Sun Filled Street

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Sarah Sullivan

Our Airbnb in Mazatlan is such a good place for sketching. It is on the fourth floor, overlooks the ocean, and a very steep hill rises to the left. About an hour before sunset the sun aligns with the street and floods it with a bright golden light. This afternoon I worked on capturing it, painting as quickly as I could in gouache.

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Book and Vistas

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Sarah Sullivan

I began this early morning sketch of my brother-in-law reading in the morning light on the balcony yesterday, and finished it this morning. Since we all read so much here, I would like to compose a painting that shows the vista before a reader along with and the vista from a book.

I am having fun chronicling our days but this sketch is also about trying to understand the light and colors of Mazatlan. This is a 12 X 17-inch gouache sketch on black paper.

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What’s a Six Letter Word that Starts with a G?

Posted on January 8, 2018 by Sarah Sullivan

The crossword solvers had to work hard this morning on their puzzle. I think I caught their thoughtful focus in this sketch.

Posted in Facial Expression, Groups Interacting | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Settling In

Posted on January 7, 2018 by Sarah Sullivan

We, my brother, sister, brother-in-law, husband, and I, have been here in Mazatlan less that a day and already we are settling into relaxation mode- sleeping in, reading, playing Scrabble and sketching. Although I like this sketch because it caught a snapshot of our morning together, I did not get enough of a contrast between the bright outside light and the cool indoor light.

It is good to be here and good to know that I have 20 more days to get the light right.

This is a 12 X 12 inch gouache sketch on black paper.

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Delayed Flight

Posted on January 6, 2018 by Sarah Sullivan

The good thing about a flight delay is it gives an opportunity to sketch your fellow passengers. The young women across from us fell asleep and I was able to get a rough sketch of them with pastel and gouache.

Posted in Body Language, Facial Expression, Groups Interacting | 2 Comments

Between Two Trees

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Sarah Sullivan
Sketch by Sarah Sullivan of a landscape between two trees

Between Two Trees

Today I continued to try out new surfaces to paint on. This surface is black watercolor grounds applied with a roller. It made for a rough but uniform texture and absorbed the color down into its surface.

I painted at Torrey Pines Preserve in almost the same spot as yesterday, but I looked northeast, not northwest across the lagoon. After I planned and started, the sketch seemed to take its own direction. The white cliffs on the facing hill were underemphasized and the sea, which was to the left, got left out. I was distracted by the way the paint went onto the surface and just went with it, mostly seeing what it could do.

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High Tide at Torrey Pines

Posted on January 2, 2018 by Sarah Sullivan
Sketch by Sarah Sullivan of A High Tide at Torrey Pines

High Tide at Torrey Pines

There was such a high tide at Torrey Pines this morning, the lagoon was full of water and very exciting to sketch. In my enthusiasm, I painted over the shoreline and road but like the sketch anyway.

Yesterday I prepared a board to paint on that was a mixture of black and gold watercolor grounds and blue tinted gesso. When I got to my painting spot, I was committed to a composition that did not quite suit the moment. Because of the high tide, the foreground and shoreline had different shapes than I anticipated.  I think tomorrow I will just paint on a solid base of black so that I am free to respond to what I see.

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