Tag Archives: impressionism

Impressionistic Selfie

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I took this selfie of me wearing my daughters glasses.  (I wear glasses, but they’re nowhere near as cool as hers)  I really wanted to paint the other night, and I only had about 30-45 minutes to do it in, so I got my acrylics and a 6″ x 9″ watercolor pad and settled on that selfie.

I painted loosely, mostly dabbling the paint on and mixing it on the paper.  I fought the urge to render, and I was pleased with the effect of painting so loosely.  It’s a really rewarding way to paint.  Reminded me of rotoscoping… well, sort of.

Image

Lena Levin

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My next Twitter follower to be permanently enshrined in the infamous Sketchbook Project sketchbook is Lena Levin, or @LenaLevin_paint as she’s known on Twitter.  She’s a fantastic painter with some great influences… from her website:

Van Gogh remains, and will probably remain forever, the single most important painter in my life, with Rembrandt and a much less famous Russian painter, Pavel Filonov, quite close by.

When you see her work, you’ll definitely see those influences, but with a beautiful twist.  A wonderful mix of bold color and confident brush strokes.  And she’s a DOCTOR to boot!  Amazing!

Another attempt at a mashup here.  Her Twitter profile picture, and her color sense and brush work.  Recreating her style is not easy, and you can see I didn’t even come close.  But, as with all the portraits so far, I really enjoyed it.  Thanks for following, Lena!

Lena Levin: acrylic in the Sketchbook Project sketchbook

Lena Levin: acrylic in the Sketchbook Project sketchbook

David Sandum

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The next page in my Sketchbook Project is of David Sandum, a painter living in Norway who founded the Twitter Art Exhibit.  He has a fantastic style, somewhat reminiscent of Van Gogh.  As a matter of fact, he lists Van Gogh, as well as Gaugain, Bonnard and Matisse as some of his influences.  I couldn’t do it justice, but the intent was to paint his Twitter portrait in his style.  I tend to overwork things, but here’s how it turned out…

David Sandum – Acrylics in the Sketchbook Project sketchbook

David, thanks for following, my friend!

Some Girl

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Messed around again during lunch in the sketchbook.  I’ve gotta graduate to making stuff I can put on the walls, huh?  Just not very practical during lunch, which is really the only time I get to do these kinds of things.  Ooohh… bring a portable art studio with me to work!  Maybe… just maybe.

Meanwhile, the latest: Some girl…

Turbin

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Last year I printed out a few black and white photos from the web that I thought would be neat to draw.  This was one.  I’ve started following a very talented sketchbook artist on Tumblr, who inspired me to attempt what he does: portraiture with a ballpoint pen.  Mission accomplished… sort of.

I think I did a pretty good job with the ballpoint part, but, as always, I can’t leave well enough alone.  Well, here’s what happened:

“Turbin”
Watercolor in the Moleskine sketchbook

I started adding black watercolor, so it was all black & white for a while, then I got bored with that.  It needed some color, so I just went crazy.  Not too terribly disappointed with the outcome, I must say.  Catches the eye, doesn’t it?  🙂

Thuh Sitee!

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This started its life as a watercolor painting.  I got frustrated with it and slapped the acrylics around on top of it.  Really, that’s all I’ve got to say about that.

Cityscape

Cityscape

Another Impressionistic St. Augustine

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A while ago, I did a pastel piece on the Castillo de San Marcos (see here).  I’d had the same picture penciled in on a canvas board for a while, and finally got the urge to do something with it.  Following my recent impressionistic stint, this one followed suit.  I really like painting this way.  It’s incredibly freeing… no rules – I like that!

Castillo de San Marcos

Castillo de San Marcos

Impressionistic Still Life

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I found a really good release in a certain style of painting that I stumbled on out of frustration.  The best way I can describe it is “impressionistic”, but it involves a lot of paint, and fast, globbing action.  The result is something that slightly resembles what I’m painting, but the feeling I get from it is very rewarding.  If you’re looking for photo-realism, I’m not that guy!  You really should look at this guy (http://www.stevemillsart.com/) for that… he’s beyond amazing!  I’m more in it for the feeling, but I have to admit a great deal of jealousy when I look at Steve’s stuff.

So what you see here is a very impressionistic version of a vase with flowers, and a salt shaker on a table.  Enjoy.

Vase with Flowers & Salt Shaker: Acrylic on Canvas Board

Vase with Flowers & Salt Shaker: Acrylic on Canvas Board

 

Detail

Detail

Latest Sketchbook Entries

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Haven’t done much lately other than mess around in the sketchbook.  Here are a couple pages:

Sketchbook pages: Watercolor and Ink

Sketchbook pages: Watercolor and Ink

 

Sketchbook pages: Watercolor and Ink

Sketchbook pages: Watercolor and Ink

Impressionistic St. Augustine

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This is from a picture I took of the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida.  I did this with pastel, and found I really need to invest in pastel pencils.  I’m using the thick chunks of pastel, and it’s like drawing with a log.  Once again, I’m disappointed with what the fixative does to pastel.  The color fades, and the paper starts showing through, and it’s really deflating.

I’ll always have fond memories of this trip to Florida.  The whole trip, we were surrounded by family, and it was really nice.  Of course, this painting looks nothing like the real thing, but I really like the energy I get from creating this way.  God and man made this scene.  I made it my own.

colorful_st_augustine_castle_web