My Favorite Coffee Mug

I was painting with my daughter this weekend.  I always struggle when we paint together because she want me to paint something totally fantastical, and I want to paint something real.  Well, this weekend, I decided to paint what was in front of me.  My coffee cup.  Ok, it didn't turn out exactly like the real cup, but I think it came out nice anyway.

BTW, she painted a dog that walked over a tree that had fruit in it.  The fruit got all over the dogs feet and made tracks all over the paintings.

Yes, if you were wondering I did dip my brush in my coffee by accident.  But only once!

Enjoy

Getting There, But First Lets Have a Smoke

So I am trying to make something beautiful out of something ugly.  I need to put in a few shadows and the labels on the boxes, but Im betting there.  A few more brush strokes and I'll be finished.  I am hoping to finish it up tomorrow.

May Eye Have a Cup Of Tea

Well, now that it is summer and things have slowed a bit, I can spend a bit more time painting.  I'm not spending a ton more time, but just enough to be able to pump a few paintings out a week.  A while ago, I got interested in drawing and painting portraits.  Most of them were horrible, and should never see the light of day.  Since I had a few that were unmentionable,  I thought it a good idea to learn how to paint eyes, mouths, noses, ears, basically all the components of the face in hopes of bieng able to put them together into a cohesive picture.  Well, I didn't really follow through in earnest with that.  I did, however, continue to draw eyes.  Here is one I did in a few spare minutes today.  Yes, I will admit to being influenced by some videos that I have seen on line recently.  (Maybe I shouldn't watch any videos on line.?)  Below is the the same eye, but before I finished it off.

Here is the first iteration of the eye.  It is a little flatter, and a little blander.  Somehow the eye really does seem to pop out more in the finished one.  Who'd've guessed?

Also, I was able to do a little extra doodling this morning.  I painted my tea cup.  It's not a traditional tea cup by any sense, rather its a man's tea cup.  It's hand made pottery.  And truth be told, its a travel coffee cup.  But in my little world, never shall coffee be introduced to your coffee cup for fear of adverse flavors in your tea.  So, this one has been my tea cup for years.

Hope you enjoy these quick pics.  Thank you.

Smoke 'em If You Got 'em

I am beginning a series of paintings of everyday things.  I think it an interesting challenge to elevate the things you see around on a daily basis to works of art. This is my first attempt.

While this picture was on my easel, I thought it was done.  Looking at it after it has been scanned, I think I am going to revisit it a bit, so you may see this one reposted at some time in the future.

 I walk through a courtyard, between the two buildings I work in, everyday.  With this being California, there aren't too many places to smoke anymore, but the students have found a spot, and squirreled away an ashtray next to a bench in a little nook.  Usually the whole tray is filled up with butts, but this day it had, as you can see a cup and some packs in it too.  I don't know what drew me to it, but I couldn't help but take a picture of it and paint it.

I really think it turned out great.  I'm looking forward to painting more in this series.  Hope you all enjoy it.