unfinished landscapes

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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

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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.

trees class

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Last December I was looking forward to a plein air painting workshop with Shari Blaukopf in Fort Myers, Fla. But

Hurricane Ian happened and the workshop was of course canceled.

I hope I'll have another chance to sign up for one of Shari's in-person workshops; I really admire her work. And she's a good teacher ... which I know because I've bought a couple of her prerecorded online workshops: lots of interesting subjects; well organized lessons; and I'm going to say they're a bargain. Check them out!

In the class on trees, we started by mixing some greens. Continued with practice carrying a wash across the page. Then used these lessons on the evergreen painting above.

doodling

Looking at some photos, thinking about how to make them into paintings!

drawing is free

I haven't joined Chloe Briggs's free online drawing session for quite a while. In my time zone it's no0n on Monday and I often forget.

It's a great opportunity to play around with different mediums, and it's so enjoyable.

Follow Chloe on Patreo too, where she devises a lot of really interesting drawing projects.

sketches

5x7

These are based on photos I took while kayaking.

I am taking an online class with Susan Abbott, and she has got me trying to think more about pushing color.

This one got away from me.  Too many shapes?

Was watering some plants, happened to look up and saw a gorgeous cloud! This small sketch does not do it justice! I'd like to try painting it 14x18!

thumbnails

A few simple value sketches.

It's enjoyable to do quick, scribbly drawing.

And a Notan of a still life I was thinking about painting but decided against.

I have a terrible time setting up still lifes. I usually find them too studied. Which wouldn't be bad, if they were effective!

studies

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The rain seems to have  moved on, but the humidity is lingering. 

These are all paintings done in class with Ronna Fujisawa, aka SaltyWaterArt.

Ronna lives in OR and that's where the reference photos were taken.

I hope to get out there to plein air paint with her.

These are little studies for the little paintings below.

                   10x14 sheet

                             5x7

step two

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Painted with a limited palette of blues and oranges.

The photo below is where I first stopped. Decided to darken the value of the house and grass and to add more pure color.

I went back into my washes too many times, but I think this will be helpful next time I try to paint this subject.

plans

Trying to simplify my photos and make a color plan prior to painting.

Thinking blue/orange complements for this one.

Funnily now that I've done even this little bit of prepatory work, I'm afraid to begin! Which maybe explains why I rarely do any prepatory work.

For the scene below, ill try an analogous colir scheme.

warmups

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Warmup sketch from an oceanscape class with SaltyWaterArt. We're working from a photo Ronna took in a workshop on Lopez Island, WA, with her mentor, Tom Hoffmann, whose book Watercolor Painting I can highly recommend.

I really messed up the reflection. So much so that I may do something I never do: wash it off and try again.

                             🌙

                           7x11

This is a 2nd attempt to paint from a photo I took where there are overlapping clouds.

I painted this, and the 1st one, on Hahnemuhle paper, which I like but which I am finding cannot take much water. Though that property, while yielding some not so great splotches, also caused that beautiful, to me, soft purple and white cloud at the top.

studies: waves and clouds

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Wave studies painted in class with SaltyWaterArt. These are fun to do,  and, who knows, I may get a good one. 

You can see I have trouble controlling the amount of water--I usually add too much when trying to soften an edge--and also tend to go back in when I shouldn't! Common enough mistakes, but also fundamental ones and I kind of wonder why, after painting for so long, I still make them.

Below some cloud studies I did on my own. Have had some beautiful clouds hereabouts lately, and I really feel like I should be painting them!