Surfs up. Art inspired by @shelbyrtaylor #surfer #digitalpainting #art #artist #surf #water

He is faithful. Like the waves of the ocean, He comes, again. And again. "Faithful" digital painting. Inspired by @saphre1964 #faithful #waves #ocean #waves #digitalpainting

Yoga art inspired by @winlin #yoga #yogi #yogaart #yogaartist #fitness #health #wellness #digitalart

Sea lion - always loved watch ring them swim when visiting the zoo. Happy little fellas. #art #artist #sealion #sealife #ocean #sea

More aquatica- colorful whale. #whale #digitalpainting #ocean #water #art #artist #marinelife #sea #sealife #humpbackwhale

Ringoes NJ Farmhouse Landscspe art

There's this farmhouse in Ringoes NJ on Manners road, that every time I pass it, I think "this would make a great painting". I snapped a photo on my iPhone while my wife was driving, and although I didn't capture it how I wanted, I liked the sky & land of the photo. Here's some digital art based off my photo. #farm #ringoes #nj #art #landscape #digitalpainting #artist #njartist #hunterdoncounty #newjersey #winter

How I Live Sketched an Event

On Sunday, May 31st, I was live sketching the Liquid at the Shore event from start to finish. This was a historic event with over 4,000 people in attendance, so it was a great opportunity to try to capture the day in a new way. (Click through the images above).  

What exactly is "live sketching"? I documented the happenings of the day as i saw and experienced them. My choice of tools for the day were my trusty iPad, Pencil stylus, and the apps Skectchclub, Picfx and Snapseed.

I roamed around looking for the iconic snapshots of the day. For example, we had magician Justin Flom come and perform, so I captured a moment with he and his lovely wife Jocelynn.

First, I took a photo with my iPad for reference. Then I loaded the photo into the app Sketchclub on a bottom layer. On the top layer, I draw a black line drawing of my subjects. I then select spot areas where i paint in some color on the layer below the line drawing. Next I import some textures and play with the layer modes until I get a desired effect. 

Once complete, I export and sometimes import into Picfx or Snapseed to add a bit more texture, a vignette, or some other subtle effect.

Being that I had a lot to capture and draw on the spot, and uploading to social media as I went as well, I had to keep thing real loose and quick. Each drawing took about 20 minutes form snapping a photo to uploading to social media. 

It was a fun way to capture moments of the day. For an extra level of fun, it's always nice to tag people in the drawing when posting on social media. 

Fertile Ground

I'm please to announce that one of my pieces will be part of the Artist 2 Artist Network show "Fertile Ground" at the Printmaking Center of New Jersey. If you're local come join us for the show's opening on Saturday, January 17th from 1-4 PM, 440 River Rd, Branchburg, NJ 08876 As a bonus you can view some collaborative pieces that were worked on by several artists including myself. The show runs from January 17 - March 7, 2015.

30 Days of Faces exhibit

 

Don't miss your chance to see my 30 Days of Faces solo exhibit at the Hunterdon Library North Branch. Show ends August 31st. Most works are for sale. Spread the word!

Hunterdon Library North Branch
65 Halstead Street, Clinton, NJ 08809
Hours: Mon 9:00 am-5:00 pm Tues 9:00 am-9:00 pm Wed 9:00 am-9:00 pm Thur 9:00 am-9:00 pm Fri 9:00 am-5:00 pm Sat 9:00 am-5:00 pm Sun CLOSED

Push Yourself

In this new year, where are you going to push yourself?

This is the question I've been facing. It's easy for me to avoid the next challenge. To get lazy. Or when faced with a new opportunity, to get anxious. All the "what if's" come and haunt me.

But I decided I really do want to move the ball down the field this year. I have yet to show my work in my own solo gallery exhibit. I haven't sold much of my art to date. I haven't entered any art contests.

Well, on one front things are about to move forward. I'm happy to say that I'll be showing my work at the Clinton library in their exhibit space, this coming August. It's small and local, but I'm grateful for a beginning. And this came about because I saw a Facebook post in an art group I belong to. I decided to push myself and inquire.

I also pushed myself in adding my name in the ring to co-host an art radio talk show that looks for different monthly co-hosts. I'm a bit out of the normal range (most are women and have a bit more of a fine art background and presence) but I just told myself to just go for it. The worst thing that can happen is that it doesn't happen. (Which is probably the case but hey, you don't know until you try).

This isn't new years resolution stuff. This is in line with my asking: What's the right next step? And for me, where I'm at on this journey, this is right.

{photo credit}