Struggling to paint

The Vineyard

2011-05-11T23:29:00.000-04:00

2009-07-05T20:54:00.002-04:00

Here's another iPhone painting using brushes. It's a favorite spot of mine near the house where my hound loves to swim.

Messing around with Google Calendar Embed Code

2009-06-02T20:25:00.005-04:00

Tom Dehass - Open Container

2009-05-25T22:42:00.004-04:00

This poor soul is Tom. He was arrested for 'Open Container'. One can only assume he was in public and not of his right mind, open container or not. His face has quite a tale to tell.

Strange new project

2009-05-25T20:50:00.006-04:00

This is going to sound weird, but I have become interested in a new project inspired by a Tweet from my associate, Juan Thomassie. He sent me the URL of a creepy little website from mugshots.tampabay.com. They keep an archive of mug shots of those unfortunate enough to have been recently arrested. The archive is sortable by a number of ways. But one of the most interesting is by age. What I felt was so compelling was how the faces of people changed over time. The older the arrested became, the more their lifestyles seem to have physical effects on their faces.

Their features seem to become twisted. Over sized eyes, twisted noses and faces that seem to be contorted from top to bottom. For some reason I feel compelled to record these anomalies. I think it begs the question, "Do our choices and actions have a bearing on our physical appearance?"

This first entry is a portrait based on the mug shot of Daniel. Booked on May 13, 2009 for a sexual predator violation.

iPhone beach sketch from memory

2009-04-17T22:45:00.004-04:00

iPhone beach sketch from memory, originally uploaded by chuckrose.

I have been working on a 48 x 36 canvas of this (see small underpainting below), but I did this on my iPhone tonight, from memory, while watching TV.

Beach Storm 03

2008-11-11T07:22:00.002-05:00

Beach Storm 03, originally uploaded by chuckrose.

Starting a new painting. This time with real paint! You may have seen my earlier post of the iPhone version of this image. It worked well as a color study, but there is nothing like the smell of oil paints and mineral spirits.

This color study is 9.5 x 6" on masonite. The final will be 48 x 30" on canvas.

Another view of The Little Patuxent

2008-10-26T23:24:00.002-04:00

Another view of The Little Patuxent, originally uploaded by chuckrose.

This is another iPhone painting of the river near my neighborhood. This was don at around 5:30 in the afternoon.

Tree by our little river

2008-10-26T01:16:00.001-04:00

Tree by our little river, originally uploaded by chuckrose.

I walk my dog in the morning and I pass this beautiful sight. This is the Little Patuxent River. It's behind our neighborhood and never fails to fill me with joy every time I look at it. This is my third iPhone painting with the application 'Brushes".

bridge_01

2008-10-19T21:58:00.003-04:00

bridge_01, originally uploaded by chuckrose.

There is this little bridge near my house that runs over the Little Patuxent River. It's on one of those roads that use to be important. Now it's next to a four lane highway and is seldom used. That's OK. I think I like it that way.

BTW, I am diggin' this iPhone paint application.

beach_02

2008-10-19T15:55:00.005-04:00

beach_02, originally uploaded by chuckrose.

Worked on the clouds a bit more. Time to move on to the next one....

Duck, NC on my iPhone

2008-10-18T21:09:00.004-04:00

Duck, NC, originally uploaded by chuckrose.

This is the second painting I have do on my iPhone since I bought the app "Brushes". Best 99 cents I ever spent. The clouds are still a bit too solid, but I'm still getting use to this. More to come.

lonely_cloud

2008-10-16T22:51:00.003-04:00

lonely_cloud, originally uploaded by chuckrose.

This is so cool. You can now paint on your iPhone using an app called "Brushes". Thanks to Steve Sprang for his work on this. I did this one with my fingers, but I ordered an iPhone stylus this morning which should really make this a useful sketching tool.

You can find the stylus here:
http://www.cosia.com/pm-4804-757-stylus-pen-for-apple-iphone-ipoditouch.html?
affiliateid=10053

Monkey Girl

2008-06-16T21:39:00.007-04:00

Most kids would hate it if you posted a picture like this of them on the internet. But not my daughter. She's the best. On Father's Day she came into the kitchen and gave me her best "Monkey Face". What you don't see in this drawing are her hands pulling her ears out, and she puffs up her cheeks and crosses her eyes. In real life she is so beautiful. (ya, I know I'm her dad, but she is.) The proof is the first pic.

But what I love about my daughter is that when she looked at the silly cartoon she inspired, she didn't think it was horrible. She wasn't concerned that she didn't look pretty enough. She thought it was cool.

She is awesome.

Boy am I rusty

2008-03-08T17:52:00.005-05:00

I haven't painted in months. And boy does it show.

It's Saturday. I completed some freelance work, walked the dog, checked office e-mail, paid some bills. What the Hell, why not pull out the water colors and slap some paint around. I used a photo I took driving on Skyline Drive a few months ago as reference. I was reluctant to paint a sunset because it can look so trite. (and I am not sure I escaped it here) but I really loved this scene.

So, I just have to say to myself, "self! you haven't picked up a brush since July. What do you expect?" I need to practice, practice, practice.

Snoop Dog

2008-01-24T21:37:00.001-05:00

A friend I work with has this great dog named Snoop. He's a bit old and crabby, but has a face you have to love. We do a secret Santa at work every Christmas where we draw names and give a present we are encouraged to make. This year I got Snoop's owner. I thought a sketch of his faithful hound would make a nice present. I framed it. He tells me it is in a place of honor in the family room.

Up for bidding!

2007-07-29T09:50:00.001-04:00

Yes, yes. I know you just saw this painting recently. But I got curious about the whole EBAY thing. So I decided to put it up for auction. Call me a sell out, but I just wanted to see if I'd get a nibble.

You can bid on this painting here.

Creek near the house

2007-07-15T22:24:00.000-04:00

There is a spot I drive by almost everyday coming home from work. It's one of those roads that, in it's day, was the major route of transportation. These days it has been replaced by a four lane divided highway that runs parallel to it. But I prefer to take the old road. It takes you down to a very old bridge that is only wide enough for one car. My neighbors and I wave each other across when we approach it.

Under this bridge is a beautiful little creek. I having been driving by it for the last seven years. As you can see (if I have done my job right) it is a wonderful little place. I wanted to capture it to share with all of you.

I learned a lot about landscape painting from doing this painting. It was like painting a room with four walls. I was trying to capture the three dimensional space within it.

More to come!

The Rock

2007-06-07T22:51:00.001-04:00

Rocks seem to be a theme here, huh? Unlike the one from two posts ago, this rock is only bout fifty feet long from left to right. This is a farm near my house that has been a subject many times. I just love this place. The owner is wealthy enough not to have to sell his land to developers to raise more McMansions. It is pristine with barns, stables and a plantation style home. I hope to paint that sometime soon as well.

Oil on canvas 5" x 7"

On the South Rim Trail

2007-05-31T07:26:00.000-04:00

Along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon are these beautiful wind swept trees. Their bent shapes give away the number of years they have yielded to the constant pressure. This sketch doesn't do them justice.

On the way to the Grand Canyon

2007-05-24T10:54:00.001-04:00

We were rolling up some back road from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon in our thirty foot RV. Being from the East coast, the landscape was alien, but beautiful. We must have driven 200 miles with this large looming rock to our left. There was nothing but open space and fence between us and the mountains. I looked out at the vastness of it all and wondered who came out here and put up a fence? It seemed kind of silly. But I guess not if you're a rancher.

A little more light

2007-01-18T22:45:00.000-05:00

Here's the next step.

Step 5 - first highlights

2007-01-13T14:59:00.000-05:00

Some roof tops and cool shadows

2007-01-13T00:24:00.000-05:00

Everyting still is pretty simple. Broad shapes of different colors...

Add a little foreground and blend...

2007-01-12T22:12:00.000-05:00

Barn step two

2007-01-11T23:13:00.000-05:00

I was able to spend a little time on the sky tonight. Just a background layer. I'll continue to work my way forward. At this satge it's easy to fall into "Bob Ross" type tricks. I must stay alert. I will paint what I see! No knife tricks!

Barn raising

2007-01-10T23:35:00.000-05:00

Oil 36" x 12"

Underpaiting

My son's first oil painting

2007-01-01T20:46:00.000-05:00

For Christmas my 14 year old son received his first oil painting set. After the holidays died down a bit we finally had time for his first lesson. We did a little bit of everything. Color mixing, bush techniques, "drawing" with a brush and a bit of knife work too.

I know I'm his Dad but I think he did a great job for his first time out. It was a wonderful way to spend New Year's Eve.

Happy Holidays everyone.

My little brother and I

2006-12-23T21:45:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-11T20:19:00.000-05:00

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!

2006-12-02T18:37:00.000-05:00

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.

2006-11-27T19:31:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-17T10:46:00.000-04:00

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?

2006-09-08T09:30:00.000-04:00

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

2006-09-07T08:11:00.000-04:00

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.

2006-09-07T00:08:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-25T22:37:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-25T22:36:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-21T18:55:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-09T23:15:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-09T01:03:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-02T22:37:00.000-04:00

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

2006-07-25T22:31:00.000-04:00

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

2006-07-19T12:06:00.000-04:00

This is the pond at work.

Fred and Ginger

2006-06-16T12:47:00.000-04:00

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

2006-06-11T19:52:00.000-04:00

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?
Comments

Ben, a guy I work with

2006-06-01T22:35:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-28T22:17:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-26T23:45:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-26T08:47:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-21T18:13:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-21T00:53:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-19T23:31:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-18T22:37:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-17T23:20:00.000-04:00

Violin solo
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

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

Spring Concert

2006-05-16T23:22:00.000-04:00

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'

2006-05-12T21:10:00.001-04:00

The 'Book'
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

Here's the little sucker in context.

Moleskine Water Color No. 1

2006-05-12T21:10:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-10T14:43:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-10T14:08:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-05T00:37:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-04T18:10:00.000-04:00

Today's meeting doodle
Originally uploaded by chuckrose1.

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

Yoda

2006-05-04T18:09:00.000-04:00

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

2006-04-23T12:27:00.000-04:00

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

2006-04-21T23:32:00.000-04:00

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

2006-04-21T22:14:00.000-04:00

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

2006-04-15T23:14:00.000-04:00

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

2006-04-08T14:58:00.000-04:00

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

2006-03-12T22:04:00.000-05:00

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

2006-03-08T20:18:00.000-05:00

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

2006-02-21T23:03:00.000-05:00

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

2006-02-19T21:46:00.000-05:00

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

2006-02-16T23:41:00.000-05:00

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

2006-02-16T22:17:00.000-05:00

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?

2006-02-16T10:45:00.000-05:00

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

2006-02-15T23:42:00.000-05:00

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

2006-02-13T20:42:00.000-05:00

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

2006-02-07T16:47:00.000-05:00

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.

That's one sick-bcf-puppy

2006-02-03T20:08:00.000-05:00

This little girl will be staying with us for the next week. Her name is Cinco. She's a little Chihuaha that belongs to my brother-in-law. She ancient but fierce. She weighs all of 5 pounds but my 90 pound retriever gives her respect when she visits.

Can you guess who this is?

2006-02-01T22:32:00.000-05:00

Click for larger image
If you don't know who this is, check this out. It kinda-sorta looks like the crazy guy who does outlandish and outstanding work on his blog. I just hope I can draw as well as he when I grow up.

Oh crap. I'm already grown up.

The UberLord of Video

2006-01-30T19:33:00.000-05:00

Yes, more meeting doodles. This one is based a little more in reality than the last one.

This is a sketch of the guy who does a lot of the video on our site. He's really much nicer than I make him out to be in this sketch. I started thinking about what it would be like to have total control of part of the website, and he was sitting across the table from me, and one thing lead to another, and well, there you go.... UberLord of Video.

Here's a detail. I'm thinking about starting a moleskine for office meetings so I can avoid the annoying blue lines in our standard notepads. It would also allow me to use water color after the fact. The problem is our Executive Editor uses one for taking notes in meetings (no, he doesn't draw in his) and I'm afraid people will think I'm brown-nosing. But what the Hech!

Welcome back to the stage, Bob...

2006-01-29T20:35:00.000-05:00

You saw him first in BCF for a couple of days ago. Here he is again in a regular sketch. My Bro-in-law Bob.

I know, the guitar is way off. There is something about string instruments that makes me stop looking and then the body of the instrument gets off... and oh well... there you go.

A little digital diversion

2006-01-29T10:50:00.000-05:00

I love Photoshop. I wish oil painting had an undo command.

TGIBCF

2006-01-27T18:08:00.000-05:00

I haven't done one of these in a while. It's nice to loosen up. This is my brother-in-law Bob playing guitar. Sorry Bob, you never looked so bad.

Like Mr. Torta, I too have been tagged

2006-01-26T20:23:00.000-05:00

I was tagged by Carolyn.

3 JOBS I'VE HELD:
Vacum cleaner salesman
Waiter
Art Director

3 MOVIES I COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER:
Braveheart
Star Wars
Ferris Bueler's Day Off

3 PLACES I'VE LIVED
Staunton, VA.
Sarasota, Fl.
Columbia, Md.

3 FAVORITE TV SHOWS
CSI Miami (because I love to make fun of it)
Lost
Just about anything on HGTV

3 VACATIONS I'VE TAKEN:
Outer Banks, NC (annually)
South Eastern Colorado
Toronto, Canada

3 WEBSITES I VISIT DAILY:
USA TODAY
LaueLines
Wally Torta

3 FAVORITE FOODS:
Steak
Salmon
Crab

3 PLACES YOU'D RATHER BE:
Tuscany
Pretty much any beach
In front of my easle

3 BLOG FRIENDS TO TAG:
Laura @ http://http://laurelines.typepad.com
Terry @ http://www.studionotes.typepad.com/
Big Harry @ http://www.thinkcabinfever.com/

Turn on the Way Back Machine!

2006-01-25T22:15:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, after posting for the first time in a while, Wally suggested "posting older stuff more often" when I am having trouble keeping the blog fresh with new artwork.

I asked in a comment if people thought that was OK. I got a posative response.

Well I came home tonight and primed a canvas, but that doesn't leave me with anything to post tonight. So we're turning on the Way-Back machine and traveling to the year 1983. All the way back to my years at Ringling School of Art & Design. The assignment was a classic - pick a master work you like and make a copy. Here's mine, a painting by Rhembrandt. Too bad I can't remember which one I copied it's been so long.

Here's a cool tidbit - I was dating my wife at the time and when I showed this to her she looked at it for about 30 long seconds and turned to me and said, "It's really good, but you cheated on the chain across his chest." That's when I knew I ahd to marry her. She was right. I was running out of time to turn in the assignment and when I started painting that chain I stopped really 'looking' at what I was painting and it showed. Take a second look, it shows. And I thought here was a woman who wasn't a painter but could point that out? Well, I just had to marry her.

But what a hoot, huh? This guy is so plastic he could be a Ken doll! It is amazing to me how much we learn and grow as we get older. Here's the latest oil portrait I have completed (which some of you have already seen):

I'm starting a portrait of my daughter and hope to take you all along for the ride. Check in for more.

For what it's worth....

2006-01-24T21:43:00.000-05:00

There is an old Air Force saying called "screw the pouch". This phrase was applied to a pilot who augered their aircraft into the ground or otherwise lost their aircraft. Their survival was not mandatory.

I thought the phrase might be fitting on this occasion since I was painting my dog and I am ,in fact, alive.

The color got away from me completely. I used a Pilot G5 gel pen to do the underdrawing. I LOVE this pen and the way it flows ink onto the paper. What I didn't realize was that it isn't waterproof. So when I started to add the paint I ended up with dark gobs of value instead of the precise area of color that I was hoping for.

I thought that fixative would solve the problem, but I am totally out. Can't believe that either. I'm NEVER short on supplies. Just goes to show you how much corporate life has distracted me lately.

Oh well, lessons learned.

I'm back!

2006-01-24T20:10:00.000-05:00

My God an actual drawing.

I know it's been months. But I was determined to do something tonight. If you know me, you know my professional schedule the past few months has kept me from doing what I REALLY love to do. But it's time to get back in the game. But man am I rusty. Art is like athletics. If you work out everyday, you can perform well. If you stop, starting again is hard and feels clumsy. But that's OK. So I'll be sore tomorrow.

Meanwhile, this is one of my favorite subjects and one of my best friends. My ol' hound dog, golden retriever, Dusty. He was laying against my son's thigh. I just love how his face squishes up. He loves to love and be loved.

What is WRONG with me?!

2006-01-23T20:54:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting in the Editorial planning meeting today, paying attention as usual. I started doodling this nice, benign Native American. He started out as just a pair of eyes but before I knew it he had a head band and braids.

Now, that was OK. We were talking about information graphics for the Olympics and the planning was going smoothly. Then my hand was gripped by some mysterious force and these big, baggy blank eyeballs appeared below Tonto and took on it's own life. (or death as the case may be)

I mean how bizzare? That this odd couple would end up neighbors on a page from my notepad. Makes me wonder what's wrong with me. What's going on in that head of mine.

Boy, just look at all the notes I took!

Tonight's guest star...

2006-01-18T22:42:00.000-05:00

You've seen his work before if you've been here in the past. But this one is special. The drawing is my son's first from a live model. He's great at drawing cartoons, and does a great job drawing from his imagination. But this is his first official portrait drawn from a live model.

Can you see the under drawing? The horizontal lines through the eyes and the vertical in down the center of the face. He approached this with structure and a plan. The way it should be done.

Now if I could only get one of MY drawings posted on this blog we'd be in great shape.

Sometimes it's about why I'm not painting...

2006-01-10T07:44:00.000-05:00

You guys know I have been absent for a little while. OK, a long while. I have been very busy at work, but also trying to cross those home improvement projects of my list. Over the holidays one of the goals my wife and I had was to replace the kitchen floor with ceramic tile. I had never done this before so it was a little scary, but fun at the same time. Don't worry Wally, I will spare you all the video this time. :-)

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-26T22:26:00.000-05:00

My daughter was very happy Christmas morning for many reasons. But here was one big factor. She received a shirt and a ceramic tile topped box from our fellow sketch blogger Carolyn.

I bought this groovy stuff from her online store. She is a big hit with the early teen crowd. You should check it out.

Happy Holidays!

I'm still swamped, but...

2005-12-20T06:49:00.000-05:00

...for your listening pleasure I present my son and his swingin' band that has yet to be named. Here's a song they recoreded yesterday:
12:51 - by The Strokes.

My son also has a thriving solo career on his own. Here's a groovy little number he laid down just the other night: Lounge

What a cool kid.

You can check out his blog and listen to more of his music at GarageTunes.

Rock Out!

2005-11-20T22:31:00.000-05:00

Click for a larger image

This weekend my oldest son's rock band made their world debut at a birthday party, in a hall with tons of screaming girls, baloons, food, the works. This is not a sketch of my son, that will come later. This is a sketch of the band's drummer Ricky while he detached himself from his drum set, came forward and sang a Pink Floyd song for all us old farts in the audience. He was great. More sketches to come.

My visually artistic son, C did nail it however. One look and he said, "The chin is too long Dad." He's right it is.

Bad hair day

2005-11-14T23:52:00.000-05:00

So I am diggin' this new approach. I thought this image of my youngest son would be interesting rendered in this style. He's been growing his hair out - we all wanted to when we were 13 - and it payed off. He got up one morning and came in to our bedroom with a head of hair that seemed to be exploding from his scalp. It was great. I'm known for my own bedhead, but this was a record breaker.

So here is C in this new style of drawing...painting...sketching

And here's the original pen & ink drawing that started it. Which brings me to another point. My other son asked me why do we say pen and ink when we just use a pen to do the drawing? "Good question", I said, "now go to bed."

Anyway, here's the "pen" drawing I started with for this post.

And now for something completely different

2005-11-13T21:36:00.000-05:00

I got totally juiced after seeing Olivier Kugler's work this morning. Thank you very much Laura! So I decided to try my hand at a similar technique. I loved how deliberate the line work was in Kugler's drawings. So I did this portrait of my nephew Tom. Rather than my usual sketchy pencil, back and forth wavering, I drew with a very deliberate line. Not lifting the pen from paper until each path found it's end.

When the pen and ink drawing was complete I scanned it and completed the coloring in Photoshop with a Wacom tablet.

This was so much fun to do. An experiment for me, which is always good...

Here's the original drawing:

Trying to catch up on my BCs...

2005-11-12T23:12:00.000-05:00

Dusty

Clove of garlic

My ugly mug
I did three BCs in hopes to catch up to the rest of you guys.

Speaking of books...

2005-11-01T20:34:00.000-05:00

Here's my first Blog Art book. I love the dea of doing a joint project with those special bloggers out there, and you know who you are. And if you want to publish one at a time, this is the way to go. :D

These pics don't represent all the pages, but the highlights...

What a great weekend it was in Norfolk

2005-10-31T11:50:00.000-05:00

As you can see from the photo, I had a fabulous time hanging out with my art posse. From left to right is Amanda, Walt, Big Harry, Lydia, Laura, Cin, myself, Jenny and Marcus.

Laura, Jenny and I are pointing out the fine craftmanship in Harry's Sketch Blogger slide show. It was grand.

(I really missed you guys)

Blind Contour Fish Story

2005-10-28T22:36:00.000-04:00

Click for larger image

Click for larger image

OK, I'm trying this BC thing out in earnest for the first time since art school. I was looking around the studio for something to draw, and staring me right in the face is a 14 foot long blue marlin.

No, I'm not taking drugs.

I actually have a 14 foot long blue marlin hanging on the wall in the basement where I work. I caught it in 1994 and now it stares down at me in disgust. I fought it's 575 pounds for 3 and a half hours, and for what? So it could be stuffed and live on my wall and watch me make bad art? It was much more majestic when I first hooked it. It must have jumped 10 feet out of the ocean and waved it's body at me in defiance. It glistened in the sunlight and then continued to play me until I was spent. But in the end it lost the fight.

Looking back, I wish it had gotten away.