The Perfect Sketchbook project

My former student and the founder of The Perfect Sketchbook Erwin Lian who lives in Singapore contacted me a few days ago and asked me if I was interested in being a part of The Perfect Sketchbook Group show in Singapore. Of course I said YES. He sent me a sketchbook to work on. There are only a few days left before the submission deadline, So I have been working hard to finish my painting. 

There are a lot of excellent artists in this show. I am in a good company!

 A handsome recycled leather bound sketchbook, size B5 with the highest quality heavy weight Fabriano watercolor paper.

Personalized with my name on the cover.

This is the final sketch of the painting I am going to work on.

Color tests.

Under drawing in graphite pencil.

The figure part has been finished. I decided to do tighter rendering than the version I had initially planned in the color test stage.

I am slowly building up the tones by layering colors several times. So far the background has 5 color washes. I might add a couple more later on. This is such a good strong paper, it is not falling apart at all after multiple washes. I am impressed. I changed the rendering plan a bit. Instead of using graphite on the fabric, I decided to finish the entire painting in watercolor.

Update on Saturday, February 24, 2018 at 07:07PM by Hiroshi Hayakawa

I finished the piece and gave it a title, "Departed" for the show. In fact it is actually "Vanitas 13". I am satisfied with what I accomplished considering how little time I had to work on this piece. I added an extra texture in the background rather than a flat wash. It turned out pretty good, I think.

Update on Sunday, March 4, 2018 at 01:33AM by Hiroshi Hayakawa

The Perfect Sketchbook just emailed me this photo of my art in the custom made frame. It looks really nice. I love this frame! I wish I could see this show in person.

Vanitas 12 (renamed) complete

I finished Vanitas 12 (renamed from Vanitas 13) today. The final dimension is 10" x 9.5". 

Vanitas 13 started

I am taking a little break from Vanitas 12 I started last year. Instead, I have been working on a small drawing: Vanitas 13. Today I finalized my composition. I am going to add a cherry underneath this drawing. The final dimension of this piece is going to be 10" x 9".

Fresh A.I.R. Gallery fundraiser 2017

I was a part of this year's Fresh A.I.R. Gallery fundraiser at Columbus Museum of Art on 11-3-2017. Seven of us painters did a live painting demo on stage in the auditorium. Our model impersonated Andy Wahol and he was in the character all the while he was posing for us, holding a camera and talking about shoes and such... Here are a few snapshots from this event.

CCAD Alumni Excellence Award project

This summer I was asked by the Institutional Advancement team at Columbus College of Art & Design if I was interested in producing 4 prints that were going to be given to this year's CCAD Alumni Excellence Awards recipients. I felt honored to be a part of this project. I decided to use the big ART sign on campus as my subject for all 4 images. These are all salt prints on Arches watercolor paper.

This is print #1. 

Print #2.

Print #3.

Print #4.