Skull painting

Here's a skull painting from my painting sketchbook. It's in Ultramarine Blue Gouache. I find the painting smaller really tests my shape understanding. In class I'm really struggling with my edges where I tend to resort to a painterly quality when I get lazy or sidetracked. More painting mileage will help me a lot with that. I like listening to videos on the CTN channel on Vimeo.com for inspiration before, during and/or after painting. The talks really drive me to work harder to achieve my dream.

Hopefully more skull paintings will be posted soon as I've been doing a loooot of skull painting studies lately, and I honestly love it. Skulls are very interesting to me.

Sketch from Paris

Here's a long overdue sketch from my summer in Paris. I had a couple free days during the month and this sketch of Notre Dame was the most fun to draw. It was the last week of the trip and I was at my most relaxed. Taking walks by the Seine River almost every day, adventuring around the city, people watching, and relaxing in a city filled with cheerful music, beautiful people and of course illuminating art.

I had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back again. I count the trip as merely brushing the surface to my European experiences. I can confidently say that this is not the last time I will be in Paris. :)

So as far as this sketch goes, after this semester ends, I will be doing a finished painting inspired by this sketch. I'm taking an awesome painting class that I know will give knowledge to a better interpretation of this sketch.