Progress Report

Just a little sample of some of my drawings from my recent life drawing classes.

Paint'n

Over the summer I took a couple painting classes - Still Life and Figure Painting. Boy, did I enjoy it. Here are a few of the pieces, starting with my earliest.

These ones here below are the ones my teacher, Karl Gnass, took over and fixed. I tell you, he could do miracles in just 5 minutes. I'd be sitting there with a heavy hand and furrowed brow for 5 hours making a real sad excuse of a painting - then he'd come over and with a couple elegant flips of the brush, he'd layout an appealing, volumetric painting with some real value contrast. Real talented guy, him. A master of our day, I'd say. So these ones are pretty much by him. And he did them in 5 minutes! (FIVE!)

The Squid are Alive with the Sound of Music

The Dark Tide Rises

The Atlantic's Reckoning

A hero rises.

The Battle of the Deep.

It Builds Caricature

Here are some assignments from my character design class!

I was sitting there in church drawing in my sketchbook and my mom, who was visiting town, leaned over to tell me that if I was going to draw, I had to draw a picture of Jesus. So I did.

Here's a try at Buster Keaton and Indiana Jones. I've got some work to do.

The Air couldn't be Pleiner

Here are a few sketches of some various areas I've visited recently. Each sketch was done in about 5 to 30 minutes.

Angeles National Forest

I came here for a Landscape Sketching Seminar with one of my teachers, Karl Gnass.

The Salt Flats 

I came out here all by my lonesome. Such a fascinating place! Tried a quick little watercolor and some sketches. Boy, my bottom sure was salty when I got up from this painting!

This here sketch was sketched from the mountains overlooking the Salt Flats.

Vernon, Utah 

My pal Mark and I have this favorite little town out in the middle of nowhere, Utah. It is a one stop-sign town called Vernon - Home of the Cowboy Burger. And oh man, that is a good burger. Oh, and they serve tater-tots. Anyway, when it came time to view the lunar eclipse we had just a couple months ago, Mark and I thought - Hey, let's watch in Vernal. If we're going to watch a Lunar Eclipse, we might as well eat a Cowboy Burger.  

Zion National Park 

Zion... Gad. Zooks. What a park! National Parks never fail to take my breath away. They are such special places. Thank goodness for the likes of John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, God, and all the other folk who helped make them special little sanctuaries for us small folk to enjoy.

I came here with a gal by name of Mallory Davis. We hiked around a bit and sketched a bit.

This area below is called Court of the Patriarchs. Isn't that the coolest name ever?

Bryce Canyon

Mallory and I also hit up this little gem of a place. It is like visiting another planet. I kind of got caught up in the details. I should have either simplified more or zoomed in to a smaller section.

Mt Whitney

Oh, Mt Whitney, tallest peak of the contiguous U.S., how humbled you made me feel. I journeyed here with Casey Bingham and Bob Crockett.

  

Here are Casey and I early in the hike. Not too much pain... yet.
 

Here I am sketching. I took great risk of reprimand for this. Bob and Casey don't like to stop but I went ahead and tried to sneak a little sketch in whilst Casey was filtering his water.

We took the Mountaineer Route so a lot of our paths looked like this. But this here was the last stretch. Just over that lip you see was the summit.

Here we are at the top. I think Bob was standing away from me because I looked absolute silly. But it isn't my fault I didn't get to wear a cool helmet like them! Okay, okay. The orange shorts were my fault.

Bob got the Animal Award, Casey got the Leadership Award, and I got the Spirit Award.