"The Grab" drawing for 49er fans.

I decided to draw a picture of "The Grab". 49er faithful will know what I'm referring to.  It took me some time to get the logistics right.  I may or may not go into further details with the process.  It was pretty straightforward.  Get the angles and dimensions correct and go from there. This panoramic photo sort of shows the progression.  And here is the final, or close to final drawing.

Reworked Daily Painting: Side Fence

Jan 21st, Saturday:  The slightly reworked version.  The camera didn't quite capture the same hues as the first, but the handles have been lightened

Jan 19th, Thursday: I thought this would be a good shadow study when I first snapped the photo. My main goal was to make convincing shadows on the fence.  The odd shadow in the middle of the fence is the power wires on the roof.  I thought they added an interesting shape to the painting.  Might have to do further work on the shadows.  Haven't decided yet.

Serving breakfast at the Blanchet House

The Blanchet House of Hospitality

My daughter Grace invited me to help serve breakfast Monday morning at the Blanchet House of Hospitality in downtown Portland.  This organization helps "To feed, clothe and offer shelter and aid to those in need".  When I was a kid my dad volunteered  here and hired some of the patrons to help with odd jobs around our house.  Now I can say  three generations of Neals have volunteered here. (This was my first time, but Grace has helped here before).  Just this small commitment of time made me feel invigorated and grateful for what I have.  It's great to get things in perspective. Every little bit helps.

MOVING FORWARD: Lecia and Adrianne at Sauvies Island

First I have to say that this photo doesn't show the entire piece, but in order to get the details to show, I had to leave out part of the sky.  (I purposely avoided cutting the landscape in half in the actual drawing).
This last Tuesday I underwent surgery to repair my hernia.  I knew I would have the opportunity to get a fair amount of drawing and painting done.  So I took on another watercolor on Wednesday. It did not go well.  I was disappointed in my effort,  so much so that I didn't even want to post it.  This gave me cause to evaluate my ability to construct and execute paintings satisfactorily.  So on Friday I looked up a photo I had been wanting to paint from the moment I saw it. ...The photo for this drawingwas taken by my daughter Grace at Sauvies Island last year.  Grace has been able to capture some great scenes on camera, and I think this is one of her best.  In fact, both of my daughters have a very good eye for photography and I have added some of their photos to my list of potential pieces. (I am going to use a clause in my personal creative contract here that allows me to use anything my immediate family has photographed as  reference material). anyway...
I decided to literally go back to the drawing board in order to re-establish my  fundamentals. The first effort was Charlie Neal.  A good start, but not entirely satisfactory.  And now about this drawing.

Charlie Neal

A couple of weeks ago I asked my nephew,   Frank, (Charlie Neal) to send me a photo that I might use for a painting or drawing.  He sent me two, and this is the first one I chose to do. I am trying to focus in on fundamental drawing with attention to composition and value.  After somewhat of a grueling session, I was able to finish this drawing.  I would have liked to work a little larger because some of the details were hard to work on. The drawing itself is satisfactory, but I was not entirely happy with the likeness. He is manning a  50 cal. , one of my personal favorites.  By the way that's not the barrel in view on the right although it might appear that way.