ZOOM! ZOOM!

I think I may have overdosed on painting chrome after this one. When I showed Carolyn the drawing for this painting she said, "What is it?" I should probably enter a 12 step program for chrome painters and be allowed to paint only flowers for a month.

Okay. So what it is? Well, the painting is based on a picture I took at a Harley Davidson dealership. This is the side of a Harley Dyna Low Rider. The light was coming from the showroom windows behind the bike and from a lot of spotlights in the showroom ceiling.

I masked off areas I wanted to remain white. I then started painting the light blue highlights including some areas that I would be adding black to (the black being a mix of indigo and van dyke brown). The blue would be higlights on the black rubber foot supports, for example. I then began adding all the dark highlights and mostly working from left to right across the composition. Finally I added some reflected red color.

Zoom! Zoom! Off to chrome painter's rehab!

Cheery Oats

(click image to enlarge)

One morning I was sitting down to breakfast when I noticed the sunlight shining through the slats on the back of the chair and casting shadows across my cereal bowl. I took a picture for reference. When I drew the composition I added the grapefruit and cup of cocoa. Because I didn't have the grapefruit and cup in the reference shot, I'm not sure that the lighting is right.

Macys Window Sketch 2

Here's a second watercolor scketch I did today in preparation for a larger painting. The subject is part of an elaborate floral display in San Francisco's Union Square Macys.