Saturday, November 24, 2012

Rachel's back

Kevin Turcotte
12 x 16 inches
oil on canvas panel

Monday, October 29, 2012

Jennifer

Kevin Turcotte
12 x 16 inches
oil on canvas panel

Monday, October 22, 2012

Belly Dancer

Kevin Turcotte
12 x 16 inches
oil on canvas panel

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Model with pillows

Kevin Turcotte
12 x 16 inches
oil on canvas panel
from a recent life painting session -- about 2 1/2 hours of work.

Sunday, October 07, 2012

Arroyo stream

Kevin Turcotte
6 x 8 inches
oil on linen mounted on panel
I did this one last weekend in the 102 degree heat. About half way through I noticed the little camp stool I was sitting on started listing to the rear, then it broke and deposited me on the ground.  I finished the painting on my knees, but not before  accidentally knocking my roll of paper towels into the water where they sucked up half the creek, rendering them useless.  Remember, painting outdoors is fun...

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Noir cover

Kevin Turcotte
12 x 16 inches
oil on canvas panel
This setup looked like the cover to an old noir paperback novel -- it just needs screaming yellow type above the image.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Gouache landscape study

Kevin Turcotte
5 x 7 inches
gouache on illustration board
Mike Hernandez gave a little gouache class on campus last week and we painted as the sun dropped rapidly in the evening sky. By the time I was done with this one the light had changed completely. Still, it was lots of fun and inspiring as well.

Sunday, September 09, 2012

Experimental Drawing

Kevin Turcotte
12 x 16 inches
pastel, watercolor on colored paper
One of the best things about working at an animation studio is the variety of art classes offered. This was from a recent class emphasizing freedom of expression over accurate depiction. Quick and direct -- and fun.

Monday, September 03, 2012

Rabbit

Kevin Turcotte
5 x 6 1/2 inches
watercolor on cold press paper
A really quick sketch -- trying to keep it wet and flowing.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Canoe Rack

Kevin Turcotte
9 x 12 inches
oil on linen mounted on panel

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Keith

Kevin Turcotte
8 x 10 inches
oil on canvas
From a recent life painting session.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

White plane

Kevin Turcotte
8 x 10 inches
oil on linen mounted on panel
Another of the paintings in the current group show at the Easton Gallery in Santa Barbara. Painted from a visit to the Santa Paula Airport.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Amy

Kevin Turcotte
12 x 16 inches
oil on canvas panel

Sunday, July 22, 2012

In the surf

Kevin Turcotte
12 x 16 inches
oil on canvas panel
This is one of the new paintings included in the upcoming group show at the Easton Gallery in Santa Barbara.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Carpinteria lagoon

Kevin Turcotte
20 x 20 inches
oil on canvas
One of the paintings in an upcoming group show at the Easton Gallery in Santa Barbara -- starting July 27.

Sunday, July 08, 2012

Orange tree on hill

Kevin Turcotte
6 x 8 inches
oil on panel

Sunday, July 01, 2012

Turkeys

Kevin Turcotte
5 x 5 inches
watercolor on hot press paper

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Red plane

Kevin Turcotte
8 x 10 inches
oil on linen mounted on panel
From a trip to the Santa Paula airport on one of their open house days.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Stacy on red

Kevin Turcotte
12 x 16 inches
oil on canvas panel

Monday, June 04, 2012

Sara sitting

Kevin Turcotte
12 x 16 inches
oil on canvas panel

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

South of Jasper

Kevin Turcotte
6 x 8 inches
oil on panel

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Observatory

Kevin Turcotte
16 x 20 inches
oil on canvas panel
In honor of the solar eclipse that just occurred over Los Angeles. Not much to see, just a little dimmer than usual.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Vasquez acrylic


Kevin Turcotte
10 x 12 inches
acrylic on illustration board
Acrylics can be tricky when painting outdoors, especially in the desert as they dry almost as fast as you can put brush to panel.

Sunday, May 06, 2012

Amy

Kevin Turcotte
12 x 16 inches
oil on panel
Great pose from a recent session.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Victorian

Kevin Turcotte
6 x 8 inches
oil on panel
From awhile ago. I came across this painting recently and it brought back a lot of memories -- of Saturdays in a workshop, of Clark, the model, who since passed away, and of the  constant struggle to simplify and make the cleanest artistic statement possible.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Dead Finch

Kevin Turcotte
6 x 8 inches
watercolor on hot press paper

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Railroad culvert

Kevin Turcotte
9 x 5 3/4 inches
watercolor on cold press paper
a lunch time sketch from the nearby San Fernando Road rail line.

Sunday, April 08, 2012

Red Kimono

Kevin Turcotte
9 1/2 x 13 inches
oil on panel

Sunday, April 01, 2012

Foggy day at the beach

Kevin Turcotte
10.25 x 7 inches
watercolor on hot press paper
Sometimes a bad day for swimming is a good day for painting.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Riverside Bridge watercolor

Kevin Turcotte
6 1/2 x 9 inches
watercolor on cold press paper
From a lunchtime excursion a while ago.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

watercolor figure

Kevin Turcotte
18 x 24 inches
watercolor on cold press paper
This is from our lunchtime watercolor class held at the studio -- too bad it ended this week. It was fun.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Gator studies

Kevin Turcotte
7 x 10 inches
watercolor on hot press paper
I found a cache of old watercolors -- this one from an alligator zoo in Florida. The nice thing about gators is they don't move very much -- until they want too. Then they're terrifyingly fast.

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Red cloche hat

Kevin Turcotte
12 x 16 inches
oil on canvas panel
When Aycil arrived wearing the red hat I asked her to keep it on -- I think it really helps the painting.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Aja

Kevin Turcotte
12 x 16 inches
oil on canvas panel
Yes, Aja, like the Steely Dan song.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Piper Cub

Kevin Turcotte
8 x 10 inches
oil on linen mounted on panel
This is the six-year anniversary for Paintopolis -- 410 posts so far. The very first post was of an airplane from the Santa Paula airport and so is this one.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Lotusland

Kevin Turcotte
3 1/2 x 5 1/4 inches
watercolor in moleskine sketchbook
There's an estate in Santa Barbara called "Lotusland" that has all sorts of painting and art possibilities in it.

Sunday, February 05, 2012

River sketch

Kevin Turcotte
8 x 10 inches
oil on panel
This is the Los Angeles river in all it's natural beauty. I painted it while standing in the river basin, on a slight rise of concrete. While I painted I noticed an old man walking up the shore of the river, reaching into the water and pitching things up onto the concrete bank. He seemed surprised to see me, but continued on. Walking, stooping to grab in the water, and throwing things onto the bank. Minutes after he passed I suddenly noticed water flowing under my feet -- under my paint box and under my tripod bag, all resting flat on the concrete. Somehow he had diverted the flow of the river, causing me to beat a hasty retreat. So if this has a less finished air than most of my work, it's thanks to an old guy trying to clean up the LA river.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Beach fires

Kevin Turcotte
9 x 12 inches
oil on canvas, mounted on panel

Sunday, January 22, 2012

cow skull

Kevin Turcotte
6 x 8 inches
oil on panel
an older one -- from a trip to an old ranch in northern Los Angeles county.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Tiffany

Kevin Turcotte
16 x 20 inches
oil on canvas panel
First painting session of the year.

Sunday, January 08, 2012

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Kevin Turcotte
20 x 20 inches
oil on canvas

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Santa Monica sketch

Kevin Turcotte
3.5 x 5 inches
sharpie marker on paper
Trying to keep it simple -- only two values and no preliminary drawing.