Flowers in a Vase
Pastel, charcoal and gouache on black paper.
Little Italy in San Diego
This morning I sketched with some twenty San Diego Urban Sketchers in the Little Italy section of downtown San Diego. Little Italy is a very busy place and I think I captured a bit of its jumble in this sketch.
This is a pastel and gouache sketch.
Let Our People Stay! Remember Guadalupe García de Rayos
I was so sad when I heard that a family was ripped apart this week by immigration officials. Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos came to the United States 21 years ago as a young teenager. She made a life for herself, worked hard and married. This week she was separated from her husband, two children, home, and job, put into a van and involuntarily moved to the Mexican side of the border. This terrible action does not reflect American generosity and values, we must do better than this.
This is a pastel, gouache and Procreate sketch.
Flowers on a Dresser
It has been a long time since I used Procreate on my iPad as the major medium for a sketch. Lately I have been so excited by gouache that I only used Procreate to occasionally make some minor adjustments to a sketch I did by hand. Being able to change the proportions or colors as I go along because I am working in layers feels like the difference between walking and biking, both are good but you sure get places a lot faster with Procreate.
This is an iPad sketch using Procreate.
Cabrillo Bridge
The Cabrillo Bridge, sometimes known as the Laurel Street Bridge, is one of the entrances to Balboa Park and a much-loved San Diego landmark. You may recognize the Museum of Man in the upper left corner and notice that I moved it across the street so it would fit into this sketch.
I admire the books that Ludwig Bemelmans wrote and illustrated for children, most notably, Madeline. The energy and bright colors of his illustrations are wonderful. Off and on this last week or so I have been working to capture some of his style in my sketches. It is easiest to do when I am outside without a desk as I was today.
This is a pastel and gouache sketch.
The Watercolor Teacher
It was the first day of the spring semester, the only day we do not paint in class. Our teacher explained what we will learn and what materials we will need. I sketched her as she spoke. At one point she described the thinking process a painter might use as she showed us her palette and brushes and acted out painting an invisible painting. I was lucky to catch her arms in action and even luckier to catch her look of keen observation. She is a superb teacher and her body language shows this.
In the original sketch there was no painting, just our teacher with her brush and palette. I thought my sketch had a balance problem so I added a large painting on the left side. At this point I believe that it would have been best had I left the sketch alone but it is too late now.
This is a pastel and gouache sketch.
They Must Be Snowbirds
We sat on the seawall feeling cold but sketching away, bundled up in jackets and long pants. They were down on the shoreline. Their limbs were bare, the kids played in the water. How could they stand the cold? They must have been snowbirds.
I liked so much about this group of five, they seemed so glad to be just where they were. The figure on the right caught my eye first; she stood a long time with her face lifted into the wind and clouds. The two seated women talked away, enjoying the conversation and the two smallest went back and forth between the sea and the sand, clearly delighting in it all.
I brought this sketch home, liking the five figures, but with a sky and sea that did not convey the wild windy weather. I reworked it to add movement to the waves and clouds, using a few photos for reference. Gouache is wonderful for making changes to a sketch.
This is a pen, pastel and gouache sketch in a black sketchbook.
Deliberate Sketching 