colleen police art works

rain, rain, come today...

2010-09-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

did this for chad's birthday a couple of weeks ago...

la cañada gloom
watercolor on paper
2010

cloudy san gabriel mountain sunset

2010-06-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

just did this over the weekend...trying to get back into watercolor again! it was a good exercise, i think. i painted it from a picture i took of the mountains a couple of years ago. i wish it was a better picture...i didn't realize it was blurry until i uploaded it...oh well :P

2010
watercolor
approx 9x12

boys

2009-11-20T20:15:00.000-08:00

I just finished this commission last weekend. a friend of mine, Terri, has twin sons who are in the military, and has long desired a "prayer portrait" of her 3 boys.

she wanted the drawing to be of her sons as adults, and also as children. so between the 2 of us we did little brainstorming about the composition...

and this is what came of it:

(unfortunately, it's slightly bowed, the left side turning back a bit)

i was nervous, at first (well, i'm always nervous when starting a piece), just because i wasn't sure, even after doing the preliminary, what the final drawing would look like. but i'm more than happy with the result, and i learned SO MUCH while doing it (again, as i always do).

here are some detail pictures...

let me know what you think!

hey

2009-11-18T13:05:00.000-08:00

brand-new finished commission pictures coming soon...stay tuned...

1 new drawing, 1 in process

2009-09-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

ashlee

9x12, graphite

2009

rebekka (#2)

9x12, graphite

2009

finished!

2009-06-26T22:19:00.000-07:00

"Five"

24x36
2009

"Five" detail photos...

2009-06-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

real quick...

2009-06-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

Pictures of the FINISHED DRAWING (see post below) coming soon!

for now, some profiles i did of fourteen 8th graders i helped teach over the past school year (the girl in the picture is in 7th grade)...

thanks for your patience. it's been a tough couple of months for a lot of reasons...one of them making me physically unable to draw for a while. but thankfully i'm getting back on track :)
~

3 (almost) down...

2009-04-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

i finally have jude in. i know it's been a little while since the last update, and you may be saying to yourself "wow...not much to look at after 3 weeks..." but i have good reason...

first of all, keep in mind that the piece is life-sized, and i am constantly reworking little areas. (i spent a lot more time back in the hands, for example) also, i'm lucky to get more than a few hours a week to work on it (and that's scattered throughout many late nights) and, well, on this particular portrait, i ran into some problems.

jude (the middle boy)'s face holds the most subtle, soft, sweet, mischeveous expression...and i had to redraw it multiple times. finally, after i had erased it completely yet again, i realized i had only one last chance to draw it and get it right because the charcoal just wasn't lifting anymore. i stayed away from the drawing for a few days just to clear my mind of it.
i then attacked it again about a week ago...and i got it!! at least, i got it pretty close. it was such a relief...if i had screwed up one more time it would have ruined the drawing. (WHEWW)

can't wait to work on it more this weekend :)

the preliminary sketch...

drawing update

2009-03-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

coming along...slowly but surely! i love the expression on jasie's face...
hands are wonderfully difficult. i love it.

~

elizabeth's kids...progress pics

2009-02-23T14:47:00.000-08:00

just a few pictures of my drawing so far. i don't really get much time to work on it...but it's coming along! i've got james pretty much done...

see the preliminary sketch

Florence in June

2009-01-20T10:23:00.000-08:00

2007
Oil on Board
11.75 x 8.75

cam

2008-12-24T16:25:00.000-08:00

Here now is a drawing i just did as a Christmas present for my aunt Wren of her son, Cameron, when he was a baby. (so shhh don't tell her)...

Cam

9x12

graphite on paper

This piece was an learning experience...i was given a blurry photograph to work from, first of all, which is kind of the #1 way to make something a lot more difficult than it needs to be. Doing the under-drawing was a pain in the arse as a result. After 3 days of frustrated sketching i kind of threw in the towel...i didn't touch it for about 2 months because i was so fed up with it.
But time heals all wounds, they say...and the adage held true in this case. When i picked it up again a few days ago i took advantage of my fresh eyes and did a couple of minor corrections, which is all it really needed. Then i sat down, did the whole render in one evening and got it framed the next day. :)
~~~~~

just for fun...here's cam now, 13 years later:

kids.

new landscape painting coming soon...

~~~

jasie and jorie

2008-12-01T23:35:00.000-08:00

little head studies for the twin babies in the sketch below (previous post).

~

preliminary sketch

2008-11-30T18:32:00.000-08:00

study for a portrait of five kids i'm doing...i was given 3 photographs to work from and this is what i put together...

i'll be showing it to their mother for "approval" with a few notes (two you can see in blue on the picture)
the children are so beautiful...i'm excited :)

also take a look at a new portrait below...
~

new portrait drawing

2008-11-30T18:30:00.000-08:00

Title: Rebekka
Medium: Graphite on paper
2008

see the a few pictures of the drawing in progress below...
~

"rebekka" process

2008-11-30T18:25:00.000-08:00

a few stages of the drawing...in lousy photograph form...

and a final scan...

2008-11-13T14:43:00.000-08:00

hey tonight until Sunday is the Fairhaven Show! it is magnificent! you should come, by any and all means.

new work coming soon...

valitadion!

2008-10-15T22:21:00.000-07:00

i was just accepted into a fantastic exhibition for LCAD MFA and alumni. the flyer is below...dates and all.

my painting of edan will be on display. yay :)

~

caid

2008-08-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

Drawing of my little cousin Caid...it took me about 2.5 hours. i did it from life, while he was eating breakfast and watching cartoons...

painting of Caid and his father, Joey, that i did a year ago. it was definitely an experiment, and i would do a LOT differently if i painted it now. but i like it for what it is...

~

Senior Port pieces

2008-08-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

Senior Portfolio piece #2...

2008-07-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

stages of the ashlee painting

at this point i changed the angle of the face since i did the underpainting...

final piece

"Complexion (Ashlee)"
36x60 oil on canvas
2008

SOLD to Laguna College of Art & Design

ashlee stage 1

2008-07-06T17:01:00.000-07:00

some of the photo reference...i used about 5 different pictures...

initial drawing

initial underpainting

Senior Portfolio piece #1...

2008-06-30T17:18:00.000-07:00

The process...

initial reference photo:

study drawing

painting process:

finished piece:
"His Eyes Are Closed (Edan)"
36x60 oil on canvas
2008

~~~

head drawings

2008-06-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

watercolors

2008-06-25T13:43:00.000-07:00

Mucha mastercopy

drawing

painting

Drawing

2008-06-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

Pastel and colored pencil

pastel

charcoal

charcoal half-life sized figure

studies of joe...a life-sized drawing is in progress...

2008-06-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

Older head and hand studies from 2006

some graphite stuff from 2006

2008-06-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

some graphite stuff from 2006

2008-06-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

these are from 2005

my first figure painting...and still one of my favorites. funny how that happens.

pastel portrait

still life...come canvas wrapped around a cardboard roll...

pastel self-portrait a la Mucha...there are some areas that i like...

~~~