressive".

The art itself related to an article about toy gun control and how toy manufacturers needed to take realistic guns off the market so innocent people wouldn't get fooled or hurt.  Now we have bright orange colored gun toys and they all have bright orange caps at the end.  Progress for the human race.  I definitely feel safer now, do you?

Larry

Flashback Friday - Steamed

Steamed.  Mixed Media on Illustration Board

03/11/2016

Here's my first flash back Friday for ya'll.  Here's a few things I remember out this piece:

    I used pictures of myself for reference on this image.  In a strange way, thats my face.

    The date of 2003 must have been a period when I was using this image for advertising.  I know it was painted before 2000.

    I painted this one while living in a single bedroom apartment with Raveen and Seven in Pasadena, CA.  I was attending Art Center College of Design at the time.

    I used mixed media to paint it.  I started with Acrylics, added water color, then a wash of purple oil that was rubbed off, followed by more acrylics, the steam was painted with Gouache and then finally detailed with colored pencils.  I was using each medium to its advantage so I could paint quickly.     

    This is a picture I would have / could have painted in a single day.  I was busy working two jobs, going to school and learning to be a dad, I had to use my time wisely.  - Maybe this was the inspiration for the image??

Check out the stuff flying out of the briefcase.  The old cell phone, the floppy disk, little calculator. Back in the day I didn't even own a cell phone.  I think I owned the calculator though and this was painted around the time I got my first computer with an external dial up modem for very early web access.  This image was before any knowledge of "Steam Punk."  Did I invent Steam Punk!!!

Ohhhhh, the memories.  Hope you all enjoy the art and have a good weekend.

Larry

Day 30, The End

Mill Creek Buddies  6x6  Oil on Panel

The goal I set for the first of this year was to paint 30 paintings in 30 days.     I made it.

Now what? ...

I think I'll have a celebratory beer, take a half hour break, then get back to painting.

Have a good night!

Completed January 30th

Larry

Day 29, The Artist's Muse

The Artist's Muse  6x6  Oil on Panel

She is my wife,
She is the mother of my children,
She is my best friend,
She is my sister (Sit Down! Not the Redneck type but rather my sister in Christ - just need to make sure y'all got that crystal clear. - I mean it.)
She is my muse,
She is my life.

I swear to God this girl could be picking her nose and I would still want to paint her.

Completed January 29th

Larry

Day 28, Thinking About You

Thinking About You  6x6  Oil on Panel

Day 28.  In my last few paintings, I have been exploring other colors a bit and the end results have not been so good in my eyes.  I like my earth tones and muted pallet of colors.  I really don't like bright greens, purples, pinks, and yellows.  All day today I have been thinking about how I need to pull myself out of this self imposed slump I was feeling.  My conclusion, it would be this painting that I would get back to my normal pallet and I would reconnect with my art again.

Ahhhh!  It feels good to be back.

I know to some this painting may look unfinished.  I was in fact planning to put her in a white shirt. But upon further speculation though, I think it looks wonderful as is.  Knowing when to stop is a huge battle.

Have a wonderful night.

Completed January 28th.

Larry

Needed to Play

The painting Shirt  8x12 Mixed Media on Wood Panel

Trying to complete a painting everyday for thirty days is nice but it can also be a bummer.  Today I needed to break the bummer feeling and just play a little.  This painting started off as an acrylic abstract.  Then I dropped in the silhouette of the lady by painting in the background with Ivory white.  It looked too "cut out" so I took the electric sanding disc to it.  This made it look better and was also really therapeutic.  I completed it with just adding enough paint to hint at a little bit of sexiness.

Completed January 24th

Larry

Day 22, Prayers Answered

Prayers Answered  6x6 Oil on Panel

I'm sure we all wish, hope, pray, in some way, for a happy ending in all that we do.  In a search and rescue operation I would imagine the people who are lost and hurt do the most aggressive hoping and praying out of everyone involved.  It's hard to say though, because there are also family members and friends of the person who is lost or hurt who want their loved one back, the rescuers who want to make it up there, find this person in need and get back safely, the family members of the SAR teams who want their loved ones to return home at the end of the night and there are the bystanders who, after witnessing such a thing, probably hope and pray to never be in the same predicament.  This creates a great mental strain on all involved.

The lady I have painted here was in tears after we went in, found her, treated her, and brought her safely back out.  She was so thankful to be able to see her family again.  Before the lady was put into the ambulance my wife noticed her crying and knelt down to see what was wrong.  The lady was so distraught that she wanted to pray for all involved and give thanks but didn't think she could do or say the right things given her present state. My wife encouraged her to try her best and that she would be right by her side so they could pray together.  This was a true celebration to an end of a hard day.

Completed (Painting) January 22nd.

Larry

Day19, The Gift

The Gift  6x6 Oil on Panel

I did it!  This is a portrait of my daughter.  This is a miracle because I do not do portraits.  I do paint people, but they do not resemble anyone in particular.  This one though, I gave myself a challenge and went for it.  It took me three times longer to paint this than the others but, TA-DA. Here it is!

Just had to get that out.  HUGE accomplishment for me.  I feel like climbing on my roof and shouting.

I love the painting, but to be honest, I never want to do it again.  It was no fun.

Completed January 19th.

Larry

Below is a close up.  It's actually larger than the original.  I painted it with the same pallet I have been kind of using for all my landscapes with the addition of the pink color.  What a range of color possibilities.

Day 10 Prayers for Sunday

Prayers for the Lake Fire  6x6 Oil on Panel

This painting marks the 1/3 way toward my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge.  This would be the point in the tunnel where the light at the beginning is fading and it is getting really dark.  You start to feel a little worried or anxious because you cannot see the light at the end.  This is the point you need a little prayer to keep you going.

We had a huge fire here in my area of the woods last year.  It burned thousands of acres.  It was called the Lake Fire.  Beyond the actual fire fighting, there are other things that go wrong and must be dealt with and, with limited resources, sometime the call is answered by others.  Case in point, San Gorgonio Search and Rescue Team was called in to help clear up the main drinking water supply to a bunch of camps located just beyond the limits of the fire.  The source of water was up in the fire though.  We hiked in, did our thing and went home.  We didn't make the papers or the evening news but what we did was important to the community.  What we saw made most of us cry.  Our wonderful wilderness that we all love was burned to the ground.  It is a day I will remember for a long time.

Completed (painting) January 10th.

Larry
Artist and 13 year member of the San Gorgonio Search and Rescue Team

Day5. Coastal Memories

Coastal Memories  6x6 Oil on Panel

Day five is here and I have a new painting to show you all.

This is an image of my son looking out at the Oregon coast.  

For this painting I started with a teal green oil background.  The pallet I used was Cobalt blue, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Yellow medium, Ivory black and Titanium white.  Have you all noticed a trend with the pallet choices?  They are basically the same but I am just substituting different shade of colors depending on what I want to achieve in the painting.  In all simplicity the pallet of colors are Blue, Red, Yellow, black and white.  This is as basic as it gets.  I use Winsor Newton oil paints and I can order 119 different colors from them.  Limiting your pallet makes for a more harmonious colors and teaches you to mix all these 119 colors with just a select few.  Cool huh?

Completed January 5th.

Larry

The Wait

The Wait 8x16 Oil on Panel

A new addition to the studio.  One of my goals for the year is to get back to doing more figurative work.  This image is painted with a limited pallet of Prussian blue, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Scarlet red, Titanium White and Ivory Black.  There is a touch of Thalo blue in the scales to add interest.  

The idea behind this image is love.  Who would be able to imprint a map on the back of a mermaid, and why would she stand guard to protect something that is not hers?  She's waiting for his return.  Are mermaids immortal?  I don't think Pirates are.  This could be a long wait.  

Take a look at her back.  Can you find her with in the map?  Below is a close up.

Happy Adventures!

Larry