Demo by Watercolor Artist Joseph Zbukvic

I am sorry that I have been missing in action for a couple of months! We welcomed our first child into the world in October and she has kept me pretty busy. I plan to use her as a model eventually, but today you will have to settle for this great video by Australian artist Joseph Zbukvic. The beginning is a little cheesy but this artist has such a beautiful style, it is worth watching. The demo begins at minute 10, so fast forward if you need to. Enjoy!


Petroglyphs in Wyoming

This is another commission that I finished this week and mailed off yesterday. The work is a 14″ x 19″ watercolor on 140 lb Cold Press Paper. The imagery is from a shot of petroglyphs in Wyoming (one of the most beautiful places in the U.S.). It took a practice painting and some studies to figure out how to complete this one. Eventually I learned that it would take masking fluid and many layers to achieve what I wanted. I really like the way that it turned out and thought I would share! It was fun to work on and now I think I will tackle some compositions from our trip to Portland. 😉

Petroglyphs in Wyoming
Petroglyphs in Wyoming

For fun, here is a beautiful shot that my Mom took during one of our visits to Jackson Hole and Dubois, Wyoming….several years ago. I am standing in a field of grass at the Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park

 

Sunset on the Bay

I have been working on a commission (off and on) for the last few months. This painting is on stretched canvas, 15″ x 30″ and I am using water mixable oils. It is finally starting to go some where now that I have more time but I still have a long way to go. The pier needs some work and the tree will have leaves by the time I am finished. I will post the finished work once it is complete!

Sunset on the Bay....on the easel.
Sunset on the Bay….on the easel.

A little Rusty

These are a couple 20 minute figure drawings from last Friday night. I have not been able to go all semester and it shows a little. I definitely moved slower than usual! I plan to catch up on some lost time this summer.

Figure2

 

Figure1

This is a page from my sketchbook. I love Steve McCurry’s National Geographic portrait book. I picked it up years ago, while in college. I thought that I would practice with some of his portraits until I can get back to the figure drawing group. These were drawn with my ball-point pen.

Sketchbook 1

Student Work From Watercolor 1

The semester ended on a good note with successful final projects from all of my students, painting and photography. I thought that I would share some finished work from my Watercolor 1 course. The final project was to create a portrait/bust of someone expressing a mood through expression, color contrast, lighting and brush work. The night of the final critique, I forgot my camera (of course). A student was nice enough to let me borrow her camera. Some of the details are not as clear as I hoped but you can still see the work and mood intended.

Final critique of student work.
Final critique of student work.
Ashley Colston, Self-Portrait as a little girl
Ashley Colston, Self-Portrait as a little girl
Ben's Portrait of his Fiancé
Ben Winan’s Portrait of his Fiancé
April Painter's Portrait of her Mother.
April Painter’s Portrait of her Mother.
Bob Donovan, Self-Portrait
Bob Donovan, Self-Portrait
Corrin Brewer, Portrait of her Sister
Corrin Brewer, Portrait of her Sister
Lauren Daugherty, Self-Portrait as an angry woman
Lauren Daugherty, Self-Portrait as an angry woman

20 Minute Figure Drawing

Larry
Larry

This is a drawing from tonight’s figure group session at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. Larry was our model. He sort of looks like he is upset with his crossed arms and pout. I know that Larry was not feeling good so maybe I captured his expression correctly.

All Images © 2013 L.J. Hancock

Plein Air Painting at Maymont

This morning, I went out to Maymont Park in Virginia, to meet up with some students who wanted to do some plein air (outside with natural light) painting. Only one brave student showed up today. It was chilly and the sun kept hiding from us but I ended up getting a nice little study of the fall trees!

All Images © 2013 L.J. Hancock