Lara's Blog

Join E. 10th Street Studios for East Bay Open Studios 2012

Lara Hoke — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:10:26 +0000

Want to participate in East Bay Open Studios, but don't have a studio you can open to the public?

E. 10th Street Studios is looking for artists to share their unique space.

E. 10th Street Studios is a 12,000 square foot warehouse conveniently located next door to the Fruitvale BART station.

Participating artists will each get two 8 x 8' modular walls.

Dates: June 2-3 | 9-10

For more information, please email Lisa Pfeiffer, pfeiffer_lisa@hotmail.com.

Deadline: February 17th

E. 10th Street Studios | East Bay Open Studios 2011

Jellies at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Lara Hoke — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:19:17 +0000

This past weekend my friend Lindsey and I made a pilgrammage to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We were both captivated by the jellies. Below are some of my favorite shots.

Lara Hoke, Red Jelly

Lara Hoke, Pink JellyLara Hoke, White JellyLara Hoke, Girl with Jellies

Approaching Completion (in muffled steps)

Lara Hoke — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:32:35 +0000

I'm excited to share these images, the portraits are getting closer and closer to completion. It's been difficult working with reference photos that are black and white (portrait on left) and under saturated (portrait on right), but I'm always up for a challenge.

Please note the black lines are digitally imposed and used as guides rather tan being part of the final product.

Lara Hoke, Portraits in Progress

Another Technique for Refining a Portrait

Lara Hoke — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 05:18:13 +0000

Many artists project the source image on canvas and trace the outlines. In my portrait work, I've found this approach to be helpful when working in the dry, precise medium of graphite. However, it is totally useless when I work in oil. My painting process involves loose application of paint, blending, wiping, and reapplication of paint. If I traced the image, it would be like painting between the lines or color by number. The painting would have no life of its own.

In addition to overlaying the in-progress portrait over the source photo (see the previous post), I've started outlining the source photo in Photoshop and overlaying the drawn outline over a photo of the painting in progress.

Original with Line Overlay, Painting, Painting with Overlay

Using Technology to Capture Likeness

Lara Hoke — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 04:37:21 +0000

Periodically while I work on a portrait I use Photoshop to overlay a photo of the painting on the source image. Not a fancy technique by any means, but a hugely useful one. By overlaying the images I can see immediately where my painting is off. For example, in the first series below, I can easily see that my painting is too straight on. Rather than directly facing the camera as I've painted him, the subject is turning slightly toward his right. In the second series I see several issues. The most important of which are the tilt of the head and the placement of the right eye.

Capturing the spirit of the subject can't be helped by technology. Thank goodness at least likeness can.

Source Image, Portrait in Process, Overlay

Portraits in Progress

Lara Hoke — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:51:54 +0000

Reference Photograph, Grandfather ZibbelI'm am working on a series of portraits of a client's grandfathers. The paintings are meant to be a clear expression of their memories and evoke a feeling of nostalgia and history.

Reference Photograph, Grandfather Buck

Although early in the process of painting the portraits, I want to be careful not to overwork them. I want the paintings to be a combination of fully developed areas and loose, gestural lines.

Lara Hoke, Grandfather Buck in ProgressLara Hoke, Grandfather Zibbel in Progress

Lara Hoke, Grandfather portraits in progress, oil on panel

New Sketchbook Images

Lara Hoke — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 05:02:04 +0000

This summer I was blown away by Pat Sonnino's series of Moleskine Japanese sketchbooks that combined materials (largely from Rome's vast Porta Porteses flea market) with pen and ink and gauche.

Inspired by her work, I purchased a sketchbook and began drawing. Each set of pages is of a particular space, our living room, a friend's apartment, a coffee shop. Each space is connected to the next set of pages by an architectural element, shape, or line.

I've always been a fan of the Surrealist parlor game Exquisite Corpse and like to think of this sketchbook as a spatial version of the game.

Lara Hoke, Japanese Moleskine Sketchbook

I shared my first sketchbook with my critique group last week and received some great feedback. One suggestion was to research the variety of camera angles used to create interest and meaning in film and bring that variation into my work. This shot below is of my first attempt to incorporate this idea. I think it's a start, but that I can push this idea much further.

Lara Hoke, Moleskine Japanese Sketchbook

Artist Group at the Berkeley Free Market Building

Lara Hoke — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 04:18:07 +0000

I was honored to be part of the inaugural meeting of an artist group yesterday evening in downtown Berkeley. We met in Sarah Haba's studio which is located in the Berkeley Free Market Building. The studio is beautiful and teeming with history. The Berkeley Free Market Building was the studio home of Bay Area Figurative artists Richard Diebenkorn, Elmer Bischoff, William Theophilus Brown, and Paul Wonner.

Each artist presented their work and shared their motivations for joining the group. Seeing the quality and variety of the other artists' work was absolutely inspiring!

The tie that binds the group is that each artist has taken a class with Mel Prest. She has done us all a huge favor in recognizing and acting on the importance and need for artists to have community. We will be meeting once a month for critiques, conversation, and community.

In other news, I've begun prep work on several beautiful birchwood panels from Kevin Keul. These panels were built to order for commissioned portraits.

Preparing the birchwood panels

It's been too long...

Lara Hoke — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 04:38:43 +0000

Lara Hoke, Oakland Nightscape, Rockridge Nightscape AKA Liquor VideoJust a quick update on Rockridge Nightscape. I diminished the contrast of the tree's shadow in the foreground. Pushed back the lights on the horizon line and increased the contrast; alluded to windows in brownstones (town houses?).

Quick Update on MacArthur and Park and Liquor Video

Lara Hoke — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 04:52:14 +0000

Added more complexity to the horizon line and a stroke of red. Almost done!

Lara Hoke, Rockridge Nightscape, AKA Liquor Video

Trying to add more depth and interest in the foreground. Struggling with the tree on the left. All I can think about is broccoli.

Lara Hoke, MacArthur at Park, Oakland Nightscape