Steve Penberthy

Been a While

2012-02-17T08:50:00.001-06:00

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've posted, but wanted to let you know that I have been hard at work on growing as an artist. Since August, I have been (believe it or not) working on an idea for a comic book! I've been doing lots of research, reading books about making comics, reading comic books, writing a script, and working hard on my figure drawing (through life drawing sessions and sketchbook practice). I'm not quite ready to reveal anything publicly, but I may at some point post sketches on my Flickr site. I've also been formulating new goals for my watercolor painting, and will return to painting very soon. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and I'm wishing everyone a very creative Holiday season! :^) -- Steve

I'm Showing at the 33August Art Exhibit, August 19-20, 2011!

2011-08-12T10:10:00.001-05:00

If you're in or near the St. Louis area, think about stopping by the opening reception of the "33August" art exhibit on Friday, August 19, from 5:30pm to 10pm.

I will have 3 of my paintings on display and for sale (one of which is shown here), so stop by for a look.

The 33August exhibit opening features new work by 33 artists, live music, and food and drink. Admission is free and open to the public at 37 South Old Orchard in Webster Groves, Missouri (a suburb of St. Louis).

The exhibit is also open for viewing (and purchase) on Saturday, August 20, from 10am to 5pm.

For a list of all participating artists and more information about the exhibit, visit http://www.myslart.org/events/33august.

Thanks in advance for helping spread the word and for supporting art! :)
Here's a map to the gallery:
View Larger Map

Artist's Journal Workshop - Video

2011-08-06T10:27:00.002-05:00

As I've mentioned in a previous post, I'm so pleased and honored to have several of my watercolor sketches included in Cathy Johnson's excellent new book, "Artist's Journal Workshop."

I created this video to highlight the pages on which my sketches appear; it's only about a minute long, so I hope you'll take a look. Also, please consider buying a copy of the book for yourself or as a gift--it's an excellent resource.

Finally, you can read my interview on the Artist's Journal Workshop blog here: http://artistsjournalworkshop.blogspot.com/2011/07/meet-our-interview-13-steve-penberthy.html

Enjoy,
Steve

Watercolor Sketch - Deer Lake Stream

2011-07-10T21:35:00.000-05:00

Deer Lake Stream
©2011 Steve Penberthy
Watercolor on Strathmore 140-lb CP paper
9" x 12" (22.9 cm x 30.5 cm)
I sketched this plein air in a cool shady location in Forest Park, St. Louis. I've driven by this particular area of the park many times, but I never realized this little spot existed before today. There are a thousand paintings to be painted here--there is jaw-dropping scenery everywhere one looks.

I enjoy painting plein air, but I haven't done much of it for a while, which added to the already inherant challenges with this scene. The scene was a "wall of green"--green everywhere I looked. So I abstracted the colors to break things up chromatically. Also, the scene was very complex, so I had to simplify things extensively. I'd like to practice more with this type of painting and hopefully I'll have more opportunities to do so this summer.

I saw lots of herons, egrets, and ducks while painting at this watery area of the park. In fact, one of the ducks walked up to me and stood about three feet away from me, patiently waiting for a handout. However, he slowly moved on once he figured out I was too busy painting to give him any bread crumbs...

Watercolor Painting - View from Chaumette Winery

2011-07-08T18:22:00.002-05:00

View from Chaumette Winery
©2011 Steve Penberthy
Watercolor on Strathmore 140-lb CP paper
9" x 12" (22.9 cm x 30.5 cm)
I had lunch at Chaumette Winery and Vineyards a few weeks ago, and this was the beautiful view that we enjoyed as we looked out on the property from the veranda of the restaurant. I was really impressed with the sweeping vistas and rolling hills.

The Chaumette Winery is located near Saint Genevieve, Missouri, in the southeastern part of the state. When I think of Missouri Wine Country, I typically think of the wineries near Augusta and Herman, Missouri, but Ste. Genevieve County has a growing number of wineries and is producing some interesting wines.

This painting is really a planning sketch, as I want to paint this on some larger paper. I used this sketch/painting to work out some problems and just get a feel for the scene. More to come on this one!

Enjoy,
Steve

Florida Beach Vacation

2011-05-22T13:56:00.000-05:00

Florida Beach Vacation
©2011 Steve Penberthy
Watercolor in Strathmore Visual Journal,
Strathmore 140-lb CP paper
9" x 12" (22.9 cm x 30.5 cm)

This sketch is the first one I've tried out in the Strathmore Visual Journal that I purchased recently. I've typically used the Canson Montval All-Media sketchbook as my watercolor sketchbook, but I was interested in trying the Strathmore since it contained 140-lb cold-press paper.

I thought the paper performed extremely well. There was little-to-no buckling of the paper even when I applied wet washes for the skies and sea. I have read in some online forums that people had a little trouble sketching using ink (for example using a Pigma Micron or similar), because the paper has a significant tooth (that is, some significant peaks and valleys in the texture of the paper); I used a 2B pencil for my sketch to avoid this potential issue. However, trying ink in this book will be my next experiment.

Enjoy,
Steve

Balancing Act

2011-03-12T15:40:00.003-06:00

Balancing Act
©2011 Steve Penberthy
Watercolor and ink on Strathmore Gemini 140-lb CP paper,
6.75" x 10.25" (16.8 x 26.0 cm)

Watercolor Painting - Near Telluride

2011-02-26T17:19:00.005-06:00

Near Telluride
©2011 Steve Penberthy
Watercolor on Strathmore Gemini 140-lb CP paper
15" x 11" (38.1 x 27.9 cm)

I've travelled to Telluride, Colorado many times, and it is one of the most scenic areas I've ever visited. This view is of a valley meadow just west of town, looking to the east towards the San Juan Mountains and the end of the box canyon in which Telluride is located. (view a photo of this scene from Google Maps)

I painted this scene from a photo I took a few years ago; I was drawn to the scene by the intense blue of the summer sky contrasted against the billowy clouds. I'd love to say that I just sat down at the paper and, with photo reference at my side, splashed some paint and out came a finished work. Far from the truth. It was a long road to get this painting to a composition with which I was satisfied.

First, I drew a pencil drawing of the scene, and I really liked the dark sky contrasting with the clouds; I knew that the focal point of the painting had to be a spot in the sky with the most contrast between dark and light. In fact, the drawing really didn't come together until I added very strong darks in the sky.

So, using my pencil sketch as a roadmap, I made an initial quarter-sheet painting. And I hated it. I mounted another quarter sheet to my board and painted it again. A little better this time, but I hated this second one also. I decided to let it sit for a day or so, so I could "walk around it" so to speak. In the past, I've had some success in getting a painting to a finished state by letting it lay dormant for a short time, allowing me time to gain some needed objectivity for the things I couldn't see (or think of) during the heat of the painting battle.

So, after a day or so, I looked at the painting again, and made a list of what I thought was wrong or needed correction:
1. I had failed to get my focal point across; I didn't have enough contrast between dark and light in the sky.
2. There wasn't much value contrast in the painting as a whole; it was largely middle values.
3. There was no light; no life. It looked flat.
4. The colors were muddy.
5. I had imprecise edges on the mountains from errant brush strokes and bleeding of the paint.

I started drawing value sketches--a lot of value sketches. I explored compositional changes, alternatives in value dominance, and even played with the idea of adding some close trees in the foreground as a new center of interest:

Thumbnail exploring compositional
and value alternatives

Should I add a tree in the
foreground as a focal point?

Third set of thumbnails exploring
compositional and value alternatives.
Finally--I like the one in the lower
right-hand corner!

Prototype on
iPhone Brushes app

I finally decided that, instead of making the mountains a middle value (as they were in the photo), I would represent them as a dark, thin shape. The skies would remain a middle value, the foreground a light value (the yellow I used in the final painting reads as a light value), and the clouds my lightest. To test whether this made sense using color, I quickly prototyped the painting using the Brushes app on my iPhone, as shown at left.

Finally satisfied with the values and composition, the painting came together. And I addressed the muddy colors by giving my palette and brushes a much-needed cleaning.

It was a fun day in the studio, but it was the work of the initial attempts, objective analysis, and thumbnail sketches that brought it all together.

I don't go through this process with all of my paintings; in fact, I probably did a better job than I ever have at trying to critically analyze what wasn't working. I learned a lot!

Enjoy!
Steve

Sketch - City Skyline

2011-02-16T17:18:00.000-06:00

©2011 Steve Penberthy, City Skyline
Graphite on paper
3.5" x 5.5" (8.9 x 13.9 cm)

A pencil sketch of the view from my window during lunch today. I took a photo reference too, so this might serve me well as a value sketch for an upcoming painting...

Five Great Art Quotes

2011-01-30T20:09:00.001-06:00

I've long been a collector of quotes, but only those that speak to me in one particular way or another. I plan to share five or so quotes every so often so that you might benefit from them as well. Enjoy! -- Steve

"In many things, but more particularly in drawing, I think that delving deeply into something is better than letting it go."
- Vincent Van Gogh, Oct. 1881

"The great-at-anything do not set to work because they are inspired, but rather become inspired because they are working. They don't waste time waiting for inspiration."
- Ernest Newman

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
- Herald Whitman

"You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision with a finer spirit of hope and achievement."
- Woodrow Wilson

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”
- Pablo Picasso

Birds at the Feeder

2011-01-29T17:40:00.001-06:00

I always enjoy watching the wild birds who visit our feeder. We get a wide variety of visitors, but there are always the regulars, such as juncoes, chickadees, sparrows, purple finches, and, of course the our favorite--the colorful red cardinals. I occasionally see various woodpeckers (such as Northern Flickers), but it's rare. I had a short amount of time this afternoon to sit down and attempt to capture some very quick sketches of these little guys; the sketches are really just gesture drawings since the birds are in such constant movement. They don't seem to like to strike a pose for very long... I used a 6B Derwent pencil for the drawings and added a little watercolor here and there (mosly for color notes) using my homemade sketcher's box pictured here:

New Watercolor Sketching Book (and blog)!

2011-01-18T20:56:00.006-06:00


"Dallas Farmer's Market" by Steve Penberthy

I’m thrilled to share with you that some of my watercolor artwork will be included in Cathy (Kate) Johnson’s upcoming new book, “Artist’s Journal Workshop: Creating Your Life in Words and Pictures.” North Light Books will release the book in late June 2011.

From Amazon.com:

“Based on her own 40 years' experience in keeping an artist's journal, Cathy Johnson knows that an artist's creative life can benefit from written and visual explanations and experiments. Over the course of this book, you will benefit from the tips, techniques and exercises that will make your artist's journals your own. You will also discover how to use your journal to celebrate any occasion or milestone, work through a problem or creative block, plan future works, sketch from life and experiment with new materials or techniques. With 24 contributors from around the world there is a variety of styles and perspectives throughout the book, and with 15+ exercises you will learn to personalize your journal in a variety of ways.”

I am thrilled to have been asked to contribute artwork to this amazing project. From the beginning, I’ve thought that Kate’s idea for this book was right on target, and that a lot of people would benefit from her treatment of this varied subject. I’ve long held that a sketchbook can be a work on art in-and-of itself, so a new book expressly about that process scratches me where I itch.

Again, the book won’t be available until late June 2011, but you can get more info and pre-order the book from Amazon.com here -
http://www.amazon.com/Artists-Journal-Workshop-Creating-Pictures/dp/1440308683/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I143P09DZ2LVA9&colid=2ETLRT6BWR180

Also, please visit Kate's new blog titled, "Artist’s Journal Workshop – The Book and Beyond" at http://artistsjournalworkshop.blogspot.com/
Kate focuses this blog expressly on the new book and its various artist-contributors, where the artists, their sketches, and other great information will be explored in more detail. All of the contributors will be interviewed, and there’s several posted already. Be sure to check it out. I’ll be sure to let you know when my interview comes around. :)

Kate gives some background on how the idea for the book came about here.

Enjoy!
Steve

What Lurks Down an Alley?

2011-01-16T16:50:00.001-06:00

Alley at Belleview and Wise
©2011 Steve Penberthy
Watercolor and ink in Canson Montval All-Media sketchbook, 90-lb CP paper
9" x 12" (22.9 x 30.5 cm)

If you're looking for ideas for landscape subjects to sketch and paint, don't rule out your nearby alley--it's a great way to practice your perspective drawing. A perspective view really draws the viewer's eye into a painting or sketch. I guess this is why I'm drawn (no pun intended) to alleyways; they usually stretch out for a long distance, lending themselves to a single vanishing point. Plus, alleys always seem to contain such interesting, odd stuff: boxes, dumpsters, trash cans, strange lighting and fencing, what appear to be abandoned cars, etc.

Alleys in older European cities are usually the leftovers of an ancient street system. Today, they seem to serve as places to put out the trash or to perhaps park your car between buildings.

I wanted to do this quick sketch because alleys have been on my brain lately; I don't know why. Since the scene has a only single vanishing point, I just kind of guessed at the perspective lines. I spent about 15 minutes creating the little thumbnail sketches, mostly to see what I wanted to do with my values. I spent about 30 minutes on the watercolor sketch, again paying the most attention to getting some really dark values into it. You'll see that I did three thumbnails: two of the same scene with differing value choices and one of a alleyway of telephone poles. I didn't choose the telephone pole scene to paint since it didn't look as interesting to me as the other alley scene. Always good to have a choice!

Watercolor Painting - Belleview In & Out Market

2010-12-05T16:24:00.002-06:00

Belleview In and Out Market
©2010 Steve Penberthy
Watercolor and ink on Strathmore Gemini 140-lb CP paper in handmade sketchbook
6" x 9" (15.2 x 22.9 x cm)

This little grocery market is tucked away in a neighborhood not far from Forest Park in St. Louis. I thought the facade of this building was very interesting, and I see this type of architecture in various parts of town. I'm sure the architectural style has a name, but I don't know what it is (please comment if you do).

This small painting is sort of an experiment in a new style for me, using pen-and-ink in an illustrative style then adding watercolor washes for color. I plan to do a larger painting in this style very soon.

Before adding watercolor, I did a value sketch using my PITT artist brush pens. I made a photocopy of my sketch, and added value:

Top Watercolor Painting Blogs

2010-11-30T15:01:00.001-06:00

OnlineGraphicDesignDegree.com

I was honored to find that my blog has been included on the Online Graphic Design Degree website in their list of Top Watercolor Painting Blogs!

The website is dedicated to helping those considering a career in graphic design, and the blog list provides readers with a resource to learn more about the art of sketching and painting in watercolor.

I love lists like this, as they aggregate similar information in one place for one-stop shopping; I'm looking forward to perusing the list of blogs myself, as I'm sure there are some gems that I've not run across before.

You can take a look at their list of Top Watercolor Painting Blogs at http://www.onlinegraphicdesigndegree.com/features/painting-watercolor/

Enjoy!
Steve

Alessandra at the Artist's Guild

2010-11-24T15:01:00.001-06:00

Alessandra at the Artist's Guild
©2010 Steve Penberthy
Charcoal and NuPastel on newsprint
14" x 17" (36 x 43 cm)

Watercolor Sketch - Main Street, Old St. Charles

2010-08-20T14:57:00.000-05:00

Main Street, Old St. Charles
©2010 Steve Penberthy
Pigma Micron 03 pen and watercolor wash in Aquabee Super Deluxe 808 sketchbook
6" x 9" (15 x 23 cm)

I sketched this while having coffee at Picasso's Coffeehouse in St. Charles, MO.

The streets were mostly blocked off, and I saw a blur of activity around me as vendors were setting up tents and receiving deliveries of supplies in preparation for Festival of the Little Hills this weekend.

Shortly after lunchtime, I got caught in a huge thunderstorm, and got completely soaked trying to get to my car; thankfully my sketchbooks remained dry in my backpack...

(sub)Urban Sketch - McDonald's

2010-08-13T18:24:00.002-05:00

(sub)Urban Sketch - McDonald's
©2010 Steve Penberthy
Pigma Micron 03 pen and watercolor wash in Aquabee Super Deluxe 808 sketchbook
6" x 9" (15 x 23 cm)

Off work today, so I sketched this view of the interior of a McDonald's where I beat the heat with a cold drink. There weren't many people in the restaurant, yet it was very loud in there--most of the noise came from the employees behind the counter along with the fryer timers going off, etc.

On The Go with Don Colley (and his PITT Artists Pens)

2010-08-10T18:25:00.001-05:00

Today I came across this awesome video featuring artist Don Colley titled, "On The Go With PITT Artist Pens." Of course, the video is a promotional work, but I was really inspired by it--it's sort of a day in the life of an urban sketcher at work.
Don is an incredible artist. I had the good fortune to meet and talk with Don for a while at the Learning & Product Expo in Chicago in 2008, where he showed me his incredible sketches and let me browse through his sketchbooks; he uses large antique ledger books as sketchbooks, complete with pre-printed page numbers and grid lines. Examples of his sketchbooks appears in the photo below and throughout the video. I bought a set of PITT gray-scale brush markers/pens as a result of my interaction with him; some examples of sketches I've created with these pens appear in one of my previous blog posts.

Colley's work in a Faber-Castell catalog

A listing of other videos featuring Mr. Colley (and other artists) using various Faber-Castell products can be found on Faber-Castell's website.

This Is Not a Song

2010-06-21T20:57:00.008-05:00

©2010 Steve Penberthy, This Is Not a Song
Watercolor on Arches 300-lb CP paper
9" x 14" (23 x 36 cm)

I was out sketching with the St. Louis Drawing and Painting Meetup Group for the St. Louis Public Library's "Not So Quiet!" lunchtime concert series. It was a scorching-hot day, and the midday sun heated things in typical St. Louis summer fashion--it was 94 degrees and extremely humid.

This painting depicts a few members of the Bottoms Up Blues Gang band setting up their equipment. Once they got set up, they did a quick sound check where the singer repeatedly sang "This is not a song, this is not a song, this is not a song, this is not a song" while the band warmed up with a three-chord blues progression.

I wanted to paint this because I was struck by the blazing-white umbrellas installed in this downtown plaza area, which provided shelter from the sweltering sun for the people who arrived early to get a shady spot (including me).

For this painting, I used a limited palette of raw sienna, burnt sienna, perm. alizarin crimson, ultramarine deep, and Payne's gray. The shadow areas were created by mingling the alizarin crimson and ultramarine blue together on the paper wet-into-wet, which allowed the colors to mingle on their own. I feel like I achieve a satisfactory color harmony that pulls everything together.

Watercolor Sketch - Lunchtime at the Public Library Concert, 9th and Locust, St. Louis

2010-06-18T20:14:00.009-05:00

Lunchtime at the Public Library Concert, 9th and Locust, St. Louis
Watercolor and ink on Strathmore 140-lb CP paper
9" x 12" (23 x 31 cm)
©2010 Steve Penberthy

I sketched in downtown St. Louis over lunchtime and took in the St. Louis Public Library's "Not So Quiet! Concert Series." Today's entertainment was provided by the Bottoms Up Blues Gang, featuring vocalist Kari Liston, guitarist Jeremy Segel-Moss and Adam Andrews on harmonica. The BUBG plays a unique blend of originals and covers in the styles of Delta Blues, R&B, Soul, Jazz, and Blues-influenced Rock & Roll.

It was 94 degrees with a triple-digit heat index, but an occasional breeze, a shady spot, and some cold water kept the heat at bay.

Watercolor Sketch - Mississippi River south of Memphis, TN

2010-06-08T16:53:00.001-05:00

Mississippi River south of Memphis, TN
9" x 12" (22.3 x 35.0 cm)
Watercolor and uni-ball micro pen in Canson Montval All-Media sketchbook, 90-lb CP paper
©2010 Steve Penberthy

This is the view looking towards Arkansas from the terrace at the National Ornamental Metal Museum, just south of downtown Memphis, TN. The bridge at the right is I-55.

Had some great BBQ while in Memphis, and I'm looking forward to going back soon to take in more of the music scene there.

Tip: Watercolor Tube Storage Solution

2010-05-24T12:37:00.000-05:00

My sister hipped me to this awesome tip, so I thought I would share it with everyone on the blogosphere. Where and how do you store your tubes of watercolor paint? I just store mine in a quart-sized Ziplock bag...

But, Staples (you know--the guys with the "Easy" button...) sells a plastic box with a snap closure that's intended to store 3" x 5" index cards. However, It holds watercolor tubes perfectly! The index-card-storage boxes come in a translucent white (shown above) and also colors. Cost: about $1.50 USD. I haven't been able to find them on their website, but they are available in stores.

This little plastic box offers a rigid storage solution that's perfect for traveling with your tubes of paint, helping to prevent crushed tubes and consequent messes. Let me know if this tip works out for you!

Donna's Dad's Boat

2010-04-07T21:27:00.005-05:00

Donna's Dad's Boat
8" x 10" (20 x 25 cm)
Watercolor on Arches 140-lb CP paper
©2010 Steve Penberthy

This painting was requested by a friend; he will be giving the painting to his wife as an anniversary gift. This boat is her father's, and represents one of her favorite things--getting out on the boat in Florida. I was in their wedding, so it was especially cool to paint this for them. Happy Anniversary guys! :)

I painted large washes for both the sky and the sea. The sky is a single wash of Cobalt Blue [Holbein], with clouds created by lifting pigment with a paper towel. The sea is a glaze of two washes of Cerulean Blue [Holbein], which I "greened" on the second wash by mixing in a little Hansa Yellow Medium [Daniel Smith] to suggest the thinning depth as it approached the sand, and the violet shadows were a mix of Ultramarine Deep & Perm. Aliz. Crimson [both Holbein]. The metallic hues were made with the Cerulean greyed by mixing in some Pyrrol Orange [Daniel Smith]. Darks (boat's roof, riggings) were done in Indigo [Holbein].

I employed masking/frisket extensively to preserve white areas.

Urban Sketch - Sketch of "Eros Bendato" Sculpture at Citygarden

2010-03-28T15:21:00.003-05:00

Sketch of "Eros Bendato" Sculpture at Citygarden
6" x 9" (15 x 23 cm)
Pigma Micron pen and Pitt Artist Brush Pens in Aquabee 808 Super Deluxe Sketchbook
©2010 Steve Penberthy

This sculpture, titled "Eros Bendato" is by artist Igor Mitoraj artist bio

I did some urban sketching at the Citygarden in downtown St. Louis. Citygarden is a new urban sculpture park featuring stunning modernistic works of art placed among the meandering walkways. Citygarden features elements of water, stone, architecture, and design, and is a true jewel of art in St. Louis. This was my first visit to Citygarden; I met there to sketch with other St. Louis artists as part of the St. Louis Drawing and Painting meetup group.

The day was overcast, a little breezy, and the high temperature only got up to around 60F. However, the sun peeked out a few times which helped to warm things slightly. Prior to braving a chilly afternoon of sketching, my wife and I had lunch at The Terrace View cafe, adjacent to Citygarden; the food was excellent with an equally inventive menu. When in downtown St. Louis, make Citygarden part of your plans.