The poinsettia plant seems to keep its leaves and flowers a long time, a fact I appreciated very much when I went to paint it.
I wanted to make an abstract background to contrast with the orderly array of red leaves. Instead of using gouache, as I had for the plant, I rubbed white pastels into the paper and then painted over it with clear gesso, which caused it to blend in. I like the way it turned out.
Happy New Year!
We continue to stay home under Southern California’s stay at home order. I miss getting out to paint but am staying busy doing small intuitive sketches in my notebook.
This one is modeled on the work of Stan Kurth. Oversimplifying his process, he starts by placing random ink marks and watercolor areas on a page, without paying much attention to the transient marks he makes as he goes. Then, with gouache, he covers up most of the marks he already made until some interesting shapes emerge. I love the gradation that he gets in his gouache areas, and the mystery in his paintings.
I began this one with lots of ovals, straight lines, and yellow watercolor and then covered up most of the line work with the gouache. These two characters appeared at some point and I kind of like them.
My hope is that these exercises will make my brushwork more interesting when I do get back out in the field.
As usual, I sketched on Zoom with the Fresno group this Tuesday evening. The model was great, he dug up a costume from the 70’s that included bell bottoms and platform shoes. It was so authentic that at one point someone put on the BeeGees for background music.
Despite the great outfit, my first sketch was tight and awkward, so I abandoned it and started this second one. I focused only on his face, made some lines with red pastel chalk, and liked how the lines contrasted with the pink face.
Sending everyone great good wishes for a better than ever NewYear! May it be full of health, joy, peace, friendship, and adventure!
Our model for last night’s Zoom figure group came in holiday colors and a mask, perfect for a COVID kind of Christmas.
I began with a few of my favorite Holbein colors, quinacridone violet, jaune brillant, and ultramarine blue, and then added smaller marks with color pencils.
In the last 48 hours, California has recorded more than 100,000 positive cases of Covid. Our hospitals are full and it makes me resolved to continue to stay at home, as we have been ordered to do. All this makes me glad that I have my online art class and homework to do.
I started this piece by beginning with random marks and a few preselected colors, all the while attending to the elements and principles of design. Then I noticed a face and some little figures scattered throughout the page. They evoked a feeling for me of the distracting thoughts and sounds that come from multitasking while listening to the news. Anyway, those little figures got my attention and I forgot all about my class and had just fun. It is a good thing I have a few more days to get my homework finished.
Deliberate Sketching 