Basketball Sketch

It’s NBA Playoff season, which means there’s some pretty cool poses on the sports page that make great reference for a quick charcoal sketch.

Later I’ll experiment with transforming this sketch into a color version.

Detail

Lely’s Venus

During a recent London visit, I sketched a marble statue of Venus in the British Museum called Lely’s Venus. Lely was an artist and collector during the reign of King Charles I; the sculptor is unknown.

My goal was to combine the traditional character of the original sketch with a contemporary style, abstract coloring contrasted with muted and subtle colors, and graphic boldness. 

I didn't actually know that was my goal at the time, but I’ve decided it was since it pretty much turned out that way. 

Lely’s Venus
28" x 40"

Lely’s Venus detail.

Color Studies

After spending the past two weeks sketching with a felt tip pen, painting with color seems more like a treat than usual. Here are a couple of digital paintings based on photos I took while in London.

Every morning we went to Le Pain Quotidien for coffee. I grabbed a photo of three women sitting next to the window. This is a detail of the image that I’m working on.  

Two Women from Kew.

On the train back to central London, after a day-trip to Kew Gardens, the different ages, fashion styles, and demeanors of two women across the isle caught my attention.