She Went for Haughty

Posted on January 13, 2021 by Sarah Sullivan

Yesterday, our Tuesday night Zoom model dressed in an old fashioned blue gown and held a lace parasol. She told us she was going to do a haughty pose, to go along with the outfit. I think I caught more of a reflective look mixed with a tinge of regret.

Even more difficult than the expression, was the parasol. By the time I finished the Zoom session yesterday, it was a big mess. I spent a lot of time today trying different marks to make it look like lace. I ended up drawing over the gouache areas with gray ink.

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Poinsettia on a Side-table

Posted on January 12, 2021 by Sarah Sullivan

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.

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Companions

Posted on January 4, 2021 by Sarah Sullivan

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.

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Last Zoom Figure Drawing of 2020

Posted on December 29, 2020 by Sarah Sullivan

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.

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Happy Holidays to All!

Posted on December 24, 2020 by Sarah Sullivan

Sending everyone great good wishes for a better than ever NewYear! May it be full of health, joy, peace, friendship, and adventure!

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A Covid Kind of Christmas

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Sarah Sullivan

Our model for last night’s Zoom figure group came in holiday colors and a mask, perfect for a COVID kind of Christmas.

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Butterflies

Posted on December 18, 2020 by Sarah Sullivan

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.

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