2 from today

  Gouache color studies from the car today.

Sunday on Whidbey Island

I just got back from spending the afternoon and a good part the evening seeing some old friends.  I managed to get out briefly to do this little gouache painting.

SKULL

A piece I never posted, painted a few years back

Skull on red

10" x 12"

oil

October color in Seattle

color studies
gouache on toned paper.

Oil in the nude

little nude oil sketch from Saturday.

10" x 12"

Light Load

Random

Random fighter sketch

Street scene

Temples

I continue to play around with pencil. 

Tomorrow I'm off to get softer lead.

Eight

 Visual development for the movie in my mind

Boulder mystic

6.25" x 8.75"

Playing around with gouache and going gonzo with the color.

Strong Man.

Playing with color

both are 3" x 5.5" Gouache on toned Paper.

Talking to the bee.

Gouache on toned Paper

MORNING SKETCH I have come to realize I love doing fast sketches in the morning. I think it's the fresh state of mind that morning tends to offer once in a while.

Urban Color studies

gouache on toned paper

High mountain temple

Attitude of gratitude

Some just know how to receive.

Something I did over the weekend. more to come.

Sunrise at 6:09.

gouache sunrise at 6:09

Arboretum color studies

Didn't get to bed till about 3:00 last night but I told myself I would force myself up in the morning before it gets to hot and go do a little painting outside. So here are some gouache color studies in the cool morning. Now I need a nap.

Strange long hot day.

Today in Seattle we broke some heat records. It got up to 105 in my part of town, granted most people around here don't have AC and I am one of them. It's 97 right now in my house and I have two fans kicked on high blowing warm air on me, AWESOME! On Top of that it's been a very trying crazy sort of day. One of those days that produces major changes in ones life. But amidst all the turmoil I did these concept sketches, which seems all to fitting to my life right now.

From the Deck

Steve's Mountain 11" x 14" oil

Painted this one from the deck of my brothers house, I planned on doing more but the BBQ took hold.

Gouache color studies

I did these gouache color studies after work today. Hopefully more will be on the way soon as I was thinking of tackling the arboretum on the way to work one morning this week.

3 more

Few more concepts from the same project as the post below.

Unused.

I know some people that have a huge list of games they have worked on that never made it to the store shelf. It's always a bummer especially when it comes to the resume. A lot of games get cut by the publisher or the game studio is so mismanaged and in turn poorly executed project getting it canned. This was from such a project. In the beginning the game concept was clean and simple with plenty of room for game play depth. I only ended up working on it for the demo to pitch to publishers but once it got sign I soon found a new job and avoided, what seems like now it's inevitable fate.

Style wise it was going to be fun and funky. these are some textures and a little concept that were for the demo.

LOG

Went out to the forest to paint this log, I fed a family of mosquitoes before calling it quits.

GAS TUG

Gouache sketches the first one is a from a tug boat on Harbor island and the second is from Gasworks park.

WATER LILY

digital panting that I planned to tighten up and finish , but then I moved on to something else. When I circled back to work on it again, there was no desire. Bah! Should have stoked the fire while it was still burning with this one.

fan 8" x 16" oil

Sarah gouache on toned paper

Random sketch.

a couple from this afternoon.

first one of the morning.

Trees and Knight

More sketching fun.

CHIC WITH SWORD

Blonde

16" x 20" oil Another Monday night painting.

A little morning color sketch.

Colleen last sketch for today.....

Big Gun

Wasn't falling asleep so I decided to do this till I was tired, good night.

Seated Pigeon 16" x 8" oil From the Saturday open session.

metal pet. photoshop sketch

Future city Photoshop So this sketching while others take smoke breaks is working out.

30" x 30"

detail shot Don't laugh to hard, I was mucking around a little while ago. Was playing with a milky hazy look and something that's not observational art. Was fun. =)

Head Sketch 10" x 12" oil

Stumped 10" x 12" Oil My Saturday painting Offerings.

10" x 12" oil Painted at the arboretum in Seattle over the weekend. The spring colors slap your eyes if you so choose to let it.

25 minute gouache Head sketch

Some Gestures with Gouache

Jacqueline 18"x24" oil

Vase with Oranges 12" x 10"

Teabag 6" x 8" oil quick study

Apples 9" x 12" oil Vertical strokes with squiggly edges was a fun exercise to try

Green Apples 30" x 40" oil

Pigeon seated 12" x 16" oil 3 hour painting, model breaks included.

the Gouache Sk...

figures and portraits

By Joseph Kresoja

Book Preview

I put together a little book of my gouache sketches

Mandarin 10" x 12" oil

Sarah in white 22" x 28" oil This was a 2 week pose. 6 hours total, including model breaks.

Small Gouache piece I did out of my head. Was influence by Isaak Levitan paintings.

red shirt 16" x 20" oil I can't remember the name of the model we had, hence the title.

Raia

36"x 36" oil

butterfly clips 20" x 24" oil

the only one that turned out this weekend at a open figure drawing session. gouache on toned paper 25 min

Blue Cranes 11" x 14" oil It was cold, windy and the light was changing. But I had plenty of blue on hand.

18" x 24" oil Gave myself a good chunk of a rainy Saturday morning to this piece.

Japanese maple madness oil 24" x 30"

profile sketch 18"x 14" oil

20 minute poses at life drawing today. both are gouache on toned paper

Pigeon in haze 16" by 20" oil

16" by 20" oil I attempted to paint this plein air again. Granted the day, wasn't what I was looking for but then again my skills didn't make up for it either. Was looking for more somber weather. Regardless it was fun to do. I might still do some work on it. Fix the water for starters, but I plan on attempting this again in the fall when the trees are changing colors.

Little Dragon 20" x 24" oil

Finally gave these Langnickel brushes an honest try rather than just talking about it.
this is what came out of the Monday night open session.

16" x 20"
oil

Interior shot of my living room / art studio. My cat was chillin on the couch looking out the window
20" x 24"

Pigeon in white
20" x 24"

strip poker
16" x 20"

Some process pics from one of the paintings in the previous post.

Jen
16" x 20"
oil on canvas

Red suitcase
20"x 24"
oil on canvas

My latest gouache sketches.

I got around to re-designing my website. It's the fancy now. go check it
kresoja.com

Raia

14" x 18"

oil on canvas

Did this one months ago. Forgot I had it.

10" x 12" oil

koyoko 20" x 24" oil

I didn't mean to but her face looks very anime to me, has a face doll look.

8" x 10" oil on linen
A little still life I did over the weekend. The flower was from my yard.

10"x 12" oil on linen

A gas works park sketch

big red ruby
18" x 24"
oil on canvas

Painted sketches from this morning.
I scanned these in at a higher resolution so there not so small.

gouache on toned paper

Aaron
oil on linen
10" x 12"

Was digging through some older art and found this one. I remember finding the model and pose so unsurprising at the time, then I looked across the room to see my friend Aaron Coberly getting down with the brushes. Don't think he looked over at me once he was so focused. Go check out his stuff if you haven't. This Dude is one to watch.

A few from this morning.

Gouache on toned paper

I took a picture with my phone after every 25 minute break.
Wish I had more time, felt rushed on this one. The 3 hours just flew by. Didn't go nearly thick enough in spots that I wanted and the hands and feet got a rush job. Bah!

blue kimono
16"x 20"

16" x 20" oil

CREMNITZ WHITE.


So the last 2 paintings I've posted are with the use of Cremnitz white. Its a different beast than Titanium. In the first painting I was in love with stuff, and this last one, well I chalk it up to not having a good painting night. You need so much of this stuff for a painting. You can go darker in valve very easy and get smooth edges like nobodies business. But you really have to use a lot of white and a lot less color paint for lighter valves.
I felt out of control with it on this painting. But that's me not the paint. It's fun using due to it making me think differently about mixing and applying paint. I'm excited to keep using it for a while, Who knows I might try putting both whites on the palette capitalizing on their strengths.

One from last night
oil 24' x 20"

Haven't gone life drawing with my gouache in a few months, but I did manage to get out of bed this morning and go. These 2 or the only decent ones I got.

Homage to Nicolai Fechin.

a quick little gouache of Fechin's Indian girl Portrait

I took a picture every 25 minutes during the model break. Not the greatest photos but you get the point.

20" x 16"

14"x 11" oil

When I painted this, right afterwards while cleaning up I decided to scrape this painting with a palette knife. Only then did I start to see something.

Another portrait from an open painting session. I was playing around with the palette knife and such. Parts of it I like and other parts not so much .

24" x 20"
oil

16"x20" oil

10" x 12 oilWith so many color choices of paint out there, how many are just fools gold?

This is the first painting using my new choice of colors. I've been using the same base color palette for quite a long time. I've added and taken away colors for sure, but I always ended up roughly using the same ones. To understand color better and call attention to the mixing habits I've gotten over the years I decided to simplify.

I didn't want a palette so limited that you could tell . So I went for the biggest bang for the buck or the least amount of colors with maximum amount of range.

I could've just used one primary each but decided on a warm and cool of each primary, plus black and white.

My new choice of oil colors

Titanium White
Cad Yellow light
Cad Yellow Med
Cad Red Light
Quinacridone Red
Phthalo Blue
Ultramarine Blue
Ivory Black

I don't know how long this little experiment will last, but I do know I will learn something. Hell I already miss my green.

Early morning Plein Air
11"x14" oil

This was sunday morning out in the industrial part of Seattle. I've been inspired to get up after checking out the Early Bird Painters Blog.
some really sweet stuff over there.

11" x 14" oil

I didn't use any blues and stayed away from the burnt umber on my palette for this one.
16"x 20"

Early morning painting of a cement factory. I started it outside, blocking in the big shapes and color. Finished it this morning from a photo I took while I was painting. The factory looked like a cathedral all lite up.

18"x 24" 0il

from a Monday night open session
Oil 24"x 20"

3 from this morning.
gouache on toned paper

wishing the poses where longer than just twenty minutes. Could get more down, more accurate. but I suppose half the fun is feeling rushed.

During the breaks at a figure drawing session I go to, I busted out these little studies.
gouache on toned paper.

Went figure drawing this morning. The last one of the year. This was the first 20 minute pose of the session. It was the only one that turned out halfway decent. Thank god there is next year.