People and portraits

Cafe Tortilla

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La Cevezeria Alhambra in Valencia is famous in Spain for its tortillas. It’s a tiny place that at the time of this painting was run by a couple who had been there 37 years. After they retired their children took over. Looking through the window we see 3 people in conversation. We can almost hear the words passing between them.

At Cafe Tortilla
Cafe Tortilla, acrylics on canvas, 65 x 81 x 2 cm, painted edges 26 x 32 x 1″

There are two exposures of the painting. All images appear differently on devices. This one in particular is more diverse than most.

At Cafe Tortilla
Cafe Tortilla, acrylics on canvas, 65 x 81 x 2 cm, painted edges 26 x 32 x 1″

Cafe Tortilla is about a bar famous in Spain for its tortillas (Spanish omelets).  They make 5 or 6 varieties in their tiny kitchen.  After 37 years the couple retired.  He made the omelets and she served them with nary a smile.  She did not have time to smile.  The place was almost always packed.  You had to catch her eye to order- she would glance at you for a second as she sort of kept track of who was next.  You had to start talking right away or she was off.  

We were there when a newspaper photographer shot the photo I used to create the painting.  He stood outside as the three of us were talking.  

Drawings of Caravvagio paintings

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After seeing the Caravaggio and His Times Exhibit in Rome last week I did some rough-ish drawings of some of his paintings in conte crayon. The man certainly could draw very well in the manner of his day. That did not make him unusual as an artist for that time. Rather it was his perfecting the dramatic use of lighting in his paintings.

caravaggio boy bitten
From Boy Bitten by Lizard
lute sm
from The Musicians
caravaggio figures
St Francis of Assissi in Ecstasy
caravaggio bachus
From Bacchus

Torrents: Book cover ideas

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I recently was asked to do a book cover for a small publisher by the author who is a fan of my Music series of pen and ink drawings. These drawings are done at the Palau de la Musica in Valencia while in the audience. The lights are dimmed and typically we sit in the balcony where the sound is best. It is a fair distance from the musicians. So between the low light and the distance, I can not see the drawing I am making and the musicians are a bit on the fuzzy side, the faces and hand in particular being particularly small. Thus the results, which I do not see until the lights come up, are unpredictable and totally spontaneous. These are circumstances that are hard if not impossible to duplicate without renting the auditorium. In addition the author had a particular figure in mind and probably would not want half of him to be represented by a blind swipe with my water brush and be missing other body parts and the gesture altogether. So I had to mimic my own art under normal lighting and distance circumstances yet maintain major aspects of the figure in the photo she sent. It was a challenge, frustrating at times, but in the end she got a drawing she liked and thought would work well for her.

Here are my first versions, which is similar to the final one but which has far more detail in the background than the latter, which only has 3 shafts of light. I did not realize how stark she wanted it to be. It gives the figure so little context. But it was what she had in wind.

christian book cover 1
This figure is a bit fatter than the author wanted
christian book cover 3
I like the face on this one a bit better, about as much as the one on the final.

Both of these drawings are available for purchase.