Vineyards and Boulders

The San Diego Watercolor Society’s monthly paintout group met yesterday at the Trevi Hills Winery in the hills above Lakeside. After a terrific demo by Drew Bandish, we each painted our own piece. I was intrigued by the designs the vines and boulders made against the chaparral and exaggerated them for this sketch.

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Tide Pool!

The tide pools along the La Jolla Shores are really special, especially in the late afternoon light. I liked how this young couple leaned toward each other as they looked closely into the small pools, and wanted to capture that sense of intimacy in this little sketch.

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Veggies for a Still-life

Our Tuesday Night Zoom group had a good time rendering these veggies on a white dish towel.

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Under the Umbrellas

I started this last February in Mexico. I liked the second figure, the umbrellas, and the simple landscape, but I was sitting in the sand below the first figure and forshortened her leg so much that it bothered me. Today, I covered her leg and the shadow with black gesso and then redid her leg, taking several inches off it.

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Flowers on a Doorstep

The model sat on the counter, and I painted her directly without drawing her first. She had an awkward sweetness that was visually emphasized by adding flowers alongside her on an imaginary doorstep.

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Between the Trees at Kate Sessions Park

Our Thursday group met at Kate Sessions Park in Mission Beach. The first painter to arrive began painting, and as the rest of us joined the group, many of us put up our easels close to his and painted a similar scene. Usually, we spread out, but this particular view of Mission Bay through the trees seemed unusually special, perhaps because the trees were still bare and the morning light was bouncing around in the breeze as the haze lifted.

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On a Rock

I sketched the model at a figure drawing group and later added the background.

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