The cherry blossoms were fully in bloom at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park this morning. The flowers were so delicate that they were lost against all the spring greenery, so I left the surrounding hillside unpainted to increase the visibility of the blossoms.
Our sketching group had a terrific model, and the lighting emphasized her long limbs. It was a perfect combination for using line and flat color. We were getting started with five-minute poses, and I did a blind contour and filled in the flat tan and beige colors before our time was up. Later, I made adjustments by aligning her features and adding the orange and green. This one ended up being my favorite for the morning because the geometric design and flat color contributed to a feeling of repose.
This time of year, on sunny mornings, the sun shines on the kitchen windowsill. I had some citrus sitting there and liked how the light bounced all around, reflecting citrus color on the surrounding surfaces.
This is from a photo I took at the reflecting pond in San Diego’s Balboa Park. I was charmed by the exuberance of this little group of four. They seemed so happy to be out and about on this fine spring day.
Shuang Li, the Master Watercolor Artist, demoed at Liberty Station for the San Diego Watercolor Society this morning. Her focus was architectural scale, linear perspective, and using buildings as backgrounds, all areas I want to learn more about. Shaung’s lesson helped me relax and see the buildings as a series of shapes that help establish a story for a painting, much like I generally use landscape features.
During the portion of the day where we paint on our own, I focused on several skaters, the cement plaza, and the buildings behind them. I have a way to go before I am comfortable with architecture, but I got a good start today and am pleased with what I learned.
There is nothing quite like the exhilaration of a spring hike with a good friend, and I wanted to convey this idea in this sketch.
I went with the Thursday Painters to paint the USS Recruit, a landlocked training ship that sits near the harbor at the old Naval Training Center in San Diego. But the spring day was too beautiful. I had to turn around and paint the flowers, harbor paddle boarders, and kayakers instead.
Deliberate Sketching 