Dans La Cuisine I, Interior Painting
5/28/2012 4:29:55 AM
Too many cooks spoil the broth? It shouldn't happen... if a chef de cuisine would communicate orders to his sous-chef who would manage the entire kitchen staff well; if each chef de partie would make sure that his cuisiniers and commis prepare specific dishes in a certain manner that recipes call for; and if a saucier, a boucher, a rotisseur, a poissonnier, a garde manger, an entremetier and a patissier would do their best for their sauces, meats, fish, soups, salads, hors d'oeuvres and desserts.
I made this painting, inspired by what saw in a busy kitchen at a restaurant in Mont [...]
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FASO Featured Artists
5/21/2012 1:15:07 AM
Artists about to launch an art career sometimes ask me what steps they should take to be a professional. Almost always my answer is, create a professional art website first - before a blog, facebook page, twitter, etc. That's what I did. I chose FineArtStudioOnline (FASO) as my website host and I know I will never regret it. If you are serious about art as a profession, the entire team of FASO is there for you in many facets on the business side of art.
FASO Featured Artists is their latest feature and I am truly honored to have my work featured [...]
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San Pedro Shipyard I, California Landscape Painting
5/18/2012 3:47:56 AM
Soaring high in the gray sky, the Vincent Thomas bridge looks impressive. One of the longest suspension bridges in California, it connects San Pedro and the largely industrial Terminal Island, carrying significant truck traffic for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Seen from the San Pedro side, Terminal Island doesn't look so inviting as the nearby Catalina Island. While Catalina, known for its pristine landscapes, is a popular vacation spot in Southern California, Terminal Island is... not. Here all we see seems to be colossal cargo vessels, heavy equipment, and lots and lots of containers being loaded and unloaded. To [...]
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San Pedro II, California Landscape Painting
5/15/2012 10:23:11 AM
I like visiting the waterfront area in San Pedro. A seaside promenade walk while admiring beautiful boats and cruise ships is always nice, but, for me, to see a gigantic industrial zone of the Port of Los Angeles in the background adds a sense of excitement to an otherwise tranquil scene.
There's also a working harbor for fishing vessels that I love to paint. Here's one of my attempts showing some of the hard-working fishing boats anchored for the night. The sun had just set behind the hills in the back while the fog was rolling in.... it was a golden opportunity [...]
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San Pedro Café, Interior Painting
5/11/2012 9:02:28 AM
Six or seven hours you typically spend in a day in a painting workshop can be pretty intense and you feel exhausted when it ends. In all of my previous workshops, almost everyone I taught was such a hard-working participant some of them even wanted to work through lunchtime. With or without the "no pain, no gain" mentality, I believe it's mostly a drive from within and everyone comes away with a good kind of pain. Spending several days in a room full of enthusiam and with those who share passion for the same thing (in my case, that is watercolor painting) is both rewarding [...]
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San Pedro III, California Landscape Painting
5/8/2012 11:59:56 PM
A panoramic view from a hilltop that overlooks the Bay of San Pedro was marvelous. I was there recently and made this quick sketch. From there, one can grasp the sheer size of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach instantly. Both ports are located within the bay and together handle cargo traffic that is perhaps the busiest in the U.S.
Reading some history of this seaside community, I learned that the bay was once called "Bahia de los Fumos (Bay of Smokes)." I was intrigued to find out that the name was chosen by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese explorer [...]
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Los Angeles Workshop Update
5/6/2012 10:36:35 PM
The first session of my workshop with the South Bay Watercolor Society (SBWS) just ended. I was very pleased to see a workshop room at the NWS Gallery in San Pedro (Los Angeles) filled with so much enthusiasm in the last three days.
I would like to say thank-you to my students who willingly traded the Cinco de Mayo celebrations and fun at the beach for three days of painting with me. Also my sincere thank-you goes to the workshop director of the SBWS for her tireless efforts to organize and run my workshop so smoothly.
The second session will take place, with [...]
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Los Angeles Workshop This Weekend
5/1/2012 3:09:52 AM
South Bay Watercolor Society sponsors a 3-day watercolor workshop with me this weekend on "Capturing Light and Atmosphere in Watercolor." It will be held in the NWS (National Watercolor Society) Building in San Pedro, California, 9 am to 4 pm, May 4-6.
A few spots have opened up. If you're interested in joining us or have any questions, please contact me. There will be plenty of one-on-one instruction and demonstrations. I will have another weekend workshop, at the same place, May 11-13. San Pedro is 20 miles south of the Los Angeles International Airport. $250 for SBWS members, $275 for non-members.
These paintings [...]
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