Greetings! My guest Artist.

It's good to have you! Introduce yourself.

Hello! My name is ... actually I have a pencil name, it's kind of like Esteban's brush name, my pencil name is Alphonse Schwarz. I am excited to show off my artwork and my incredible talent. My first piece is of a horse rearing.

One day I was flipping through the pages of Esteban's step-by-step drawing book and stumbled upon a printout of a horse that he never got to, so I felt it was my destiny to draw it. 

My second piece is an acrylic painting of St. Dominic Savio. I painted it because I wanted to. Esteban thinks it is way better than his faces at ten years of age.

My third piece is a graphite drawing of the 16th president of Brazil ... No, I think it's the United States. If I'm not mistaken, his name is Abraham Lincoln. This one I was practicing my shading and portrait skills and Mr. Abe was the perfect subject. He turned out very good.

My fourth piece I am presenting is Chris Kratt, one of the Kratt brothers. They host an informative kids show about animals. This picture depicts Chris holding a Peregrine Falcon, the fastest bird on Earth - Who knows how fast birds are on Mars or Jupiter? Or for that matter any other planet?

My fifth piece is a sketch of St Anthony that I never finished - it's just a sketch. I used charcoal to draw it.

The sixth piece is an acrylic painting of the Kratt Brothers in their animated form. It is one of my best paintings, I'm way ahead of Esteban at my age! I love Wild Kratts, their show, so that is why I painted them. Oh, and it appears that Chris is missing his shoelaces.

My seventh piece is ... oh, I ran out of ideas. It's a piece of paper.

Esteban's Work

While away I've been doing a few sketches 

This first one here is of my brother - he will probably never send me a selfie again.

And after I got a birdie record of 119 volleys with my brother we each pulled out the lawn chairs - (no they were actually already out) and did a still life of the backyard.

Here is mine -

And here is Alphonse's - Not sure where his is.

I also got a request from my sister for her wedding. So I quickly sketched that out,

And here that is - 

And here are the rest of my sketches.

This is a scrapbook of a Lego guy's or Lego kid's summer adventures.

And here is my brother as a saxophone superhero.

Thank You for viewing this art!

Dogs, Sketches, and a Preliminary Idea ...

I Received Another Request 

And guess what it was ... Yes, more dogs. But first let me share a sketch I sketched. (ha ha)

COVID - 19

It's just a quick sketch, so not much detail or accuracy. It features a man (with a mask) by a cart load of toilet paper (hmm, why would you need that much) being sprayed with Lysol with someone in a hazmat suit. It just emphasizes the craziness that something so small that we can't even see (is it really there?) brings.

And while I was still in sketching mode these past weeks, I created a view of my living room ... well that came after the chair - I was only going to sketch the chair, but it kept expanding - I guess we can't only just sketch one thing, our ideas are always expanding.

After looking at this piece more, it reminds me of one of Picasso's drawings - "Stravinsky" The only reason is because we had to draw his piece in 9th grade art class.

Picasso's Stravinsky 

So I actually got two requests done!

And both of them were dogs ... I've practically drawn a whole pet shop or adoption center - dog place?

The first two dogs were at a cool angle looking down at them.

The second piece is of a dog who recently died.
The top is when it was young and the bottom is
a more recent picture of it.

So here is a gallery of all the dogs I've drawn for people

Yes, I know - I told you I've drawn a lot of dogs. 12 in all, plus the ones I've drawn for fun over the years, not that these weren't for fun though.

And Now The Preliminary Idea

Key word, "IDEA."  I don't have the sketch yet, but it is coming. It should be ready on the next post. And it will be an oil painting! I didn't say I would show you anything, it is a surprise. 

*Plus next post will feature a guest artist. He will showcase his work and tell his unique stories about them. He is very inspiring, like a balloon on a cactus - full of ideas.

Thank you for reading this post! Stay tuned for next post and the guest artist!

St Camillus and St. Cecilia

The C's are up for show...

St Camillus & St Cecilia - I shouldn't tell to much of their history because I have teamed up with my sister, Today With Miss K. She will tell all about them. The link to the Gallery of Saints is here - Saints Gallery along with the biographies underneath each picture.

I really like Prismacolor

It's been good to me, allowing me to shade it and create compositions with it - thank you Prisma.

This Saint Camillus picture started with the face and then proceeded to the most difficult piece - the black cassock. Yes, very difficult because many colors are used to make black, not just the black or it will look too flat. I tried my best to include all the colors without segregating too many. It didn't blend the best, but it still turned out okay. The hands were also a bit tricky.

After the black came my favorite, the browns and yellows, (really, I know what you're thinking), they really let me shade them in a continuous flow of value. That can be seen in the cloth covering Jesus. The background took many layers to get a nice smooth even coat.

Here are some progress pictures:

Starting a face!

There's Esteban hard at work.

Yes, look at that shading on the blanket!

The Finished Piece

St Cecilia - The Patron of Music

St Cecilia's piece brought along many different challenges compared to St Camillus. First of all the hands ... they were difficult, like all hands, especially as they were grabbing the bow and the violin in odd positions (how do those violinists hold their bows like that?) And then of course there was the shading of the hand.

But there was something I hadn't suspected that happened as I was finishing up with the details that suddenly happened ... I never thought it would occur ... keep reading to find out.

The blue towel shaded very nicely along with the face.

There are the browns that I love shading with.

This is a comparison of the backgrounds. On the left is how it looked without a background, just the white paper. And on the right is the shaded purple background.

The finished piece.

The problem I didn't see coming was the purple pencil. As I was shading the background the pencil kept breaking inside the sharpener and I had about 10 percent left to shade. I could not sharpen it ... the lead kept breaking in the sharpener, so I used a piece of lead that fell off, and with my finger was able to color the rest in. The picture above shows the pencil that would not sharpen.

Where are the Biographies?

As soon as Miss K finishes them she will post them to her page and I will post the links in the Saint's gallery page. 3 done, 49 to go! Which letter should I do next? - Maybe 't' to finish up the t's?

Comment which piece you like the best.

Thank You for viewing these pictures!

Egg Decorating Tradition ... Acrylic on Egg

It's a tradition I've been doing ever since

Yes, yes - most of us have colored eggs at Easter time, I know I have. I've always just dipped the egg in a bowl of dye and let the dye do the fun part - and your hands get all messy.

It was last year when it all started. About the time I was in art class my senior year and improving my painting skills. At Easter time I decided I wasn't going to dip my eggs in dye anymore ... I would brush on them some acrylic paint. Yes, I know ... a very bold move - like the next new art movement - Post-Egginism.

So I have been painting acrylic paint on eggs since I started, yes, it's a very long tradition - I almost remember starting it last year ... Yup, that's when I started, 2019.

I couldn't decide what to paint this year so I went with the tradition I started way back in two thousand and nineteen, now I'm aging myself. 2019 I replicated a famous painting, The Mona Lisa. (These are not hard boiled eggs - just the shell, I blew out the yoke so I could keep them for ever.)

Here is 2019's Egg Art

This depicts The Mona Lisa

2019's egg is more of a pastel or soft texture where as the 2020 egg has a glossy or shiny background and  more subtle with the subjects.

This year I was able to photograph some in progress pictures.

And yes, I painted American Gothic, (the famous painting of the two farmers you don't know the name of), by Grant Wood. If you were the subject of someone's painting, wouldn't you want to be recognized by your name? As you walk down your block people would shout out, "Hey look! There is that farmer and his wife that held up the pitchfork."

Believe it or not, that farmer was a dentist! And his wife (actually supposed to be the farmer's daughter is Grant Wood's sister. (She better have brushed her teeth 3 times per day.)

So here are some in progress pictures

I started with a base coat of blue and then layered in the background and finally added the farmer and his sister. The paint doesn't stick very well to the egg so I had to slowly layer in the paint to keep it from sliding off the eggshell.

Wait, I only have one! - the rest are from different angles, because eggs are not flat (unless you smash it), but it still wouldn't be flat.

Oh, I forgot, my sister, today with miss k, also took some fantastic in progress pictures.

The blue base coat. It turned out to be a very glossy color.

As you can see, the paint doesn't stick well so I had to
take it a little bit at a time.

There's the reference I used and myself working on that tiny
canvas of an egg. Acrylic on egg.

Look at those faceless characters!

So here are the angled shots

A straight on shot showcasing the curves of the egg. Amazing,
 Grant Would be proud (get it.)

There she is,  Nan Wood Graham. No wonder
she isn't showing her teeth - she's standing right by
her dentist.

And there is Dr. Byron McKeeby, the fine
old dentist. He looks a lot younger here.

Here is another shot of the front, I didn't take one of the back because it is just plain blue. (Just think if chickens laid eggs like this.) They sure seem happy - but they did have to stand there while he painted them. :(

What am I working on in the studio

I am still working on my series, Saints on 7.25 X 9.75 and have almost finished St Cecilia. I just have to wait for my sister to get her biographies done - yes, she procrastinates. Maybe even procrastinates about procrastinating.

I will continue with the Prismacolor series and in the middle of that I will be working on whatever jumps at me or gets sent to Inspiration. He's like my messenger.

Thank You For Viewing My eggs ... No, Some Chicken's Eggs That I Painted On.

• Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she laid an asteroid. -Mark Twain

• When you start with a portrait and search for a pure form, a clear volume, through successive eliminations, you arrive inevitably at the egg. Likewise, starting with the egg and following the same process in reverse, one finishes with the portrait. -Pablo Picasso

• I always like stories where the egg ends up on my face. -Rob Lowe

10 YEARS AGO ...

When I first picked up a Brush

The first time I picked up a paintbrush was ... probably in Kindergarten art class making a mess with color. But I mean the first time I actually got into painting - When?

It was 10 years ago. I remember getting an easel and paint for Christmas and a few canvases. And I've saved pretty much every drawing and painting I've ever done, except the ones all over notebooks, assignments, garbage, the sheet rock that's been painted over, and the many I've given away.

The other day I walked into my closet and saw the stack of old paintings from when I was 10 years old - someday ... yes, someday they will be famous. (If you want to buy one, you may). So I thought I would share them with whomever shall read this post.

Untitled - Feb. 2010

Look at that painting ... It reminds me of a generic Bob Ross. 

Saurus Ranch - Feb. 2010

Look how the sky sits so high up! Just above the dinosaurs head. Even the sky is afraid of that dinosaur.

The Truck - 2010

The sun isn't even in the sky - it's falling.

The House - 2010

This must be my house, either the house is super tall or the trees are tiny.

The Campfire - 2010

Ah, here is my first painting of a person. As they say, you have to start somewhere, and this is where I started, a guy standing by a giant fire. The black is mixed right in with the peach - right from the bottle! - but I was just starting out - I didn't know how to mix colors. I guess it makes it more realistic, it looks like he is covered in soot from the fire.

The Ocean pool - 2010

Now that is a creative name, the Ocean Pool. And look how my portraiture has improved - I've done 2 faces in this one, and an octopus! My faces have come along way since 2010 - if you've seen the latest painting - I know a little more about blending.

The Helicopter  -2010

I think this is one of the first ones, done in January of 2010, so I was 9 years old. A basic helicopter -  a marvelous subject to start with.

The House

Much improvement from my first house above. The door and window are in better proportion.

The Boat - 2010

This is another one from January, a simple boat.

Watery Mountains - 2010

Watery Mountains? The mountains look dry. But I was only nine when I named these.

Wow! And what is this? This is not one of my paintings, but my brothers. He is like my twin but Eight years younger; he can do everything I do, but better. This is a current painting that he did at 11 years old, so about the same age as when I did my paintings. There is so much detail in this.

I remember everything about these paintings ... painting them, how I dipped my brush into the globby paint as it flowed from the tube and how it slid over the canvas so smoothly. But I guess I don't remember how I got my ideas. - probably from Inspiration. Yeah, he was younger than, but Inspiration has grown now and has more sophisticated and complex ideas - You've got to give him credit.

And after I ran out of canvases ... I must have stopped painting. I don't think I painted again until 9th grade. I guess I lost interest - or supplies. Here is the painting from 9th grade.

And then I didn't paint again until my senior year of high school when I took an art class. And even in art class I stuck to drawing until I was forced to paint at the end of the semester ... I didn't think I was that good - Until I tried.

I didn't know I could paint, so the next semester I mostly did paintings in my studio class and continually improved. And after I graduated I started oil painting and here I am now - still painting. 

First Painting of 12th Grade - Monochromatic Dog

So I will leave you with some sketches

Mr. T

The Good Shepard

I did this one while in the car - yes, it was moving and no, I was not driving. I will probably finish this one someday - I need to add some value.

Still life of Staples store

I did this while waiting for my mom to finish shopping at Trader Joe's. Staples was right across the street.

Still Life

I did this because I saw my sister's comb, (I mean brush) sitting on the table so I drew it. Then I decided to sketch some more things commonly found in the bathroom - Not sure about the toilet paper though. No, the toilet paper was not used when I set it on the table just before dinner.

And some past sketches/drawings

Thanks for viewing my past work and current sketches

I just finished my next Saint on 7.25 X 9.75 Paper. After I did Saint Therese, my sister and I decided to do a group project - I am going to draw one female and one male saint for each of the 26 letters (Is that right ... yes, I believe there are 26 letters in the alphabet - or maybe there is 27) and my sister is going to do a biography on them - 52 drawings, 52 biographies! 

Saints on 7.25 X 9.75 Paper Link

You can view her biography's on her blog, todaywithmissk.blogspot.com, and I'm sure there will be lots of history and books and things of that nature you may read about. She's really into that historical kind of stuff.

Here is a sneak peak of my latest Saint on 7.25 X 9.75 Paper: 

It is Saint Camillus de Lellis - Patron of the sick

I don't put a penny's value on this life if only our Lord will give me a tiny corner in Paradise.

-Camillus de Lellis