Academic Stuff

I know this is kind "straight nude male figure with table lamp and cactus" is really boring. However I am enjoying figuring out the warm and cool light coming from two different sources, using limited palette. Academic training is not as exciting as being able to created your own composition, but it is the corner stone of painting technique and foundation. Thumb up!




How do we cope with being an artist?

This chart I drew basically depicts how I feel about getting my degree and growing up as a painter. As you can see, nothing in life goes quite as planned, so spontaneity is great, can you imagine all clouds look the same? That would be horrifying.
How do painters become masters? And why can't we create true Masters in our modern time? Well, life was so much simpler when Blackberry and Apple were just fruits (totally borrowed that one).

Christoph Reading Bible

Charcoal on Reeves BFK

Red Sonja

RED SONJA
RED CONTE ON REEVES BFK

I'm really getting back in practice on doing conte drawings! When I was working on this drawing, the way it was coming out and the extensive gesture just reminded me of "Red Sonja", the sassy, strong and sexy comic book character, who was also made into movies of, one of which played by Rose Mcgowan.
Wish I had more time on the modal :(

Random Stuff and "What's with these women and their fur/sports car?"

Result of all the anatomical study...

Class drawing with brush pen

Story board 1/8 draft. This is something I've been brewing for a long time...

In the past I have posted a few cartoon regarding the vain use of fur.
I'm in the process of producing a 8 page mini story comic about people who buy furs for vanity reasons, and their failed attempt to appear affluent to others. Women who have to have "Tiffany" diamond rings and multiple fur coats not only expose a lack of affluence and confidence -- something cannot be worn outside or bought from a boutique, but also a crude reflection upon their daily value system.

As I was looking for references, this image came up. This seemingly comical image belongs to a blog somewhere on the net which dedicates its entire capacity to "Women in furs".

Drama Queen

Recently I've been doing a lot of Reeves BFK Conte drawings. I love the warmth of Conte, and the toughness of Reeves BFK. The paper, for god sake, takes A LOT of beating,poking and stabbing.

"dRAmA QuEeN"
Draft

"dRAmA QuEeN"

Final
(Wish we had another session!)

Figure-Female Nude Back

A quick figure drawing, emphasizing the shapes and forms of the human body. Next time I should also record my drafting process, as people generally have different ways to start a figure.

春节快乐！！HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

I almost forgot about the arrival of the Chinese New Year, hehe!
Happy New Year, Happy New Spring! Enjoy the new beginning!

新春快乐！ 兔年吉祥！

祝大家心想事成，万事如意，合家欢喜！

Steven Assael

Assael's work
for introductory purpose only

Painter Steven Assael is quite a legend among the modern art world and students, particularly to those who love figurative paintings . As result of the overwhelming admiration, we have a HUGE class. What I love about Assael's works is that his free use of color, the relationships between bright, dark, cool and warm. In addition, I find his subject matter of figures and movements intriguing. Also, Assael's teaching method is more doing than talking. He works on students works as if he is giving a lecture to individuals on use of color and quality of drawing. This, I find visually comprehensive and practical in leaning about different ways of painting.

Below is a painting started by me, after Assael's demonstration. I tent to use a lot of white to tint, which washes out the value intensity and just look so dull overall. Instead using white, Assael used lemon yellow to bring up the brightness. He suggested me to observe color relationships carefully and not use too much white. It's a bad habbit to be elying on white whenever there's a need to tint, as there are other alternatives.