Janet Groza

The "O" Girls

2012-02-08T18:33:00.000-08:00

This is a commission from the Orendain family of Anaheim, CA. Just closed this project and received authorization so I can post it here. This was such a fun piece to do and the Orendains were a delight to work with! I used photos they took during their family vacation, Summer of 2010. Grand Canyon was one of their stops so I decided to use that as the background. The whole family were doing this shots of capturing jumps mid-air and I thought it would be great to put all three girls together.

The "O" Girls, Graphite on 18x24 Strathmore Drawing paper

Red or Read

2012-02-03T18:47:00.000-08:00

It took a few months to get ready after getting out of school: framed some work, finished my website, created and printed business cards, and I finally joined my first Art Show. It's with the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society Members' Show that opened yesterday at the Los Altos Library. Hope some of you can stop by and check out the display of Artwork. It's up until February 29th.

Wednesday was a very full day driving around Bay Area. After I dropped off my painting at the Los Altos Library, I met up with my husband for lunch in Santa Clara. Then off I go to Blackhawk Gallery in Danville where I met my friend who was showing there. We had our little meeting at her home in Walnut Creek and later went to Concord to attend my first California Watercolor Association (CWA) Board Meeting. I got voted in officially as the Co-Director of Workshops. And when I opened my e-mails the following morning, there's an invitation from the Southwest Art Magazine to place an ad to showcase my work. It's finally happening!!!

Loose Watercolors

2012-01-31T18:55:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my attempts at loosely painting in watercolor, done in Spring 2011. Some are more successful than others but I'm posting them all here so you can see my struggles, experiments, and occasionally tripping over gems of happy accidents. After all, I have not made any postings for about a year and this is to make up for that. I will forever be a student for when I stop learning is when my work cease to have meaning.

"Orange Cover" Watercolor, 9x11. Our tree produced extra tasty fruits that year and before the squirrels ate them all, I managed to paint this, adding the rusty color of the shed roof that enables the critters to feast on our oranges.

"Livermore Barn" Watercolor, 15x22. Livermore has beautiful rolling hills of farms and vineyards. Sadly, developers can't build gigantic condos and shopping centers fast enough, destroying views like these on their path. I'm doing what I can to preserve and chronicle these images while I still can.

"Oak" Watercolor, 5.5x14. I think Oak trees are beautiful but one of the hardest to draw and paint. I experimented with a spray bottle then allowing the water to carry the pigments, spreading it from droplet to droplet, thus creating the prickly twisted branches that is so characteristic of the mighty Oak. Fun!

"Iris" Watercolor 10.5x14.5. I think I can go further on this one, adding more hard edges and deeper shadows to make the forms less confused...

"Rosy Roses" Watercolor 6.5x10. Here again could use more hard edges, but the soft dreamy effects works too.

"Veggie Tail" Watercolor 8x11. This was painted using live produce. I attacked this piece fast and aggressive, like how it turned out and learned that it takes a lot of confidence to paint that way. Keep practicing....

"Radishlicious" Watercolor 12x16. I love the perspective on this piece and enjoyed painting the roots the most. Go figure ;)

"Squash 'N Garlics" Watercolor 12.5x16. No one is safe in my kitchen :)

"Last Blooms" Watercolor 12x16. I wanted to play with the muted colors of winter and suggest the left over flowers that were once bright and now dry and wasting away yet creating an intriguing mood.

"Arum's Baby" Watercolor 14x22.5. I learned recently from my sister Josie the difference between Calla Lilies and Arum Lilies and the giant species I have are called Arum. This little guy was enjoying them and I couldn't resist taking a few snap shots. Of course I just have to paint him.

Colors in Water, Fall 2010

2011-12-26T13:39:00.000-08:00

Fluid Acrylics can be used like watercolors with incredible results! I was introduced to this technique by Nicholas Simmons, a rockstar of an artist :) Pros, it's permanent and will never be destroyed. The beautiful background colors and texture you create will not be lost when you start painting in layers. Cons, it's permanent and cannot be erased... though since it's acrylic, you can always paint opaquely and layer it. Super fun technique and medium to work with...


"Honu" Fluid Acrylic, 19.5x19.5, 140 lb hotpress Arches

"Red FanDamgo" Fluid Acrylic 20.5x21, 140 lb hotpress Arches

"Koi Dance" Fluid Acrylic, 18x28, 140 lb hotpress Arches

New Etsy Shop

2011-12-23T00:54:00.000-08:00

I just opened my new Etsy shop and named it JanetGrz. I'm getting hits for favorites but no sale yet. I should have done this months ago but I tried eBay first. Now that I've done both sites, I prefer Etsy hands down. Their set up and community is just so much more organized and supportive. I love it! Here is the link, come visit me and drop me a convo (Etsy linggo for conversation ;) ...
http://www.etsy.com/shop/janetgrz

Props painting and texturing in photoshop

2010-04-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

Signage around town...

2010-04-17T00:34:00.000-07:00

Painting a lot lately, digitally

2010-04-17T00:06:00.000-07:00

I love Watercolor!

2010-01-21T09:12:00.000-08:00

Took Watercolor class with Gale Antokal and I remembered why I went back to school to begin with. Watercolor is officially my favorite medium. I can get lost in it and let go...

My Milk

2009-07-21T01:15:00.000-07:00

Another one done in Facebook's Graffiti...

Katie Graduates High School

2009-06-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

Katie's mom was my Speech teacher and we took Photoshop together last semester. She saw my WonderWoman digital caricature and asked if I can make one for her graduating girl. We collaborated and here's what came about. Hope she likes it...

Old Photos Restoration/Retouching

2009-05-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

I also learned techniques on how to restore broken treasures like this without losing the integrity of the resolution, texture, and the general feel of the photograph. This was tedious and fun at the same time but thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.

Handtinting

2009-05-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

Been learning the art of retouching/restoring a photo and handtinting old photos. Here's one of my dad. I retouched it first and cleaned it up a little bit then hand tinted it with Photoshop. Mother's Day gift for my mom...

Photoshopped Tidepool

2009-05-01T09:14:00.001-07:00

I've been tweaking this for a while. I'll leave it alone and call it done... for now! :)

Book Cover

2009-04-27T08:53:00.000-07:00

The challenge was to redesign an old book cover using what we've learned in photoshopCS4. I chose "The Martian Chronicles."

Old Design _____My Design

Ellen, the Wonder Woman

2009-04-20T16:39:00.001-07:00

This is my first full body with background layer attempt. I really enjoyed working on this and learned my way around photoshop a little bit more. Included is Ellen's photo reference. Fun, fun, fun!

Mya

2009-03-14T23:11:00.000-07:00

Digital Caricature, my first colored piece... sooo fun!

Apologies for a long Silence

2009-03-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

Once again, my friends' work inspired me to update, post, and keep going even when hard times bog me down. I'll be posting whatever I have, good or bad, just to challenge myself to never give up what I really love doing. Okay, done with the dramatics!

So, for starters, I've been playing with photoshop teaching myself Matte Painting and I'm loving it! I took my old tidepool painting and tried pushing it further to get more atmospheric effects. Something I was too chicken to try. I'm telling you, this medium is giving me the courage to try out new things and be crazy! Still in progress...

Fall 2008 Semester

2008-09-19T06:06:00.000-07:00

I'm taking two classes this semester, Art 129A - Maya 3d Rendering with Dave Gustlin and Art 115 - Intermediate Animation with Dave Chai. It's raining daves this semester... lol. I was enrolled with Courtney Granner's 117 Visual Development class also but that would have been suicide and all the professors laughed at me and strongly advice against it. Two studio classes max is the going rate these days. We started the semester running; within the first two weeks, we already have a 10 minute animation short and a Rancor turn around and full body low poly count model due. Looks like sleep will be fleeting again for the next three months. I'm just glad I'm in good company...

Here's my Rancor Turn Around done in Photoshop. My first time to draw anything official with my wacom tablet and my first time to do a turn around on any character. Taking John Clapp's 113A when he used to teach it with a bit of perspective helped me alot as far as knowing which parts should line up and understanding the planes in 3D. We will also learn ZBrush in 129A to finish off the model.
A sample of my figure drawing portfolio for my Animation Class. We are to draw 25 figure studies and 25 on location sketches with different themes every week. Well, yesterday they just upped the bid to 100 figures a week so we can get rid of our 10,000 ugly drawings faster... lol. Hopefully it will work for me too. I will be stalking people a lot more this weekend. Happy hunting!

The theme for this week is 'fun in the sun'. I took my pc and wacom tablet to the park near my home and sketched people playing. Drawing with the pen tablet helped me loosen up and not be so caught up with details... I have to try that again... it was fun!

Class Projects

2008-08-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

There were some projects I completed before I created this blog and I want to post them too so they don't feel left out... lol.
'Anton' and 'Buddha' - Beginning Sculpture, 2003, Academy of Art SF

'Madonna and Child' by Raphael - Acrylic on bottle. Art 14 (color) 2005

'Flower Back' - Oil. Intermediate Painting, SJSU 2005

'Sami's Shoes' - Art 112A - Intro to Illustration, 2006

'Talampakan' - Art 112A - Intro to Illustration, 2006

'Ashley' - Art 112A - Intro to Illustration, 2006
'Zach' Self Portrait

Reversal - by Dorothea Lange. Art 112A - Intro to Illustration, 2006

Drawn in the beginning of the class... 2006 Art112A - Intro to Illustration. Self Portrait - before and....
After John Clapp's class. Gallery art paints on plexiglass - simulates stained glass. Final project for Art 112A - Intro to Illustration 2006.

I Got Away...

2008-08-12T15:14:00.000-07:00

Bob and I finally went on a 5-day cruise to Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada and had a much needed quiet vacation. Here are some photos. The sketches I did will be posted later... A few more days and back to school!

At the dining table... we met four other couples who made our dining fun.

Got serenaded by the Mariachi String Trio at Cabo San Lucas...

Home made Ice cream... yummmm! It was humid and hot at Cabo.

She was painting with her fingers using oil on metal plates and ceramic tiles. No brushes or medium at all.

New Caricature Blog

2008-07-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! Check out my new Caricature Blog located on the "Janet's Links" list. I decided to separate it from my traditional work so I can get more organized. Here's a photo of me with a guest, in my uniform at Discovery Kingdom... It's solar powered (no need to plug it in at night) so I glow when I stand under the sun =)

Caution: Don't stare directly unless wearing shades!

Learning Caricature

2008-06-08T23:52:00.001-07:00

I'm currently training as a caricaturist at Discovery Kingdom for three weeks now. It's a lot of fun!!
I finally brought my camera but only got two photos. I like how the boy's turned out, but the girl's look older than she really is. Both great kids!

Sack Pantomime "Tee Hee"

2008-06-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, see if you can figure out what's happening. I think it turned out decent. If anything else, I learned a lot on how to make motion readable and how to push for the actions to even register long enough to be seen. I've grown to love this little guy, er, sack...

Finals are here!

2008-05-08T16:54:00.000-07:00

Before I get insanely busy (as oppose to just very busy), here are some of the drawings I did in Art 114. We had to pick an animal and really study them. I picked the elephant. So here are some elephant drawings, figure drawings, and on location assignments... Good luck with all your finals - fire it up and finish it up!

Caricaturists Wanted

2008-05-02T08:14:00.000-07:00

I've never had a caricature drawing dome of me until now... This one is done by Robby Ramirez, the manager at Kaman's Art in Discovery Kingdom. I went in for an interview yesterday, Thursday, May 1, and he invited me to go through their training program with possible employment in the summer. I drew him too but he kept that one, maybe I can request a copy of it so I can see how I improved after training and hours of drawing if I get the job.

If you are interested in getting some caricature, public interaction, and business experience under your belt, go visit their site at:

http://www.kamansart.com/

I'm excited to get started, but it will overlap with finals at school just a bit so I must go back to work and finish my two papers and get those out of the way. I've got the Silver Fever!!!

Not the latest

2008-04-20T07:47:00.000-07:00

Hiya! I don't have much to post lately since I'm in animation class this semester, so maybe this is a good time to share some of my old work. In animation, I'm still learning how to bounce a ball properly, but we're getting into the fun part of "Sack Pantomime" and if it turns out decent, I might post it here... =)

This painting is called "Henna Lady" Fall 2001. What's special about this piece? It is the very first painting I've ever done. I took my first drawing class at Las Positas Community College in Livermore, CA in the Spring of 2001. I loved it so much, I decided to take a painting class next but to my horror, Bill Paskewitz told me to get a 36"X36" canvas and that will be our first project. I've never been so terrified of a white canvas in my life so I stared at it for two weeks... He taught me glazing and the power of opaque oil paints. When I realized that I could paint over mistakes, the light bulb turned on and I went to work. He pretty much allowed me to trip all over obstacles and I would go to him for the formula of what to mix to get THAT certain color. Besides that he sat back and watched me learn from my mistakes while giving me the confidence that he'll always be just a question away. This painting was done from a magazine cutting reference and had been in three shows.

"Gondola Rides"
Broken Colors - oil on canvas 24"X36"
Spring 2002
Heres another painting I did with Bill at LPC. I sold this to Marie Claar of Idaho, my sister-in-law. Photo reference taken by my mother-in-law, Sandy Groza.

"Reflections"
18"X24" Oil on canvas
Summer 2002 - Privately owned
I did this in a class I took, Still Life Painting, at the Academy of Arts S.F. through their Summer Portfolio Grant program. It was in two shows and then I sold it.

These two ink drawings were published in Las Positas College Anthology Book 2003.
From a photo reference I took of my kids.

Until next post... Fire it up!

Philippine Rainforest

2007-12-28T22:05:00.000-08:00

Final color rendering for 113B. After hours of research and designing, here's what I came up with in depicting a Rainforest in the Philippines. The Monkey-eating-eagle, Tarsier, and dragonfly are my main focus, but all the plants, trees, and flowers bring back memories from my childhood. I don't feel that this painting is finished. I could probably use another 80 hours to polish it and maybe change the values and saturation in some areas. That said, I like the overall feel of the environment I created... fresh, mid-morning, crisp. Any feedback for improvement, please let me know...

Final Tidepool Pencil Rendering

2007-11-26T09:49:00.000-08:00

Now, I'm off to paint this... yikes!

From Last Summer

2007-11-09T08:20:00.000-08:00

I took Maya art51 last summer. It was a killer but I had a blast! Here's what came out of that class. First project, render anything and final project, vehicle.

Long overdue...

2007-11-08T17:09:00.000-08:00

This semester is half-way done and I keep neglecting to update my blog... so here goes, this one's for Miles - for reminding me to get on with it.

And here it is... pencil rendering of the future tidepool final project. I chose to depict and pay tribute to the disappearing rain forest of the Philippines. My main subject is the Monkey-eating Eagle that is endemic to the jungles of the Philippines. Still needs some tweaking and I've already put in four weeks worth of work... whew! Okay, that's it for now... back to the drawing board.
Tidepool project - Object study. In Student Gallery show for October 2007.

Tidepool project - three eggs study.

Current semester, Fall 2007 113b (tidepool) class project - egg design. Betty Boop is my childhood favorite. =)

I finally replaced my bad scanner, which prevented me from getting a good image of this B&W rendering from 113a class last semester.

2007-08-02T11:50:00.000-07:00

Where did the time go? I took a Maya summer class and before I knew it, I only have three weeks left before Fall 2007 semester starts. I have just a few work I can share, most of the summer break will be spent catching up with housework and projects I've neglected... Hope you all are having a productive summer and some serious pampering and relaxation! :-)Final project for 113A... High Key/Atmospheric.
Perspective project for 113A...

Building Design and Figures

2007-04-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

I'm working on this building for John's 113A. Now I need to add more to the environment and perhaps some shadows... we'll see how it goes.

Some recent figures from Sheldon's class... Back anatomy study and a low key study

Still Life

2007-04-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

The doily I crocheted, the cup and vase I threw in ceramics beg. class, and the brass plate and lamp I found at a garage sale. This is in my sketchbook of winter 2007.

Draperies

2007-04-15T13:42:00.000-07:00

I've been MIA for a long time... but now that I am sick, in bed, and could hardly move, I figured... hey, I could still be with my laptop!! So I'm using this time to catch up on updating my blog to share my latest works.

sketchbook pages

2007-01-28T14:53:00.000-08:00

2006-12-16T06:20:00.000-08:00

Studying perspective here. It's been raining a lot lately, so I parked the van on the sidewalk of downtown Pleasanton, and stayed inside while I penciled in the lay out. Took a photo for shadow reference and finished at home... cuz it was cold. I used a pilot ink pen and waterbrush.