MY PARIS SKETCHBOOK

Nothing too inspiring outside my window, just a lot of winter grey. My PARIS sketchbook always manage to cheer me up.

MY CHRISTMAS CARD 2013

started this religious xmas theme back in November, all those sketches & hours of painting…I just posted my new christmas design FOR SALE

WINTER COLORS

This 9B soft pencil is just the perfect tool for a quick winter sketch, another bleak winter day outside my window. A bit of  tinted turpentine wash makes this look like a watercolor.

FROM SKETCH TO NEW DESIGN

I don't spend months working on creating a painting anymore…I like to scroll thru my existing archive, & see how by adding a new element, it might turn it into a new interesting design. This creative process is actually kind of fun, you never know what the surprise will look like. Experimenting is the name of the game.

ANGEL AND TRUMPET

well, after many sketches, this is my new angel design…I still prefer the freshness of a quick sketch

ANGEL SKETCHES

Xmas music on the radio, starting on a new xmas design. Unlike a landscape, representational subject like an angel can take a lot of sketching & planning….

WINTER MORNING

My poetic reaction to snow, light, & air.

FULL MOON

5PM, full moon rising from the East…reflection on the lingering snow makes the whole landscape really bright outside my window!

ANGEL SKETCH

doodling with more ideas for my nativity scene...

WORK IN PROGRESS

Holiday is around the corner. Always want to do a nativity scene…got my cow & donkey reference, let's see how far I get with this new illustration.

WINTER SKETCH

FALL SKETCH

Ten thousand pictures come & go everyday. Another fleeting appearance of the landscape from my window.

FULL MOON FAIRY

from sketch to finish, inspire by the HUNTER'S MOON, outside my window...

FULL MOON FAIRY SKETCH

The moon has been nice & bright the last few days. Thought I get started on a full moon fairy.

GOLDEN FALL LANDSCAPE

The perfect week to be painting fall foliage on my deck...lovely colors & fine weather!

APPLE ILLUSTRATION

Productive thursday...apple picking at the local orchard with time out for a pretty sketch. Watercolor definitely works with this illustration.

An Exhibit of Seurat's drawings at MMA, NYC in 2008, definitely influence my style of sketching.

SUMMER ISLAND RAMBLING

Each island has their own charm & magic. One of my local favorite is BLOCK ISLAND, RI. This card design came from an actual seaside cottage on the island.

CAT SKETCHES

Inspire by the beautiful lines of Degas and Ingres, my early sketches were all about drawing. I'm more into painting these days. Light, shapes, & values, that's how I see my surroundings now.

PLEIN AIR NOCTURNE

6:30am, trying to catch the light before it changes. Still mild enough to be painting outside & breathing in the morning scent from my garden.

SUMMER POPPY

Poppy is so delicate & small. I love the iridescent quality of this tiny flower... beautiful variations of light & shadow. Which version do you prefer?

SUMMER NOCTURNE

Extreme warm backlighting causes objects in the foreground to appear flat, cool, & dark. My flower bushes in the foreground are completely hushed in cool shadow.

MAGICAL BUTTERFLY

Still very far from a finish design. Fiddling with one illustrated butterfly in various layers today. After so many versions on photoshop, my eyes can't decide which is better. Sometimes too many choices is confusing.

FLOWERFAIRY-work in progress

 Since my eyes max out at 2 hours, creating a new painting takes forever. It took me a long time to learn photoshop, but it  can really helps me to speed up a new design. The fairy wing is painted separately. It saves me time, cause I can paint it faster in a small scale. I can transform & scale this fairy wing, to see my options. I kind of like this purple version, I got this color  by clicking the COLOR BURN option. I still have alot of work with this new fairy. With the finish background, I have a better idea of how to finish the features on the fairy.

NEW FLOWER FAIRY

CICELY MARY BARKER'S flower fairies remains a classic & inspirational. I wonder if her fairies are children that she knew or pull from her imagination? I usually start off my flower fairy with a specific kid that I know. At a certain tender age, they are in their own little world. By spending time with them, the magic comes thru at the in-between moments.

SUMMER FUN

Do you know that July 21 is  National ice cream day?

POPPY MORNING

There's always magic in the mountain, especially on these glorious summer mornings. Nothing more magical than visiting a lovely garden in the neighborhood. We really have to learn to  live the moment, cause summer is so short up here!

BABY WREN

I was having coffee, sitting next to baby wren's birdhouse at 7am, when I pass by at 8am, they are gone... need to find something else to entertain me in the early hours of these lovely summer mornings.

SUMMER MORNING

ephemeral quality of light and shadow... everything is in front of me! 

FIREFLY NOCTURNE

for a tiny insect, the FIREFLY is pure magic on a summer evening!

SUMMER COLORS

Endless variations of the simple shapes  that's outside my studio!

ANGEL SKETCH

From fairy doodles to a more refine concept of what I want to do with my fantasy illustration.

FAIRY SKETCH

New moon against the dark twinkling sky was especially magical yesterday. I just feel like working with some fantasy today, starting with some ideas with fairy & the moon.

EARLY MORNING

Good thing I'm a morning person. The morning sunrise is never the same.

NEW LILAC DESIGN

My new design came straight from my garden, butterflies & musical notes are photoshop into the background. I might do a variation this weekend. The magic of photoshop can be as fast as a quick sketch.

LILAC SEASON

All my lilac bushes are right on target this Memorial Day!

APPLE BLOSSOM

I like the line from art critic John Ruskin, to "paint the leaves as they grow"...

MY STUDIO

Change of season provides a wonderful opportunity to dust off the cobweb, & open the windows to bring some fresh air into the studio. Rearranging my px & postcards can take up the whole morning.

PET INSPIRATION

One of those mellow days, just taking time out from working on the computer.

SPRING BREAK

Too nice not to sketch outside. It's great to be sketching outdoor, after a long winter. I worked up the details after the sun went down.

GRAPHIC SIMPLICITY

After a day of painting details with a tiny brush, it's nice to look out my window & be inspire by simple shapes. A few big charcoal sticks, with a bit of rubbing in, can convey the graphic simplicity of sky & mountain peaks.

FLEETING LIGHT

Another blustery weekend, fleeting morning sunrise over the valley.

BUTTERFLY

March 14, do you know that today is Learn about Butterfly Day?