People at Spanish Village

Posted on May 25, 2023 by Sarah Sullivan

Although I often paint figures, I am confused about how to place several into a landscape so that their relative sizes are believable. So I was happy when I saw that Peggi Kroll Roberts was offering a three session online class addressing just this issue and have been happily completing her exercises.

The Thursday plein air painters met at the galleries in Spanish Village, a place popular with tourists and artists, and a perfect place to practice placing people into a landscape using one-point perspective as a guide. Unfortunately, the two figures on the right side grew a few inches as I painted, but even so, I think overall, the figures are believable. Next, I need to make them more lively!

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Strawberry Cake and Flowers for Breakfast

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Sarah Sullivan

What a great idea this is for breakfast tomorrow! Unfortunately, it is a scene we painted during tonight’s online Tuesday night still-life. I especially loved painting the pattern of the tablecloth.

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Strawberries on a Cutting Board

Posted on May 16, 2023 by Sarah Sullivan

This week’s Tuesday night still-life was challenging. I liked the pattern the strawberries made on the cutting board. Still, I had trouble initially because I painted each strawberry separately and emphasized the grain on the cutting board, which was distracting. The sketch read better once I connected the strawberries into an S-shape and removed most of the cutting board’s grain.

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Putting Dinner on the Table

Posted on May 15, 2023 by Sarah Sullivan

We visited friends down the street for dinner. Even better than the delicious meal was seeing three generations of women working together to put the meal on the table, the most senior at the stove, the youngest counting out and placing silverware on the table, and the middle woman doing everything in between. It was a treat to feast on a meal so warmly prepared.

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Cypress Trees at Casa del Rey

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Sarah Sullivan

Today we painted at the Casa del Rey Garden in Balboa Park. There were roses, palm trees, terraces, walkways, a wishing pond, and these two young cypress trees that totally caught my eye. I liked how their shape and color contrasted with the walls and paths.

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Shoes and Socks by the Door

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Sarah Sullivan

This week’s Tuesday night still-life.

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Cypress Trees at Inspiration Point

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Sarah Sullivan

A few vistas around San Diego are always on my mind, mostly because they are compellingly beautiful yet too challenging to portray adequately. One of these places is the rows of cypress trees at Inspiration Point in Balboa Park. I love looking at the cypress shapes and the shadows they cast on the ground, and I was happy that this was the location for our weekly San Diego Watercolor Society paintout.

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