sketches

Perpetual problem I have when it comes to my painting is making decisions. Even the very first one: what to paint! When I first started painting I felt I had no subject; I was always looking for something to paint ... I painted my lunch; I painted leftover green beans in a pot on the stove; I painted cinder blocks piled in the side yard. 

Now I sometimes feel like I have too much to paint: there are so many subjects ... And not enough time.

This was the scene that I decided not to do last time I took a class with Susan Abbott. But I'm thinking about going back to it because I think it has a simple, graphic quality to it, and it also may tell a story. 

So these are just a couple of small, 3x3, sketches in my sketchbook.

color studies

New gamboge/cerulean/Winsor violet

Quin gold/cobalt/Quin purple

Aureolin/cerulean/ alizarin crimson

aureolin/cobalt turquoise/bright violet

                    11x11

For my class with Susan Abbott I wanted to explore different triads, mostly for the grays.

I think I need to go back and look at one of the first art instruction books I ever got, and one that is still my favorite, Jeanne Dobie's Making Color Song. Everything you want to know about gray--and green--is in there.

classwork

                   11x11

I thought I was doing pretty well with these two paintings but then I took off in a bad direction: I started using gouache to "correct" things. 

I'm not opposed to a little gouache here and there but I think when you use it to fix things you lose a lot of the transparency that is so appealing about watercolor. 

Anyway I'm thinking of these as rough drafts and hope to learn from them, make some adjustments, and paint them again more freshly. 

10 minute sketch.

Yesterday I was looking at some Cezanne still lives and noticing how he often at least partially outlined objects in them. Thought I'd give it a try to strengthen this kind of weak little sketch.

And today for Robert Burns day, sketch of cyclamen with a little piece of pottery I found on the beach in Scotland. 

alstroemeria

                 8x14

I went too far on this and lost the structure of at least one flower. But I do like the colors.

I added this bit of a border around it, luckily I had the space and I just felt like it needed some air.

Another 10-minute painting in my sketchbook, with a haiku. 🙂

fast and sloppy

            12x14 / 2 minutes

            12x18 / 4 minutes

.          18x24 / 4 minutes

I subscribe to Chloe Brigg's Patreon page, where she posts great material and runs an online drawing class every month based on that month's subject: this month, horizons.

I posted my two minute painting first because it's my favorite, but we did the 4 minute ones first to warm up. 

I painted these on pretty big, cheap watercolor paper. 

And all of this is just from the first half of Chloe's workshop! 

I hope to finish the second half tomorrow.

10 minutes

Day 2 of 10 minutes in my sketchbook: alstroemeria, aka Peruvian lily.

I spent 10 minutes on the drawing, then 10 more on the watercolor.

And day 3: two, for me,  way too expensive Japanese tea cups that I had to buy because they're just so beautiful. 

I keep them on my kitchen counter so I can look at them all the time. 

Days 3 and 4, where I added on to day 3.

classwork

                    12x12

Where I am on my painting for my Susan Abbott class: first layer of color over my underpainting, then a little work on the shadows and the kids' limbs, with gouache added.

I'm going for an analogous color scheme: yellow-green to blue-violet.

.                 8x10

I liked doing the ultramarine underpainting so much for Susan's class that I also did one from a photo I took at Otter's Point in Maine, then added some color later. 

I like the kind of impressionistic result.

10 minutes

10-minure sketchbook painting. I always have apples but I rarely paint them ... Probably because I'm usually unhappy with the results. Which is pretty silly. If I want to be pleased with the results, I have to paint apples! 

Anyway I'm going to try to spend 10 minutes a day doing something in my sketchbook. Maybe apples, maybe not. 

And today I did a drawing of my complex amaryllis: currently there are two blooms and five buds!

sampler

                  16x20

My sample sampler.

These are freehand paintings of pieces of fabric I own.

I wanted to practice working on fabric and then thought these pieces looked nice together. 

I'm going to be in an art show in May and I'm thinking of doing a few more samplers with other cloths I own. 

I just love how colorful it is.

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice." --Martin Luther King Jr.

amaryllis

My red amaryllis finally bloomed. This is my first try, without drawing.

This plant has several buds that haven't opened yet, which confuses the painting a bit, but would probably make a nice drawing.

Also made a few thumbnails to try to choose colors for these two paintings.

The cool one came out okay.

The warm one I'm struggling with. Maybe because there are big shapes and little shapes and no middle shapes?

.                        3x3

I think the third one is most satisfying. But still not quite right.

copy of a heckel

                       2x2"

I saw this painting posted on Facebook about a week ago and I just can't stop looking at it.

I did a small copy to see if I could figure out why.

Basically this painting has ALL the colors in it. But used in a way that yields a vibrant harmony: 

Mostly analogous warms; some complementary cools; little bit of neutral 

classwork

                       10x10
Ultramarine blue underpaintings and color swatches. I'm going to try to paint one with a warm palette, the other with cool.

cardinal

                      8x8

Not much time today so I just painted this cardinal.

next step

                     11x12

Next step in my Susan Abbott class is to make an ultramarine underpainting. 

I did a quick one and then couldn't resist adding color! 

But during the week I'll be exploring different color schemes and making swatches. 

I'd like to do one predominantly cool and one predominantly warm ... But I usually end up with the mix of both. 

Below are some doodles I made in class.

amaryllis

One of my amaryllis bulbs has finally started to open. 

I find the pink and white ones hard to paint; But maybe once it opens more and becomes more obviously symmetrical I'll have an easier time of it. 

In the meantime still waiting for the red one to open.

peace

Very rough week to be an American, one of many, and no end in sight. I don't know what to say--it's just very difficult. 

So, two quiet peaceful landscapes.

one more

One more drawing for my class: the pencil drawing, and the same drawing manipulated with a notanizer to see if I can find big, connected darks.

Susan Abbott class

              

I started a Susan Abbott class today, one where we will construct a painting by combining references of a landscape and of people.

These are my first ideas ... The next step is to turn them into a notan, but I think first I'll have to find some large dark and light shapes in them.

I liked the idea of combining the man and his dog with the fishing boat, but he may be better without it. Or I may try putting the boat further back in the distance.

I really enjoy Susan's classes because I get to do a lot of drawing and a lot of thinking through various stages of making a painting. Usually I just jump in, and sometimes that works. But it's also good to have the option of planning. 

And Susan's a great teacher.