Sketches

We lived in Southern California for a few years. Every weekend we went sketching - the weather was always perfect. At least before 11 a.m. - sometimes it was too hot after that. These are from Crystal Cove, San Juan Capistrano and Balboa Park.

Elephants in Between

I'm working on elephant paintings from sketches I did in the summer of 2010.
Usually I paint to a point of completion and see one area where I'd like to add a color or brushstroke...and then I add another and another. My paintings are layered several paintings and colorways thick before I finally stop.
With these I'm stopping before I repaint - and starting on a new canvas from the last point where I saw something to do differently.
The sketches I'm using for these paintings are below. They're different from other sketches I do at zoos. I did them intentionally to be used for abstract paintings and they're gestures - very quick studies of that moment.

Awaiting Winter

This is a pastel done in January 2010. It really starts snowing - and sticking, and piling up - in January. Sunny days after snow are my favorite time to paint, because the shadows are amazing - color, shape, movement - there's so much happening all day.

Spring River

This past spring we had so much rain that our back yard flooded. Standing water makes such nice reflections.

I find greens really hard to paint - or maybe to live with. I see that everything is green, but it doesn't look right on the canvas - in the composition.

I lightened and lightened with yellows and rusts. The rust of pine needles.

Elephants

I painted some elephants from my sketchbook.

I didn't care for the composition - I don't know what exactly - something wasn't right.

So I turned the painting upside down. Sometimes that helps.
Then I put it away. Maybe next time I get it out to look I'll know what to do.
The answer may be to paint over it.

Grandpa

I tried out what I can do with pencil in this really large drawing (20" x 30") of my great grandfather. I realized, when it was done, that a picture of someone bigger-than-life is o.k. on movie posters but not something I want for portraits of family members.

Snow Progression

Two paintings - first on the easel and then then finished versions.


Fall Snow 18" x 24"


Winter Grasses 24" x 36"

Orangs

Working with sketches I've done of orangutans at zoos I started a painting I intended to be an exploration of orange.



The photo above is for scale. The canvas is about 34" H x 72" W.


As I painted I lost my initial layout lines. I like lines. So I repainted them (below).


But it looked funny - not right. So I watched it for a few days, and thought.

I'm more comfortable with yellow and white. It is my solution when a painting doesn't feel finished/concluded. And I added more orangs over the whole painting. My husband says he has to look really hard to see any orangutans. All I see is orangutans...and one gorilla (which I didn't put in the painting - he just showed up).

Life Drawing

I've been life drawing intermittently since 1994; there are year long pauses between the sessions I attend. I hardly ever have enough time to finish drawing a pose and after 17 years I still can not fit a whole person on a sheet of paper - something gets cut off - often the head or feet - sometimes both. I have advanced, though, from an HB pencil to softer pencils and even pastels...

Yellow Maples

These first two paintings won't ever be finished; they are part of my search with the brush to catch autumn color this October.


This last painting is shown early and as a final version. It had a different energy early on the easel.

New

I've listed these new paintings in my etsy shop. They're from this fall - drawn from nature. Except the last one; it is a view of the Maumee River that I did from a sketch.

Gorillas

Burnt Sienna is the only color in my usual acrylic palette that approaches red.
Last time I ordered art supplies I bought a bunch of small tubes of reds; this is the painting where I tried them all.

I thought if I used my gorilla sketches from the zoo and painted on the wall I might feel less inhibited to use color.
I've never done a more direct painting - from start to finish - without completely changing the composition and colors.
Finished size approx. 62" x 70".