6.3 x 4.5 inches. Ink, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper.

Following an idea I started recently. Oil on canvas 11 x 14 in. This is pretty close to the look of the original sketch in my journal. From here I want to see what I can do to keep the color and forms expressive. This is for fun and a stab at something different. Normally I gravitate towards realism and earth tones, which is…. fine. But a little imaginative play with form and color is good too, and maybe this will lead in some new good direction.

Cruisin’ along. Color next.

Really fighting this one for some reason. The deer is not supposed to look like a doofus.

Working off last night’s drawing, the first layer of darks and lights is set. This one started off great. Using a big brush and working freehand everything fell into place pretty quickly. I lost a little freshness of the darker brushwork when I went in with the whites, but it’s still pretty active. Hopefully I can maintain the freshness through to the finish.

Second and Third layers are added since the last post. There’ve been some awkward starts after the initial layer, including wiping away a whole night’s work. But I think I’ve pulled back in a forward direction. Haven’t decided about the background, even though I know I should have, but it looks like it’s taken a verdant direction.

Here is drawing I did at the studio tonight as a comp for another painting, which I think I’m going to call “The Portrait”. The bear is getting his portrait painted, which is clear enough. But beyond that it’s all weirdness. Why is the painted portrait an unhappy Fozzy Bear and not the likeness of the actual bear? Wouldn’t the bear be offended? And why are these people getting such a kick out of tormenting the bear with squirt guns, while the kid in the middle is utterly horrified? Why is the bear taking it? Why is the bear sitting at the table at all?… I don’t know either. But my idea is that the kid has perceived a slight change in the bear’s posture, something that indicates the bear’s tolerance is about to snap and massive retribution unleashed on his oblivious tormentors. But maybe that’s another painting.

Just finished this postcard for the annual benefit Postcards From the Edge, organized by Visual AIDS Org. Called “Outflanked”. Acrylic on 4×6 in. watercolor paper.

Back on track with blogging…

A deer jumps over a homeless man with cats and an angry badger nearby. The running title is “Bad Samaritan”.