A trip

I'm back in London after a month in California, spending two weeks in Los Angeles and two in San Francisco. Whilst away I thought I'd try some small paintings. Virtually all of my sketchbooks are black and white so I thought I'd take the plunge into colour. It wasn't an entirely comfortable experience but I'm glad I forced myself to do something different. I want to write about all the terrific people I met and drew too but I'm too discombobulated with jet lag right now. More soon......








































































































































































































































































































...Right I'm back after a doze. Below is the first drawing I did in LA before abandoning pencil for paint. Underneath that are some of the characters I saw during my stay.

I just wanted to add that I met some incredible people and artists this time around, and I really have to thank them for making my trip so enjoyable. So in no particular order I salute Matt Jones, Nick Sung, Noah Klocek, Stephane Kardos, Space Dog Books, Ricky Nierva, Kevin Dart, Andy Grisdale, Don Shank, Alex Woo, Dave Needham and Boris Hiestand

If push came to shove and I had to pick a highlight of the journey it was meeting Sanjay Patel. Sanjay's artwork adorns San Francisco due to his outstanding show at the Asian Art Museum. I found it so inspiring to see vector art getting the recognition it deserves. There's no button on the computer that says "make great art". Sanjay's work is pound for pound the best I've seen. Chatting to him was a wonderful experience. There's wisdom, magic and a great spirituality to the man.















56 comments:

Polyminthe said...

Wow, these are beautiful! I love how you get the most important and recognizable features of each place.

Mick said...

in all seriousness, these are outstanding. I dig every single one a little bit more than it's predecessor which is a lot of digging and I just haven't got that amount of time or a spade big enough.... so we'll just leave it with a thumbs up (a sore thumb from all the digging I'd like to point out...but obviously pointing out is out because of the ....well you get the picture))

Andreas Schuster said...

Amazing stuff!

Freddy Carrasco said...

i cant put into words how inspired i am after seeing these. you make it look so easy!

Matthew Cruickshank said...

Thanks guys! Annoyingly I have 10 pages of the book left, so I may try and finish it. I have unfinished business with Kerouac, a socket box and some views from the plane.

Matt Jones said...

Fab! Flying down to L.A. last week I thought the patterns of fields from the air would be a great subject-look forward to seeing your take. And the Kerouac rocket!

Adam Temple said...

Beautiful paintings! Are they all done on-site? I'm so inspired!

Matthew Cruickshank said...

I agree Matt- thousands of compositional possibilities!!

Yes Adam- LA was a little easier as it was warm enough to sit and paint outside. It got a little colder up in San Fran so on occasion I'd make a black and white drawing and then paint the scene from a warm coffee shop.

Sophie Diao said...

Wowwwwwww.

Sean said...

my goodness. as said above - you really make it look so easy. very sure of your pencil and paint strokes, and every one is spot on. it is really very impressive. to do it so easily and with SO much style. its inspiring and daunting to come to this blog. i love it.

2OON said...

wow brotha!this is some amazing work, very inspirational.keep that fire burning!!

2OON said...

is it done in acrylics?

Ste Hitchen said...

these are gorgeous, are you using gouache?

Nick said...

Wow. These are brilliant.

Rob said...

these are unreal! Thanks for sharing.

Rich said...

Outstanding..love the paintings and love the sketches even more..im inspired!

Matthew Cruickshank said...

Sean- other blogs are really daunting for me, have you seen any of my friends links?!

Thank you to everyone else. These are done with gouache.

Unknown said...

Amazing stuff! MAKE IT INTO A BOOK!!

Ty Carter said...

RAD!!!

Ágreda said...

You are my hero.

Matthew Cruickshank said...

Agreda - your work is stunning

aleksa said...

Amazing indeed!

Shanna Cundal said...

Your balance of pattern and color and shape, blown away as usual! Would love to see your setup.

Wouter Bruneel said...

Absolutely stunning stuff! Thabks for sharing.

isabelle chiron said...

Vos croquis californiens sont magnifiques ! ils donnent de l'inspiration, ils sont vivants et très enlevés , bravo!

isabelle chiron said...

Vos croquis californiens sont magnifiques ! ils donnent de l'inspiration, ils sont vivants et très enlevés , bravo!

Vera Clyde said...

This is GREAT! Thank u for the inspitartion, and for you work

Benus said...

Great stuff man. Visiting your blog reminds me how much fun drawing can and should be.

Pinflux said...

These colour sketches are incredible - I wanna see larger versions!

29 said...

Hey, I really really love your sketches, both painted and drawn.Keep them coming, very often please.

29 said...

Hey, I really really love your sketches, both painted and drawn.Keep them coming, very often please.

Unknown said...

I love this post. Can you explain what tools you carry with you as you travel? Maybe a pic of your tools as well? I'm always loving to learn what other artists carry with them as they travel. I created a Moleskine palette with watercolor pencils: http://stretchbook.blogspot.com/2011/01/process.html

nidhi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
nidhi said...

i'm just getting my stuff ready for a big overseas trip and looking at your posts (i'm in SF) has inspired me to pack my gouache (i usually only take a sketchbook and sharpies, but i miss color so much!) ... thank you. your work is beautiful.

gur-B said...

absolutely beautiful ! the trip was good as well, yeah ?

Anonymous said...

Fantastic painting! In a use of pencil is good for the paintings. I think its easy to make. I will try to make this type of painting. I love your paintings.

ruralidyll said...

Matt I'm never one to leave comments on blogs, but this is a wonderful post; it's beautiful work, and really inspires me to draw more more more, and take a creative trip this year. If you've not already you should read the autobiography of the late great Eyvind Earle, which this brings to mind. Thanks a lot and Happy Xmas!

Sue Westcott said...

Stunning, just stunning. Thanks for sharing.

Linette Moore said...

Wonderful and inspiring!

Nicholas Hong said...

It must be awesome trip! Wow, I was blown by your sketches and painting! Beautiful!^^

Cederic Neven said...

Amazing how easy you make it seem to put everything down in bold and confident lines. Love the paints as well, very inspiring blog!

Nevena Nikolcheva NEN said...

wooooooooooooow !!!

Brie said...

These are amazing drawings! I learned a lot by looking through them~ Great work, look forward to seeing more of your stuff!

-A student in San Francisco's Academy of Art

javier Olivares said...

I LOVE your work!!! The TREASURE ISLAND stuff is terrific!!! Best

Skip said...

beautiful.

Unknown said...

These are fantastic! Love the use of color.

Ivan Daly said...

These are beautiful. If you are cautious about colour it does not show through.

meverit@gmail.com said...

All gorgeous! Love looking at your work Mr C.

Matt E.

Qin Leng said...

My goodness your sketches are absolutely gorgeous!!!

Diana Toledano said...

Holly crap, I'm so jealous right now. I want your hands.

And did you do all that in a month? That's quite impressive. Where you traveling alone? I never get to draw so much when I travel because after 5 minutes there is always someone saying "let's go".

Anyway, it's great to find your work!

Diana Toledano said...

(Ok, spelling check: I meant to say "were you traveling alone?", you can ditch the H)

Edric Hsu said...

Wow! I just chanced upon your work and blog on 4ojos' website and now I am a total fan!! Love it all!!!
Edric

(m) said...

precioso...

Matías Trillo said...

Amazing work!!!!!!! Absolutely amazing Mr. Matt C.

Unknown said...

beautiful works! What brand of gouache are you using? I bought some recently and they kept drying out and cracking after only a few days in the pans.

Unknown said...


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