I painted on the ski slopes of Mountain Village, Colorado, today and spent some time relearning how to mix greens—bright yellow greens, warm mossy greens, blue greens, distant greens, shaded greens, and muted greens. There are so many beautiful greens in this part of Colorado!
We drove across California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado, singing those great songs from our youth, camping along the way, and enjoying each other’s company.
The Thursday painters went to San Diego’s Balboa Park. There is a place along a canyon filled with eucalyptus trees where you can stand and look across to the International Cottages. This is one of several views in the park where the technical challenge is beyond me, but I keep trying to paint it anyway. I keep coming back because I like how the cottages look mysterious and distant and the variation in the eucalyptus trees.
I love the black spots on the wings of mourning doves; perhaps I over-exaggerated them.
Walking the Dog: I painted this at an urban park in San Diego, but wanting to focus on the figure and dog, did not include the soccer goals or the trolley that runs through it. Now, it looks more like a setting in the Rocky Mountains than a California city park.
Friday evening, we met at Bonita Cove in San Diego for a cookout and bonfire. My husband and I were the first to arrive; as retirees, it was our job to occupy one of the fire rings while the workers finished up their day.
It was great to be early because I was able to do two gesture sketches of people playing along the edge of the cold water. The goal of gesture painting is to get a quick story down on paper in twenty minutes or so. The exuberance of the moment often shows as you let your intuition overrule considerations such as composition, proportion, sun angle, and color harmony. The following painting was my favorite of the two.
Our niece arrived next, and I started a third sketch of her while we sat and chatted. But I put the sketch away for later as the others joined us and the appetizers appeared.
I love gesture painting but it takes discipline! You have to keep your critical voice at bay as you sprint toward a finish. Once I was home my analytic voice began to make its presence known, and I finished the sketch of our niece by switching back to my more analytic style. I think you can see the difference between the first and last sketches; both styles are very much mine although they differ in excitement and vitality.
I hope to do more gesture painting throughout the summer because the quick pace of artistic decision-making results in a visible confidence that carries over into all my sketching.
We walked along the Bataquitos Lagoon path as the sun set yesterday. The evening was pleasant, and we stayed late, using flashlights to find our way. I liked how the pool of light surrounded the two people ahead of us, and I took some photos for reference.
Deliberate Sketching 