I Zoom so much these days, and I mostly Zoom at my desk where my art materials are temptingly handy. Sometimes sketches happen in situations like this. This figure has the eyes of one friend, the smile of another, and the hair of a third.
Two days ago, I painted at the San Dieguito Lagoon north of San Diego. It was my first time painting away from my home since the COVID numbers exploded last fall. It was great to be out, and I used up a lot of my morning before choosing a scene to paint. Despite the many compelling scenes, these three pilings by the edge of the lagoon captured my attention. I liked the play of their shadows and reflections in the moving water and their contrast with the wedges of land that came in from both sides. I didn’t finish while I was at the lagoon but was able to do so today.
Tonight’s model has modeled for the Tuesday Zoom sketching group several times. He is studying printmaking and usually poses at his studio table.
Every time I paint this particular model, I notice how his posture and focused gaze makes him look like he is thinking. Tonight he sat at an angle to his table. His back was straight, and he looked down pensively. It was an interesting pose, full of angles, foreshortening, highlights, and shadows, and was lots of fun to sketch. The best part, though, was his body language, and that is what I wanted to capture with this painting.
This week’s Tuesday Zoom model wore a beautiful red polka-dotted dress. She sat on the couch in her living room, holding a pillow and looking off into the distance. Her red hair, red dress, and rosy complexion were lovely.
Her pose reminded me a bit of Jules Breton’s painting, The Song of the Lark. So when it came time to create a background, I skipped the sofa and put in a soft landscape.
Sometimes the unplanned happens when I paint.
I wanted to show the corner of our living room that is overflowing with boxes of games. I liked the way it looked through a bouquet of spring flowers. But I did not get the turn of the wall right, so I went back in with fresh paint for a second pass. By the time I finished, something like a huge bay window had taken the place of our actual wall with its long, narrow louver window.
Never mind, I kind of like the result. And, if we were to run into a fortune, it is an idea to entertain.
Tuesday’s Zoom model sat on the floor and leaned her head against wall. She seemed dejected and I wondered what the story was and hoped she would be OK.
At the end of the evening, I put the painting up where I would see it. The background was unfinished and I needed to think about creating one that matched the model’s mood.
A few days later I was drawing a couch for another painting. I got to thinking that if I put a couch behind her and a phone next to her, it would tell a story about her sad demeanor. My husband kindly got down on the floor and slouched against the couch so I could get the proportions right.
Our house sits on a steep lot and has three levels. The kitchen, dining and sitting areas all share the middle section. This view shows the sitting area from the dinner table on a sunny winter afternoon.
The challenge with this scene was showing the brightness coming through the louver windows. It was only slightly less bright inside and colors of the couch, paintings, and flooring were reflected on the ceiling and walls. It was really fun to try to paint it.
Deliberate Sketching 