skunk, opossum, raccoon

more wild animals of LA. I think if I get a duck and a coyote, I'll have gotten about 80% of the major wild animals of this city... then again, there all sorts of birds I'm missing! geese, sparrows, doves, on and on. The list is endless. All I can say is I'm enjoying painting what I can.

animales

more creatures from la ciudad de Los Angeles.

live painting

So many "live" painting events these days! So many opportunites to paint quick portraits. I was out in Venice painting with the Hive contingency last night at Bagavagabonds. Here are four new 20 minute portraits. Like little poems I guess. The live painting events always feel a little bit like triage, expecially when they are outside and at night like this one... the light is never ideal, people cast shadows on your palette or painting, a couple times the lights went out entirely! But it all adds to the excitement and lends itself toward a certain "aesthetic frenzy" that helps me stay loose and working quickly

people & pigeons

On Tuesday I painted a couple pigeons for the series of animals I'm up to, and then yesterday at the Art Walk, I did a couple live portraits. I think people have fun watching me do them, and it adds to all the excitement of the evening. It's funny that I always get a bit nervous painting live portraits because I really want them to turn out good and flatter the sitter, but at the same time I want to paint them with an unbridled adandon that makes for an exciting painting. It's a tightrope walk, but always thrilling. Here are Sensei and Amy from the Hive, slowly but surely I'm going to paint everyone there!

animals

Here's a couple new animals, a bird whose name I don't know but was at the LA Arboretum, and a squirrel that likes to eat the avocados from the tree in my backyard/studio. In keeping with the spirit that I want to maintain for the pieces I'm doing for this show, I'm trying to stay very painterly and bold with these pieces... almost like color-drawings. Ease of expression.

downtown

I went back to Los Angeles St with my 48 by 30 canvas and my MPU and put some more color on the painting I'm working on of that scene. The light from 11a to 3p is much better because the sun moves to a point where the right sides of the buildings are all in shadow. You can literally see it happen from 11:30am to noon. With more shadow value, there's a brighter feeling in the lights and a more impactful read. It's fun to set up on the sidewalk and paint. I get critiques from homeless people and business people and cops alike! Viva Manet!! Here's a pic of the painting in progress and a cell phone pic of my street setup (MPU)