Liturgy of the Hours Book Cover and Pouch

My life-long best friend, Ed, wanted me to do a book cover for his Liturgy of the Hours books that he carries with him every day.  This was a challenging  project on many levels.  First, if I do a project for myself and it doesn't turn out, I just throw it away, and I don't worry about it.  But doing this one for Ed, I felt added pressure to do a good job and didn't want to let him down.  Second, I needed to use a thin, calf skin leather which would fold around and over the book itself.  I have never worked with this thin-cut of leather before.  In order to do the artwork, I used a plate of thicker leather, which is the kind I usually work with.  I left the cover and the pouch a natural color with a neutral wax on it because I didn't want anything to stain Ed's books.  I used a darker wax on the plate which gives it a nice contrast and has sort of an antique look to it.  I told him that I am pretty good at making very primitive-looking items.  This looks like it might be more for St. Francis than Pope Francis, if you know what I mean.

Drew Brees

This is a watercolor painting of New Orleans Saints quarterback, Drew Brees.  I used a painting by Al Sorenson as a model.  I thought his work is very much like Leroy Neiman's style of painting, which I admire greatly.

African Princess

 This was a very difficult subject. You see the original painting that I used as a model at the bottom of this post.  Above that, is my first attempt.  I was not able to capture the ethnicity of the subject, so I tried a second time.  I still do not think I captured her facial features as I would have liked.

Old Ford

Alpine Lake Sunset

I experimented with a very wet paper on this one.  
It reminds me of going on fishing trips to the Eastern Sierras.

Untitled

The TITANIC

I have always wanted to do a project dealing with the TITANIC.  When I was a child, I watched the 1958 movie, "A Night to Remember" and it had a great effect on me.  My Father did a report in college on the Titanic and in his conclusion said that if they would have called it, "The Ship that Only God could Sink" instead of "The Ship that Even God couldn't Sink", maybe the Titanic would not have been lost.  

In doing this project, I learned some new things about the Titanic.  Of the four smoke stacks or funnels, only the front three are functional.  The fourth funnel was added to make the ship look symmetrical.  There are also conspiracy theories concerning the Titanic.  One theory is that the Titanic never sunk.  The name plates were switched the Titanic's sister ship, the Olympia, in an insurance scam.  Another theory is that J. P. Morgan had the Titanic sunk on purpose to eliminate three prominent bankers who were on the maiden voyage because the were opposing him in the creation of the U.S. Central Bank.

Below is the finished project.  It is about 45" long and about 10" tall.  Below that are photos of the project at various stages.  The last photo is of the piece of cardboard on which I painted the project.  I was taken back by the ghostly image of what appears to be a sinking ship.  That might be more interesting than the project itself.

Rocco Globbo School for Women

One of the great lines from the movie, "A FEW GOOD MEN", Lieutenant Kaffe says, "After falsely accusing a highly decorated Marine officer of conspiracy and perjury, Lieutenant Kaffee will have a long and prosperous career teaching...typewriter maintenance at the Rocco Globbo School for Women!  Thank you for playing, 'Should we or should we not follow the advice of the galactically stupid!'"  I always wondered what it would look like in the Rocco Globbo School, so I created this sort of comicbook-style, scene.  I used colored-penicils and then enhanced the color of the photo.  It is very silly.

Sandpipers

Sandpipers are one of my wife's favorite birds.  Sometimes we even see birds in our front yard that look like Sandpipers.  For a model, I used a beautiful painting by Nova Scotia artist, Karen Morrison.  I liked this painting because I used a wet paper and painted fast and loose... something I want to incorporate into more of my work.

Added note:  Karen Morrison was kind enough to add my painting to her website.  I encourage you to visit her website and see all her beautiful artwork.  
nsmorrart.com

Tonto

As a kid, I always enjoyed watching the Lone Ranger on TV.  His faithful companion was Tonto, played by Jay Silverheels.  It was good to see a Native American in the role of one of the good guys.  I liked the way Johnny Depp played Tonto in the Lone Ranger movie.  This watercolor was fun to do because of all the textures in it.
For someone else who loves the Lone Ranger go to: 
 http://biggeekdad.com/2016/04/william-tell-overture-glen-campbell/ 

Big Sur

I think that Big Sur is one of the most beautiful places on earth.  This watercolor is inspired by the artwork on the Spring 2016 L.L. Bean catalog, by artist John Bowdren.  Below are some photos of the painting in progress.

Early Spring Morning

While my wife and I were visiting the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens in Claremont, California, we viewed the Millard Sheets exhibit in their gallery.  Millard Sheets is famous in California for the mosaics he did for the fronts of Home Savings buildings and for his mosaic of Jesus on the library on the campus of Notre Dame University (aka:  "Touchdown Jesus").  I was inspired by one of his works called "Dairy Farm".  On my painting, I left out the cows but included some farm equipment.

Cowboy - 2

My first Cowboy was done with the Microsoft Paint program.  This is a second version of the subject in watercolor.  It is pretty simple.  I tried to use vibrant colors.  It is sort of like the coloring books that have recently become popular with grown-ups.  On this one, I like the way the boots, holster, and belt turned out.

Swallow-Tailed Kite

This is a watercolor painting of a Swallow-Tailed Kite.  The Swallow-Tailed Kit is an elanid kite which breeds from the southeastern United States to eastern Peru and northern Argentina.  (Wikipedia)  It is also the favorite bird of my daughter-in-law, Marisa.  I tried to leave the white parts of the bird as negative space (areas I did not paint) with the black markings of the bird defining its shape.

Walnut Fish Carving

This is a fish carving out of dark walnut.  As mentioned in my Orca post, my father used to carve whales and dolphins out of walnut.  My inspiration for this one was actually a fish sculpture by Sam Maloof.  We visited his historic house in Alta Loma, California a few weeks ago.  I actually bought some scrap walnut they were selling from his workshop.  The fish and the base are both from Sam Maloof's wood.  Small photo is a fish carving by Sam Maloof.

Mission Indian Cemetery

This watercolor is inspired by the trips my wife and I take to visit the California Missions.  On our visits, many times the local Native Americans were buried in simple graves with only a cross to mark them.  I used Lorenzo Chavez's pastel, "Church At Canoncito" as a model but embellished the church.

Orca

This is an Orca painted on pine in a northwest Native American-style.  My father used to carve whales out of walnut like the one below.

Champagne Grapes

This is a still life watercolor.  I like the muted tones and texture of the the bricks and wall.

Tombstone

In my continuing quest to capture the essence of the wild west, I have added one of the most famous grave markers of the old west to my collection.  It is not much of a piece of artwork, but it looks similar to the real grave marker of Lester Moore, a Wells Fargo Agent, from the cemetery in Tombstone, Arizona (see below).

Leather Tooled Belt

I had completed the holster a while ago.  I just completed the matching belt to go with it.  Not quite what Roy Rogers would wear at the Rose Parade, but still kind of "cowboy".

 Details on the belt.  I replaced the replica conchos with real Indian Head Nickel conchos.

"...And Hell's Coming With Me!"

Title is from the movie, "Tombstone".  Watercolor of Wyatt Earp.

The painting at various stages.

Rowing Scull Seat Restoration

A neighbor on our street was converting an old college racing scull into a 4-man, stand-on-top paddle craft.  He had removed all the seats.  I asked him for one of the seats to see what I could do with it.  The seat was very weathered and in poor condition.  I hand-sanded off all the old varnish and stained it a rich redwood color.  Paul, a very good friend of mine, attended Orange Coast College.  OCC has always been known for its outstanding Crew Team.  I put a plaque on the seat which says, "O.C.C. CREW".  I gave the seat to Paul.  I don't know that the seat was from an O.C.C. scull, but then I don't know that it wasn't. Click on photo for a larger view.

Ram

As a kid, I was a huge fan of the Los Angeles Rams.  I was crushed when they moved to St. Louis.  Any old Ram fan will recognize the ram's head logo of the old L.A. Rams with some different colors added.  This was a fun watercolor project this summer.

Trout on Fabric

 Bridget Boyle, a master-quilter, asked me to do a Trout on muslin fabric so she could incorporate it into a quilt project.  This was the first time I had worked with fabric paint on cloth.  I was surprised that the lighter green paint, which I applied just below the darker green, had sparkles in it.  At first, I didn't like it, but then I realized it kind of looked like fish scales.  It was a very interesting project.  I don't think it would ever be used in a biology book to identify species, but I think 4 out of 5 pre-schoolers would recognize it as a fish.    I invite Bridget to tell us more about her project.

Convict Lake Rainbow Trout

This is a wood-carved piece of pine that I oil painted.  It was my first time ever using oil paints.  I put two coats of lacquer over it to give it a yellowed tint.  I mounted it on a piece of pine.  It reminds me of the fish I try to catch on our fishing trips to the High Sierras each June.  Click on the photo for a larger view.

Spanish Floral Six-Gun Holster

This is a leather holster with a Spanish Floral design on it.   It is not from a kit.  The holster pattern is my design and is cut from one piece of leather.   It is for a medium frame revolver with a 5 1/2 inch barrel.

Delta Queen Riverboat

This is a pen and watercolor painting of the riverboat, Delta Queen.  Her original structure was built in Scotland and assembled in Stockton, California for service between Stockton, Sacramento and San Francisco.  Later, she was purchased by the Greene Line of Cincinnati, Ohio and served up and down the Mississippi River and her tributaries.  An interesting fact is that below the Delta Queen name on her stern, it still says, "Port of Cincinnati, Ohio".  She was later home ported in New Orleans with the Delta Queen Steamboat Company and then American Classic Voyages.  She was then purchased by the American Steamboat Company.  For a time, she served as a floating hotel in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  The Delta Queen is now being refurbished in Louisiana and, with congressional waivers, will once again be cruising on rivers.  (Updated: 4/11/2017 bw)  Click on picture for a larger view.

Native American Indian Mask

 

I have always been interested in Native American art.  I wanted to do an Indian Mask.  This is my attempt at it.  The hair is from the tail of a horse that belonged to my wife's friend, Debbie.  Her horse's name was Patty.  It made the mask seem more spiritual since the hair is from a real horse and added a sense of authenticity to it.  The beautiful, multi-colors of the horse tail bring an added dimension to the piece.

Chase Chambers--Murrieta Mesa Quarterback

I did this watercolor for our Head Coach, Justin Schaeffer.  It is of Murrieta Mesa's first QB and favorite player of Coach Schaeffer.  The text in the painting is a tribute to Art Brewster, an Orange County illustrator who used to do pictures for the Shriner's Orange County All-Star Football Game, which I had the honor to help coach one year.  Art would add similar text to the drawings he did of the All-Star players.

Wine Bottle Cross #2

This is the second of my Wine Bottle Crosses.  It is another
"recycled art" project.  My friend Larry helped with the wine 
bottles--and I thank him for his effort!  My daughter, Caroline 
told me how to "stress" wood, so I tried that finish on it.  I tried 
to show what it looks like with the light coming through it from 
behind.  You can't see it in this photo, but there are five places
on the cross with red paint.  These are supposed to represent
the wounds of Christ.