Tag Archives: Splashes of Paint

Rocky Mountain National Park Overlook

Posted on June 26, 2018 by

Forty some years ago, I spent some time in the Estes Park Colorado area with my college roommate. I remember how beautiful it was and I was eager to see it all again. This morning I drove up into the … Continue reading →

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View from the Flatirons

Posted on June 25, 2018 by

We are in the Boulder Colorado area for a few days. This morning I went up on the Flatirons above Boulder and admired the view. From the Flatirons, the Great Plains seem to begin at the edge of Boulder and … Continue reading →

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Monday Afternoon

Posted on September 4, 2017 by

Lately I have been noticing reflected light. This afternoon I saw how the floor, table, chairs and window reflected so much of it in the afternoon light and I began to practice capturing it.  This is a gouache and pastel … Continue reading →

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Counter Reflections

Posted on August 31, 2017 by

I like the way objects are reflected on our kitchen counter and I especially like the way bright fruit is reflected.  I used gouache and a white pastel pencil on black paper for this sketch. 

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Wedding Card for an Adventuresome Couple 

Posted on July 3, 2017 by

Sending great good thoughts for this young adventuresome couple as they set off on married life!

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Flowers in a Pot

Posted on September 22, 2016 by

Pastels, another medium I have not used much, is on our supply list for the art class I am taking. Today I pulled them out and used them along with charcoals and watercolor to sketch flowers in our backyard. Not … Continue reading →

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Two Pink Flamingos

Posted on September 16, 2016 by

I took my sketchbook to the San Diego Zoo yesterday and sat in the shade near the multitude of flamingos. These two caught my eye because they were going back and forth, squawking, poking, and sticking together in the crowd. … Continue reading →

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A Perfect Camping Spot Revised

Posted on September 11, 2016 by

I was not satisfied with yesterday’s sketch and kept working on it today to try to understand my misgivings and to fix them. I wanted richer brights and deeper darks in the forest and more green in the foreground because … Continue reading →

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After Oral Surgery

Posted on September 9, 2016 by

Going to the oral surgeon is not fun. However, it does present a novel opportunity for capturing a type of body language that I do not normally see. This is a watercolor and soluble pencil sketch that was edited using Procreate.

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Bodega Bay

Posted on August 22, 2016 by

I used a new paint for me today, gouache paint. Although the paint’s behavior surprises me greatly, I enjoyed using it very much. Compared to watercolor, gouache is heavy and thick. It leaves brush marks that suggest the movement of the wind … Continue reading →

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Pensive Moment

Posted on August 20, 2016 by

This is another of the camping sketches that I did while sitting around chatting with our family. Normally I plan the sketch, do a thumbnail or two, and then stick pretty close to my plan. But for this series I … Continue reading →

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Brooding

Posted on August 11, 2016 by

This morning I sketched with the North Park Drawing Group. It was a good session because the model put an enormous amount of expression into his poses and it was challenging to capture them. I like this sketch because the model’s slumping posture … Continue reading →

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A Model Poses for the Drawing Group

Posted on July 30, 2016 by

This sketch is from a series I did yesterday at a drawing group. I had trouble drawing the model as he was missing many of the usual features that help define people. He was very pale, had a shaven head, small eyes, faint brows, … Continue reading →

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That’s a Thought!

Posted on July 15, 2016 by

I love sketching people who are pinning down an elusive idea together. I did several quick sketches of this scene and each time caught something different in their body language that reflected the state of their thinking. The body language of building idea shows … Continue reading →

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Luke Wants In

Posted on July 11, 2016 by

Luke was banished so people could work inside on the bathroom without his supervision, poor Luke! I continued to work on showing light and think the bits on the patio, furniture, and greenery convey midday California light. However, the light … Continue reading →

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Luke

Posted on July 11, 2016 by

Luke is back and we are glad! He spent the last six months with two incredible people, their dog, cat and horses while we traveled about. It is amazing how good they were to him. I think he misses them … Continue reading →

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Moonrise over Budapest

Posted on June 24, 2016 by

For our last day in Hungary, our cousins took us to Szentendre, a town known for its artists, museums, galleries and gorgeous location along the Danube River. We were charmed by the setting, impressed by the work of many artists … Continue reading →

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On the Balcony in Budapest

Posted on June 20, 2016 by

We rented a one bedroom apartment with a balcony for the week here in Budapest. The complex is made up of three buildings, encircling a central courtyard. It is wonderful to sit outside, four stories above the busy downtown district, … Continue reading →

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Detail from Saint Michael’s Church, Budapest

Posted on June 19, 2016 by

Budapest is located along the Danube River, which totally dominates and defines the city. The river is huge, perhaps especially so to my California eyes. It is so wide that an island, Margaret Island, fits nicely into it with plenty … Continue reading →

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On the Train to Budapest

Posted on June 17, 2016 by

Yesterday we crossed Austria and Hungary by train, arriving in Budapest in the early evening. A man one aisle up and across from us was working on an academic paper through much of the trip. His body language indicated reflection. … Continue reading →

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I Liked the Way She Stood There

Posted on April 16, 2016 by

I noticed her standing there looking out at the sea, with her hands on her hips and her face lifted to the light. It seemed as though she were checking on its wellbeing. I liked the way she stood there; I … Continue reading →

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Happy Easter from Israel

Posted on March 27, 2016 by

Celebrating Easter in Israel is an odd experience for someone like me. Holiday preparations here are of course focused around the Jewish holidays, not the holidays of other faiths. The stores are not full of baskets, eggs, and the Easter … Continue reading →

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Purim Butterflies on Jaffa Street

Posted on March 25, 2016 by

Today Jerusalem celebrated Purim, a religious holiday that involves costumes and fun. We went downtown with the crowds and hung out, admiring the costumes and enjoying the festivities. This is a composite sketch. I combined the parts of several sketches … Continue reading →

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At the Jerusalem Market

Posted on March 17, 2016 by

Today I stopped by Jerusalem’s traditional open air market, the Mahane Yehuda Market, sometimes known as the shuk. It is a very busy place and I had been trying to get my courage up to draw there. I shouldn’t have … Continue reading →

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What Does It All Mean?

Posted on February 18, 2016 by

  I didn’t get a chance to sketch until the end of the day but fortunately I had an excellent model, sleepy but fixated on making sense of a lecture on his computer. One of my goals is telling a … Continue reading →

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Skype Sketch

Posted on February 7, 2016 by

The 10-hour time difference between Jerusalem and California makes for sleepy Skyping for our son, who stayed up very late to talk to us. When the talk shifted to technical work,  I got out my sketch pad, a pencil and watercolors, … Continue reading →

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Watching the Winter Storm

Posted on February 6, 2016 by

  We two Californians were mesmerized by the clouds that came in to Jerusalem this morning. Sitting in the warm apartment I looked out and captured this scene on our balcony. I went back and forth with including the Jerusalem … Continue reading →

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Early Thursday Morning

Posted on February 4, 2016 by

The Jerusalem morning light pours through the blinds and adds warmth, good cheer, and a bright glare to our breakfast table. Drawing a blinding glare that obscures shape will take more practice but for now I used diffuse yellows and … Continue reading →

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Damascus Gate Bus Plaza

Posted on February 2, 2016 by

I am beginning to feel more comfortable sketching in pubic here in Israel and did a first pass of this sketch while waiting for the tram near Damascus Gate, one of the entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem. One … Continue reading →

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Reconnecting with a friend

Posted on February 1, 2016 by

  In the late 70’s we stayed in Israel for 17 months. Now back in Israel for a few months we are happily reconnecting with old friends and taking lots of photos, two of which I used for this sketch- … Continue reading →

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