Bell Peppers!

I recently did an assignment for one of my design classes where I sketched and shaded bell peppers. It was interesting to study the different sections of the peppers, and I really enjoyed the assignment.


The Peppers:



Preliminary Sketches:



Detail of preliminary sketch:


My setup - spotlight on the peppers!:



The finished peppers. I experimented with 4 different types of shading:






Crosshatch:



Scribbles:



Blending with a blending stump and using eraser technique:





Pointillism (lots of tiny dots):

Huntington Japanese Garden

My Mom is doing a Japanese-inspired landscape redesign at her home in Virginia, and since I recently visited the Japanese garden at the Huntington Library and Gardens in Pasadena, I thought I would post some of my pictures from there. A few disclaimers: these pictures were taken in high noon (high contrast) light, they were just quick snapshots, and there are a lot of them. With that said, you may proceed. And, if you ever do get a chance, the Huntington is definitely worth a visit - so much to see!



You enter into the garden through a bamboo forest. It's cool and quiet. The bamboo sways in the breeze and little leaves twirl through the air as they fall to the ground.




I enjoy the way Japanese gardens have rocks included in their design, and the architectural forms of the plants:





I liked the way bonsai trees were placed on pedestals:






I also really liked the Jade viewing stones that were on pedestals. They were very smooth and nice to touch:

Eye Candy

I'll be seeing a lot more of this lately. I'm taking a color theory class and it involves lots of paint mixing. This is my palette after a day of work:



The following pictures are of things in a gift shop that I visited:






This one made me think of my sister, Amber, who is a violinist:




I think every city should have a street named Hope.

Things I like about LA - Pinkberry

Some may say I've joined the pod people, but they can think what they want - I like Pinkberry.




I like the funky, asian-themed interiors:



I enjoy looking at the random items they have for sale (ie. a family of bottle openers):





And, of course, the yummy, low calorie frozen yogurt and fresh fruit toppings: