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Couple's Portrait Commission
14"x11" Gouache on Watercolor Paper

The new Houston Arcade Expo Poster. Art by yours truly.

Ladies and Gentlemen, another masterpiece for the Houston Arcade Expo 2024 10/11 & 10/12 & 10/13 by Matt Andrews and Blake Dumesnil!!!!

Some mead-fueled creations that are totally not Pokémon cards. Random selection of things and animals mashed up inspired these weirdos at Drink 'n Draw.

The SC Pawpaw Festival returns this year. I made this art, and will be doing some live demonstrations and interactive art at the event this year. Follow their page for updates and how to get a parking pass.

📣 Pleased to announce the custom art for this year’s logo is complete, and we can’t be more excited! We once again worked with local artist Matt Andrews to bring you something special.

2024 is the Year of the Tree, with Asimina triloba taking center stage. Asimina triloba, American pawpaw, is the host plant for zebra swallowtail butterflies, provides people with delicous mango-banana flavored fruit, and is generally an all around beautiful tree with its oblong foliage and candelabra branching. It’s safe to say this is one of our favorite native trees, and we can’t wait for the festival to share in its celebration with you.

Stay tuned for event announcements in the coming weeks as we count down to festival day ✌️❤️🍈

Another plein air paint-out at Unity Park. This time I was under Auro Bridge looking eastward to S. Hudson St. I started with a toned paper and covered it with opaque gouache, but you can see that rusty clay color peeking through where it counts. Keep contrast high in the foreground and lower the value range for things in the distance but there's still a big difference between the trees and the sky.

"Todd Creek"
Gouache on watercolor paper 10"x8"
After a short hike, balancing on a fallen tree, and stepping over shifting stones, I set up my tripod on a little rocky island in the middle of the creek to capture this tranquil spot.

Had a great time sharing my approach to today with a fountain pen. Thanks, Truphae for hosting.
I discussed what it takes to translate a full-color 3D view into a 2D monochrome image. Starting with setting the image boundaries to thumbnailing, photo analysis, and creating a final sketch that fills the page.

Color mixed media sketches I did out at Unity Park with
I prioritized speed with these and embraced linear mark making over fully rendering like my typical plein air paintings.

Plein Air Painting at Falls Park from the Merrill Lynch Overlook. I had a clear view across the Reedy before all the leaves fill in.
Gouache on watercolor paper 9"x11"

Back to gray paper and markers for last night's . Two 20ish-minute portraits and some 3-10 min figures.

More figure studies in gouache on Color Splash Cardstock. 10-20 mins each.

Plein air painting of a pretty little spot in then added more green vegetation later on since some of the trees and bushes still do not have leaves.
Gouache on illustration board 10"x8"

Hanging out in painting while they crocheted last weekend. Give them a follow if you're in the area.
When the weather is not cooperating for plein air, a place with big windows is a good substitute.

Artist Trading Cards All Landscape Edition

5 little cards I made out of Color Splash cardstock and gouache for a sketchbook group gathering.
It's fun to do tiny paintings like these with a single flat brush to force a very impressionistic approach.
Working on toned paper also means the paint has to be opaque and well-mixed before applying to the substrate.
I'm ready to do more plein air painting again.

Portraits with ink brushes on "Bright Splash" cardstock

More painted figure studies.
This was a literal palette cleanser. I basically reactivated a bunch of dried gouache left on my palette to see if I could save some paint but still get a nice result.
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Some drawings I did with Urban Sketchers Greenville.
Various highlighters + black & white ink on gray paper.

Watercolor and gouache figure paintings from last night's open session. Model was really cool and did some very dynamic poses. The green one was a 45-minute pose and I experimented painting on a piece of card stock that came with a splash design already printed on there. Results are pretty good.

Series of gouache speed paintings from last week's figure drawing at GCCA (10-20 mins each)

Many thanks to all the folks who stopped by my vendor table at the Houston Arcade Expo last weekend, especially those who bought original custom art or my prints. These are 4 of the 5 I completed during the event. The other one was a surprise gift, so I'm keeping it off the internet for now.

Fall colors at Table Rock State Park
10"x8"