Puddles after the Rain
My mind wanted to make the shapes very clear, to define the trees, clouds, and puddles. However, due to the hour and lighting, the shapes and colors were abstract, in fact, far more abstract than I wanted to believe.
This is a gouache and watercolor pencil sketch.
Artist at Work
This morning I went to see a local artist, who I admire very much, paint. I also got in a few sketches of my fellow observers. My eye was caught by the posture of three women who sat on a curb together, I liked the different angles of their legs. Later at home, I added color.
Running up the Path
I was sitting on a shady bench in the Japanese Friendship Garden at Balboa Park, thinking about how to show the sunlight on the path. I noticed three young women, probably in their early years of high school, running up the hill towards me. All three wore white outfits and dress shoes. I loved the contrast between the dressy outfits and their gusto and wanted to capture it. Luckily, I was able to pull out my camera in time to get a few photos.
I have been looking at how Paul Cezanne’s shows foliage in his landscapes and I think I caught a small bit of his style in this sketch.
This is a 8 X 12 – inch gouache sketch on black paper.
San Carlos View
One of my friends lives on a canyon in San Carlos, a neighborhood in San Digo. She has an incredible view from her patio that goes all the way across town, practically to the sea. She graciously opened her home, and I painted there all morning. It was a very comfortable way to paint plein air. It was an overcast day, and the colors were more muted than usual. I was taken with the strong shapes of the canyon hills and emphasized their forms. I wondered about including more of the shrubbery but finally decided it diverted too much attention from the landscape’s shapes.
Five Sunflowers
I wanted to make this a little abstract by emphasizing the geometric shapes of the water in the vase and the windows in the back right. I wonder if I should try placing the vase so that it is a little further to the left and have both of the flowers on the right lean over the two people.
Not Far From Alpine
We celebrated the Fourth of July with the ‘old timer’s group’ from my husband’s work. We met in El Cajon at our friends’ home, enjoyed the view, took photos, shared dinner, and capped off the day by watching fireworks. It was sweltering, and the topic of fire danger and prevention came up. Homeowners have all mowed the grass down to dirt and removed most dried up shrubbery, leaving the ground a yellow color.
The residential area on the other side of the mountains has been similarly groomed, but that did not stop Alpine’s hills from exploding into fire this morning. With all-time record heat across Southern California, there were some six fires in the San Deigo County area, with the one on the other side of the hill being the most serious. It is hard to believe that from one day to the next we can go from a serene vista to a smoke-filled sky and scorched hills and homes.
Welcome, Small Human!
I have not seen him yet, but my sister sent pictures of her first grandchild, who is totally gorgeous. Is there anything as beautiful as a newborn child?
I have trouble working from photos, regardless of subject. I tend to copy the picture, rather than interpret it, as I do when painting plein air or from a model. I want to be able to use my photos and in the last month, have begun to work more with them. I noticed tonight that if I stand at an easel and put the photo reference at a distance, that I get more of a feel of the photo’s meaning in my work.
This is a small gouache sketch on black paper.
Deliberate Sketching 