Chameleon

Chameleon I, Acrylic, 16" x 20"

Inspiration for this piece comes from an encounter with my friend's pet chameleon. Its color-changing abilities and skin texture is emphasized by the range of colors and geometric shapes that make up this composition.

La Jolla Children's Pool

La Jolla Children's Pool, Pastel, 18"x24"

Took a break from drawing because of classes, but got a chance to squeeze in this one before Thanksgiving break. This is a pastel rendering of the Children's Pool near La Jolla Cove, where the seals and pelicans can safely roam (I even spotted some baby seals). The drawing was done at noon which also happens to be high tide, so the waves looked magnificent crashing onto the boulders. On an interesting note, the seagull on the bottom edge of the drawing stayed in the same area for the whole two hours while I was drawing. The quick drawing of it doesn't quite do it justice but by then the sea breeze was making me cold and I packed up soon after.

Suspended, by Martina Lo

Suspended, Colored Pencil, 13"x20"

Met this parrot in Balboa Park in San Diego and fell in love with its colors. Background: TBD.

Alternative Transportation

"Shuttle: In Good Company", Pastel, 18"x24". 

College shuttle differs from regular buses in many ways: it's serves fewer stops, it's directed towards the student population, and best of all, it's free for students. A large part of my college career consisted of this activity. This scene was inspired from one of the many shuttle rides that kept me company during those late nights going home.

Fun Fact: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has declared UCSD a “Best Workplace for Commuters” because of the many transportation alternatives and incentive programs available to faculty, staff, and students.

Cloud Study Box Art

"Cloud Study" is now complete! Painting in the middle of the street in broad daylight has its interesting attributes--from random shout-outs to curious passerbys who ask me questions--it is overall a good vibe that I receive from fellow San Diegans. Thankfully, the San Diego weather hasn't been harsh on me at all; out of the five days, three of them were sunny days, two of them bright white days, like the one shown in the picture. In fact, while painting this outside, I was fortunate to get to experience the beautiful weather changes within every few hours; I feel that these dramatic changes are reflected in the art piece as well.

The sides of the box facing either streets measure 3' 9" or 3' 6" (or 45" x 42"), and the sides perpendicular to the streets measure 3' 9" by 3" (or 45" x 36"); the whole box took a total of 20 hours over the course of 5 days to complete.
©Martina Lo

Project Box Art

Project Box Art is close to completion! Only a few more tweaks and a layer of varnish left. Premiere night would be Tuesday (6/19/2012). Scroll down for further description of the art piece:

White clouds of San Diego (view from North/West end)

Transition of clouds to sunset

View of both streets of Torrey Pines Road

Cloud coming over the sun (view from South/East end)

"Cloud Study" is inspired from the bipolar weather changes with which San Diego has become associated. The sky is brought to the ground as a way to emphasize the beauty of San Diego nature. "Cloud Study" consists of five different cloud arrangement based on actual San Diego sky-scape I have observed and documented. I feel that through a "lightened" artbox experience, one can be reminded of the environment and strive to appreciate what is all around us.

©Martina Lo

Electrical Box Art Project

I recently began a new project of painting an electrical box. Below are a few pictures to document my progress. The title of my piece is called "Cloud Study" and it can be viewed on Torrey Pines Road next to UCSD Muir College. Look forward to more pictures later on this week.

Electrical Box in its original state

Beginning of primer application

View of Electrical Box (South side)

View of Electrical Box (West Side)

A Rainy Day at Disneyland

"A Rainy Day at Disneyland", 11'' x 14'', Acrylic. Finally Complete!

Fabric Study

5-minute fabric study, white colored pencil on black paper

Real, or Fake?

Real, or Fake? Acrylic. 16'' x 20''. The answer is, the dog on the left is fake, it is a statue in front of a dog care center I passed by. This was a question even the lab who saw it couldn't answer right away. I watched as this lab actually had to approach the statue and take a sniff to make sure, and as a result, inspired me to reproduce this special moment. Turns out that painting the statue proved to be just as difficult as the dog trying to distinguish it; however, after many hours of refining, I finally convinced myself that the statue looked more or less like a statue. The statue is so finely crafted that I bet attracts many friendly visitors each day.