Lake in Ohio

We stumbled upon a store built on an estate with a huge nature preserve behind it and a cafe inside. Checked out some scenic beauty, some roosters and dessert.

Downtown Toledo Photos

Went to downtown Toledo to check out a drawing session, but it turned out the postcard I looked at was very old, and the session was no longer there. Met a few guys who were kicking back some beers at the studio location. They were nice enough to try and direct me to where they were pretty sure sessions were being held down the street. I drove down, and couldn't find it. So instead, I bring you photos from downtown Toledo...couldn't make a complete waste of the trip. I just drove around and took these. The top most water skyline is a stitch of two photos. I liked the composition with the left side fading to dark, but I also liked the nice lights and details on the far right of the other photo. A lot of the shots I took (and didn't include here) were too grainy (which is hard to see in the lcd display) or lights were too blown out (need to lower the exposure settings as I did for some of these). So, still learning lots.

Toledo Mosque

Took some photos of the beautiful mosque my parents go to in Perrysburg, Ohio. It is inspiring to see how positively involved the local Muslim community is with the rest of the Toledo community.

Laguna Beach Photos

Went to Laguna Beach with some friends. I always love going there. Here are some reasons why, through photos I took.

Drawing Club Ringmaster Part 3

The last set of sketches from this set. The top three are my favorite from the session, with the really loose third image in that image being my favorite of them. I like the idea of doing a rough and incomplete watercolor sketch, to be completed with sparing ink lines. I think it reads a lot better than most of the rest. See some of the other artists' work from the session here.

Drawing Club Ringmaster Part 2

This is the second set from this session. These were drawn on a smaller pad than the rest of the sketches from this session. It's a nice way to warm up for the somewhat larger poses on larger paper.

Drawing Club Ringmaster Part 1

This week's theme was the circus with a great ringmaster. Again I was trying to push things around a bit. I can see glimpses of where I'm trying to go with this coming through in this and the last few sessions. Much to still explore.

Drawing Club Egon Schiele Part 1

Last week for the drawing club, the theme was Egon Schiele. So, the model was dressed and looked much like a woman out of an Egon Schiele painting. I happen to love Schiele's work, so this was a real treat. I pushed myself to try and pull away from too much conscious thought while drawing, by doing about 3 sketches for each pose instead of one. This feels a bit more like where I want to go. You can see what some of the other artists at the session did here.

Painted Alice

I went to see my friend Rashmi in her theatre group's production of Painted Alice by William Donnelly. It was a lot of fun, particularly once the story took us to wonderland and all the crazy inhabitants therein. Here are some sketches.
You can still check it out through Oct. 13th (Friday, Saturday at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm) at Elephant Stageworks, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90038.

Puddles of Fun

I went to the Walk for Hope in Long Beach, put together by many very hard working volunteers for Be the Cause over the weekend. Mostly I read quotes that had been beautifully illustrated and setup all along the route, walked and talked, but

once I reached the end, I managed a few photos. It's great to take some time and spend it meeting new people who are all making an effort toward positive change in the world. Thanks to Kristeen for telling me about it! Also thanks to Mark Culuris for telling me about the amazing work that he and others are doing to support AIDS orphans in South Africa through Seeds of Light.

Drawing Club Arabian Nights



The theme for the drawing club this week was Arabian Nights. Three hours of focused drawings with an amazing model. What more could I ask for? He's so good at playing rogues. I've drawn him as a gangster several times. I used pencils on a number of these as well as ink and watercolor. I'm trying to loosen up the proportions and expressions, hoping to capture that much more. As always, criticisms and suggestions are more than welcome and appreciated! See some of my fellow artists' work from this session here.