Bike Repair In the Kofa Wilderness

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Sarah Sullivan

We took our first camping trip of the year to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona. We were a group of happily vaccinated family members, my sister and her husband, my brother, his wife and their son, and my husband and me.

We had a beautiful campsite at the base of the Kofa Mountains. We were the only people for miles. We saw some birds, heard coyotes in the distance, and encountered an abundance of cholla cactus. I fit in four quick sketches between the hiking, biking, and admiring of the landscape.

This sketch shows my brother and his son fixing bike tires. These two enjoy each other’s company, and do lots of activities together. I wanted to show their companionableness in this piece.

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Nowhere to Wear Them

Posted on March 10, 2021 by Sarah Sullivan

Our Zoom model yesterday posed in her closet, as she has done for us before. I love this scene and all that is in this room so much. Each time I try so hard to capture the feeling the model has for clothing and accessories. I can tell that she sees as an artist sees and knows what is special about the colors, textiles, and flow of her garments.

During a break, she said that one of the hardest parts of the lockdown is having beautiful clothing with no place open and nowhere to wear her art. An artist needs to display her work. Hopefully, she will be able to show her wardrobe soon.

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A Composite Face

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Sarah Sullivan

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.

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Three Pilings in a Lagoon

Posted on March 3, 2021 by Sarah Sullivan

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.

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The Printmaker

Posted on March 2, 2021 by Sarah Sullivan

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.

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What Does She See?

Posted on February 26, 2021 by Sarah Sullivan

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.

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Not Quite Our Game Area

Posted on February 24, 2021 by Sarah Sullivan

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.

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