Paul in the wilderness no. 1
This is a large gouache and pencil landscape, from smaller watercolor studies I made from a friend’s front yard.
About Michael
Posts by :
St. Paul no. 10, after Cano screen print
Visiting the Golden Age of Spanish Art exhibition at the Kunsthalle Munich in March, I was struck by Alonso Cano’s powerful painted wooden bust of Paul, from 1660.Here are some large 3-color screen prints I’ve created based on my sketches and photo reference of Cano’s sculpture.
Pencil portraits of boy, young woman, mother
Old pencil sketch from 1995, City Union Mission. An african-american mother, her daughter and son. #sketchbook #lifedrawing #flesh #portrait #portraits #pencil #imagodei #fromlife #africanamerican
Pencil drawing of a young man, 1994
Old pencil sketch from 1995, City Union Mission. An african-american young man. Having rediscovered this from my sketchbooks many times over the last 20 years, I consider this one of the finest drawings I’ve ever made. #sketchbook #lifedrawing #flesh #portrait #portraits #pencil #imagodei #fromlife #africanamerican
Woman fixing daughter’s hair
#Pencil #drawing from 1992 of a mother #braiding her daughter’s hair, from City Union Mission.
St. Joseph State Park, Florida beach watercolor
#morning #watercolor and #pencil of the superlative #gulf #beach at St. Joseph State Park in #florida
Watercolor sketch of crabapple, western red cedar trees
2016 #Watercolor #sketch looking north at Evangel Presbyterian during #Presbytery break. #crabapple, #westernredcedar
Self portrait, 1992
Going through an old #sketchbook I found this #selfportrait #drawing from 1992 at #KCAI.
Sketch menu from Jarochos in Armourdale
#watercolor #sketch of Chef Falcon’s seafood choices at @Jarochos in Armourdale, Kansas.
Peter Kuper sketch from KCAI talk
#sketch #portrait made in the dark of the #PeterKuper talk last night at #KCAI. He was an engaging speaker; clearly a real pro working on his own terms. I enjoyed his talk very much.
White Sands National Monument, New Mexico
Another odd but wonderful moonscape gem of the National Park System. Don’t miss Eddie’s Burritos in nearby Alamagordo, along with the hidden treasure of Oliver Reed State Park.
Large watercolor after Alonso Cano’s Bust Of St. Paul
I visited the Kunsthalle in Munich, to see the exhibition of Golden Age Spanish Art. I was struck by how many of the pieces were clearly intended to direct worship and elicit reverence. I made a larger work based on Cano’s sinuous Bust Of St. Paul
Balmorhea State Park
A watercolor sketch, done with feet-in-pool. My family absolutely loved this place, everything about it: the fish, the snakes, the facilities, the nearby town, the surrounding mountains, the oasis-like nature of the park. Loved it.
Pencil sketch of Kollwitz self portrait etching
An inadequate sketch after Kollwitz’ disturbingly penetrating self portrait etching, shown during the Nelson Atkins show World War I and the Rise of Modernism.
Gedyamin Grubba pipe organ Bach concert
A sketch of Polish organist, composer, and conductor Gedyamin Grubba playing Bach on Southminster’s Casavant pipe organ.
Chef carries the Devil on his head
A sketch study for Bruta The Witch, showing the protagonist metaphorically carrying the Devil on his head.
Atalanta’s foot, hand of Yoga Narashima
Two studies of sculpture at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. The left is of the foot of Atalanta from Mosca’s Atalanta and Meleager with the Calydonian Boar, ca. 1564-1565. The right is from the 12c. Indian Yoga-Narashimha.
Christ and the Demoniac
Here is a ballpoint pen and ink wash illustration from Mark 5, the account of Christ healing the Gerasene demoniac.
Morning figure in wash and ink
A man looking at morning light through a partially open window. Watercolor and pencil on watercolor paper.
Abstracted figure observing light 1
A small watercolor study of an idealized man looking at early light through a partially open window.
Ellen Junger
A 40 minute watercolor and pencil sketch of retiring Hallmark officer Ellen Junger. 9×12″.
Four Figures, 3rd State
Whether I destroy this or save it, I don’t care. I’m finishing this tonight. Tired of it taking up space in my studio/head.
Temptation of St. Anthony composition watercolor
A compositional watercolor sketch for a planned larger watercolor on board, after the Nelson Atkins Museum’s Temptation of St. Anthony by Jan Wellens de Cock.The original is so dominated by architecture that it appears to be a theatrical set, and the painting–instead of a being a didactic aid to private devotion–is rather depicting the crisis of an actual morality play.
Red Crow Brewing Patio
A quick india ink and watercolor sketch of Bill Burns and Curt Mauk enjoying a beer on the patio of Red Crow Brewing, in Stillwell, KS.
Four Figures watercolor, state 2
This is the second state of a large watercolor I’m working, Four Figures. This is very large compared to the scale I’m used to working in, and it feels like I’m progressing at a glacial pace.
Four figures watercolor study
I was looking at and thinking of Witold Wojtkiewicz (1879-1909) and his painting, Christ and the Children, when I was painting this small study for a larger work I have planned, Four Figures.
Drawing of Burgomaster portrait after Borch masterpiece
I was able to make this little drawing of the Burgomaster on the spot from ter Borch’s painting while visiting the Nelson Atkins’ recent exhibition, Reflecting Class in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer.
Encaustic painting of the human hand
Over the last few weeks I have been trying my hand at encaustic painting, while at the same time finally setting myself to learn some basics of anatomy. I’ve always had a sketchy grasp of the human hand, so it seemed a natural place to start. Slowly building up the wax musculature from the bones out, and literally […]
Plein air watercolor of Fort DeSoto beach
As I improve as a plein air painter, I one of the things I have begun to better “see” is color, like the late afternoon sun casting royal blue shadows in the white sand of the beach of Fort DeSoto Park, a county park just south of Tampa. Prettier than most state parks we’ve camped in, Fort DeSoto offers beautiful, palm-treed campsites […]
Camping pro tips sketch
Here are some notes our family made on the return road trip home from our last camping trip to the southwest. We visited Palo Duro Canyon in north Texas, Oliver Reed State Park in New Mexico, Balmorhea State Park and Abilene State Park in Texas.
Bust of Emperor Caracalla, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art
45-minute sketch in pencil. Not as fine as the bust of the same brute in the Nelson-Atkins Museum collection, but still a treat to draw.
Garden house watercolor
Pencil, watercolor wash. 8 x 10″, 1.5 hours. Today was a cool, overcast day. I did this using a well-loved Rosemary Kolinsky instead of my slightly-more-convenient watercolor pen. Having to recharge in a water glass with a much larger brush forced me to think about the application of water and so, think about the marks themselves. The result was a slower, sparser, better […]
2015 Hallmarket at Crown Center
It’s going to be beautiful, sunny and pleasant weather this weekend, so please come visit me and my other talented coworkers at my Hallmarket booth this Saturday between 10am and 5. I’ll be offering cool little prints (framed and unframed) for sale along with the remaining copies of my children’s hardcover comic book, 60 Ways To Leave Your […]
As Moses Lifted Up The Serpent
A sketchbook page in watercolor and pencil, 8×5″. After William Blake’s superb 1803 watercolor on the subject of John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
Memorial Day sketchbook: Assyrian Sphinx “Memory” at Liberty Memorial
This Memorial Day, our family again visited a gem of Kansas City: Liberty Memorial, the national World War I museum and memorial. It was a beautiful day with speeches and a band and color guards, lots of vets and active duty service members, and reenactment soldiers and nurses in historical dress. During it all, I […]
Theoreo
The Greek theoreo (theh-o-reh’-o) is used throughout the New Testament. Apparently we get the word “theater” from it. It denotes the act of observing at a distance, watching.
Preacher and Cranach’s damned man
Sometimes filling a sketchbook creates strange, unintentional juxtapositions. On the left: Dr. Nicholas Ellen, preaching. Right: damned man wailing from the pit of Hell in Cranach’s Last Judgement, from the Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City.
If I fail to obey the terms of this bargain…
Here is a screenshot of the inks for page 21 of Bruta The Witch. I’m taking a page from Greg Smallwood and trying all digital, from sketches to final inks. Maybe even for coloring. Not used to leaving my pencil in the jar. I’m scared.