Yesterday afternoon I began to sketch a couple sitting on a log looking over at the gigantic Moreton Bay Fig Tree that dominates Balboa Park’s eastern side as you walk in from the parking lot. An arch from two yellow rain trees framed the couple and looked romantic. I had hardly started when the couple jumped up and moved on. I was sad to see them go as I had hardly finished their silhouettes.
I liked my start, so I continued and worked on the fig tree’s enormous 30- foot long roots. A little family came to rest and play in the fig tree’s shade. Soon they got up but not before I sketched them in with my gouache.
At this point, I liked the couple and the family. But the background had become a mystery shape with a vaguely threatening aura. Time goes so fast when you are painting, and it was time to stop and share paintings with other Urban Sketchers.
This morning, I thought of turning the tree roots into fields, and I like the scene much better.
Deliberate Sketching 
I like the construction of the painting. And the colours. An air of Gauguin?
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I love the way Gauguin flattened out his spaces, Van Gogh showed the movement of space, Dufy did color and Alice Neel expression. So many inspirations!
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Nice sources of inspiration. Dufy is not well known. (I need to look up Alice Neel. Curiosity piqued)
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Alice Neel. Just looked her up. never heard of her. She’s probably better known in the US. Thanks for the reference, her work looks interesting…
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PS. Would you know what museums she might be in?
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I don’t know. There is a travel retrospective that started at the MoMA and then went to San Francisco. I think it goes to Austin next. I haven’t seen it. There is a great 30-minute video of the exhibition which is available online.
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Probably MOMA then. I didn’t see her last year. But then I might have passed her looking for others.
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