I painted with the California Art Club and the San Diego Urban Sketchers last Saturday to support the San Diego Bird Alliance and UC San Diego Natural Reserve System’s efforts to preserve the wetlands on the northeast side of Mission Bay. I finished this one at home a few days later.
The San Diego Watercolor Society plein air painters met yesterday evening to capture the excitement of ice skating on a December night. It was a busy place with too much to choose from. Eventually, I narrowed in on the little skaters. I loved their excitement and marveled at how quickly they recovered from spills. I wanted to capture their joy of skating late on a Saturday night.
When we were recently in Reno, we took several walks along the Truckee River. These walks inspired this gouache sketch.
I began by underpainting the entire sheet with casein, a technique I plan to explore this month.
I wanted to capture that feeling of coming inside from a cold day and settling in with a warm drink and a cozy blanket. I boosted the color of the chair and blanket to emphasize the warmth of being home.
We were sketching at Torrey Pines during the golden hour when the shadows get long and the sun casts an orange glow on everything. The artists perched on boulders and worked away, recording the moment. Later, I did this piece from a photo. I liked the interplay of the boulders, shadows, and people.
I took many photos earlier this week for still-life references. I love this time of year, with the rich colors of the winter holidays.
This is from our Tuesday night Zoom painting. It was my turn to set up, and over the past few mornings, I tried to catch the morning light coming in on the holiday plants and textiles. The light hits the table at an angle and makes lovely shadows across the table’s breadth. I have quite a few more possibilities for future paintings.
Deliberate Sketching 