Continued work on my #19 Historic Steam Engine from Yreka, CA. The goal is to have the complete model 3d printed. I'm looking for someone who would like to assist me in the actual printing. 

This is the second road test of the portable Raku Kiln shown in SketchUp drawings. As you can see the design has changed. A good friend had make the comment, " wouldn't it be cool if it were motorized". Well I've had some bike parts laying around for several years, so you know how that goes. There is still quite a bit to go on this project. I thought I'd show this because I haven't put a new SketchUp design on my blog for a while. Now you know why

Display of current project. This is a welded model of a Raven just after the moment of takeoff. At this point the basic skeletal form and the center spires of the wing and tail feathers are in place. The piece will be just short of 6' wing span. 

This is a design for a portable ceramic kiln. It is for reduction firings. I'm 1/2 the way through the actual construction of this kiln. It will be used for personal as well as class work.

This is a painting just completed. It is 4' X 52". There four wrinkles in the bottom of the picture that is because this is part of a panel painted by 20 artists. This is just one of the painting.

Photos for showing at Liberty Arts Gallery.

A sculpture in progress. The purpose of this piece is to ask questions.

Shell fish? a quick design painting while playing with my new Photoshop upgrade. A Christmas toy. Don

This is a new poster for my studio art. It's a collection of my work in a collage executed in Photoshop.

Series of the 1904 work

The 1904 Oldsmobile in this image was created in SketchUp and rendered in Kerkythea. The background photo was taken with my iPhone and loaded in Kerkythea as a background. Title " Morning in the 04 "

This Morning's fun with Photoshop and Intuos pad.

Forest experiment with Photoshop and new intuos 2 tablet. I'm doing a series of experimental paintings to deal with the learning curve with these two products. This new tablet is much better than the old one.

This sculpture is for the "Master Sculpture Class" being taught at the Yreka Institute of the Arts in Yreka, CA. It is to aid students in seeing the relationship of the bone and muscle structure as it affects the outer skin layer.

Muscle and head muscle model too aid students in the structure of the portrait busts.

The "Muse" being caught in the act of entering an art gallery.
Anicca is an art exhibit at Liberty Arts Gallery in Yreka, CA. This is the work I did for the show. I hope this will be the beginning of these type of shows everywhere. The idea behind the show was to create a community art happening that would last for three weeks. The name Anicca was chosen as a Buddhist word describing things that don't last forever. Everyone in the community was invited into the gallery. They could choose a space and create their own art. I talked with artists from 4 years of age to 89. I created this piece to represent the "Muse" crawling out of the wall. There was so much creativity going on that he, the muse, had to come see what was going on. No one is supposed to see the Muse. His surprised look is because we caught him in the act of investigating the work.
Go to this site to get more information:
http://www.libertyartsyreka.org/2012/01/26/opening-night-anicca/

Latest Clay Sculpture. My goal with this portrait is a young Angelina Jolie. What do you think? I worked from a lot of online photos.

Fascination

This is the latest Sculpture. It was created 1/4 scale as a sample for the Sculpturing Masters classes that will start at St. Marks Preservation Square on January 11, 2012. These open-ended classes will be directed by Sculptor Don East. This is also the first class to be offered through the Yreka Institute for the Arts. The time will be 7 to 9 P.M.

For reservations call 530 340-5587

Starting Master Sculpting Class soon.

God with Textures

The Sculpture I've created after Michaelangelo's God from the Sistine Chapel is now complete as far as the modeling stage. It will now have to go through the drying and thinning stages in preparation for firing. I plan on including additional pictures of the preparation for firing.

Michaelangelo's God

This is a clay sculpture I'm working on. It's from Michaelangelo's painting of God reaching out to man. I like the power of this painting and thought I'd like to try and capture the qualities in 3d. At present I'm pleased with the side views of the sculpture. However the front view needs work. The beard had not been added yet. The purpose of this slideshow is to show the progress of the work. More to follow. As always I'm open to comments and suggestions.

Tomorrows Horizon

Two Photoshop composite photos. Both of the shots used in these pictures were taken in Mexico. Getting the lens flare glow in the one composite took many steps and considerable experimentation. I was pleased with the end results.

After Nathan Fowkes

This is a photoshop practice after a painting of an ex-student Nathan Fowkes. His style is much quicker with bolder brush strokes. I used his colors and compositing to create this work. As always I'm open for comments and suggestion.
His work can be found here: http://nathanfowkes-sketch.blogspot.com/

T

This "Art Work" is the results of my new use of Photoshop CS5. I started exploring the new paint brush tool. They are in my opinion the thing that has been missing form Photoshop all these years. Thanks to Photoshop for the new tools. I have never been an Abstract Artist. And I'm not sure that this qualifies. After playing with the brush strokes I began playing with composition. It was fun. I actually like the final results. What do you think?

Project Fantasy

This is a very personal Artistic statement. Two cars that are pictured in this work. A 1948 Cadillac I've been working on for over 30 years and a 1933 Chevy around 10 years. These are restoration projects I've enjoyed working on when I have had the time etc. They will probably never get finished because of time and money. At 70 my skills and abilities are not what they use to be. Also a retirement income limits the amount of work I can do at one time. So the hopes of finishing these projects and driving them get less each day. However I really enjoy working on them, so the joy is found in the work not the product. It is my feeling that this Photoshop work depicts the above statement.

Moon Serenity

I've decided to start doing some Photoshop paintings. This is the second try. I need to work on textures.

Victorian Kitchen

This is the remodel for our kitchen. It currently has a 1963 remodel that doesn't fit in our 1900 Victorian.

Airstream 55 Flying Cloud

The latest project has been working with the computer graphic program SketchUp and the render program Kerkythea. This model is an Airstream 55 Flying Cloud. The restoration of this trailer is currently in progress. The model is used to help me make design decisions on this project. The trailer will be updated to most of the modern comforts. This will require fitting and planning of thing that were not in this trailer in 1955. Because of the size of this project it has and will take most of my creative efforts for some time yet. Thanks for looking.

Still Life

I've been doing a lot of computer generated art in the last several years. So I decided to include some in my art blog. These examples are Still Lives in Glass, Stone and Aluminum. Still Life is a very traditional style of art and I thought it would be fun to try it in this medium.

9-11

9-11 Where were you when ... I happen to be standing directly in front of the TV just after it flashed up on the Tube. The announcer was going on and on about how could a jet crash into the Tower. As a pilot myself I knew what had happened as soon as I saw the picture. Then the second plane. I stood there frozen. The image of the planes hitting the towers and what it meant hit me as it did many others. The very next day I sat down and drew this pencil drawing. It helped me work through what had just happened.

Lake Selmac, Or

This is a "painting-sketch" I did this weekend on a camping trip. The location was at Lake Selmac, Or. It is a Josephine County Park just out of Grants Pass on Highway 199. It a beautiful place to camp. This is the first time I've used Gouache is some time. I really like the medium. It's obvious that I will need to get is some more practice to manage the colors. I was pleased though with some of the brush work.

Ranch View

A view from the Ranch where several of the sketches were painted. This one is looking South West towards Mt. Shasta hidden in clouds. This valley is most interesting because it is filled with many cinder cones.

Deturmined Trees

These two trees are like many that were located in this Oregon coast campground. There have often been floods in the area. This last winter this area was covered with 8' to 10" of water during a flood. You can see how the soil has been washed away many times exposing the root structure. However these tree continue to hang on.

Deer Camp Tenent, CA

Deer Camp is a series of camping sites near Tenent, CA where a group of friends have been hunting since the 1950's. The main event of this outing is pot luck dinner that usually take place near the end of the season. Often there are over 50 friends that gather for this event.

Indian Scotty Campground

This sketch is from the camp ground that is just 1 hour from our home. It is on the Scott River. This is on the edge of a large wilderness area in Northern California. The last time we were there we heard a Mountain Lion just outside our trailer. It was doing that deep groweling sound that cats do when there are communication to another cat that "this is my area". It was quite exciting!

Shared space

This Oak tree and Pine tree must have started out with their seeds very close together. When this drawing was done it looked like the two bases of the trees were growing out of the same spot. If you look close at the drawing you will see how the trees twisted around and within each other as they grew. It reminded me of some married couples who seem so different yet get along so well.

Ranch Stump

Another painting sketch. This limited pallet uses G,R,and P.

Wintering tree

From water color sketch book. This tree is a real surviver. It sat just off our porch at the ranch. During hard years the California Ground Squirrels would strip much of the growing bark off of the tree. It was able to survive these attacks.

Ranch Wild Flowers

Image form water color sketch book. Lupine with grass

Ranch Wild Flower

This example was done on the place we called our ranch. I researched one spring and found 138 different wild flowers. Many were no bigger than the head of a pin. It was a fairly dry area.

Lakeside Grasses

This image is from my water color sketch book. This is a new approach to the sketching. And I'm pleased with the results. The thing I especially like is the expressiveness of the background. Plants can't move around, however they expand into the space around themselves. To me they are eternally reaching and searching.

Power Corrupts

I created this drawing some years ago. I never dated it at the time. I also had several ideas for a title at the time, but nothing seemed to stick. Over the years I have turned to it many times and tried different titles, however never settling on something. Just the other day I looked at it again. Power Corrupts stuck. So I have borrowed form Shakespeare. His statement goes something like this, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". Somethings never change.
Don

Morris

Morris was a maintenance man at the Fremont R.O.C. in the mid 70s. He was one of those great people that you just had to stop, say hello, and chat for a while. He always added warmth to the day

Oxnard,CA

This is a water color I painted while we were taking sailing lessons in Oxnard, Ca. The fishing boat on the left shows the Captain waiting for his crew and the day's fishing.

Mt. Shasta

This is an acrylic painting of Mt. Shasta in Northern California. It is the second highest peak in California. The painting was done form property we had at the time that was 35 miles across the valley form the mountain. This painting was created about 24 years ago. This picture is on the inside Fly page of our Book, Yreka. Am Images of America pictorial history

Design Fantasy

Organic

Design Fantasy

This design started with the largest of the shaded purple edges.

Design Fantasy

Changing gears- Through my drawing/art history I have often sat down with pencil and paper and started by just making a line and seeing where the drawing takes me. I guess this is drawing on the right side of the brain. My high interest in anatomy, science, dreams, and mechanics often slip into these designs. My major direction when I'm doing these works is design, composition, and often color. Sometimes they are very dream like other times they can be quite mechanical in nature. What they mean I'm not sure. I don't worry or think heavily about that while I'm working. I'll leave that up to you.

Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico sketch circa 1974

San Maguel de Allende courtyard

This courtyard was in the town on the high plateau. It has great architecture and at the time I was there was a true Mexican village. A splendid place with splendid people. Their celebration of Easter was amazing.

The Transparent Essence Called Life

A favorite drawing! All artists have favorite drawings or works that they have done. This is on of mine. It was drawn in San Miguel de Allande in the early 70’s. It is of a Bougainvillea. It was early morning and the sun was shinning through this magnificent bush. The sun made part of the flower glow with transparency. To me this drawing captures the transparency that is life itself. The living force the thing we call life is very transparent. When it is gone, that what remains is just physical stuff. The smile, the twinkle that little movement has faded to the invisible. The energy of the sun passes through life and sets it aglow. It is at this time that we can witness and experience the transparency we call life.

Fishing Boat, Monterey Harbor

Sitting on the back of the sail boat in the harbor having a cup of hot tea and sketching, It doesn't get any better!

Monterey Harbor Sketch

This is a sketch made in Monterey Harbor of the wharf. This was done from our sail boat while tied up at the pier. Most of the commercial sight seeing boats leave from this spot.

Practice paintings

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Get your own

These painting were done in Nathan Fowkes Class from models in class.

Self portrait Indicator?

Sometimes one should pay attention to ones own work. This was a practice painting for Nathan Fowkes class. I did this painting at home. I decided before I started the painting that I wanted to try and do some kind of expression. So I made an expression and began painting. In retrospect when I look at this painting a realize that several months after this work I had a heart attach. My teaching job had become extremely stressful. We look in the mirror, but do we see?

Self portrait

This Self Protrait was done as a homework project form the Portrait Painting Class of the Artist Nathan Fowkes. This is the portrait of the bunch that I like the most. Form, Color, and likeness fit my illusions of myself the best. I will be including additional painting form the class itself. The work in class was to be completed during the nite class. This was a great experience for me. The idea of finishing a work within a set period of time. Working at that speed was important development for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the classes.

Self portrait

Home work for Nathan Fowkes Portrait Class. Self Portrait

Self portrait

Weekly home work painting form Nathan Fowkes Portrait Class. Self Portrait

Self portrait

The self portrait is an interesting thing. I have asked myself, why do artists feel compelled to do self portraits. Here's my thoughts on the subject. Being able to create images that others respond to is and interesting experience. Especially if one gets these responses starting at an early age. One gets use to having these positive responses and they become addictive. Another side to creating images is that they are often very personal. And displaying personal things and ideas can be very threatening or rewarding. Once you have put yourself out there, you then want to say this is the person that goes with these images. Any thoughts out there?

Simple toy

This illustration was created for a class in drawing. After covering the basics in shading the simple geometric forms I wanted to give the students a practice drawing subject for their next assignment. This simple toy was what developed.

Speek with forked tongue

Several years I worked for a School District. I drew this character during one district meeting while our Superintendent at the time was speaking. I hope this drawing tells the story.

Brother Bob

The drawing of Brother Bob was done using a photograph. I made this picture to go on the handout for his memorial service. He passed away suddenly at the age of 59. This is how I remember him.

Copying great artists

I don't think I need to tell you where this image came from. I chose to copy this image because of the flowing nature of the beard and hair. As you have probably noticed in other works of mine flowing and movement are important.

Jelly Fish, Monterey Bay

Jelly Fish and the Monterey Bay go together. I have always found them to be a most fascinating creature. At the right time of the year Monterey harbor area is filled with millions and millions of Moon Jellies. There are so many they only 6" apart in the water. Monitoring out in our dingy I would put my hand in the water and let it bump from Jelly to Jelly. I special experience.

Fishing Boat, Monterey Harbor

Fishing Boat in Monterey is a sketch from one of the sketch books I often drew in while staying on our sail boat in Monterey, Ca. Most of the drawing listed below were strongly influenced by that experience.