Los Angeles Coliseum

This is the sight of the Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984. Built in 1923 for under one million dollars, it is now the primary home of the USC Trojan football team.

City Works

I met a city worker here in the shadow of Pasadena City Hall. She was very friendly and had a good sense of humor.

I've painted city hall numerous times.

This 9"x12" original watercolor painting is for sale for $350 unframed. Contact me if you are interested in purchasing it.

Secrets

This is Old Town Pasadena. Pasadena was one of the first cities in Southern California that recognized a potential gold mine in its deteriorating and abandoned architecture. About thirty five years ago, it began to revitalize this area of town. Now, it's one of the more popular weekend hangouts for the younger crowd.

Many other communities have since turned their eyesores into eye candy.

Two siblings (a brother and sister) from South America stopped to watch and chat early one Saturday morning while I painted here.

This 9"x12" original watercolor painting is for sale for $350 unframed. Contact me if you are interested in purchasing it.

Sycamore Park

I thought I'd find a nice, quiet place to paint, so I stopped at this park in the city of Highland Park.

Things were quiet until a broken down lady with a scraggly little dog in tow came over and with little more than an introduction, offered to have sex with me behind the building.

I wasn't about to go along with it. I figure if any man would be dumb enough to follow her to her secret place, he'd probably be greeted by a big ugly man who'd club the sucker over the head and take all his money.

Instead, I told the woman that the man she needed was Jesus, then finished my painting.

This 9"x12" original watercolor painting is for sale for $350 unframed. Contact me if you are interested in purchasing it.

I completed this painting in record-breaking time. This is a familiar sight to anyone who frequently travels Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. It's the Cross Roads travel agency and a group of other small business.

The reason this painting happened so fast (in about 30 minutes) is that the wind was blowing extremely hard and it was very cold.

It was so cold that no one even slowed down to talk or to just see what I was doing. One would never think that Southern California could get so cold without snowing.

This 9"x12" original watercolor painting is for sale for $350 unframed. Contact me if you are interested in purchasing it.

Fruit Cart Vendors

It was the day before the Los Angeles marathon. The streets were bustling in the garment district. Fruit cart vendors pushed their cargo around selling colorful eats.

Things happened so fast that I hardly could take it all in. A vendor and his family near me were suddenly surrounded by a group of men and women as several other men in drug their cart away. I looked around and saw the same thing happening to other vendors.

A big dump truck with lights flashing screeched to a halt and men began tossing the carts and the contents in the dumpster bin. Quicker than I could get a fresh sheet of watercolor paper out of my kit and paint the scene, the party was over.

The plain clothes officers had cleaned the streets for the high profile race, the vendors were whisked off to jail and the shoppers went on about their business while I returned to my painting.

New vendors and new carts would be back in about three days and I would be on another street corner wondering what might happen this time.

This 9"x12" original watercolor painting is for sale for $250 unframed. Contact me if you are interested in purchasing it.

Note: Saturday, I forgot to put a link on a site I was referring to until later in the morning. If you noticed the omission, oops. The link is now active.

Disney Animation Studio

These are the old animation buildings at Disney Studios. I painted this in ink and watercolor from one of the park benches during my lunch time.

About a week later, I returned to the same spot with my iPhone loaded with painting software and did the same scene. Since I had to draw and paint with my finger, I was only able to complete the sketch while on the lot. I finished the painting at home. You can find the iPhone version, which shows an animation of the creation process here.

Back Alley Boys

I did this painting, again during my lunch time, with the sound of a 'Back Street Boys' (remember them?) playing in the background. They were in an alley behind me shooting a music video. I was working on a film in a nearby building in the east end of downtown Los Angeles.

This painting is part of my 'Hollywood Backlots' series, which began in 1977. I'm looking for a home for the paintings where the hundreds of paintings and drawings in the series will not be broken up and will be available to the public. Possibly a museum. If you know of anyone interested, please let me know. We'll work something out.

Ports-O-Call

This is Ports-O-Call, where a row of shops bordering a shipping lane sell everything from crafts to clothing to helicopter rides. It has fallen in disrepair in recent years, but used to be a very popular tourists trap in San Pedro, CA.

My friend and I have painted here several times.

This 9"x12" original watercolor painting is for sale for $350 unframed. Contact me if you are interested in purchasing it.

All Ages

I like to read the carved-in-stone inscriptions found at many historic libraries. I did this quick sketch at the Los Angeles Central Library. The library was badly burned some years ago and was closed for repairs. Inside, you can take an escalator up about three or four stories. The view at the top overlooks a cavernous foyer below with gigantic modern architecture suspended over it.

The inscription reads: In the world of affairs we live in our own age. In books, we live in all ages.

Have you read any wise sayings recently?

Bus Stop

This is a busy corner on the corner of Vermont Avenue and Manchester in South Central Los Angeles.

Pitching your easel near a bus stop is a good place to meet people. You usually have only a few minutes to spend with them, but those minutes could be a life changing experience.

I make sure I'm not blocking traffic, so I set up on the side of the bench where the bus approaches and a safe distance behind the bench. I discovered that if I set up on that side, people could keep an eye open for their bus and visit with me at the same time.

This 9"x12" original watercolor painting is for sale for $350 unframed. Contact me if you are interested in it.

Paint Me

This group of teenagers in a Brazilian quilombo (place of refuge) saw me painting and asked if I would paint their portraits; individually. I knew I wouldn't have time to do that, so I told them I would paint them as a group. As I was getting started, I learned that one of the girl's mother didn't want her hanging around the foreigner. 

However, the teens wouldn't let me go without painting them, so I did this quick painting in about 5 minutes while looking over my shoulder to see if Mama was coming.

I thought the youngsters would get mad at me when they saw this faceless painting, but they really liked it. Wow.

Finger Painting

I love to be in the company of books, so I visit libraries and bookstores often. One of my favorite libraries is the Altadena Library, which happens to be close to my home.

I did this painting on my iPhone while in the library. I’m starting to get used to drawing with my finger. I takes me way back to my childhood when I reveled in finger painting. Nevertheless, I've ordered a stylus to see if it would bring a little more accuracy to the process.

The software I used is NetSketch. It is an outstanding app, but as you would expect for a version 1 application on a mobile phone, not as feature rich as my version 9 PhotoShop on my computer. So, I opened the NetSketch version in PhotoShop and did a some blurring and desaturation there. You can see the original artwork and the creation process of this painting at here.

As a plein air artist, you should not be afraid of experimenting with new techniques and technologies. Do you have experience in creating computer-based art?

A Tree to Die For

This is another sight on the land where my wife grew up in Hermatige, Arkansas.

I'm not sure why I named the painting, 'A Tree to Die For'. Maybe it was because my father-in-law and I used to go into the woods and chop trees before he passed away.

Reunion

I enjoy painting in public places where I meet some very interesting people. But if I'm not painting, I like to be alone with my immediate family in a quiet place.

This is Hermatige, Arkansas where my wife, Peggie grew up. The house in the background was to be hers, but I stole her away from the woods when we got married (soon will be 30 years) and moved her to Los Angeles.

This home is similar to a 'shotgun house', though technically is not one. A shotgun house has rooms joined one-behind-the-other with no hallway. This one has no hallways, but has rooms side by side as well as behind each other.

Singer in a Showercap

Every now and again in your street painting, you will meet someone who will so entertain or inform you that you will be richer from meeting them.

I was painting on Hollywood Blvd. one day when a man stopped to watch me paint. He told me how much he liked my artwork, then asked if I would give him some money. He had such distinct physical characteristics; a long, soft face with tiny teeth set behind lips painted the color of grapes. He wore a pink shower cap. He had the personality of a silent era movie star. I told him I would give him five dollars if he would let me paint his portrait. He suddenly lost his air of dignity and was shocked, even embarrassed that I would want to paint him. He made excuses for his appearance, but I imagine that his need for the money outweighed his hesitation to pose for me.

I could tell he was uncomfortable, so I began to chat with him. He told how he had been cheated out of a role on a popular television show. He also said he used to perform musicals on Broadway. He offered to sing me a song. I told him I would love to hear him. He opened his mouth and began to sing a jazzy show tune. His voice was strong enough that he was probably heard from several blocks away, yet was crystal clear. I was speechless, but painted quickly.

When he ended the song, he said abruptly that he had to leave. I thanked him and gave him the five dollars. He looked my painting and said with the bravado of a celebrity that the painting didn’t capture him. I humbly think that I captured the real him in the 10 or 15 minutes we had together, and not the him he imagined himself to be.

On another occasion, I had the opportunity to paint the portrait of an Elvis impersonator in his upholstery shop. More on that another time.

Central Sax

Some of the most interesting you will ever meet are street people. Those would include hustlers, homeless and the down and out. Some people I term homeless are technically not homeless. They sometimes live in a homeless shelter, halfway houses or with friends. They often move around during their waking hours and return to their temporary residence in the evening. I often look for ways to help them.

Street hustlers rarely earn enough money to own their own home, so they depend on the generosity of others to put bread on their tables. If I determine someone is trying to hustle me for my money, I will not give them the time of day.

In your travels in urban plein air painting, you are also bound to encounter the insane. They can be very unpredictable and therefore must be dealt with very cautiously. Their behavior can go from gentle to threatening at the blink of an eye. Since I am not a psychologist, I do my best to dismiss them and send them on their way without giving them anything. Be kind but curt.

Then there are people who are so entertaining and engaging that you really want to pay them to stick around while paint.

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you about a man on the street who made my day when he stopped to ask me for money.

This 9"x12" original watercolor painting is for sale for $350 unframed. Contact me if you are interested in it.

Some Slackers, Some Lackers

Something you’ll have to contend with if you are going to paint on the streets in a metropolitan area are the homeless and beggars. Most of the ones I have given money to were very polite. Some whom I talked to at length were very intelligent. Most of them were spiritual.

If you choose to help them, you must use wisdom so that you avoid embarrassment to them, or even worse, harm to yourself. When someone approaches me with their hand out, I try to determine if they are merely hustlers who wouldn’t lift a finger to work if you gave them a high paying job or people in a tight spot who deserve a helping hand. Many of the later are kind, gentle people who couldn’t keep up with society.

Having encountered many street people who have asked me for money, I’ve learned some techniques to that have helped to keep my painting experience positive.

Join me tomorrow and I’ll pass along some things I’ve learned. If you have some tips for dealing with people on the streets as you paint, please share it.

This 9"x12" original watercolor painting is for sale for $350 unframed. Contact me if you are interested in it.

Expo Rose

I returned to the Rose Garden, but this time to work alone (see yesterday's post).

I had a good time talking to a group of children there on a field trip. Most of them said they liked to paint, and a few offered, even insisted to help "Sorry kids, today I work alone."

I usually don't paint in oils if I am on a busy sidewalk, but this serene setting was a perfect place to work in oils.

Which medium do you prefer use in plein air? Why?


This 9"x12" original oil painting is for sale for $450 unframed. Contact me if you are interested in it.

Natural History Workshop

This painting was done as a demo at one of my workshops in the Rose Garden at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles.

I discontinued the workshop several years ago, but have had requests to get it going again. I decided to record it and put it on line. This way, people will be able to take part from any location in the world. It will begin September 1, 2008. You can hear the audio podcast introduction today and get more information at keni.com

However, there may be some who live in the Los Angeles area and would like to participate in a face-to-face workshop. If that's you, please let me know. I'll get in touch with you and see what we can work out.

This 9"x12" original watercolor painting is for sale for $350 unframed. Contact me if you are interested in it.

Swap Meet

I like to paint where there are people. The Rose Bowl swap meet is one of the largest gatherings of hawkers and bargan hunters in Southern California.

This setting presents a good opportunity to sharpen ones skills at painting in the midst of chaos.

Have you painted in similar situations?

This 9"x12" original watercolor painting is for sale for $350 unframed. Contact me if you are interested in it.

Amphitheater

This rustic setting is the home of summer jazz concerts sponsored by the Altadena Sheriff's department.

I painted it from the amphitheater stage late one quiet afternoon. What time of day do you usually paint?

This 9"x12" original watercolor painting is for sale for $350 unframed. Contact me if you are interested in it.

Rusty

I've said it before and I'll probably say it a thousand or more times; your job may have some of the richest environments for painting material. Sometimes it may be the people you work with, or the building you work in or on.

This is a back lot set at Paramount Studios. I don't remember what show I was working on when I did this lunchtime painting, but I was so taken by the rusty building that I had to paint it. Even though the actual building looks like rusting metal, it is simply set painting techniques applied over wood to resemble metal.

Paramount iP

When I purchased my iPhone, one of the first things I looked for was an app with which I could create artwork. I found a nice little program called 'NetSketch', written by a young college student by the name of Ben Gotow.

This painting is part of my 'Hollywood Backlots' series. The series began in 1977 when I started doing pencil sketches of interesting things I saw as I moved around the stages, backlots and locations in the movie industry. The pencil sketches changed to pen & ink, then to ink and watercolors. Paramount iP is my first series painting created on an iPhone using my index finger as an input device/paintbrush.

You can see an animation of the actual creation of the artwork by visiting NetSketch. More 'Hollywood Backlots' paintings can be seen by clicking on 'Gallery' at keni.com.

The sketch was done on the lot during my lunch time. The painting was completed at my home.

Thanks to Ben and the Apple folks for a unique painting experience.

I'd like to get your thoughts on this new art medium.

Juiz de Fora

I might have to stretch to call this a plein air painting. I was in the modern Brazilian city of Juiz de Fora. This was the view outside my hotel room window, which I painted under the watchful eye of my roommate.

Only recently did I start taking a camera with me when I travel. I had previously used only my paintings to record my steps. Finally, I realized that there was so much more I wanted to paint than what I could do on the run.

When I returned to Brazil several years later, I did as many paintings as I could, but those I couldn't get to, I caught with the camera. I haven't done any paintings from the photos yet, but some day I might.

BBQ King

This is one of the best bar-b-que joints in Los Angeles. I found this place when I was working on the film, 'Catch Me If You Can'. It was being filmed nearby at the Twin Towers Jail. The jail was fairly new at the time and did not yet have any prisoners in it.

A father and his young son watched me as I did this painting. The dad asked if I taught art classes. At the time, I was still doing my plein air workshops, so I gave him information about it. They never made it to the workshop, but I'm hoping that today his wide-eyed son is somewhere outdoors painting.

Anthony

I usually paint architecture, but occasionally I will paint people.

I did this painting of Anthony, a laborer and himself an artist. We were working together on a film. I don't remember the title, but I do remember that we were working at Gower studios on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood.

Anthony posed for me during our lunch time. It took fifteen or twenty minutes to complete this painting. This is one of the few paintings I used a pencil sketch instead of pen & ink. I prefer pen & ink because it forces me to be more decisive in my line work.

While I was working on the painting, I had an opportunity to learn from Anthony more about him and his family. I can say this with confidence; his wife and children are blessed to have him as husband and father.

Shaking at the Mouse House

This is one of the original animation buildings at Disney studios in Burbank, CA.

This seemingly serene scene was interupted by a magnitude 5.8 earthquake Tuesday (7-29-08). Dozens of employees came pouring out of the building and into this area. When I passed by, they were milling about trying to place cell phone calls.

Even my fancy new iPhone couldn't connect a call for at least 20 minutes after the quake.

Cafe

I said on my blog post on Saturday (July 26) that I did the painting of the Hunting Library while working on the Oceans 12 movie. Well, looking back on the paintings that came from that time frame, I realized that I was there at the Huntington Library working on The Good German movie.

This cafe painting was also created during that film production. It's a quiet setting away from the main residence, which serves as the gallery.

Old Man at the Home

I saw this man at the motion picture hospital and retirement home. He may have been a famous actor in his day.

Old people make some of the best models for quick, candid sketches. They are not as fidgety as younger people and their faces are full of character.

I didn't begin this painting with a pen & ink drawing as I normally do. I went directly to watercolor.

Huntington Library

This is the Huntington Library in Pasadena CA. I was here with a crew to prepare for the filming of the movie, Oceans 12.

Four or five of my coworkers looked over my shoulder as I did this painting during my lunch time, which lasted 45 minutes.

Judging by their remarks, I believe they got a thrill out of watching me. Their joy was my reward.

So, if you really want to get the most out of plein air painting, find an audience to share the creative process with.

Back at the Bowl

I usually have a steady stream of visitors stopping by to chat  as I paint. That's to be expected since I choose to paint in populated areas.

This structure is part of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. There were no events taking place here this day so I was able to focus more on the painting than the people. I did have two visitors though. They were joggers making the run around the park so they only paused long enough to see what I was doing.

Katrina

When New Orleans residents were displaced by Hurricane Katrina, many were sent to various shelters around the United States. One of those locations was The Dream Center in Los Angeles.

I went there to paint and hopefully connect with some of the displaced people and offer some support. I arrived to a somewhat circus atmosphere. The Center was crawling with news media, sight seers, motorcycle clubs, and an odd collection of concerned individuals (the group which I suppose I fell into) who probably hindered the staff as much as we did to help.

My plan was to pay some of the new residents to paint their portraits. I was able to complete one before I decided to get out of the way and let the Dream Center staff do their job.

David and Goliath

This David and Goliath scene is a block away from the Pasadena Central Library, one of my favorite hangouts. The colorful building is a barbecue shack set against the backdrop of a chain hotel. The BBQ joint was there long before the hotel, and I suspect it will be there when the hotel is converted into a shopping center before it is converted into condominiums.

I stood in the shade of a large tree across from the courthouse to do this painting. Whenever I paint in this area, I get looks from passing police and undercover officers, whose station is in this area. Only once did one stop. We had a very friendly conversation.

Ivy

The mom of one of my daughter's friends saw me painting, so she stopped to watch. There was very little small talk before she dropped a bomb; her husband died suddenly of a heart attack the previous month.

I tried to find words to comfort her until I realized that she just wanted to talk about it. So, I stopped painting and I listened.

When she went her way, I piddled with the painting for a while, but my heart was no longer in it. I look back on it now and understand that my purpose for being there was for her, not for my art.

Back Yard Blight

If you have never painted en plein air, you may be wondering, “Where do I begin?”

How about your own back yard? You may have a garden, a patio area or a child’s playground. If you live in an apartment building, I can imagine there is something right outside your door that would make an interesting painting; a shed, a bicycle rack, or a rusty fire hydrant near a bus stop.

Your scene doesn't have to be scenic to make an interesting painting. This painting is a perfect example. This is my neighbor's garage. I painted his roof as it is, complete with holes, missing shingles and exposed framing. This is the same neighbor who breeds dobermans, you know, the barking dog type. I had to finally do this painting to see it in a positive light.

What's in your back yard?

Foreign Objects

Grumbacher is one of America’s largest manufacturers of paint brushes. In the early 1990’s, the New Jersey based corporation had to recall more than 330,000 paint brushes. The brushes, which were imported from Korea and Sri Lanka,  had excessive levels of lead in the handles. This news comes from the U.S. Consumer product Safety Commission.

Artists often use materials that pose a potential health hazard. We should use every precaution to protect ourselves. Did your mother ever tell you not to put foreign objects in your mouth or buttons up your nose? Listen to your mother.

The sketch is of a set painter in Hollywood. His nickname was 'Hollywood'. Before he became a set painter, he was an actor. Some actors discovered that they could earn a better living behind the camera than in front of it.

The Kit

Kits can be as personal as the supplies that go in them. In my humble opinion, they can, in themselves, be works of art. There are few things that can compare with the look and feel of a paint kit in which every compartment fills a purpose; every tool has its place and every where you go, you know that you have the tools to effortlessly complete a painting on the spot. Therefore, your kit should be put together with much deliberate thought.

Try Talking

If an airplane landed in the middle of the freeway, people would likely stop to see it, right? Well, don’t you think it a bit out of the ordinary to see an artist on a street corner painting (unless you’re painting in Venice). Then why, my plein air artist friend, would you be dismayed that people stop to watch you paint and ask, “What’s going on here”?

Too many artists offer these suggestions on how to deal with curious onlookers who want to talk: ‘Wear headsets and pretend that you can’t hear’, ‘Discourage conversation by putting a tin cup in front of you as though you’re asking for donations,’ ‘Tell your visitor that you must have silence to concentrate.’

Well, how about this for a little advise. ‘Talk to the people.’ Is your artwork more important that the person who probably is happy to see you there painting? A few words of kindness from you might mean more to them than all your precious paintings.   

Bell Isle

I typically paint in bright colors. However, this was a gray overcast day in Detroit, MI. I road my bicycle to Bell Isle, a park on the Detroit River. Those brownish buildings in the upper right edge of this picture are the Omni Hotel, where I was staying while working on the movie, 8 Mile.

I usually work in watercolors when painting in the city. However, because there was a lot of moisture in the air and since this area was in a remote area, so I took my oil painting kit.

Kermie on Your Side

Could it be that the reason artists don't venture outside to paint is that they fear encounters with people?

No doubt, you will occasionally bump into people who do not appreciate your efforts to be creative in public, but the majority will be happy to see you in action. If you ever have a need for a little recognition, paint outdoors. There's usually a Kermie in the crowd who will tip his hat to you.

Painted on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood.

Total Recall

I did this quick little watercolor and ink sketch in a Borders Bookstore. When I looked at it this evening, I remembered it as though it just happened only a few hours ago. Then I looked at the date of the artwork. I did the painting in October of 2006. That was almost two years ago! Yet, the memory is as fresh as the coffee was that the man in the light blue shirt put on the table.

Painting from life has the ability to etch a scene so deeply in ones memory that it does not easily fade with time.

If you have ever had a challenge remembering things, try painting it on the canvas of your mind.

Echo Park

Even in the city, there is often an oasis that quietly demands to be painted. I have painted here several times. I used to pass Echo Park every day when I lived on the hill above it. I never thought to paint it until I moved out of the area. Funny how that works.

On another occasion, I was able to catch the fountain erupting in the middle of the lake. In still another painting, I focused on the paddle boats you see docked at the boathouse.

Don't think that you have to go to a new location every time you go out in order to find something interesting. Sometimes, all you have to do is face another direction.

Art On the Move

Yesterday, I talked about painting while waiting in line at an airport. I asked if anyone had completed a painting while walking. I have not tried that one yet, but I did find something close to it.

Several years ago while visiting Brazil, I took a bus tour into the beautiful countryside. Prior to leaving the paved road, I had worked on a small watercolor painting. We eventually ran out of pavement. The unpaved road we turned onto was the toss-you-out-of-your-seat bumpy, so I put away my paint kit.

Several miles into the mountains, we were met by a road grader. The road was too narrow for our bus and the road grader to pass. Instead of pulling over to the side, the driver turned his big machine around and began to smooth the road for us. It improved our ride a bit, but you still wouldn't attempt to drink a cup of hot chocolate on the ride without rain gear. I couldn't pass the opportunity to paint the scene, even though my watercolors and I bounced along like bobble-head dolls.

Look for opportunities to challenge yourself and your art.

Indoors Outdoors

If you are indoors standing below a skylight letting in the outdoors, does the painting you do qualify as a plein air work?

I was in LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) waiting to catch a flight. I was standing in a long line, so I did this small 6" x 9" painting.

If you have the proper kit, you can do a painting while standing, sitting, squatting or lying down. I haven't yet tried to do one while walking. If you do one, I'd like to see it.