View from Mount Lowe

Kevin Turcotte

12 x 6 inches

oil on panel

unfortunately this view is now most likely a charred mess of blackened trees -- part of the area burned by the "Station Fire" that destroyed a good chunk of the Angeles National Forest. This is near Mount Wilson, which survived the fire.

Behind the Spot

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8 inches

oil on linen mounted on panel

the sun burning through the fog behind the best little burger joint in Carpinteria.

Grandview and San Fernando

Kevin Turcotte

24 x 12 inches

oil on panel

this is right down the street from where I work and after driving past it a thousand times I thought it might make a nice painting. I spent a few hours on a Sunday working on this, getting dust blown into me from passing trains. A few days after I painted this the city came along and trimmed all the extra fronds off the trees, ruining the effect I liked so much about them.

Boxer

Kevin Turcotte

14 x 17

graphite on paper

Redhead

Kevin Turcotte

16 x 20 inches

oil on gessoed panel

Troll Bridge

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8 inches

oil on panel

this is what passes for a river in Los Angeles -- I'm really not sure what the yellow concrete cylinders are used for -- perhaps seats for the trolls?

Carpinteria Beach at Sunset

Kevin Turcotte

4 x 4 inches

watercolor on hot press paper

Fire Dancer

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8 inches

oil on panel

another quick one from our hour long painting sessions.

Dark Water

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8 inches

oil on gessoed illustration board

Cal Tech

Kevin Turcotte

8,25 x 10.5 inches

ink wash in sketchbook

I went sketching the other day with my son Jackson, who is putting pieces together for an art portfolio. The Cal Tech campus in Pasadena is a great place to sketch -- this is what I came up with.

Standing Man

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 12 inches

oil on gessoed panel

our  little  group of painters now gets the last hour of a figure drawing session for one long pose. This was what I came up with last week.

Chester

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8 inches

oil on gessoed illustration board

that's smoke from a wood mill in the little town of Chester  in Northern California. Nice place, some great painting spots nearby.

One hour of painting

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8 inches

oil on panel

this is about what one hour of figure painting buys you  these days...not quite the three  hour study,  but better than nothing.

Passing clouds

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8 inches

oil on panel

painted while I was working as a background painter at the Disney animation studio in Florida. It's a road stretching off toward the town of Claremont and I have a sinking feeling that this particular scene is covered over with subdivisions now.

figure drawings

Kevin Turcotte

18 x 24 (cropped)

conte crayon on newsprint

figure drawing is something every artist has to keep up with -- I should draw more often and try to -- these are from a recent session at the studio.

Trumpets

Kevin Turcotte

4 x 4

watercolor on hot press paper

Back

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8 inches

oil on panel

susie

Kevin Turcotte

8 x 10 inches

oil on canvas panel

our weekly painting session has moved several rooms in the past year, presenting new lighting challenges with each location. Here we tried for a more naturalistic approach. This was about an hour and a half of painting.

Padaro Beach

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8 inches

oil on panel

the white structure at the end of this beach is a fantasy version of a beach  house out of the Arabian Nights -- very mysterious.  It's right off the 101 freeway as you're headed south from Santa Barbara.

Down for repairs

Kevin Turcotte

9 x 12

oil  on linen

Santa Paula airport -- this bird won't be flying soon...

Tree and bridge

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8 inches

This one was from a painting outing with James  Martin (from Paintopolis and jamesmartinstudio.blogspot.com) off the 126 highway near the Ventura and Los Angeles County border.

Acrylic

Kevin Turcotte

8 x 10 (approx.)

acrylic on illustration board

another quicker painting -- back when I was regularly painting the figure in acrylic.

City of Angels (2)

Kevin Turcotte

5 x 8 (approx.)

ink wash in sketchbook

another drawing from the old Spanish-American War cemetery in downtown Los Angeles, a place that truly is a city of angels...

Amarylis

Kevin Turcotte

4 x 4

watercolor on hot press paper

...this little bulb has been hanging around our house since Christmas and it's still going strong.

Lone Tree

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8

oil on cardboard

done back when I was heavy into experimenting with surface quality -- mixed tiny glass balls into matte  medium to give a very toothy surface.

Back

Kevin Turcotte

8 x 10

oil on panel

our painting sessions are back for a little while but we now only have two hours to accomplish what we used to in three...

Sara

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 12

oil on canvas, mounted on panel

from a while ago...

Get outside and paint!

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8 

oil on linen mounted on panel

The title is just a reminder of what I  need to do more of during the coming year -- Happy New Year to all!

Holiday treat

Kevin Turcotte

7 x 9 (approx.)

oil on cigar box

more goodness from Portos. 

New dessert

Kevin Turcotte

7 x 9 (approx.)

oil on cigar box

a painting from the current holiday group show at the Easton Gallery in Santa Barbara. This original pastry was from the great Porto's Bakery in Glendale. Always  a line, but always worth it...

Matador Beach surf

Kevin Turcotte

9 x 12

oil on panel

another from the most photographed, most painted beach in Southern California -- Matador Beach. I think I did three or four paintings this particular day -- this one was the first. 

Approaching Storm

Kevin Turcotte

18 x 24

oil on panel

This is from a current show of my work at the DreamWorks studio. I painted this from Mount Lassen in Northern California, one of my favorite places to paint -- a very under-visited national park.

Windsock

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8

oil on linen mounted on panel

This is from the helipad atop the parking structure at the studio. Headed home after a late day at work the orange glow caught my eye -- I sketched it out on a loose piece of paper and painted it soon after. 

Alma

Kevin Turcotte

11 x 14

oil on canvas panel

once again our weekly painting time is being put on hold until new facilities can be arranged -- this is from a session a month or two ago. We have painted Alma while she played the violin for us (she's quite good!) but not this time. 

Anacapa Light

Kevin Turcotte

4 x 4

watercolor on hot press paper

I booked a trip out to Anacapa Island -- part of the channel islands off the coast of California -- a few weeks ago, and invited an artist friend so we could do some watercolors.  Unfortunately the one day of rain in the past six months was the same day we were out on the island and the squalls kept coming in regularly. Our paints stayed in our packs and I had to do this from a photograph. Still, the islands are an impressive, nearly pristine environment to visit -- and I will return!

Sycamores

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8

oil on cardboard

an older painting from around the corner of the studio, in Bette Davis Park.

Morris Graves Wall of Art

Kevin Turcotte
A photo from the reception held last Saturday at the Morris-Graves Museum of Art in Eureka, where I'm part of a group show, "An Animator's Avocation." The show also features of paintings of fellow DreamWorks animation artists, James Martin, Simon Otto and Fabio Lignini. The show was held on the second floor of the rotunda in the museum and we were each given a separate wall. Thanks to all who made this possible!

Prickly Pear

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8

oil on board

another lunchtime painting from a few years ago. I went back to paint another version of this shortly after and the entire plant had been cut down.  Gone. So this is the only version there will be. 

Group Show

Kevin Turcotte

I'm part of a group show in the city of Eureka, at the Morris-Graves Museum. These six pieces are on exhibition with work from three other DreamWorks artists; Fabio Lignini and Simon Otto from insertnamehere.blogspot.com and fellow Paintopolis citizen James Martin. The show will be up for several months -- if you're on the north coast stop on by!

Beachwatcher

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8

oil on canvas

Hologram Show

I've been busy generating some holograms which are on display in a group show at the new Gnomon Gallery. The show is up through September 10, with a closing party on September 11. These are Rabbitholes prints, which allow for a wide range of view and 10 seconds or so of animation.

Super Rica

Kevin Turcotte

9 x 12

oil on canvas

this from a great little restaurant in Santa Barbara -- many great tacos have been enjoyed here...

White Hat

Kevin Turcotte

8 x 10 

oil on linen

Beachwall

Kevin Turcotte

8 x 10

oil on panel

Green ring -- translucent

Kevin Turcotte

8 x 10

oil on linen

Green ring -- transparent

Kevin Turcotte

8 x 10

oil on linen

Bucket man

Kevin Turcotte

8 x 10

oil on linen

Pink Board

Kevin Turcotte

8 x 10

oil on linen

Beachwalker

Kevin Turcotte

6 x 8

oil on canvas

Summerland cliffs

Kevin Turcotte

8 x 10

oil on linen