Doodle of the Day - Adventures in Online Dating

Online dating appears to be the new hot thing for many people. But beware: it doesn't mean you will meet the next hot thing!



Thank you for following the Doodle of the Day and the paintings, sculpture, drawings, works in progress, and other art by Los Angeles artist Lucas Aardvark :) To see older blog posts and other doodles, click HERE.

Audio Book Cover Art

I was recently commissioned to create the cover art for the audio book The Forever Garden, and this is an image of the final product (oil on wood panel, 18" x 18"). The author is John Janda, also the author of the novel American Spirit. The Forever Garden is a fantastic story for all ages. Stay tuned for its publication!

Thank you for following the paintings, the Doodle of the Day and the sculpture, drawings, works in progress, and other art by Los Angeles artist Lucas Aardvark :)
To see older blog posts and other works of art, click HERE.

Doodle of the Day - The Expert Witness

Yesterday, I had jury duty. I sat in the jury assembly room all day with others at a courthouse in Los Angeles. Some people were clearly irritated about sitting there all day - twiddling their thumbs or playing Angry Birds on their phones. But I didn't mind it at all - what a great time to sit around and draw doodles. And of course I had to doodle about the legal system...


Thank you for following the Doodle of the Day and the paintings, sculpture, drawings, works in progress, and other art by Los Angeles artist Lucas Aardvark :) To see older blog posts and other doodles, click HERE.

Doodle of the Day - In Trouble With The Authorities

Every so often you hear about criminals who make stupid mistakes. This time, these bank robbers made the mistake of targeting The Piggy Bank!

I hope this doodle doesn't get me in trouble with the authorities or my police officer friends :)

Thank you for following the Doodle of the Day and the paintings, sculpture, drawings, works in progress, and other art by Los Angeles artist Lucas Aardvark :) To see older blog posts and other doodles, click HERE.

Oil Pastel Still Life

Edgar Degas said, "The secret is to follow the advice the masters give you in their works while doing something different from them." Before a true artist may successfully do something different from the masters, he must first understand their advice.

I don't think that every artist must first learn to paint like all of the old masters, nor is it my intent to do so. But it is the naive and pretentious man who disregards the importance of drawing, line, and composition, mastered by those of the past, in the man's quest for artistic greatness. The practice of art is a lifelong study, and even Degas himself, on his deathbed, lamented, "Damn, and just when I was starting to get it!"

In continuing my lifelong study, even though most of my current larger works may be categorized as abstract, I hone skills by investigating the paths of the masters, like Degas, by examining people and objects and translating what I see to paper using oil pastels. Avoiding the laborious photo-realistic style, I am more interested in creating a representational picture in an efficient, economical, and natural way, as mastered by Degas and Spanish artist, Diego Velazquez. This approach allows for the inclusion of my own stroke and subjective feelings, and it places the emphasis on color, texture, line and composition, rather than subject matter.

Thank you for following the paintings, the Doodle of the Day and the sculpture, drawings, works in progress, and other art by Los Angeles artist Lucas Aardvark :)
To see older blog posts and other works of art, click HERE.

DOODLE OF THE DAY - YOUR HOLINESS?

Sometimes when I can't sleep I stay up scribbling in a sketchbook. The scribbles usually turn out to be nothing impressive, but sometimes they lead to bigger and better ideas. And the scribbles sometimes include scratching out notes, such as what my next painting should be, or an analysis of the progress of a current painting, or even an idea for a simple doodle. In this case, it was toilet humor...

Thank you for following the Doodle of the Day and the paintings, sculpture, drawings, works in progress, and other art by Los Angeles artist Lucas Aardvark :) To see older blog posts and other doodles, click HERE.

Doodle of the Day - Pigeon Tales

Today's doodle was inspired when I was sitting outside eating lunch and felt some little feet wander over my toes. The patio was populated with pigeons, and another customer next to me was disgusted by them, muttering insults.

Thank you for following the Doodle of the Day and the paintings, sculpture, drawings, works in progress, and other art by Los Angeles artist Lucas Aardvark :) To see older blog posts and other doodles, click HERE.