Tag Archives: Spider House Coffee

Another Sketch from Spider House

August 2, 2010 – 7:45 am

Here is another sketch from my sketchbook, that I did of the punk rocker at SpiderHouse. I’m planning on going out this week for some “live” painting, so stay tuned. Also, I will let folks know where I’ll be on Twitter. You can follow the tweets either here at my blog, or on Twitter. See […]

By Lavanna Martin | Posted in art, guerrilla portraiture, painting people from life, portrait sketch, Uncategorized | Also tagged | Comments (1)

I Painted Sherry at the Spider House

January 20, 2009 – 10:18 am

I was painting at the Spider House as dusk was slipping out in under the threshold.  My first painting of her was so awful.  I made her move over to the table opposite of me and have her cards read by “Julian”.  His game might have been a  bit off, because I rattled him by […]

By Lavanna Martin | Posted in alla prima, art, artist, Austin Hippie, oil painting, Oil Sketches Live at Coffee Houses, painting live, painting people from life | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (4)

Painting a Portrait From Life

October 12, 2008 – 1:24 am

I painted this alla prima portrait of this man on the patio of Spider House.  I wanted the flesh of his face to add life to his surroundings.  He was hemmed in the booth by 5 other college students, so he was the perfect live model.  He sat so still, that I should have paid […]

By Lavanna Martin | Posted in alla prima, oil painting, painting, portrait sketch, portraiture | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (4)

Painting From Life at a Coffee House

October 9, 2008 – 6:11 pm

I painted this beautiful man from life at Spider House Coffee here in Austin, TX.  I loved his dreadlocks.  Painting from life is always tricky, because you don’t know how long people will stay, or stay put!   As an artist,  I never rely on photography, but paint the figure “live”. Here is another painting […]

By Lavanna Martin | Posted in alla prima, figure painting, painting, painting technique, portrait sketch, portraiture | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (12)

Mr. Penguin at Spider House

September 29, 2008 – 9:22 pm

This fellow was sitting at the back room at Spider House on Fruth Street here in Austin. He was amused by something that he was reading on his laptop.  I decided to paint him with the dark background of the long-leaf pine walls.  The only lighting was from an antique wall sconce which cast an […]

By Lavanna Martin | Posted in alla prima, art, figure painting, painting, portrait sketch, portraiture, sketches | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

The Art Journal

September 19, 2008 – 7:51 pm

Before I leave the location where I have painted that day, I take notes in my art journal. I record why I chose to paint a particular subject, the mood that I wanted to convey, and any details that I may have picked up while painting.  Sometimes, I overhear conversations and add those to the […]

By Lavanna Martin | Posted in art, art journal, figure painting, painting | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (8)