Arno River Plein Air

A fellow artist and great friend of mine pointed me to a location south east of the Arno river about a 15 minute bike ride from my place. Not too far at all if you ask me. 

Over the locked gate I climb and down to the banks of the Arno is where I set up my station. Near this spot is a mini dam that cuts across the river diagonally. Across from me is a semi grassy patch where people come to get a tan or have a picnic if they so wish.  I've got my brushes and paints ready, coupled with the calming sound of the made made mini waterfall in front of me and the breezy autumn sun behind my back, I begin this plein air session...

Rough sketch on the 30cm x 40cm wood panel with some raw umber. 

Next, I plant in the local colours in its right value. 

 Orange-brown pigments are added next on the roofs of this privately owned estate. I continue to chisel more into the shapes.

Finally, I add little scrubs of paint here and there for effects like windows, water reflections, people, etc... and focus on edge quality. 

Be Our Guest!

I had an incredible summer here in Florence! :) 

It has come to a close. The freak hail storm this afternoon that made Florence look like it just snowed was the unofficial MET announcement saying, "It's Autumn!" There'll be fewer of my outdoor ink sketch postings. But I will continue to put work out from the studio. So stay tune for that as you follow me here and on my Facebook Art Page. 

8 pieces of my ink sketches were selected for the new menu covers at Il Santo Bevitore Restaurant in Florence. Formerly a horse carriage stop, it evolved into a motorcar garage and finally, a restaurant. 6 of the menus feature the behind the scenes in the restaurant, from main kitchen to dessert kitchen to private dinning area, not to mention also, the aperitif bar, Santino, two shops down. The other two are market scenes from my collection of Firenze sketches from 2014. 

 Main dining hall of Il Santo Bevitore. Incidentally, I took a really long time for this sketch... approximately 2.5 hours that came with 2 servings and a dessert. :)

 Main kitchen of Il Santo Bevitore

Mauro Frutta, Via dè Cerchi 16R 

Dessert Menu featuring dessert kitchen of Il Santo Bevitore 

 I was also able to design the layout for these menu covers

to ensure what needs to be shown will be shown. :)

Menu featuring Santino 

 The back page contains all my informational links so that customers

can contact me if they so wish to purchase or commission art.

Time-lapse: Cotton Candy Vendor

Cotton Candy Vendor

30cm x 42cm, Ink on Winsor and Newton Paper

Hi there!! The response from the first time-lapse video was incredible that I decided to produce another. This was shot during the night, so you can see how easily ink on paper can be applied even when the surrounding is dark. The focus on this looser ink sketch would be on shapes and basic values. I've also lengthened this clip to some extent so you'll see more happening as I sketch. 

Go here for the video:

https://gum.co/GGGr

Instructions for those using Gum Road for the first time:

(This Cotton Candy Vendor clip is free for now, so check it out!!)

1. Click on "I Want This"

2. Enter "0" for € is unless you want to share your lottery winnings :)

3. And then key in your email address.

(You should immediately see a "play" button.)

Do send me feedback about using this platform. If you know of friends that might enjoy this, please forward them this link. Thank you!!  :)

 Other videos can be found on my account on Gum Road.

Time-Lapse: Food Truck

Lampredottaro Food Truck

30cm x 42cm, Ink on Winsor and Newton Paper

Ciao people!! Some requests have been made for me to include videos to show my ink sketch process while on the streets.  I thought about it carefully and decided that the best way to produce a video that doesn't put one to sleep is by pumping up the speed of the clip and adding a neat audio track.  I've also created an account on Gum Road for this very purpose. So click on the link below for the video:

https://gumroad.com/l/bgsX

Instructions for those using Gum Road for the first time:

(This Food Truck video is free for now!!)

1. Click on "I Want This"

2. Enter "0" for € is unless you are feeling generous :)

3. And then key in your email address.

(You should immediately see a "play" button.)

Do send me feedback about using this platform. If you know of friends that might enjoy this, please forward them this blog page or Gum Road link.  Thank you and enjoy the clip! More to flow... if this is popular.  :)

Salmon on a Roll: Process

Here are the steps to a recent oil piece I did which completes the series of sushi studies. I took awhile to figure out the composition of this piece as I wanted it to complement the other 2.  I used a basic palette of: white, lemon yellow, yellow ochre, raw umber, cad orange, cad red (Old Holland), viridian green, cerulean blue and black. (All Winsor and Newton, except for cad red and orange which are Old Holland). I begin with a brown campitura. 

Drawing using raw umber and blocking in of the white shapes.

Blocking in of the rest of the shapes, and creating a basic gradient for the background.

 Adding gradients to give form or 3-dimensionality to the various individual shapes.

Working on the details only at the very last stage.

Check out these links to the other pieces in the series:

Give me Salmon (1/3) 

https://www.facebook.com/alvinmark.art/photos/a.736765696381483.1073741856.312232912168099/739354599455926/?type=3&theater

It's your Tuna! (2/3)

https://www.facebook.com/alvinmark.art/photos/a.736765696381483.1073741856.312232912168099/741369242587795/?type=3&theater