Angela J. Hill

Getting started on the third in this series:

Alcatraz:

Himalayan fair:

Castro Country Club High-Heeled Race:

I didn’t have my external flash at Twin Peaks a couple of nights ago, but had some fun working with the available light. There was a bright moon, the city lights below, a fairly active parking lot, and my brother, sister-in-law, and Gabe. The images are dark, yes; it was night time. Shot with the lens wide open at f1.8:

Gabe rim-lit by the moon, with the city camera left filling in for his cigarrette:

Adam as a car passed; lights aren’t on him but they give a catchlight:

Gabe lit by car lights from the parking lot:

Jenna’s sillhouette with the city lights–I just love this one:

And the grand finale, Jenna with the city behind her, lit by Adam’s phone!

Numbers cut out and affixed…the third one in this series will be in the works before too long, though my travel schedule has a way of getting in the way of that since these paintings take a lot of time.

It’s amazing how putting the numbers on gives me such a tremendous “AHHHHHH” feeling, like everything matches and all is right with the world. Hurray!

We had such a fun evening out yesterday!

This guy was waiting for another musician to finish packing up so he could take his place. It was almost as if they’d figured out a schedule ahead of time–maybe they had.

The fabulous Nidhi is welcome to use my photos as reference for illustrations absolutely anytime…because everything she does is supremely awesome. Case in point: starting with these Napa photos:

…led to this!

First let me say that as this baby (Lensbaby, to be exact) is for some other brand of camera, it is currently very classily duct-taped to my Canon. Nevertheless:

With the addition of the numbers (again, painted just in a matte finish), this is complete! Like 641, it’s latex and acrylic paint over modeling paste on canvas. These paintings really have to be seen in person to get a real feel for them.

Details:

The paint is done; simply need to cut out and affix the numbers. I’m in Seattle for a few days but hope to do that first thing when I get back next week. I really like how this is coming together and can’t wait to get started on the third one…

Details:

It was a busy weekend painting-wise. This will be a companion piece to 641; there could be more to come, too. I’d like to do some that fade off to white instead of black, I think, or that fade from one color to another. And I feel like orange (5) is getting neglected a bit. At any rate, the paint work on this is nearly done, and the numbers are printed and sitting on my floor, ready to serve as templates for the matte finish…

Details:

The number is painted simply in a matte finish, so it floats into and out of the surrounding color as the viewer (and the lights) move around it. Photographing it was quite a challenge! I should try again with a polarized filter.

This piece is 40″x30″ and is latex paint and acrylic mediums over modeling paste. And, this number is my work phone extension. I never ever use it, but it’s staring back at me from my phone anytime I’m in the office.

And a couple of details:

It’s coming along…the paint is not quite complete, and then I’ll need to add the numbers, but it’s finally getting to a point where it begins to captures the essence of the number’s color. This style is really challenging for me, because it requires so many layers of paint, and as the paint is built up, the top color always seems so much more prominent than it should be (or will be at the end). It’s a leap of faith to know I’ll find my way to the right order and combination…then again, it’s that much more interesting when it gets there.

This has been drying all afternoon, standing on its side in front of my TV. With latex paint it’s very important to let thick layers cure before doing anything on top of them, and anything with texture like this is just going to have thick paint, period, as it settles into the nooks and crannies.

I started by making a texture with modeling paste and a variety of tools (this is just a detail of the whole thing):

Then, painted it red–right down to the aforementioned nooks and crannies. I knew I’d miss spots on the next coat so had to get this coat on pretty well. (this is partway through the process. It’s hard to shoot these big canvases with my DSLR when they’re on the floor.)

And now I’ve added the true color. I love the way the color and texture evolve together as they travel across the canvas - when the numbers are added it will be finished! (This photo actually shows it rotated, and the white parts are glare - this is what I get for using lots of gloss. It doesn’t always photograph well but I love what it does in person - mess one’s depth perception.)

This will be a companion piece to 4670007790, and there will be one more to come too…

I often keep the number nearby when I’m painting, for reference. This is just the very beginning of a painting that will take many many many layers of paint before it’s done. I love to see how they build up.

It’s surprising what coffee places will let one get away with. Emily and I spent Saturday in a couple of different SF cafes playing with our cameras, just shooting back and forth…all natural light except for one reflector I had with me. We shot with her 50mm 1.4, my 100mm 2.8, and we both have the 16-35 2.8 L-series, so there was fun with that too. My whole album is here and hers is here, and these are some favorites…

…and a couple of her shots of me:

Finally finished cutting out the numbers and affixed them last night. There are two more in this series coming. Actually last night I also started a small study for a large piece I’m about to do in a different series–feeling very creative these days. Also, sidenote: the numbers on the sides are cropped in the painting, not just in the photo. I’m starting to change my painting composition a bit.

And a couple of detail shots, just for fun:

My buddies over at Monsters are Not Myths are continuing their fine tradition of calling your Mom on Mother’s Day to sing her a custom song, for free. All you have to do is sign up!

I’ve been to London and back post-Baja, but am finally getting around to posting some of my favorite shots from the trip. Juan and I drove his Westfalia from San Francisco to San Jose del Cabo, covering the whole of Baja on the way (as one does). It was my first time in Mexico and really couldn’t have been any more awesome. For example(s):

There are a lot more photos I really like in the trip album.

Shot on the walk from my apartment to my weekend coffee place and back:

All shot with my 100mm macro lens.

It’s so nice to be back in San Francisco (finally). I keep waking up and thinking my bedroom is a hotel, and an unfamiliar one at that–but I am indeed here enjoying this great weather. And so were a lot of other people this weekend. Also, dogs.