unfinished landscapes

                                                                      7x10  

Scenes from near my home. Started these, trying to apply color more loosely ... Not sure where to go with them, so I'll leave them for now.

testing

Had a few pieces of paper I was going to discard, then thought, let me test them. Painted these little, about 3 to 5 inch, landscapes just making them up. It was fun ... and I'm keeping the paper!

on the beach

Went to the beach the other day, first time this summer, and the wind and  surf were serious! I tried to observe and paint it ... and then I guess my palette must've fallen out of my bag and gotten buried in the sand! In a thousand years some archeologist will find it!

turkey vulture

I took another class with Ian de Hoog at the Winslow Art Center this winter; this time he's concentrated on birds of prey. 

I was skeptical about this one ... I always thought turkey vultures were ugly! I can see the beauty in him now. 

Sketchbook page

A page of gulls and, below, a quick sketch I made on the beach yesterday of a laughing gull flying over.

my tiffin

                          8x10

My brother gave me a tiffin a few years back, and I take it with me every time I go out for Indian food.

Not happy with the shadows, but I am pretty pleased with the tiffin: I usually shy away from painting reflective and/or metallic things!

drawing is free

Two watercolor pencil drawings from today's Drawing Is Free session: 1 song, 1 pose. I think these sessions--you draw but nobody sees what you're drawing--can be liberating; each week you can set your mind to trying a different technique or media. And they're also a great help in confronting anxiety about drawing faces!

more classwork

                           5x8

Another study for the Mary Whyte class at Terracotta.

classwork

Watercolor artist Mary Whyte spoke to a class I was taking this winter and I was so impressed by her.

 By her paintings, of course, which are masterful and expressive, but also by her and how she spoke about the process of finding and connecting with her subjects. 

Her art seems to be driven by compassion and a zen-like appreciation for the moment.

I signed up for a class with her, through Terracotta; beginning to work through the lessons now.

These models are both from Sktchy.