Agony of a Monk

This Monday, we had the model Zak dressed up as a Franciscan monk. We have only 2 sessions on this pose. So, I quickly drew in charcoal a gesture and a head. I want to make a painting on canvas. I need these drawings to put a block-out painting together for the next session. I came back and started working on several composition ideas in computer using Artrage. I also worked on some ideas of manipulating the expression of the model. Here is one version which I may use in the final painting. Zak graciously promised me that I can take a picture of him next time. That definitely will help for the painting.

I am still not sure the calibration of the color on my computer screen is correct. You may not see the color that I see on my screen. That may be one of the problems of digital art. There are too many knobs to turn. And each person turns them differently on their equipment.

Crater Lake, Ashland, Yachats

Just came back from a drive through Southern Oregon. Aside from some very beautiful sceneries, there were also a few delightful discoveries to share.

1. Crater Lake is known for its deep blue color as seen in the first picture.
2. We went to Ashland, known for its Shakespeare Festival. It is a neat little town. We found this little cafe called Ashland Bistro Cafe on the main drag near the festival. They have this Tuesday dinner special that includes a soup, a salad, and an entre for $15. And you can order a bottle of Merlot for another $15. The food was delicious and substantial, and the service was excellent. But, the nicest part is the live jazz band. They are really into music making, performing musics of very different moods. You can see that they are really into it. The owner took a break from his business and played one tune with the band. He is the one at the drum in this picture. We ended up sitting there and listening to the band for most of the evening.
3. The third picture shows a typical coastal scene. We spent two nights in Yachats, a town at the most scenic section of the southern Oregon coast. When we drove in around 5:30 p.m., a low fog came in from the sea. I quickly took a picture of the sea under that light condition. It is quite pretty.
4. We stayed in a seaside resort called Adobe. We got a room without a view for $62 a night after a 10% senior discount. Although our room does not have a view, the hotel is right on the water. I took this sunset view right at the dinner table. It is very pleasant to enjoy a nice dinner and a nice view at the same time. Again, dinner is very substantial and inexpensive. I had a pork Ossobuco for $18 that also includes a salad bar. It was so big that I could only eat half of it. We put the leftover in a doggy bag, microwaved it the next morning. It was enough for a breakfast for two in our room! Anybody going there, I would recommend staying in this place.

Pencil/Pastel Painting in Artrage

Artrage has a pencil option, and you can adjust the thickness and choose your color. So, I try this one with a combination of that and airbrush. It is much like painting in pastel.

Layering Colors

I want to add color and intensify the value contrast at the same time. Layering tool in Artrage is a wonderful tool to do that. You can try out different colors to achieve what you want before you actually merge the layer with the under paint. The combination of layering and the use of airbrush tool allowed me to do a more detailed work than I would normally do with oil paint. Wonder what I would do when I go back to do oil paint.

Continue having fun learning new tricks. Next is to learn how to do cut and paste.