- A SELF PORTRAIT EXHIBIT -

The Hawkman Studios (Troy Hawkins and Adam Mankoski) are having a month long group self-portrait show called "Me, Myself and I". It's going to be held at The Vintage Wine Bar and Restaurant, 1790 Market Street in Redding, CA. ( A Reception for the artists is on Tues, July 14 at 6:00pm. You are all invited!!! Artists involved are: S.A.Barone, Troy Hawkins, Gini Holmes, Steve Bischoff, Chuck Prudhomme, John N. Stewart, Irina Stroup, Mickey Theobald, Tami Watson and Dejon Weldon. There will be Live Music!

I met Troy and Adam last week and was amazed at what they've done in promoting the arts in Northern California. Their dream is to create a cultural explosion in the Redding area, and with 40+ art venues it seems to be happening.

I did this self-portrait in 2006 and it will be showing in this exhibit for the first time. It is a very personal painting and contains most of the people that influenced my life (i.e.: family, friends, associates). It's a large full-sheet watercolor, done on 300 lb paper.


....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~ A MICHAEL JACKSON EXPERIENCE ~

I first saw Michael perform at Disneyland, when he was the youngest member of "The Jackson Five".

Later on, as an artist, I worked on four projects for Michael Jackson, one Pepsi Commercial, two music videos, and an experimental project. He always managed to get a lot of heavy-weight celebs into his projects. Eddie Murphy was in one of the music videos and Cindy Lauper was in the Pepsi commercial. (I put it on my blog). Michael had a stand-in decoy that came around the set, so you never knew if it was the real Jackson or not.

We had to sign a contract that was several pages long. Contract clauses included not approaching MJ, not directing any jokes towards MJ, never speaking to MJ, and a long list of strange, almost child-like rules. We (the crew) all signed it, in order to work. Strange to have worked on four projects and never really having a verified MJ sighting. A good friend of mine did some mural work in Michael's home and told me that he was very nice and treated her well. His father treated her strangely, but that's another story. With all of his excentricities, MJ obviously had a lot of talent, energy, and a need to succeed. Sorry that he left at such a young age.

WATERCOLOR PORTRAIT OF A BOY

I took a photo of a friend's little boy and was stimulated by his expression and the surrounding forms and colors that were happening in my wife's salon. It's a small piece: 9 x 12 inches and I painted it on a watercolor block.


....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

HAPPY "DRAWING DAY"

As you probably know today is National "Drawing Day". Here is a post of a unique artist doing his thing:


CLICK HERE TO SEE....

"SHARDS" Watercolor

Just finished this abstract watercolor a couple of days ago. It started out looking like a seagull's view of a sail boat race and then became something else. It wasn't pre-planned and I worked out the composition as I went along.

....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~ AN INVITATION TO MY ART SHOW ~

Consider this a cordial invitation to come to my art opening on May 1, 2009. You can view or print out this invitation by clicking HERE.

- RANCHO TEHAMA CREEK BED - Watercolor -

Finished this painting today and plan to include it in my art show at The Red Bluff Art Gallery. It's from a field trip last Friday to Rancho Tehama with artist/gallery owner, Phil Dynan. I called it a Cow Safari) and these wild beasts were everywhere.

....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~ SPAGETTI ABSTRACT ~

I got this image the other morning, while I was taking a shower. I still haven't decided whether or not I'm happy with it. It was a little bit tricky to paint with watercolor. It measures 9 x 12 inches and is on 140 lb. paper.



....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~ AVENUE OF THE GIANTS - WATERCOLOR ~

Here is a smaller watercolor that I painted for the show in May. The Avenue of The Giants is a huge grove of redwoods about an hour south of Eureka, California. When you walk among these trees there is a sense of peace and awe, and you realize that you are in the presence of God's amazing creations. I used a brush-on masking liquid to preserve the lightest areas in the painting, and then slowly built up the values, saving the darks for last. The God-rays were actually made by using a kneaded eraser next to a straight edge. I did this very carefully, to avoid lifting the paper surface. I put in some of the foreground grass details by lifting the color with a small wet brush. The figures were the last thing that I added.
I went back to this location last weekend with a photographer friend and we got some great new shots. Also went to photograph the rugged coastline at Trinidad, CA. Great weekend.





.....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

Painting of "The Backside of Mt. Lassen"

This is a plein air watercolor that I started on location on the backside of Mt. Lassen, a volcano that is about an hour away from where I live. Although I painted it in October of 2007 with a group of Redding artists, I finally got around to finishing it today. I plan to put it in my May 2009 "California Landscapes" show that I'm having at the Red Bluff Art Gallery here in Northern California.

......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~ LAGUNA BEACH DRAWING -

I did a drawing today using charcoal pencil on a full sheet of very soft charcoal paper (20 x 23 inches). I did it as a possible study for a watercolor, although I might do it in acrylic. The location is a favorite spot of mine in Laguna Beach, California and there is a painting that I did on that subject several years ago, on this blog (somewhere).


......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~ A SELF PORTRAIT ~

I think it's a good thing for an artist to do a self portrait from time to time. Some do it more than others. I've done three or four in my lifetime. This drawing was done in 2004 while I was sitting on our co-op gallery in Ferndale, CA. I used an Eagle draughting pencil on a very unforgiving surface of rough watercolor paper on a block, only because it was the only thing that I had with me at the moment. All you need to do your own is a pencil, paper, and a free standing mirror.....have at it!!!


......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~ OUT OF THE PENS OF BABES ~

My granddaughter Grace is five years old and loves to draw. She did this one this morning and calls it "The Beauty Jewell". It's been said that artists go through several phases: (1) drawing as a child (2) developing art skills (3) formal training (4) process of un-learning or breaking the rules, and finally (5) drawing as a child. I guess that could be true.....

......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~ CRUCIFICTION DRAWING -

Although I've done drawings of Jesus before, I've never done a drawing of the actual Crucifiction. I did this one today using Corel IX with the pencil, smudge and eraser tool. Did a little bit of touch up with the oil brush also. This one is out of my imagination, since I didn't find any suitable research other than a straight-on view from an old Spanish painting.


......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~ A CHARACTER STUDY ~

Old men's faces fascinate me, probably because I own one. I borrowed this guy from a photograph and he reminds me of one that Leonardo did a study of.....you probably have seen that one. I did this drawing in Corel Painter IX using their pencil tool with slight conte tints. Let me know if you do or don't like it..........

......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~ A VALENTINE'S DAY DRAWING ~

Maybe it was because of the Dali posting below or maybe it was because I've been sick with the flu all week......but here is my attempt at a Valentine's drawing..........


......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

- MR. DALI -

I wanted to share this video with you from You Tube. It's one of the best that I've seen on Salvadore Dali. I saw of book of his work in the Glendale, California library when I was very young. Later in 1977 when I was working on a Bette Davis film in Mentor, Ohio, I met an artist Louis Pennfield who asked me if I'd seen the Dali Museum. Turned out that it was a collection of Dali's work that was in a factory in Willoughby, Ohio, just 30 minutes or so from Mentor. A wealthy factory owner had managed to get over 200 of Dali's best paintings and kept them in a special climate controlled, and very large gallery. It was open by appointment only and we arranged to go there. It was a great opportunity to see the paintings that I had only seen in books. A very nice memory. Later on I heard that the factory owner had a falling out with Dali and sold the entire collection, which ended up in Florida.
Louis and I ended up having a two man art show at Lakeland College a year later. Check out Dali's video below. He was one of a kind.

MORE ZAZZLEMANIA!

Since I obviously haven't been posting "a drawing per day"......it's because I've been designing five products per day for my new Zazzle store called "Java_Mod". It's basically different kinds of cups and mugs with "Art" on them. Here's what some of them look like. Again, I've been having way too much fun.......darnit!


make custom gifts at Zazzle

~~~ ZAZZLEMANIA!!! ~~~

This is a fun website and for an artist it's a great tool. If you have jpeg or Tiff images of your work you can set up a store in minutes (or hours) and it's fun besides. You can set up your commission rate (usually 17 to 25% of the listed price) and you don't have to stock anything or deal with customers at all. You can check out Zazzle by clicking hereHERE

Here is a flash panel that they created for my store:


make custom gifts at Zazzle



Their software has been glitch-free and very user friendly. My cousin has had a couple of stores with Zazzle for awhile now and he has been selling his products very consistantly.

~ CHANGING FACES ~

I was hanging out at the Red Bluff Art Gallery and started sketching the face of a very nice lady named Tegwin Matenaer (a very talented pastel artist). She kept jumping up and leaving the room and as I kept on drawing, her face transgendered into the imaginary man's face shown below. I was using a very soft drawing pencil and a small felt stump for blending purposes. Tegwin left and hasn't seen the drawing.

......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~ S A N T A ~

I grew up with those Santa Clause/Coke ads and have always wanted to draw or paint a Santa like those, so here is a pen, ink and pencil drawing that I did today. It's a small one and measures about 5 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches.

.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~ A SMALL WATERCOLOR PORTRAIT ~

I sometimes get inspired by a face that I see in a magazine or even freeze framed on the TV. There was something about the eyes that caught my interest on this one. Doing a face in a small format (in this case 4 x 6 inches) is a pleasant experience.....seems like it's easier to keep under control. I use a Canson watercolor block that has 140 lb. paper in it.

.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~ OAHU AVACADO TREES ~

The fellow that rented us the apartment had a huge avacado tree in the yard, and every day he would bring a bowl of fresh avacados to our patio table. I painted this watercolor of the tree....brings back nice memories.
.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~ OAHU PALM FRONS ~

In 2003, my wife and I spent three weeks on Oahu in a nice apartment in a private home on the North East shore. This sketch was done while sitting on the front porch looking up at the palm trees. There were some cute little Gecko lizzards on the wall behind me.
.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~ HEY MOM, I'M IN AN ART SHOW!!! ~

This art show came up suddenly, so I'm posting an invitation on the blog and if you are in the area - Please Come!! It's at The Red Bluff Art Gallery, a wonderful center of the arts that is owned by Anna Nelson and Phil Dynan. Click Here to visit their website.

.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~ A BONHAM'S BEAUTY ~

Sometimes when I surf the internet something catches my eye. This was the case with this wonderful portrait of an old man w/beard. It is attributed to the German School, sometime in the 1800's. It was painted in oil on canvas and the original is 18.5 x 15 inches. I love the expression on the man's face - we can almost tell what he's thinking. This painting is for sale at auction on October 21, 2008. The time of the sale is 13:00 (PST). I'm showing a cropped detail of the painting here, so to see the entire image you'll have to go to Bonham's auction site by clicking here. While you are there you should check out their whole auction catalogue for the sale. You'll be glad that you did.



.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

- A Stream of Conciousness Drawing -

Sometimes it's fun to just start drawing and see what comes up on the paper.   I did this one today and probably should have it psychoanalyzed. My wife thinks so.........
.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

[This drawing as well as all of my other drawings and paintings on this blog are available for purchase. Simply contact me through my art website at www.jstewart.com]

~ BRANCHING OUT ~

Here is another tree study done today in pen and ink. One can get lost in the details and one does. Drawing trees is similar to doing puzzles, eventually everything fits together......or not. Maybe I could eventually become a branch manager..........

.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

[This drawing as well as all of my other drawings and paintings on this blog are available for purchase. Simply contact me through my art website at www.jstewart.com]

- SKETCHING FROM MEMORY -

I did this drawing today while trying to remember some faces that I had seen in the last few days. The lady at the bottom was the strongest image. She impressed me as a lady in her 70's hanging on to her youthful hair styling and 60's, kind of hippie style of dress. Yes, I do remember the 60's.



.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)



[This drawing as well as all of my other drawings and paintings on this blog are available for purchase. Simply contact me through my art website at www.jstewart.com]

~ HOT STUFF ~

Here is a pen and ink sketch that I made today of a variety of peppers. I used a micron fine tip pen on very smooth paper in an older sketchbook of mine. It's interesting to try to suggest color when you are drawing in black and white. (is that possible?) Actually the small ones were bright red, the medium one was olive green, and the large one was deep black.

.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)



[This drawing as well as all of my other drawings and paintings on this blog are available for purchase. Simply contact me through my art website at www.jstewart.com]

- Reflections on Pottery -

I grew up in a ceramic shop in my teens. My mother went from hobby to business and talked my father into buying a ceramic shop. Later on my dad built ceramic kilns and potter's wheels and through him I learned about people like Peter Voulkos and Otto and Vivika Heino. I had some instruction and threw some pots, and also did a lot of ceramic tile murals for commercial and private projects. I found this video on You Tube and it brought back lots of nostalgic memories. The artist is Tony Ivie at www.Bluefoxgallery.com and I hope that you enjoy the video.

ART RAGE - ART TOY

I downloaded a program called ArtRage 2 (www.ambientdesign.com) and fooled around with it. It gives you some textural effects and it has a very slick drawing interface. This is the first drawing/painting that I did with it........lots of fun!

.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

- The Finished Painting -

After fooling around with various color schemes, I ended up with this one and finished the painting. I may have been influenced by the hundreds of fires that we've had here in Northern California (smokey skies, etc.). The finished painting is in oil on a wood panel and measures 12 x 16 inches.
.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

- Add Color and Stir....... -

I decided to leave Corel and do a small version in real oil paint. It is 5 x 7 and the finished painting will be 12 x 16 inches. I'll post it when it's finished. I hope that you all are having a wonderful summer. It's been smokey and hot here (100+ today).

.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

- Revisions on the Sketch -

I moved the thunderhead over to the left, and added a few more elements (rock in forground, and more trees). I'm just about ready to work on the color sketch.

.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

- A Thumbnail Sketch -

Usually before I start a painting, I do several compositional drawings. In this case I used Corel Painter to do the drawing and then this drawing can be used to develop some color ideas before going on to the actual painting. This one is totally out of my imagination, which is a little harder than working from life or photos. I think this is true because we tend to go back to certain mannerisms or drawing habits.
.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

- A Brush With Sculpture -

Back in the early 60's and then later in the 80's I did quite a bit of sculpture, some of which was welded bronze and copper and also just working in found materials on flat surfaces. Here is a graphic piece from my website that has a few from the past. I still get the urge to work in 3d from time to time, but never seem to get around to it. The horse was a favorite of mine. It was about 36 inches high and had rockers on it. I made it with heavy metal rod and melted bronze over it.


.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~~ MY NEW CD ~~

This is a bit off the drawing thing, but I have to toot my horn (so to speak) and let you all know that I am doing something with my music too.

I've been working on a CD, "Reflections - Classical Improv" that is improvised, and is classical and lyrical in style, and I just sent it off for distribution. If you'd like to take a look at it and hear some samples, you can click on the album cover (that's art, sort of) below and it will take you to the CD webpage. It is available for purchase on that page and will be available for download from Itunes, Amazon, etc. in a few weeks.

- Dragonfly Watercolor -

We have some interesting bugs in our garden, and some of the more amazing ones are the dragonflies. They come in assorted colors and sizes. They inspired me to do this watercolor. This one is obviously painted from imagination and any resemblence to the real thing is purely coincidental.

.......(please click on the image to see a larger version)

A TRIP TO JERUSALEM -2

This was an amazing day trip - we went to "Masada", a fortress high on a mountain near the Dead Sea. We had to take a tram to the top and then did a lot of walking. It is so high up that it feels like you are in an airplane, when you look over the edge. To read more about Masada, Click Here.
....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

A TRIP TO JERUSALEM - 1

Hi strangers! I just got back from a trip to Jerusalem. I went with a God TV tour of 1800 pilgrims to the Holy Land. It was wonderful and I made lots of new friends. Here is a sketch of a courtyard on the other side of the wall where it is believed that Jesus was crucified. It was impossible to sketch here because of the crowds, so I did this drawing from a photo that I took there.
....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~~ SOMETHING SIMPLE ~~

I thought that I would try some small still life paintings last week and this one of the attempts. It's really hard for me to 'not' put in all of the details, so I'm going to be working on keeping them simple.

....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

- Puerto Vallarta, 2005 -

The same sketchbook that had the jury duty sketches had some sketches of a trip that I took to Puerto Vallarta in May of 2005. I was exploring the downtown area and found a nice little park-like section, next to a creek. There was a restaurant there that looked like a scene out of "Casablanca" so I came in and ordered lunch at a table that had a view of the creek and did this sketch. There was a nice white egret in the middle of the water....I guess that he was looking for lunch too.......
....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

- Jury Duty, Another View -

The Van Nuys court house had a large plate glass window across from where I was sitting, and there was a nice view of some trees adjacent to the parking lot.
....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

- Jury Duty in Van Nuys, California -

Back in December of 2000, I was summoned for jury duty, and since there was a lot of waiting around, I began to do quick sketch impressions of those around me. I have this thing about not wanting to stare at people, so I'll look at them and then try to remember my first impression. It can actually be fun.......
....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

- A Glimpse Makes a Painting -

I saw this view when I was driving on a trip and the impact was strong enough for recall. I sold the painting in a two man show that I had in Palos Verdes (Malaga Cove) back in 2001?.

.....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

- PALM SPRINGS -

Here is a painting that I started in 1998 and finished the other day. (So it actually took 10 years to paint... (grin)) I was painting with three other plein air painters, when I started it, but we lost the light and had to stop painting.

I finished it from memory, since I didn't have any photo reference. I sold it three days later so it definitely appealed to someone. I like the desert, it's expanse and dryness agrees with me. This is a small painting, 9 x 12 inches, and is oil on board.
.....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

- Magnolia Watercolor -

I would consider this to be more of a sketch than a finished watercolor. I painted it on 100 pound hand made paper from India. Our magnolia tree is located at the top of a waterfall that we have in our side yard. This year it burst forth with lots of beautiful blossoms (all at once!) and I've been photographing it alot. The blossoms come out on bare branches before any leaves happen, and they are just about done. They have a very subtle, pleasing fragrance to them. .....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

- Down To The Sea in Ships -

Every once in awhile I stumble onto something that excites me. I've always been fascinated with museum quality boat model building and I found a webpage called "ModelShipMaster.Com". These people build astonishingly realistic ship models and have a deservedly impressive collector base. Here is a photo of a model that I particularly liked, and I hope that you enjoy the website... .....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

- I Finished The Book - Yeah!

I'm finished with the drawing book and have it online at Blurb.com. I highly recommend them for Self Publishing as their book creation software is extremely user friendly, and their book manufacturing seems to be top-rate. Here is a thumbnail layout of "A Sketchbook" for you to look at. Any and all comments would be appreciated. Thanks for your patience during this project...............(please click on image to see a larger version)

- BEEN CREATING A DRAWING BOOK -

Sorry that I've been neglecting the blog again, but I decided it was time to do a book on my drawings and I thought it would be cool if it had a few of the drawings from this blog. So, I dove into the pond of 'self publishing' and after trying a few online sources I decided to try Blurb.com. I spent a few days working on their downloaded book creation software, and then uploaded my document and sent off for a proof copy. It could take up to two weeks to get the finished product back. (can't wait!)

- PEN AND INK TREASURE -

I found this little pen and ink drawing a few years ago at an Austrian Art Gallery. It was done in Europe in the 1800's and the artist is unknown. The drawing measures 5 x 6 1/2 inches.


....(please click on image to see a larger version)

- Miniature Watercolors -

I like to do miniature watercolors occasionally to loosen up. The other day I did three of these little imaginary floral sketches using 4 x 6 inch watercolor postcards. The paper is 140 lb., so it has a nice heavy feel to it. The image below is a little bit larger than actual size. I put them up on eBay this week to see what the reaction would be and If you click on the image below it will take you to the auction to see all three of them. We had another storm over the weekend and lost power for several hours. Winter is exciting around here.

- A One Line Drawing -

Somebody sent me an email with this drawing/engraving of Jesus in it. What makes it so special is that the entire drawing was done with a single line starting at the point of the nose and ending at the bottom of the drawing. Pretty amazing. The copywrite is noted as 1884.


.....(please click on image to see a larger version)

- Victorian Still Life -

Here is another small oil painting that I did when I was living in The Victorian Village of Ferndale, California, about four years ago.

.....(please click on image to see a larger version)

- The LA Art Show -

If any of you are in the Southern California area next week you should try to visit the Los Angeles Art Show in Santa Monica. It portends to be an extremely high quality art experience, on all levels. I'm having knee surgery or I'd be attending for certain. I went to one a few years back and saw some wonderful original works - everything from Wendt to Warhol, Bouguereau to Betty Boop, Rosenquistl to Rockwell. If you click on the logo below it will take you to their official website for possibly more information than you needed........

- A Foothills Painting -

Here is a small painting that I did from memory in 2004. I was living in Ferndale, California at the time and I was using oil on gessoed masonite. It was 8 x 10 inches in size. I have it listed on eBay this week at a very low starting price. It can be seen by
clicking here.


.....(please click on image to see a larger version)

- A Michael Jackson Memory -

In the early '80's I worked with a couple of scenic artists on a Michael Jackson Pepsi commercial. It was shot at Laird Studios in Culver City, California. We painted the ornamentation on the portal that you see in a couple of spots. We were there for several days and never even caught a glimpse of the elusive Mr. Jackson. Here is a You Tube version of the commercial:

- Another 'Perfect Storm' Sketch -

I was enjoying trying to depict candlelight within the limitations of pen and ink, and it was kind of nice drawing with a fire in the fireplace. Something about flickering light makes for a mysterious quality.


.....(please click on image to see a larger version)

- The Perfect Storm Drawing? -

It's amazing how much we take the convenience of electricity for granted. We've just weathered three storms here in Northern California with up to 100 mph winds, and lost our power for 30 hours. Luckily our propane fireplace worked fine and kept the house at about 68 degrees, while it was in the 30's outside. We got used to candles, and I did this sketch at the dining table, by candlelight. I felt like Ben Franklin. I did two of these using my Micron .005 tipped pen, and I'll post the next one tomorrow. Keep dry...........
.....(please click on image to see a larger version)