Heartless

Off to Greener Pastures

Painted these sheep form a sketch I did this spring. I tried a more realistic appearance of the sheep but used color on very wet paper. This allowed mixing color on the paper. It stayed wet a long time allowing me to go back over areas that needed it. It is best to use transparent paints. It was a fun session on a cold morning in the studio.

The Summer Fog

This image of the Golden Gate that I have been playing with is haunting me. I tried several sketches and decided to put some fog under the bridge. It is simplified and has verticles large and small. The curves of the fog add conflict. I like the composition and hopefully it tells a story. I used to live on the Bay and watched the fog come in under the bridge. It was always a spectacle.

Migrant Haven

This is a whimsical painting of flying carpets headed into San Francisco. I love painting the Golden Gate and have used fog, sailboats and even the light house under the bridge. I felt like something different and had a dream last night of being on a flying carpet. I was in line with many others migrating somewhere. We were following like ducks in a line. Maybe the inspiration came from going on painting outings with birders.

Winter Plein Air Painting

We kent to the creek in the morning of a cold damp day with no sun. Anyone who has tried painting in the cold is familiar with the problem. Watercolor stays wet and fingers get very cold. I am standing by my easel dancing around trying to keep warm. The only thing that seems enhanced with these conditions is the painting of small branches. Your hands are cold and tremulous and this is good. The painting looks cold to me but that may be something I carried back to our show and tell in a nice warm restaurant. I am tempted to work on it but then, I would lose the spontaneity of cold painting.

Brush Up on Zion

Have a weekend workshop at Zion National Park coming up. Painted there last year and was challenged by the shear awesomeness of the place. I took some pics, so I took them out and made up a scene. Tried to find a main shape and add the foreground for an area of focus. It was fun and can't wait to get there this weekend.

The Farming Engine

We painted this morning in Woodland CA. There is plenty of farmland here and also silos. The grains and rice are big crops. I love this kind of scene with all its verticals and horizontals. It is tempting to want to bone out all of the pipes, walkways and cross bars. I put some of them in but then washed over it all with cobalt blue to pull it together. The early morning had fog and was chilly. It soon warmed up and was clear and sunny.