did  quick small color development from a sketch I did a while ago.  Since there was no camera allowed inside this house, i did a real quick sketch under the pressure of watchful security volunteers eyes..

A little break from BW.  Here are some color sketches from the past

a color study of a cactus called Mammillaria parkinsonil.

Saw this at Huntington.

a little section aboard SS Lan Victory

Went to the Huntington to look at some plants.

trying to capture the light pattern in the bamboo area.

I focused on the dessert plant area.

- these guys reminded me of a character from moomin

- and this looks like mononoke

- and this guy just begged for a mouth to be drawn.

Little did I know that Michael Jackson was dieing while I was sketching ..

sticking to BW. can’t say they are that successful.

I’ve been frequenting the library for art books.  I have sooo many I want but can’t just be buying them all.  Since Pasadena library is networked with Glendale and you can request to have them transported, it’s very convinient. I just have to get over my OCD problem..

bob Peak show at Nucleus

UP in 3D

sticking with my Black and white mission..

We signed up for a private tour and got to see behind the scenes of cheatahs, lions, and in-depth tour of the africa area.  After seeing all the species co-exist in their natural living environemnt and running around, I felt bad for the animals at the regular zoo. They have nutritionists that figure out specific diet for each species.   The lions here are well fed (Natural Balance carnivoiur food) and they looked real plump compared to the scrawny ones at LA Zoo.  What really struck me was that a lot of species are beyond “rescue”.  Under guidance of Species Survival Plan, any babies born within the instutions are carefully matched for mating.  These species, close to extinction, can not be returned to the wild because of local hunting etc.  We saw 2 of maybe 6 remaining Northern white Rhinos.  The Zoo’s are swarmed with controvercy, but one of their major role will be to educate the public.

they also had a fun attraction called Dino Mountain.  Pretty convincing this one ..

well, it looks like time’s passed quicker than I thought and again, my blog post is a whole month late.. I will cheat again and post with old dates corresponding to it.  Starting with the news that I finished up a small freelance job that I really had fun doing.  and on to … film studies.

I’ve done film composition studies in the past, but I always got caught up in the details.  This exercise i am doing from a seminar is to study the composition in just 2 values - black and white.  This forces you to make decisions and think about how the viewer is directed to look at a certain focal point.  animation is a lot easier to see than film.

went to MonsterPalooza and UP presentation by story artist Ronnie Del Carmen.

the sketch I did on site didn’t come out like I wanted it to, so I painted it again at home. The crappy version was painted over by the one below: evidence erased!

Atlantis landed at Edwards AFB this morning.  Gosh I wish I had gotten up early like usual, then I could’ve driven out there!  followed the landing online with Nasa TV instead.  Only a little sonic boom this time.  Last time the shuttle landed at Edwards was in Nov. 2008.  next time I really want to make it out there.

dusting off my paint tubes.  I bought some fruits to paint and thought I should actually paint them before they go bad.. both are 6×8

Studies from a photo and

from Graves Gladney’s illustration

been reading this book: Illustrated life

It’s fun to see other people’s sketchbook pages and reading their thoughts on sketching.  Several artists have noted that their sketchbooks are not meant to be seen by others or else they would freeze up under the pressure of creating presentable art, when it should be about being free.  I have to agree with that.  I have lots of pages that are embarassing to show. But for me it’s important that I keep drawing shitty stuff rather than a page of nice drawing.

part of the Museums of the Arroyo Day

Victorian homes from down town were moved to this location to give way for development back in the 1900s. Some sketches below of the houses and interior.

—- at Natural History Museum.  The crowd and kids were more than I can handle.  But seeing these large and beautiful insects were inspiring.  It felt a little cruel to me after a while..  pinned down and displayed and sold..

These walking sticks and huge katydids reminded me of faeries and creatures from Pans Labrynth.  Origami artist Robert Lang was there presenting the math behind folding something from 1 peice of paper.  His origami insects were on display.  Simply amazing..

check out his website

I am stuck in a creative “low”.. i can’t draw, I can’t paint, can’t read more than a page of a book, wah wah wah.  kinda like stuck in muddy water instead of being in a rapid stream.

so instead of my blog being a “sketch blog”, here are some rants and what I’ve been up to.

5/9 - Went to see the California art club show at PMCA.  But I was more impressed with the works at Michael Hollis gallery.  Really nice works from Robert Watts and John Budicin to name a few. We went there as a part of South Pasadena art festival.
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5/10 - It’s been a while since we went to a theater to watch a movie instead of a DVD at home.  startrek was definitely something that should be watched on a big screen.  I’ve never been a treckie, but really enjoyed the movie.
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5/12 - watched “space shuttle disaster” on PBS nova.  As we speak, the real astronauts are in space fixing the Hubble.  yyuep. I was suppose to be one of them.  How I ended up down on earth creating crappy art, I don’t know..
NASA Astronaut Watches New Star Trek Movie in Space

The Science of Star Trek
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5/15 -  went to Skirball to see

“ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938–1950″ .  Duncan also signed up for a special screening of Solomon Kane.  I didn’t know anything about it, but it’s another creation by the conan guy Robert E Howard.
Saw this house in BeveryHills

I’ve been involved in feline rescue for a while. Sometimes it takes over my time more than it should and results in my art / work being neglected. Well, this was another such case. “Trap/Neuter/Return” is a very important most effective way to control feral colonies and hence reducing the unwanted kitten births and reduces euthanization and suffering animals. Stray cat Allience website has all the details for those interested. Anyway, I knew it is a lot of work, and I had no intension of getting involved with TNR.  but you do this kind of work and sooner or later it will come knocking on your door.  With the help of experienced fellow volunteer, I did my very first TNR.

You use an animal trap that looks like this:

The mom and dad were easy to trap.  We got them right away and went to Fix nation to get them spayed and neutered.  After the procedure, we release them back to their neighborhood.

However, the kittens were very feral. Not having human contact at all, they were very cautious and food didn’t do the trick.  It took us 2 days to trap all 5 of the litter.

There was one:

Then there were 2:

And eventual got the rest.

the kittens appeared to be about 6 weeks old and they are now in foster care.

at huntington library.

trying to get back in to sketching more..

More videos like this on www.t5m.com

Cool stuff I saw at the Huntington Library - Edison’s light bulbs

a crappy painting of a crappy building, and some quick sketches from around town