Lollipop Trees with a Touch of Color
I walk along this street a few times each week and enjoy the way the lollipop trees recede around the slight curve of the street. I have been pointing out to myself for a long time that I should try to capture this scene.
This is a small gouache sketch on black paper.
First Fire of the Season
It was cool enough this evening to have a fire, our first of the season. I thought it would be an easy sketch but capturing a flickering fire and the shapes of the furniture in the mixed lighting was tricky. After three terrible sketches, I got out my pastels and drew on top of the best sketch. Adding dark rich color to the couch and fireplace helped quite a bit. I may come back to this composition soon.
Skyfari!
I was sketching at the San Diego Zoo today and this scene brought back good memories.
My kids used to love waving from the Skyfari, or tram ride. So I relished the enthusiasm of this small child as she waved at the people passing above her. I also got a kick out of her tired parents who seemed to be glad to sit a few minutes.
The Skyfari cars are blue and were much smaller compared to the child, but I think the way I sketched it here conveys the child’s excitement at getting to wave to each car.
This is a small 9 X 9-inch gouache and pastel sketch on black paper.
Los Peñasquitos Lagoon
A few weeks ago I sketched at Los Peñasquitos Lagoon. Although I liked that sketch I thought it was missing signs of life. Today I went back and did a rough sketch of the same scene, this time using much bolder strokes and adding in a few birds in the lower right side. I also went back to my previous sketch and added in birds to it as well.
Stormy Morning at Pacific Beach
We had windy and cloudy day and I was able to get out to Pacific Beach to sketch the sky and breakers.
A Perplexing Result
In theory, collaboration sounds like a sweet and collegial process, but in practice, it can be quite heated. I have been listening to these two work out ideas together for more than 30 years and am still amazed at their intensity. It is impressive how much emotion an equation, line of code, or perplexing result can engender.
This week I am working on making my opinion or curiosity about what I see more explicit. I began this sketch with the two figures who were in the same room as me, drawing on what I could see. But I wanted to show what they sound like and so I made many changes to their position, the furniture and especially the color.
I twisted the figure on the left, making him peer into the speaker’s face to show that he wanted to understand the speaker’s claims. The speaker’s mouth is exaggerated to show his ownership of the idea. The red background behind the men was added to convey emotion and the tablecloth to suggest the flow of ideas.
Two Women in Dresses
A challenge for me is painting what I cannot see. This week I hope to become more comfortable with painting from an inward point of view. So, painting what I am thinking about, not what I am seeing. This is not to say I will stay indoors, just that I will not feel bound by what is actually in front of me.
This sketch is based on two women I could see in the restaurant where we ate this evening. They were in a booth and kept getting up to let their companions get past them. I added the background because I felt it would add some mystery to the sketch.
This is a 9 X 9-inch gouache sketch on black paper.
Deliberate Sketching 