ref. photo

                                                        10x14

I took dozens of photos of the Portland lighthouse when I was in Maine last fall. This is my first attempt to paint one.

homework

                       8x8

From Susan Greenstein's class.

I found the images of these pots on Google's Arts & Culture app.

Below a drawing of a little fish that belonged to my mother.

classwork

Our 2nd day in Susan Greenstein's class we worked on lettering and using images from Google's Arts & Culture app.

Across the top are the first lines of a poem by Langston Hughes that I've loved for many years, "Motto."

I play it cool

And dig all jive

That’s the reason

I stay alive.

 

My motto,

As I live and learn,

            is:

Dig And Be Dug

In Return.

 

Homework is to work of a couple more images also using lettering.

Looking forward to trying more images 

sunflowers

Drawings from a terrific London Drawing Group on sunflowers with Jo Blaker.

I got a 100 sheet pack of Canson XL mixed media paper, 12x18, and I am enjoying just pulling sheet out.

today, day 2

                                                      8x8

Uff. Well today's effort is quite a mess. It annoys me that, despite the fact that I see them regularly, I cannot figure out how to paint dune grasses. I think I'm maybe going to have to paint a lot more messes.

Might as well add this disaster: too much water, not enough paint. Words for my tombstone!

today

.                       8x10

Paintings done from photos I took on my bike ride this a.m.

Going to try to keep it up all week.

And my homework from Susan Greenstein's class. I feel like I could/should have made a more sustained effort ... But I always was a little sloppy about homework.

classwork

                     9x12

Painted these in a class with Megan Swoyer; you can find her classes at Greenbush Media.

The greens are kinda weak ... Maybe I'll experiment and add some strong greens. Can't ruin a painting I'm not crazy about.

                     8x10

classwork

I signed up for a 2-session online class with Susan Greenstein at Winslow Art Center. I've taken a couple of other classes with Susan there and I like the way she teaches, and I love her own artwork, which you can see on Instagram 

This class is about drawing objects about the house with a brush pen.

I'm looking forward to expanding my mark+making vocabulary and to getting more practice with patterns.

ref photo

                      8x10

Last summer, or maybe the one before, we took a tour of  abandoned lighthouses in the lower Delaware Bay. I forget which one this was;  here's not much left of it but it was covered in cormorants.

I was too impatient and my darks ran into my blues. I tried to fix it but it didn't work. 

The composition's not very good either ... I think I need to zoom in on the birds a bit more. And the horizon line is too hard so I'll just call this one practice. 

And more oyster shell practice.

.                      5x7

sketchbook

                     7x12

Flipping through a sketchbook I came across two pages I'd splashed with some color--I forget why!

Thought they might make a good background for shorebirds.

So far have only done this one.

classwork

I've recently taken two great classes, online, with Frances Stansfield at London Drawing Group, Hockney Stripes in the Landscape, above, and Hockney Outside, below.

Now in addition to wanting to visit Margate because of Turner, I must see Yorkshire because of Hockney.

cards

                      5x7

My mom died eight years ago and since then I have been corresponding with an old friend of hers. Mrs. K was married to my dad's best friend from college. When I was small, their family lived in the house behind us, and I was best friends with one of their daughters. We called her Bimmy.

My dad was a stroke victim and my mom took care of him. As he got older and weaker it became increasingly difficult but she did it.

One by one Mom's friends began passing away. Which is hard under any circumstances and I'm sure, even though I was here, Mom must have sometimes, often?, felt isolated.

Mrs. K never failed to write and call, and visit when Mom would allow it! She and Mrs. K hadn't been close before, but I joked that she wore Mom down with her unrelenting kindness.

Anyway, I bought some watercolor postcards for when I write to my penpal.

portree

                      11x15

Not sure I should comment ... I feel it's kind of busy but, as usual, I am loath to tinker.

So I'll just stop here 

ref photo

                      10x7

Another from Scotland.

I will go back in and refine some shapes, esp on the lower right, after I've had a little time to think about it.

This is a subject I wouldn't previously have felt comfortable with-- too many places where I'm not quite sure what I'm looking at.

I'm glad I'm more at ease with fudging it. That feels like progress.

ref photo

                       12x9

Back to my Scotland photos.

Hadn't planned to but now I think I may go back and add the water behind the bumpers.

Want to get back to my one a day practice: this week I will try to paint a photo I take on my bike ride. That'll get me on my bike every day too.

Winsor & Newton put out some throwback colors. And I bought them-- of course I did!

The 6 colors are in the left column: mineral gray, otswald gray, ultramarine ash, tyrian purple, cinnabar green, and Field's orange.

The orange has the wonderful property of quickly diffusing into water--it spreads beautifully. The purple and green are also vibrant and transparent.

The otswald gray is a lovely cool brown.

The last two colors are lovely but I would characterize them as weak: it's hard to get a good concentration--I painted these right out of the tube!

Also, the first 3 colors are all mixed of three different colors, something I try to avoid.

more shells

                    10x5

Not my best shell effort, but I'm glad to have finally done something.

The weather has been phenomenal here for August--breezy and cool--which should be stimulating but I've been terribly lethargic all week.

Probably because I had a big decision to make about getting some work done on my house....

Made my decision yesterday, and today I rode my bike and painted!

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Tried to capture the moon behind clouds on this little piece of scrap paper.

plus de contraste

Anonymous suggested this sketch needed more contrast, which I was also thinking. Let it sit for a day, then tried to bump it up. It could probably use more ... But I'm going to stop here. 

There's always a place to stop, whether you've achieved what you envisioned or not; a place where going further is probably not going to enhance what you have.

That place may be determined in the first brushstrokes.

oyster shells

                        8x12

Thought these were done ... But now I'm thinking they need just a touch more.

intentions ...

Brought stuff to do art with friends in FL, but it's been too hot. So today, my last day, I painted along with a couple of Peter Ulrich videos. Peter is a teacher at the Art League in Alexandria, VA.

Great time to paint a snow scene!

visiting

...my friend Robin in beautiful Dunnellen, FL. It's been a whirlwind but we did a little sketching under the live oak last evening.

Listed the birds we heard and/ or saw.

shells

                       9x12

Oyster shells and a mussel shell. I drew these loosely with a brush ... Hadn't planned: the shells and the paints were just there.

Never have thought about painting mussel shells before but they're actually interesting: more color than I at first thought-- blue, some underlying brown, a lovely silvery black-- and very pretty, delicate striations.

travel kit

Next week going to see my brother and my good friend of long standing; they live about 1 hour apart in FL. There'll be kayaking, swimming in the Gulf, eating and drinking. And of course some art making.

Here's my little selection of stuff: 6x8" waterproof packall pouch, clips, pencil sharpener, palette knife, water brush, white ink pen, water soluble black marker, permanent black marker, fude sailor pen, water soluble pencil, lead pencil, bamboo dip pen, wristband to dab brush on (thanks to John Muir Laws for this idea), kneaded eraser, little pans of sepia and Payne's gray paint, little piece of charcoal and wax crayon, black crayon, travel brushes, a fat soft Lyra pencil, water soluble walnut brown pencil, art toolkit palette and ziplock bag to keep it in.

This kit shows me how often, when I'm out, I sketch more than paint. I think it's a good development: in my case anyway maybe if helps me be more present with less anxiety about creating a painting.

Went to a pottery sale at a nearby art league yesterday.

These are only two of the eight pieces I bought, but they may be my favorites. I'm crazy for fluting.

Was hoping to buy pots for plants, but there wasn't a single one!

I may have to get back into pottery: I see a niche market.