Singing? Seriously? - Just trying something different.

Head Drawing - Glen Orbik/ Reilly Method

17 Hours of Figure Drawing this past week. I've attended workshops at Courbet Art Circle, LCAD, 3 Kicks, & Catalyst. Why?

Recently I've been taking head drawing with Glen Orbik at 3Kicks Studio in Pasadena (http://3kickstudio.com). Only 6 students. SIX!!! I've been taking class for 4 weeks so far. We've covered basic construction, using shadow shapes, and basic Reilly Rhythms last week. 

"Have only 4 values, but all the edges you want." In Glen's demos, he puts down the placement of the features, blocks in the shapes, and continues to refines the shapes and edges until he gets a more finished piece. There are at most 2-3 values in the piece.  He works with a limited value range, and spends most of his time organizing the shapes and edges. 

This minimalistic method of drawing really coincides with my philosophy of living life: "Cherish what you already have, don't chase after things you don't need." The 2-3 values are all you need to render. The artistry is in the design the shapes and the choices you make.

Courbet Art Circle - Santa Ana, CA (http://artcircleus.com/workshops.htm)

Steve - Catalyst - Westminster, CA (http://www.artsupplywarehouse.com/catalyst.php)

Mark - 3 Kicks - Pasadena, CA

Roseanne - Courbet Art Circle - Santa Ana, CA (http://artcircleus.com)

Jessica - LCAD  - Laguna, CA (http://www.lagunacollege.edu/news.php?id=3)

Obsidian Entertainment - Irvine, CA

10K VIEWS!! THANK YOU!

Wow guys - I finally hit 10,000 views on my blog!!! This is very cool. Thank you for everyone who visits my blog. lol  I started this blog all the way back in 2007 (4 years ago), and started consistently posting in 2009 (3 years ago). But, I think it's only been this past year - after I graduated from college - that I really started to really take my art seriously and focus on getting better.

As a thank you, I'm offering a 20% off coupon (Coupon code: THANKYOU) for all my blog visitors for my Etsy Shop. All my original paintings come with a deluxe cardstock frame and FREE SHIPPING. This special deal will only last one week - so get it while it lasts! :)

Thanks!!!
Chris Chien

Urban Plein Air and Dice Tsutumi Study

These are paintings that I snuck into last week's blog post, but since they are new to the blog, I felt that they also deserved a proper introduction. 

Plein air at Woodbury.

More Dice Tsutsumi Studies 

Greg Pro Week

Week 2 was Greg Pro Week (www.gregpro.com). You've probably seen a lot of studies I've done from him before. This week was supremely difficult.  Some of the paintings were super detailed in terms of content and took a really long time to paint.

Plein Air Paintings WK2: Pools, Parks, Cozy Houses, Plastic Girls & 1950 Sex Icons

These plein airs are from last week. I've been really busy, haven't hide time to post.  I actually don't my work from this week isn't even that good. I missed my sketch quota on some days, but I made sure to get my pleins airs in. 

I actually took a break from painting this week. I've been a lot of freelance work earlier this week, and also doing a lot of plumbing and painting on my house. 

I have this really cool idea to get really good color theory today. It involves paint swatches from Lowes. Stay tuned!

Monday Night- Painting the Pool. Cool colors...

Tuesday - Irvine Regional Park. 

Wednesday Night - Painting my room. Too busy to go out...

Thursday - Painting Mannequins at Irvine Spectrum.  

Friday - AMC Theater at District. Painting Marilyn Monroe.