My little brother and I

My little brother and I
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

Little brother is coming for Christmas. Thruth be known, he's taller than I am but I lucked out and retained my hair. He doesn't really look quite like this. Niether do I. But this is a fun caricature of the two of us together. I framed it and am going to give it to him as a Christmas present. The rest of the family will think we're off our rockers, but that's not so unusual.

Oh yea, he's on the left. I'm on the right.

Progression

Progression
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

Well, we had our office holiday party over the weekend and it was a great time like every year. This painting was my secret Santa gift for one of my coworkers. We were encouraged to make our gift but only a few of us did, so I was a little embarressed. But she sent me a photo of it hanging in her house so I guess she liked it.

I took a look through my photos of it and thought it would be interesting to view the progression in one image. Hey, did I just make new art out of old art?

I figured it out!

I figured it out!
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

The foreground on this was really bothering me. A lot of you made helpful suggestions so I could tell it wasn't really jelling with you either. The background and foreground were too disconnected, but I think I fixed it. Let me know if you think otherwise.

Sorry I've been away.

It has been a while since I posted anything. My day job has me quite busy lately. But over the holiday weekend I managed to sneak this one in. It's larger than the other ones. This is 8" x 10" on canvas. I kept the foreground pretty loose but I'm not sure if that's the right approach. It might be to disconnected from the focal point. What do you think?

Third day on the farm

Third day on the farm
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

It was another rainy weekend so I headed back the same farm. This is another 4" x 6" oil. The problem with shooting these little guys is that when you upload them they tend to render larger than the original painting, and then start to fall apart. It's like what happens when you take a photo from the newspaper and enlarge it. All the dots from the half tone show up. Here, the weave of the canvas gets too big.

So do me a favor. When you have this on your screen, stand across the room to look at it. :-)

Number two in a series?

Number two in a series?
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

It was 10:00 last night. I was really tired because it was a long day at work. The TV was on and it was tempting to just plop down and veg. But I didn't. I went down stairs and did another little one. This might have been better had it been earlier in the day and my brain a bit fresher, but that's OK. It was just fun to do.

Oil on canvas board 4' x 6"

Better Color

Better Color
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

That's better. The color of the last post was bothering me. I shot it last night indoors. This one I took outside in the day light and the color is much more accurate. Please pardon the multiple posts.

Rainy Day on the Farm - Oil on 4"x 6" canvas board.

Rainy Day on the Farm - Oil on 4"x 6" canvas board.
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

I went out this past Saturday (during our rain storm) looking for the perfect overcast landscape. I took a lot of photos but this is one little study that I jumped on right away. I had trouble photogrphing the finished piece however. It's still too wet to scan, so the color harmony is a bit off, but I think you get the idea.

You can see from the title that it is small. I'm taking a lesson from Amanda on how we can make small paintings important. I hope.

The Well Step 2

The Well Step 2
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

The goal of this session was to get all the values in. I'm pretty happy with how it came out. I have to be away tomorrow, but I am hoping I can start laying in some color on Sunday.

The Well step 1

The Well step 1
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

I had the day off today. An unexpected treat. I got up early, worked in the garden, did some freelance work. Then started this painting guilt free. It was a lot of fun just to push the paint around.

For Wally's poetry marathon

I made changes to this based on feedback from a lot of you to push the background back. I also wanted to use it to resond to Wally's call for entries to his poetry marathon. The poem is below...



Think Like a Tree

by Karen I. Shragg

Soak up the sun
Affirm life's magic
Be graceful in the wind
Stand tall after a storm
Feel refreshed after it rains
Grow strong without notice
Be prepared for each season
Provide shelter to strangers
Hang tough through a cold spell
Emerge renewed at the first signs of spring
Stay deeply rooted while reaching for the sky
Be still long enough to
hear your own leaves rustling.

I THINK I'm done

I THINK I'm done
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

I wanted to finish this tonight. So I got to work after dinner. I ended up trying to tie the high lights in the sky into the foreground. And that was about it. I thought I had more work in front of me, but this is feeling pretty resolved. Perhaps when it dries I might add a violet glaze over the left portion of the house to push it back a bit.

My father's 80th birthday is comig up in very soon. He just bought a new home in the mountains of North Carolina. My wife suggested giving this to him as a house warming/birthday present. What do you think?

Getting back to basics

IMG_7177
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

I was talking with a collegue of mine today about painting. And about blogging. We were looking at some beautiful lanscape paintings and it really got under my skin. Why I am I hesitating? What's holding me back? Why can't just go home tonight and paint?

I started to count this list off on my fingers. I've paid my bills for the month, I'm caught up on my freelance work, ( I could always do more when it it comes to my day job so what's one night ) There's nothing on TV I want to watch. My kids are all out doing things.

GO DOWN TO THE BASEMENT AND PAINT!

So I did.

I'm not finished with this piece, but I'm happy with it after a couple of hours of work, I wasn't sure if I should post the work in progress, but you know me... show everything.

So here's me getting back into oils after a vacatiion that has gone on way too long.

Lacrosse Sunset

Lacrosse Sunset
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

I was picking up my son the other day from lacrosse practice and there was this beautiful sunset in play. This is Summer.= at it''s best.

I gotta thing for clouds

Since I was a child I have loved looking up at the clouds in the sky. I can remember the day when I was about seven or eight and I looked at the sky and truly saw the sky in three dimensions. I think as small children we tend to look at the sky like its a flat backdrop on stage production. But I remember the day when I realized the clouds weren't flat objects painted in the sky, but revealed the curvature of the planet. There are layers and distance in what we see up there. If you sit quietly and watch you can trace the connection between the earth and the sky above.

It made me think of all those skeptics who said the earth was flat. If you watch the sky long enough, it's obvious the earth is round and curves in all directions.

This time of year we get wonderful clouds in the summer afternoons as cool fronts collide with warm fronts and rain is sure to come.

If you haven't done so in a while, go outside and lay down in the grass, or on your hammock, or in the city park. Look up at the sky and watch the clouds for a good twenty minutes. Really watch. And see if you discover anything new.

The Pond

This is the pond at work.

Fred and Ginger

Fred and Ginger
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

This week's Illustration Friday topic is dance. So I dug this out of the archives. I did this back in the 80s when I wanted to be the next Bill Nelson. He's an excellent Colored Pencil Illustrator who was at the top of his game back then. Since then I have come to realize we all just need to be the next 'us'. The piece is incolored pencil on Canson drawing paper and is 18" x 24"

Self Portrait marathon 01

Self Portrait marathon 01
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

Wally (crack skull bob) has laid down the gauntlet. A one month - once a week - self portrait marathon. Well this is my entry number one. Doing self portraits really makes you look at yourself in a new way. It's not the glancing image of our selves we see in the bathroom mirror every morning. It's frozen in time and it makes me realize I am getting older. There are more wrinkles on my face and bags under my eyes. Sleeples nights show up on my daily face. But I guess that's what a true self portrait is supposed to do, huh?
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Ben, a guy I work with

Ben, a guy I work with
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

Well, I gave a lecture at work today on blogging and Flickr and that kind of stuff. I thought it would be good to show the group (about 40 people) how one uploads an image. I thought a fresh drawing would be in order.

I was in a meeting right before my talk, where I did a quick sketch of Ben. I have worked with him off and on for over ten years. So please forgive me Ben. I know your nose is not this large. But if you had just sat still during the meeting I'm sure I would have captured a better likeness. But no, you had to talk and stuff and look at others who were talking.

Maybe this will be a lesson for all of you at work that are in meetings with me. When you come into the conference room, assume a comfortable position and keep it. Put your best side towards me. You never know when you will land on a page in my sketch book.

Color Study of Georgetown

Color Study of Georgetown
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

Still working on this piece. Tonight I did a little color study in my sketch book. It's funny how the more you draw a subject, the more you get to know it. I am hoping my sketches of this scene will prepare me to paint it properly. So that when I apply a brush full of oil paint to the canvas it will be like old friends saying hello.

Georgetown sketch One

sketch_02
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

OK, this is a really bad photo of my latest project. I am starting a 48'" x 30" urban landscape of a popular spot in Georgetown, a hot spot of Washington, DC.
I was ther last weekend for the opening of a friend's one man show at one of the better galleries in town. This was the view as I looked down the street. Keep coming back because I determined to NOT let this one sit on the shelf.

Let them eat cake

I don't usually post my illustration work, but I had a piece that fell right into this week's Illustration Friday's topic, "Cake".

I did this back in the late 90s when the McCaughey septuplets were in the news. This was an editotial piece for USA TODAY.com.

Giraffe at the National Zoo

Giraffe at the National Zoo
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

Jimmy, Amanda and I were looking this guy over. I believe it was Jimmy that said, "Wow, great CGI." And he was right. This animal is so strange looking you just don't expect him to be real. Giraffes look like something cooked up in a Hollywood special effects studio. What was God smoking when he decided giraffes would be really cool? I mean they are cool, and beautiful and a little rediculous all at the same time.

Lion at the National Zoo

Lion at the National Zoo
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

I started this WC last night and I thought it was really pretty bad. I put down my sketchbook and thought, "nice try, but that won't make the airwaves."

But tonight, I went to the opening of a good friend's show at a gallery downtown (DC). His work was wonderful. It made me take another look at this little sketch and inspired me to see what I could do to improve it.

So there you have it.

National Zoo Lion

National Zoo Lion
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

Well, Laura demanded lion sketches asap, so I rearranged my social calendar to comply. Had to get this in tonight instead of bingo down at the VFW.

Amanda, Jimmy and I at the Zoo today

Amanda, Jimmy and I at the Zoo today
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

I had the pleasure of spending the day with Amanda (craftmonkeys) and her husband Jimmy in downtown DC. We were all over town, but took time outside the National Zoo after a rainstorm to take a quick pic.

Violin solo

Violin solo
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

A continuation of my last post. Just starting to fill up my new WC Moleskine.

Spring Concert

Spring Concert
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

This is a sketch of one of the soloists from my son's orchestra concert. This kid played his heart out.

The 'Book'

The 'Book'
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

Here's the little sucker in context.

Moleskine Water Color No. 1

Moleskine Water Color No. 1
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

I might have been putting way too much pressure on myself. Not real happy with the way this came out, but what are you going to do? It's amazing the poer these little books hold over you, but this wc sketch is so-so. It's the first entry into the long awaited water color moleskine. I have wanted this for over a year and now it's iin my hands!

Chris in color

Chris in color
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

I did a color version of this while I was on a conference call for a different meeting.

I swear I was paying attention. Really.

Monthly Newsroom Meeting

Monthly Newsroom Meeting
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

We had the big staff meeting yesterday. I've known this guy for years. He's great at what he does and I love working with him.

Farm house

Farm house
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

One of my sons has recently started playing lacrosse. He loves it and so do I. The field they play on is close to this farm which caught my eye. I had to sketch it. The late afternoon light was irresistable.

Today's meeting doodle

Today's meeting doodle
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

You can tell it was a lunch meeting. It's all about the food.

Yoda

yoda
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

Another meeting doodle, that I think I may have posted before. However, I was playing with some wacky photoshop brushes that Cindy sent my way.

Alan on the Beach

Alan on the Beach
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

I was cleaning up the studio/office today and came upon this blast from the past. This is a friend of mine on the beach in, I think, 1984. I was doing a lot of colored pencil work then. I had discovered an Illustrator named Bill Nelson whose work I was trying to emulate.

My wife in 1983

My wife in 1983
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

When I was courting my wife back in '83, I did this portrait of her in hopes of convincing her of the depth of my feelings.

I thought her father would appreciate how well I crafted the portrait, but I think he saw right through to my true intentions. But hey, I did end up marrying her! So my intentions were honorable :-)

And the best part is she still looks like this portrait. Lucky me.

Dusty by the river

Dusty by the river
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

Took the ol' hound dog down to the river behind my house for a walk. This is one of his favorite things in life. This is a quick pencil sketch which I will finish in water color. Here's the problem I running into... If I develop the pencil drawing too much, I leave to many strokes visible after the water color is applied. So, there are palces where you may not see alot of resolution in this drawing but my hopes are color will fill in the gaps and help you see what I saw on our walk. The Spring colors are beautiful. The river water in the foreground will be a challenge.

Stone Lion, Baltimore Museum of Art

Stone Lion, Baltimore Museum of Art
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

I was combing the grounds at the Baltimore Museum of Fine Art and came upon this vicious fellow. The stone eyes really got to me. I plan on coming back with some water color to finish him up.

Stone Bridge

Stone Bridge
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

This is a lovely little spot on the campus of a community college near by. I'm afraid I have a little too much 'Happy Brush" going on when it comes to the leaves.

Sorry for the time between my posts. I'm just swamped with work right now.

Lydia's Hopper's Brooklyn

Lydia's Hopper's Brooklyn
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

Lydia posted a photo of this the other day. I usually make it a rule not to paint from other's photos but I just loved the light that she captured in here photo. Besides she invited us all to paint from it. So here's my version. Thanks Lydia!

More meeting doodles

More meeting doodles
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

Short on time. Had a meeting today and this is what I got. Everyone was there except Amanda's ladybug, the atomic bomb and the alien guy at the bottm of the page.

Dusty in the Morning

Dusty in the Morning
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

I know you guys are over my dog, but I can't help it. He's one of my favorite subjects. This is the WC of the drawing I posted last time.

You can see a hi-res version by following the link over to flickr.

Dusty in front of the couch

Dusty in front of the couch
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

It was a beautiful morning and the sun was beaming through the windows. This is Dusty soaking in the sunlight. A water color will follow.

I think I'm following Lara's interiors from last month, but I hope to continue with a Sargentesque as well.

Sargent study two - water color

Here's the water color version of the previous drawing. It's hard to replicate in water color what the master did in oil. But it's fun and quick. And with each one I'm learning more.

Next Sargent Study

This is a sketch of a detail from Sargent's "Essie, Ruby, And Ferdinand, Children of Asher Wertheimer"

The color version is coming next. I didn't realize when I started this that this was a portrait of the children of the man in the last study. Ol' Asher must have been a pretty wealthy dude to commission several Sargent portraits.

Did I kill it?

I took the advice of Mr. Torta and Doc Research and went back into this a bit. The problem was I did it right after I woke up, and without my usual morning coffee. So I may have made that oh-so-easy-to-make mistake of over working a water color. But that's OK, I can do another one. I may continue on this Sargent study track for a bit. I learn so much from studying his work.

Relying on the masters

I was aching to paint/draw tonight. Caught a bit of American Idol while I ate an INCREDIBLE hamberger and fries that my wife dished up. I mean sauteed onions and mushrooms, home-made buns.... OK, I digress.I had freelance work to do after dinner. Did that.

Later, I was looking at one of my Sargent (John Singer Sargent) books. I'm feeling VERY rusty so I thought it might be a good idea to do a study of one of my heros. I did a pencil sketch and was very disappointed in the results. But as I addded color, it started to come together. What do you think?

Another Meeting, Another Sketch

For all you folks that draw people in coffee shops and diners, my hat is off to you. These are a couple of guys I work with, sketched in a meeting today. This is Juan And Rhyne. You may recognize Rhyne as "Uber Lord of Video" from an earlier post.Not only was a I trying to pull off my ususal I'm-listening-while-I'm-doodling face, but trying to steal truly meaningful, information gathering glances, was difficult.

When I draw potraits from life I'm use to being able to stare as long as I want, and the model knows I'm there. So to you sleath-poeple-sketchers (and you know who you are) you have my deepest respect.

May the Moleskine be with you

Well, it's getting busy again so I have to rely on my meeting notes once more for my post.

Today's meeting was about blogs. It was a meeting with a large attendance, 20 people maybe. Somebody in the room alluded to bloggers being people that sat in their basements with their Star Wars figurines. I took umbrage with that. I immediately left the conference room and retrieved my over-sized Yoda Pez dispenser. I set it in the middle of the conference table and said nothing. Then I proceeded to draw it during the course of the meeting. It was all taken in good humor so all is well and I am still employed.

And as you can see I still took my notes. I don't know who the bald guy is with all the questions. Perhaps it's me a few years from now.

Chewbacka and I will be posting from my basement tomorrow.