The following artworks are part of a series of drawings/paintings of windows to the moon, each drawn and painted in an abstract style with different mediums. Each single window is approximately 12″x9″, containing a mix of media, including watercolors, pens, markers, colored pencils, paint pens, and oil pastels. The drawings are gestural and impressionistic, evoking a unique atmosphere when seen together or separately. The moon shines bright through each window amidst the dark night colored with black, red, and blue. Occasionally, the moon is visible during the daylight colored with blue, yellow, and white.

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This is a painting of a cow amidst a green field and a fiery red background. The canvas is approximately 16″x20″ and the entire artwork was painted with Acrylic paints. The billowing and vibrant background contrasts interestingly with the energetic cow and grassy field in the foreground. Splashes of yellow paint add the impression of flowers and help pull the yellow areas of the background into the foreground. This particular breed of cow is known as a Holstein cow, which is commonly raised for dairy production. Mooooo!

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The following three landscape paintings are approximately 3″x5″ and were painted with watercolors, markers, and paint pens on paper and multiple layers of laminate. The first painting is a yellow and white sun shining over a red landscape. The second painting is a scorching red-orange sun heating a red and purple landscape. And the third painting is a blue moon hovering over blue mountains and a green landscape. Each landscape painting consists of at least 3 layers of laminate which separate the washes and crisp lines of color, and add subtle variations in depth.

Visit the Art Gallery for more Landscape Paintings.

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“Out of the Blue” is a 4″x6″ abstract sketch of a house and sunset, drawn with marker, crayon, paint pen, and colored pencil. My attention was focused on the colors more than anything else. I wanted to see what effect a few disjointed gradients and juxtapositions of specific colors would have on each other and the overall artwork. Bright and sunny, with bold red, green, blue, and yellow. Similar frantic style, but a new direction.

Metaphorically speaking, sometimes it’s helpful to draw or paint with one arm tied behind my back. “Adriaaaan!” Slowing down with thoughtful color choices increased my awareness, and it’s refreshing to mix things up in a creative rut.

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This is a pen drawing of a tree with a few leaves and branches. A faint yellow highlighter was also used to accentuate sparkles of sunlight, but they are not as apparent in the digital reproduction. The tree is a large old Silver Maple tree in its final years. Much of the base has rotted out, and the tree is being prepared to get cut down. So this drawing was created in remembrance of this mighty creature.
Thanks for the oxygen!

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This is an oil pastel drawing of a haystack, created with bright bold colors in a slightly abstract surrealist style. Energetic lines and smudging create the shape of the haystack, which also creates a vertical break in the composition. The bright background, foreground, and a bold blue line across the horizon also helps to break apart the image and reinforce a sense of depth and space within the drawing.

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The following artworks were drawn in a digital format, with a mouse as the input using free online software at RateMyDrawings.com. The software also records the drawing process, so once the drawing is complete viewers can watch the drawing being created in a time lapse animation format. After the animation plays, the viewer may Rate or Comment on the drawing or artwork.

A few digital drawings of abstract faces and portraits that I created at “Rate My Drawings” are highlighted below, along with one time lapse animation. I encourage clicking on the artworks in order to view more animations that show how the drawings were created over time. If you would like to see more time lapse animated art, check out my complete MDE-ART Rate My Drawings Profile, or surf around the site and check out all the other great drawings people do every day. Sign up is quick, so you can try creating your own digital paintings, drawings, and animations too!

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This is an oil pastel drawing of an ocean seascape at sunrise. The oil pastel medium lends itself to smudging and smearing techniques, as well as scraping away layers to reveal colors underneath. The drawing also reflects an impressionistic style with a little bit of chaotic line work, noticeable in the clouds and water. The suggestion of dirt, rocks, sand, and a palm tree begin to frame and weight the artwork as well.

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This charcoal drawing of Asian architecture silhouetted by a sunset was drawn in 1998. Deep reds, oranges, and yellows were blended across the background. The chalky pastels were rubbed back and forth and then dark blue and black lines were added to create a unique style in the sky. Quick and energetic lines and squiggles were drawn with black charcoal to create the hilltop and Asian architecture in the foreground. The charcoal was then smudged and drawn again to further reinforce the depth of the shadows. While the intense red colors and black lines in the sky add a certain tension to the artwork, the overall composition of the black and red shapes of the foreground and background encourage a harmonious balance with reversed symmetry.

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This is an oil painting of an old sailing ship at sunset, which looks vaguely like a ghost ship. The big boat was painted in 1997 and the artwork is approximately 2′x3′. The background sky and sunset were painted first, followed by the glowing hills and buildings. Water and reflections were painted next, simply by mirroring the shapes and colors painted above. Deep greens and blues were added to the murky water, and there is some tension created by the bright sun disappearing into the surrounding darkness. Lastly the boat and foreground were painted with similarly brisk brush strokes. Details like rope, flags, netting, sails, and waves splashing around the ship were painted last.

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