Here is a quick plein air sketch that I didn’t know I liked until I looked through my sketchbook later. I did it quickly as a warmup and moved on. I like it because the two figures are expressive yet barely indicated.
Yesterday, I went to the tide pools at Cabrillo National Monument with the Thursday painters. I had a great time, but I was not satisfied with my plein air piece. Later, I painted this second piece at home, using the first painting and photos as references. I like this one more because it suggests the feeling of looking out at the wild sea at high tide.
This is little sketch from my Tuesday night sketch group.
Something about the companionship of a dog and a person walking together catches my attention when I am out painting. This is especially true late in the southern California dry season with its sunbaked landscape. I like how the figures, movement, and setting suggest something about choices, relationships, and possibilities.
I found this overlooked painting in my sketchbook. I like the composition with the repetition of stripes and ovals.
This is the third of a series that I seem to be working on. We just entered the last month of our dry season here in San Diego, and these sketches feature our straw-colored hills.
It was hot, but the young man and his dogs did not seem to notice. They walked briskly past me, whereas I was sheltering under a big shade tree at our local reservoir, Lake Murray.
Deliberate Sketching 