PAINTFX

LA Historic State Park

2012-02-06T13:47:00.000-08:00

This is a nice view from the park looking towards a bridge and a mountain behind. The bridge is Broadway Blvd going over LA River. I just watched the movie IN TIME, and the bridge was in the movie.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T02:50:00.000-08:00

I wish you all have a great year:)

2011 is almost over

2011-12-16T17:11:00.000-08:00

We have about two more weeks to go until we welcome the year of the end, 2012.It will be interesting to see the apocalypse not from a movie screen but for real. How the light will look like then? Of course, I don't wish the end to come. Honestly, I don't think it will happen.

Rose Bowl

2011-12-06T14:28:00.000-08:00

I did another painting near Rose Bowl. The hardest thing about painting there is to find a good spot where I can quietly paint and not worry about the joggers or dogs... I found nice stairs no one uses, so I sat there and painted this scene. Originally, I just wanted to paint the house, but I ended up including the area around it. The house is barely visible at this point, but the idea is to show how it is a part of this big hill.

Pasadena House

2011-11-29T18:10:00.000-08:00

The house was built right on the edge of the hill, which was covered with trees and bushes. The sunlight was also hitting the house straight on. The setting was perfect to make a good painting.

North Hollywood

2011-11-07T10:21:00.000-08:00

Victory/Vineland Recreation Center.

North Hollywood Regional Branch Library

2011-10-26T19:12:00.000-07:00

It's a historical building I believe. The sytle is mixture of Art Deco and Spanish. It has very nice interior as well. The low ceiling gives an antique feel to the space.

Panorama Vista

2011-10-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

St Paul's First Lutheran Church

2011-10-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

I did this during lunch time. It was fun to paint the light pattern on this beautiful building.

http://www.stpaulsfirst.org

Santa Monica Pier

2011-09-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

3pm. Great lighting. Yet Monday Pier was a bit deserted.Glendale Power Plant. 6pm. The structure is interesting that it almost look like a theme park. Compare with the image above and you will find the similarity.

Glendale-Metro Region

2011-09-06T10:15:00.000-07:00

I liked how the center tree sat in the middle of the grass, and everything else looked as if they were surrounding it like Shrek's tree house in the swamp. The trunk had interesting twist as well.

Artwork for Sale

2011-08-30T01:36:00.000-07:00

I sat up a page for my paintings. Take a free tour here. I hope you will enjoy it.

Beach

2011-08-12T00:10:00.000-07:00

I love going to beach during summer. The setting reminds me of my summer days in Japan.

Goldleaf Painting

2011-08-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

I painted this as a gift for some one special. This is painted on 4' x 4' wood panel.

Lighting

2011-08-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

This was done during sunset hour. It took several days because the lighting didn't last long. I like how warm light casts the scene. Grouping the light and shadow separately helped to create a strong read on light. This is a baseball field and there is a score board in front of the building.
I usually paint around sunset, but this one was done around 9am. I wanted to see how the light was different. Unfortunately it was cloudy, but the greenery really stood out as cool light intensified the green color.

Summer

2011-07-31T14:56:00.000-07:00

I tried to imitate a gouache painting by painting in Photoshop.

Fat Burger

2011-07-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

It took a while to look for a fun subject to paint, then I finally found this Fat Burger in Hollywood. I like the placement and the composition of this building. When I finished, I noticed the diamond logo spins only at night.

Mountain

2011-07-21T16:46:00.000-07:00

I admire how California Impressionists capture lighting. I am happy that I was able to capture the simplicity of this composition.

7:30pm

2011-07-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

I liked how the dynamic cast shadows stretches across this plain.

Freeway

2011-07-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

I painted the freeway 5 structure from the soccer park in Glendale. It was a perfect setting to paint except there was no shade over the table I painted. One of the good things about a sunny day is the high contrast in light. I was fascinated by the graphic shape which the freeway and the trees formed. The colors were in the light and shadow was very dark. I was able to capture the impression I was going for. I grouped the shadow more and made the light side lighter.

Forest Lawn in Glendale

2011-07-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a tower that I have been wanting to paint. I could see it from San Fernando Blvd, so I parked and painted it. I am thinking of painting a series of this building.

Mimi's Cafe

2011-07-05T11:44:00.000-07:00

I was surprised that many places were open on 4th of July. I like the themed environment that Mimi's Cafe provides for its customers. I only wish the food was more special;P

Journey to Hogwarts

2011-07-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

I made this painting for Nucleus Harry Potter Exhibition. I use acrylic because I wanted to put more details into the painting. In result, I got more of a textural look with the brush strokes and glazing.

Cafe in Alhambra

2011-06-10T16:38:00.000-07:00

I had a good time sketching with my friends, Davin and Greg. It was great to hang out and make some art. Plus, the food wasn't that bad.

Equestian Center

2010-10-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

Another practice using Gouache. It was a cloudy day, so the landscape was easier to see and paint.
location

Burbank Power Plant

2010-09-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

I didn't know what this structure was for, but it was cool that I had to try to paint it. I would imagine that it would be fun to play a tag here. BTW, ants seem to be a bit aggressive around here...

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=115845291291060443996.00048fdb25147874f854c&z=19

Some update

2010-09-08T15:33:00.000-07:00

Sunset, Manhattan Beach. I painted a little alley surrounded by nice houses with a beautiful oceanic view. But the parking situation wasn't friendly at all. We ended up parking all the way up the hill where there was a public park with several parking spaces around it.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=&sll=33.882165,-118.408864&sspn=0.005041,0.011362&ie=UTF8&ll=33.882198,-118.409212&spn=0.001269,0.00284&z=19

A view from Buena Vista Park in Burbank near Forest Lawn. I am not a great fan of this house itself, but I like how it is located right below the hill and next to LA River. They should seriously remodel their house to a fairytale house like one from Red Hood.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=34.152252,-118.32777&spn=0.002513,0.005681&z=18

summer paintings

2010-08-11T00:27:00.000-07:00

These are done under hot sun that really illuminated the landscape. Stronger the sunlight is, colorful the scene becomes.

Finally

2010-07-14T12:24:00.000-07:00

I have been painting this church for a while, but the paintings never came out the way I wanted.
I think it's because of the white local color. It's hard to get those colors. One tip is to paint nice bright light colors first, then match the shadow colors according to the light colors.

different time and weather

2010-06-27T22:48:00.000-07:00

Sunset(7pm). This is FWY 2 near Harvey Dr Exit on FWY 134. I really like the scale of it. The cars are as long as the bottom length of the V structure, so this fwy bridge is pretty big. I should have painted the cars in... The sunset hit the dirt and illuminated the under side of the bridge in golden tone, which was constantly changing.
Cloudy day(9am) This tree(pine?) was also huge, but vertically. I was getting my tires replaced, so I painted meanwhile. It was interesting to paint in the morning. I will try to do that more often. Many colors were soft with bluish tone overall. It was also another hi-key painting. North Hollywood looks very peaceful in this painting.

daily paintings

2010-06-24T23:17:00.001-07:00

This is to see color relationship of cel-vinyl paints. Red, Purple, and Green are pretty dark.
Hi-key Pastel tone.
I wanted to paint the glowing saturated green in shadow, so I muted the light. I should have kept the rest of the shadow elements lighter...

The hills

2010-06-15T00:18:00.001-07:00

Not happy with them. Critic will be welcomed:)

along LA river

2010-06-10T15:22:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to talk about it... I was trying to have warm and cool balance in the paintng. I was also trying a different way to paint which I apply more bold colors and make them all harmonize.

For Yuka-chan

2010-05-19T18:52:00.000-07:00

I did this for my cousin who is about to get married. It's for people to write comments on it.

Updates

2010-05-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

They are all done at different locations except the bottoms. I was on Bob Hope Drive looking towards the mountain across the freeway 134. It has an amazing view.

Dangerously Toxicated Zombish Things from Smelly Polluted Wasteland

2010-03-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

This was for CG Society's CG Challenge XXV B-MOVIE. Unfortunately, they closed the image entry before the dealine(4-19-2010) due to the large number of submission. It never happened before. So I don't know where else to put this but here. It was fun to work on those ideas, Prof. Tarantula, Giant Panda, Revenge of The Chicken, Pharao Resurrection, and The Trash Man.

Thank you Daylight Saving Time!

2010-03-23T01:47:00.000-07:00

Which means I have time to paint landscapes after work hour. It is nice to chase the sunset and see how the sky turns colors. These were painted in Glendale. Man, I could do this all day. BTW, I touched up in Photoshop because I wasn't able to fully control the colors under such dark sky.

My home town

2010-01-05T17:14:00.000-08:00

I went back to Japan during the holiday break. Originally, I wanted to paint the temple but it was awefully crowded. So I wondered around other area with my bike and found this view. There were residential buildings on a hill and a river which was in the middle of the painting but 5 feet below the street level. This is a very familiar view for me, so I am happy.

Painting for Auction

2009-11-20T15:26:00.000-08:00

I made a painting for a charity auction held by Loma Linda University Children's Hospital. Click the link for more information. http://www.giftedartist.blogspot.com
I hope some one will purchase this piece which shows my almost-there fantasy.

Sun goes down pretty fast these days...

2009-10-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

It is Magnolia Blvd in Burbank. I was initially gonna paint the power plant, which is right next to it, but I thought this view had more potential. It is a bridge going over FWY5. I like how many elements were presented in front of me. The clouds were casting shadows on the mountain. This is a sunset view of LA River. The river is reflecting a sky above, which was still bright.

LA River near Quixote

2009-10-05T00:41:00.000-07:00

I took a bicycle trip along LA River and did this one right before sunset. I won't recommend to paint there just because of the emission gas from FWY 5. I was there for 4,5 hours so I felt dizzy and suffocating at the end. I am fine now.

Bill Perkins Workshop

2009-10-05T00:37:00.000-07:00

These are the paintings done at the workshop. It was pretty nice. There will be another one...Hum....It's very tempting.

Watercolor and Guache, Including architecture in your Plein-air landscape.
Pasadena Civic Center/ Saturday only October 24th

Cost is $60.00

Time; 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

Hand-outs-on composition, approaches and techniques, and designing with organic shapes vs architectural shapes.
Demos and personal critiques and attention all day.

****If you attended last months workshops and have photos of your work or the just group shots of people painting Bill would like you to email them to me for his reference. We will conact you for your premission to use them for promotional purposes if or when we cross that bridge. thanks and hope to see you there on the 24th!!!

Thomas Brillante

714-851-8500

Holiday Paintings

2009-07-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

Elysian Park....I spent two afternoons for this one.
Echo Park.... Fireworks were fun to watch.
Angel National Forest....Mountains are very tricky:-/

Santa Fe Spring, etc.

2009-06-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

My palette are Titanium White, Lemon Yellow, Alizarin Crimson, and Ultramarine. The primary colors are all cold colors, which allow me to unify the colors.

Burbank

2009-06-09T00:09:00.000-07:00

I was on the slop where Burbank Blvd and the train track meet. I liked to the view and the lighting. I worked later in my studio to get the stronger lighting effect.

Melrose Street

2009-05-31T22:03:00.000-07:00

As I was driving by the Banksy's graffiti on a wall , I spotted an artist with a big canvas on the street. I talked to this man and his name was Evos. He showed me his wonderful paintings in his gallery. Here is the link to his gallery. I really love his brush strokes, colors, the energy, and the play he puts on to his canvas. He captures the air and the movements in the place in a very straight and joyful way.http://evosartgallery.com I was drawn by those carzy colored buildings on the street. You can only find these pink buildings here.
The view from my apartment window around 11am.

Painting Landmarks

2009-05-18T03:11:00.000-07:00

St. Charles Borromeo Church, North Hollywood
Ivy's Flower Station, Glendale
Art Center College of Design, Pasadena

Cars

2009-05-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some paintings done over the weekend. I wanted to paint cars because they all have personalities just like the animated movie.

San Fernando Blvd, Glendale

2009-04-29T00:42:00.000-07:00

I painted from my car because I found a perfect view when I parked. There was an arch formed by the trees on both side of the street. It was an imaginative gate leading towards a parallel world. At least that was my inspiration. I was not sure I was able to express that.....Maybe next time.

LA River

2009-04-27T22:47:00.001-07:00

It was around 6pm. I like to paint during magic hour, but I painted the earlier today. You can tell the location of the sun from the cast shadow on the white building. LA River was right behind the bump and the fence in the front.

Gouache and Pastel

2009-04-27T02:07:00.000-07:00

Applying Pastel on the painting is another level of excitement. Those bright colors demand attention and statement. It opens the door to the cartoon world. I think I need more colors.

Head Study

2009-04-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

I like going to Saturday Night Painting Workshop at ACCD because I feel like I went back to student. I do what I used to do but with more knowledge and different POV. Now I think more about artistic choice I can make. Thanks to Charles Hu, the workshop has been a fun and inspiring place.

Triplet from the trip

2009-03-14T21:09:00.000-07:00

These are paintings from Japan. It was exciting to paint my home country. As you can see, there was always something man-made in my sight with a great density. I almost thought that its physical rule was different from US's. The air was different. It snowed when I was there.

NORTH HOLLYWOOD

2009-02-06T00:30:00.000-08:00

It's In-N-Out on Riverside in NoHo. I did it for my friend, Ryan, on his b-day. Check out his cool website. Ryan will introduce you some 5star Internet games one by one. Keep track of your time, or you will end up in front of your computer at 4am. http://prefridayfribble.tumblr.com/

San Juan Capistrano

2009-01-22T23:17:00.000-08:00

The mission in San Juan Capistrano was one of the oldest mission I have ever seen. The textures and how wind eroded the walls looks perfect! The koi fishes in the pond were unexpected and mis-matched in my opinion.

Grand Canyon

2009-01-22T22:52:00.000-08:00

I went to Grand Canyon on New Year Day for the first time. Isis Temple looks man-made from far, but the scale is unreal. The summit is at 7,012 feet (2.13km)from the bottom. It's the second painting. I was surprised that there were some snow on the ground.

Mansion at Brand Park

2008-12-31T01:02:00.000-08:00

I liked this house a lot. It looked like Mexican Architecture to me. The house was located right at the corner of Brand Park. There was a little hill behind it.

Pastel color 2

2008-12-30T00:47:00.000-08:00

Parking lot is a great place to paint because you have both a great city view and privacy. I can paint from my car sometimes. This time, I started off painting thumbnails to warm up. Light direction is very important to understand my subject matter and to see it in dramatic way.

Pastel color

2008-12-25T23:57:00.000-08:00

I wanted to use pastel color when I was painting at Eaton Canyon Park. Learning how to use Pastel colors helps me get a quick impression of a complicated scene like this.

Sunset

2008-12-08T01:10:00.000-08:00

When I am painting sunset, the use of color relationship becomes a key factor. Since the light was so strong, I started to see all sort of colors. So I closed my eyes for 30 seconds and decided to paint the frist color I saw. It was red which was not so surprising. Another challege to paint sunset is that the colors only last for 10 mins:(

Thanksgiving holiday

2008-12-01T03:10:00.001-08:00

The house was on Ocean Front Walk in Venice, CA. This house stands wild and moody among the sexy contemporary neighbors. There was a beach house designed by Frank Gehry a few house away. It was foggy and cold as you might feel from the painting.

My friend, Minoru, painting in my apartment's courtyard. The light was coming from the left. The challenge was to break all the elements into fore ground, mid ground, and background.

The red sunset was hitting the Marriott hotel in Burbank, then it disappeared as I painted. I was sitting at the Fry's parking lot, and the train rail was right in front of me. The coolest color was on the mountain.

Street Painting

2008-09-23T00:56:00.000-07:00

First three images was done in Glendale. I just realized that you can see the mountain from almost any part of the city. The last image was done at Hancock Park next to LACMA. It was done when the city were building The Broad Contemporary Art Museum(BCAM).

Castaic Lake

2008-09-23T00:45:00.000-07:00

This is a painting I did at Castaic lake. There was a dam that divided the lake into the upper lake and the lower lake. People can do fishing at the lower portion and yacht sailing at the upper portion.

Trip to Santa Barbara

2008-09-23T00:25:00.000-07:00

Chet, Marco, Felix, Frans, and I went out to Santa Barbara, and we did some paintings there. This was long time ago. It was really fun. I was so happy with the paintings that I gave them to my family in Japan. I was mostly paying attention to the composition and movement of the brush strokes.