Vineyards and Boulders, II

Posted on May 6, 2024 by Sarah Sullivan

A few weeks ago, when the San Diego Watercolor Society’s monthly paintout group met at the Trevi Hills Winery, I completed a Plein air piece which I blogged about on April 14.

I also started a second piece that day at Trevi Hills, finally finishing it yesterday. I began with a discarded painting that I had prepared by reactivating the paint and then giving it a good coat of gesso. It had lovely yellow-green areas with strong brush marks curved around the paper. I used the marks and color to guide the placement of the vineyards and fields. It was an interesting process, and I plan to do more of this soon.

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Trees on an Island

Posted on May 3, 2024 by Sarah Sullivan

Yesterday, the Thursday painters met at Tecolote Shores along Mission Bay. The morning was overcast with lots of rich, muted grays. From the moment I walked down to the water, I had my eye on the trees across the bay, they were the most substantial feature in all the fog. Later, towards noon, we got a bit of light on the trees, and I was glad to add that to this little painting. 

Posted in Plein Air | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Rowing In

Posted on April 20, 2024 by Sarah Sullivan

The Thursday painters met at the Maritime Museum along the San Diego Harbor, where I tried yet again to paint the historic ships. I did not have much luck with that, but I do like this gestural sketch of someone rowing ashore from a yacht.

Posted in Figures, Plein Air | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Orange Slices on a White Background

Posted on April 16, 2024 by Sarah Sullivan

Tonight, our Tuesday night Zoom group painted a still-life composition where white was the dominant color. Because there was little to distract from the white, it was interesting to see how the shadows added variation in the whites and how the white dishes and surfaces picked up reflected color from the orange slices and room environment.

Posted in Deliberate Practice, Still Life | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Vineyards and Boulders

Posted on April 14, 2024 by Sarah Sullivan

The San Diego Watercolor Society’s monthly paintout group met yesterday at the Trevi Hills Winery in the hills above Lakeside. After a terrific demo by Drew Bandish, we each painted our own piece. I was intrigued by the designs the vines and boulders made against the chaparral and exaggerated them for this sketch.

Posted in Plein Air | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Tide Pool!

Posted on April 12, 2024 by Sarah Sullivan

The tide pools along the La Jolla Shores are really special, especially in the late afternoon light. I liked how this young couple leaned toward each other as they looked closely into the small pools, and wanted to capture that sense of intimacy in this little sketch.

Posted in Figures, Landscape | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Veggies for a Still-life

Posted on April 9, 2024 by Sarah Sullivan

Our Tuesday Night Zoom group had a good time rendering these veggies on a white dish towel.

Posted in Still Life | Tagged , | 3 Comments