Umbralux Fine Art

2011-12-11T18:19:00.001-08:00

Victoria of Furiousdreams included me in her Artful Holidays treasury on Etsy!
Thanks, Victoria! Support independent artists this season and buy locally!
Happy Holidays everybody.
:)

Buy it here!

2011-11-15T21:57:00.001-08:00

And here we go, my submissions for the Safehouse Humble Show so far:

"Foggy Coast Plein Air #1"
Oil on Board, 4x11"
Starting Bid: $30

"Lands End Plein Aire #1"
Oil on Board, 9x12"
Starting Bid: $30

Come this Sunday and place a bid! As you can see, the price is right.... ;)
www.thesafehousestudios.com

2011-11-15T14:11:00.001-08:00

Pleased to announce a pair of splendid upcoming events this week!

First, The Safehouse Show Three: the Humble Show at the Safehouse Studios in SF! We're doing a silent auction this time around, with multiple works from many of the West Coast's finest, starting at rock bottom prices. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own an original, come try your luck at the bid!

Many of the studios will also be showing additional works and have prints for sale.
The open bar and neighborly sh*t talkin' are free of charge... ;)

Sunday November 20th from 7-10 pm.
http://www.thesafehousestudios.com/

Also this weekend!

Massive Black Inc, The Safehouse Atelier, SixMoreVodka and Steambot Studios present:
The MassiveBlack Workshop SF 2011.

Whether you're a serious student or seasoned professional, there's something for everyone at the MB workshops. Gathering art industry legends from across the globe, the MB and Safehouse Teams bring their considerable professional expertise and genuine love for teaching to the table once again. These workshops used to happen once a year, but it's been a while, so you definitely won't want to miss your chance to attend. 4 days of Live Demos, Talks, Industry Round Tables and Portfolio Critiques from leading Gaming and Illustration professionals sharing their processes and secrets. Paint alongside Fine Art legends as they create from Live Models and answer your questions. Prepare to be inspired like you've never imagined. These workshops changed my life.... what will they do to you?

@ SOMArts in SF, November 19-22, 2011
for Tickets and more info:
http://www.massiveblackworkshop.com/

I will be posting my pieces for the upcoming show in the next day or two.. Stay tuned!

2011-09-29T00:43:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!
I know it's been a minute, but here's a few recent head paintings from the Tuesday night Portrait class with Coro at the Safehouse Atelier... Enjoy!

All are 8x10", oils on canvas paper, 3 hours from the model.

Safehouse Plein Air Sessions: China Camp State Park, CA.

2011-08-11T01:14:00.000-07:00

I finally made it out to the almost-regular Sunday Safehouse Studio outings to plein air paint around the Bay. We managed a good group this past week, and everybody got some sweet little paintings for their efforts. Go team! I look forward to more sessions. :)

Here's mine: about 5x8", Oil Paint on unprimed Watercolor Paper, in a sketchbook.
China Camp Coast

Check our Facebook Page to see images of the works by the rest of the bunch. :)

Recent Head Paintings

2011-07-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

I started dropping back in at the Safehouse Atelier a few months ago, to attend Coro's infamous Tuesday night painting sessions. It has been great to get back in the flow of a regular painting night, learning all that repetition and consistency has to offer, and in such good company that as much of the evening is spent laughing as is in fierce concentration.

Here are a few of the better pieces from the last 3 months, in no particular order. These are all Oils, on wood board or canvas paper, under 12x12", completed from a live model in about 3 hours.

Thanks to the models for sitting, including Rodrigo Luff, Christian MacNevin, Carmen Cianelli and Stephanie De Vire...

New Etsy Treasury featuring Studio Umbralux!: "Summer Abstractions"

2011-07-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

How lovely of Furious Dreams to include me in another "Etsy Treasury: "Summer Abstractions""... Check out her stylish suggestions and colorful abstract works. Thanks for enjoying my work!!

"Poesis" Art Show at AgeSong Institute, July 14-21 2011]

2011-06-16T00:49:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce my final (so far) art show of the summer. It's been a great year so far, and I'm looking to set aside a few months to updating my concept art portfolio so that I can start looking for more freelance work. I'll keep up with the plein air sketching and portrait sessions in the mean time, and prepare a few pieces for the holiday season.

But first! Coming up next is the group show "Poesis: Art Overcoming Absurdity" hosted by the lovely mother-and-son team Steven and Terry Pappas. Terry is an accomplished classical oil painter and her son is following in her footsteps, while also involving himself with the AgeSong Institute, who is providing a scenic rooftop venue for the program. Located in Hayes Valley, SF, AgeSong is an assisted living provider for community elders, specializing in creating a dignified means of living with focus on creative outlets and continued learning.

The show is themed "Poesis" ("to create" in greek) and will feature over 50 local talents in a range of mediums and styles, each interpreting their own experiences with the struggle to find meaning in chaos, fun in work and inspiration in thin air...

July 14th-21st, 2011 - 624 Laguna Street, Hayes Valley, SF - 3-7PM
There will be hors d'oeuvres, wine and Jazz accompaniment from 4-6!

The Safehouse Studios, SF - Group Portrait

2011-06-16T00:31:00.000-07:00

SO, I figure it's time I formally mention my involvement with my current incarnation of artistic family: The Safehouse Studios. Located in the gritty SOMA district of San Francisco, The Safehouse has a character hard to find elsewhere. Housing the new Safehouse Atelier, inheritor of the Carl Dobsky legacy started at Conceptart.org's Next Gen Atelier nearby, Safehouse is bigger and badder than ever. We have our own building now, housing both the 15 student capacity atelier facility upstairs (right next to Pappa Carl's own Chamber of Wonders), and 7 additional professional artist spaces on the ground floor, where Jeremy Mann holds down the fort. The ambiance is rustic, refined and scrappy all at once, and the attitudes and skills are first class. All the studios are held by talented members of our artistic "crew", many of them alumni of the school upstairs and all of them working professionally as dedicated artists. It's a no-nonsense atmosphere of creation and hard work, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

We got together a week or so ago and took a Founders portrait in preparation for the upcoming show. We kept it old school and classy, with a nod to the old masters who really knew what's up. Big ups to everyone for looking so slick...

But then, what fun's all that work without a little play? We gots ta keep it real....

Big thanks to Scott Hermanson for taking the awesome shots. More on the way.

Check the Safehouse: Show Two post for a roster of who's what, and don't forget to also check out our spiffy Safehouse Studios Site.

Coming soon: pics of the show madness.... stay tuned!

A moving memorial to time well spent: Carmen Cianelli looks back on the Safehouse Atelier

2011-06-05T04:33:00.000-07:00

The lovely and talented Carmen Cianelli had moving and insightful things to say about her grueling, life-changing two years at the hands of Carl Dobsky and company at the rebooted Safehouse Atelier in San Francisco.

Formerly the Conceptart.org Next Gen Atelier, the new and improved school is even better than the first, featuring the talents of the Massive Black artists we know and love, in a new, private facility in the heart of SOMA in SF. With the resident community of the Safehouse Studios downstairs, the place hums with creative energy and minds getting blown.

5 years down the line, it's still the best art education (surprisingly little) money can buy. Want to be a serious artist? Drop everything and apply; it will change your life forever.

The SafeHouse Studios: SHOW TWO!

2011-06-05T04:18:00.000-07:00

Get your drums a'rollin, cause it's less than a week till the next Safehouse Studios art show!
The theme is Skulls & Bones this time, and there's plenty of those to go around....

Featured Guests: Aron Meynell and C3 are in the house, rounding out the usual suspects:
Jeremy Mann
Carl Dobsky
Coro Kaufman
Zach Oldenkamp
Kim Cogan
Lindsey Kustusch
Henry Lewis
Greg Gandy
Karla Oritz
Ryan Lee
Nick Chaboya
Jason Rennie
Kemp Remillard
Cody Miles
Julie Bullock
Scott Hermanson
Patrick Mathews
Christine Macternan
and Me!

This Friday, June 10th, 2011 from 7-10pm @ the SafeHouse Studios, San Francisco.
Come get a drink and feast your eyes. You won't wanna miss this!
Here's the Facebook Event Link.

Odontolabis Elegans featured on the Wild Things Etsy Treasury!

2011-06-05T03:54:00.000-07:00

How lovely to be included in this eclectic Wild Things Treasury on Etsy!
Thanks to Printmistress888 for including me.
Check out her playful one-of-a-kind prints on paper and fabric on her Esty Shop.

"Odontolabis Elegans Automata Sagrada", watercolor, ink and screenprint on paper.
Available here.

A nod from one of my heroes: Warren Ellis

2011-06-05T03:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the also talented Steve Walker for the heads up:

I was thrilled to learn that Warren Ellis featured one of my drawings on his blogsite.
This brilliant man is one of my very favorite artists and the very definition of superhumanly productive. I'm doomed to forever try and keep up with his work ethic, and am deeply honored to know he's still keepin an eye out. ;)

Prints available on Etsy!

Painted Roses Show @ Modern Eden with Sergio Lopez and more!

2011-04-29T01:53:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce my second show of the season, a group exhibition in support of Sergio Lopez, one of the talented local painters we are blessed with here in San Francisco. He has created an amazing series of figure works incorporating flowers, showing a firm command of oil paint and sensitive aesthetic. Preview his pieces on his blog!

Our opening is this Saturday April 30th at the Modern Eden Gallery in North Beach. I will be exhibiting a new watercolor and guache piece from my Insecta Automata Sagrada series, in the rose theme, entitled: "Harmonia Axyridis" (Lady Bug & Rose). 8x8" on paper.

I hope those of you who can will attend!
Here's the Facebook Event Link, and a sneak peek:

More upcoming shows in the next two months, including another Safehouse Studios group show with the family. Stay tuned!

Insecta Automata Sagrada - Watercolor Series

2010-05-22T19:11:00.000-07:00

Hello again

I realized I haven't posted these, so here we go.

This is one of the new series I'm working on (in an effort towards consistency, haha) called "Insecta Automata Sagrada" or, Sacred Robot Insects, in translation from the Latin. The series originally arose from my participation in the Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition in Oakland, CA earlier this year. I have had a box of real bugs from Thailand sitting around for a couple years, and this provided the long awaited on opportunity to use them. I liked the juxtaposition of the bugs' robot like structure with the brass gear-work. I aged the paper and painted them in a style reminiscent of Victorian era botanical illustrations. During the making of, I noticed more and more of the divisions and proportions found in the bugs to relate to sacred geometry and the golden ratio. This inspired me to accent these proportions with gold, adding other sacred forms.

These are the first five of the original series, done in watercolor, graphite, ink and gold paint. 5x7" on acid free paper. They are framed in hand refinished wood frames, recycled from the local scrap mart. Check them out, and their related items, for sale at Etsy.

There are more works in the series, which I shall post forthwith, and I intend to keep expanding upon this theme to see how it evolves. Stay tuned!

Thank you. :)

Happy Spring!

2010-04-12T23:53:00.000-07:00

So, in the name of Spring Cleaning and fresh starts,
I am pleased to announce the launch of my new website and portfolio!
www.StudioUmbralux.com
You may also now follow me on Twitter and Facebook!

Also, here is a new Plein Air landscape painting I did in the last couple weeks.
It was done in two sessions, about 5 hours total, on location in the Bayview district of SF.
I hope you enjoy!

News Coming Soon!

2010-02-22T00:30:00.001-08:00

Many things on the near horizon, including a new website, recent events pics and fresh art!
stay tuned....
in the mean time: become my facebook fan!

2008-07-19T22:39:00.000-07:00

Ala Prima oil sketch, about 2.5 hours, from a live model

Eugene - Oil Sketch

2008-07-19T22:37:00.001-07:00

Ala Prima oil sketch, about 2.5 hours, from a live model.

Jahknow - Oil Sketch

2008-07-19T21:59:00.000-07:00

Ala Prima oil sketch, about 2.5 hours, from a live model.

Greetings!

2008-07-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Umbralux Fine Art.
Here is a selection of what I've been up to lately.

I have half a year to go on my intensive schooling, and it has been an exciting and enlightening journey thus far. I am looking forward to producing more of the work I have floating around in my head. Until then, these studies will have to give you a glimpse of what is to come.

Enjoy and Thank You for stopping by.

~L