burchams' farm

                8x5 sketchbook

                   8x10 block

.                       5x12

Second outing at the farm.

There were amazing cloudy, changeable skies but for some reason I focused on the land! Those dark tree shapes compelled me.

I started with small sketches to try to figure out what went where.

Then small watercolor sketches where the idea was to simplify shapes and develop a plan for the greens--neither of which I did.

Then, finally, unhappy with the watercolor sketches, I started something that may work out!

My first little sketch, at the top of the sketchbook, was the best thing I did all day.

classwork

.                    10x12ish

A couple of paintings I did in a Birgit O'Connor class on waterfalls. It's a good class: very freeing.

I'm not sure if these paintings are overdone or underdone!

bike-friendly plein air kit

Rene PleinAir expressed an interest in seeing what I bring when I go out to sketch on my bike. Here you go, Rene!

This looks like a lot of stuff! But it all fits in a 5x7 zippered bag and I think gives me a lot of options:

a small watercolor pan set

a few Derwent inktense pencils

travel brushes 

a mechanical pencil 

a sepia watercolor pencil

a permanent ink marker

a Tombow water soluble marker

a water brush

a wax crayon

a couple of clips

a little pot of Paynes gray

a few Derwent blocks ( new to me--great for covering larger areas and being bold)

a Sailor fountain pen

a plastic tube for sucking up water (forgot what it's called!)

a bamboo dip pen, used to draw or scratch

And two of the sketchbooks I've been bringing on my bike: a 4.5x9" handmade book and an 8x8 Ranger-brand sketchbook.

I put the sketchbooks and my little pouch in a larger bag--with water, sometimes a hat, a scrap of an old towel, and a small tarp to sit on--that fits in my bike basket.

I filled an 8.5x12.5 Moleskine sketchbook, which I really liked. It wasn't watercolor paper but you could do some painting in it:

But I thought the Moleskine cost too much ... Which began my long and even more costly search for a sketchbook that would be as good, or, more accurately, would suit my needs.

I'll do a post on my larger plein air kit soon.

beginnings

Beginnings of exploring two ideas I have.

1. To do a series of panoramic views of the Delaware Bay at low tide. This one is on sketch paper... And not "panoramic" enough: I need to pull out further.

2. To do a series of oyster shells. I have a good pile of them, most picked up on the beach, a few from oysters I've eaten.

Some of my collection

daylilies

In order, the day Lily sketches I did yesterday. All about 11x15.

I feel like I could've maybe gone bigger.

The daylilies aren't done. So maybe

classwork

                       11x15

Painted a killdeer in SaltyWaterArt's class, the last before taking a little summer break.

I don't usually like to paint the background when I paint birds, but this one worked out well, I think.

daylilies

Orange may be my favorite color, after blue. And I love these roadside lilies, as I call them.

Later today my friend Gina and I will be painting lilies.

I tried a couple of stems on my sketchbook. One came out pretty well, the other didn't!!

plein air

                  Sketchbook

Yesterday was the first day of a 7 week plein air class; we'll meet at a farm on the Mullica River from around 4 till around sunset.

i was trying to catch the alternating light and shadow falling across the lawn. Probably worked on it too long.

Next week we'll bring chairs and maybe my little popup screen tent: the little flying bugs were a distraction!

more clouds

                      11x15

Painted these in a tutorial in Watercolor Workout, which you can find on Patreon.

It really is about controlling the wetness, which I can never do!

But honestly I think I like not being in control even if I am sometimes disappointed with the results!

plover

                     5x7

Just a little piping plover.

classwork: American avocet

.                      10x14

Painted in a SaltyWaterArt class.

I am resisting the urge to go back in and fiddle.

sunset

                     11x15

A little sunset practice.

classwork

For class, Ronna, aka SaltyWaterArt, gave us a, to me, rather messy/confused landscape to paint. We began by trying to just pick out 5 shapes, then we did a value study--wh8ch usually turns out to be my favorite painting and makes me wonder why I don't do more of them.

6x8 study using DS shadow violet

11x15, first try

6x9, 2nd try but on 90lb paper, which was to hand

10x13, beginning of 3rd go, rough paper

plein air via bike

     5x5 book, 5x10 spread 

     8x8 book, 8x16 spread

Pages from the two sketchbooks I take on my bike rides.

All the times I've looked at and drawn and painted dune grasses ... And my mind still can't figure them out.

classwork

.                         10x14

Three warmup exercises in Birgit O'Connor's Expressive Waterfalls online class.

Don't see waterfalls here at the Jersey shore so I'm not familiar with their forms. But this is "expressive," so  i won't stress.

Birgit has a lot of recorded classes available. They're well organized, with a lot of info, and you can get lifetime access.

fort de soto

                               22x30

My Fort de Soto plein air drawing project didn't turn out exactly as planned. But still. It was a good idea and I got some sketching done.

Last time I camped at FDS I cut and folded a piece of paper into about a 5x7 sketchbook...keeping it all one piece.

Thought was I'd sketch on the 5x7 surfaces, then unfold it and have 16 related sketches on one big surface.

Surprise was some of the sketches were on the wrong side, four of them. And a few are upside down.

Just this morning I finally copied those to the "front."

Now to decide if there's a next step. Borders? Colors?

Sketchbook page from a London Drawing Group session:

classwork

                           14x20

Sketches done  along with a short (30 minutes) free video posted by Birgit O'Connor on YouTube. Kind of a taste of her upcoming workshops.

One of which, Waterfalls, I'm signed up for.

classwork

                          8x10

"I begin a painting with a series of mistakes; the painting comes out of the correction of mistakes by feeling."

--Robert Motherwell

These are not Motherwells, obviously, but rather two sketches I made in a London Drawing class on Motherwell.

In the spirit of the quote I may tinker with them some more...just to see where it goes.

Giving them titles might be fun.

These were done rather quickly. Perfunctorily. But I think trying it more deliberately could be a good practice, could be freeing, could add some dynamism to my brushwork.

Next time I want to use bigger paper--I feel like it's obligatory!--and work outside. Still cleaning the Chinese ink off multiple surfaces!

Keurners' farm

                             8x10

Yesterday my friend Gina, who I went to Keurners' farm with, came over so we could paint from the photos we took there.

These are my efforts.

Now that the top one is finally dry, maybe I can refine it. Or I may just think of it as a step in the process and move on.

The second one has things I like better.

But I'm not there yet.

And, actually, I prefer the foreground in the first attempt!

new sketchbook

Took a bike ride yesterday and tried out my new sketchbook. It's not meant for watercolor but you can put some light washes down.

Also enjoyed watching these two pretty dogs play.