Monday, December 1, 2008

Watercolor Time Lapse

The music by Mr.Oizo


If you know Ubisoft`s games you might recognize this one.
It took me 18 minutes to complete this.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Spattering

At first I didnt like this one, mainly because of the spatter at the bottom... it gives the impression of... something happening down there. :) Still I like it.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Felins

Here are two Felins from the Singapore Zoo.


This one was done at home, referring to some of my study and a photo my wife took. I limited myself to Indigo, Payne's Gray, Yellow Chrome and titanium white. If you follow the local news, you've probably heard about the incident. This tiger above killed a man two weeks ago.




This one was done on the spot, with people behind me watching every step of my progress, felt uncomfortable. I dont remember the palette a I used, but guessing from the original it must be raw sienna, ultra marine blue and burnt sienna. The scanner has shifted some of the colors.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Revisiting Magalie


I`ve been revisiting some old work... and I started to like this two pieces. I rejected them at first... but now seeing them few months later give me a fresh perspective. Like if it was the work of someone else, now that the reel scene has vanished in my memory. I see them as what they are now, and not what they could have been. I always find it very hard to judge my own work. Especially while doing it. It usually take at least a day or two to be able to select or reject. Sometime I really feel ashamed.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

There is something about Tokyo


In a recent trip to Tokyo, I went to one of my favorite spot in Shibuya, to make some quickies. It`s the starbuck in the Tsutaya Building, on the 2nd floor facing crossroad. This is quite a view. The masses of people crossing the street, feels like fluids running one into another. Armed with a dip pen, some india ink, a sable brush and a small Pad, 5x7, New Soho 301 by Maruman. The challenge was there, people walking by, waiting for their light to turn green, sending SMS, or smoking. Often I had to finish the wash from memory remains, or using another model in the scene. I deeply love Tokyo, the culture, the food, the peoples. I cant nail it to word. There is just something about Tokyo... I feel refueled and full of inspiration everytime I drop by.

Monday, August 18, 2008

1st Singapore Life Drawing




It's been long, but we finally found a place, and some models where I could continue my watercolors and anatomy study. I will later explain the details, but for now, here are some result of 3 hours in my first Life drawing in Singapore.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Arrived in Singapore

We've freshly arrived in Singapore. Trying to find a place to rent. At the same time installing our new office. The last few months have been very difficult, but the hardest part is behind, and our new life is shaping up. Now I need to find a place to do some Life Drawings, I'm sure there are no Dr.Sketchy here. But is Singapore ready for such decadents activities :P. Only futur will tell.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Natasha







Following last week experiement with the fountain pen, I decided to crank up the difficulty level, and add some colors this week. I went there with a limited palette. I mainly used Venetian Red and Ultra marine blue with very light touch of Yellow Chrome and even lighter touches of Ivory black. The last week exercice, working with india ink only, helped me seeing value instead of local colors. Charles Reid is right, tonal value is more important to understand a shape than actual hue. Therefore you can make abstraction of colors hue and work only the value. I've read this a thousand time... but if you dont experiement it... you're doomed to fail.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Back in Asia

So everything is cleared, I will be moving back to Asia end of June. I will leave the pretty mountains of the french alps, for the sunshine and lush sceneries of Singapore. I've been very fortunate with my job and my family, to be able to travel around the globe. Following the advice of John Singer Sargent, "Above all things, get abroad, see the sunlight, and everything that is to be seen...". I'm very excited about it, painting outdoor can be done all year. Plus it's a very nice city, a lot of subject. Annecy is very nice too, but unfortunetly to many tourist during the summer make it quite difficult to find a quiet place to paint alone. I hate having someone over my shoulder talking about his nephew studying fine art in Paris. There are times I'm glad to carry an ipod. Anyway... end of June, Back in Asia, and very positive about it.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Johanna and my Custom 823




Yesterday was quite exhilarating, Johanna posing was superbe, and I was in the zone. I left all my watercolors gears at home. I just had a pad and a my new foutain pen, Pilot Custom823. Medium nib. Expectations were low. I was there just to draw. During longer poses, I borrowed from Yannick a brush and few drops of india ink, 2 smalls glass container, one with clear water and the other with diluted ink. I believe yesterday was one of my favorite session so far. Directly drawing with ink is unforgivable, so one really think before touching the paper with the nib. Once the line is on the paper, it is there to stay, so you have to deal with it, and compose with them as you proceed in the blank of the paper. The lines drawings are 1 minute poses. and the inked ones are 5 minutes poses. I like the way the non waterproof ink smugded when I passed the wet brush. The paper is Lana Esquisse sketchpad, 96g/m², not made for watermedia, but still held pretty well.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Character Design



I drew one character yesterday, that I really like. I can feel that I'm getting closer to what I wanna do with watercolor, I still have a lot to learn. But I'm getting there, and that is the sweetest feeling I can get. The exercise that helped me a lot, is doing life drawing with watercolors. You can read all the books you want, if you don't experiment, you know nothing.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Magalie




Yesteday was quite fun, the first minute-poses were terrible, not on the model side, but on mine. My brushes kept doing on their own. I had to tame them quickly. I wanted to see result, and the pressure I've put on myself wasnt helping. Nothing came out during the first 30 minutes. I stopped, took a beer, and went back to my easel. Repeating to myself, the most important thing is the experience, not the result.... and from then things went smoothly. Here is a selection of my favorites of yesterday session.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Life Drawing




Yesterday we had our Life Drawing session. I was in a good mood, loose and detached. Expecting nothing, but the sound of the brush shaking the water. Aimée, our model, was very inspiring. I started the session with 1 minute poses, and use watercolor throughout the entire session. The 1 minute pose allowed me to loosen, and prepared my brushstroke for longer poses. At the end of the 3 hours session. I felt like I ran a marathon. Drained and happy. Following the advices of Charles Reid and Mel Stabin and Hawthorne. Here are the results of my understanding and concentration.


Here is a list of my favorites.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Drawing during meetings


I took the habit of drawing during meetings at the office. It helps me being concentrated, and allow me to draw without thinking about drawing, like a background process that happen while I speak to other people. At the end of the meeting, I browse the pages of my sketchbook to see what I realized. Many of them a totally worthless, but from time to time, one really stand out. I like using a fountain pen for drawing, with a 14k gold nib, fine and flexible. My favorite pen is a Japanese Foutain Pen, made in the 60's. Pilote Socrates. I bought it on Ebay for a fair price at Kamakura Store. Check out their website, there a very rare and beautiful items.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Recent Discovery, Dr. Sketchy

I was talking life drawing with my friends at Ubisoft, (we`re setting a life drawing session in Annecy) and one of them show me a fantastic web site. It`s not the website that stunned me, but the organisation behind it. In New York, in 2005, Molly Crabapple, started a rather funky kind of life drawing workshop. It's a mix of Cabaret and Life drawing. It's decadent, it's funny, it's sexy. I loved the idea of being Toulouse-Lautrec. The movement spread quickly around the globe. Now Tokyo, London, Paris, Montreal got there own Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School. Will there be an Dr. Sketchy Annecy? who knows... follow this link to learn more about this.

Painting of the day.


I went out today, on my favorite spot around the lake in Annecy. I sat there 45 minutes. And here is the result of my doings. I kinda like it. I regret adding the smalls figures on the shore.
Still I think they add a little something. The sun was warm and golden, the snow on the mountain top, even at that distance, didn't felt cold at all.