7.7.12 LAX

Spent a couple of hours at LAX airport last night before taking the red-eye home to Chicago. I drove out to L.A. with my daughter, Kate, and her bulldog, Eden. Kate just moved to L.A. 

"Delawn" 6.20/12

‎"Delawn" drawn from life in my anatomy drawing class at Evanston Art Center with Sarah Kaiser.

6.2.12 Sunbathers at the Ritz pool

I could really get used to drawing at poolside: great views, nice music, happy people, sun, swimming and a cocktail.

6.1.12 Poolside at the Ritz

After a rainy morning, skies cleared and hotel guests headed to the pool deck.

5.5.12 Thirsty Chloe

Most mornings, when I get up, I'm greeted by a yowling, thirsty, yellow cat in the bathroom. Just to shut her up, I turn on the faucet on my sink. I know I'm just enabling her. Whatever.

4.25.12 "Woman Reading on Rug with Cat"

This is an artist's proof of a new etching I'm working on. It has a chine-collé. That's the small, color print of El Corazon (the heart) that I got in Mexico. I put it on the etching plate before I printed. I love the woman's white body and the cat on the pillow over the detailed pattern of the oriental rug. The size is 9"x12". I'm working on a series of nudes reading. Maybe one will be chosen for the poster for Nat'l Library Week? Not.

4.15.12 Woman reading in her bath

I was searching Google images for Pierre Bonnard's painting of a woman in her bath. Great painting. I think the model was his wife. Anyway, I found a photo of this scene (sans the flowers) and drew it. I love the private moment. She's enjoying her bath. Reading a book. Having a smoke and a glass of wine. It's sensual without being pornographic. I'm going to use the same image for an etching.

4.14.12 Tulips in Vase

Although I love the colors of tulips, I'm also interested in their linear quality, especially in a glass vase. Most people think of The Netherlands when they see tulips but they originated in the Ottoman Empire (Turkey, Persia, Iran) before they were brought to Northwestern Europe. In the early 1600's, they became so valued that they were considered a currency by many, creating a "tulip mania" for awhile.

4.11.12 Dominick's Daffodils

So, I was at Dominick's this afternoon, buying cayenne pepper for my daughter who's on a weird but effective diet, and I saw these daffodils and thought they'd make a good subject for a line drawing.

4.7.12 Columbine

4.2.12 Margot Loved Artichokes

My mother lived in Hollywood during the 1940's. She met my father, a Commander in the U.S. Navy, after the war, married and moved to Redondo Beach. She was an amazing cook and loved California artichokes. So do I.

3.29.12 Daughter & Mom: Panera Buckhead

I'm guessing these two are daughter and mom. I was having breakfast yesterday and noticed them looking at photos on the iPad.

3.28.12 Checking In

3.27.12 Hat & Sunglasses

Another beautiful day in Atlanta. I'm here to help move Kate, our daughter, back home to Winnetka, IL where she'll continue her job search for an Advertising Art Director position in a top ad agency. 

3.24.12 Dan Balser's Podcast

"Don't Get Me Started" is Dan Balser's biweekly podcast about the advertising business and the people in it. Dan has been an ad copywriter for 20 years, and since 2002 he has also been a teacher and Department Head at The Creative Circus advertising school in Atlanta, where our daughter, Kate, was a student for the past two years. She graduated from the Advertising Art Director program yesterday.

Today, Dan interviewed my wife, Lisa Cochrane, about her experience as head of Integrated Marketing Communications at Allstate. You can hear Dan's podcasts at his website, www.balserville.com.

3.25.12 Kate and Lisa

Saturday late afternoon by the pool at Kate's apartment in Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia. A beautiful day. We drove to Stone Mountain State Park. Walked trails by a lake with Eden. Enjoyed a picnic lunch under dogwood blossoms and pines. Perfect weather.