Peñasquitos Lagoon and Valley
This morning my Wednesday group painted near the visitor center at Torrey Pines State Reserve. We stood up on a hill and looked north across the lagoon and hills. I wanted to show how the lagoon empties into the sea but got distracted and included everything I could see. I plan to go back soon and simplify the composition.
This is a gouache and pastel sketch on 17 X 12-inch black paper.
Oh, Those Poinsettias!
I could not resist painting poinsettias again today. After I finished the gouache painting, I used an app, Snapseed, to heighten the color. The original sketch, although bright, pales in comparison to this adjusted sketch above.
Dancers from the Nutcracker
Today I refined some of the sketches I made yesterday at the dress rehearsal for the California Ballet’s Nutcracker. Because I worked rapidly in the dark yesterday, trying to capture the gestures of the dancers, the sketches were raw. So today I added color and detail to figures and backgrounds to some of the sketches. I took no pictures so I worked from imagination and memory.
I used gouache and the app Procreate.
The Nutcracker
I was able to go to a dress rehearsal this evening of the California Ballet’s The Nutcracker, along with other artists from my sketching class. We had first row seats and were able to sketch and paint throughout the full ballet. I painted in gouache, with some pastel pencil.
Before the start, I fretted because it was clear that I would not be able to see the dancers’ feet from my seat. However, the performers were so athletic that their feet stayed in view as the dancers leaped across the stage throughout much of the performance.
It was dark, and the action was rapid, so I just painted broad strokes, hoping to capture the grace and power of the dancers. I worked as fast as I could and came away with 16 pages for the evening. Here are some of the sketches I liked best:
Fishing at Shelter Island
We are in the midst of a Santa Ana weather event, which means low humidity and high winds. So far it has not been as extreme here in the city of San Diego as it has in the mountains east of us and further north in Los Angles and Ventura.
I painted this morning along the San Diego Harbor at Shelter Island. The sky was different than usual, perhaps because there was some smog from the fires further north. The orange along the skyline brought out the blue in the harbor and sky and was lovely. It was almost too dry to paint, the paint seemed to dry on my brush before I finished the stroke. This got me into some trouble beneath the peer.
This is a 12 X 17-inch gouache sketch on black paper.
Admiring Pacific Beach
I went to Pacific Beach today to paint the shoreline. I walked down aways to an empty spot and did a few speed sketches of the swirls in the water, air, and sand. After a while, a man set up his chair in the middle of my sketch. He seemed to be admiring the sea and sky so I sketched him too.
This is a 9 X 12-inch gouache sketch.
Trees on a Plaza
I walked up to the college this morning and did four rapid sketches of the trees on a plaza. All four are abstracts painted with white and the three primary colors, yellow, red and blue. I wanted to remind myself to let the color and shapes be strong.
This is a 9 X 9-inch gouache sketch.
Deliberate Sketching 