Happy Holidays 2014!

Isn't it Christmas yeti?

Ensemble

Some friends and I have been getting together once a fortnight for an evening of improvised sketching and painting. With Manu Arenas, Stephane Kardos and Nicolas Weis. I cut together the footage I shot on my phone.

On the second occasion we worked with the themes of 'Greek Mythology' and 'Fairy Tales'. We covered 2 huge reams of paper in spontaneous character designs. Both pieces are for sale.

Sketchcrawl-San Francisco Museums

Leaving San Francisco I'll miss its world-class museums. I saw some great exhibitions and there are countless artifacts to draw in their collections.

The DeYoung Museum

The Legion of Honor

'Hamadryas Baboon' ca. 1910 Rembrandt Bugatti

Asian Art Museum

The Mother Hen project

My piece for the upcoming charity fundraiser The Mother Hen Project.

Matt Cruickshank and I cruised down the Northern Californian coast to sleepy surfing community Pacifica. We painted the jettys and found a cool, wooden shark sculpture to draw.

Motherlode

In early october I embarked on a painting and camping weekend in Goldrush country with artist pals Mike Dutton and Matt Cruickshank.

Mike's trusty camper-van was our base of operations for 3 days on the road.

 We found a basin with scorched paths winding through marshland and scrub. The orange rock was striking. The heat was so intense we had to make it quick.

 North San Juan

In North San Juan this hot-rod stretch limo pulled up to the saloon bar we were cooling off in.

'Gold Bug Stamp Mill, Auburn'

Back in 2012 I trekked out to 'arrested decay' ghost-town Bodie with my old Aardman Animation chum Ash Boddy. I finally cut together the footage from that trip. My original post with all the sketches is here.

Gesture Lab

Latest from Gesture Drawing class. . .

Bay Area Sketchcrawl summer 2014

 The 'Russian Mansion' on Alamo Square.

 Haight and Masonic. The nudist strolled past and into my picture, his modesty preserved by a golden fig leaf! The freaks, hippies, beatniks and junkies still flourish in Haight Ashbury.

 A trip to Berkeley Marina. The pier above stretches 3000 ft into the Bay!

 Mojo Bicycle Cafe on Divisadero.

 A couple views from the top of Piedmont Cemetery with Downtown Oakland in the background and the Bay behind.

These old navy vets were in full uniform for a memorial service. They each carried a rifle and fired a salute for their departed brother.

Japantown

This house on 'Billionaire's Row' in Pacific Heights looks like a Greek temple.

Mansion over-looking the Bay on Lafayette Square. Apparently the largest private residence in San Francisco and owned by Danielle Steele.

Incredibles Gesture Class

More Gesture Class sketches where the poses were inspired by 'The Incredibles' (digitally coloured later).

 30 sec. warm-ups

 1 min. poses