Illustration Friday: Wind

Here's my submission for this week's word: "wind". It's the first thing that came to my mind so I just went with it. It was important to me that each character would play their part in the unraveling of this scenario. The challenge was to make Mr. Jones look like he just passed "wind" without actually saying it. The green "gassy" haze seems to do the trick rising up from Mr. Jones' backside. He (Mr. Jones) appears to have no regrets what-so-ever...and looks even proud of himself after the fine meal; as he picks his teeth with a toothpick.

Have a good week everyone!

Black and Orange, A Creative Halloween Contest

This is my submission to a Halloween contest put on by Penelope Dullaghan of illustrationfriday.com. The only requirement is to use "orange and black" as the main colors. Here's the link if anyone is interested in participating: Black and Orange, A Creative Halloween Contest. There's a lot of good artwork and some neat prizes to win as well. Good luck and "may the force be with you". :)

Salon Sketchbook: San Francisco Bay

Here's another sketch I drew with the GAG Saturday Salon. This time it's a view from the other side of the Ferry building overlooking the bay. No, that's not the Golden Gate Bridge, it's the Bay Bridge which currently is under construction for a brand new one. An "earthquake proofed" one. You can't see the construction because they started at each end -- the Oakland side and the San Francisco side which are miles away. This is the middle: they just haven't gotten here yet.

BTW, it's a got a great view from there towards the San Francisco skyline. It catches a panoramic view of San Francisco that you can't get anywhere else. You've probubly seen it on television or movies.

Check out all the boats on the bay at one time. The wind gusts are supposed to be great for sailboats. That's probubly why a lot of sailboat fanatics live in the Bay Area!

-The Graphic Artists Guild Saturday Afternoon Drawing Salon

Illustration Friday: Ghost

I attended a play this weekend which used shadows to symbolize how an actor felt without actually saying it. It worked out pretty well. So, it inspired me enough to use it for my this week's theme: "ghost" . Submitting an image having something to do with the upcoming Halloween theme would have been great, but I couldn't get this image out of my head.

One challenge was trying to make the couple look like they were in different rooms. My uncolored sketch didn't make it too apparent until I started painting it. I realized I could change their room colors to give the illusion of being in different places. Later, I added the heart shape just in order to finish off the composition. It tied everything together and gave a backdrop so I could tone the opacity down of the "cyber couple". If I had to give this piece a title, it would be "cyber-ghosts".

Happy week everyone. :)

Salon Sketchbook: Tower at San Francisco Ferry Building

Yesterday, I participated in The GAG Drawing Salon. Here's a painting of the ferry building tower which I enhanced with PhotoShop. It's appropriate because this week is the 17th anniversary since the big San Francisco Bay Area earthquake. The flag pole that you see at the top of the tower was shaken crooked and in disrepair. Not to worry. Almost immediately, it was straightened and repaired giving everyone a symbolic sign that everything was going back to normal. Whew! How time flies.

For those of you interested, here's the group which I participate: The Graphic Artists Guild Saturday Afternoon Drawing Salon. A special thanks to Teresa who has been organizing the salon for the past two years.

Illustration Friday: Smitten

Here's my sketch for this week's word: "smitten". I don't use it in my everyday language so I had to look it up on www.dictionary.com to get the definition. Hope it works. I had no idea of drawing it in this red monocolor but when it came the time to paint it, thought color might be appropriate for the topic. Have a good week everyone!

Illustration Friday: Trouble

Hey there! I am so jazzed. I was able to use the sketch I drew high on a San Francisco hill from a previous posting. Cool. Click here to see my blog posting that I'm talking about. See what I mean? Another reason that keeping a sketchbook is good. I didn't know "when" I'd use that image again, but I knew one day I would! It so happened that this week's image for IF could use it. By the magic of Photoshop and a little bit of ingenuity, I used it! Happy sketching everyone! :)

Sketchbook: San Francisco Rooftops

Here's a quick sketch I drew sitting from a set of concrete steps overlooking the San Francisco skyline. It's good practice hoping one day to use them in my illustrations.

Illustration Friday: Quiet

Lately, for my current artwork, one goal is to create entire scenes instead of spot illustrations with no backgrounds. Here is my latest attempt with emphasis on the little boy and his dog in the foreground. I tried to add more color to them and less to the woman and elements in the background. After painting everything in watercolor, I scanned the painting into my computer. Then, I added noise and a gussian blur though Photoshop. I had to crop a lot of the painting out because the room just got too busy. It was difficult to see the humor of the little boy's mischief in a room too big in scale. Enjoy.

Have a good week everyone.