fishing boat

                                   5x7

A rough little sketch of a fishing boat on a misty morning.

shells

                             8x10

I have a few photos, somewhere, of all these whelk and conch shells on a dune fence. The light is so dramatic I always wanted to paint them. Made two attempts before this. I think I am getting closer: using a red-yellow-blue triad definitely has helped me get some subtleties without sacrificing color ... or so it seems to me.

cabanas

                                 11x15

From a photo I took a couple of years ago. I added the person.

I loved the yellow stripes on the cabanas. I started to get a little impatient painting them and wasnt too careful about accuracy! I wish I had done a few on wet paper or softened some edges ... but luckily they are yellow and therefore a bit weak. In a stronger color I think the stripes would be dizzying!

dinghy

                                  4x6

Took this photo several years ago (before red caps took on another significance) pand finally got around to doing a little sketch of it.

I needed a warmup after a week or so of not doing much.

The subject appeals to me so much largely because of Winslow Homer's paintings of rowers and canoers.

plein air: townbank

                                8x10

A little morning plein air on the beach: a value study and a color study.

Not a very good composition. Should have added my friend Robin!

trumpet vine

                             9x11

I am finally--finally!-- beginning to get how to paint glass without painting it: it's what you put behind it ... and how you light it. The more discrete shapes you can discern to paint, the better.

I photographed this setup at least a dozen times before I settled on this view.

workshop w/nora mac phail

 

Earlier this week I took a 2-hour workshop on eyes, noses and mouths with Nora MacPhail. Tremendous fun, and it was so nice to "meet" Nora after following her blog for years!

Painting just features, for practice and to try out new techniques, is not something I've ever done before, but I'm going to collect some faces and do it more often.

landscape class

                               11x15

I missed class last week and painted this following along with a recording of class-- it was hot and getting dark, and pretty soon after I started I realized I really do not like this paper!

It's from a Arches 140lb CP sheet but has next to no texture/tooth. It's very weird.

Recently I had ordered some Fabriano paper and though it came in Fabriano packaging it was watermarked "Kilimanjaro," the Cheap Joe's brand. Extra strange as I ordered it from Dick Blick!

This paper is watermarked Arches but it feels inferior. 

I was not happy as I struggled with grasses and the rocks!

It's not the disaster I thought it would be ... but I'm stuck with 4 more sheets of crap paper. 

shell

10x14

From a photo I took.

There used to be a dune-fenced path to the bay where someone, or someones, had topped the fenceposts with whelk shells. At certain times of day the light could be very dramatic.

Have painted this three times now ... still trying to find the best way.

plein air: cape may

                                7x10

                             10x14

I worked on these simultaneously ... and each has things I like and things I don't like.

The top one is further along, though I'm not sure either one is finished.

But I don't think I'll finish either one: in both cases I'm not happy with the boat's cast shadow, which looks like a blob!

The sun was behind the stern, casting a shadow just like the one in the paintings ... But "that's how it was" is no excuse.

beachcomber

                                  8x10

Elsa came through here last night with hours of a good soaking rain!

Also left a bit of dampness in the air.

The haloing effect doesn't bother me (though it admittedly caused me some aggravation as I was painting); makes me think of the shimmer of a hot day.

south jersey street

                               9x10

Took a photo of this street this spring on an outing with my friend Gina.

I just started a Zoom class on perspective for artist with Carolyn Lord (!), and thought I'd try this as a warmup.

Grabbed a piece of hot press that was on my table, did the drawing, then started painting ... and discovered, as happens too often to me, that the sizing on the paper was shot: so no moving the paint around or mingling colors.

Decided to keep on and just paint shapes: simply, and once.

Up close you can see the defect in the paper, but overall I like the effect, which reminds me of the well-known Cape May watercolorist Alice Steer Wilson's approach.

plein air: fisherman's memorial park

                              7x10

A little view of Cape May Harbor.

I'm trying something different this year and treating all my plein air work as practice. Trying not to have any expectations and just enjoy the experience of being out and painting with friends.I took a lot of pictures and may revisit the scene in winter in my studio.

As we were painting the kids' sailing class from the yacht club beached their sunfish in front of us.

yard bouquet

8x12

The hostas are in bloom and I just love them--I am partial to all cone- and bell- shaped flowers. And the rubbeckia: such a beautiful yellow.

The hydrangea are in bloom too, but I have no idea how to paint them!

wip: Cape May street

                                7x11

I drew this and painted the sky earlier in the week. Now I can't find the reference photo ... but I decided to paint a little more anyway. Why not.

plein air: north cape may

                                 6x9

Did a little plein air painting with my friend Gina yesterday afternoon.

My "value" sketch wasn't much help with the values here: there's not much to them. But it did help me simplify a riot of dune grass and scrub into some discrete shapes that I could handle.

Another still life from my first watercolor class: from a lesson on glazes. I rarely--hardly ever!--use glazes, but I kind of like the effect.

                                10x14

young woman

                                8x10

A face from Sktchy. A lovely face and pose but I chose this photo because of the hair: it makes me think of a suffragette.

I was going to add a background but couldnt decide if it should be warm or cool, so I decided to do without it!

landscape class

                               11x15

A scene from Gros Morne provincial park in Newfoundland, home to some of the oldest rocks on the planet--which was news to me. The reference photo was taken by the teacher, Bill Rogers.

Up until I was about 14 I wanted to be a geologist and was a rockhound. I still pick up rocks everywhere I go.

Gros Morne is now on my bucket list.

I struggled with this subject a bit and I was really surprised when I photographed it and saw the lack of variation in the greens! I thought I was varying them, using 4 or 5 colors. I think I may have been painting to fast, without stopping to assess what I was doing.

Putting this in the "try again" pile.

I was looking through my pile of paintings for a couple to submit to a virtual art show and came across a few paintings I saved from my very first watercolor class, at Cooper Union in NYC, circa 1996.

Here are my first two still lifes.

                               11x12

                              11x15

chica

                             11x15

Took a photo of this girl walking on the beach a few years ago ... finally got to painting it.

I have quite a backlog of reference photos!

I am considering adding some ripples to the water. But I'm going to wait and think it over.

coconuts

Did a little more to this, trying to add darks and move some of the warm colors into different areas.

I dont know if it's done--I feel it has places that need more definition, but I don't think I can go any further with it.

kayaker

                              7x11

We came upon this boy (about 8 or 9, I'd guess) and his parents when we were kayaking in Florida. Nice family, they were having such a wonderful time, it was great to see.

I love the boy's stance in this photo--looking out over all the places to explore.

I'm afraid I didnt do him justice!

But this is just a trial run ... really too humid to paint today, like painting on a paper towel.

And I made a few mistakes, which I, contrary to my mantra--Don't "correct"--I kept trying to fix.