I was in the kitchen, changing the water in a few vases. It was early, and the sun came through the window, illuminating the water in the vase on the left. I liked the contrast to the opaque vase on the right, so I took several photos, which I used for this small gouache painting.
The Thursday Plein Air painters met at Bataquitos Lagoon north of San Diego. I stood on a hillside above the nature trail and painted the view. A small group paused below me while the two children compared flowers that they had gathered. I liked hearing their excited voices and quickly sketched them.
This houseplant sits on a table near the plants in the patio garden. I like the close-up of the plant’s features against the mix of shrubbery outside.
It is easy for me to overlook sagebrush, a ubiquitous plant found across the southwest, but on a spring day with distant mountains in the background, the muted colors of sagebrush got a second look.
It was so much fun painting cows at Spider Ranch. Here is one more. I like the bend of the bold red cow’s neck.
This gouache piece was painted at nearly the same time and spot as yesterday’s. Many cows were there, and I selected two sitting ones in hopes that they might stay still long enough to sketch. There was a peaceful evening vibe out in the field, and for today’s sketch, I muted the colors in the foreground, hoping to capture the end-of-a-good-day feeling.
The late afternoon April light of Arizona makes the cows of Spider Ranch stand out against the fields and fence. The intense light nearly turns the upright parts of the scene- the cows, fence, and mountains, into silhouettes.
I have been here a few days and can’t stop painting these beautiful creatures and their landscape.
Deliberate Sketching 