Hold That Hat!
I spent some time today looking through old sketchbooks. This was an unfinished sketch. Today I added gouache color and made it more abstract.
Waiting
It was the last pose of the morning, and our model seemed to radiate a sense of waiting. She sat on the edge of her stool, leaning back but not at rest. She looked off into the distance as though she were remembering and planning. Was she perhaps waiting for the morning to end, or waiting to address an issue that was on her mind? All I know is that she appeared ready to get up and step away and that I enjoyed trying to capture it all.
This piece started off as a line and gouache sketch on black paper. When I got home, I imported it into Procreate, an app on the iPad, and added the blue, red, and brown into the background.
The Campanile at SDSU
We had a somewhat overcast morning, which made the colors outside seem especially rich. Or maybe it was the spring green on the treetops. In any case, the campanile, or bell tower, peeking over the communication building at San Diego State University caught my eye, and I worked to capture it.
This is gouache sketch in a sketchbook with black paper.
Stone Family
When we were in Mazatlan recently, I bought a small sculpture made from stones, seedpods, wire, and wood. The way the sculptor, using simple materials, was able to say so much impressed me. I have been sketching the piece because I like its rhythm and message.
I would like to acknowledge the sculptor but all I know is that it is a part of the Osuna Collection and purchased at the La Querencia Galeria in Mazatlan.
Spring Nudges Santee Lakes
The San Diego Watercolor Society met this morning at Santee Lakes, just east of San Diego. We are moving into spring here, although without as much green as usual since we have had very little rain. The bare trees across the distant hills gave a consistency to the background and a contrast to the small Live Oak trees in the foreground.
This is a 12 X 17-inch gouache sketch on black paper.
The Painting Group
Our model is in the center of the room. She rotates with each new pose, and sometimes you get 20 minutes of sketching her back. Since I was not taken with this particular pose, and I am always working on capturing people with a minimum number of brushstrokes, I thought to include the other artists in this particular sketch.
Fog at Torrey Pines
It was a foggy morning at Torrey Pines State Park this morning. The mist was indecisive, coming in and out and confusing me by showing and then obscuring the vista. Eventually, I just went with the flow, painted what I could see, and stopped worrying about a consistent background.
Deliberate Sketching 