Gengar, Pocket Sized

Every pocket painting starts the same way for me. A little blank canvas, a flat coat of color, and a whole lot of patience while it dries.

This one was a Gengar. I laid down orange and blue grounds first, then blocked in the silhouette in a solid deep purple so I could feel the shape before a single detail went in. Once that shape felt mischievous enough, the grin and those red eyes basically painted themselves.

Grounds and silhouette

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Finished on the easel

Finished

Small canvas, big attitude.

Tiny canvases keep me honest. There is nowhere to hide a lazy line when the whole piece fits in your hand.

January at the Easel

January was a busy month at the easel and I want to share a few of the pieces that were living on it.

A red mountain over a field of poppies that kept changing on me for weeks, a neon pink peak that went from a loose underpainting to full glow, and a smoky cloud scene where a little figure floats through the haze.

The red mountain

Early January, then a month later with the figures in.

Neon peak

Smoke and clouds

Purple night

Not every piece gets finished in a day. Some of them need to sit with me for a while before they tell me what they want to be.