It is interesting how much of a person’s character is visible in her body language. This week’s Tuesday night Zoom model had that mix of authority, humor, and feeling that so many educators have. She posed on her kitchen stool, far from a classroom, but her commanding strength came through in the way she held her arms and shoulders. And her facial expression showed a bit of fun and empathy too.
I am settling back into my painting rhythms from the days before COVID. I feel so lucky to be able to go out on Mondays and Fridays, see diverse San Diego County landscapes, and then try to capture something about it on paper.
This morning I went out to Batiquitos Lagoon in the northern part of the county. The weather was perfect, and I painted all day along the walking trail, not far from a vantage point for birdwatching. In this sketch, I caught two birders looking out across the lagoon. They were intent and focused, and I wanted to convey their emotional connection to the birds and lagoon.
I painted yesterday in an old oak grove at Crestridge Ecological Reserve in East San Diego County. After taking several hours to work on a different painting, I decided to try again. All I had time to do was to capture the feeling of the grove’s dense canopy above me with rough broad paint strokes. I told myself I would smooth it out later. This morning when I looked them over, this one’s roughness appealed to me and became my favorite. I fussed a little bit with it, added my signature, and am calling it finished.
I was over at Torrey Pines painting from the cliffs above the beach. On the way down I stopped at the beach level. It was windy and the overcast sky set off the colors of the sea and sky. I liked the way the bands of color formed elongated triangles, all pointing to the far end of the beach.
The Tuesday evening Zoom model wore a crown and sat with his dog on his bed, surrounded by drapes and pillows. The colors were bright and suggestive of the energy of spring. The model, however, looked sleepy, as though he might enjoy the pace of winter, just a little longer.
I started this sketch last week when we were camping in the Kofa Wildlife Refuge in Arizona. I noticed how the evening light lit up a mesquite tree and the mountain behind it, and I hurried to capture it in my small sketchbook. Although I liked the sketch, it was not really finished. Today I brightened the mesquite tree, added color to the foreground, and then cropped off quite a bit of the sky and the left side.
Our Tuesday night Zoom model held an empty mug and leaned on the desk in his spare room. As the two hours passed, he began to take on a forlorn look that matched his empty mug. I hope he filled it tonight and celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day with a robust smile.
Deliberate Sketching 